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From: "Thomas A. Miller" <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY:  Adventurers 325 (part 1 of 2)
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Date: 26 Jan 1996 14:12:20 -0500
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                                  +
                                +   +
                              +       +
                            +           +
                          +               +
                        +                   +
                      +                       +
                    +      THE ADVENTURERS      +
                      +                       +
                        +      Epic II      +
                          +               +
                            +           +
                              +       +
                                +   +
                                  +

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+    Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and      +
+  other terms used in these stories are the property of TSR, Inc.  +
+  However, this does not mean that TSR in any way endorses or      +
+  authorizes their use, and any such items contained within these  +
+  stories should not be considered representative of TSR in any    +
+  way, shape, or form.                                             +
+    The player characters contained in these writings are copy-    +
+  right 1991-6 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...         +
+                                                                   +
+                                  Thomas Miller                    +
+                                  [e-mail]  +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+  THE PARTY (more accurately, those who haven't been kidnapped):   +
+                                                                   +
+  Bosco         10th level halfling thief                     (CN) +
+  Gorin          8th level dwarven fighter                    (CG) +
+  Nenya          8th/9th level elven fighter/mage             (NG) +
+  Otto           6th/8th level dwarven fighter/thief          (CN) +
+  Tanya          5th/11th level human female fighter/thief     (N) +
+                                                                   +
+  SPECIAL GUEST STARS:                                             +
+                                                                   +
+  Drawmij       16th level human mage                          (N) +
+  Halbarad      13th level human ranger                       (NG) +
+  Peyote        11th/12th level half-elven fighter/druid       (N) +
+  Rob           15th level human priest                       (LG) +
+  Yod Ironbeard 19th level dwarven fighter and king           (CG) +
+     the earth elemental king                                  (N) +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+  Date:        6/10/575 C.Y. (Common Year)                         +
+  Time:        late afternoon                                      +
+  Place:       a fortress on an island amidst the Azure Sea        +
+  Climate:     mild                                                +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+  "Is there gonna be a fight?"                                     +
+  "I think there must be."                                         +
+                                             - from _Wyatt Earp_   +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++





             CCCXXV.  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly





  With the aid of the earth elemental king which Yod summoned, the
party has entered the mountain fortress of the evil ones, and split
into two smaller groups to facilitate the search for their missing
companions.  Even now, one band ascends the stairs at the end of
the passage they chose...

Bosco:  (slinks up the steps, silently)
Yod:  (heading up the others, he grips his axe tightly, ready for
  any fight that might come along)
Rob:  (making hand motions to Tanya, who doesn't understand what
  he's trying to say)
Tanya:  (makes a confused face)
Nenya:  (thinking about defensive spells she could cast)

  The earth elemental king was nearby...somewhere.  Its ability to
merge with the stone of the fortress, and move through it undetected,
was uncanny.  The important thing, thought the others, was that the
mighty elemental was there if needed.  Shortly, Bosco returned from
his scouting, frowning.

Bosco:  There's an empty hall ahead.  Several exits, no guards.
Yod:  Hmm.  That's strange.
Rob:  Too many directions to go...
Tanya:  We'll just have to keep moving upward, and hope we find our
  missing friends.
Nenya:  (spellcasting)
Bosco:  What're you up to?
Nenya:  Basic defensive enchantment.
Yod:  C'mon, let's get going.  We may have hours ahead of us, yet.

  With that, they moved up into the hall.  Choosing one exit, they
marched through a narrow hallway, which took several sharp turns...
and they found themselves back in the main hall once more!

Bosco:  Odd.  (he leads them into another exit)

  This hallway wound around, meeting several others; the whole thing
seemed like an elaborate maze.  This time, they didn't return to the
main hall, but rather found the way blocked by a gigantic, ten-foot
high door of iron-banded oak.

Yod:  Ah.  Now we're getting somewhere.
Rob:  Why's that?
Tanya:  Because people only use doors like this to keep other people
  out.
Yod:  (nods)
Bosco:  Well...(he goes to work on the lock)
Nenya:  Why not use a spell to-
Bosco:  (pushes the now-unlocked door open)  No need.

  They entered another hallway, this one with roughly-hewn, ten-by-
ten foot corridors.  They chose one, but after several twists and
turns they realized that they were lost - this _was_ a maze.  They
had stopped at a four-way intersection of passages, to get their
bearings.

