Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
DM Brainiac's Age of Worms (Mostly Restored 5/12/06)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ltclnlbrain" data-source="post: 2821424" data-attributes="member: 12882"><p><strong>Chapter 16</strong></p><p></p><p>Ezreal had his dagger drawn, pulling Sardonic back from the water's edge as Ju'lindra and Pyrius ran up. "Don't they know we're done fighting for the day?" the mage asked, exasperated. Carpal and Keira stood in a line, glaives ready for whatever was coming. And something was coming, churning the waters as it swam up the stairs.</p><p></p><p>"Noooooo!" cried Davi. She ran towards the pool with as much speed as her clumsy robe allowed, worry breaking out on her face in sweaty tears. "Don't! It could be Georgette!" The halfling had momentarily forgotten to mention that she'd already named her summoned porpoise, though heretofore she hadn't even met it.</p><p></p><p>But when the creature crested the surface, it was immediately clear that it was not Georgette. The foul creature appeared more or less humanoid, but had mottled and decaying flesh drawn tight across clearly visible bones. Mostly hairless, its eyes burned like hot coals in their sunken sockets. Davi and Pyrius recognized the undead monstrosity: a ghoul.</p><p></p><p>Even as it emerged, though, Carpal and Keira laid into it with their glaives. Their weapons tore into its body, and it shrieked as pieces of flesh were torn from it. Consumed by a burning need to consume, though, the ghoul seized upon the still flat-footed Tash, tearing into the gnome's neck with sharp, carnivorous teeth. The pain was intense, and the gnome felt his body threatening to seize up.</p><p></p><p>"Nyaah!" the gnome cried, his fortitude proving stronger than the paralysis. Clutching his neck to staunch the bleeding wound, he withdrew behind the warriors.</p><p></p><p>Pyrius fumbled for the sun-shaped medallion around his neck. He grasped it and held it at the ghoul, saying, "By the Light of Pelor, be gone!" However, shaken by the proximity of the frightening creature, he wavers; the creature merely fixed its gaze on the cleric, hissing and baring its fangs.</p><p></p><p>The distraction was momentary, but it was enough for Carpal to take advantage of. He tore through the ghoul with his glaive; the weapon cleanly severed the body in two, and both halves fell back into the water with a splash, unmoving.</p><p></p><p>"Two halves ares better than one!" Keira proclaimed, looking at Carpal. She grinned wickedly as she surveyed the water, her ears trying to listen for anything else.</p><p></p><p>Davi bent to examine the remains of the ghoul, and her eyes caught a glint of gold in the darkness. She reached for the dead thing's hand. There it was: on his third finger, a golden ring shaped in the eight-pointed starburst symbol of the Seekers. The ring alarmed her immediately, and the priest's face reflected this; her slender angles seemed more narrow suddenly, and her rosy cheeks sunk into pensive repose. She took the finger off of the ghoul with her dagger, ring still attached to the decaying flesh, and then brought it to the others.</p><p></p><p>The halfling was distracted by Tash's injury. The ghoul had packed a nasty bite, but Pyrius declared that luckily it was free of disease. Once more Davi withdrew a hankerchief from her pocket, and she mindfully delivered it to the wizard. "I don't carry bandages, I'm afraid. Here," and with that Davi tenderly wiped Tash's neck. "Forgive me for endangering you like this--all of you, really."</p><p></p><p>Davi turned to the group, and she held up the finger before them, displaying the ring. "I thought this tomb would be bountiful, easy to loot as well as we should... But we've all seen that it's a strange place, a dark one--and not a good dark. I guess it's also the site of a large set of murders, presumably of these 'Seekers' Tash told us of. I thought maybe they'd turned on each other--gang rivalry, happens so often with base brutes and 'secret societies' alike--but now I wonder..."</p><p></p><p>Turning to the gnome, Davi slid the finger back into one of the many pockets on her robe. "Tash, these fellows wouldn't happen to be necromancers, would they? Because then we're dealing with an entirely different scenario." Tash shook his head, and Davi nodded. "I didn't think so," she said.</p><p></p><p>"This complex was probably built by the Vaati," offered Sardonic. "I'm assuming that any elementals we find will be their doing. Elementals are usually used as guards. They never tire, eat or sleep. The water elemental was probably set there to prevent us from moving further into the dungeon. As far as the moving dead guy, your guess is as good as mine."</p><p></p><p>Carpal frowned. "If the elementals are guards, why wouldn't the water thing attack that ghoul? Or was the ghoul a guardian as well? And moreover, what was the water elemental guarding?"</p><p></p><p>Sardonic could only shrug.</p><p></p><p>Davi put a hand to her temple. Too many questions, not enough answers. "Carpal, I believe we've all received too many wounds this morning--mayhaps we should find a resting spot. Where do you suggest?"</p><p></p><p>Carpal looked around a bit. "I would not consider this hall 'secure' but it would accomodate us all. And it is more defensible than the great hall."