JollyDoc
Explorer
Danse Macabre
Several days later the Screaming Jungle was left behind as the river flowed across the Korir Plains. The river widened and became fast and shallow, and the surrounding vegetation consisted of almost entirely of reeds, mangroves, lotuses and other water plants. After travelling a few miles along the river’s course, the Bastards spied four young Zenj women bathing in the water. When the women spied the travelers, they giggled and beckoned to them.
“Ah!” Nkechi said to his traveling companions. “Unless I miss my guess, these are spirit dancers. To witness them perform, it is said, brings good fortune.”
“I can believe that!” Jack grinned wolfishly.
“Greetings, wanderers,” one of the women said as the Bastards approached. Though all of the ladies were beautiful, she was even fairer still. “I am Zakiyya, and these are my sisters, Alala, Masozi and Osumare. You appear weary from the road. Won’t you join us for our evening meal? Our home is not far from here.”
“We’d be honored!” Jack piped up before anyone could object.
The simple but clean hut on the river bank was indeed not far, and once there the companions were fed a filling meal of fish, frog legs, and wild rice around an outdoor hearth.
“I’m sure that your guide,” Zakiyya nodded to Nkechi, “has told you of our profession. We are spirit dancers, priestesses among our people. It seems you are on a quest, and it is our sacred duty to offer our services to you. If would permit it, we can awaken your totem spirits. They will aid you upon your journey, and help guide your path.”
Nessalin had been watching the women closely throughout the meal. Though all of them smiled brightly and seemed friendly, even overly so, the other three deferred to Zakiyya in all things. Furthermore, when Alala, Masozi and Osumare were not directly engaged in conversation, they seemed glassy-eyed and listless. One by one, however, his companions accepted Zakiyya’s offer.
“I’ll pass,” the magus said simply when it came his turn.
“And I unlocked my spirit guide long ago,” Nkechi smiled.
“Very well then,” Zakiyya smiled in return. “Let us begin.”
The women prepared an herbal tea, which they offered the Bastards. They each drank deeply as the Zenj began their hypnotic dance. After only a few minutes, Jack’s and Agnar’s heads began to loll, and within moments, they both slumped over, snoring loudly. Lyrissa soon followed suit. Gorak had eyes only for Zakiyya, while Zavasta stared raptly at Masozi.
“Take your friend inside,” Masozi said gently to the alchemist as she nodded at Agnar. “He is overwrought and needs rest.”
Wordlessly, Zavasta stood and lifted Agnar in his arms before disappearing into the hut.
“I knew it!” Nessalin spat. “It’s a trap!”
He drew his scimitar and spoke a word, weaving sparks of electricity around its blade. With a snarl, he leaped at Alala and cut her down with one slice.
“No!” Nkechi shouted. “This is not the way of the spirit dancers! Something has bewitched them! Do not harm them!”
“Gorak,” Zakiyya purred. “Be a dear and kill Arioch for me.”
The barbarian grunted enthusiastically and turned towards the summoner, murder in his eyes.
“As for you, Nessalin,” she locked her gaze upon the magus. “That wasn’t very nice of you, killing Alala like that. Isn’t there any way we could be friends?”
Nessalin blinked and looked around in confusion. What was going on? Where was he?
“Of course we can,” he nodded. “Why would you even ask?”
“That’s what I thought,” Zakiyya smiled.
“We have to get out of here!” Arioch shouted to Nessalin.
The priest agreed, and as they began to run, he spoke a prayer, and a cloud of billowing mist covered their retreat. They’d gone no more than two steps, however, before Gorak loomed out of the shadows behind them. His sword swung and slashed across Nkechi’s back, sending the priest sprawling. Bleeding profusely, he looked up to see the big barbarian standing over him, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
“Gozreh!” he prayed. “Grant me sanctuary!”
He waited for the sword to fall, but it didn’t. A look of confusion came over Gorak’s face, then he shrugged and stalked off into the mist. Arioch had seen the exchange, but knew there was nothing he could do except die in Nkechi’s stead. He turned and vanished into the cloud, only to make his way quietly to the far edge. He could just see Zakiyya standing on the river bank, smiling to herself. The summoner threw out his hands, and a golden leopard sprang from the air and charged towards the woman, leaping at the last moment, and raking at her with its claws. Zakiyya snarled and pointed a finger at the cat.
“Sit!” she commanded.
