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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: 2821418" data-attributes="member: 12882"><p><strong>Chapter 13</strong></p><p></p><p>The descent down the shaft was rather easy; the pits and scars provided numerous handholds and ledges. Soon enough, the entire party made it down below.</p><p></p><p>Dozens of bas-relief figures similar to the one on the sarcophagus lid in the room above stared disapprovingly from the walls here. Many sported crossed arms and stern expressions. A few of the statues' heads were missing, and some had huge chunks torn out of them. Others had a weird melted appearance, as if they'd been sprayed by something terrible. A large glyph that looked like a stylized arrow, identical to the one on the bas-relief in the living quarters of the previous sublevel, pointed down a short corridor to the north that leads to a four-way intersection. A keening insect chorus filled the air.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers moved down the western hall first, coming to a room filled with eight man-sized slabs arranged in two rows. A long-dead corpse, possibly a human, laid sprawled out upon one of these slabs, its red leather armor the only hint of color in the otherwise drab room. The short west wall abutted a small stone stage. The red clay statue of a powerfully built warrior wielding a cylinder-headed greatclub stood tall upon the stage, its eyes surveying the room.</p><p></p><p>Of more interest was the enormous beetle, perhaps six feet long and as tall as a halfling, that skittered between the slabs. Its compound eyes fell on the party, and it chittered as it made its way toward them.</p><p></p><p>They moved quickly, forming ranks behind Carpal and Keira's glaives. The barbarian scored a solid hit through its chitinous shell as the beetle drew near. Rearing back, the insect turned around a sprayed an acidic vapor on the glaive-wielders! The acid burned Keira, and she snarled as the rage took her. With a curse on her lips, she brought the glaive down in a tremendous arc, tearing through the beetle's shell and into its vital insides. Green ichor sprayed from the wound as the beetle collapsed, thrashing about in its death throes.</p><p></p><p>A small smile crawled up onto Davi's face, and she clapped her hands eagerly as the beetle fels. "Delightful! You are truly an agent of the Green Lady, Keira!" she announced, crossing over to the crushed shell and examining it appreciatively.</p><p></p><p>She heard Davi's comment, and through cletched teeth spat, "I serve no Green Lady, Davi Knockdoor!"</p><p></p><p>Davi had meant her mention of the Green Lady as a compliment, praising Keira as a fine agent of death; and, ignorant of barbarians and their methods, she was severely surprised at Keira's quick response. Her first, reflexive reaction was to catch Keira by the eyes with a reproachful glare, but the consequences of that action--namely, being squashed just like that beetle before her--rang clearly, so she merely looked off into the room, her insulted eyes now scanning it as well as possible. "Of course you don't," was the only meager response that Davi managed.</p><p></p><p>Keira turned away, and Tash quickly stepped forward to interrupt the uncomfortable silence that lingered. "Well, there's lots of stuff to look at in here. Let's get started with that body."</p><p></p><p>The skull of the man's corpse on the southwest slab had been utterly crushed, and the remains still were quite gruesome even though he was long-dead. The red leather armor he wore seemed to be quite well-made and was emblazoned with an eight-pointed white star over the left breast, a symbol that Tash recognized.</p><p></p><p>"This one wears the symbol of the Seekers, a group unscrupulous archaeologists and pseudohistorians," the gnome said condescendingly. "Probably came to loot the place...like us eh?"</p><p></p><p>"Not at all like us, Tash," Davi said, smiling coyly. "We at least have scruples."</p><p></p><p>The gnome laughed at that. "I wonder what crushed his head." His gaze went to the statue standing on the pedestal.</p><p></p><p>"Best not to stir it up again," Carpal cautioned. "Let's check out the east hall."</p><p></p><p>The room at the end of the east hall contained a wide stone basin backed by a five-foot-tall shelf. A hardened orange paste spilled out over the two-foot basin lip and covered much of the shelf. Thousands of tiny beetles with bright blue carapaces skittered and tunneled through the chalky substance. A huge organic mass completely filled the room's southwest corner. Judging by the beetles spilling from within, it appeared to be an enormous nest.</p><p></p><p>Another enormous beetle was here, and the beetles in the paste quickly coalesced into another swarm. But the adventurers were prepared this time, and a barrage of lit torches incinerated most of the little beetles while a well-placed dagger from Ezreal and a powerful slash of Carpal's glaive put an end to the big one.