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Age of Worms Storyhour [Updated December 26, 2006]
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<blockquote data-quote="Spatterlight" data-source="post: 3010003" data-attributes="member: 42734"><p><strong>Session 5</strong></p><p><em>July 30, 2006 </em></p><p></p><p>The rocky monsters dispatched with ease, the group set about to give the sculptor's room a thorough search. Among the dusty tools and half-completed sculptures, several things of note were found. Max pointed out a heavy square of strange red metal, whose purpose was not immediately clear, was likely valuable and should be taken. In addition, one of the sculptures had a fine wooden quarterstaff that Cypress took. Finding nothing else of interest, Natasha and Scorch carried the chunk of metal back to the tube, while the rest of the group gave the large chamber a final look over. </p><p></p><p>Max carefully investigated the large stone that dominated the central chamber. After several minutes of diligent search, the halfling found a hidden lever. He raised it and with the great rumbling sound of unseen machinery, the stone retracted with glacial slowness into the ceiling. Peering beneath the rising stone, the shattered remains of an unfortunate treasure hunter could be seen. Doctor Voo carefully scooped the remains out and Max sorted thought them. Several tiny sculptures had miraculously survived the ancient trap, although the fragments of several less fortunate relics were also found. Lastly, a pair of goggles was recovered. A quick cantrip by Sergi determined that the eyepiece was magical and Max immediately put them on. His eyes suddenly loomed comically large behind the thick, dirty lens. Staring intently at a button on the cuff of his sleeve, the halfling reported that the goggles had improved his eyesight dramatically, but only for close up work.</p><p></p><p>The halfling was rubbing his eyes, the goggles now dangling loosely about his neck, when the gladiator and ranger returned. Scorch hitched his thumb into the air, "Looks like something weird happened upstairs. Something washed the tomb floor." Natasha rolled her eyes, "We went upstairs with that block of metal. It looks like something crawled out of the shaft beneath the green lantern and was very wet. We didn't stick around to see what it was and I couldn't tell anything by the tracks." The members of the group looked at each other for a moment before Aiyda said, "Looks like the flooded room had something in it after all." Taking one last look at the central room, the group prepared for battle. Two by two, the group used the tube beneath the yellow lantern to return to the main chamber.</p><p></p><p>Expecting a fight, the group cautiously advanced into the center of the chamber of seven lanterns. Natasha once more investigated the dripping trail, which clearly lead from the shaft beneath the green lantern down the hallway that lead out of the cairn, but was unable to determine what had dragged itself from the deeper recesses of the tomb. The ranger looked up from the puddles just in time to see the dead men pouring into the main chamber, their grim claws dripping with putrid water and long tongues lolling wildly. Giving a warning shout, the rest of the group turned to face these horrors. The gaunt hunched things launched into a frenzied attack with filthy claws and fangs, ravenous for living flesh after being denied for untold ages.</p><p></p><p> The group met the undead in brutal melee. One of the things was cut down quickly, but the group soon learned that even the slightest scratch brought by claw or fang brought the threat of paralysis. The muscles of both Scorch and Square Root locked up in revulsion, but the others fought on. Fearing all would be brought low by the ghouls, Doctor Voo produced his holy symbol in one hand and held out his skull-tipped staff in the other, calling upon the name of Wee Jas. As the Green Lady's name echoed in the chamber, the creatures gave a thick garbled moan and fled in terror, their arms covering their dead eyes. The undead vanished into the shadows, running down the hallway toward the entrance of the cairn. The cleric turned to the others saying, "They will not be going far. We best be setting them on their way to hell soon."</p><p></p><p>The brief respite proved enough, for before the dead could regain their senses, feeling returned to the limbs of the afflicted. Unwilling to let the creatures get too far, or worse escape the tomb into the wilds, the group followed the glistening tracks of the ghouls. The wait was short, for when the group reentered the large chamber where they had once fought wolves, the undead launched themselves from the shadows. Attacking from both sides, the creatures attempted to bring down the cleric of Wee Jas. After a brief melee, they were successful, causing the deathly chill of the grave to seize him. The brutal battle continued, with several members of the group eventually paralyzed, but one by one the ghouls fell. Most were cut down with Scorch's blade or Sergi's spells, but the last one, which was menacing Doctor Voo, was felled with a vicious stab delivered by his half-sister.