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DM Brainiac's Age of Worms (Mostly Restored 5/12/06)
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<blockquote data-quote="ltclnlbrain" data-source="post: 2406297" data-attributes="member: 12882"><p><strong>Chapter 3</strong></p><p></p><p>Though some confusion still lingered on how what was supposed to be a four or five-man expedition blossomed to include eight people, and who exactly invited who, everybody was eager to get underway and see what the Whispering Cairn might hold in store. Each person there had lived in Diamond Lake long enough to know that they needed to get out, and this was the best chance any of them had had in a long while to get enough coinage to afford to leave. So with doubts and questions on hold for the moment, Davi and Carpal lead the way out of the office and into the hills.</p><p></p><p>After a few minutes of travel and a few more of consulting Carpal's map and searching around the hills, they discovered what must be their destination, a wide monolith-lined portal partially obscured by underbrush and boulders. It seemed that nobody had been there in a long time. The more physically inclined of the party set to work clearing away brush and debris, and after about ten more minutes of work, the way into the tomb was clear.</p><p></p><p>Davi struck a sunrod, the light of which dimly illuminated a long hallway extending north into darkness. A faint breeze brought with it sibilant whispers that sounded almost like a sighing breath. It must have been a trick of the wind, but the effect was almost lifelike. The halfling peered into the cairn, then shook her head, tossing her dark curls about. "Actually, I really shouldn't be up front. There are many dangers in these crypts, and it's far better than one skilled to deal with such things be in a place to do so. Miss Kalari, would you?" </p><p></p><p>Keira removed her gauntlets from her pack as they reached the entrance of the mine. They looked handcrafted - rough leather, probably crocodile, covered in sharp spikes, curved and looking like they could hurt, again appearing to be crocodile teeth. She slipped a dangerous looking weapon on each hand, carefully pulling the leather guantlets onto her hands. She slipped the edge under her tough leather armor, tying them down with thick leather bracers to hold them in place. She shifted the leather bracers into place and the bunched her fists to stretch the gloves to her hands.</p><p></p><p>Around her neck she shifted her fur and leather cloak to give her arms more room, tucking in the cloak underneath her heavy pack. With a quick flick of her gauntleted fingers, she released the curved glaive, slowly bringing it forward. The weapon was well-crafted for a people as obviously rural as Keira's, those who lived off the land and wore and used what they could gain from it. She spun it around one, grinning almost wickedly at the thought. Into short slots in her belt went two throwing axes, while she left her bow and greataxe attached to loops on her pack.</p><p></p><p>Only then did Keira look down at Davi and nodded sharply. "I will lead the way," the barbarian said, taking the sunrod from the halfling.</p><p></p><p>"I'll use my lantern too. It's quite bright," Tash said as he retrieved a bullseye lantern from his pack, filling it with some oil and then lighting it. The light from the lantern was focused through the front slats and projected a bright cone of light into the tomb as the group entered.</p><p></p><p>The walls bore horizontal bands of deceptively simple geometric patterns at waist level. In places the bands revealed startling detail, but in others the walls looked as though they had been hacked apart with weapons or eroded by the rigors of time. Flakes of ancient paint, brilliant purple and a dull mustard hue, still clung to the walls in plaes, hinting at what must once have been a riot of color. A thin coat of dust coated the floor.</p><p></p><p>Just inside the darkened tomb, the hallway branched into shallow alcoves to the east and west. Here the walls bore the most significant damage. Dozens of clumsy etchings marred the beautiful ancient masonry like grafitti on a city wall. A clump of soiled cloth about the size of a halfling rested in the rounded terminus of the western alcove.</p><p></p><p>Outside, the wind picked up, and a chorus of almost human sounds rose from the darkened hall. </p><p></p><p>"Anybody want to check out that pile?" Tash asked, shuddering slightly from the eerie sounds echoing around him.</p><p></p><p>"I'm on it," said Ezreal. He set to work searching ground and the masonry walls for traps. Satisfied that there were none, he prodded the lump with one soft-toed boot. It cracked a bit beneath his touch.