</p><p></p><p>With the threats neutralized, Davi noticed some strange lumps in the orange paste. Ju'lindra scraped away at the substance with her siangham, shaking some stray beetles aside, and uncovered moldy red leather emblazoned with the symbol of the Seekers. Clearing away the sludge completely revealed the skeletonized remains of a long-dead human clad in rotting red leather armor. The two other lumps produced similar results. Though their armor was moldy and useless, there were three small potion vials on the belt of one skeleton, and another corpse had a dirty pearl in the remains of a pouch.</p><p></p><p>"More Seekers," the monk said. "Do you think they got to the treasure already?"</p><p></p><p>"They might not have found all the treasure that's here," Tash mused. "Look, we found one dead body in the other room, and three more in here. Chances are these Seekers did not fare too well in here. Perhaps they gave up after losing too many of their number?"</p><p></p><p>"Maybe none of them made it back," Sardonic suggested darkly. "The Seekers supposed to be a society of archaeologists and historians, but they're really looters. They're well trained looters, which gives me pause. Something horrible must have happened for four to go down."</p><p></p><p>There was an awkward silence, but then Davi clapped her hands cheerfully. "Well now, as long as we keep our wits about us, we'll not suffer the same fate. Shall we continue?"</p><p></p><p>The party moved back to the intersection and headed north, where a set of stairs lead down to another chamber. However, the lower half of the stairs were obscured by dark water. It seemed that whatever rooms laid beyond the staircase had somehow become completely submerged.</p><p></p><p>Davi peered into the water. "Do we have any swimmers amongst us, preferably those experienced in battling aquatic acid-spewing beetles?" she asked half-jokingly.</p><p></p><p>Sardonic unshouldered his pack. "I'll take this one," he said resolutely.</p><p></p><p>"We should tie a rope to you in case you need us to pull you back," Carpal said, and the mage nodded his assent.</p><p></p><p>"If needed, I can cast a light spell on your crossbow," Pyrius offered. "It'll help you see whatever's down there."</p><p></p><p>Sardonic opened his mouth to reply, but Keira suddenly stepped forward. She shed her fur cloak and drops her glaive on top of it. "You will not go down there alone, little one. I will go with you."</p><p></p><p>The mage smiled. "Can't turn down a chance to get wet with me?" he asked teasingly.</p><p></p><p>Keira made no answer, turning to Pyrius and gesturing to the spiked gauntlet she wore on her right hand. "Pyrius, your light on my glove," she half-asked, half stated. The cleric complied. "Let's go," she said to Sardonic, and the two of them waded into the water. Taking a deep breath, they submerged.</p><p></p><p>"Be careful," Tash called after them, but the dark waters made no reply.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ltclnlbrain, post: 2821418, member: 12882"] [b]Chapter 13[/b] The descent down the shaft was rather easy; the pits and scars provided numerous handholds and ledges. Soon enough, the entire party made it down below. Dozens of bas-relief figures similar to the one on the sarcophagus lid in the room above stared disapprovingly from the walls here. Many sported crossed arms and stern expressions. A few of the statues' heads were missing, and some had huge chunks torn out of them. Others had a weird melted appearance, as if they'd been sprayed by something terrible. A large glyph that looked like a stylized arrow, identical to the one on the bas-relief in the living quarters of the previous sublevel, pointed down a short corridor to the north that leads to a four-way intersection. A keening insect chorus filled the air. The adventurers moved down the western hall first, coming to a room filled with eight man-sized slabs arranged in two rows. A long-dead corpse, possibly a human, laid sprawled out upon one of these slabs, its red leather armor the only hint of color in the otherwise drab room. The short west wall abutted a small stone stage. The red clay statue of a powerfully built warrior wielding a cylinder-headed greatclub stood tall upon the stage, its eyes surveying the room. Of more interest was the enormous beetle, perhaps six feet long and as tall as a halfling, that skittered between the slabs. Its compound eyes fell on the party, and it chittered as it made its way toward them. They moved quickly, forming ranks behind Carpal and Keira's glaives. The barbarian scored a solid hit through its chitinous shell as the beetle drew near. Rearing back, the insect turned around a sprayed an acidic vapor on the glaive-wielders! The acid burned Keira, and she snarled as the rage took her. With a curse on her lips, she brought the glaive down in a tremendous arc, tearing through the beetle's shell and into its vital insides. Green ichor sprayed from the wound as the beetle collapsed, thrashing about in its death throes. A small smile crawled up onto Davi's face, and she clapped her hands eagerly as the beetle fels. "Delightful! You are truly an agent of the Green Lady, Keira!" she announced, crossing over to the crushed shell and examining it appreciatively. She heard Davi's comment, and through cletched