A Chronicle of Ice, Luck and Honour - updated 19th December

[Spider_Jerusalem]

"This had better work!"

- - - - - - - - - -​

Lyle knew his revenge was close. He dropped the last of the onyx gems into the skulls of the dwarven bodies. Stepping back through the unearthed burial ground, Lyle admired his handiwork. Ignoring the ethereal clawing of the enraged spirits as they slid harmlessly through him, Lyle withdrew the scroll and practiced the verses silently in his head. Lyle cleared his throat and voiced the dark words haltingly. His voice was untrained for such pronunciation.

- - - - - - - - - -​

Torious crouched to heal the mage's tattered leg. Thalin gritted his teeth as he felt the flesh knit back together.

“Wait. I only need enough to walk, save your powers,” said Thalin.
“As you say,” Torious answered.

Torious checked the leg was stable enough before he allowed the mage to stand. Thalin made a few shaky steps before turning and following Milo through the now opened western wall, where the rail tracks had previously disappeared into.

Milo tiptoed to the end of unveiled rail tracks. He balanced precariously on the edge of a rock grinder set ten feet deep in the stonework floor. Its huge metal teeth, used to crush excavated rock, stood unmoving and layered with a thick dust. Milo grew instantly bored at the unmoving mechanism and gazed about the rest of the room.

Milo saw a small door in the corner set with a thick pane of glass. The halfling shook with uncontrollable curiosity thinking of what treasures a warden’s office might contain, and with a deft leap over the swirling rail tracks, landed next to the door. It was locked. Milo pulled himself up to the thick window and peered in. Milo squealed with delight and quickly dropped back down and began to pick the dwarven lock.

MEanwhile, Torious had found a stone lever, which, with a terrible grating sound, activated the grinder. Torious winced, then pushed the lever back down and halted the slow spinning of the immense cogs.

- - - - - - - - - -​

In the midst of speaking the arcane verses, Lyle snapped his head up as a sound rumbled from the large chamber, then died. Realising the distraction has thrown his momentum; Lyle read the next verse speedily to keep pace with the bass thrum of the magic that now coursed through the air.

- - - - - - - - - -​

Milo shouted a victory cry as he finally sprung the lock with a thick metallic click. Looking back over his shoulder and grinning once again, Milo pulled the large door open. Thalin turned to look at the elated halfling. The mage shouted a warning just in time,

“Move!”

Milo instinctively ducked as a huge gauntleted hand swung inches over his head. A giant metal statue stepped slowly from the doorway, forcing Milo to flip out of its reach.

“Iron golem!” shouted Thalin.

The golem stepped dauntingly onto the chamber floor and took slow, inevitable steps towards the three intruders. The guardian was dominated by a magnificent chain beard, which swayed heavily.

A plan sprung in Thalin’s mind. He grabbed Torious and Milo by the arm and manoeuvred his companions to the other side of the grinder pit.

“Milo! The grinder!” shouted Torious, catching onto Thalin’s plan.

Milo was way ahead of this however, and the crossbow bolt pinned the hand of the lever into ‘on’ as Torious shouted his instruction over the ‘thump thump’ of the golem.

“This had better work!” yelled Milo.

The golem reached the far edge of the grinder and without a pause, placed his next step over the gap and with a thunderous crash fell into the revolving teeth of the grinder. Thalin, Milo and Torious covered their ears in pain as a bone-shivering scream wailed from the grinder. The teeth locked against the golems huge form and halted the turning of the cogs. Arms stretched to the sky as it grasped towards the intruders, the golem was stuck fast.

- - - - - - - - - -​

The bones of the dwarves slithered back into place. Lyle finished the last of the verses. He watched in morbid amusement as the dwarven skeletons stood as if dragged up by some invisible puppet master. Their skulls lolled. Twisted and dirt encrusted beards hung limp. Then as one, the heads snapped to attention as the final puppet string was pulled and the risen dead awaited their orders.

His bloodthirsty revenge had been playing in his mind all day, and he could wait no longer. Lyle pushed open the door with his boot. He stalked from the shadows of the chamber entrance. The undead crowded after him. Their deformed movements quickened as they sensed their prey.

Lyle sighted the three talking companions. He rested his crossbow over his stump and took careful aim.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

[Commercial Break 2]

Hello again! Thanks for reading my story hour. I appreciate your time. I'm sure you skimmed over the first commercial break - so this is same old format, mostly new stuff. As always, I'm a fan of the younger story hours out there I am spartacus.

