Copperheads: Betrayal and Strange Runes and Burning Dead, oh my (short update 02/12)

[arwink]

Out of game, Halgo's actions over the last two updates consist of:

Capellan: I roll a rediculously high number on my knowledge (The Planes) skill. Do I know what kind of creature it is?

Me: Yep.

Conversation with Dagrus continues.

Capellan: When it says its been bound by its real name, does that mean its been gated rather than summoned?

Me: Yep.

Conversation with Dagrus Continues.

Capellan: His souls on this plane, and he can be permanently destroyed then, doesn't it?

Me: Um...Crap.

Capellan: Cool.

Conversation with Dagrus continues. Capellan finds the dramatically appropriate time to tell Geoffrey he's dealing with a non-lawful outsider. Fighting starts.

Capellan runs through his supply of spells, which isn't terribly useful for fighting a demon with SR and immunities up the ying-yang.

Capellan: If I roll a Spellcraft check, what are the odds I can work out that the brooch we found is exactly the same as the one that's fighting Blarth and use it?

ME: If you roll well.

Capellan: Cool. Is another insanely high number enough?

Me: &%$#@*

 

[arwink]

For a demon who promised power and wealth, looting Dagrus' mangled corpse proves an unsatisfying experience. The warped body is trapped between that of a sphinx and a man, making it difficult to pry free his belongings, and when Halgo and Blarth check the assorted belongings for magic they uncover only one item of interest - a set of silver bracers shaped like coiled snakes, radiating faint abjuration magic. They're given to Yip, and even though he's warned of their function (bracers of armor), the kobold is still faintly disturbed when the silver creatures coil tight around his forearms.

Everything else in Dagrus possession is simple jewelry, well crafted depections of serpents and fangs, and his finely-crafted falchion.

"Almost not worth killing him," Blarth comments, drawing a glare of anger from Geoffrey.

Everyone is battered and tired after the melee, and a camp is quickly set up in Dagrus chamber. No-one is pleased with the idea of sharing a room with the demon's corpse, but Halgo quickly points out that it's likely the other Sulrathi forces fear the creature enough to leave it alone.

"We're less likely to be attacked here," he says. "Uncontrolled demons tend not to be the most reliable allies."

Yip glances down the tunnel, towards the chamber where the necromancer and his minions fell.

"No kidding," he thinks.

Dinner consists of the few food supplies the group had time to grab before being whisked away. It isn't much, but it fills the stomach and keeps people from searching through the small sack that contains Dagrus' supplies. As they eat, Geoffrey brings up the possibility of a rogue basilisk, loose in the tunnels and hunting prey.

"Anyone got any thoughts on how we can stop it?"

"Blarth can hit," Blarth suggests. "Puny basilisk die."
"That's an option," Geoffrey says. "Now, does anyone have any thoughts that don't involve getting turned into a stone statue?"
"I have a crystal with a power encoded in it," Amarin says. "It was a present from my brother before I left home - it lets me transform sound into light."
"How is that useful?" Geoffrey asks, frowning. There are still aspects of Amarin's mind-magic that trouble him, and he doesn't like not knowing the Charosian's capabilities.

"I see with my ears, not my eyes," Amarin says cheerfully. "Khynal used to use it when he was hunting rats - he'd chase them into dark tunnels and hunt by sound."
"Doesn't sound like much of an advantage against rats," Halgo says.
Amarin shrugs.
"I don't think he was looking for an advantage," he says. "I think he just did it to give the rats a sporting chance. And to keep in practice, you know, in case he ever had to hunt people in the dark."
"Your brother make good Yip," Yip announces. "Yip train like that in sewers."
"Really?" Amarin asks. "I think Khynal used to able to shoot a rat at 30 paces. What could you do - it'd be fascinating to compare the differing results. It could give us some insight into the differing physiologies of..."
Yip gives a quick, sheepish grin.
"Yip not very good at it. Not like other Yip. Yip never got knack."
"Oh."

"With the stone...You still see, even if its by sound," Geoffrey says. A deep frown creases his forehead as he thinks through the tactic. "So you'll still see the basilisk, yes?."
Amarin shrugs.
"I guess so."
"So it wont stop you from being turned to stone on sight," Halgo finishes. "It might work, but it probably shouldn't be our favored tactic."