Yod:  I don't like this, not one bit.
Bosco:  (digging in his pack)  Now where'd I put that chalk?
Tanya:  Never mind that.
Bosco:  Why not?
Tanya:  Because we've got company!

  Indeed, the group was now surrounded by a pack of huge, muscular
monsters, dark-furred humanoids with the heads of bulls - minotaurs!
Taking full advantage of the surprise, for they had seemed to appear
from nowhere, the monstrous foes charged in, great axes swinging in
deadly arcs!

Yod:  Back!  (he hurls his own axe, point-blank, shattering the thick
  handle of the nearest minotaur's axe and chopping the thing in its
  hairy chest)
minotaur#1:  Aargh!  (it recoils, and its fellows charge past it)
Tanya:  (dashes toward a minotaur, sword flashing)

  The red-haired warrior-woman's enchanted boots carried her along
much faster than the minotaur expected, for at the last minute, she
dodged to one side, avoiding the sweep of the foe's huge axe as she
sliced a bloody furrow along its back.  Next to her, Rob had stepped
bravely forth, though his mace rested at his side.  Overconfident, a
minotaur charged the priest - only to find its feet sinking into the
very stone of the floor itself!  Surprised, the monster dropped its
great axe, and was unprepared when Rob, mace in hand, bashed it in
the head.  The minotaur reeled, bleeding, stunned, and trapped from
the waist down.  The priest, apparently satisfied with his handiwork,
moved on, mace glowing in the dim passage.
  Meanwhile, Yod's axe had ripped itself free of the minotaur's
chest and returned to its wielder's hand, leaving the direly wounded
foe on the floor, gasping for its last breaths.  By this time,
another of the towering humanoids had moved in; Yod barely ducked
under another blow, but the minotaur's backhand swipe caught him in
the side.  His mighty plate mail held, though a large bruise would
greet him later, if he survived.  Enraged, the dwarven king punched
the foe in the knee; bolstered by a powerful magical girdle, the
dwarf's gauntleted blow shattered the humanoid's knee as if it were
an egg, and the minotaur fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
Another minotaur, however, had snuck in, and now raised its axe,
intending to chop the troublesome dwarf in half.
  The terrible blow never fell, though, for the sharp blade of a
certain halfling's shortsword sliced cleanly through the minotaur's
ankle, toppling it to the floor.  Bosco quickly sprang out of the
way, avoiding both the falling minotaur and the terrible spray of
blood as he scanned the battle for other unsuspecting foes.
  There still remained two minotaurs who had not yet engaged the
adventurers, but even as these moved in, each was suddenly seized
by a gigantic hand of solid stone.  Hacking futilely at the rocky
paws of the elemental king, the minotaurs gasped for breath as the
powerful hands pulled them down, into the stone of the floor itself.
The elemental had no trouble merging back into the floor, of course,
but the minotaurs were caught between a rock and a hard place, and
moments later, the two humanoids were little more than bloody smears
on the floor.
  Tanya shrugged off a shallow slice along her arm, and slashed at
her foe, scoring a wound on its axe arm.  Next to her, Rob took a
hit on his shield, and another on his arm, before successfully
striking a minotaur in the side.  His mace flashed as it hit, and
the monster staggered, obviously stunned.  As a third foe menaced
Bosco, who had somehow allowed himself to be backed against a wall,
Nenya struck, her powerfully enchanted sword severing the monster's
arm at the elbow.  The thing staggered about, shrieking in agony,
and Bosco took full advantage of the back that suddenly faced him.
The halfling's sword hit the minotaur's spine, nearly at its lower
end, but a spine was a spine, and the monster went down, twitching.
A single blow from Nenya ended its suffering, and both companions
moved to assist their comrades.
  To be sure, little assistance was necessary at this point, for
the hardy adventurers had slain all their foes.  Several of them
were injured:  Rob, Tanya, and Yod all had minor wounds.  Even the
mighty elemental king was missing a few chips of stone from his
huge body, though he was able to regenerate his superficial wounds
in moments, drawing strength from the rock of the floor.

Yod:  Good fight!
Bosco:  Yeah.  Bosco...minotaur's bane!
Tanya:  (groans)
Nenya:  Are you okay?
Tanya:  I'm fine...it's just Bosco's insanity.
Bosco:  Insane?  Me?
Rob:  This is no time for insanity.  We've got to go on - this fight
  may have been heard by others, and we don't need to be fighting
  constantly as we go.  (he frowns)  Well, at least I don't.
Yod:  Aye.  (he turns to the elemental king)  Could you find us the
  other end of this maze, if there is one?
elemental king:  CERTAINLY.  (it gazes about, briefly)  FOLLOW ME.