Like a well-heeled house pet, the leopard did just that.
Zavasta peeked out the door of the cabin. He wasn’t sure what was going on, only that Zakiyya seemed to have gone crazy, and Masozi might be in danger. He pulled a bomb from his belt and hurled it at Zakiyya. It exploded at her feet and showered her with acid.
“Zavasta! Stop!” Masozi commanded. “She is our friend!”
The alchemist shrugged and turned back towards the cabin. As he did, Nessalin’s eyes fixed upon Masozi. Something was not right. Why was she ordering Zavasta around like that? That shouldn’t be. He was ensorcelled! The magus ran towards the spirit dancer, and as she turned towards him with shock upon her face, he cut her down. In that instant, Zavasta’s mind was freed.
Arioch summoned as second leopard, and though that one managed to claw Zakiyya’s thigh, she enthralled it as well. Then he summoned a small, globe-like archon, one of the least of the celestials. It fired rays of light from its body at the spirit dancer, but then it too came under her spell. Arioch called an aurochs and sent it stampeding towards her. It managed to trample and kill one of the leopards, before it quickly became as docile as a calf. The summoner was running out of ideas.
From the shelter of the cabin, Zavasta hurled another bomb at Zakiyya.
“Gorak!” she screamed. “Kill him!”
The barbarian came charging out of the mist towards Zavasta. The alchemist tried to slam the cabin’s door, but Gorak lowered his shoulder and smashed it in, thrusting his blade into Zavasta’s belly as he came. Thinking quickly, the alchemist fished a flask from his belt and gulped it down. Instantly, he vanished from view, invisible. He held his breath, knowing that if Gorak even suspected he was still there, he was dead. The barbarian looked around for a moment, and then went back outside.
Arioch knew that if he kept summoning single creatures, Zakiyya would just continue to take control of them. He had only one chance. He had almost expended his summonings for the day, and he had to make his efforts count. He cast the spell, and three elementals erupted out of the ground around the spirit dancer. All of them began pummeling Zakiyya.
“Gorak!” she cried. “Help me!”
The barbarian came charging towards her, his sword smashing one of the elementals to dust. Arioch summoned three more. Zakiyya was bleeding freely by this time, and fear was in her eyes.
“Gorak, Osumare!” she commanded. “Kill them all!”
Then she vanished in a flash of crimson light. Gorak raised his sword and stared around wildly. Then, he clenched his eyes shut and shook his head violently.
“No!” he screamed. “Get out of me head!”
When he opened his eyes, they were clear once more, his will his own again. Next to him, Osumare lay on the ground weeping, her spell also broken, and the full horror of her actions clear to her.
__________________________________________________________
Osumare told her tale to the Bastards that evening around the fire outside her home. She and her sisters had been approached by Zakiyya, who offered to teach them secret rituals to bring them closer to their totem spirits. They accepted her profane gifts before they realized her demonic nature. When she finally revealed herself as a succubus, the spirit dancers were horrified, but they were too afraid to oppose her, for if Zakiyya took back her gifts, they would be forever cut off from their totem spirits. She knew she could never make amends for her sins, and she completely blamed herself for the death of her sisters, but she offered to make some small measure of recompense to the companions by performing for them the true ritual to unlock their spirit totems. This time, all of the Bastards agreed. Osumare danced beautifully to summon the totem animals, then proceeded to tattoo each of the totems on their respective owners with long, slender quills dipped in localized numbing toxin. The process was painful even so, and the entire ritual took several hours. Once it was completed, however, each of the Bastards found that they could call on their totems for guidance. Zavasta took it one step further. His totem turned out to be a vulture, and that night the alchemist worked feverishly on a new concoction that he’d had an idea for. He injected himself with it immediately, and when he woke in the morning he proudly showed off the new pair of black feathered wings he’d sprouted overnight.
____________________________________________________________
One week later, the Bastards, led by Nkechi and guided by their totem spirits, finally reached the ruins of the Azlanti outpost of Tazion. The crumbling remnants of a massive enclosure wall marked the perimeter of the ruins. Entire sections had eroded away or lay buried beneath sediment, while vines and vegetation strangled what little exposed stonework remained. The companions began scrambling through one of the large holes in the walls, but as Agnar’s skeletal chemosit blundered through, a barbed net sprang up around it and hoisted it bodily into the trees. Frustrated, Agnar took flight upon the zombified geir and cut the chemosit free.
