The One True Game: According to Hoyle, and Others

[JoeBlank]

We explained our situation, and to our surprise Sgt. Reginald related that Yung had been peaceful, with no trouble from orcs, wolves, giants, or living walking trees. I inquired about the possibility of passages beneath their well, and they confirmed that there were none. The did agree to send a squad of ten men to Outpost X, bearing spears and shields, and to supply us with much of our needed equipment. An additional three men came along with the intent of returning to Yung with the mules and the bodies of our dead. We made the short trip without incident and sent for Darius to report our return.

Sgt. Darius put the new men to work building pits, and making spikes and firewood. He then asked to meet with me to express some concerns. My open nature and sense of honesty had created something he saw as a problem, as he informed me that he would have preferred that the tunnels in our well remain a secret. I apologized for mentioning this to the men at Yung, and expressed a willingness to follow orders to a greater degree in the future.

He also noted his concerns about the fact that Yung was only about half a mile from our position and yet had suffered not attacks at all. As I was agreeing with him, he made for the door, catching Mirel outside listening to our conversation. He had me arrest her, but he ended up on chastising her for not behaving in a military fashion. He warned her not to let curiosity get her into trouble.

We spoke with Chervac about the men from Yung, and he indicated a familiarity with Sgt. Reginald, although he did not know him well. He agreed to take the men from Yung and continue the training I had begun for our pikemen. The three extra men from Yung left with three of our mules, three horses, and all of our dead.

Once things seemed to be working well, we had lunch and then Darius declared that we would return to the dungeon, and he asked Cpl. Sif to accompany us. As we had covered all of the upper level, we found our way to a set of stairs that led us down about twenty feet. This led to a carved room and then and archway. Past this point we could only see rough passages, that appeared natural rather than man made. The carved wizard we had seen at the entrance to the dungeon was on either side of the archway.

Darius attempted to walk through and was mysteriously repelled, falling to the ground. He was stunned and out of sorts for a minute, and then attempted to pass again, with the same results. Both I and Ben also tried and were unable to pass. Cpl. Sif was also unable to make it. However, for unknown reasons Dram, Mirel and Igor passed without any problem.

While we pondered the reason behind this, Igor explored a little ahead and soon returned a new man. He informed us that he had consumed a potion, and we could all see that his back was no longer hunched, his hazy eye was now clear, and his leg was no longer lame. There seemed to be no logical reason for this development either.

We agreed to head back up top and debate how we could get around the mysterious archway.

[howandwhy99]

- Mirel is a serving girl from the Keep. She looks out of place at the Outpost and seems more a tagalong than a conscript. She is noticeably younger than the next-younger conscript by several years. She hasn't reached her growth year yet, and so only the dwarf is shorter. She wears a set of battered leather armor that is obviously too big for her. Beneath that, she wears sensible un-dyed cotton shirt and breeches. She also has good sturdy boots and a warm woolen cloak. She keeps two weapons tucked into her belt, a dagger and a sling with a small pouch full of stones. She brought with her a short bow but doesn't know how to use it. She is a wiry child with a deep tan and she keeps her long sun-bleached hair pulled back in braids to her waist. She has bright eyes and brighter spirits. She is practical though impulsive, and fairly resourceful in her own right. -

[howandwhy99]

[SESSION 3]
[DAY 5 - Sunday, Mao 22nd, CY 81]
[the following morning]

Posting on behalf of AllanyaKT

Tales from the Perfect and Unbiased Memory of Mirel of Margrave County

It was a good morning, though I wanted a sturdier breakfast. I swore I'd never complain again of waking before dawn to milk the cows and steal the eggs from snappish hens. The six mules and horses still at the Outpost gave me no trouble when I fed them and brushed them down. Walking them around the courtyard is very light work when they decide that's where they want to walk. But I had no real chores without a broom, for the men digging trenches kept both of the shovels. Mucking out the stables can wait, and moving the animals to less used stalls would keep me from having to muck for several days.

I spent the rest of the morning talking among the farmers. I guess I reminded a lot of them of daughters or younger sisters back home, and they were all friendly. We talked of many things, mostly gossiping and such. They seemed afraid to talk of plans for after their month here ended. The deaths of a third of the Outpost so quickly hit everyone hard. I asked if the men if they might like to send messages home. Most of them lived near the Keep and I figured Brother Hetrick would help with the reading or more likely get someone else to. The men seemed cheered up a bit by the idea, and I said that I'd see what I could do, and get back with them on it. I figured to ask Brother Ben to help with the writing, and he'd be able to make sure nothing about the well or anything was sent out.

Igor was also out talking with everyone. He was talking much more than he had the other mornings. He told everyone about the voice he heard right as he was healed, and that Sgt Darius is the one who healed him. It didn't make much sense to me, as Igor was across the wizard's archway when he was healed, and Darius couldn’t even go there. But I thought about what happened when Darius touched Brother Ben, and so I didn't say anything. Many of the farmers were really impressed with what Igor was telling them, likely thinking about that too.

At midday, Sgt Darius called a meeting of all the corporals, and Kayla and I were supposed to go too. I guess he figured that I'd just listen in anyways, but this was one meeting I'd've been happy to be far away from. He accused Igor of the deaths Sgt Guido and fourteen men, of poisoning their food. I made myself really small, and sat as quietly as I could. Just because I don't like Igor doesn't make him a killer. But I couldn't say anything good for him so I said very little at all. Kayla and I caught each other's eyes, and she said about as much as I did.

"He cheated me at a game," said Dalin, and I nodded, for I had heard about that already. "But I don't think he'd kill anyone." he said. Dram agreed and so did Brother Ben. They both said that even though they didn't know Igor very well, they didn't think he killed Sgt Guido or the men.

Then they started talking about the deaths. Guido had been drinking before he died and gone blind of it. But the others hadn't been drinking. They died of a soup that Igor didn't even cook. He was down in the well tunnels with us when the men got sick. Smittee had cooked the soup. So Smittee was called in and asked questions. His answers didn't really make sense but several people nodded like it was important. Igor answered more questions and made even less sense. Or maybe I was just missing what was going on right in front of me. I'd think about it later.

Then Sgt Darius and the Corporals decided that for everyone's safety, neither Igor nor Smittee should be allowed to cook at all. Brother Ben asked who was supposed to cook instead. He and Igor both know that I've been a kitchen girl for a couple of years now, and I sat there thinking "please not me, please not me, please not me…" My name never came up, and I was glad. Several of the farmers were mentioned instead.

And then the whole discussion turned all the way around again. All charges were dropped. Guido was deemed to be dead of strong drink, and the bad soup that killed the fourteen men was a dreadful mishap. The whole task of kitchen keeping was given back to Igor, who is now held to task for everything about the cooking, and any future such mishaps would be on his head. I was relieved, but I hid it. I didn't want anyone to think I was relieved for the wrong reason. I thought it was likely the best way these talks could end. I didn't want the chore.

Sgt Darius said it would be best to keep the better fighters with the Outpost and to send some of the less skilled fighters to the Keep on the horses, quicker than walking. He looked straight at me when he said that and I scowled back at him for it. I don't know how to use a sword or bow, but I'm good enough with a knife or staff or sling. Less effective in combat… I decided to be quicker with my sling and keep anyone from thinking I can't take care of myself.