</p><p></p><p>"You will kill yourself that way," Keiar said matter-of-factly, frowning at Ezreal. "You give it the opportunity to strike back." </p><p></p><p>"I don't think we have to worry about that in this case," the rogue replied as he bent closer to examine the pile. "It's just a brittle old bedroll."</p><p></p><p>Carpal was squinting off to the north, where he could make out a flickering green light in the distance. "Davi," he said in a hushed tone.</p><p></p><p>The halfling turned from the examination of the bedroll to look in the direction the paladin indicated. "I see it. Let's move toward it...slow and cautious."</p><p></p><p>The party moved deeper into the tomb. After a short distance, the hallway again branched to the east and west. Fifteen feet down the east passage, a huge pile of collapsed rubble blocked the alcove from top to bottom. It looked like it would take weeks to tunnel through the densely packed debris.</p><p></p><p>The western hall extended perhaps forty feet, ending at a small marble platform raised about six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered arcane apparatus rested upon this platform, its curved ovular frame giving the appearance of a noble's dressing mirror. Only a third of this frame remained. An unusual arcane glyph about the size of a man's head had been delicately carved into the baseplate of the support platform.</p><p></p><p>Keira glanced at the apparatus but quickly turned away. "We go to the light," she said simply.</p><p></p><p>Yes, well," Davi hesitantly began her response to Keira, "I agree with you, but I do think that glyph bears closer inspection as well. I don't want any mishap to befall us just out of clumsiness.</p><p></p><p>"Tash," she called out to the gnomish mage, "let's you and me take a look at that--and Sardonic too!" Beckoning the two spellcasters forth, Davi turned back to the rest of the group, and the paladin in particular. "Carpal, would you like to lead the others up north while we investigate this? We'll catch up soon, I'm sure," she said.</p><p></p><p>Carpal nodded. "I would be lying if I said that light was of no concern to me. If you need us, give a shout. I don't want to lose anyone. Except maybe this fellow." He slapped Sardonic on the shoulder, but smiled and chuckled a bit to let the man know he was only joking.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, I haven't <em>done</em> anything yet!" Sardonic replied innocently, his face a mask of wounded pride.</p><p></p><p>Carpal merely laughed as he led the main group onward as the Davi, Sardonic, and Tash remained behind to inspect the strange apparatus.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ltclnlbrain, post: 2406297, member: 12882"] [B]Chapter 3[/B] Though some confusion still lingered on how what was supposed to be a four or five-man expedition blossomed to include eight people, and who exactly invited who, everybody was eager to get underway and see what the Whispering Cairn might hold in store. Each person there had lived in Diamond Lake long enough to know that they needed to get out, and this was the best chance any of them had had in a long while to get enough coinage to afford to leave. So with doubts and questions on hold for the moment, Davi and Carpal lead the way out of the office and into the hills. After a few minutes of travel and a few more of consulting Carpal's map and searching around the hills, they discovered what must be their destination, a wide monolith-lined portal partially obscured by underbrush and boulders. It seemed that nobody had been there in a long time. The more physically inclined of the party set to work clearing away brush and debris, and after about ten more minutes of work, the way into the tomb was clear. Davi struck a sunrod, the light of which dimly illuminated a long hallway extending north into darkness. A faint breeze brought with it sibilant whispers that sounded almost like a sighing breath. It must have been a trick of the wind, but the effect was almost lifelike. The halfling peered into the cairn, then shook her head, tossing her dark curls about. "Actually, I really shouldn't be up front. There are many dangers in these crypts, and it's far better than one skilled to deal with such things be in a place to do so. Miss Kalari, would you?" Keira removed her gauntlets from her pack as they reached the entrance of the mine. They looked handcrafted - rough leather, probably crocodile, covered in sharp spikes, curved and looking like they could hurt, again appearing to be crocodile teeth. She slipped a dangerous looking weapon on each hand, carefully pulling the leather guantlets onto her hands. She slipped the edge under her tough leather armor, tying them down with thick leather bracers to hold them in place. She