“This net is not ancient,” Nkechi noted. “It looks relatively new. We are not alone here.”
Not far inside the enclosure wall, the companions came upon a large vine-draped pit in the ground. When they peered down, however, they saw worked stone. It was apparently some sort of ancient, long dry aqueduct. It seemed a good way to traverse the ruins without running across any hostiles until they’d had a chance to ascertain exactly what they were up against.
“Wait a moment,” Arioch said. “I’ll whip us up a scout.”
He opened a summoning circle, and a small lantern archon flitted out.
“Go below and see what’s down there,” Arioch commanded it.
The little globe of light bobbed in acknowledgement, then flashed down into the pit. A moment later, the companions heard a rumbling roar from below, almost like the sound of rushing water. When they looked down, they saw that a huge, vaguely humanoid column of water had reared up in front of the archon. The diminutive celestial was brave. It held its ground and loosed a trio of energy rays into the oncoming elemental. Zavasta backed up the archon by hurling an acidic bomb into the body of the elemental as it prepared to attack. A moment later, Jack leaped into the pit, followed closely by Gorak, and then, at Agnar’s command, the chemosit skeleton. The chemosit swung one taloned paw at the elemental, but the water creature responded with two enormous pseudopods that slammed into both the skeleton and the archon. Then, when Jack attempted to somersault behind it, it smashed another fist into him as well. Gorak charged, trying to distract the elemental from Jack. He struck with fury, while beside him the chemosit continued to pummel the guardian, and from behind, the archon unleashed another salvo of celestial light. The elemental slammed one massive arm into all three of its attackers, snuffing the archon out of existence, and reducing the chemosit into a pile of bloody bones. By that time, however, Jack was on his feet again, and while he struck from behind, Gorak slashed furiously from the front. Finally, the elemental collapsed in on itself, leaving a large pool of water which quickly drained away down the aqueduct.
The other companions climbed down into the tunnel, and Agnar stood over what had been his minion.
“Tough break,” Jack snickered.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” the priest replied. “It will regenerate, but it will take some time. It should be fine here for now while we continue onward.”
“Great,” Jack sighed.
Quietly, the group proceeded down the darkened passage. After several minutes, the tunnel branched to their right. They ignored the offshoot and continued on ahead. Eventually, the channel ended in a weathered stairwell that led back to the surface. When the group emerged, however, they did not find themselves outside, but instead inside of a ruined tower. The floor was hidden beneath a veritable carpet of multicolored snakes. Among them slithered a constrictor of enormous size, as well a quartet of deadly violet mambas.
Arioch quickly called four elementals to him, this time wreathed entirely in flames. They waded into the serpents, setting snakes ablaze on all sides, including two of the mambas. Gorak walked behind them, hacking all around him as the snakes closed in. Then, almost too quick to see, the constrictor struck. It wrapped its coils around the barbarian and began to squeeze. Gorak’s eyes bulged, and his face turned crimson as rage overcame him. Bony spikes began ripping through his flesh from beneath, piercing the snake’s tough hide. As the serpent recoiled, the elementals swarmed it, setting it alight as they hammered it with their fists. It released Gorak as it burned to a smoking cinder. Gorak roared in victory as he sliced another of the mambas in half, and Nessalin charred the last one with his electrified scimitar. The tower itself turned out to be little more than a hollow shell. Rather than venture back outside into the unknown, the Bastards descended back into the aqueduct and backtracked to the side tunnel they’d bypassed before.
_______________________________________________________
The secondary passage came to a dead end in the side of a deep well. Its bottom was dry some forty feet below, while twenty or so feet above blue sky could be seen.
“Hush!” Jack cautioned the others.
He cocked his head, listening carefully. From somewhere below, he thought he heard a faint slithering sound in the darkness. From above there came a chattering cacophony, vaguely reminiscent of monkeys.
“We’ve got company top and bottom,” he whispered to the others.
“Move aside,” Arioch replied. “I’ll send the elementals to scout the bottom while we still have them.”
“That’s a long way down,” Jack said. “You sure they can survive that?”
“They won’t have to,” the summoner smiled.