After all of that was over, the meeting got a lot better and I didn't feel so much like hiding. The rest of the meeting would've been worth listening in on. We talked about going back into the well tunnels, of sending a message to the Keep, and of chores to do around the Outpost. While we were talking, two of the men on watch knocked, and said that they saw something in the woods. Cpl Dram and Cpl Dalin went with them to check it out. They came back soon saying that the men had seen a huge wolf but it was gone already. The wolf might be with the Orcs who must still be nearby.

I didn't want to go the Keep. I wanted to stay and look around in the well tunnels. And it turned out okay. Kayla pointed out that less skilled fighters on such a journey would be defenseless. Fighters would have to go with them to protect them. Darius took her advice and chose to send a few men from Outpost Yung with Cpl Chervac instead. I was thankful. I wouldn't have to leave the Outpost after all.

Sgt Darius left the meeting for a moment and came back with a letter. He read it aloud, since most of us can't. It was to Sgt Guido, and said that his parents had been captured, and no one knew where they were. Darius said we might help, but I didn't see how we could, for the letter was written months ago by Lady Devereaux when she was still a Captain. It seemed to me to be the reason Sgt Guido might've gone to drinking and I said as much. Darius looked at me funny and said I might be right. I don't think he realized I was still standing close enough to hear.

And then orders were given, a list of supplies was drawn up, and the really long meeting finally ended. Cpl Chervac left for the Keep with five of the men from Outpost Yung. Sgt Darius, Brother Ben and Kayla decided that the first thing to do was destroy two scrolls that made everybody nervous. They decided to burn the scrolls. Outside seemed safer than inside, so we stacked up a bit of tinder wood and Brother Ben laid the scrolls on it. He stepped back threw a lit torch at the small pyre. As the scrolls were burning, everyone in the outpost felt Sgt Guido's presence. It was really strange, and I was shivering when the feeling went away.

[howandwhy99]

Reverend Father Harthuul Stauk-Flezr

Officium Praemonere

De Jure Fanum

α

If you are reading this letter, you should know: it is the first report I have scribed since initially joining the County Margrave Militia. While I once held little hope of actually getting a message through to you, I have obliged several others of the fighting men and women here in writing to their good friends and families. There is no local scrivener, but it seems ink and parchment are still plentiful. This came about by terrible means as the last patrol stationed at our current outpost – Xavier – was held in fear by a GIANT. I believe this fear kept them from corresponding with County Margrave keep and, henceforth, in hording their parchment.

It would seem you were right about me. Faith does look like courage in the face of danger. Our own contingent has suffered truly horrific losses to this Giant and what we have recently discovered are his minions. I have recruited three brothers to aid me in healing the sick and wounded. I am sad to report that there has been no shortage of either. There are also many who are sick at heart and have needed an ear to listen. While my own dark secrets and fears still lie undiscovered, I have been fortunate to gain the trust of many of those around me. No small courage has been shown by all our members, but a few have stood up to the greatest dangers.

In these handful of days I have had to shake off my usual role of servitor. We have had need of leaders as we have faced and overcome life threatening dangers without respite. The rewards have been few, but you will note by the existence of this letter I have reason to hope. This day, the 6th by my own reckoning, has brought a brighter light into our lives.

(to be continued)

[howandwhy99]

We decided to go back into the well. First, though, Darius went swimming in the well looking for something, because the notches to the tunnels keep going below the tunnel opening, but he didn't find anything useful. Kayla also had something she needed to do before we could go to the tunnels. Dram and Igor and Brother Ben and I went to the tunnel door and started playing with it. We made different words of the syllables to see if it would open or close. I was surprised when TonQuaQues opened the door. Sometimes two sounds would open it, other times all three sounds had to open it. Igor tried something with different sounds, and the door opened to that word too.

Kayla and Darius finally came down to the tunnels. Sgt Darius had left Cpl Dalin in charge of the Outpost while the rest of us went into the tunnels. The first thing they wanted to do was look at the circle. Kayla wanted to try to read it. That is what she had been preparing for. It seemed pretty boring to me, standing around watching her stare at the circle, fidget a lot, and mutter to herself, so I slipped out and went downstairs to the wizard's archway down below. I didn't hear footsteps behind me, so nobody seemed to notice.

I passed through the archway to see if there was another archway beyond it, possibly one that wouldn't let me through, but would maybe let everyone pass who couldn't get through the first one. I didn’t see another proper archway or even proper walls. The rock was rough, not cut smooth like the rest of the tunnels we'd been in. Pretty quickly, I came upon a web blocking the whole tunnel so I burned it away. I heard some skittering up ahead and saw a huge spider! I didn't figure it could go through the archway, because if it could've it would've and that room would be webbed over, too. So I ran for it, and got back through just moments before Darius came down the steps looking for me. He asked me what I was doing and I hedged when I answered. I said I was only just looking, which was true at that moment, if not for the whole time.

He let it slide, and took me back to the group, ordering Igor to look after me. Igor didn't seem thrilled with the new task any more than I liked having it fall to him rather than any of the others. Kayla had already figured out how to use the circle. She was standing in the circle and said something. She disappeared, but nobody seemed worried. Darius stepped into the circle. I heard him more clearly, saying Zeligar, the wizard's name, and he disappeared too. Igor told me to do the same thing, but I didn't want to go to a place I couldn't see. I didn't really have a choice, though, and so I went.

There was a library on the other side, with a desk and many shelves of rare books. I didn't know what to expect, but somehow that didn't surprise me much at all. And it was so clean! I wondered how. It didn't seem as though anybody was living here, but it sure looked like it. The servants sure kept this place in good order, swept and dusted and everything. I was impressed.

Everyone was looking through the books and such. Brother Ben, Darius, and Kayla said that the books would be very helpful, and pulled out stacks to read later. Igor and Dram looked at the books too, and pulled out stacks to take with them. There was nothing in a library for me, and so I sat by the door waiting. Darius looked through the desk and pulled out a map. It sort of looked like the one I had drawn, but was much neater. I was happy with mine. It seems I had done it right. The map also showed another room, but we had already guessed that it was there.

So I kept mapping when we finally left the library. The hallway went left and right, but was shorter on the left so we went that way first. After a turn, the next room was a bedroom. There was a mattress with clean straw, that would feed the mules for a couple days, and I could make a broom of it too. I took enough straw for the broom and tucked it into my belt. Darius looked in the wardrobe and pulled out a cloak that was twice as tall as himself. Dram took the slippers from under the bed to add to that boot from the iron chest upstairs. Everyone else looked around, but I didn't see anyone else take anything.

The last room on that hallway was full of creatures, mostly heads and skins hung on the walls, and some stone-like statues in the room. Darius quickly took the weapons away from the statue-creatures, which looked alive for all that they didn't move at all, not even breathing as far as I could see. I looked around but didn't touch anything, except to pick up a sling from the pile of weapons Darius had gathered. It never hurts to have a spare. When Darius and Igor broke the heads off the statues, they bled. After a few moments, the heads began floating back towards the statues, and the blood was pooling around, going back in too. I felt sick, and when there was a tug on the sling I had picked up, I let it go, and went back out into the hallway.