  The gigantic creature moved off in a seemingly random direction,
and the stone walls of the maze melted before it.  The adventurers
happily followed in the elemental's wake, Bosco making a brief stop
to scoop up some crude gemstones he spotted in one niche.  Moments
later, the adventurers faced another door.  Beyond this, a narrow,
winding stairway led upward; they ascended it, clever Bosco in the
lead to sniff out traps.



  Meanwhile, the other group had followed their own tunnel through
several twists and turns.  Ignoring smaller side passages, they were
following the main passage; these efforts seemed rewarded when they
found a large double door of iron.

Gorin:  Is it...?
Otto:  Locked.  Yep.  (he produces a tiny steel pick and goes to work)
Drawmij:  I could use magic on doors such as these.
Halbarad:  I would rather see your magic used on the foes we will
  encounter.
Otto:  Besides, locks as simple as these won't pose any problem.  (he
  pushes one of the tall doors open an inch, and peers through)
Peyote:  What do you see, little friend?
Otto:  Shh!  (he eyes the scene beyond the door)

  The dwarf could make out the figures of a dozen filthy, crawling
creatures, humanoid but definitely not human.  His gut instinct told
him that the things were ghouls, but he backed away from the door to
confer with his companions, just the same.

Otto:  (whispering)  -and they appear to have a nest in the room's
  center.
Halbarad:  Ghouls, or I'm an orcish shaman...(he fingers his axe's
  handle)
Drawmij:  We must move quickly, lest they paralyze those of us they
  touch.
Gorin:  I can move quickly.
Peyote:  Yeah, man.  Let's do it.

  Moments later, the ghouls were surprised to see a band of warriors
break through the door.  Rising, the foul undead hissed and moved to
meet the intruders, these being their orders.  The five adventurers,
however, were faster to the attack.  Halbarad met the first ghoul
with weapons swinging, and the foe fell back, gutted and missing an
arm, before it realized what had happened.  Peyote was almost as
quick, shearing a second ghoul in two with one well-aimed slice of
his bastard sword.  Gorin, never one to be upstaged, hacked at the
ghoul nearest him, and grinned as the thing recoiled, a huge gash
spanning its chest from shoulder to hip.  The other ghouls moved in
then - only to fall into chaos as the leading three froze in place,
unable to move.  Those behind slammed into the stopped ones, and the
three adventurers backed away, having gained valuable moments to
ready their weapons again.  From the doorway behind them, Drawmij
smiled, and began work on his next spell.  As the ghouls in the rear
rank pawed and groped their way around those who were magically held
in place, a flaming crossbow bolt sunk into the closest one's face.
Doused in highly flammable oil, the missile quickly ignited the foul
undead creature's head, and the ghoul began running in small circles
and screaming.
  Halbarad, Peyote, and Gorin moved in then, slashing and stabbing
as they went.  A second flaming bolt from Otto's crossbow caught a
second ghoul, in the chest, and then a volley of magical bolts
hammered at those ghouls not involved in the melee, as they sought
to move around and flank the brave adventurers.  Peyote took a hit
on the shoulder, from a ghoul's smelly claw, but he shrugged the
chilling touch off, and slammed his blade into the top of the foe's
skull.  The ghoul's head split like a rotten melon, and the half-elf
snorted in disgust as he kicked the dying foe away.
  Just like that, the fight was over; nine ghouls lay dead on the
stone floor, and the adventurers were barely wounded.  They patted
one another on the back, cleaned their weapons, and stacked the
smelly carcasses of their slain foes in one corner.  The first of
two exits was merely a dead-end, a roughly-hewn passage that ended
after twenty feet.  The other, however, led to a thick wooden door,
banded with iron and sealed from the other side.  Otto couldn't
figure a way to open it, short of breaking it down or sawing away
a smaller section, but a spell from Drawmij opened the door with
ease.  They saw that it had been both locked and barred from the
other side; apparently, the ghouls had been intentionally kept out
of the hallway through which the adventurers now walked.  This short
passage led into a dark, dank dungeon; Otto went ahead to scout, and
reported the place deserted, save for corpses.  The group entered
the dungeon, which was well-lit by torches in wall sconces; they
quickly realized that it doubled as a torture chamber.