At Arioch’s command, the four elementals leaped into the shaft and began to plummet. The summoner quickly cast another spell, and instantaneously the creatures began to float downwards, like feathers on a breeze. No sooner had they touched down at the bottom of the well,however, than a flash of violent motion erupted from a small hole in the side of the shaft. To the observers above, it looked like a black-skinned octopus. Two of its rubbery arms seized a pair of the elementals and tore them to pieces. Whatever the creature was, it suffered severe burns for its trouble, but it was not slowed. It began crawling towards the other elementals.
“I’m going down there,” Nessalin said.
He quickly dropped a rope over the side and began sliding down. Gorak grabbed the rope behind him and started down after him. Suddenly, the chattering from above grew louder. Nessalin looked up and saw four faces peering down at him from the top of the well. They looked like baboons, but they wore leather armor, and a sinister intelligence glinted in their eyes. When they saw the Bastards, they began to hoot wildly, and then grabbed rocks from the lip of the well and started throwing them with deadly accuracy. A pair of stones struck Nessalin in the head, and he almost lost his grip as blood flowed into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Above him, Gorak was pelted as well, and at the magus’s urging, he began scrambling back up the rope, Nessalin right behind him.
Below, the remaining elementals pummeled the crawling octopoid until it retreated back into its hole. They bent low and followed. It was a fatal mistake. The creature’s lair was a dead-end, and backed into a corner, it fought savagely. Within seconds, it killed both the elementals, but the burns it suffered as it did so proved deadly for it as well.
Arioch cast another summoning as the ape-men continued tossing rocks into the well. This time he called a dretch, and the little demon quickly wove a noxious green cloud at the top of the well. Immediately, the sound of violent retching came from above.
“Coming through!” Zavasta shouted as he elbowed past his companions
The alchemist leaped into the shaft and unfurled his wings as he did, then flew awkwardly to the top. As he emerged, he got a good look at the ape-men. They were short, no more than three-feet tall, but they carried carved cudgels on their belts, and their armor was well-made. Three of them were in the throes of nausea, while the fourth looked around in confusion. When it saw Zavasta, however, it quickly snatched up a rock and pelted the alchemist squarely in the forehead. Zavasta cursed and hurled an acid bomb amongst the apes. The one who’d attacked him screamed as its flesh dissolved, while the others could do nothing to defend themselves as the acid splashed on them as well. Zavasta threw again…and again, until nothing was left of the creatures but sizzling piles of gore.
Several days later the Screaming Jungle was left behind as the river flowed across the Korir Plains. The river widened and became fast and shallow, and the surrounding vegetation consisted of almost entirely of reeds, mangroves, lotuses and other water plants. After travelling a few miles along the river’s course, the Bastards spied four young Zenj women bathing in the water. When the women spied the travelers, they giggled and beckoned to them.
“Ah!” Nkechi said to his traveling companions. “Unless I miss my guess, these are spirit dancers. To witness them perform, it is said, brings good fortune.”
“I can believe that!” Jack grinned wolfishly.
“Greetings, wanderers,” one of the women said as the Bastards approached. Though all of the ladies were beautiful, she was even fairer still. “I am Zakiyya, and these are my sisters, Alala, Masozi and Osumare. You appear weary from the road. Won’t you join us for our evening meal? Our home is not far from here.”
“We’d be honored!” Jack piped up before anyone could object.
The simple but clean hut on the river bank was indeed not far, and once there the companions were fed a filling meal of fish, frog legs, and wild rice around an outdoor hearth.
“I’m sure that your guide,” Zakiyya nodded to Nkechi, “has told you of our profession. We are spirit dancers, priestesses among our people. It seems you are on a quest, and it is our sacred duty to offer our services to you. If would permit it, we can awaken your totem spirits. They will aid you upon your journey, and help guide your path.”
Nessalin had been watching the women closely throughout the meal. Though all of them smiled brightly and seemed friendly, even overly so, the other three deferred to Zakiyya in all things. Furthermore, when Alala, Masozi and Osumare were not directly engaged in conversation, they seemed glassy-eyed and listless. One by one, however, his companions accepted Zakiyya’s offer.
“I’ll pass,” the magus said simply when it came his turn.
“And I unlocked my spirit guide long ago,” Nkechi smiled.
“Very well then,” Zakiyya smiled in return. “Let us begin.”
The women prepared an herbal tea, which they offered the Bastards. They each drank deeply as the Zenj began their hypnotic dance. After only a few minutes, Jack’s and Agnar’s heads began to loll, and within moments, they both slumped over, snoring loudly. Lyrissa soon followed suit. Gorak had eyes only for Zakiyya, while Zavasta stared raptly at Masozi.