Got a little bit of which-story-hour-is-worth-starting syndrome? Then these are my suggestions... (in no particular preference order, by the way)

First up...

The Heroes of Icemist by Enk&D'Shai of course, it being one of the best out there. Great characters and not a prude on action, this is a sure fire fun read. Go go go.

Second up...

The Misfits by Ashy. Ashy just recently posted a real humdinger of a chapter - I urge you to go check it out. A real eclectic party (hence "The Misfits") mixes with great badguys and a real sense of plot momentum. Write more Ashy! Write more!

Third up...

The Blade of Phoee by Funeris. Still on my must-read-update list, this is a dark and gritty campaign with some great background (don't skip it either... well worth the read). It isn't too far into the story hour, so go catch up now!

Fourth up...

The Long Road by a forest-dwelling teddy bear called RangerWickett. This is a well written d20modern storyhour with characters that we can all relate to. A mix of all sorts of things (Wickett plugged it as somewhere near "Buffy, Hellboy, Predator, and The X-Files"), and it sparked my interest from the first post. Could be damn impressive as it starts to develop.

Fifth up...

Lizard Bait by DM-Rocco. This thread fell through the messageboard gaps a while ago (shame! shame!), but as DM-Rocco neatly summarised, he intends to pull it back to full snarling and snapping life. Well worth a go - it's dragonlance (not everyones cup of tea, i know, but give it a shot - a gully dwarf gets its head pulled off! wonderful!) and has heaps of potential.

Sixth and final up...

Shadows of Greatness by Sniffles (and quite a bit by Hedrin). I've been a little behind on this story hour, but catching up quicker and quicker. Definately worth a read - up to where I've read has been some good character development and tautly written combat sequences. This doesn't get anywhere near the attention it deserves. Plus, us Forgotten Realms kids gotta stick together.

- - - - - - - - - -​

And that's it for now. My previous commercial break had a few starwars story hours floating about, but it seemed they were short lived for some reason. Sad to see them go, but from the ashes of their cauterised corpses leapt a barrelful of new SW story hours. I admit, I was overwhelmed and retreated back to my familiar sword and sorcery. I might brave one or two. I don't know.

Anyway, enough of me.

Spider J

[Commercial Break 2 End]

 

[Black Bard]

Back on track!

I just saw that you've been posting in the Heroes of Icemist SH and cared to take a look here...
I must (re) read all the that you'd (re)posted, but I think I will have time for that, as the Women in Red are yet to appear...
It's good to see you posting, man! This campaign is really awesome and your writing style amazing.

 

[Ashy]

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! Love it, Spider - love it!

And WOW - thanks for mentioning me above! KEEN!

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Hey Black Bard! Nice to see you back - likewise, I saw you over on Icemist. Thanks for returning... the original posts have been largely rewritten/re-edited/re-thought-out because I wasn't so happy with what I had written back then.

as the Women in Red are yet to appear...

You sly dog you! Beating me to my own teasers! Yep, I'm looking forward to posting up that segment - I'm avid to expand on the dialogue and mix in a few details I missed last time. For those of you not in the know, the women in red are skulking onto the stage in the very near future...

Watch as Torious fumbles for words!
Gasp as Thalin grinds his teeth in anger!
Shake your head as Milo evades death yet again!
Magic!
Mayhem!
Divine Intervention!
Pulp fantasy at its dirtiest!

It's good to see you posting, man! This campaign is really awesome and your writing style amazing.

Y'know what the best thing is? I love doing this. Writing, that is.

Thanks for the support. Just you wait till we kick into the new posts! There is so much I could say, but I'm biting through my lip.

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! Love it, Spider - love it!

Thanks again Ashy, and I wasn't rolling bluff on my recommendation - I really enjoyed your last post. Keep it up.


Anyway. Isn't it about time for me to update?

Spider J

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

"Only enough to run"

Thalin turned and went to call back Milo. His voice spasmed as a black-feathered bolt whistled into the back of his right knee and exploded through the kneecap in a wet shock of blood and gristle.

“Your time is ended mage! I have come to claim my vengeance,” shrieked Lyle from the doorway.

A score of dwarven skeletons surged past him, their broken joints creaking as they dashed forwards. Torious reacted fast. He caught Thalin as he dropped. Looking into the mage's shocked eyes, Torious hauled him to his feet as positive power flowed into the damaged knee. Tendrils of bright flesh closed over the wound.

“Only enough to run,” said Torious as he backed away from the skeleton horde, pushing the hobbling Thalin behind him.

