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Internet Message Format | 1995-06-05 | 58KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!news.netins.net!news.dacom.co.kr!news.kreonet.re.kr!overload.lbl.gov!ames!olivea!decwrl!svc.portal.com!uunet!not-for-mail From: "Thomas A. Miller" <tmiller@cimmeria.oit.gatech.edu> Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives Subject: STORY: Adventurers 250 (part 2 of 2) Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc Date: 1 Jun 1995 08:43:37 -0400 Organization: UUNET Technologies Inc, Fairfax VA USA Lines: 1311 Sender: smm@uunet.uu.net Approved: smm@uunet.uu.net Distribution: world Message-ID: <3qkclp$7ap@rodan.UU.NET> (continued from part 1) There was a blood-curdling roar, louder than any the adventurers had ever heard, louder than Hadeus the duke of Hell, louder than any of the dragons they had ever faced, louder than any foe, mortal or otherwise. For miles around, animals great and small fled in sheer terror, and people trembled. Grass and plants nearby wilted and died, and the very air seemed filled with a sinister power. As the assembled people watched in awe, anticipation, and more than a little fear, a gargantuan shape emerged from the remnants of the fallen star. Towering over everything, it was more than sixty feet in height. The monster was roughly bipedal in shape, with distinctly reptilian features; scales, each of which was greater in size than a large shield, covered its huge body. Its three-fingered hands and feet were tipped with sharp, curved claws the length of a standing man. A long, powerful-looking tail whipped back and forth, shaking the earth with every movement. The thing's head consisted, primarily, of a large, fang-filled maw; two beady, red eyes were set atop the fearsome mouth, and these darted to and fro rapidly, suggesting great cunning. A pair of jutting horns, each about ten feet long, crowned the monster's head; a series of lesser, but equally sharp, spines progressed down its back, ending only where the fearsome tail began. The creature's scales and skin were uniformly brown in color, a dark brown that verged to black at the joints. These darker areas were cloaked in shadows, and light seemed to vanish into them...or was it because of the monster's sheer size? Mongo: Now what in all the hells is _that_?!? Ged: Search me. The monster looked around, and then, with a speed belying its incredible bulk, it snatched four or five (or perhaps a fraction - the claws were razor-sharp) of Galt's men up, and popped them into its mouth, where they promptly disappeared, screaming. Galt: Aie! (he looks at his soldiers, all of whom are paralyzed with fear) Move, you men! soldiers: (beyond hearing) monster: (done chewing the first morsels, it turns its attention to the next largest congregation of food - the adventurers) GRAAAAAAAARGH! Bosco: (blown from his feet by the monster's fetid breath) Aaa! Gorin, Tanya, Nenya: (likewise) Belphanior: Uh, I think we'd better run. Otto: No fuckin' shit... Ged, Otiluke, and the drow flew away and upward as fast as their magic would allow. Peldor instantly ran off to one side, becoming invisible as he did so. Otto, Gorin, Nenya, and Tanya, helping one another, retreated southward. Bosco, having quickly regained his footing, flew into the air, his boots' little wings beating furiously. This left Belphanior, Mongo, Arnold, and Rillen, all four of whom either couldn't fly, didn't have time to cast a spell, or were too slow and too close to the monster to think about fleeing. Mongo: I'm not running! (he winds up, and hurls Stormcrest at the enormous foe) Fuck you! The enchanted hammer sped through the air, and struck the huge monster squarely in the chest. monster: (ignores the blow) Mongo: Argh! I missed! Arnold: Whaaat? Mongo: I was aiming for its face...the thing's bigger than I thought! (catches his hammer) I'll get it next time. Arnold: I don'd think there will be a next time... monster: RRRAAARGH! (reaches down with both clawed hands) Mongo: Oh shit...! Arnold: (scooped up in one gigantic claw, he is squeezed, and his armor buckles and creaks) Aaaaaargh! Mongo: (picked up in the other claw) Dammit! (he pounds the huge fingers with his hammer) monster: GRAAARGH! (it looks over the two people in its hands, opens its mouth, and pops Mongo in) Mongo: (slashed and rent by numerous fangs, all bigger than he is) AaaaaAARGH! (he swings wildly with Stormcrest, smashing several teeth into flinders) monster: (crunches down harder) Mongo: (his magical armor pierced in a dozen places, as is his body) AAARGH! (blood sprays everywhere) monster: (utterly drowns out the dwarf's cry of pain) GRAAAARGH! Arnold: (trying to stab the hand holding him prisoner, without any apparent effect) Rillen: (back a ways, he fires several magical arrows at the huge foe's face) monster: (ignores all of the arrows as they bounce off of its thick scales) GRAAARGH! Belphanior: (uses a wand to launch a lightning bolt at the monster) An amazing thing happened then: the missile, rather than hitting the beast and shocking it as might be expected, instead bounced off, whizzing into the air. Ged: (he and the other airborne people are narrowly missed by the bolt) Hey! Belphanior: (stunned) Bounced off... creature: (watches the lightning bolt disappear into the sky, far above) GRAAAAR! Mongo: (still in its mouth, he smashes some more teeth, clearing a path, and then leaps out of the maw) Free! However, as the dwarf jumped, the monster snapped its jaws shut... Mongo: (falls fifty feet to the ground) Ged: He escaped! Lyra: Look. (she points) The drow was indicating a second, smaller object that fell after Mongo, and landed on the scorched grass next to him. Ged: By Boccob...that's his _arm_! Alindyar: Aie. Mongo: (barely visible on the ground at the monster's feet, one arm severed, he lies unmoving) Otiluke: We need a distraction...(he launches a thin white ray at the gigantic monster) The icy beam struck the thing in the center of its torso (indeed, it was nearly impossible to miss such a large target) and bounced off, striking the ground to one side. A large area quickly frosted over, becoming an icy patch of frozen grass and dirt. Otiluke: Well, damn! creature: (seemingly distracted by the mage's spell, it turns its attention skyward, and begins walking toward the flying magi, the ground shaking with each step) Lyra: I think we may have a _slight_ problem here. Ged: Look at the bright side - it's left Mongo alone. (he flies around, intending to get behind the monster and attend to Mongo, who is lying in a growing pool of blood) Otiluke: I guess we'll keep hammering at the thing. Something's got to hurt it. Alindyar: Hmm. I believe its scales will deflect most destructive spells. (ESP to Lyra) I shall attempt to distract it - you free Arnold. Lyra: (ESP to Alindyar) Right. (she looks puzzled) How? monster: (lumbering in a seemingly random direction, as the magi have split up now, it looks pretty angry) GRAAAARGH! Rillen: (kind of in the monster's path now, he shoots two more arrows at it - which have no effect) Damn! (he turns and sprints away, his boots of speed enabling him to quickly outdistance the monster) Tanya: (about the same distance away) You have boots of speed too? Rillen: Too? Gorin: (huffing and puffing as he approaches) I sure as hell don't! Nenya: (also nearby, she begins spellcasting) Gorin: Hey, where's Otto? Meanwhile, behind the gigantic beast... Mongo: Urrr...