“Take your friend inside,” Masozi said gently to the alchemist as she nodded at Agnar. “He is overwrought and needs rest.”
Wordlessly, Zavasta stood and lifted Agnar in his arms before disappearing into the hut.
“I knew it!” Nessalin spat. “It’s a trap!”
He drew his scimitar and spoke a word, weaving sparks of electricity around its blade. With a snarl, he leaped at Alala and cut her down with one slice.
“No!” Nkechi shouted. “This is not the way of the spirit dancers! Something has bewitched them! Do not harm them!”
“Gorak,” Zakiyya purred. “Be a dear and kill Arioch for me.”
The barbarian grunted enthusiastically and turned towards the summoner, murder in his eyes.
“As for you, Nessalin,” she locked her gaze upon the magus. “That wasn’t very nice of you, killing Alala like that. Isn’t there any way we could be friends?”
Nessalin blinked and looked around in confusion. What was going on? Where was he?
“Of course we can,” he nodded. “Why would you even ask?”
“That’s what I thought,” Zakiyya smiled.
“We have to get out of here!” Arioch shouted to Nessalin.
The priest agreed, and as they began to run, he spoke a prayer, and a cloud of billowing mist covered their retreat. They’d gone no more than two steps, however, before Gorak loomed out of the shadows behind them. His sword swung and slashed across Nkechi’s back, sending the priest sprawling. Bleeding profusely, he looked up to see the big barbarian standing over him, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
“Gozreh!” he prayed. “Grant me sanctuary!”
He waited for the sword to fall, but it didn’t. A look of confusion came over Gorak’s face, then he shrugged and stalked off into the mist. Arioch had seen the exchange, but knew there was nothing he could do except die in Nkechi’s stead. He turned and vanished into the cloud, only to make his way quietly to the far edge. He could just see Zakiyya standing on the river bank, smiling to herself. The summoner threw out his hands, and a golden leopard sprang from the air and charged towards the woman, leaping at the last moment, and raking at her with its claws. Zakiyya snarled and pointed a finger at the cat.
“Sit!” she commanded.
Like a well-heeled house pet, the leopard did just that.
Zavasta peeked out the door of the cabin. He wasn’t sure what was going on, only that Zakiyya seemed to have gone crazy, and Masozi might be in danger. He pulled a bomb from his belt and hurled it at Zakiyya. It exploded at her feet and showered her with acid.
“Zavasta! Stop!” Masozi commanded. “She is our friend!”
The alchemist shrugged and turned back towards the cabin. As he did, Nessalin’s eyes fixed upon Masozi. Something was not right. Why was she ordering Zavasta around like that? That shouldn’t be. He was ensorcelled! The magus ran towards the spirit dancer, and as she turned towards him with shock upon her face, he cut her down. In that instant, Zavasta’s mind was freed.
Arioch summoned as second leopard, and though that one managed to claw Zakiyya’s thigh, she enthralled it as well. Then he summoned a small, globe-like archon, one of the least of the celestials. It fired rays of light from its body at the spirit dancer, but then it too came under her spell. Arioch called an aurochs and sent it stampeding towards her. It managed to trample and kill one of the leopards, before it quickly became as docile as a calf. The summoner was running out of ideas.
From the shelter of the cabin, Zavasta hurled another bomb at Zakiyya.
“Gorak!” she screamed. “Kill him!”
The barbarian came charging out of the mist towards Zavasta. The alchemist tried to slam the cabin’s door, but Gorak lowered his shoulder and smashed it in, thrusting his blade into Zavasta’s belly as he came. Thinking quickly, the alchemist fished a flask from his belt and gulped it down. Instantly, he vanished from view, invisible. He held his breath, knowing that if Gorak even suspected he was still there, he was dead. The barbarian looked around for a moment, and then went back outside.
Arioch knew that if he kept summoning single creatures, Zakiyya would just continue to take control of them. He had only one chance. He had almost expended his summonings for the day, and he had to make his efforts count. He cast the spell, and three elementals erupted out of the ground around the spirit dancer. All of them began pummeling Zakiyya.
“Gorak!” she cried. “Help me!”
The barbarian came charging towards her, his sword smashing one of the elementals to dust. Arioch summoned three more. Zakiyya was bleeding freely by this time, and fear was in her eyes.