As we walked back by the library, we looked in. All the books were put away and I wondered who had done it. Kayla said something about magical servants that took care of chores and things, the same as might be cleaning up the bloody statues in the trophy room. I wondered what would happen to me if these magical servants took over the Keep's kitchen and put me out of work. I'd likely end up working out in the fields or go back to shepherding. But then, magical servants could do that too, just as easy. If magic was so helpful, I wondered why no one made it more common. If I had a magical dairy maid, I could sleep in late. And I couldn't be happier if I never saw a dirty kettle again.

[MonsterMash]

Interesting to get a change of focus and narrator for a while.

[JoeBlank]

I had to miss a session, which is the reason for the narrator shift. But I like the variety, so I may try to con howandwhy99 and AllanyaKT into a rotating schedule.

Probably need to change the thread title, since it is not entirely "According to Hoyle".

[howandwhy99]

Of the 42 souls who originally began our appointment, nearly half have died. For this, I blame myself. Many secret agendas and unknown plots plague our small group. I spoke already of the Giant and you should know that he attacked our encampment without hesitation early on. Later, we were beset upon by both wolves and orcs. The latter stalked and killed what I believe was a Fey Tree from the Faerie realm. Its death was a terrible sight to behold and brought tears to many mens eyes including my own. So few here have ever heard of such creatures, for only to meet one in its death throws is a poor beginning.

Some time later we discovered that the well within our small outpost tower held an ancient secret: a maze of tunnels from days gone by. The connection between our current strife and these tunnels was puzzled out after meeting with another outpost – Yung – just to our North. But I am getting ahead of myself. I say to you the names that were inscribed before its entrance door: Zelligar and Rohgan. While these names held little meaning for me before today, my faith in the breadth of your own learnings is strong. The grandor therein is beyond any story I have heard of Ducal palaces and Barony castles.

The greatest danger in my mind has been that our small, but true group of leaders, and myself, had become so enraptured by the wonders of exploration that our own obligation to the men (and the some few women) of the outpost was being shirked. The truth of this struck home to me in the cruelest of ways. You see, while our explorations have uncovered a number of pits of which some appear to hold potions (as if in mass storage), the one potion of life reviving fruit juice laid to the wayside when it was of utmost need. Fourteen of our number had taken ill that very night from what we believed to be rotten food. In my haste to rest my own body for the exertions the morrow, the bodies of those ailing were not left under proper care. Though the three brothers, Goodrich, Grizzle, and Gresslam each took their normal watch of the ill, no one was of the knowledge to soothe the ongoing pains. The next morning brought my greatest shame: every one of the men who had fallen sick died in the night. This includes the seven lame who were here upon our initial arrival.

The true number of dead is actually two more. The first a fatally injured man from the previous patrol. And the second our very own commander, Sgt Guido. As a man who drank himself to death and to whom I personally vowed to keep under my watch, his death was already on my mind when the other fourteen died. The entire next day I spent in intensified grief. As you yourself know, the number of people who live at our Temple is few indeed. I am at once overwhelmed and greatly shamed. This day was productive for the remainder of the team who fortunately managed to keep the spirits of our company from sinking to low by searching out the nearest sister outpost to our own; outpost Yung which I mentioned earlier. Five of their men are now stationed here in the stead of the ten who died; the bodies of which were carried back to outpost Yung for transport to the keep and proper burial. Five more men are on their way from Yung as I write this.

Even in my grievous state, it is true that, by the light of the setting sun, we decided to once again enter the halls below. Such is the extent of our passion. We made little headway this time, but I bring up the matter because a rather unusual event occurred, more unusual than normal as it is, one which has an importance you shall soon discover. Most of our time was taken up with solving the riddle of an arcane archway that blocked our path. Some managed to pass under, while others were painfully rebuffed, the why is still unknown to us even now. Igor, who was one of the few to pass through, went to scout ahead before we left for the night, so we might better prepare in the morning. (assuming we solved the riddle, of course)

The oddest of odd, is that this man whom the gods had twisted and struck all of lame, hunchbacked, and one-eyed-blind came back as a whole man. He mentioned that he imbibed a potion down a path within, but once above and afresh the next morning, he lauded our new leader, a dwarf in the service of Father Thor, as the creditor of his remarkable transformation. This was dubious to me as it seemed an outright lie, but as I have been the recipient of this good dwarf's holy healing before, and as he did not rebuff the statements himself, I could see no reason for me to speak up.

The matter is, the same morning, Sergeant Darius the Dwarf, one and the same as I mention above, called a meeting of the corporals. I am allowed to go to these as I have been put in charge of the infirmary per prior orders. Only this was no normal meeting. Our dwarf friend brought charges against the no longer peculiar Igor. While I at first believed Darius' intentions to be untrue, as other's lies often bring about the worst from people, I later took heart in the fact that he believed his accusations to be firmly founded. Let me explain.

Igor is our camp cook and responsible for the preparation, serving, and all other aspects of the feeding of our men. The night that we were in the tunnels below, another of Igor's assistants prepared the meal: one “Smitty”. In final judgment, we all determined that Igor held no malicious plan to sicken or kill those who had died. That fault is squarely mine, if unmentioned. Smitty had used sour or rotten vegetables from an unknown source and variety and added it to the day-old soup. An honest mistake, but one that cannot happen again. I was glad that Igor was able to prove himself that day. As he is a new man and might indeed owe his change to Darius, he deserves a chance to enjoy his new life, one without pain or bigotry. Woe be to me who had forgotten the potion of life healing, so the other might still have life as well.

Another event on the list of this days doings. One you yourself may be interested in Father, is the revealing of a soul transfigured and, I can only hope, traveling to the heavens. You see, of the treasures we brought back to the surface, two were of an unknown magic ensorcelled onto scrollwork. A wisewoman named Kayla entrusted these to me for destruction. But as they went up in flames, I beheld a vision: our dead commander in the smoke of the fire. He was very angry, just like when he was alive. I can only hope he has now found peace in the afterlife.

Our plan as we entered the oddly named “Quesquaton” mazes again, was to explore the remainder of it before heading to the archway. But we soon had to go after a missing girl who is always underfoot. Her name is Meer-Elle as I believe she says it. I have kept my eye on her since our arrival as she is in the most danger owing to the nature of trials only grown men should face, and only in grave need at that. But she seems as inquisitive as any of us. There is no keeping her out of the caves.

Fortunately, Kayla determined the functioning of some power circle carved into the stone floor. We actually were transferred without movement to another section of the maze. This portion is as I believe what a wizard's home would appear, if any were still living today. Oddly this one still seemed to be in clean and working order, unlike the rest of the maze. This led my questioning to the place as a hoax. I won't go into the specificities of such a place, as I am sure you have heard many a tall tale of such places yourself. The one important point to mention is the great number of real books on shelves here. Far more than our Temple holds and many of the of a religious nature. I have removed some for my own curiosity, but find we may need to keep them in the faux wizard's lair as it is still the safest location in our vicinity.