(lying in a pool of blood, he struggles to stand) Kill...that motherfucker... Ged: (floats down to the ground) I wouldn't try that if I were you. Mongo: (spits up blood) Ghak...(he falls back down) Ged: Boccob's eyes, but you're hurt badly! (looking around) Uh, where'd your arm land? Bosco: (trots up, carrying Mongo's arm, which still has his hammer clenched in one fist) I found it! Ged: Give me that. (he takes the arm) Mongo: Stump... Ged: What? Bosco: (looking around) I don't see a stump. Mongo: (eyes glazed) Put...the arm on the...stump. It'll...it'll grow back together. Ged: (busy trying to keep Mongo's blood in his body) How? Mongo: No time...to explain...just...do it! Ged: Bosco! Hold the arm to the stump. I must cast a spell. Bosco: (looking beyond Ged, in terror) Uh... Ged: What?!? (whirls around) The monster had turned back, and was lumbering toward them. It still clutched Arnold in one hand. Arnold: (feeling the squeeze) Aaa. Suddenly, the ground directly in front of the beast opened up, a crack more than fifty feet wide and hundreds of feet deep! monster: (confused, it halts its charge) GRAAARG? Bosco: Whoa! Otiluke: Where'd that gaping crevice come from?!? Alindyar: (smirking) What crevice? I see no crevice. Otiluke: (squinting) Ah! Very clever! Lyra: (invisible now, she flies up to the monster's hand, grabs Arnold, and both of them vanish) monster: (even more confused now) GRAARGH! (it lumbers around the crack, eyeing Ged, Mongo, and Bosco) Otiluke: Only a temporary setback for the thing, it seems. (he pelts the foe with magic missiles, but they, too, bounce off of its hide) Alindyar: At least it saved Arnold, and bought Ged some time. Lyra: (appears several hundred feet distant, next to Gorin et al; Arnold is with her) Quickly, somebody help him! I've got to get back to the battle...(she flies away) Arnold: (almost dropped to the ground) Aaa... Gorin: We can bind his wounds, I guess. Tanya: (examining the dented plate mail) Ow. Arnold: (still conscious, though barely) Whad habbened? Gorin: You got rescued, pal. Arnold: Is this baddle over for Ah-nold? Rillen: Yes, I think so. Gorin: There's got to be more we can do to help out! Rillen: You're not suggesting that we charge the thing with axes and staves, are you? Gorin: Well, err...I guess not. But maybe ranged attacks...like your bow! Tanya: What about all those magical arrows you have? Surely they- Rillen: -are bouncing off like twigs. Physical force isn't going to beat this foe, I fear. monster: (having circumvented the huge crack in the ground, it now approaches Ged, Mongo, and Bosco) RAARGH! Otto: (appears at the thing's feet, and stabs it in the heel with his knife of wounding) Die! monster: (simply ignores the dwarf, and lumbers onward, the very movement knocking Otto and his knife aside) GRAARG! Otto: (lands thirty feet away) Oof! monster: RAAARGRGH!!! Bosco: Aie! Let's get outta here! (he prepares to fly away) Ged: We can't move Mongo...hold that arm, Bosco! I'll protect us! (he begins casting a spell) Belphanior: (appears above, flying now) I'll stop it! (he flies up to the monster's face, and points a wand at the thing) Alindyar: No! The shell obviously has reflective properties that- Belphanior: Quiet. (his wand unleashes a gout of green acid, which covers the creature's face) Let's see it reflect _that_. monster: (screams in pain) GRAAAAAA! (it alternates wiping its face and swiping at Belphanior, who it can't see anymore due to the acid) Belphanior: Whoa- (hit by a random claw-swipe, he hurtles away to the north) creature: (still wiping its eyes, it slowly approaches Ged, Mongo, and Bosco) GRAAARGH! Bosco: Hey! It's gonna get us! Ged: No, it's not. Bosco: It's not? Why not?!? Ged: Because Boccob's magic is protecting us now. Bosco: (looks dubious) The enormous beast stopped, and looked down at them. Bosco: (almost screaming, at Ged) _What_ magic?!? Ged: Don't you dare panic, Bosco. Just trust me. Mongo: (mumbles something between bloody coughs) Bosco: But- The monster brought both clawed fists down to smash the trio - and the fists bounced off of some invisible barrier. Though the ground around them shook tremendously, rattling their teeth and jarring their bones, they were unharmed! Bosco: Huh? monster: (infuriated) GRAAARGH! (it repeats the attack, and the same thing happens) RAAAARG! Ged: Told ya. Bosco: Magic? Ged: The wall of force, Bosco. It worked against the adamantite golem and it'll work against this thing. monster: (tries several more attacks, then turns away as Nenya pelts the back of its head with some of Melf's Minute Meteors) RAAARG! Ged: Good timing, girl! Now. Bosco, hold that arm. (he begins casting a Heal spell) Bosco: Gotcha. (he pushes the arm tightly to the stump as the elf works his magic) Ugh...(he feels queasy) Ged: Don't let up now, Bosco! monster: (approaching Nenya, who is all by herself and quickly trying to cast another spell) RRAAARGHHH! Nenya: Ulp. Peldor: (appears on the back of the monster's neck, and sinks his sword into the thing's flesh) Ged: Peldor?!? I thought him long since fled... Bosco: Hey! Where'd _he_ come from? monster: GRAAARGH! (tries, but fails, to bat at this annoying insect) Peldor: (holding on for dear life, he saws at the wound with the sword) monster: (grows tired of this, and flops over onto its back) Tnaya: (watches in shock) Noooooo! Alindyar: Aie! It crushed him! Otiluke: (spellcasting) We don't know that... Lyra: I think we do. Nobody could have escaped that. Alindyar: Hmm, we should be attacking it while its soft underbelly is exposed. Lyra: What won't bounce off, though? Maybe an ice storm? Otiluke: Allow me. (he launches a Meteor Swarm at the beast) The fiery meteor shower blasted the monster in the belly, as it was still rolled over. However, the magi were shocked to discover that the "soft underbelly" was every bit as reflective as the rest of the thing's body. Blazing meteors flew in all directions; one hit a farmer's home, hundreds of feet away, and the structure burst into flame instantly. Another meteor whizzed through somebody's cornfields, setting them aflame. A third rebounded, striking the surprised Otiluke and knocking him from the sky, his clothes now on fire. monster: (seemingly unharmed by the meteors) GRAAAAARGH! (it rights itself, and lumbers off to the east) Bosco: It's...leaving?!? But why? Lyra: I think I know. (she eyes Alindyar) Alindyar: (shrugs) Mass invisibility seemed to be the best option at this point. (he points at Otiluke, who has crashed into the ground, aflame in three places) Somebody