Peyote:  Bogus, man.
Halbarad:  (examining a shriveled body within an iron maiden)  The
  rulers of this island are cruel indeed.
Otto:  Good.  Then you won't have any problem killing them.
Halbarad:  I doubt I will, at that.
Otto:  (looking around, he whistles)  This place is _huge_, and very
  well-equipped.  Either they have a lot of prisoners, or...
Peyote:  ...or they expect to.
Halbarad:  (looks up at the high ceiling, perhaps twenty-five feet
  in height)  This may be a dining hall that was converted into a
  dungeon.  A grim joke, indeed.
Drawmij:  (eyeing a rotted body within one cell)  No one here gets
  out alive...
Gorin:  What's that?
Drawmij:  Just something I heard once.  (he looks around)  We should
  search for empty cells - cells that might have held your friends.
Halbarad:  (already doing this, he checks empty cells for any signs
  of recent prisoners)



  Even as the ranger poked through dank, dirty chambers within the
dungeon, a third party - a party of one - made its way through an
isolated stretch of the castle.  Wendell, moving as silently as death
itself, made his way along a passageway, a thin, straight sword held
easily on one hand.  Sensing motion ahead, he kept to the shadows,
creeping forward slowly and meticulously.
  Two minotaurs stood near a closed door, discussing something in
their primitive, grunting language.  The conversation came to an
abrupt halt when Wendell's sword split one of the humanoids' backs
open, slicing a precise line along its backbone.  The victim dropped
to the floor, twitching, and Wendell sidestepped its body as he moved
to face the second minotaur, who brandished a gigantic battleaxe and
came in, bellowing.

minotaur:  (looks confused, for it cannot hear its own roaring)
Wendell:  (smiles grimly, and meets the foe's charge)

  While the big bull-man used brute force, taking great sweeps and
chops with its axe, Wendell seemed a purely defensive fighter.  He
dodged, ducked, and otherwise avoided meeting the foe's weapon with
his own.  The only time the combatants' weapons even touched, in
fact, was when Wendell struck, testing the minotaur's defenses.  He
quickly found an opening he liked, and stabbed inward, around the
huge axe, to score a hit on the minotaur's shoulder.  Reeling back,
the beast grunted, again producing no noise; it was as if everything
around the two was sheathed in silence.  The poison which coated
Wendell's blade began to take its toll, and the minotaur weakened
as the moments passed.  Finally realizing which way this fight was
going, it charged in once more, determined to cut down the human
before it.  Wendell leaped aside and slashed simultaneously, and
the minotaur fell, dying.  The victor didn't even pause to check
the body, for he knew his poisons, and his skill; Wendell continued
on his way, carefully checking the door before creeping through it,
a specter of death amidst a fortress of the dead.



  Elsewhere, the other group had gotten itself into a bit of trouble.
After passing by a large pillar, they had been attacked by the thing!
Lashing out at them with long, rubbery strands - tentacles of some
kind - the monster had ensnared Rob and Nenya, and was pulling them
toward its large, fang-filled maw.

Yod:  Roper!  (he hurls his axe at the beast's single eye)
Bosco:  Huh?
Yod:  (watches with glee as his axe tears a furrow in the monster's
  head)  A roper!  We've seen a few of their kind in Thunderdelve!
Bosco:  Oh.  (he ducks as a sticky tentacle sails by overhead)
Tanya:  (snared by another tentacle, her arms are pinned)  Aie!
Bosco:  (hacks at the thing)  Hell, it won't break!
Yod:  (catches his axe, raising it overhead)  Out of the way!  (he
  chops down on the rubbery arm with all his might)

  The tentacle snapped with an odd sound, and Tanya dropped to the
floor, stunned.  Yod charged in, to try and free the other captives
before they were devoured; however, he had almost forgotten about
the elemental king.  Almost...

elemental king:  (rises from the ground behind the roper)
roper:  (turns around)
elemental king:  (hammers the monster with both gigantic fists)

  The rocky ally's assault staggered the tough foe, giving Yod a
chance to cut Nenya free.  Meanwhile, Tanya and Bosco had teamed
up to free Rob, who was batting ineffectually at the tentacle that
held him.  The roper lashed out blindly at the elemental, but found
to its dismay that the thing wasn't affected by its strength-sapping
touch.  Instead, the elemental flattened the roper with another
ground-shaking punch, and the creature burst, strange fluid oozing
from its cracked body.