teeth spat, "I serve no Green Lady, Davi Knockdoor!" Davi had meant her mention of the Green Lady as a compliment, praising Keira as a fine agent of death; and, ignorant of barbarians and their methods, she was severely surprised at Keira's quick response. Her first, reflexive reaction was to catch Keira by the eyes with a reproachful glare, but the consequences of that action--namely, being squashed just like that beetle before her--rang clearly, so she merely looked off into the room, her insulted eyes now scanning it as well as possible. "Of course you don't," was the only meager response that Davi managed. Keira turned away, and Tash quickly stepped forward to interrupt the uncomfortable silence that lingered. "Well, there's lots of stuff to look at in here. Let's get started with that body." The skull of the man's corpse on the southwest slab had been utterly crushed, and the remains still were quite gruesome even though he was long-dead. The red leather armor he wore seemed to be quite well-made and was emblazoned with an eight-pointed white star over the left breast, a symbol that Tash recognized. "This one wears the symbol of the Seekers, a group unscrupulous archaeologists and pseudohistorians," the gnome said condescendingly. "Probably came to loot the place...like us eh?" "Not at all like us, Tash," Davi said, smiling coyly. "We at least have scruples." The gnome laughed at that. "I wonder what crushed his head." His gaze went to the statue standing on the pedestal. "Best not to stir it up again," Carpal cautioned. "Let's check out the east hall." The room at the end of the east hall contained a wide stone basin backed by a five-foot-tall shelf. A hardened orange paste spilled out over the two-foot basin lip and covered much of the shelf. Thousands of tiny beetles with bright blue carapaces skittered and tunneled through the chalky substance. A huge organic mass completely filled the room's southwest corner. Judging by the beetles spilling from within, it appeared to be an enormous nest. Another enormous beetle was here, and the beetles in the paste quickly coalesced into another swarm. But the adventurers were prepared this time, and a barrage of lit torches incinerated most of the little beetles while a well-placed dagger from Ezreal and a powerful slash of Carpal's glaive put an end to the big one. With the threats neutralized, Davi noticed some strange lumps in the orange paste. Ju'lindra scraped away at the substance with her siangham, shaking some stray beetles aside, and uncovered moldy red leather emblazoned with the symbol of the Seekers. Clearing away the sludge completely revealed the skeletonized remains of a long-dead human clad in rotting red leather armor. The two other lumps produced similar results. Though their armor was moldy and useless, there were three small potion vials on the belt of one skeleton, and another corpse had a dirty pearl in the remains of a pouch. "More Seekers," the monk said. "Do you think they got to the treasure already?" "They might not have found all the treasure that's here," Tash mused. "Look, we found one dead body in the other room, and three more in here. Chances are these Seekers did not fare too well in here. Perhaps they gave up after losing too many of their number?" "Maybe none of them made it back," Sardonic suggested darkly. "The Seekers supposed to be a society of archaeologists and historians, but they're really looters. They're well trained looters, which gives me pause. Something horrible must have happened for four to go down." There was an awkward silence, but then Davi clapped her hands cheerfully. "Well now, as long as we keep our wits about us, we'll not suffer the same fate. Shall we continue?" The party moved back to the intersection and headed north, where a set of stairs lead down to another chamber. However, the lower half of the stairs were obscured by dark water. It seemed that whatever rooms laid beyond the staircase had somehow become completely submerged. Davi peered into the water. "Do we have any swimmers amongst us, preferably those experienced in battling aquatic acid-spewing beetles?" she asked half-jokingly. Sardonic unshouldered his pack. "I'll take this one," he said resolutely. "We should tie a rope to you in case you need us to pull you back," Carpal said, and the mage nodded his assent. "If needed, I can cast a light spell on your crossbow," Pyrius offered. "It'll help you see whatever's down there." Sardonic opened his mouth to reply, but Keira suddenly stepped forward. She shed her fur cloak and drops her glaive on top of it. "You will not go down there alone, little one. I will go with you." The mage smiled. "Can't turn down a chance to get wet with me?" he asked teasingly. Keira made no answer, turning to Pyrius and gesturing to the spiked gauntlet she wore on her right hand. "Pyrius, your light on my glove," she half-asked, half stated. The cleric complied. "Let's go," she said to Sardonic, and the two of them waded into the water. Taking a deep breath, they submerged. "Be careful," Tash called after them, but the dark waters made no reply. [/QUOTE]
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