"I could give it to Blarth and let him use the stone," Amarin suggests. "The pattern is a simple one, and it shouldn't take long to teach him to unravel it."
"Puny stone."
"We'll keep it in mind," Geoffrey says. "The real problem isn't fighting it - we can use blindfolds if we need to. It'll be tricky, but it's doable. My concern is in tracking the beast down, if we come across it without being prepared. With all the mercenaries out there, I'd prefer not to go out permanently blindfolded if we can avoid it."
"What about badger?" Blarth asks. He points at Wraith, rusting inside a small cage at Halgo's belt. "He scout, tell Halgo what in room."
"I'd prefer not to risk him," Halgo says.

Suddenly a large grin comes over Amarin's face.

"I've got it," he says. "I know how we can scout it out..."

 

[Khynal]

Amarin fires. His shot is a return to former glories, and it is only Yip's preturnatural reflexes that let him snatch the bolt from mid-air before it continues on its course to rupture the small monk's lungs.

Er, nice catch.

 

[arwink]

Geoffrey keeps his sheild raised and ready, trying to maintain his focus on the job at hand. He knows its irrational to be bothered by something that's actually proving useful, that actually helps his team get through the mission, but try as he might he can't quite escape the feeling that Amarin's little rock is somehow...unnatural.

Familiars he can deal with. Familiars, for all that they're the toys of wizards, make *sense*. Sure, they're smarter than normal animals and speak directly into the wizards head, but at their core Familiars are really just like humans with claws and fure. Familiar's have names, for the love of the gods. hey're alive, and giving them intelligence is really just like sending through a very quick and easy education.

Talking stones...that takes a little longer to deal with. Especially when Amarin convinces the azure chunk of crystal to grow spindly, ectoplasmic legs and scurry ahead of them in the tunnels.

"Another empty chamber," Amarin announces, his head cocked to one side as though he's listening. Geoffrey reminds himself that the psion isn't actually hearing anything - the crystal is transmiting thoughts directly into Amarin's head.

For a breif moment, Geoffrey understands exactly how the psychic purge happened.

It's been effective, to be sure. Amarin's stone is small, fast and light - easily scouting the passages and reporting back. It takes a while, certainly - the crystal needs to rest in Amarin's staff to recharge after every hour, so they're forced to rest and wait until the psionic energy has built up once more.

Three hours in and they're doing well - ambushing two groups of living Sulrathi soldiers and finding the petrified remains of several mercenaries that were with the Sulrathi infiltrators. No basilisk, but there was a statue that seemed so much like Blarth that everyone did a double take to ensure the half-orc was still standing, alive and unharmed, beside them. The breaks were spent chipping at the feet of the statues, breaking them free of the soot-stained floor.

"We were told to get everyone out," Halgo reminded them. "Living or dead, that's what we're going to do. Lets not offend any gods unless we really have to."

"This," Geoffrey thinks to himself, "is not the kind of winter I was looking for."

Next to him, Amarin pauses and goes pale.

"We found it," he gasps, what little color he usually possesses coming back to his cheeks. "It's...it's...huge. The size of a horse, six legs, bearing done on the stone. I can feel the gaze through the link...so strong....the stones fine, but..."

"But what?" Geoffrey asks.

"It just said hey boss, check out those big white things coming towards me. And how cool is this slide thing. And the big squishy cavern."

"What in hell does that mean?"

"Well," Amarin says, going slightly green. "At a guess, I think the Basilisk just ate the crystal. At least, if the sensation's its sending me are any indication, I'm almost sure that's what happened."

Everyone considers that for a few second.

"Sounds remarkably enthusiastic for something that's being eaten," Halgo says, breaking the silence.

Amarin shrugs.

"It's adopted part of my personality," he says, sheepish. "The part that likes seeing and experiencing new things. It seems quite...content..really. Lots of new digestive juices in pretty colors, and the internal organs will fascinate it for a couple of minutes at least."

He pauses for a moment, a frown coming across his features.

"It'll probably get bored soon though," he says. "We'd best do something, otherwise its going to whine."

"St. Cuthbert preserve me, he'd better be worth keeping alive," Geoffrey mutters. He starts sorting through his belt-pouch and drawing the blindfolds free.

"Can the rock still see outside?"

Amarin shakes his head.

"Not quite. It can sense it's surroundings, a little, but being in the stomach is making things difficult. It's like trying to look through thick mist."

"That'll have to do," Geoffrey orders. "You wait here and call directions as best you can. Everyone else, put the blindfolds on and lets get it before the precious crystal gets bored..."