Ignoring the bizarre, we did finally arrive in a long columned corridor of marble and sculpted stone. The columns themselves were carved into beautiful human figures larger than life. It is only by the wisdom and suspicious nature of Darius the Dwarf though that we still live.

(to be continued)

[AllanyaKT]

We went down the hallway to the right this time, and when we turned a corner, the hallway was twice as wide. All of us could walk side by side down this new hall, except for the huge stone columns running down the middle of it, of course. There was a throne at the other end of the hall. Darius looked at the first statue, and then the second, but when he got close to the third one, it moved. The statue didn't want Darius there, so it attacked him with its stone fists.

I thought that maybe while Darius was fighting it, that I would be able to dash down to the end, and see if any other statues could move too. It wasn't my brightest idea. I never saw the statue turn to me. I was running, and then there was a voice telling me to be healed! I hurt all over, more than I've ever been hurt before, and couldn’t remember why. When I opened my eyes, I was looking up at Darius, then the statue's fist, then the ceiling. Darius had one hand on my shoulder and was also trying to block the statue. He yelled something, but my ears were ringing and I couldn't hear right. But I knew I had to get back to the end of the hall where the statue couldn't reach. When I got there and cleared my head a bit, I could hear better, and that seemed to be what he was yelling for me to do anyways. I still hurt all over and was dizzy, so I asked Brother Ben for the waterskin from the first pool, and then I felt much better. I thought about that voice I heard, and figured I'd talk to Igor about it later.

As soon as Darius moved back to the entry, the statue quit moving and turned back into the column again, just like it was before. Darius shot an arrow at it, saying that if it didn't have hands, we could walk by it just fine. A bit of stone chipped off, but the column didn't move any. It didn't seem to react at all. So Igor and I also started chipping away at it with arrows and sling stones, too. The first huge fist fell, and still the column didn't do anything. The second arm fell just as quickly. When Darius walked up to it again, it didn't move. Breaking its arms had worked. We moved down the hall a bit, but Darius stopped us quickly, for he thought the last column in the line was the same as the third one. We never got close enough for it to move, but just went ahead and broke its arms off. It didn't move when we passed it, but then, it might not have anyways.

The throne was very big, with lots of gems in it, and likely more valuable than anything I'd ever touched in my life. I sat on it just because nobody stopped me. My feet wouldn't touch the floor, so I crossed them and tucked them beside me. I looked out down the hall, and thought it was fun, for I'd never have gotten away with it at the Keep. It quickly wasn't so much fun anymore when I saw the bits of stone broken off the statues moving back towards them. It seemed that the magical servants were following us, and already knew of the mess we had made. They seemed to be sorting the stone chips and trying to match them together, and it was taking them much longer than with the statues in the trophy room. I didn't want to sit on the throne anymore, so I hopped down.

Dram said that he needed to go back up to the outpost to check on the men and oversee training. My stomach was telling me that it was starting to get late, and I figured he also went to make sure Smittee wasn't cooking. Igor and I gathered the arrows that missed the statues but hadn't broken. He also looked very closely at the gems on the throne. Darius was looking around, and finally said that we had to move the throne. He thought there was something behind it. Without Dram's help, it seemed to take forever to push the throne even two fingers' width. But sure enough, it had moved a bit into the wall. The throne was in front of an open doorway that perfectly matched the shape of the throne.

We had to pull the throne out again, which took even longer than pushing it in, and then we pushed it to the side, which took forever. Darius went into the little room behind where the throne was, and then told Kayla she needed to see it too. Kayla came back out saying she couldn't read it because she wasn't prepared anymore from reading the circle. Since it was getting very late by then and we were very tired from pushing the throne around, Darius decided to back up to the Outpost, and wait until the morning, when Kayla could look at it again.

The magical servants were still very busy sorting the stone chips from the statues, and that reminded us that they would just move the throne back into place, and we would have to move it all over again. Brother Ben said to try pounding spikes into the floor beside the throne, wedging them in like pegs, to keep the magical servants from sliding the chair back in front of the little room. I didn't figure the idea would work, for the servants could easily slide the chair a handspan to the left and then lift it over the low pegs, or else move it around the pegs, or even just move the pegs out of the way and then put them back after the chair was properly placed.

We went back to the library after Igor and Brother Ben laid in the spikes. As we passed the two broken columns, I put some good-size stones for slinging in my pouch. They weren't tugged back like that other sling had been. They must not have been from an important part of the statue, I guessed, or not part of why the statue could move. When we got back to the library, Kayla pulled two of the books she had looked at earlier. Darius and Brother Ben each pulled a couple of books that they thought might be helpful, such as about the underground river that the well draws from. Igor also grabbed a large handful of books, and there were empty places along the carefully neatened shelves from where Dram had taken books as he passed through earlier.

When we reached the top of the well, Cpl Dalin reported a quiet, uneventful day. Cpl Siff was asleep and no one else was in a sickbed. Dinner was better than breakfast, and then I found an empty bed and slept.

The animals gave me much more trouble the next morning. They were quite grousy to me. One of the horses was off his feed, and none of them wanted to go back into the stables. They didn't mind being brushed and everything, but they tried to pull away from me when I walked them around the courtyard. They wanted to go outside but I didn't feel it was safe, and I had run short of carrots and such to bribe them with.

After taking care of the horses and mules, I sat down with a staff and the straw I had picked up yesterday, and I made a broom. Nobody seemed to understand why I wanted a broom so much. But sweeping is such an easy task, the same motions over and again, and you can get into a nice rhythm and not have to worry about it. And in a crowded place like this, it's the only way to find some privacy. Nobody pays much attention to a busy maid. That's how I learn the most interesting things sometimes. Nobody expects a busy maid to answer many questions, but she's still good for gossip if she wants to. Time alone inside my own head is worth as much to me as breakfast. I still had many things to think about, and the ramp up to the top of the Outpost was long and dirty, and now I had a broom. Not the best-made of brooms, but broom enough to sweep with.

Many things crossed my mind over the next candlemarks. Dalin and Dram had most of the men outside training, so keeping out of the way wasn't too hard. Kayla, Brother Ben, and Sgt Darius were reading the great books, and paid little attention to me as I swept. I pondered over things that Smittee and Igor had said during the trial, the voice Igor said he heard when he was healed, the voice I heard when I had been knocked out, how a burning tree could walk, what made corpses stand back up and fight, how Brother Ben made the corpses not able to fight, why speaking any sounds from Quasqueton would open the door, what some of the pools did, why Dram and Igor and me were the only ones who could pass the wizard's archway, how to talk Igor and Dram from taking the books out of the library, if I should learn how to carry a shield, or if that would worsen my slinging. Then the Outpost went on alert, and that broke up my thinking.

Someone was coming up the path! I was near an archer's slot so I went to look out too. Many of the farmers all figured out who it was at the same time. It was Pendra and Certa! We were very surprised that Certa and Pendra were coming here. And most of us looked forward to a good round of storytelling in the evening. Sgt Darius went out to speak with them. As he approached them, we could see more men following Certa and Pendra. They were leading an army! Fully a hundred soldiers, real soldiers, not conscripts, were marching along behind them. Elian, the Elfen advisor from the Keep, was also with them and he spoke with Darius, the Dwarf, for quite a bit as they all approached the Outpost.