Yod:  Good work!  (he helps Rob and Nenya, both of whom are reeling
  weakly)  Damn thing took their strength...(he produces a bottle
  of black fluid, pressing it to Nenya's lips)  Here, drink this.
Nenya:  Wh- what is it?
Yod:  The black blood of the earth.
Nenya:  (frowns at the bottle's stench)
Yod:  Drink - it'll help you regain your strength.
Nenya:  (sips the stuff)  Ugh!
Rob:  Here...let me try.  (he, too, has a swig of the potion, and
  immediately stands up straight)  Ah!  I _do_ feel better!
Tanya:  Good...because we've got company.  (she points to the far
  end of the hall with her sword)

  Spilling into the hall were dozens of armored warriors, swords
and axes flashing as they charged for their foes.  Amidst the ranks
of the soldiers were spell-casters, for magical missiles and hammers
rained on and around the adventurers, hitting some of them for minor
damage.

Yod:  Shit!  Must've heard the commotion...(he raises his axe)
Tanya:  (leads the others toward a side passage)  Come on!
Yod:  Run away?!?  What's this?
Tanya:  We can't stay here and fight - not even with the elemental!
  We have to find the others!
Yod:  Hmm.  (he glances at the oncoming mob)  Methinks you're right!
  (he hurls his axe in the general direction of the foes, and charges
  after his companions)

  As the dwarf-king dashed into the side passage, catching his
returning axe at the last minute, he passed Nenya, who was casting
some spell.

Yod:  Come, hurry!  They're almost here!
Nenya:  I know...(she waves her hands, and a thick sheet of ice
  forms right outside the passage's entrance, totally blocking the
  foes' approach)  Heh.  _That_ ought to hold them for a while.
Tanya:  Good job, girl.
Rob:  (using his glowing mace, he moves ahead)
Bosco:  (in the lead, he stops at a dead-end, a blank wall)  Oh.
Yod:  (from behind)  They're breaking through the ice-wall - what
  news?
Bosco:  (trying and failing to find some mechanism to open a door
  that might be here)  Not good news...
Rob:  We're trapped.  A solid wall-
Yod:  (barrels around Nenya and Rob, and slams into the wall)

  With a great CRACK, the stone shattered, spilling the dwarf into
a banquet room of some sort, wrapped in a red tapestry that had
adorned the wall.  Various troops - men, orcs, bugbears, and even
an ogre or two - looked up from their meals, surprised.

Yod:  (stands, ripping the tapestry off himself)  Hi there.
soldiers:  (all of them stand up, grabbing for their weapons)
Tanya:  (takes in the situation)  Damn, we don't have time for this!
Yod:  (throws his axe, splitting an orc in half at the waist)  We'd
  better _make_ time, then!  These enemies intend to charge!
Bosco:  (darts around Yod, sliding to a halt as he spies the foes
  in the hall)  Yikes!
Rob:  Let me cast a-
Nenya:  (launches a cone of cold into the chamber, where it explodes
  amidst the arrayed - and closely grouped - enemies, spilling them
  like tenpins)  There!
Yod:  (catches his axe, and rushes a bugbear who managed to avoid
  being slain by the blast of cold and ice)  You!
bugbear:  Huh?
Yod:  (cuts the humanoid down with a single blow)  Follow me, every-
  one!  This is a barracks if I've ever seen one, and we've got to
  hit hard and fast or we'll never get out!
Tanya:  (dashing after the dwarf, with Nenya and Rob)  Hurry up,
  Bosco!
Bosco:  I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!  (he dashes by the table, taking
  a golden goblet from an ogre's cold, dead hand)  Whee...(ducking
  under the legs of a bugbear who was frozen in place, he slides
  along the icy stone after his companions, eventually regaining
  his footing)



  Even as that group fled, seeking to break free of the enemy barracks
and dining areas, the other group, far below, had found a strange cell
of ore-laced stone.

Peyote:  That thing gives me the creeps...don't know why...
Drawmij:  (eyeing the cell)  I do.  It bears enchantments to block all
  enchantments.
Otto:  Pardon?
Peyote:  Is that like a weapon to end all weapons?
Drawmij:  Hmm...poor choice of words on my part.  Sorry.  That cell
  will block any and all magic within, or near, it.
Gorin:  That settles it, then!  It _must_ have been where they were
  keeping the others!
voice:  How right you are...
Peyote:  Eh?