shifted the leather bracers into place and the bunched her fists to stretch the gloves to her hands. Around her neck she shifted her fur and leather cloak to give her arms more room, tucking in the cloak underneath her heavy pack. With a quick flick of her gauntleted fingers, she released the curved glaive, slowly bringing it forward. The weapon was well-crafted for a people as obviously rural as Keira's, those who lived off the land and wore and used what they could gain from it. She spun it around one, grinning almost wickedly at the thought. Into short slots in her belt went two throwing axes, while she left her bow and greataxe attached to loops on her pack. Only then did Keira look down at Davi and nodded sharply. "I will lead the way," the barbarian said, taking the sunrod from the halfling. "I'll use my lantern too. It's quite bright," Tash said as he retrieved a bullseye lantern from his pack, filling it with some oil and then lighting it. The light from the lantern was focused through the front slats and projected a bright cone of light into the tomb as the group entered. The walls bore horizontal bands of deceptively simple geometric patterns at waist level. In places the bands revealed startling detail, but in others the walls looked as though they had been hacked apart with weapons or eroded by the rigors of time. Flakes of ancient paint, brilliant purple and a dull mustard hue, still clung to the walls in plaes, hinting at what must once have been a riot of color. A thin coat of dust coated the floor. Just inside the darkened tomb, the hallway branched into shallow alcoves to the east and west. Here the walls bore the most significant damage. Dozens of clumsy etchings marred the beautiful ancient masonry like grafitti on a city wall. A clump of soiled cloth about the size of a halfling rested in the rounded terminus of the western alcove. Outside, the wind picked up, and a chorus of almost human sounds rose from the darkened hall. "Anybody want to check out that pile?" Tash asked, shuddering slightly from the eerie sounds echoing around him. "I'm on it," said Ezreal. He set to work searching ground and the masonry walls for traps. Satisfied that there were none, he prodded the lump with one soft-toed boot. It cracked a bit beneath his touch. "You will kill yourself that way," Keiar said matter-of-factly, frowning at Ezreal. "You give it the opportunity to strike back." "I don't think we have to worry about that in this case," the rogue replied as he bent closer to examine the pile. "It's just a brittle old bedroll." Carpal was squinting off to the north, where he could make out a flickering green light in the distance. "Davi," he said in a hushed tone. The halfling turned from the examination of the bedroll to look in the direction the paladin indicated. "I see it. Let's move toward it...slow and cautious." The party moved deeper into the tomb. After a short distance, the hallway again branched to the east and west. Fifteen feet down the east passage, a huge pile of collapsed rubble blocked the alcove from top to bottom. It looked like it would take weeks to tunnel through the densely packed debris. The western hall extended perhaps forty feet, ending at a small marble platform raised about six inches off the floor. A strange, shattered arcane apparatus rested upon this platform, its curved ovular frame giving the appearance of a noble's dressing mirror. Only a third of this frame remained. An unusual arcane glyph about the size of a man's head had been delicately carved into the baseplate of the support platform. Keira glanced at the apparatus but quickly turned away. "We go to the light," she said simply. Yes, well," Davi hesitantly began her response to Keira, "I agree with you, but I do think that glyph bears closer inspection as well. I don't want any mishap to befall us just out of clumsiness. "Tash," she called out to the gnomish mage, "let's you and me take a look at that--and Sardonic too!" Beckoning the two spellcasters forth, Davi turned back to the rest of the group, and the paladin in particular. "Carpal, would you like to lead the others up north while we investigate this? We'll catch up soon, I'm sure," she said. Carpal nodded. "I would be lying if I said that light was of no concern to me. If you need us, give a shout. I don't want to lose anyone. Except maybe this fellow." He slapped Sardonic on the shoulder, but smiled and chuckled a bit to let the man know he was only joking. "Hey, I haven't [I]done[/I] anything yet!" Sardonic replied innocently, his face a mask of wounded pride. Carpal merely laughed as he led the main group onward as the Davi, Sardonic, and Tash remained behind to inspect the strange apparatus. [/QUOTE]
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