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

"It just said hey boss, check out those big white things coming towards me. And how cool is this slide thing. And the big squishy cavern."

Funniest Rock Ever!

Seriously Arwink, your story hour is great- thanks for writing it

 

[arwink]

The Copperheads rush into the chamber, hearts pounding. All of them are familiar with stories that revolve around conflict with basilisks, and even with the blindfolds there is a lingering sense of fear when they realize that even if it can’t turn them to stone, it can still take a hefty chunk of flesh with a single bite.

From his position on the far edge of the cavern, facing away from the beast, Amarin gives directions as best he can.

Within the space of a few seconds, everyone wonders if perhaps the stories they were told about basilisks were entirely untrue.

“Puny lizard,” Blarth says. He’s leaning on his sword, one hand pulling at the blindfold in an effort to free his eyes. Everyone else is doing much the same.

“That was…easy,” Geoffrey says. “Too easy.”
“With good reason,” Halgo says. “Look at its flank – its already been fighting something. Something big.”

The wound in question explains a lot. It’s as if a great claw rent the creature, then had the flesh burned around the wound in order to cauterize it. No one is entirely sure what could have done it, but everyone is sure they don’t want to meet it.

“Right,” Geoffrey says. “Keep alert and get ready to move out. There’s still more mercenaries out there, and we want to round them all up before whatever did that finds them.”

Everyone nods, their expressions grim, except Amarin. The young psion is looking at the beast, doing his best to catch someone’s attention.

“What?” Geoffrey asks.
“Well, we…ah…we need to free the crystal,” Amarin explains. “From the creatures stomach, I mean.”
“So free it,” Geoffrey says. “You’ve got two minutes while the rest of us catch our breath.”

Amarin goes paler than usual at the very thought of taking a knife to the basilisks gullet.

“Well,” he says, coughing politely. “I was hoping…”

Geoffrey fixes him with a level stare.

"Your not joking, are you," he says. Shaking his head, the Cuthbertite cleric turns to Blarth.

"Cut the stone free, or we're going to be here all day."

Blarth just grins, pulling a knife free from his belt.

"Puny Amarin."

 

[GreyShadow]

Gooy Rock.

More please arwink.

 

[Lela]

"Puny Amarin."

Best Puny Ever.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Shouldn't that be "Best. Puny. EVAH!"

 

[arwink]

Freeing the psi-crystal takes some time, and everyone welcomes the rest as Blarth sets to work on the basilisk’s corpse.

“How many have we got left to go?” Geoffrey asks, handing Halgo the crude sulrathi map. Halgo looks the rough parchment over, trying to remember his original translation of the document.

“About seven,” he says finally. “Mostly mercenaries from the looks of things. Out here somewhere, probably hiding from the lizard.”

“Does it mention any kind of skills or abilities?”

Halgo scowls, annoyed.

“It didn’t last time, why would it now?”

“Because there’s something out there in the tunnels,” Geoffrey says quietly. “Something that smells like brimstone.”

It’s obvious that the dwarf has a quick retort at the ready, but it stops a moment before emerging from his lips as he too catches the distinctive whiff of hell-smoke.

“Damn,” he mutters. “Any idea what it could be?”
Geoffrey shrugs.
“How many things can you think of that would smell like that?”
“To many,” Halgo says. “And none of them are good.”
“That’s more or less what I was thinking,” Geoffrey says. “It’s not moving in on us, so it’s either afraid of us or afraid of the basilisk and doesn’t realize what it was. With any luck, it’ll just be some mercenary wizard who’s a bit to fond of his fireballs, but after that…thing…we encountered last night I’m not taking any chance.”
“So what do we do?”
“I’m going to stay here and see if I can work out what it’s doing,” Geoffrey says. “You’re going to get up, very naturally, and give everyone some warning that we’re probably going to get ambushed before to long. Stay calm, but stay alert.”

Halgo nods, folding the map and climbing to his feet. He’s about to walk towards Yip when Geoffrey clears his throat.

“What?” Halgo says.
“Don’t tell Amarin,” Geoffrey says.
“You don’t trust him?”
“No, not yet,” Geoffrey says. “But I’m more concerned by how he’s going to react if we tell him there’s a dangerous monster smelling of brimstone and hellfire out there. He doesn’t really have the ability to act natural at the best of times.”
“Right.”