</p><p></p><p>The halfling nodded. "Alright then. We'll take some rest here then, and continue our explorations tomorrow."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ltclnlbrain, post: 2821424, member: 12882"] [b]Chapter 16[/b] Ezreal had his dagger drawn, pulling Sardonic back from the water's edge as Ju'lindra and Pyrius ran up. "Don't they know we're done fighting for the day?" the mage asked, exasperated. Carpal and Keira stood in a line, glaives ready for whatever was coming. And something was coming, churning the waters as it swam up the stairs. "Noooooo!" cried Davi. She ran towards the pool with as much speed as her clumsy robe allowed, worry breaking out on her face in sweaty tears. "Don't! It could be Georgette!" The halfling had momentarily forgotten to mention that she'd already named her summoned porpoise, though heretofore she hadn't even met it. But when the creature crested the surface, it was immediately clear that it was not Georgette. The foul creature appeared more or less humanoid, but had mottled and decaying flesh drawn tight across clearly visible bones. Mostly hairless, its eyes burned like hot coals in their sunken sockets. Davi and Pyrius recognized the undead monstrosity: a ghoul. Even as it emerged, though, Carpal and Keira laid into it with their glaives. Their weapons tore into its body, and it shrieked as pieces of flesh were torn from it. Consumed by a burning need to consume, though, the ghoul seized upon the still flat-footed Tash, tearing into the gnome's neck with sharp, carnivorous teeth. The pain was intense, and the gnome felt his body threatening to seize up. "Nyaah!" the gnome cried, his fortitude proving stronger than the paralysis. Clutching his neck to staunch the bleeding wound, he withdrew behind the warriors. Pyrius fumbled for the sun-shaped medallion around his neck. He grasped it and held it at the ghoul, saying, "By the Light of Pelor, be gone!" However, shaken by the proximity of the frightening creature, he wavers; the creature merely fixed its gaze on the cleric, hissing and baring its fangs. The distraction was momentary, but it was enough for Carpal to take advantage of. He tore through the ghoul with his glaive; the weapon cleanly severed the body in two, and both halves fell back into the water with a splash, unmoving. "Two halves ares better than one!" Keira proclaimed, looking at Carpal. She grinned wickedly as she surveyed the water, her ears trying to listen for anything else. Davi bent to examine the remains of the ghoul, and her eyes caught a glint of gold in the darkness. She reached for the dead thing's hand. There it was: on his third finger, a golden ring shaped in the eight-pointed starburst symbol of the Seekers. The ring alarmed her immediately, and the priest's face reflected this; her slender angles seemed more narrow suddenly, and her rosy cheeks sunk into pensive repose. She took the finger off of the ghoul with her dagger, ring still attached to the decaying flesh, and then brought it to the others. The halfling was distracted by Tash's injury. The ghoul had packed a nasty bite, but Pyrius declared that luckily it was free of disease. Once more Davi withdrew a hankerchief from her pocket, and she mindfully delivered it to the wizard. "I don't carry bandages, I'm afraid. Here," and with that Davi tenderly wiped Tash's neck. "Forgive me for endangering you like this--all of you, really." Davi turned to the group, and she held up the finger before them, displaying the ring. "I thought this tomb would be bountiful, easy to loot as well as we should... But we've all seen that it's a strange place, a dark one--and not a good dark. I guess it's also the site of a large set of murders, presumably of these 'Seekers' Tash told us of. I thought maybe they'd turned on each other--gang rivalry, happens so often with base brutes and 'secret societies' alike--but now I wonder..." Turning to the gnome, Davi slid the finger back into one of the many pockets on her robe. "Tash, these fellows wouldn't happen to be necromancers, would they? Because then we're dealing with an entirely different scenario." Tash shook his head, and Davi nodded. "I didn't think so," she said. "This complex was probably built by the Vaati," offered Sardonic. "I'm assuming that any elementals we find will be their doing. Elementals are usually used as guards. They never tire, eat or sleep. The water elemental was probably set there to prevent us from moving further into the dungeon. As far as the moving dead guy, your guess is as good as mine." Carpal frowned. "If the elementals are guards, why wouldn't the water thing attack that ghoul? Or was the ghoul a guardian as well? And moreover, what was the water elemental guarding?" Sardonic could only shrug. Davi put a hand to her temple. Too many questions, not enough answers. "Carpal, I believe we've all received too many wounds this morning--mayhaps we should find a resting spot. Where do you suggest?" Carpal looked around a bit. "I would not consider this hall 'secure' but it would accomodate us all. And it is more defensible than the great hall." The halfling nodded. "Alright then. We'll take some rest here then, and continue our explorations tomorrow." [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
DM Brainiac's Age of Worms (Mostly Restored 5/12/06)
Top