“Gorak, Osumare!” she commanded. “Kill them all!”
Then she vanished in a flash of crimson light. Gorak raised his sword and stared around wildly. Then, he clenched his eyes shut and shook his head violently.
“No!” he screamed. “Get out of me head!”
When he opened his eyes, they were clear once more, his will his own again. Next to him, Osumare lay on the ground weeping, her spell also broken, and the full horror of her actions clear to her.
__________________________________________________________
Osumare told her tale to the Bastards that evening around the fire outside her home. She and her sisters had been approached by Zakiyya, who offered to teach them secret rituals to bring them closer to their totem spirits. They accepted her profane gifts before they realized her demonic nature. When she finally revealed herself as a succubus, the spirit dancers were horrified, but they were too afraid to oppose her, for if Zakiyya took back her gifts, they would be forever cut off from their totem spirits. She knew she could never make amends for her sins, and she completely blamed herself for the death of her sisters, but she offered to make some small measure of recompense to the companions by performing for them the true ritual to unlock their spirit totems. This time, all of the Bastards agreed. Osumare danced beautifully to summon the totem animals, then proceeded to tattoo each of the totems on their respective owners with long, slender quills dipped in localized numbing toxin. The process was painful even so, and the entire ritual took several hours. Once it was completed, however, each of the Bastards found that they could call on their totems for guidance. Zavasta took it one step further. His totem turned out to be a vulture, and that night the alchemist worked feverishly on a new concoction that he’d had an idea for. He injected himself with it immediately, and when he woke in the morning he proudly showed off the new pair of black feathered wings he’d sprouted overnight.
____________________________________________________________
One week later, the Bastards, led by Nkechi and guided by their totem spirits, finally reached the ruins of the Azlanti outpost of Tazion. The crumbling remnants of a massive enclosure wall marked the perimeter of the ruins. Entire sections had eroded away or lay buried beneath sediment, while vines and vegetation strangled what little exposed stonework remained. The companions began scrambling through one of the large holes in the walls, but as Agnar’s skeletal chemosit blundered through, a barbed net sprang up around it and hoisted it bodily into the trees. Frustrated, Agnar took flight upon the zombified geir and cut the chemosit free.
“This net is not ancient,” Nkechi noted. “It looks relatively new. We are not alone here.”
Not far inside the enclosure wall, the companions came upon a large vine-draped pit in the ground. When they peered down, however, they saw worked stone. It was apparently some sort of ancient, long dry aqueduct. It seemed a good way to traverse the ruins without running across any hostiles until they’d had a chance to ascertain exactly what they were up against.
“Wait a moment,” Arioch said. “I’ll whip us up a scout.”
He opened a summoning circle, and a small lantern archon flitted out.
“Go below and see what’s down there,” Arioch commanded it.
The little globe of light bobbed in acknowledgement, then flashed down into the pit. A moment later, the companions heard a rumbling roar from below, almost like the sound of rushing water. When they looked down, they saw that a huge, vaguely humanoid column of water had reared up in front of the archon. The diminutive celestial was brave. It held its ground and loosed a trio of energy rays into the oncoming elemental. Zavasta backed up the archon by hurling an acidic bomb into the body of the elemental as it prepared to attack. A moment later, Jack leaped into the pit, followed closely by Gorak, and then, at Agnar’s command, the chemosit skeleton. The chemosit swung one taloned paw at the elemental, but the water creature responded with two enormous pseudopods that slammed into both the skeleton and the archon. Then, when Jack attempted to somersault behind it, it smashed another fist into him as well. Gorak charged, trying to distract the elemental from Jack. He struck with fury, while beside him the chemosit continued to pummel the guardian, and from behind, the archon unleashed another salvo of celestial light. The elemental slammed one massive arm into all three of its attackers, snuffing the archon out of existence, and reducing the chemosit into a pile of bloody bones. By that time, however, Jack was on his feet again, and while he struck from behind, Gorak slashed furiously from the front. Finally, the elemental collapsed in on itself, leaving a large pool of water which quickly drained away down the aqueduct.
The other companions climbed down into the tunnel, and Agnar stood over what had been his minion.
“Tough break,” Jack snickered.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” the priest replied. “It will regenerate, but it will take some time. It should be fine here for now while we continue onward.”
“Great,” Jack sighed.
