The Adventures of The Unknown

Episode 37

"The Death of Manderkarr"

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Alexander: The Gauntlet of Athena.

Manderkarr: Dwarven master of Axe and Asskicking.

Flower: An Elven girl caring for a human child named Hannah.

Kotz Mad Axe: Dwarven adventurer who usually travels with Ammrah.

Solomon Felsbed: Priest of Olanigan

Hanako: Kara Turan Monk

Issic: Golden Half Dragon Warrior

Silas: The Bard who displeased a Gold Dragon

Foalathin: Githyanki Psychic Warrioress

Grovisvaesthyr: Githyanki Psion

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The Place: A tomb in Ingara, outside the capital.

The Time: Summer 2 Ankou, Sixth Year, Eighth Age.

"It looks desecrated," said Manderkarr. "The foul beasts will pay."

Manderkarr looked around the sunken temple of Zues. It was dark. Dead illithids were piled around him. The two remaining Githyanki were talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out what kind of temple this was. The cave temple was vast. It was easily 250 feet to a side. He had no idea how high the ceiling was. It was shrouded in darkness even above his companions' light sources.

Alexander, the Gauntlet of Athena, walked over to Flower to look at the statue of Athena she held. She held it out to him lightly, even though it was half her size. Alexander took the black statue. It was as light as a feather in his hands.

Solomon Felsbaad said, "Let me try to pick up the statue." It was handed to the Dagamian priest, and its weight shifted and became heavy, nearly four tons of weight. Alexander picked it back up from the ground and performed an object reading on it. "You OK, Solomon?"

"Seem to be, but I'm not carrying the statue anywhere," said the priest, rubbing his strained arms and shoulders. He wandered around trying to determine the extent of the cavern. Soon he found a set of Qualith carved into the wall, the language of the illithids. Casting Comprehend Languages on the wall, Solomon found that the writing said, "My ruthless hands still clutch at life - Still like a shoreless sea, my soul beats on in rage and strife. You may not shackle me. My leopard eyes are still untamed, they hold a darksome light - A fierce and brooding gleam unnamed that pierced primeval night. Rear mighty temples to your god - I lurk where shadows sway, till, when your drowsy guards shall nod, to leap and rend and slay. For I would hurl your cities down and I would break your shrines and give the site of every town to thistles and to vines. For all the works of cultured Man Must fare and fade and fall. I am the Dark Barbarian that towers over all." The document on the wall was signed, "Lugrimalincorian."

Alexander, meanwhile got the sense that its last owner was an illithid, about 30 years old, evil from the viewpoint of Man, and that the owner gained the object when his mentor gave him control over this area. The illithid had lost the object when Flower picked it up.

Foalathin, the Githyanki Leader, said, "We must continue on. Speed is of the essence." She held Alahamir lightly in her hand. Anger still seethed in her heart over the death of her comrade, caused in such a callous way by Manderkarr.

Flower said, "You are such impatient folk. You're almost as hasty as a human." She glanced at Manderkarr, and tears welled up in her eyes again. "Or a dwarf," she added. She didn't think she would ever forget the image of Shanagra disintegrating, his face distorted in pain as his body fell apart into dust. Impatience caused her friend's death. She swore never to forget that lesson.

"Lead the way," said Alexander sarcastically. Flower gave Alexander a strange look when he told the Githyanki to lead, usurping his normal position. She wondered if he was taken over, either by the Githyanki or by the illithids. As they walked, Flower skipped along in the dank cave alongside Solomon. She asked him if it was cramped inside the crystal.

"Only when I laughed," said the Drychtnothian priest gravely.

Alexander said, "Flower, why don't you ask the light of the oracle to tell us about the statue of Athena?"

Flower gave Alexander another strange look. "Didn't we already learn that Light is something to Love, not something to ask questions of. Answers are held in light, to be found by looking," she recited, as if the statement were an old school lesson.

"Yes, it is, Flower, but because we love it and it loves Athena it would want to tell us about the statue," said Alexander patiently. He knew Flower was still upset about Shanagra. "It just needs us to ask first."

Flower giggled. "Light doesn't need things from people. It gives to people. It gives light!"

"Why don't we ask the statue?" she suggested.

"I am asking the statue, but asking the light would be quicker."

"If you look for every answer in the light, you can go blind."

Kotz mumbled under his breath, restless to engage the enemy. Manderkarr mumbled back to Kotz in agreement as they continued looking for a way out, all the while sensing for illithid activity. Solomon and Kotz found an exit tunnel in the shadows of a corner. It was a small tunnel, three feet tall and two feet wide.

"Here's we go," said Manderkarr. "I figured there to be another somewheres, given the last one."