Milo sprinted for a stonework door that was slightly ajar. This was not open before, thought Milo. As he ran, he fumbled for the aqualish toy in his pocket.

Thalin and Torious retreated towards the disappearing Milo. Torious hollered celestial curses at the cursed undead as they clambered across the tracks towards them. Thalin shakily loaded a bolt into his crossbow and fired at Lyle, but was way off target.

“This way!!!” shouted Milo as he pressed the tiny apparatus into the thin gap. With a whoosh, the toy enlarged to full size, creaking in resistance for a split second before forcing open the heavy stone doors. Stale air hit Milo in the face, but he resolutely snapped back up the aqualish into his hand as he spoke an arcane word. With a chime, his crossbow lit up with a comfortable yellow light and pushed the darkness back.

Torious pushed Thalin through the doorway before turning back to face the tide of dead dwarves. Thrusting his meagre symbol before him, Torious flared his birthscars and called upon Tyr to force back these unholy creatures. In an explosion of celestial light, six dwarves were scattered to dust. It was not enough. Torious turned and ran.

A black-feathered crossbow bolt splintered off of the Aasimar's helm. Lyle snarled a curse as he failed to hit flesh.

Milo leapt into the stone work room at the end of the dark corridor, hoping to Tymora that there were no ghosts in this unknown area of the mines. Milo made a split second decision and turned to his right, choosing one of the two blank doors in the small room. With a bellowing roar, the door screamed “INTRUDER!” as Milo grabbed the handle. The halfling stumbled back in pain, his ears spitting blood.

Thalin and Torious burst into the room. Milo reeled away from the right hand door. Torious quickly looked to the left.

“Must have been a glyph. The other door might also be guarded!” breathed Thalin as Torious stepped towards the wooden frame.
“Death is not an option,” grunted Torious as he kicked the door through, sending splinters of wood into the thin passageway beyond. Recoiling, the aasimar’s ears sprayed red as “INTRUDER!” bellowed through the room again.

“Go!” shouted Torious.

He looked up to see a foot wide corridor leading out of the room. Possible to get through, but only just. The aasimar shimmied sideways into the gap and began to palm down the thin corridor towards the room twenty feet ahead. His boots kicked through a thick layer of small rocks. Milo held his ears but picked himself up as he saw the wave of placid bones lumbering towards them. With a shout, Milo pushed Thalin into the thin passageway then followed him through.

- - - - - - - - - -​

Lyle sprinted forwards, eager to catch the escaping mage. He barged through the dwarves and bounded towards the room ahead, his crossbow loaded and ready to fire.

- - - - - - - - - -​

Torious reached the halfway point of the corridor. Looking up, his scars illuminated a small pole held horizontally between the walls. No wait; a slender blade covered in dust was wedged perfectly into the foot wide gap. Shouting back to his companions to be aware of the danger, Torious ducked the knife and squeezed past. Torious could hear a faint vibration, as if the blade were under incredible pressure. Torious’s scars dulled as he realised what they were sliding through.

“Run! The blade is all that’s holding the walls!”

As if in reply, the blade point jumped a quarter inch to the side.

 

[Ashy]

Devious DM Delights!

Bravo!! Bravo!!

Good job on conveying the rushed sense of fear and flight here, SJ! I was getting nervous just reading!

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Good job on conveying the rushed sense of fear and flight here, SJ! I was getting nervous just reading!

Good good. I'm glad you enjoyed that one! The PC's really were running for their lives - they knew that if they slowed down, the dwarves (not to mention that raggamuffin Lyle) would be way too much of a fight in their current state. Shame for them that Lyle has still got a trick or two up his sleeve...

I finally tracked down character sheets etc. so I'll post character stats & magic items & other stuff after the mines.

Spider J

ps. And your right on Devious DM delights. Looking back on it, I think I constructed half of the campaign just so I could see the player's faces when the stuff hit the fan.

 

[Ashy]

ps. And your right on Devious DM delights. Looking back on it, I think I constructed half of the campaign just so I could see the player's faces when the stuff hit the fan.

As does any DM worth his salt!

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

"They cannot be hurt!"

Torious slid out of the other side and breathed in deep gulps of air as he turned back and offered his hand to Thalin. Grasping the priest’s hand, Thalin pulled free of the walls as the blade hummed again and slid even further. The walls ached in reply.

Milo passed under the knife as a shriek from the end of the corridor heralded the arrival Lyle. His goggled eyes stretched down the corridor, coming to rest on the knife. Understanding the forces at work, he levelled the crossbow at the knife hilt and began to aim as the halfling scrabbled towards the exit.