Quietly, the group proceeded down the darkened passage. After several minutes, the tunnel branched to their right. They ignored the offshoot and continued on ahead. Eventually, the channel ended in a weathered stairwell that led back to the surface. When the group emerged, however, they did not find themselves outside, but instead inside of a ruined tower. The floor was hidden beneath a veritable carpet of multicolored snakes. Among them slithered a constrictor of enormous size, as well a quartet of deadly violet mambas.
Arioch quickly called four elementals to him, this time wreathed entirely in flames. They waded into the serpents, setting snakes ablaze on all sides, including two of the mambas. Gorak walked behind them, hacking all around him as the snakes closed in. Then, almost too quick to see, the constrictor struck. It wrapped its coils around the barbarian and began to squeeze. Gorak’s eyes bulged, and his face turned crimson as rage overcame him. Bony spikes began ripping through his flesh from beneath, piercing the snake’s tough hide. As the serpent recoiled, the elementals swarmed it, setting it alight as they hammered it with their fists. It released Gorak as it burned to a smoking cinder. Gorak roared in victory as he sliced another of the mambas in half, and Nessalin charred the last one with his electrified scimitar. The tower itself turned out to be little more than a hollow shell. Rather than venture back outside into the unknown, the Bastards descended back into the aqueduct and backtracked to the side tunnel they’d bypassed before.
_______________________________________________________
The secondary passage came to a dead end in the side of a deep well. Its bottom was dry some forty feet below, while twenty or so feet above blue sky could be seen.
“Hush!” Jack cautioned the others.
He cocked his head, listening carefully. From somewhere below, he thought he heard a faint slithering sound in the darkness. From above there came a chattering cacophony, vaguely reminiscent of monkeys.
“We’ve got company top and bottom,” he whispered to the others.
“Move aside,” Arioch replied. “I’ll send the elementals to scout the bottom while we still have them.”
“That’s a long way down,” Jack said. “You sure they can survive that?”
“They won’t have to,” the summoner smiled.
At Arioch’s command, the four elementals leaped into the shaft and began to plummet. The summoner quickly cast another spell, and instantaneously the creatures began to float downwards, like feathers on a breeze. No sooner had they touched down at the bottom of the well,however, than a flash of violent motion erupted from a small hole in the side of the shaft. To the observers above, it looked like a black-skinned octopus. Two of its rubbery arms seized a pair of the elementals and tore them to pieces. Whatever the creature was, it suffered severe burns for its trouble, but it was not slowed. It began crawling towards the other elementals.
“I’m going down there,” Nessalin said.
He quickly dropped a rope over the side and began sliding down. Gorak grabbed the rope behind him and started down after him. Suddenly, the chattering from above grew louder. Nessalin looked up and saw four faces peering down at him from the top of the well. They looked like baboons, but they wore leather armor, and a sinister intelligence glinted in their eyes. When they saw the Bastards, they began to hoot wildly, and then grabbed rocks from the lip of the well and started throwing them with deadly accuracy. A pair of stones struck Nessalin in the head, and he almost lost his grip as blood flowed into his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Above him, Gorak was pelted as well, and at the magus’s urging, he began scrambling back up the rope, Nessalin right behind him.
Below, the remaining elementals pummeled the crawling octopoid until it retreated back into its hole. They bent low and followed. It was a fatal mistake. The creature’s lair was a dead-end, and backed into a corner, it fought savagely. Within seconds, it killed both the elementals, but the burns it suffered as it did so proved deadly for it as well.
Arioch cast another summoning as the ape-men continued tossing rocks into the well. This time he called a dretch, and the little demon quickly wove a noxious green cloud at the top of the well. Immediately, the sound of violent retching came from above.
“Coming through!” Zavasta shouted as he elbowed past his companions
The alchemist leaped into the shaft and unfurled his wings as he did, then flew awkwardly to the top. As he emerged, he got a good look at the ape-men. They were short, no more than three-feet tall, but they carried carved cudgels on their belts, and their armor was well-made. Three of them were in the throes of nausea, while the fourth looked around in confusion. When it saw Zavasta, however, it quickly snatched up a rock and pelted the alchemist squarely in the forehead. Zavasta cursed and hurled an acid bomb amongst the apes. The one who’d attacked him screamed as its flesh dissolved, while the others could do nothing to defend themselves as the acid splashed on them as well. Zavasta threw again…and again, until nothing was left of the creatures but sizzling piles of gore.