"Exit all when you are ready," said Solomon. "Kotz and I will watch it." But Alexander and Flower were still arguing. Hanako snickered as she listened to Flower talk down to Alexander.

"Flower," said Alexander, trying not to get angry, "if you look you will see that the light wants us to know about the statue."

Solomon Felsbaad, however, did not have the patience of Alexander. Speed was, after all, the essence of war. "We had best be moving soon before reinforcements show up," the priest of war said.

Foalathin agreed. The Githyanki female crawled into the tunnel first, followed by Grovisvaesthyr on her shapely belly. Solomon said, "Hanako, you should probably go next, I'm not gonna move fast in this plate." Hanako followed the Githyanki warrioresses. She said, "Metal slows the soul as well as the body."

"But it keeps my insides in," said Solomon.

Manderkarr listened to the earth around him. He heard rumblings in the earth, as if the rock above that tunnel was not stable and just waiting to fall. The dwarf shrugged and mumbled, "This place ain't stable, much like me; we needs to be careful." He went into the tunnel.

Flower held the ball of light to Alexander. "If you want to talk to it. You can. But you can talk to trees and rocks and other things; some of them hear us too and show us the way sometimes. I think the light likes you. Look how it glows."

Alexander asked the light to tell him what the statue was doing here and what did Athena want them to do with it.

Alexander, felt a warmth inside, and the knowledge came to him: the Dark Athena, daughter of Zeus resided in the temple of Zeus in a place of honor as the protector of the temple several centuries ago. The statue, prior to the Cataclysm, was created for Andar Tertictandan, who was a true priest of Zeus in the 4th Age, and had a special reverence for Athena as well. The statue was a gift to Andar from Athena. But the beliefs failed, and the religion faltered, and the power of the statue was untapped. And the illithids came and ate the minds of the priests who were not clerics, and took their place, and fooled the people of the ancient city. Allied with Larbius, the illithids set up a false religion, and Larbius teleported the Temple of Zeus into this cavern. The people cried out that the false gods of the illithids were a true power, and the religion of Zeus and Athena weakened further in Ingara. The statue, a gift from Athena to the world of Inzeladun, was ready to be returned. "And return it will," promised Alexander.

Flower giggled while watching Alexander talk to light. Solomon, tired of waiting, ducked into the tunnel after asking Kotz to take up the rear to make sure the illithids didn't send reinforcements in after them.

Alexander put his hand on Flower's slender shoulder. "Athena, the people of all Ingara, and I thank you, Flower." Flower told Alexander not to forget to thank the light, and the trees. "They give us answers that we don't hear," she explained.

"My actions will show the light how thankful I am," said Alexander.

Issic shouldered his way into the small tunnel, pressing his wings as hard as he could against his back, hoping the tender membranes wouldn't tear. Flower giggled as she went in behind Issic. "I don't see what is so hard about fitting in this," she said. Silas and Alexander followed Flower.

Hanako stopped in the tunnel and touched the wall of the tunnel for a moment. The wall felt slimy. She kept on going. Then she noticed her hand started to burn. She could hear the Githyanki start to mumble painful epithets ahead of her.

"Is everything okay down there?" asked Alexander. Hanako stopped. "What's wrong up there?" she asked. The pain on her hands was worse. The burning seemed to be all over her body. Flower also began to feel the burning on her body. Above them, the rocks started to rumble and crack. Hanako and the Githyanki sped up. Solomon shouted, "Can you see an exit?" Outside the tunnel, Kotz looked around one last time, then prepared to enter the tunnel, the last in line.

With a loud crack the tunnel collapsed behind everyone. Kotz jumped back. He had nearly been under the fall. But now he was separated from the others. Alone in the dark underground temple.

Inside the black tunnel, the pain from the slime was growing steadily worse and the air was choked with dust and debris.

"Everyone hurry up, we must hurry up!" shouted Alexander, his own flesh burning, his breath hard to catch in the dust-filled darkness. Issic started pushing everyone faster through the tunnel. Alexander, Solomon, and Manderkarr noticed that the slime was eating through their armor, biting into their skin. It was eating through their weapons, as well, noticed Manderkarr.

The Githyanki in front stopped. They said, "Dead end!"

Flower asked someone to dump out their wineskin, and Alexander asked Poseidon for water. Eight gallons of water appeared, splashing down on everyone in the dusty darkness, but the slime held onto its victims.

Issic crawled backwards, moving over Flower, and tried to push the rubble out of the tunnel. Small rocks and more dust continued to drop on the people in the tunnel, and the slime burned and burned. Flower got her Oracle Light to burn brighter, but all she could see was slime coated rocks, and dust-choked air.

Ahead of her, Grovisvaesthyr cried out that Foalathin was dead, reduced to a pool of slime. Her screams reverberated through the short, slimy tunnel, and more dust filtered down on top of everyone. Alexander shivered as he writhed in pain. He tried to channel positive energy into the black statue, hoping it would protect them. "Athena protect us; do not let us fail this close to victory!"