  A double door set into a nearby wall swung open, revealing several
things.  In the doorway stood a tall, gaunt figure, its robes so black
that they seemed to swallow the light.  Behind this, the one who had
spoken, the adventurers saw other foes waiting in the wings...and they
also saw some of their friends, tied to tables, racks, or chairs!  It
appeared that the adjoining room was also part of the dungeons, for
like this one, it was spacious, with a high ceiling.

black-robed one:  (sighs, an eerie sound)  Better to meet you now,
  rather then destroy half the fortress as you search.
Halbarad:  What?  Who?
black-robed figure:  I must give you fools credit:  at first, we were
  totally unaware of your presence.  However, intruders cannot fight
  random guardians and expect to remain unnoticed for long.
Peyote:  Glad to see you're in such good spirits, dude.
Otto:  (hefts his sword)  We can change that, though.
black-robed figure:  (raises both arms)  Hold, a bit more...the calm
  before the storm, if you will.  So, we go to all the trouble of
  capturing these miscreants, and their companions come looking for
  them?  And find them?  Incredible.
Peldor:  (lying strapped to a table in the second room, ores inlaid
  into the table preventing him from using his feather tattoos)  Not
  so incredible, priest - they're our friends.  Something you wouldn't
  know about.
Halbarad:  Peldor?  (he struggles to see around the black-robed one
  in the doorway)
Peldor:  Huh?  Halbarad?!?
Gorin:  Sounds like him...
black-robed one:  Yes, rest easy.  You dolts will soon be joining
  your companions...yet more undead warriors for the Great One to
  command!
Drawmij:  Never!  (he points toward the foe in the doorway, and a
  gigantic sword of shimmering force appears, striking the robed
  one)

  Some invisible barrier protected the black-robed one from harm,
but the sheer force of the blow caused him to reel back, dazed, and
knocked the double doors from their hinges.

Drawmij:  Forward!  It is imperative that we strike before they can
  prepare!
Gorin:  But what if they're _already_ prepared...?
Drawmij:  Then we'll have to rely on skill...luck...and perhaps the
  assistance of our allies.  (he holds up the blue sphere)
Peyote:  Oh, that thing...hey, man, use it!  (he charges toward
  the doorway)
Gorin:  Yeah, we'll cover you!  (he hefts his axe and follows the
  half-elf, wondering in the back of his mind where Otto got to)
Halbarad:  (also charging)

  As the ranger ran, he pulled a small stone figurine from a pouch
and dropped it on the floor, speaking a command word.  Drawmij, in
the process of smashing his summoning sphere, wondered what sort of
magic the figurine might possess.  His unasked question was promptly
answered as a gigantic tiger appeared from nowhere.  More than ten
feet long, the great cat stood as high as an elf at the shoulder; it
was covered in golden fur, beneath which sleek muscles tensed and
coiled.

Halbarad:  Forth, Zephyr!  The fight awaits!

  The huge tiger didn't need to be told twice, though; it cleared
the room in a single leap, bounding over the heads of the companions
and pouncing into the room beyond.

Drawmij:  And now...behold!  (he hurls his magical blue sphere to
  the floor, producing a blinding flash...one that no one else is
  around to see, since they have all charged into the other dungeon
  chamber)  Oh.

  Meanwhile, a full-fledged battle was in progress in that very
room.  Peyote, Gorin, and Halbarad had entered and immediately
split off, a tactic to lessen the effects of wide-range spells.
Peyote had engaged a minotaur before him, but he wasn't using his
great bastard sword.  Rather, the half-elf brandished a large,
weighted net, which he deftly tossed over the foe's head after the
thing swung and missed with its battleaxe.  The minotaur stood,
roaring as it grabbed the net, preparing to rip it to shreds.  It
never happened, though, for as the confused humanoid grunted and
strained, the enchanted net tightened about its massive frame.
Kicking the minotaur solidly in the chest, Peyote toppled it, and
then moved to engage another foe, his sword flashing as he tore
it from its sheath at last.
  Gorin had spotted several of his companions, and was making for
them.  Peldor was tied to a table, as was the nearby Belphanior.
The elf had a number of small knives and needles protruding from
his body, but he yet lived; in fact, he craned his neck to get a
better view of events, as interested in the fight as anyone else
in the room.

