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Doom from Below: The Illithid Ascension (Last Updated: 1-1-03)
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<blockquote data-quote="Phasmus" data-source="post: 240297" data-attributes="member: 1827"><p>The haunted forest thinned noticibly as they went, and by the early afternoon had metamorphosed into a broad grassy plain broken only occasionally by copses of trees. The rippling of the grass made the entire vista seem strangely oceanic; a great sea of green, with tree-bearing islands scattered through it. With the gentle breeze and the twitter of birds, it was easy to imagine the world was unspoiled, that the events of the past were nothing more than sordid nightmares.</p><p></p><p>Semaki was the first to see something wrong.</p><p></p><p>"What is that?" the elf asked, a small frown curving her lips. She pointed.</p><p></p><p>The others squinted and shaded their eyes...except Piklum, who had trouble seeing over the top of the grass. "It looks almost like something...moving," Shayuri said. </p><p></p><p>Shar scowled. "Whatever it is, it will not find us unready."</p><p></p><p>Sure enough, a 'V' shaped wake was visible...something moving below the grass level. However, as the group watched apprehensively, two things became clear. There were in fact two wakes, and neither of them were headed for the party. They were crossing perpendicular to the party's path. Then, finally, the disturbances got close enough that two human figures could be seen, their heads and shoulders alone poking above the grass level. Behind them, gaining slowly, was a sharklike something that couldn't quite be seen beyond an occasional flash of reflected light from through the grass that covered it.</p><p></p><p>"Semaki..." Shayuri said, eyes narrowing. "Can you hit that thing?"</p><p></p><p>The elf was already preparing an arrow. "Yes," was all she said. The bow was lifted skyward, and Semaki's muscles bulged as she drew the arrow back...back...back. The wood arch creaked in protest.</p><p></p><p>"Ridiculous," Shar scoffed. "Let it catch up to them first. For all we know, those men may be thralls and the pursuer friendly to us."</p><p></p><p>"I don't think they're thralls," Shayuri demurred. "They look afraid. Thralls would only run if ordered to. They'd be more likely to attack whatever it is...oh dear."</p><p></p><p>The runners had passed into an area where the grass was thinner. The human beings were a young, but rough-looking warrior and an older man. As they frantically sprinted, the old man lost his footing and fell. The warrior didn't notice at first, then paused and looked back.</p><p></p><p>"No!" the man's voice could faintly be heard. "Keep going!"</p><p></p><p>From the grass behind him emerged a horrible spidery thing made of brass plates and iron joints. Puffs of white vapor issued from ports, and it made a wheezing noise that barely carried to the hill where the party stood.</p><p></p><p>"Gidi," Shayuri whispered.</p><p></p><p>The warrior cried, "No!" and drew his sword. Anyone could see though that he was too far, the machine too fast. The old man raised an arm over his face as the construct bore down on him, sharp scythe-like blades gaping wide like fangs...</p><p></p><p>It was interrupted by the *twang - zip* of Semaki releasing the arrow. Her hand, acting automatically, dropped to her quiver and neatly plucked another before the first was even halfway through its trajectory. Incredibly though, the second was not needed. Despite the distance, concealment, and sheer speed of her target, Semaki's arrow struck true. There was a loud metallic *CLANG* as it lodged itself into one of the ports in the thing, and the device slowed...faltered...</p><p></p><p>...and exploded in a titanic blast of scalding vapor and flames!</p><p></p><p>The warrior was blown backwards off his feet and landed face down at the outskirt of a wide circle of flattened grass. The old man was concealed in the hanging cloud of soot and steam that lingered over the center of the blast. Shayuri immediately broke into a run towards the scene, followed closely by Piklum and Shar. Semaki nocked the second arrow and proceeded forward slowly, already scanning the surroundings for more wakes, Quadim at her heels.</p><p></p><p>While Shayuri hovered anxiously nearby, Shar called on Delta's power to mend the warrior's wounds. The worst of the burns did indeed congeal back into healthy skin, and a few pieces of shrapnel were ejected as the holes they made in him filled in. Coughing and wide-eyed, the man awoke blearily, then sat up, groping for his sword.</p><p></p><p>"Who are you?! Where is..." His eyes fell onto the smoking crater. "Oh no..." Before Shayuri could urge him to take it easy, he was staggering up and towards the burnt ring that marked the middle of the explosion. Crumpled there was a dark heap of what had once been a man, scoured by fire, steam and fragments.</p><p></p><p>"I'm sorry," the sorceress said. "We couldn't help him."</p><p></p><p>"You," the man said, turning abruptly and pointing at Shar, who was getting to her feet. "You're a priestess. Can't you..."</p><p></p><p>"No," Shar replied frostily. "Now I suggest you begin by telling us who you are, and why you are here. It's not too late for you to join your companion."</p><p></p><p>"Shar!"