should put him out. Belphanior: My pleasure. (uses his wand of foam to douse the fallen mage) Otiluke: (coughing and sputtering, he finally looks around) What happened? Where's the monster? Bosco: I scared it away. Ged: (inside his wall of force) Somebody put out those fires! And save the farmers! (he returns his attention to Mongo) Bosco: Open this force-field and I'll save those farmers. Ged: (drops the wall of force, not because he believes Bosco, but because the huge monster is already a good distance away) Bosco: (flies toward the burning areas) The monster was forgotten for the moment, because of the other issues. Mongo was alive, but Ged was still tending to his friend. The mage Otiluke was somewhat burned, though not seriously; he was resting after being hit by his own rebounded meteor. Otto and Arnold were somewhat injured, as was Belphanior. Peldor was nowhere to be found. Nenya, Rillen, Gorin, and Tanya, free from injury, now approached on foot, and the drow landed from the sky. The spellcasters (and Belphanior, with his foam wand) worked on the fires, while most of the others simply sat around and pondered the situation, or their losses. Belphanior: (flying around spraying foam on the cornfields) A shame, to quell these beautiful fires... Nenya: (busy using Ged's magical decanter to spray water on the burning cornfields) Say, does that foam have any long-term effect on the crops? Belphanior: How the hell should I know? Lyra: A cone of cold or an ice storm would certainly kill them. Alindyar: As will these fires... Rillen: (helping a farmer and his wife out of the burning house) This way. farmer: The little one... Rillen: What? wife: Our baby daughter...she's still in there! Rillen: What?!? Where? farmer: (griefstricken) Upstairs...she was upstairs... Rillen: (turns back to look at the burning house, whose bottom floor is an inferno) Hmm, the upstairs is still intact. Well, kind of. wife: No...oh no... Bosco: (soars out of the burning house, a tiny baby grasped in his hands) Okay, who lost a baby? baby: WaaaAAAAAA! farmer & wife: (standing nearby, they weep with joy) Elsewhere... Mongo: (asleep and resting, his arm reattached but tender and pink) Zzzzz. Gorin: How's he doing? Ged: Very well, actually. Between my magic and that ring he's wearing, his arm knit itself right back on. Gorin: Good. Ged: But he is going to have to rest for a few days. Belphanior: As in total rest...no action? Ged: Yea, no action, no fighting, no strenuous activity. Otto: Bummer. Tanya: Peldor...crushed to death. Bosco: (having just flown over) No, he wasn't! Tanya: Why do you say _that_? We saw him smashed to death! Bosco: Where's his smashed body, then? Eh? Gorin: Maybe it stuck to the monster's back- Bosco: I didn't see it when the thing lumbered off... Tanya: Hmm. Belphanior: (quietly consulting his magical compass) Hmm, that's odd. (he whispers something to Tanya, causing her to brighten considerably) Ged: I wonder how far the monster got...? Bosco: Hey, shouldn't we be chasing it? Rillen: Why? What do you plan to do once you catch it? Bosco: (looks confused) Hey, I can't think of _everything_! Alindyar: (trying to picture a back-and-forth cross-country chase involving the huge monster and Bosco) Lyra: (ESP-linked to Alindyar, she giggles) Rillen: The first battle goes to the monster, it would seem. Otiluke: (quietly) We have another problem. Ged: What's that? The damned thing left my lands, which puts the farmers out of imminent danger. Good for us, I say. Otiluke: It went eastward...toward Greyhawk. After everyone regrouped, they attempted to come up with a plan. Tanya: If it reaches Greyhawk, hundreds of people will die... Belphanior: Thousands. Otiluke: We have to do something. Otto: Why? Bosco: Because we're heroes! Rillen: Are we even sure that the thing is _ going_ to Greyhawk? Ged: Good question. It seemed headed there, but the city's a good distance away. Otto: That thing moves pretty fast...I'd bet it could be there in no time. Gorin: And once it gets there- Lyra: Total destruction. Otiluke: You perhaps underestimate the powers of Greyhawk. We can mass a good-sized force- Alindyar: Surely you jest. No physical force can stop that beast. Mongo proved that. Arnold: (nursing broken, bandaged ribs) And Ah-nold, too! Gorin: (looking dejected) What do we do, then? Otiluke: (thinking furiously) Okay, okay. Here's my plan. I'll return to Greyhawk, and alert the appropriate people in case the monster really is heading that way. You can follow the thing from here, if you'd like, or just stay put. This isn't your fight anymore. Ged: Hmm, we could track the beast from the air. Alindyar: Aye. And we have proven that it cannot see through my illusions. Perhaps we can herd it. Otiluke: Herd it where, though? Rillen: A good question. Ged: (to Otiluke) This _is_ still our fight. We'll follow the creature from here, and check in with you later. Otiluke: Very well. (he begins spellcasting, and quickly teleports away) Ged: (looking around) All right. Those who can fly, come with me. The rest of you can stay here, or ride for Greyhawk. Gorin: Why can't we come with you, on the ground? Belphanior: Because you can't keep up. We fly fast. Tanya: Also, we'd get slaughtered if we ran into the monster. Arnold: Ah-nold can't be lefd behind! Ged: Sorry, big guy. You're going to have to sit this one out. Gorin: I guess we could take Mongo and head back to Greyhawk. Otto: (trying to figure out if going with this group is a good or a bad thing) Belphanior: Just remember: you probably won't catch the monster, but if you see it on the horizon, or hear it roaring, or anything at all, turn away and ride as fast as you can! Ged: Good advice... Arnold: If Mondo mudst rest, then we will sday with him. Gorin: In the castle? Ged: Yes, in my castle. Arnold can have some rooms prepared. Arnold: Yah. Tanya: Well, I guess I could stay here. I'm surely not riding for Greyhawk alone. Otto: I'll go with you. Tanya: No, that's okay. I don't much feel like traveling now, anyway. Rillen: (not used to being this useless in a crisis situation) Damn! (he punches a tree, spraying splinters of wood everywhere) With that, the group split up. Ged, the drow, Belphanior, and Bosco (who refused to be left behind) flew eastward, to find the beast. Arnold, Tanya, Gorin, Otto, and Nenya remained behind in Ged's castle, along with the sleeping Mongo. Nenya: (somewhat upset) I'm going to have to learn the spell of flying. Otto: What's this you're mad about? Nenya: Ged could have enabled me to fly, but I get the impression that he wanted me to stay behind. Gorin: I think he was protecting you. Tanya: I wouldn't worry about it. We're outmatched against that monster. Arnold: Not Ah-nold. I surbvived the monsder's crushing grip. Gorin: Only because it popped Mongo into its mouth first. Nenya: At least Mongo's alive. Peldor: (appears, yawning) Hey, I'm alive too. Tanya: (runs to embrace the thief) Nenya: Peldor?!? You're dead! Peldor: No I'm not. Tanya: Done embracing Peldor, she promptly backs off, and punches him) Peldor: (falls on his butt, surprised) Ow! What was that for? Tanya: For making me worry...