Belphanior:  Gorin!
Gorin:  Hah!  Bet you weren't expecting us!  (he moves toward the
  helpless elf)
Belphanior:  Get me out of this chair!
Gorin:  I'm working on it-

  The dwarf was knocked aside by a single blow from a towering foe
of solid stone.  Gorin flew away, colliding with a rack of swords
and bringing the entire thing crashing down.  The golem lumbered
after him, massive fists raised.
  Nearby, Halbarad dashed toward a blue-cloaked elven woman, but
found his way blocked by a heavily-muscled, armored guard.  With a
sweep of his axe and a stab of his dagger, the ranger dealt with
the foe, continuing on his way.  However, the guard had given the
elf the time she needed to complete her spell, and waved at her
foe, a green glow emanating from her hands.  Halbarad reeled, his
body breaking out in boils and lesions as he was wracked by some
terrible disease.

Kynn:  Ha ha!  (she snaps her fingers, and the iron dwarf appears,
  charging toward the dazed ranger)  The trap was complete, Necros!
Necros:  (in the rear of his ranks, his black robe flowing about him
  like a thing alive)  Do not count your curses yet, sorceress.
  These adventurers are powerful indeed...

  As if to prove the dark priest's statement, Halbarad's gigantic
tiger leapt toward another foe, a short, pudgy wizard garbed in
green robes.

Pumpledorf:  Aie!  (he launches an icy cone of cold at the tiger)

  The animal, possessed of unearthly reflexes, leaped to the side
as the cone was released, and it avoided the brunt of the blast.
However, the cone continued onward, striking down two armored guards
before it exploded into the ceiling, covering that rocky surface in
a thick crust of frozen snow and raining sleet down upon those below.

Kynn:  Pumpledorf, you idiot!  You're going to hit one of us if you
  keep using spells like that!
Pumpledorf:  Quiet, bitch!  Area spells are the only ones I bother
  with.
Peldor:  (lying bound, on his table)  How good for us...
Necros:  Quiet, thief.  (he frowns, the expression unseen within the
  shadows of his hood)  You had better hope some stray blast or blade
  does not hit you.
Peldor:  Heck, I didn't think about that.

  Zephyr, Halbarad's magical tiger, had pounced back to the attack,
swiping at Pumpledorf with both paws.  The wizard, however, was
protected by an earlier enchantment, and the mighty blows glanced
from his body as if they had struck a stone wall.  Zephyr paused in
confusion, but only for a moment; the magical cat had dealt with
spell-casting foes before, and it pressed its attack, knowing that
the wizard wouldn't be able to cast spells while occupied with the
tiger's claws and teeth.
  Behind the tiger, Peyote felled another foe, and found himself
faced by a skinny wizard, perhaps one from a distant western land.
The little man had appeared from nowhere, and even as the half-elf
watched, the opponent multiplied.  There were three of him...four...
no, six...finally, seven identical wizards faced him!  All of them
began casting a new spell; Peyote, not one to sit around and wait
for things to happen, was also not one to sit around and wait for
an attack that he couldn't prevent.  He did the next best thing,
running between two of the wizard-duplicates and striking at a band
of guards, so fiercely that all four of them backed away at once.
Of course, once they realized that their new foe was but one half-
elf, they circled him, blades flashing...
  Things weren't looking good for the would-be rescuers; Gorin was
wounded and facing a stone golem; Halbarad had been inflicted with
a terrible disease, and faced the mighty iron dwarf; Peyote was now
surrounded by four warriors; Otto was nowhere to be found.  Drawmij
wasn't worried about that last problem, for he had a feeling about
that dwarf.  In any case, he was prepared to deal with the problems
assailing his companions.  Having just raised his magical globe of
invulnerability, he had already begun another spell; a previously-
cast spell reduced the time required to cast spells now (others
increased the range and duration of subsequently-cast spells, and
yet another protected him with stoneskin; the crafty wizard was
well-known for his precautions.)  Before Potas Potay could release
whatever fiendish spell he was working on, Drawmij unleashed his
barrage of magical missiles.  A magical bolt hit every single one
of the seven Potas Potays, causing six to vanish instantly and the
seventh to curse loudly.  The eighth bolt sailed Necros' way, more
as a test than an actual attack; the missile dissolved without doing
the black-robed priest any harm.





                     (continued in part II)