Issic continued to slam against the collapsed rubble behind him. He said, "Hanako! Tell the Giths to smack the dead end and find a hidden entrance!" He pulled some of the debris from the fallen rock onto the floor so that he was no longer on a pad of slime. Unfortunately, much of the fallen rock also had a slimy coating. Ahead of him, Grovisvaesthyr continued to scream in madness and horror.

Suddenly the slime slide off of everyone, and the Dark Athena grew warm in Alexander's grasp. The dark statue radiated a darkness that extinguished Flower's light, but they each found that they had dark-vision. Worried, Flower felt her Oracle Light to make sure it was still there.

Hanako meditated for a second, envisioning her body as whole, unburnt. The pain subsided. "Thank you, Alexander! Thank you, Athena!" she said.

Issic used his claws to start digging out the top of the tunnel so that he can turn around and more effectively dig his way out. Solomon summoned up the Strength of Olanigan and projected that power to Issic. "Dig, demon. Dig," he whispered.

Issic felt the magic enter him, and his strength was increased. And he dug. Soon he could hear that Kotz was digging from the other end, and soon enough the rubble was cleared away. Kotz pulled Issic out. One by one, Issic and Kotz pulled the trapped adventurers out of the tunnel. Grovisvaesthyr was last, crying, holding onto the slimy remnants of her leader.

"Now is not a time to cry for the dead, now is a time to avenge them," said Alexander. Grovisvaesthyr put her hand on Alahamir, thinking to put an end to Manderkarr, the only enemy she could see that was within reach. Then she decided to calm herself. She breathed in and out heavily. Her yellowed, withered chest heaved, and her tears dried, hatred firming itself within her heart.

Hanako writhed on the floor after she was pulled out, horribly weakened by the ordeal. Flower took off her dress and wrapped it around Hanako. She took Hanako's hand and touched it to her tattoo for body adjustment, which healed some small part of the damage. Hanako tore off any of her own unnecessary piece of her cloths, sleeves and such. Flower kissed Hanako's arm. "Rest for a minute."

Silas lay unmoving on the ground. Solomon said, "Who needs the healing hand of the war god the most?" Alexander pointed to Silas. Solomon touched her and willed that her body would receive the aid of Olanigan.

As they tried to heal their wounds and tend to the nearly dead, illithids began to plane shift into the temple. Alexander tried to channel positive energy through the statue again to ward the temple against further teleporting. Issic recognized Lugrimalincorian in the back. Solomon cast a magic circle against evil. Manderkarr wasted no time and charged into combat, throwing his weapons ahead of him. Those weapons bounced off an invisible wall, so he caught them up again. Hanako touched her Chameleon tattoo and blended into the stonework.

Issic pointed to Lugrimalincorian and said, "Kill that one first!"

The ten illithids, pale mauve humanoids with octopus-like heads, moved in with weapons bared, crystal swords that swam in crackling psionic energy.

Hanako, blended in with the stones, leapt up and attacked. Her fists and feet flew out furiously, drawing first blood with a volley of straight lefts to the bulbous, tentacled face of one of the hideous mind-flayers.

Alexander then tried to use the statue to dispel the wall around the leader, Lugrimalincorian, but he could not tell if the invisible wall was down or not. Suddenly his mind perceived a tentacled attack. Alexander built a castle within his mind, one that surrounded the mental images he had of all his friends. The tentacled mind attack beat against this mental tower.

Lugrimalincorian sent a mental command to his thrall, Issic, to stand down and kneel. The golden half-dragon tried to rebel against his master, tried to breathe a fiery cone of destruction in his direction. His will raged against his master's, but fire leapt from his open maw and two illithids, as well as Manderkarr, were caught in the flaming inferno. Manderkarr cursed, and continued his fight against the singed illithids.

Grovisvaesthyr was fighting with Alahamir, slashing to the left and the right, taking out her silent vengeance on the horrid creatures. No defensive fighter was she; she took the fight to them. The illithids danced around her whirlpool of singing steel, but none could beat down her guard. Kotz also was in the fray, with a yell that rang to the roof. He came in like a charging bull and all of his strength went into swinging his axe against the flesh of his enemies.

The illithids crowded the warriors savagely, raining blows, thrusting, parrying, their white eyes glaring. But as their numbers dwindled, they began to recognize the folly of their plan. Their prey wasn't as weakened by the slime trap as they had thought.