(she pulls the thief to his feet) Oh, you...scoundrel. Peldor: (rubbing his chin) Arnold: But...how did you surbvive? Otto: (genuinely interested) Really, how? Peldor: (shrugs) It's a kind of magic. Gorin: (muttering to himself) Not a drop of blood on him... Meanwhile, the airborne magi, plus Bosco, zoomed eastward, in search of the gigantic monster. Belphanior: (using his compass) Fortunately, this won't be too hard. Ged: Good. Lyra: We'd better have a plan ready, for when we find the thing. Alindyar: We need a gigantic pit... Bosco: Hey, then the monster could bury bones there! Belphanior: Maybe a fire pit? We could fill it with pitch and firewood, and lure the monster in. Then...an inferno. Alindyar: I believe that heat and flame do not bother the thing. You surely witnessed this, before. Belphanior: Hmm. Good point. (he muses) Acid in the pit, then? Ged: On the other hand, once we find it, we could just ignore it, and head to Greyhawk to update them on the situation. Onward they flew...and within half an hour, they spotted their quarry in the distance. Ged: By Boccob, that's a tremendous creature! Lyra: Even from the air. Alindyar: It appears to be...chasing something? Belphanior: Looks like a herd, of some game animal. Bosco: A herd, except for the ones being ripped apart... Sure enough, the monster had apparently come across a group of antelope. It had already decimated half the herd, as evidenced by the large amounts of blood and gore strewn about. The antelope fled in every direction, and the huge monster gorged itself on the remains of the slower animals. Bosco: Doesn't it _ever_ stop eating? Ged: Belphanior, based on your compass readings, which way is Greyhawk from here? Belphanior: (consulting the compass) Uh...the thing's directly between us and the city. Alindyar: Almost as if it wants to go there. Lyra: I hope they're ready. Ged: Come on, let's fly to Greyhawk. Bosco: Why not attack it from the air? Alindyar: With what? Fireballs, lightning bolts - everything ricochets from its hide. Lyra: It _is_ a tempting idea, though. Ged: Well, I'm going to Greyhawk. You can come if you want. (he soars off to the east) Alindyar: (he and Lyra exchange thoughts silently, then follow the grey elf) Bosco: Err...(he follows as well) Belphanior: Bah. (he gets his wand of acidic spheres out) Time to do some mad bombing... As the elf hatched his mad schemes, Ged and company flew toward the Free City. Their speed was such that within the hour, they spotted the towers and walls of Greyhawk on the horizon. There was a flurry of activity outide the city's walls, specifically on the western side of the Selintan, just southwest of the city. Men were busily at work assembling a line of catapults and ballistae. In front of these weapons, workers were digging a wide trench, and west of this trench, thick, sharpened logs were being imbedded in the ground. Behind the ranged weapons were assembled squads of archers and infantrymen, who milled about in half-excitement, half-confusion. Behind these various forces, and on the opposite side of the Selintan, was erected a camp, and armored men were there, talking and planning. KEY to sample section of Greyhawk defenses: - ^ <- '''' .... **** - ^ <- '''' .... **** - ^ <- ,,,, .... **** - ^ % ,,,, .... **** - ^ % ,,,, .... **** - ^ % ,,,, .... **** - ^ <- ,,,, .... **** - ^ <- ,,,, .... **** - ^ <- ,,,, .... **** - ^ % ,,,, .... **** - sharpened logs mounted in ground ^ wide trench <- ballistae % catapults , infantrymen . archers * Selintan River Ged: Well, I'll be... Alindyar: They intend to fight! Lyra: Or to die. Bosco: Ack. They all flew down, to the gestures and shouts of those below. general-type: (a tall, stocky fellow with thinning blond hair and a moustache) These are the people who fought before? Otiluke: Aye, Sental. (to Ged) This is Sental Nurev, Captain- General of the Watch. Sental: (clasps hands with Ged) My pleasure. I have been told of your deeds...by Tigran Gellner as well as others. You may rest assured now, things are well in hand. (he surveys the men and armaments arond him, proudly) Bosco: (also surveys the assembled forces) Man, are these guys in for a rude awakening... Ged: By Boccob! You're going to try and stop it with _troops_?!? Sental: Not just troops, but catapults, ballistae, arrows. Alindyar: That is insane! We've already proven- Sental: (spreads his hands in a placating gesture) I understand, but we're prepared to stop the monster here. Lyra: You can't possibly be prepared to fight something you've never seen! Sental: Well, I've never heard of a monster that- Ged: We tried fireballs...lightning bolts...acid. Ever heard of those? Alindyar: The beast ignored all of that magic. Lyra: Not to mention one of the most powerful warriors ever to walk the land. Sental: (ponders) Hmm. Otiluke: (to Sental) I told you. Perhaps you should listen more carefully to your fellow Oligarchs. Lyra: (realizes that both of the men are Directing Oligarchs of Greyhawk, making them powerful allies indeed) Sental: Well, we have to try to stop the beast. Perhaps a magical force can be arrayed as well? (he regards Ged and the drow, and Otiluke) Alindyar: (spies a pair of figures floating toward the camp) 'Twould seem that such a force is already assembling... One of the two new arrivals was familiar, at least to Alindyar and Lyra. The other was a human woman in her thirties, with long, wavy blond hair. Otiluke: Oh, no... Bigby: Greetings and salutations. Alindyar: (nods) Bigby. Ged: Bigby? _The_ Bigby? Bigby: The one and only...(indicates his companion) Meet Jallarzi Sallavarian, a...probationary member of our Circle. Jallarzi, this is Alindyar, and Lyra. The grey elf is Ged, I believe. Ged: Yea. Bigby: I have no idea who the halfling is. Jallarzi: (shaking hands somewhat shyly) Nice to meet you. And you. And you. Bosco: (hops in front of the drow, and bows deeply) The pleasure is all mine, milady. Bosco, juggernaut slayer, at your service! Ged: Hmph. Jallarzi: I've never met a juggernaut slayer before. Bosco: There's a first time for everything. We juggernaut slayers are a rare breed, and- Otiluke: Where's that damned parrot, Jallarzi? Jallarzi: In the city, I think. One never knows, though... Sental: The monster...where is it? Otiluke: Indeed, did you find the monster? Alindyar: Aye. It is perhaps a quarter of the way here. Bosco: Maybe even a third, by now! Ged: It's moving pretty fast. If I were you, I'd get ready. Alindyar: If _I_ were you, I would get these sacrificial lambs behind the city walls. Sental: Be warned, drow. I take offense at that comment! Alindyar: That is all they will be: mere lambs, ready for the slaughter. Sental: That may be, but we must try. Besides, whatever magic you plan to try here will work just as well if you try it on the monster before it gets here. My men and I will be the second line of defense...in