</p><p></p><p>The danger of the undead put down for good, the group healed their wounds and waited for numbed limbs to regain sensation. After a quick discussion, the group decided to return to the chamber of seven lanterns. Scorch and Natasha turned the heavy sarcophagus once more, causing the last of the metal tubes to rise from the ground beneath the violet lantern. Max slipped on his enchanted goggles and carefully looked at the tube and found the device was not what it appeared. After a few moments of silent examination, the halfling revealed that this tube was a trap designed to crush and grind those who entered it. He noted several shards of bones and torn shreds of cloth and leather; all that remained of the tomb robbers who had come before. Doctor Voo once more reverently collected the bones with his shovel and it was Max who spied several glittering baubles among the remains. Collecting their loot, the group decided to explore the strange shaft that ran above the blue lantern.</p><p> </p><p>Here, unlike all the other tunnels with lanterns, the ceiling vaulted forty feet up and another tunnel could be faintly seen at the top. Natasha looped some rope around her and prepared for the climb. Rising slowly but steadily, the ranger made her way up the ancient stone wall. Soon, she pulled herself up onto a small ledge and secured the rope for the others. As they climbed, she peered down the tunnel, which appeared to extend for quite some as she was unable to see the end. Cypress, with Square Root held close to his chest, was hauled up last. Once more reassembled, the group made their way down the tunnel with Scorch and Doctor Voo in lead.</p><p></p><p>Moving down the hall, the group soon saw the tunnel terminated in a huge stone face. Easily as big as a man, the face had a stately, serene expression and its great eyes were closed. In addition, on the floor and walls, many gouges and scrapes could be seen, as if something had been dragged down the hallway toward the main chamber. Having witnessed the trickeries of the long vanished Wind Dukes, Natasha and Scorch made a makeshift safety net at the end of the hallway out of her tent. Once this was complete, Max secured the ring of feather falling from the ranger and headed toward the great face, each step cautious and measured. With bated breath, the group watched the halfling creep forward. </p><p></p><p>Nothing of note happened until Max began to examine the face. At the halfling's touch, the eyes of the face suddenly snapped open and shown brilliantly, filling the tunnel with a dazzling radiance. In addition, the mouth, once calm and neutral, opened wide and a tremendous gale began to blow out. At first, the wind was moderate but soon it began to howl with ever greater force. Max was the first to be tossed back, as he was smallest, and was soon ejected from the tunnel. The magic of the ring activated as he fell and he floated safely to the ground. Doctor Voo began to climb back down the rope, his sister following him. In Aiyda's haste, she missed a knot in the heavy rope and crashed to the floor, losing consciousness. Meanwhile, Scorch and several others in the group were befuddled by the strange light and could not fight against the wind. The gladiator, his spiked armor throwing sparks as it gouged the stone, was drug down the tunnel and eventually flung over the ledge. He plummeted to the floor, his manager already shouting orders to him before he reached the ground. Reacting to the commands through a haze of pain, he gradually saw Max was doing. Using the fallen Aiyda's bedroll, he spread it between them and they pulled it taught, attempting to catch the others in the group as they fell.</p><p></p><p>The plan was mostly successful and likely saved the life of the lithe Sergi, who had been knocked senseless by the lights. Natasha was the last of the group to leave the tunnel, for instead of trying to escape, she fought forward through hurricane-strength winds and mind-bending flashes of light toward the face. Using all her strength, she managed to get to the face and for a brief moment, glimpsed another room beyond the mouth of the great face. Then she too was blown away.</p><p></p><p>Catching their breath at the base of the blue lantern tunnel, the group listened to the wind howl for some time before it finally stopped. The healers in the group revived Aiyda and Sergi, but Natasha had been knocked out and for the moment, there was nothing they could do. While waiting, Scorch shook out the bard's bedroll, which was now quite tattered and bloodied, and guffawed, "Now who doesn't have a bedroll, huh?" Everyone in the group turned silently to the gladiator in disbelief, glaring at him. Scorch shuffled uncomfortably for a moment, the quietly rolled it up, muttering, "Everyone's a critic."