Pendra and Certa didn't come to the Outpost, and I was very disappointed. After getting the army safely here, they left back through the woods again. Elian didn't come straight to the Outpost. First he went to where the burning tree had fallen, and he stayed there for a bit. He seemed very sad when he finally came into the Outpost. Sgt Darius told us that Elian wanted to have a meeting with everyone who had been in the well, except for Cpl Siff, who was still abed.

During the meeting, Advisor Elian told us that he had heard of the well from the Sgt of Yung, who had sent a message. The things of Rogahn and Zeligar have been lost for a long time, and he was very glad that we had found them, for it might help defend Margrave from the war. I was relieved, because it meant that Cpl Dalin and I didn't mess things up when we spoke about the well at Outpost Yung. It turned out okay. Elian also told us that the burning tree was called an Ent, and this Ent was named Greenwillow. Greenwillow had given his life trying to protect the secret of the Outpost. He had grown the trees up all the way close to the tower walls, hoping to hide the Outpost from the giant and the orcs, and others who wanted its secrets.

After Elian finished speaking, Sgt Darius told of the tunnels and what we had found so far. They looked at the map he had pulled out of the drawer in the library, looking for places that might have doors we did not see. Elian said that finding the secrets of the tunnels was very important. He also said that bringing the army here might have drawn some unwanted attention, and the Outpost may be attacked even more heavily than it already was. Cpl Dram and Cpl Dalin agreed to stay above ground and help get the soldiers settled into watch shifts.

I thought that the new soldiers might help with training the conscripts, maybe by pairing a conscript with a couple of soldiers during drills. I spoke to Kayla about it, and she said she would ask about it. But when she did, she told everyone that it was my idea in the first place. I was so mad I figured that I wouldn't ask her to speak of things for me again. Even though Elian and Darius both said it was a good idea, it wasn't seemly coming from the youngest and lowest in status, and she shouldn't've put my name on it. She doesn't know how to gossip right.

We started getting ready to go into the well. Kayla said she needed to prepare herself again. Elian gave some parchment to her, and she smiled when she looked at it. Sgt Darius asked Elian if he wanted to explore with us, and Elian hedged when he answered. I thought it was funny.

While Kayla was getting ready to go into the tunnels, I watched the soldiers setting up camp outside. They were quick at it, the nearest of the fallen trees were already moved out of the way, and the first row of tents was up. I saw some cookfires going, and that made me think a bit. If perhaps the conscripts were working together with the soldiers, of course they would all eat together too, and from the cookpots of the soldier's camp, rather than the Outpost kitchen. It wouldn’t even look badly against Igor, since he was helping in the tunnels, though there would be no saving face for Smittee. It seemed like a good way to deal with the trouble, but I didn't say anything. I'm sure I'm not the only one who can see the easy way out of things.

[howandwhy99]

Originally Posted by howandwhy99

Ignoring the bizarre, we did finally arrive in a long columned corridor of marble and sculpted stone. The columns themselves were carved into beautiful human figures larger than life. It is only by the wisdom and suspicious nature of Darius the Dwarf though that we still live.

You see, two of the statues actually moved in action against us. Walking the grand corridor, nay a full hall, was enough to incur their wrath. Darius suggested the wise course and some of our group attacked from afar until the arms of the creatures fell to the ground. Only then was it safe to pass on to the far side, where a large metal throne embedded with gems greeted our eyes. The throne itself was as grand in décor and as high backed as ten feet. After a short scan of the area and an opening behind the back of the throne was spotted. After some long hours of extensive pulling and pushing the throne was moved far enough aside. Darius and Kayla entered, but the rest of us decided to head back to the surface. Kayla mentioned that more runework like those enscribing the pools and power circle were in the tunnel as well.


[Redux for Letter: DAY 6 - Moonday, Mao 23rd, CY 81]

This last night was somewhat better and I slept without dreaming. The terrors of the past days were drawn out of me and I felt pleaseantly relaxed as I awoke. I mention this as I felt time to read after daily scripture the works of the library below that I had brougtht above on our exit out of the caves. My eyes scanned the text quickly, and several things within are enlightening for me as to the workings of our present day religion. I am not sure if these feelings were a premonition (though you may know) of what was to come, but grand glorious day that it did!

You see, the Army of Margrave has arrived. On top of all the men to protect us, the advisor to Lady Margrave herself is on hand, the Elf Elion, to witness the findings from our little caves. His first actions were to the dead Fey Tree, of course, but after a short advisory to Sergeant Darius, all of us met and learned of the true secrets of the Zelligar and Roghan dungeon palace. It would seem that it is truly steeped in history. I do not know if you have ever met an elf personally Father, but I must say that my own meeting was exhilerating! He seemed to speak with a clarity and sense of wisdom that contained all the ages. I believe our own zeal may have convinced him of our own desires concerning Quesquaton, as he charged us with the complete and total exploration of the caves below.

This is the turning point for our little band. No fewer than 100 men sit around our crumbling tower in protection of us. The great Elf Elion has given us warning that even greater forces may be attracted now that the Army is here, but I say “We shall not shirk this duty!” We stand upon ancient grounds which only the good folk, gentry, and religious personages of County Margrave may call their own. If I but had the voice of our own precentor, I would sing the praises of such a place. Our little tower shall no longer be unworked and, morever, none more of our number need fall of our own erroneous ways. I have tears in my eyes these days as we plan once more to enter the caverns below. Bless me Father, for I have truly had my faith renewed.

These grand announcements bring me to my final news. As for the spiritual life and goodly protection of the men in our encampment, I have determined that we need daily prayer and services. If at all possible, I pray you may send an experienced member of our Temple to lead us in these times. Due to my own needs they are small. Please pass on any letters that you receive in this bundle and ensure the families of those whom we fight with. Also, if it is at all possible, please send a gown, mantle, and instruments for services to Margrave keep for my own use. My promise is that they will be used well and I will return them to you as early as possible.

Your Son,

Brother Ben

Ω

[AllanyaKT]

We went back down into the well, back to the room of twenty pools. Darius wanted to look over the wall next to the room that was on the map. Kayla wanted to see the pools, to find out what each one did. She said that the scroll Elian gave her would let her read the pools as well as the little room behind the throne. As she was looking them over, Brother Ben wrote down the things she said. Most of the pools had a speaking sentence that would change them, the way that Quasqueton would open or close the door. The fire pool went out or relit, the pool of false gold appeared or went away again. I heard many of the sayings, and remembered the more interesting ones. Some of the pools would be fun to play with. I thought of many questions, but didn't ask any.

Darius didn't find the door he was looking for by the time she looked at all of the pools, so he gave up and we went through the Zeligar circle again. I was very surprised, because even though the arms of the stone columns were fixed, the throne was still out of place, wedged in with the spikes. Brother Ben saved us a lot of work by doing that. I wondered if the magical servants were very smart at all, since so simple a hindrance kept them from finishing their task. Kayla went into the little room, and soon came out. It was another magical barrier, like the archway, but by saying "Zeligar", like for the circle, each of us could go through it.