case you fail. Otiluke: (to Alindyar) You must admit, he's got a point. Just about anything we'd try can be attempted far from here instead of here. Bigby: In fact, we'd have more leeway, without as many people around to get hit by residual magicks... Alindyar: (nodding in agreement with this logic) Aye. Your point is well taken. Let us depart, then. Ged: I'd suggest that we magi fly westward, and scout the thing out. Maybe it won't even come here. Bigby: From what I've heard of the beast, even if it doesn't come here, it'll still be a problem for us. Jallarzi: Let's be off, then. The magi, now six in number, soared off to the west, Bosco hot on their heels. Bosco: (enjoying his winged boots immensely) Whee! Indeed, they located the great beast in less than half an hour. It was still headed toward Greyhawk, despite the destruction that Belphanior had wreaked all around it. Actually, the majority of said destruction was laid out in a swath behind the monster, in the direction from whence it had come. Gaping pits dotted the countryside, some filled with flames, others with acid. A burnt trough to the west marked the passage of a mighty lightning bolt. The monster's head and body were dotted with small acid burns, so Belphanior had apparently had at least some success against the thing. The elf himself hovered about a hundred feet in the air; he was sweating profusely, and looked exhausted. Belphanior: (spots the other magi) Hi. Fancy meeting you here. Ged: What have you done? Belphanior: Oh, let's see...four fireballs, a lightning bolt, six acid baths- Otiluke: You had all those memorized? Belphanior: No, I just have a lot of wands. I didn't try the wand of wonder, though... Lyra: That's okay. Jallarzi: Wands, did you say? I'm a collector of wands. Belphanior: Who the hell are you? Jallarzi: I am Jallarzi Sallavarian, of Greyhawk. Belphanior: Oh. Well, that explains everything. Bigby: (whispering to Otiluke) That guy looks familiar...where have we seen him before? Otiluke: Beats me. Bigby: Perhaps we should look into this further. Otiluke: Yes...later. After this crisis is over. Lyra: Why'd you try fireballs? We've already proven that they just bounce off. Belphanior: Oh, well...I wanted to try different angles. None of them worked, though. Ged: I hate to break up your discussion, but if we don't think of something soon, this "crisis" will be stomping around inside the walls of Greyhawk. Bigby: You are quite right. Lyra: Look! The thing's already nearly gone. Indeed, the monster had roamed eastward, and was already almost a thousand feet away. Alindyar: The thing ignores us... Belphanior: Yup, it ignored me too, except when I dropped acid on its face. Then it got pretty pissed. Of course, it couldn't reach me up here; after a while, it quit trying. Ged: Well, we'd better follow it. Bigby: Yes. And I'll be sure to try some other spells along the way. I find myself curious about this beast. Otiluke: You're not the only one. Jallarzi: No...I recall a legend somewhere, something about one now-extinct civilization. In its last days, accounts told of a great reptilian punisher, sent by the gods. Alindyar: That legend sounds familiar to me, as well. Ged: Well, let's see how our combined magic works on it. (he flies after the beast) Bosco: I have magic too! (to Jallarzi) Wanna trade some spells? Jallarzi: Not right now, Bosco. Bosco: Maybe later then. I'll talk to my buddy Belphanior and see about getting some of his wands for you. Jallarzi: (not familiar with Bosco, or Belphanior, she actually believes this) Oh, that would be delightful. They shadowed the great monster, from time to time trying new spells on it. Otiluke launched spheres of boiling water and multicolored light at the thing, but they did little more than confuse it for a few moments. Bigby tried a symbol of death, and Jallarzi a symbol of stunning, but neither stopped the beast. Otiluke's power word, kill didn't work, either, nor did repulsion, finger of death, or walls of fire, stone, and ice. Bigby: This creature's hardiness is nothing short of exceptional. Otiluke: Agreed. Do you have the spell of shapechanging? Bigby: No. Not today, anyhow. (shrugs) Who could have known that we'd be facing a foe such as this today? Otiluke: No shapechange...(he looks at the drow) I don't suppose you...? Alindyar: Nay, we dabble not with shapechanging magic. Lyra: At least not yet. Otiluke: Hmm. Dragon breath might faze this monster. Bosco: Or maybe not. (he pretends that he's spellcasting) Jallarzi: What _are_ you doing? They followed as the monster led them, unerringly it seemed, to Greyhawk. Belphanior simply rested as he flew along; it seemed that most of his energy was spent. A few more spells were tried - Ged summoned Evard's black tentacles, Belphanior an ice storm, Alindyar a prismatic spray. That latter spell actually injured the beast, its orange rays causing the thing to scream in pain and tear large chunks from the earth around it. Alindyar: Excellent! Lyra: You actually hurt it... Otiluke: More than we did. Alindyar: 'Twas risky - the hide could have reflected the rays back at us. Jallarzi: It worked out okay, though. Belphanior: Don't get too happy - the thing's wounds regenerate. I've been watching it. (he whips out a wand and drops another acidic sphere on the monster's open wounds) Heh heh. Bigby: We've got to chip away, a little at a time. That may be the only way. Jallarzi: (hits the beast with Melf's acid arrows) Now you're talking. monster: AAAARG! (wiping at the acid on its head and body, it lunges forward, uprooting several large trees in its path) Ged: (perhaps inspired by Boccob, he suddenly comes up with an idea) Yea! (he begins spellcasting) Alindyar: What?!? What is it? Ged: I can't believe I didn't think of this until now! (he waves his hands, and a gigantic sword of shimmering energy appears in the air) Bosco: Whoa! Bigby: Hey, I know who invented _that_ spell... Ged: Me too, and he was a damned genius! (he guides the sword down, into the monster's flank, where it cuts) Hah! Belphanior: Fuck! It's bleeding! Ged: Yea! (he pulls the sword back) Lyra: Hmm, planes of force work...