Flower concentrated on the ball of light she held, and tried to make Lugrimalincorian glow with light. He was illuminated, a ghostly halo surrounding his body. Manderkarr charged Lugrimalincorian, plowing past two singed illithids that attempted to bar his way. From behind Manderkarr, Issic, as soon as Alexander freed him from the illithid's mind control, also charged, his weapon bared and ready. Solomon asked Olanigan for the use of fire servants, and the great god Olanigan sent unto his servant a fire elemental, which popped in behind Lugrimalincorian. The mind flayer erupted into flames, his ritual clothing lighting up.

Hanako continued her fight, ducking under crystal sword cuts and ramming her fists and feet into rib cages and bulbous heads. One Illithid fell, his chest cavity caved in. She leapt over it and continued her wild assault on others.

"Athena says to be free and strike down her enemies, Issic!" said Alexander as he saw the gold half dragon close upon his former master. Alexander had used the power stone to free Issic. Alexander then noticed that the statue of Dark Athena started to grow in size. "Now you shall see what it means to hold a dragon!" shouted Issic as he approached Lugrimalincorian, who was trying desperately to put out the flames surrounding him.

Seeing the fire elemental making a strong effort to keep the flames on the illithid alive, Solomon summoned the power of Olanigan to hide him, to make him invisible.

Grovisvaesthyr continued to dance, weaving a song of death with Alahamir, and illithids fell beneath her blade. An illithid blade shattered against her sword, and she was already bleeding from wounds on the cheek and the arms and legs, but so swift and deadly was she that the illithids hesitated to attack full out, afraid of leaving her even the slightest opening.

Up and down crashed Kotz's axe, lashing arcing trails of blood across the chaos as he stove and slew. Not far from him, Hanako continued to slay with her bared fists, moving so fast and delicately, that the illithids could barely follow her movements.

"Blessed be Athena and her allies; Cursed be her enemies who would do this temple harm for you will DIE TODAY!" screamed Alexander, holding aloft the still growing statue of Dark Athena.

Issic shattered the sword of one of the illithids barring him from Lugrimalincorian and thrust his sword between its pale eyes. Closer, ever closer, he moved toward his former illithid master.

Flower made yet another illithid glow with pale blue, ghostly light. Manderkarr faltered in his rush to reach Lugrimalincorian, and one of the illithid's most loyal psychic warriors hacked savagely at the dwarf, pivoting on its heel. Manderkarr dropped with his entire left side caved in and his lungs gushed forth. Issic slammed his sword into the monster that slew the dwarf, killing it.

Invisible, Solomon slipped behind the magical wall of force and made his way behind Lugrimalincorian. The illithid leader had closed his eyes, preparing to phase shift away from this failed battle. Alexander threw his pilum, which penetrated the failing shield of magic, and struck Lugrimalincorian square in the thigh. Solomon brought his two handed falchion to bear in a side sweep, a wide, level arc that severed the illithid leader's head from his shoulders.

The last illithids were brought down by Issic, Kotz, and Hanako, and the battle, fiercely fought, ended. Kotz weaved and leaned against a wall as the others ran to Manderkarr, but the fallen dwarf was quite dead. Issic walked up to the body of Lugrimalincorian and picked up the head of the monster. He began to eat it. Alexander healed Silas, who was laying on the ground, dying. The bard sat up, feeling better and said, "Green slime does not like me, it seems."

After healing the bard, Alexander asked, "Kotz, what would Manderkarr want done in terms of last rites?"

Kotz said, "He would want a cut stone tomb."

"After we slay the Elder Brain, we will take him to the surface, and we will build him a tomb fit for a warrior!" promised Alexander.

"And we will put his one horned helmet on it," Flower said sadly.

"AYE, and all of Ingara will know his name if I have anything to do with it."

Hanako bowed to the fallen dwarf and said, "Manderkarr, you fought well, may your next life be a prosperous one. I will take legends of you back to my land with me."

Grovisvaesthyr wondered at this display of sadness at the death of the dwarf. She wondered why no one promised a tomb for their other fallen comrade, the one Manderkarr killed with his impatience. She tried to avoid looking at Issic as the half-dragon devoured the head of the illithid, making grotesque smacking noises.

"Why do we have to lose all of our friends here?" asked Flower as Alexander cast Gentle Repose on the dwarf's body to preserve it. She went to the statue of Dark Athena, which was small now, and hugged it.

The party looted the illithids of their psionic tattoos and other belongings. Lugrimalincorian had a psi-crystal, a dorje staff, a third eye, a crystal capacitor, and a power stone. Solomon restored Hanako's strength with the power of Olanigan, and Alexander healed Silas' wounds further. Solomon offered up a prayer to Olanigan, hoping that the great god of war enjoyed the battle and the souls offered up.

After his ghoulish repast, Issic cut off Lugrimalincorian's hand for a souvenir.

"Our work is not yet done but Athena will lead us to victory," said Alexander.

Everyone received 2,700 exp.