It led to a very large room and it was wonderful! There were so many barrels, great stacks of stone blocks, crates piled high, weapons, shields, and tools, too. I wished we had found all of this days ago. Darius pulled the lids off the barrels and they all were full of food! It was enough to feed the Outpost for several months. And all of it was still good, too. I ate a small handful of candy, a rare treat, and nobody said anything.

Darius was looking around the room, checking to see if there were any other doors in the walls or floor. He found one place in the floor that sounded hollow, so he broke through it to see if it went to another room below. It did, but not one like he expected. It was a huge cave, with the river flowing at the bottom, and nothing supporting the room except the floor he had just smashed. And cracks were spreading out. We had to get out of the room quickly, and take as much of everything with us as we could.

Kayla and I went up to the top of the well to get help from some of the soldiers. About twenty men were able to set their tasks aside and help out below. We took many torches, and ensconced them only in the halls that the men would have to walk down, so that they wouldn't have enough light to go wandering by. Kayla told each one where to stand and what to say. I went through the circle first to get them out of each other's way on the other side, and to send them up the right hallway. All twenty men came through the circle one right after the other. Many people could move quickly through a circle like that. I was impressed.

The men lined up about ten paces from each other, all the way from the circle to the throne, which was missing gems. Darius would pass things from the room to the first man in line, and the men would pass it to each other all the way down the hallways. The last several men in line took turns going through the circle and putting barrels and crates where Kayla wanted them. When that room was full, with only a small path from the circle to the door, the rest of the crates and barrels and stone blocks were lined up against the walls and between the great stone columns in the halls.

Once everything was out of the great room and safe from falling into the rivers, we tried to think of a way to carry things up the well. The well bucket would not hold much weight, and the notches made it very hard to carry things in hand. Some things, like tools and weapons, were bundled together and strapped to the men's backs. Barrels and crates, though, were left down in the wells until we could figure out what to do with them. When we finally left the well, the men were exhausted from lifting and carrying so many heavy things around. Kayla and I hadn't done near as much work so much as finding places to put things, so I wasn't tired a bit. I think she went back to studying the books. I took the horses and mules out for another walk, this time taking them outside the Outpost, since with a hundred soldiers camped, I felt much safer.

I stayed up late listening to the soldiers' fireside stories, and the next morning came very quick. But chores were easy, since all I had to do was tether the horses and mules out by the soldiers' animals, and that's exactly where they wanted to go. I could've mucked since there were enough shovels to go around, but Darius called for us to go into the tunnels again, and I was very pleased to let the chore wait another day. Kayla didn't need to prepare anything this time, so there was no time to play with the Quasqueton door. We went straight to the wizard's archway.

Sgt Darius tried passing through, and it threw him back, as it had the day before. This time Brother Ben also tried to pass through, and as I figured, it threw him back too, very hard. Darius began breaking the hands off of the statues, to see if that would break the magic. I was quick to add my sling to the effort, so that none could say I didn't hit a fair share. When both hands from both statues were broken off, Darius tried again to pass through, and again it threw him back. Igor went through, so it seemed that the archway was not changed at all. I was sad that we had broken the statues for nothing, for I didn't figure that the magical servants would fix them since they were on this side of the circle.

So I stepped between the two wizards and stood there. I figured that I might block the magic so that another could pass through, or it would reject both of us. I grit my teeth as Darius tried first, half expecting to be thrown and not knowing which way it would send me. I really didn't want to be thrown into the other side where Igor was. That spider earlier had scared me, and the rough walls looked close enough that I'd likely be knocked out again if I hit hard against one. But Darius passed through the arch, and I relaxed as Kayla went through too. But in figuring out the secret of the arch, we had forgotten about Brother Ben, who was just starting to sit up in the entry room. Igor didn't offer to come back through and help me, and I didn't feel like asking, but it didn't take long anyways. Brother Ben was awake if not very alert, and though he leaned heavily on me, he didn't have any more trouble with the archway.

We went down the tunnel to where I had seen the spider. It was webbed over again. Either the spider worked very quickly or it had help. I told everyone about the spider, and said that it didn't like fire. I figured to use a torch instead of the sling if it attacked again. We moved down the hall, burning the webs out of the way. And then there was the spider. It crawled along the ceiling of the tunnel and dropped down on Igor. Everyone attacked the spider, and it ran away from us, into the other part of the tunnels.

Darius ran after the fleeing spider, for he can see in the darkness quite well. Igor ran too, with Kayla holding a torch for him. Brother Ben and I looked around the cave room, since I was winded from fighting, and unless he took my torch and left me behind, he couldn't give chase either. It was a plain room, the webbing had all burned away. There were no other tunnels leading from it, so there was no place for another spider to come from. The only things in the room were two bodies, badly burned. They looked like they would stand up on two legs, but they weren't human or Elf or Dwarf. Brother Ben said that they were dead before the fire burned them.

Having caught my breath, we followed the sounds through the tunnels, and caught up to Kayla, Darius, and Igor right as they came up to a fork in the tunnel. Two more of the same creatures that were dead in the other room were standing guard at the fork. The spider ran right by them, down one of the forks. The two guards yipped down the tunnels, and turned towards us baring fangs and pikes.

[diaglo]

The story picks up with Session 4. This Sunday we are about to play Session 10. so there has been a lot of other news.

[JoeBlank]

Dearest Mother and Father,

My apologies for not writing for writing for some time. Not only have I been terribly busy myself, but Brother Ben has also been consumed with his responsibilities. Others have taken advantage of his generosity in scribing letters too. My lessens in writing have fallen by the wayside, but I hope to pick them up again sometime, in calmer more peaceful times.

While Darius and the others continued their exploration of the strange catacombs beneath Outpost Xavier, I have been concentrating my efforts on training a small group of pikemen. Dram has also been training his archers, but we were both called away from our men to assist with trouble down below. Igor came to us, seemingly in great fear, having been sent by Darius for reinforcements. Dram and I were thankfully already wearing our armor and equipped for battle, so we headed quickly down the well. We rushed ahead to the archway, where Dram explained that I would be able to pass through as long as I was touching him. This worked without incident, although we still do not know the reason why.

We found Darius, Kayla, Mirel and Ben in a long corridor, with a group of the dog-like creatures at the other end firing crossbows without much effect. I was prepared to load my crossbow and return fire, but the beasts headed for us as soon as we rounded the corner. I dropped my torch and fought with my sword. This too proved ineffective as the creatures swarmed us, leaving me no room to swing my blade. I dropped it too and began punching the dog that had my shield arm in his teeth.

Finally I was able to draw my dagger. The animals lacked courage, for once I drew blood on a few they retreated, revealing that many of my compatriots had been similarly overwhelmed. I picked up my sword and gave chase, but Darius gave the order for us to rest and regroup. His dwarven eyes can see farther in the darkness than our torches, and he counted four of the creatures that escaped. A small loss, considering the eighteen dead around our feet. We had come through the battle with minimal injuries, a fact I attribute to our continued improvement as a team. Each day we seem to work better together, and we manage to overcome increasingly difficult odds.