(ESP to Alindyar) Use that wand from Bigby. Alindyar: A novel idea. (he grasps the mentioned item, and quickly summons forth a huge, glowing disembodied hand) Aye, a novel idea. (to Bigby) I assume you know who invented this spell? Bigby: Yep, I sure do. The drow guided the magical force-hand down, where it grabbed the monster's head firmly, and began squeezing. monster: GRAAAARGH! (it bites and claws at the hand) RRRRAAARG! Alindyar: (frowns) I believe that it is damaging the hand. Bigby: Naturally. After a certain amount of punishment, my hand spells will dissipate. Their strength is proportional to that of the caster. Ged: (hits the monstrous beast in the head with his Mordenkainen's sword) Boccob! This is a mighty spell indeed! Otiluke: That's why he invented it. monster: GRAAARGH! (it swats angrily at the magical force-sword, deflecting it, and then grabs at the force-hand around its face) GREEEARGH! (it pulls the hand away from its head) Alindyar: Aie. The creature possesses great strength indeed. monster: (begins chewing on the hand, causing it to dissolve) Lyra: That's all, folks. Bigby: Hmm, someday I'll have to see about inventing a hand that's more resistant to damage... Jallarzi: You should. monster: (begins trying to grab the Mordenkainen's sword) GRAARG! The monster, despite being distracted by the efforts of all the assembled magi, was still moving eastward. In fact, it trampled over everything in its path - trees, farm animals, homes. This battle was now entering the outlying farms that surrounded the Free City of Greyhawk, which meant that people were going to start dying as the great monster advanced. Otiluke: (watching farmers scurrying around like ants) Why in the hells aren't these people evacuated?!? Lyra: Maybe you should ask Sental. Belphanior: If he lives through this. Bigby: We've got to warn the farmers ahead. Their only hope is to flee. Alindyar: (considering a great illusion in the sky) Hmm. Belphanior: (spellcasting) Let me handle this. monster: (after taking two more hits, it has managed to grab the Mordenkainen's sword, and is simply carrying the thing as it lumbers along) Jallarzi: By the gods...I've never seen that happen before! Bigby: Me neither, girl. Me neither. Lyra: (to Ged) You may have to abandon the sword, to work other magic. Ged: Yea...I- ngh! - can't wrestle the sword free! I shall try to distract the beast some other way. (he begins casting another spell) Alindyar: If only I could cast the Black Blade, then we'd see how tough this beast really is. Bigby: The black what? Lyra: The Black Blade of Disaster. 'Tis a spell-sword that makes Mordenkainen look like an apprentice. Alindyar (ESP to Lyra): Did you just say "Tis"? Lyra (ESP to Alindyar): Certainly not. Only you do that. Belphanior: (now floating ahead of the giant beast, he yells in a magically-amplified voice) LISTEN TO ME, YOU PEOPLE! YOU MUST EVACUATE - NOW!!! A GIGANTIC MONSTER IS HEADED THIS WAY! FLEE NORTHWARD! FLEE NOW! Otiluke: (watching the elf fly onward, repeating the same basic message) Hmm, nice touch. Lyra: He can be useful when he wants to be. Ged: (puts a blade barrier in the monster's path, at head height) Let's see if it ignores that... The monster either didn't see the mass of whirling blades, or didn't recognize them as a potential threat, for it walked right into their path. monster: GRAARGH! (it bats at the tiny blades) Otiluke: Are they slashing it? Bigby: (squinting) No...they're bouncing off. Ged: Just like that damned juggernaut. Shit! Lyra: (wondering where Bosco is) Bosco: (flying, invisible, he swoops down and slashes at the foe's head) Hyaaaa- (he pulls up short, as he spots the whirling bladestorm ahead of him) What's this? monster: (ignores the halfling as it continues through the blade barrier; the blades all bounce off of its thick hide, flying in every direction) Bosco: (nailed in the shoulder by one sliver of metal) Argh! (he floats down to the ground, able to control his fall but not much else) Ged: Dammit! Otiluke: (to Ged) You got the halfling, too. Ged: No. Not intentionally, but a lucky side effect. This is what happens when idiotic thieves run amok with their own plans and agendas. Bigby: The monster's moving onward! Jallarzi: (to Ged) But it let go of the Mordenkainen's sword! Ged: Yea, it sure did...(as the spell is still active, he re- animates the blade of force, and sends it after the beast) Alindyar: You'd better chop it up soon. Ged: Why? Alindyar: (points) The dark elf was indicating the arrayed forces on the horizon, perhaps five minutes away. Beyond these, perhaps half a mile past the Selintan, could be seen the walls of Greyhawk, and the farmlands and houses that surrounded it. Otiluke: Oh, crap. Bigby: We've _got_ to stop it, and fast! Ged: Say no more. (he guides the magical sword toward the beast) monster: (its armored back deflects the blow, and it then grabs the sword, again) Jallarzi: How does it _do_ that?!? Bigby: I have no idea. Ged: Boccob! Look what it's trying to do now! monster: (breaks the Mordenkainen's sword in two, spraying tiny glowing bits of force-energy everywhere) GRAAAAARGH! (it beats its chest in triumph - then spots the city walls in the distance) GRGGG...(it lumbers in that direction) Ged: ...! Jallarzi: Broke Mordenkainen's sword...how? Otiluke: No time to ponder such things, girl! Come on! (he flies eastward) We can still beat it to the soldiers. Alindyar: Right. (he and Lyra follow) Ged: Broke my sword...agh! Jallarzi: It'll be okay. (they fly after the others) The great beast was moving rapidly now, charging toward the men and weapons arrayed at the Selintan. The magi beat the monster to that area by perhaps a minute. Ged: We'd better stay up here. Lyra: (to Otiluke) Those people on the ground aren't going to be able to stop the thing. Otiluke: Like Sental said, we have to try. Jallarzi: _They_ have to try. We already tried, and failed. Alindyar: I shall not accept failure! (he waves the Bigby's wand again) Meanwhile, the catapults and ballistae were firing, sending their missiles hurtling toward the great monster. Though the firepower being levied would have crushed a fair-sized army, rocks and bolts alike bounced from the thing's hide. Even the fiery missiles of pitch and tar didn't stop the beast; rather, they simply stuck to its body and burned. The archers now began to loose volleys of razor-sharp arrows, broad-tipped sheaf arrows that could punch through the finest plate mail. They might as well have been toy darts, for they couldn't penetrate the monster's unnatural hide. Bigby: As I feared...the thing is immune to all weapons that bear no enchantment. Otiluke: (to Alindyar) What were you trying to do? Lyra: A Bigb- oh. Alindyar: Ah. A shimmering fist appeared in the air, and the drow used it to pummel the oncoming monster. Though it seemed shaken by the blows, the thing nevertheless tore into the sharpened logs that protected Greyhawk's defenders. Heavy logs went flying everywhere, as did entire catapults, ballistae, and their crews. The archers and infantrymen scattered in terror now, some fleeing into the river, armor and all, such was their fear of the beast. The thing eyed the wide trench that had been dug, but it wasn't deep enough to be more than a minor annoyance, and within moments, the beast was up on the eastern side of the trench, eating soldiers at will. Alindyar: Damn! (he uses his Bigby's clenched fist to pound the monster, which surely saves a few lives) Otiluke: It sees the city. It's moving through the river! Sure enough, the huge monster was wading through the Selintan. For a hopeful moment, it appeared that the mighty river might be strong enough to wash the thing away, but appearances were deceiving, and the beast was soon climbing up the river's eastern banks. In its wake was a swath of destruction, overturned siege equipment, and dead or injured soldiers. monster: (looks toward Greyhawk's walls, and roars) RRRRAAAGH!!! Belphanior: (newly reappeared) Was that a challenge? That sounded like a challenge. Alindyar: A challenge...