Lyle stood silhouetted in the corridor gap, his goggles two discs of light against the darkness. The skeletons caught up and began to press themselves into the corridor. The undead crawled over each other towards the three heroes, their thick bones scraping against the wall sides as they moved.

Cursing, Lyle saw his shot ruined by the overlapping undead and re-aimed over them.

Milo slipped through the end of the corridor, and not waiting to catch his breath, jumped up and pulled his rope from his backpack and began to whirl it in the air. Thalin ducked suddenly as a black-feathered bolt ricocheted from the corridor roof and slit through his cloak, inches from his arm.

Measuring his aim, Milo twirled the rope once more as the first of the skeletons swarmed under the knife, and then released the rope end. The rope snaked towards the knife and perfectly wrapped around the blade, but the halfling’s joy turned to dismay as the razor sharp knife-edge slit the rope into pieces. The skeletons surged under the knife and began to spill towards the end of the corridor.

With a shout of victory, Milo’s rope whipped around the blade hilt. Skeletal hands began to claw and scrape at the knife, but to no avail.
“See ya later” said Milo as he jerked the rope backwards, dislodging the blade. With a thunderous grating, the walls began to close together. Milo deftly caught the blade as it whistled through the air, the name Sliverspike crafted into the hilt.

Skeletons snapped and buckled into pieces as the walls compacted their brittle bodies. Showers of bone shards peppered the watching heroes as the skeletons reached the end of the corridor in a flurry of shattering frames.

Not wanting to watch the bones of the dwarves crushed, Thalin turned to view their new surroundings. They now stood in a large chamber with dig marks along the walls, a recent excavation, thought Thalin. The opposite wall was a single huge stonework door, larger than any before. But he didn’t have time to investigate further as two coins zipped through the closing walls and scattered onto the ground at his feet. With a slam, the walls closed, cutting off Lyle’s sudden maniacal laughter.

The coins lay at his feet for a moment, and then dissolved into the ground. Torious and Milo stood with the mage as they watched in horror as out of thin air a circle of bones ripped into existence. Stepping back slowly, the three companions backed away towards the huge doors as the hovering bone circle began to build upon itself, adding grisly layers of blood and filth. A stench of putrid flesh crawled through the air.

With a green blast, the circles throbbed once then two withered human figures stepped through and dropped into a predatory crouch. Each cloaked figure had a deformed, taloned hand, which rippled with powerful muscles. Their red bale-fire eyes viewed their targets with a murderous lust.

Torious screamed in celestial fury as he recognised two Banedead, dread servants of the banished god Bane.

Torious had barely a moment to contemplate their arrival as the Banedead leapt at him, fanged maws eager for Aasimar flesh. Bowling him backwards, the undead drove their claws into any exposed flesh they could find. Torious struggled to fight the creatures off, feeling his limbs become slow and sluggish as their claws curved rents in his skin.

Thalin shouted a battle cry and barreled one of the creatures off of his companion, driving Shard into its side. But the scimitar clattered against the rotted skin as if it were a metal sheet.

“They cannot be hurt!” screamed Thalin as the Banedead ignored him and leapt towards Torious.

- - - - - - - - - -​

Lyle stamped against the wall again, his efforts to get through useless against the ancient stone. Furious that the mage was out of his sight, Lyle turned to find another way in but halted as a dwarven voice echoed through the room.
“Triggered. Closed.”
Lyle span and answered back in fluent dwarven,
“Deactivate. Open.”
The walls stood unmoving for a moment then slowly ground open. Lyle grinned sadistically as the thin line to the mage gradually grew wider.

- - - - - - - - - -​

“Yes they can, but only by magic!” shouted Torious back as he landed a gauntleted fist into one of his assailant’s faces as he pushed himself into a crouch.

Thalin realising his efforts with Shard were useless and only having a few spells left, the mage began to assist Torious, finding that the banedead wouldn’t even attack the mage even if he pulled them away and forced them back from the priest of Tyr.

Milo fumbled through his bag again, his hands pressing through the rubbish and rags collected over time until his fingers touched what he had been looking for, the keystone. Spilling the contents of his bag everywhere, Milo pulled the huge gem free. Holding it up to the door, he grinned as it matched perfectly to the gem already placed into one of the two holes. With a slight pause, understanding this could well be the end of his fortune, Milo pressed the gem into the second slot. With a sound like someone sighing, the two gems retracted into the holes and the whole chamber began to shudder as the massive doors began to part at the centre.