</p><p></p><p>"The cleric is correct," Semaki said lightly, emerging from the grass, arrow still at nock, "...though not polite. In this place, in this time, we must assume any stranger is a threat." Her coal black eyes fixed on the warrior. "Who are you?"</p><p></p><p>The man's face hardened. "Mark del'Sol," he replied. "Of Caron. This is...was...Pique. If any of you have the means to help him..."</p><p></p><p>Shar gave an exasperated sigh, and Shayuri shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mark." Semaki just continued watching, somehow seeming both relaxed and ready to pounce at the same time.</p><p></p><p>Mark deflated a bit and looked down at the lump of ripped charcoal. He made a reverent gesture and closed his eyes in a moment of silence. When he opened them again, he was all business. "And you all are?" he asked crisply. Introductions were made and he absorbed each name without comment. "Good to meet you all. I thank you for the assistance." His deep blue eyes surveyed the group, lingering a moment on each of Quadim, Shayuri, and Semaki. "I will be frank. My life is in danger, as you have all seen. There will be more of these things coming for me. Will you let me accompany you?"</p><p></p><p>Piklum shrugged noncomittally and edged a bit closer to the smoldering body. "I don't mind." Shar smiled grimly, "Any enemy of Gidi is a potential friend of mine. Can you handle that sword?"</p><p></p><p>Mark simply nodded, his expression not changing.</p><p></p><p>Semaki merely put her arrow back in its quiver. "The day is getting on," she said calmly, "we should get moving."</p><p></p><p>"A moment," Mark said tightly, stepping between Piklum and his erstwhile friend. Piklum scuttled back a few steps and put on an innocent, nigh-cherubic expression. Mark paid no attention, grimacing as he knelt down and pried the remains of the backpack off the body. "Sorry, old man," he said quietly, fondly. "These will do you no good now though." With a sickening *ripping* noise, the backpack came free, and Mark hastily upended it. Much of the contents were ruined, but three things were conspicuously unharmed. A set of leather bracers with metal inlays, a simple bronze ring, and a metal segmented necklace made of gold. He looked at the others, "Are any of you..." he grimaced again, as if hating the sound of the word, "...magicians? These things have some power, I think, but he never told me much about them."</p><p></p><p>Shayuri darted forward, eyes widening. "Let me see them," she said, reaching out.</p><p></p><p>The sorceress intoned strange words of Shaping, and twists of arcane energy rippled around her fingers. The mystic auras of the items bloomed into her view as she examined each of them. "Oh yes," she said, "Definitely magical. The bracers and necklace were made with transmutation, as well as abjuration...odd combination, that..." She faded into a moment of thoughtful silence, then said, "The ring is pure transmutation, and is quite powerful by the look of it."</p><p></p><p>Mark held his hand out rather pointedly, and Shayuri, after an almost imperceptible pause, returned the items. "Are they safe to use?" Mark asked.</p><p></p><p>Shayuri shrugged. "I'm afraid I can't see that much detail. Didn't your friend talk about them? Where did he get them?"</p><p></p><p>"He was involved with a group of mages," Mark grumped. "He wouldn't talk about them though. They apparently liked their privacy. Unfortunately, someone must have found out...hence the...whatever it is." He indicated the crater where the Gidian construct had been.</p><p></p><p>"And you?" Semaki inquired in that quiet voice of hers. "Who are you involved with?"</p><p></p><p>Mark was silent for a moment. "I'm not ready to say yet," he said at last. "I do appreciate your help, but...you must understand. There are many more lives than mine at stake."</p><p></p><p>"Hold," Shar abruptly interjected. "We are followed."</p><p></p><p>Semaki whirled to look back at the forest. In the distance could be seen three human-shaped figures walking slowly out of the trees. Something like surprise flickered across her impassive features for a moment, but she said nothing; only reached to take an arrow and put it to nock.</p><p></p><p>"Who are they?" Mark asked, drawing his sword. The blade of it was an odd, unreflective black metal inlaid with peculiar runes. Shayuri's eyes immediately gravitated to it, though she did not say anything at once.</p><p></p><p>"I do not know," Semaki replied, though there was a brief hesitation before the statement.</p><p></p><p>Quadim flinched. "Masters, your servants...they are dead, or serve you no longer. It wasn't my fault! Please..."</p><p></p><p>Mark fixed Quadim with a cold expression for a moment, then strode out to intercept the three. Shar, not to be outdone, hastily followed. The others watched. Mark suddenly cried, "Zombies! Undead!" and charged forward, sword upraised. Semaki loosed her arrow, which arched high and buried itself into the chest of one. Closely following it was a brilliant shard of magic force that launched itself from Shayuri. Between the two, the lurching thing fell, it's midsection hanging in tatters. Then Shar and Mark reached the remaining two, and did their grisly work. In moments, the shambling corpses were dead once more.</p><p></p><p>Semaki, looking paler than usual, went forward to look at the remains. She didn't seem surprised when she reported, "I knew these men. They were with me. When we went into the caves."</p><p></p><p>"Caves?" Mark said confusedly, "What caves?"