(he knits his brows) Bosco: (flies up with the elf) Where've you been? Belphanior: Saving peasants. Alindyar: Challenge! Ged: What the hell are you talking about? Alindyar: (excited) Can you create a huge pit of mud - enough to hold that thing? Ged: (doing some quick mental math) Yes, I believe so. Why? Alindyar: Do it. Place the mud-pit off to one side. I can lure the beast into it. (he begins spellcasting) Ged: Okay...(he also begins spellcasting) Shortly, a large section of ground near the monster turned into mud. Ged: Okay, that's my part- Then, an amazing thing happened...or perhaps appeared would be a better word. A _second_ great beast materialized, off to one side. Identical to the first, it turned that way, and roared a challenge. monster #2: GRRRAAAAARGH!!! monster: GRRGH? (confused, it begins walking toward the other) Alindyar: (to Ged) Now for the difficult part - you must be ready to dispel your own magic...change the mud back to rock. Ged: Yea. (he quietly flies down, behind the monster, whose entire attention is focused on the new arrival in front of it) monster: GRAAARGH! (it lumbers toward the twin) monster#2: (waiting, the mud pit between the two) GRAAAAAARGH! With a sudden splash of mud, the monster fell into Ged's mudpit. Ged instantly began spellcasting... Alindyar: Wait! The beast has barely sunk at all! Lyra: Looks like the mud's only ten feet deep or so. Jallarzi: You didn't plan on that... Alindyar: Aie. However, the fast-acting Ged was already working to reverse the transformation, and momentarily, before the beast was able to rise from the muck, it had hardened back into stone. Better yet, when the monster had first fallen, it had belly-flopped into the mud; thus, its entire front half was now imprisoned in solid rock, face- down. Ged: Boccob! I couldn't have asked for better luck. Otiluke: The thing's held fast. Jallarzi: And hopefully suffocating. Alindyar: Hmm. Bigby: A masterful plan! Alindyar: 'Twas nothing. Earlier, Belphanior mentioned a challenge, and that naturally made me think of a second creature. This thing seems unique in the world - perhaps it has never seen another of its kind. Belphanior: I wonder if it's really stuck there. Ged: Why do you say that? Belphanior: (gesturing to the rocky prison) Cracks had begun to form around the trapped monster's back half; the cracks grew into fractures, and then chunks of rock flew every- where, as the beast broke free and stood erect. monster: GRAAAARGH! Alindyar: (drops his head, sighing) monster#2: (Alindyar's illusion) GRRRGH. (drops its head, too) Ged: Hey, it was worth a try - and well thought-out. Otiluke: The monster's moving toward the city walls now. Jallarzi: Perhaps a wish would get rid of the thing... Bigby: I don't have one handy. Bosco: Hmm. Lyra: Get rid...maybe we could teleport it somewhere! Otiluke: But how? Alindyar: The beast is too massive for teleportation...normal teleportation. Ged: What about a spell of vanishing? Hmm, no, the monster's too big. Same problem as teleportation. Lyra: How about banishment? Jallarzi: We don't know that the monster's actually from another plane... Bosco: Heck, it's from the stars. Everyone knows that! Alindyar: (to Bigby) What are you doing? Bigby: You'll see. (spellcasting) This ought to slow it down... The mage summoned a gigantic wall of shimmering colors, around the monster. This barrier was over a hundred feet high, and about fifty feet in radius. The beast's growls of anger could be heard, but it was no longer visible. Bosco: Whoa! Bigby: Let's see it try and tear through that. It would have to suffer every ill effect: damage, poison, petrification, insanity, planar teleportation. It'll kill itself trying to get out. Alindyar: Is it just my imagination, or are there _two_ walls? Bigby: Oh, well, since I am able to extend the wall for many hundreds of feet, I looped it around twice. Double protection. Lyra: Masterful. Simply masterful. They could hear the beast trying to escape its trap; it screamed in pain and stomped the ground, but did not emerge through the prismatic wall. Jallarzi: No doubt it's learned that the wall hurts it. Bigby: So. We have about three hours to think of our next move. Ged: Could we open a gate to somewhere else? Alindyar: Another plane? Belphanior: The Hells would be a good choice. Otiluke: Hmm. We'd risk the actions of dwellers on the plane we chose. Bigby: What we need is a variant of the Gate spell...one that opens a portal to someplace else on _our_ plane. No danger of fiends or other unpleasantness. Jallarzi: But then we'd have to find someplace to send it. Ged: An island somewhere, maybe? Belphanior: Hey, send it to Iuz. Bigby: We'd have to send it somewhere that we've been - such magics are linked to the caster's mind. Alindyar: This is all theoretical, anyhow - such a spell does not exist. Otiluke: If we cast a Gate...and a Teleport...and a Plane Shift... we could use another plane as a springboard... Ged: It just might work, by Boccob! Belphanior: (rather dubious) Alindyar: This plan has no basis in logic. How would you proceed? Otiluke: We'd need a Gate, and that's powerful juju indeed. Bigby: (puffs out his chest) I can cast the Gate. Alindyar: And I the Teleport...I suppose. Although- Ged: I can take care of the Plane Shift. Jallarzi: We'd need some luck, though. Alindyar: (nods) Bosco: Hey, luck's my middle name! Ged: Bah. What can _you_ do? Otiluke: Leave the sorcery to the sorcerors, little one. Bosco: (realizing that now might not be the best time for his particular wisdoms, he flies away, muttering to himself) Lyra: (to Alindyar) Let me cast the Teleport - you will need to control your illusion, to lure the monster into our trap. Alindyar: (frowning) Very well. Belphanior: You'd better work quickly. Look! The monster had been quiet for several minutes, and now they knew why: it had been busy digging its way under the prismatic wall, and was even now emerging from the earth just outside of the barrier. Jallarzi: An animal it may be, but it is cunning. Ged: We must move quickly, and get these spells cast! Otiluke: By the powers of Greyhawk, this had better work. Alindyar: (doubtful, he nevertheless plays along) Aye. Lyra: (watching the titanic foe) What's it doing? Belphanior: The monster's not looking at Alindyar's illusion...