</p><p></p><p>Battered and bruised, the group returned to the mining office to recuperate from the trying experience. The rest of the day, Doctor Voo and Cypress cared for the group; applying strange salves and making them drink pungent teas that dulled pain. As night fell, Natasha awoke, but was still in a great deal of pain. She still had enough energy, however, to berate the gladiator as he attempted to make peace with Aiyda. He tried to replace the bard's ruined bedroll with Natasha's, figuring they would not need two. However, the ranger began to yell at him for giving away what was not his. Finally, the gladiator exclaimed, "Baby, I was trying to be nice!" She held out her hand, "Whatever! Get out of here. We can share." Throwing the blanket over herself and the bard, Natasha made a final shooing gesture and the bard stuck her tongue out at the gladiator. Cypress was passing by and spied the two girls, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at Scorch. "It's not what it looks like", Scorch said as he closed the door behind him, "Unfortunately." Walking with the elf to the next room, he spread his own bedroll on the bare floor of the ruined office and soon fell into a dreamless sleep.</p><p></p><p>The night was uneventful and as the sun rose, the druid and cleric, their spells renewed with the day, healed the last of the lingering wounds. Hale once more, the group set out for the Whispering Cairn. Seeing that the only area that had not been explored was the flooded room in the chambers beneath the green lantern, the group descended to this chamber. </p><p></p><p>Moving down the hallway, it soon became apparent that in times long past, the flooded chamber had been something else, for a set of great stone stairs could be seen leading down into the murky darkness. The group lingered for a moment and Sergi stooped down at the water's edge, cupping the water in one hand and drinking it before anyone could stop him. Natasha was berating the sorcerer for his foolishness, when suddenly the still waters swelled upwards, flowing around the startled sorcerer, and pulled him down. Springing into action, Scorch, Natasha, and Max took a deep breath and leapt into the water. For a moment floundering in the unfamiliar environment, they soon found the slippery stone floor and began to move toward the panicking sorcerer. As they drew closer, they saw a pair of thin blue eyes hovering about Sergi and could see that the current was different about him. Although none of them knew it, the sorcerer was in the grips of a water elemental.</p><p></p><p>Struggling to free Sergi from its clutches proved difficult, but Natasha was able to rest him from it, only to have the elemental grab her. Meanwhile, the battle had attracted unwanted attention. From deeper in the watery chamber, several more of the ghouls emerged from a shadowy passage. The group despaired, for surely being paralyzed under the water would mean death, but Cypress and Doctor Voo had other plans. Summoning porpoises from elemental planes and celestials seas, the holy men turned the tide of battle. The battle raged for quite sometime, but the timely assistance of creatures native to the water proved invaluable. Eventually, the water elemental was dispersed and the restless dead were put down. Gasping for air, those who entered the water staggered out and fell to the stone floor, their only thought on their next breath.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spatterlight, post: 3010003, member: 42734"] [b]Session 5[/b] [i]July 30, 2006 [/i] The rocky monsters dispatched with ease, the group set about to give the sculptor's room a thorough search. Among the dusty tools and half-completed sculptures, several things of note were found. Max pointed out a heavy square of strange red metal, whose purpose was not immediately clear, was likely valuable and should be taken. In addition, one of the sculptures had a fine wooden quarterstaff that Cypress took. Finding nothing else of interest, Natasha and Scorch carried the chunk of metal back to the tube, while the rest of the group gave the large chamber a final look over. Max carefully investigated the large stone that dominated the central chamber. After several minutes of diligent search, the halfling found a hidden lever. He raised it and with the great rumbling sound of unseen machinery, the stone retracted with glacial slowness into the ceiling. Peering beneath the rising stone, the shattered remains of an unfortunate treasure hunter could be seen. Doctor Voo carefully scooped the remains out and Max sorted thought them. Several tiny sculptures had miraculously survived the ancient trap, although the fragments of several less fortunate relics were also found. Lastly, a pair of goggles was recovered. A quick cantrip by Sergi determined that the eyepiece was magical and Max immediately put them on. His eyes suddenly loomed comically large behind the thick, dirty lens. Staring intently at a button on the cuff of his sleeve, the halfling reported that the goggles had improved his eyesight dramatically, but only for close up work. The halfling was rubbing his eyes, the goggles now dangling loosely about his neck, when the gladiator and ranger returned. Scorch hitched his thumb into the air, "Looks like something weird happened upstairs. Something washed the tomb floor." Natasha rolled her eyes, "We went upstairs with that block of metal. It looks like something crawled out of the shaft beneath the green lantern and was very wet. We didn't stick around to see what it was and I couldn't tell anything by the tracks." The members of the group looked at each other for a moment before Aiyda said, "Looks like the flooded room had something in it after all." Taking one last look at the central room, the group prepared for battle. Two by two, the group used the tube beneath the yellow lantern to return to the main chamber. Expecting