After investigating some odd, unfinished wax statues, we followed the path left by the dogs to what appeared to be their lair, where we found a collection of rubbery, egg-like orbs covered in webs and twigs. Either the reptile-dogs had been laying eggs, or these belonged to a large spider which they may have been keeping to provide them with food. Either way, we decided burning the things was the best idea. Our question was soon answered as Darius headed down the corridor and was quickly covered in a spray of webs. The large spider was moving along the ceiling, but Dram's arrows made quick work of it.

The next room seemed to be a temple of some kind. The furniture was made for small creatures, and our attention was drawn to a chair of piled animal bones. Offerings of coin were found at the foot of the chair, and we quickly collected them. Dram moved the chair, revealing a small opening which Darius crawled through to find small cavern, the centerpiece of which was a red stone that pulsed brightly. It suddenly lit up and Brother Ben screamed out as if in pain. The dwarf shattered the stone with his hammer, and the countless small pieces continued to flicker but began to fade. Ben reported that the pain he felt was fading as well.

A portion of the stone was left in the wall. Darius chipped it out, resulting in a handful of red, chalky powder. Ben asked him to finish smashing to the stone, saying “It tried to team me apart on the inside. It crawled into my head.” The dwarf kept crushing the small pieces into powder until Ben told us the feeling had completely subsided. When Darius touched the spot on the wall where the stone had been he felt like it was trying to pull him in. A burned out torch landed at his feet, as if appearing from no where. He poked the spot with the torch and it disappeared, pulled into the abyss. Suddenly, Darius vanished, as if he had been pulled into the wall. We all sat stunned, and then saw a coin fall from the wall into the room. Kayla told us it must be some kind of portal, but to where we did not know. Before she could finish explaining, the dwarf popped back into the room. He composed himself and explained that he had been transported to the room we had seen before with the multiple pools of liquids, coming out in the pool that looked like a black void. He had risked his life by stepping back into the void to be transported back to us.

I'm sorry to report that I don't expect I will telling much more of my story. My duties are taking up a great deal of my time. While I enjoy training, bettering myself and teaching others, I have time for little else. Brother Ben is somewhat disappointed that I have put aside my efforts to learn reading and writing, but I think he also understands my situation, as he is quite busy as well. Please have faith that I will return home, with many more stories to tell.

Yours,

Cpl. Dalin Hoyle

[JoeBlank]

Like Dalin, I, JoeBlank, have been busy with my own duties lately. Play continues, and the game is going very well. A few of the other players have volunteered to keep the story hour going, so hopefully there will be more frequent updates. Thanks for reading so far.

[howandwhy99]

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Spoiler:

A little bit of story overlap will happen at first. Some details already posted will be skimmed over in the beginning. You should see fresh new action starting within a few days.

let me know if you like the post-per-day format too.

Brother Ben was not quite ready for what lay ahead. After finishing his letter to his mentor Reverend Father Stauk-Flezr, he walked about the hustle and bustle of the newly forming army encampment. The 100 men and women he saw were hard, tough soldiers, not like the inexperienced conscripts of Outpost X. These soldiers had seen war and worked together with a sense of unison whether setting up their tent camp or sending out perimeter patrols. Each seemed to understand the necessity to listen when an order was given. Every soldier displayed subtle skill in completing the task at hand. Brother Ben was growing fond of his own friends and he had long come to think of his fellow conscripts at Outpost Xavier as family to him. But the solders, Ben envied them. He could only hope these militia might become a team as close-knit as they were. They were the answer to his prayers. And there would be no more deaths with them here. Or so he believed.

The rest of the party was preparing to head back down the well to Quasqueton. Corporals Dalin and Dram had chosen to stay above ground in order to focus on the training of the conscripts each had previously started. Ben thought they planned to use the soldiers expertise, but did not hear after climbing in the well himself. The afternoon trip took some time, but a few useful things were discovered. First off, in their meeting together Elion had given Kayla some kind of parchment which allowed her to read the strange symbols which encircled each of the 20 pools in the large room. While Kayla's scroll crumbled, Ben took notes on a scrap of parchment trying to copy down all the words she read around each pool. Sadly, he unknowingly lost this same piece of parchment sometime in the next few days.

After scouting out the pool room, the party used the Zelligar circle inscribed on the floor of a different room to re-enter Zelligar's pristine personal quarters. The magical forces had cleaned up since the day before and even the caryatid columns were working once again. The group quickly destroyed the arms off of each with arrows and shot again. Fortunately, the powerful cleaning forces at work had not moved the throne back in front of the tunnel it guarded. This unexplored hallway had a much lower ceiling than the throne room. It was roman arched and etched on all sides with more strange symbols and weird writings. Kayla murmured a few words under her breath sounding like those from the parchment before and entered bravely. It was a puzzle, but Kayla quickly discovered the answer. Just like the Zelligar floor circle, one had to pronounce "Zelligar" before passing through.

The room on the far side was 40' x 40' square and every square inch was filled with supplies. Their jaws dropped at the sight. It was a vast treasure trove and more than they could have hoped for. Even the dried food was fresh. Ben had suspicions this might have to do with the magical cleaning forces and set a mental note to pass on how it might be contaminated. Heading in Darius found a strange crack in the wall and floor on the far right of the room. He believed that the position of this room matched up on Mirel's map in the upper left hand corner. He tied a rope to the end of his hammer and was throwing it at the wall in hopes of bursting through and proving his theory. Instead, a large hole crumbled away in the floor and Darius had to jump away to keep from falling in. Ben didn't notice if any supplies fell in, but with the floor rumbling Darius dared to take a peek below.

Amazement! With his vision Darius could see the whole of this room had a vast empty space below dropping into oblivion farther than his eyesight could reach. Checking along the sides he ascertained the space spread out in all directions from the hole encompassing at least all of the treasure room and likely far more. At the time the group could not afford to wait and ponder over this new found discovery. Darius did drop a stone and heard a splash after a good long fall.

The real danger was now clear. The cracks slowly were creeping outward in the floor. Everything of value needed to be moved out as quickly as possible. Quick as a snap a plan was laid and executed expertly. In retrospect Brother Ben was quite proud of how the team had worked things out. You see, several soldiers were brought down the well and a single line bucket brigade moved every item out of the treasure room before its entire floor collapsed. Even moving the supplies up the well to Outpost Xavier was accomplished before the end of twilight above. After hours of exertion by the team and twenty soldiers they all slept more soundly that night. In fact, it was the first night Ben was able to sleep soundly since his arrival less than one week ago.

[MonsterMash]

Really glad to see this one revived. Thanks.

[biorph]

the game never actually died, it was merely the story hour that we had some trouble updating.