(he flies into the air) I'll see if I can get its attention. The elf used his wand of acidic spheres to pelt the beast from above; his ploy worked, for the thing again noticed the illusory duplicate. monster: (not quite drawn to the twin, as it was last time) GRAARGH! (it turns its attention back to the city) GRAAAARGH! Alindyar: Eh? Belphanior: Shit. It isn't falling for the ploy this time... Otiluke: Well, we'd better figure something out - the spells are already underway! Bigby: (casting the Gate spell) I hope this works. Ged: (casting a Plane Shift at the same location as Bigby's Gate) I pray this works. Lyra: (casting Teleport on the swirling energies of both the other spells) It will. It has to. Bosco: (forgotten by all, feeling unappreciated and a little hungry, muttering to himself) Hell, I _wish_ this works. Belphanior: (watching the huge monster, which is in turn watching the duplicate with a leery eye) What we need is a gigantic hand to push the beast around. Jallarzi: What we need is a miracle. Bosco: (floats by, mumbling something about miracle workers) Just then, in front of the big monster, there appeared a pair of figures! Mongo: (holding his hammer, left-handed, he spots the great beast) Yeah! Nenya: Okay, here we are. I did what you asked. (she backs up) Mongo: I'll take over now. Get outta here, kiddo. Nenya: (flees) Belphanior: (lands next to Mongo) What's going on? Mongo: I convinced her to teleport me here. I want to fight that damned thing again! Belphanior: Hmm. This is perfect. The other wizards are about to summon a great gateway, to a faraway place. (muttering) If the hare-brained scheme they hatched actually works... Mongo: A gateway? Is that so? Belphanior: Yup. But we've got to trick it into running through the portal. (he senses something behind the pair) Holy shit... Mongo: (turns) Damn. Behind them, and in front of the great beast, had appeared a gigantic black disk. Perhaps fifty feet in radius, most of its bottom half was out of sight, below ground level. Tendrils of energy flickered at its edges, and a crackling sound came from within (beyond?) its expanse. Ged: It worked! Alindyar: Aye...though truly, I know not how. Otiluke: What's the gateway doing?!? It's flickering...! Lyra: It's not stable! Hurry up and get the thing inside! Bigby: That may be difficult... Mongo: Well, it won't ignore me! (he tosses his hammer at the monster, clipping it on the snout) How'd you like that, you bastard? I can throw left-handed just as good as right-handed! monster: GRAAARGH! (it charges) Alindyar: (waving his Bigby-wand and muttering command words) Belphanior: Uh...Mongo, you can't fly, can you? Mongo: (catches his hammer) Nope. Why? Belphanior: Because the monster can outrun you... Mongo: I'm not worried about it. (he hurls his hammer again, and it bounces from the beast's hide) Looks like I've got its attention. Belphanior: Well, I'll support you from the air. (he flies up, and readies his wand of acidic spheres one more time) Mongo was standing about twenty feet in front of the huge black gateway, swinging his hammer. The monster charged at the dwarf, swiping wildly with its claws. Belphanior: (having changed tactics, he drops a Darkness, 15' radius atop the thing's face) Hah! Alindyar: (at the same time, he summons a Bigby's clenched fist and sends it hurtling toward the back of the monster's head) Mongo: (realizes what's happening, and throws his hammer at the foe's knee) The hammer took the monster in its left kneecap, and then the gigantic clenched fist struck the back of its head. The monster was unable to slow its charge, and shrieked in pain and rage as it teetered...and then fell forward! Mongo: (unbelievably fast, he dashes forth, between the thing's feet, and emerges safely on the back side) Hah! (he catches his hammer, and turns around) The monster's entire front half had already vanished into the gigantic black disk, and as everyone watched in fascination, the rest of the beast was pulled in. A final roar of anger marked the passing of the thing, and then the gateway shrunk rapidly, folding in on itself. With a final, magical twisting of space, and a loud "pop", the portal vanished. Ged: Yea! (everyone is cheering and clapping each other on the back) Bigby: It worked! Bosco: (floating nearby, a very smug smile on his face) Alindyar: Everything was perfectly-timed...the hammer, and my clenched fist spell. Otiluke: Yes, that was quite a hammer, and a wielder. Mongo: (strolls up, feeling somewhat cheated) Ged: I thought I told you to get some rest. Mongo: Bah. I didn't need any rest. Belphanior: (lands) How'd you run through that monster's feet as it was falling? I've never seen you run like that! Mongo: Oh, Rillen let me borrow his magical speed-boots. I came prepared. Ged: I guess we have Nenya to thank for that. Nenya: Yes. Lyra: Well, I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing the great beast again. Bigby: Amen to that. Jallarzi: Where did you send it, anyway? Ged: Good question. Lyra: (unseen by all, she smirks) Elsewhere, miles beneath the surface of the earth, life went on as usual in the drow city of Erelhei-Cinlu. The dark elves drove their slaves on the underground fungus farms; plots and intrigues brewed and festered in the noble houses; priestesses of Lolth made their dark sacrifices. It was, by all accounts, just another day in the life of Erelhei-Cinlu...until the gigantic black disk came into being in the city's center, and a great, unearthly roaring could be heard from within... next time : some cleanup work notes : The idea I used for the meteorite's contents was, obviously, the winner; however, there were many other ideas that had to fall by the wayside. Some were good, some were bad. They included: - a main force of shapeshifters (see episodes #248-249) - a huge robotic warrior (a la _The Day the Earth Stood Still_) - an alien invasion force (with warrior, mage, etc. equivalents) - a gigantic, carnivorous blob of goo (a la _The Blob_) - the sphere was actually a huge UFO, which the party would be able to walk around inside and explore - a smaller sphere, containing a terminator (a la the movies) that ended up in the wrong universe - friendly aliens (a la _Close Encounters..._) - tribes of demons, devils, and what-have you, to be unleashed upon the world - a gigantic version of the walking egg (from the party's first trip to the Underdark) - a bomb, capable of destroying a very large chunk of real estate - unknown (the thing wouldn't ever open!) Now, about the idea I _did_ use...awhile back, there was a long debate on rec.games.frp.dnd about the tarrasque. People - far too many people - were bragging about how they could kill a tarrasque if they wanted to...or worse yet, they bragged about how they had already done it. I decided to see how fearsome the thing could be, and in the process, I even created one possible origin for it (your mileage may vary, depending on your own campaign world.) Ged's player provided the basic (and fiendish!) idea for getting rid of the monster. This episode took awhile to write because the PC I had at home died...so I have to come to work at night to write, for a while anyway. During the writing of this story, I've seen _Die Hard 3_ and _Braveheart_, been part of a winning road rally team, seen a number of Braves games, been to several nightclubs, joined a pool league, and visited the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It's good to have a lot of time on my hands. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++