a fight, the group cautiously advanced into the center of the chamber of seven lanterns. Natasha once more investigated the dripping trail, which clearly lead from the shaft beneath the green lantern down the hallway that lead out of the cairn, but was unable to determine what had dragged itself from the deeper recesses of the tomb. The ranger looked up from the puddles just in time to see the dead men pouring into the main chamber, their grim claws dripping with putrid water and long tongues lolling wildly. Giving a warning shout, the rest of the group turned to face these horrors. The gaunt hunched things launched into a frenzied attack with filthy claws and fangs, ravenous for living flesh after being denied for untold ages. The group met the undead in brutal melee. One of the things was cut down quickly, but the group soon learned that even the slightest scratch brought by claw or fang brought the threat of paralysis. The muscles of both Scorch and Square Root locked up in revulsion, but the others fought on. Fearing all would be brought low by the ghouls, Doctor Voo produced his holy symbol in one hand and held out his skull-tipped staff in the other, calling upon the name of Wee Jas. As the Green Lady's name echoed in the chamber, the creatures gave a thick garbled moan and fled in terror, their arms covering their dead eyes. The undead vanished into the shadows, running down the hallway toward the entrance of the cairn. The cleric turned to the others saying, "They will not be going far. We best be setting them on their way to hell soon." The brief respite proved enough, for before the dead could regain their senses, feeling returned to the limbs of the afflicted. Unwilling to let the creatures get too far, or worse escape the tomb into the wilds, the group followed the glistening tracks of the ghouls. The wait was short, for when the group reentered the large chamber where they had once fought wolves, the undead launched themselves from the shadows. Attacking from both sides, the creatures attempted to bring down the cleric of Wee Jas. After a brief melee, they were successful, causing the deathly chill of the grave to seize him. The brutal battle continued, with several members of the group eventually paralyzed, but one by one the ghouls fell. Most were cut down with Scorch's blade or Sergi's spells, but the last one, which was menacing Doctor Voo, was felled with a vicious stab delivered by his half-sister. The danger of the undead put down for good, the group healed their wounds and waited for numbed limbs to regain sensation. After a quick discussion, the group decided to return to the chamber of seven lanterns. Scorch and Natasha turned the heavy sarcophagus once more, causing the last of the metal tubes to rise from the ground beneath the violet lantern. Max slipped on his enchanted goggles and carefully looked at the tube and found the device was not what it appeared. After a few moments of silent examination, the halfling revealed that this tube was a trap designed to crush and grind those who entered it. He noted several shards of bones and torn shreds of cloth and leather; all that remained of the tomb robbers who had come before. Doctor Voo once more reverently collected the bones with his shovel and it was Max who spied several glittering baubles among the remains. Collecting their loot, the group decided to explore the strange shaft that ran above the blue lantern. Here, unlike all the other tunnels with lanterns, the ceiling vaulted forty feet up and another tunnel could be faintly seen at the top. Natasha looped some rope around her and prepared for the climb. Rising slowly but steadily, the ranger made her way up the ancient stone wall. Soon, she pulled herself up onto a small ledge and secured the rope for the others. As they climbed, she peered down the tunnel, which appeared to extend for quite some as she was unable to see the end. Cypress, with Square Root held close to his chest, was hauled up last. Once more reassembled, the group made their way down the tunnel with Scorch and Doctor Voo in lead. Moving down the hall, the group soon saw the tunnel terminated in a huge stone face. Easily as big as a man, the face had a stately, serene expression and its great eyes were closed. In addition, on the floor and walls, many gouges and scrapes could be seen, as if something had been dragged down the hallway toward the main chamber. Having witnessed the trickeries of the long vanished Wind Dukes, Natasha and Scorch made a makeshift safety net at the end of the hallway out of her tent. Once this was complete, Max secured the ring of feather falling from the ranger and headed toward the great face, each step cautious and measured. With bated breath, the group watched the halfling creep forward. Nothing of note happened until Max began to examine the face. At the halfling's touch, the eyes of the face suddenly snapped open and shown brilliantly, filling the tunnel with a dazzling radiance. In addition, the mouth, once calm and neutral, opened wide and a tremendous gale began to blow out. At first, the wind was moderate but soon it began to howl with ever greater force. Max was the first to be tossed back, as he was smallest, and was soon ejected from the tunnel. The magic of the ring activated as he fell