[howandwhy99]

[DAY 7 - Feastday, Mao 24th, CY 81]

Early the next morning Darius gave the order to once again head back down into the tunnels of Quesquaton. Cpl. Chervac accompanied the crew while Cpl's Dalin and Dram stayed above ground. The archway in the one room known to be on a lower level was tested. It was another puzzle like the tunnel behind the throne in Zelligar's quarters. Several people tried to pass below, but not all. Brother Ben tried this time and fell to the ground in pain passing out. Those who were accepted through were Igor and Mirel. The rest who tried failed and were injured for it. The lithography of two wizards waiving their hands at the door was marred in hopes that the magic might stop, but no such luck. Mirel finally solved the riddle by standing within the doorway while the others passed through. It was a dangerous thing to try, but successful nonetheless. Ben limped across into the natural caverns on the other side of the archway. It was truly a brand new world.

The tunnels were mostly natural with some rough work done to flatten the floor and walls. The cave split left and right ahead. To the right a newly reformed spider web blocked their path. Igor was leading and attacked by a 7' tall spider dropping down onto him. Without fear the party rushed to his aid and managed to land a solid below before the spider jumped over their heads and ran down the left tunnel. Darius, Igor, Chervac and Kayla ran after in hot pursuit, while injured Brother Ben and Mirel hung back. Ben inspected two badly burned bodies near the web and realized they were killed by poisoning and not the burning of the web. What creatures they were though he did not know. They were short merely 3' tall at best, scaly covered, and with dog-like faces. Everything else was distorted due to the fire. Ben would have thought they were precocious pigmen with a Charlotte to accompany them, but it was not so.



[Session 4]

The other four had run quite far down the left passage and encountered more of these amazing creatures. As if the gigantic 7' spider was not strange enough, here stood two more of the lizard-dog men with short spears in hand. They started barking very loudly and approached our four pursuers. Igor ran as fast as he could back through the archway, then through the Zelligar Circle, up the well, and outside to the encampment. Later he said that he went for reinforcements, but any who saw him leave could see the stark white terror on his face.

Fortunately, he did send reinforcements in the form of Dalin and Dram. They had stayed up with the militia to train and supervise as with the previous night's excursion. Ben believed Igor's tale kindled within them their sense of duty inspiring them to rush down the well and through the archway with Mirel's help to join in the fight. And quite a fight it was. Over twenty of the diminutive creatures had swarmed towards the group. Ben and Mirel had moved in as well and joined in combat, Ben with his flail and Mirel with her sling. At one point Ben fell to the ground and Dram had to pull him back to safety. All the time barking, the creatures fought ferociously while they still held larger numbers. But the band's attacks hurt them and killed many in one blow. Bodies soon littered the floor of the cavern and the battle was won as the last of the barkers fled. "Barkers" they were called by Dalin because of the incessant noise they made. Quite tenacious, the creatures still lacked bravery when outnumbered. Given their size, Ben thought this was probably wise. With the addtion of Dram and Dalin Cpl Chervac went back up to the Outpost to take command and report the group was okay.

The party set out more cautiously now walking down the left corridor with torches in hand. Darius led with that eerie ability he has to see in the dark. The footprints of the barkers and spider lead deeper into the caves before they split again after about 100’. The floor of the cavern here was covered in sand wet in the center. The tracks went straight through the sand, but Igor suggested the group should not as there might be a trap only creatures of heavy weight could trigger. So the party skirted along the sides slowly. On the far side was a human-sized red statue which appeared unfinished. The tracks led by it to the left and right. Inspecting the statue revealed small claw marks and the fact that it was made of some waxy material. Parts of it were broken off and several small bones covered it. Dram recognized the bones and dress materials as belonging to the Northmen of whom he was a descendant.

[howandwhy99]

Originally Posted by MonsterMash

Really glad to see this one revived. Thanks.

And I'm really glad we have a fan.

The following posts are for our one reader. I hope you're thirsty!

[howandwhy99]

The left cave was irregularly shaped and rather short with a very large boulder pressed up against the far end. Three other red wax statues were here too, all unfinished and partially melted. One was missing its top torso, while another had a block head that reminded them of the good man Charlie Brown. It wore an old, decrepit form of scale armor. The third figure was missing its arms completely. Some of the party members looked over the statues again and most were tense with weapons raised in case they came to life. They had learned from prior experience fighting the wrapped corpse in the pool room that appearances were not to be trusted. The barker tracks led underneath and around the base of the boulder and an opening was seen to be beyond.

Several attempts were needed before the group found a means to move the large boulder back away from the far wall. The space was just wide enough to let Darius slip through. He explored beyond into an enormous cave wider and deeper than his eyes could see. Smelly animal dropping covered the floor with the tracks leading through them forward and to the right. Darius checked upwards and sure enough the ceiling was completed covered by thousands and thousands of sleeping bats. He moved forward a little into the guano and still saw no far wall. Moving along the tracks on the right he managed to spot another opening like the one he originally entered: a cave with the rear of a boulder blocking it from the far side. Returning to the statue cavern the group decided to head back rather than risk combat in the bat cave. The archway entrance was as they remembered it and no evidence was found of new barker tracks. The spider web over the spider lair was still burned away. The group decided to explore the second half of the caverns.

Footprints of the spider and the barkers covered the ground now down the right passageway too. The path curved around to the right and some rooms opened to each side. They party saw what looked to be a large nest with several spider webs around it to their left. Over 50 rubbery eggs stuck together sat in the center of nest. Webs and twigs propped it up. "Perhaps the spider eggs are what the barkers eat?" inquired Dalin. One was cut open and a small baby spider jumped out. "Torch them!" the call went up. A large spider moved out of the shadows and webbed Darius sticking him to the wall. Sling bullets, arrows, and bolts are shot while others using sword and flail to destroy the spider remaining spider eggs. Dram cut Darius free.

Following the tunnel farther it opened to a large room perhaps 30’ in depth. Apparently a dead end it looked like the main living quarters for the barkers. Along the right wall a small throne-like structure was built of bones. Brother Ben was reminded of Zelligar’s throne in his Hall of Statues. Offerings at the chair included a few coins and what might have been food. Dram lifted the chair and revealed a small opening in the wall beyond. The others nodded at the correlation. Looking down the small dug out tunnel a pulsing red light could be made out. As Darius was the shortest he ducked within to scout.

Inside was another dead-end room about 20’ in circumference. An outcropping of rock on one side contained a strange red rock smoothed on its outerface. To Darius it looked like an oversized fingernail attached to the rock. It pulsed a deep red menacing glow and suddenly flared brightly. "Aaaaauurrrghh!!" screamed Brother Ben back out in the throne room. He could feel something in his mind, a presence of great evil that threatened to overwhelm him. The pain was excruciating, so Ben screamed on and on. Darius took action and swung his hammer at the glowing rock smashing off a large piece. "There’s a rock in here making the glow!" shouted Darius. "Make it stop!" screamed Ben already feeling a lessening of the effect. Pieces of red, chalky powder fell from the stone as Darius hammered at it. "It tried to tear me apart from the inside!" yell Ben. "It crawled into my head!" Darius kept hammering until every bit of the rock was destroyed. It went deep into the stone filling the space behind like an orb. The pulsing light slowed as he neared completion. With the last hammer blow it stopped. Darius did not say anything afterwards and no sound came from the room. The rest of the group called out to him for what was going on and began to worry when no word came back.