and he floated safely to the ground. Doctor Voo began to climb back down the rope, his sister following him. In Aiyda's haste, she missed a knot in the heavy rope and crashed to the floor, losing consciousness. Meanwhile, Scorch and several others in the group were befuddled by the strange light and could not fight against the wind. The gladiator, his spiked armor throwing sparks as it gouged the stone, was drug down the tunnel and eventually flung over the ledge. He plummeted to the floor, his manager already shouting orders to him before he reached the ground. Reacting to the commands through a haze of pain, he gradually saw Max was doing. Using the fallen Aiyda's bedroll, he spread it between them and they pulled it taught, attempting to catch the others in the group as they fell. The plan was mostly successful and likely saved the life of the lithe Sergi, who had been knocked senseless by the lights. Natasha was the last of the group to leave the tunnel, for instead of trying to escape, she fought forward through hurricane-strength winds and mind-bending flashes of light toward the face. Using all her strength, she managed to get to the face and for a brief moment, glimpsed another room beyond the mouth of the great face. Then she too was blown away. Catching their breath at the base of the blue lantern tunnel, the group listened to the wind howl for some time before it finally stopped. The healers in the group revived Aiyda and Sergi, but Natasha had been knocked out and for the moment, there was nothing they could do. While waiting, Scorch shook out the bard's bedroll, which was now quite tattered and bloodied, and guffawed, "Now who doesn't have a bedroll, huh?" Everyone in the group turned silently to the gladiator in disbelief, glaring at him. Scorch shuffled uncomfortably for a moment, the quietly rolled it up, muttering, "Everyone's a critic." Battered and bruised, the group returned to the mining office to recuperate from the trying experience. The rest of the day, Doctor Voo and Cypress cared for the group; applying strange salves and making them drink pungent teas that dulled pain. As night fell, Natasha awoke, but was still in a great deal of pain. She still had enough energy, however, to berate the gladiator as he attempted to make peace with Aiyda. He tried to replace the bard's ruined bedroll with Natasha's, figuring they would not need two. However, the ranger began to yell at him for giving away what was not his. Finally, the gladiator exclaimed, "Baby, I was trying to be nice!" She held out her hand, "Whatever! Get out of here. We can share." Throwing the blanket over herself and the bard, Natasha made a final shooing gesture and the bard stuck her tongue out at the gladiator. Cypress was passing by and spied the two girls, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at Scorch. "It's not what it looks like", Scorch said as he closed the door behind him, "Unfortunately." Walking with the elf to the next room, he spread his own bedroll on the bare floor of the ruined office and soon fell into a dreamless sleep. The night was uneventful and as the sun rose, the druid and cleric, their spells renewed with the day, healed the last of the lingering wounds. Hale once more, the group set out for the Whispering Cairn. Seeing that the only area that had not been explored was the flooded room in the chambers beneath the green lantern, the group descended to this chamber. Moving down the hallway, it soon became apparent that in times long past, the flooded chamber had been something else, for a set of great stone stairs could be seen leading down into the murky darkness. The group lingered for a moment and Sergi stooped down at the water's edge, cupping the water in one hand and drinking it before anyone could stop him. Natasha was berating the sorcerer for his foolishness, when suddenly the still waters swelled upwards, flowing around the startled sorcerer, and pulled him down. Springing into action, Scorch, Natasha, and Max took a deep breath and leapt into the water. For a moment floundering in the unfamiliar environment, they soon found the slippery stone floor and began to move toward the panicking sorcerer. As they drew closer, they saw a pair of thin blue eyes hovering about Sergi and could see that the current was different about him. Although none of them knew it, the sorcerer was in the grips of a water elemental. Struggling to free Sergi from its clutches proved difficult, but Natasha was able to rest him from it, only to have the elemental grab her. Meanwhile, the battle had attracted unwanted attention. From deeper in the watery chamber, several more of the ghouls emerged from a shadowy passage. The group despaired, for surely being paralyzed under the water would mean death, but Cypress and Doctor Voo had other plans. Summoning porpoises from elemental planes and celestials seas, the holy men turned the tide of battle. The battle raged for quite sometime, but the timely assistance of creatures native to the water proved invaluable. Eventually, the water elemental was dispersed and the restless dead were put down. Gasping for air, those who entered the water staggered out and fell to the stone floor, their only thought on their next breath. [/QUOTE]
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