</p><p></p><p>"It's a long story, Mark. We'll tell you tonight, when we camp," Shayuri replied uneasily, looking from the mangled rotted bodies on the ground to Semaki.</p><p></p><p>"Faugh...fine," the warrior replied, wiping gunk off his blade and sheathing it. "Let's go quickly though. Too many enemies have found us here for my liking."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed," Semaki said, and without further comment set off westward, trailing Quadim like a lost puppy.</p><p></p><p>Shayuri quickly fell into step, and Shar hustled to take the lead. Piklum grinned companionably at Mark. "Women, eh?" Then pattered after them.</p><p></p><p>Mark watched them for a moment, debating with himself. Then with long, heavy strides, he followed.</p><p></p><p>---------------</p><p>To be Continued</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Phasmus, post: 240297, member: 1827"] The haunted forest thinned noticibly as they went, and by the early afternoon had metamorphosed into a broad grassy plain broken only occasionally by copses of trees. The rippling of the grass made the entire vista seem strangely oceanic; a great sea of green, with tree-bearing islands scattered through it. With the gentle breeze and the twitter of birds, it was easy to imagine the world was unspoiled, that the events of the past were nothing more than sordid nightmares. Semaki was the first to see something wrong. "What is that?" the elf asked, a small frown curving her lips. She pointed. The others squinted and shaded their eyes...except Piklum, who had trouble seeing over the top of the grass. "It looks almost like something...moving," Shayuri said. Shar scowled. "Whatever it is, it will not find us unready." Sure enough, a 'V' shaped wake was visible...something moving below the grass level. However, as the group watched apprehensively, two things became clear. There were in fact two wakes, and neither of them were headed for the party. They were crossing perpendicular to the party's path. Then, finally, the disturbances got close enough that two human figures could be seen, their heads and shoulders alone poking above the grass level. Behind them, gaining slowly, was a sharklike something that couldn't quite be seen beyond an occasional flash of reflected light from through the grass that covered it. "Semaki..." Shayuri said, eyes narrowing. "Can you hit that thing?" The elf was already preparing an arrow. "Yes," was all she said. The bow was lifted skyward, and Semaki's muscles bulged as she drew the arrow back...back...back. The wood arch creaked in protest. "Ridiculous," Shar scoffed. "Let it catch up to them first. For all we know, those men may be thralls and the pursuer friendly to us." "I don't think they're thralls," Shayuri demurred. "They look afraid. Thralls would only run if ordered to. They'd be more likely to attack whatever it is...oh dear." The runners had passed into an area where the grass was thinner. The human beings were a young, but rough-looking warrior and an older man. As they frantically sprinted, the old man lost his footing and fell. The warrior didn't notice at first, then paused and looked back. "No!" the man's voice could faintly be heard. "Keep going!" From the grass behind him emerged a horrible spidery thing made of brass plates and iron joints. Puffs of white vapor issued from ports, and it made a wheezing noise that barely carried to the hill where the party stood. "Gidi," Shayuri whispered. The warrior cried, "No!" and drew his sword. Anyone could see though that he was too far, the machine too fast. The old man raised an arm over his face as the construct bore down on him, sharp scythe-like blades gaping wide like fangs... It was interrupted by the *twang - zip* of Semaki releasing the arrow. Her hand, acting automatically, dropped to her quiver and neatly plucked another before the first was even halfway through its trajectory. Incredibly though, the second was not needed. Despite the distance, concealment, and sheer speed of her target, Semaki's arrow struck true. There was a loud metallic *CLANG* as it lodged itself into one of the ports in the thing, and the device slowed...faltered... ...and exploded in a titanic blast of scalding vapor and flames! The warrior was blown backwards off his feet and landed face down at the outskirt of a wide circle of flattened grass. The old man was concealed in the hanging cloud of soot and steam that lingered over the center of the blast. Shayuri immediately broke into a run towards the scene, followed closely by Piklum and Shar. Semaki nocked the second arrow and proceeded forward slowly, already scanning the surroundings for more wakes, Quadim at her heels. While Shayuri hovered anxiously nearby, Shar called on Delta's power to mend the warrior's wounds. The worst of the burns did indeed congeal back into healthy skin, and a few pieces of shrapnel were ejected as the holes they made in him filled in. Coughing and wide-eyed, the man awoke blearily, then sat up, groping for his sword. "Who are you?! Where is..." His eyes fell onto the smoking crater. "Oh no..." Before Shayuri could urge him to take it easy, he was staggering up and towards the burnt ring that marked the middle of the explosion. Crumpled there was a dark heap of what had once been a man, scoured by fire, steam and fragments. "I'm sorry," the sorceress said. "We couldn't help him." "You," the man said, turning abruptly and pointing at Shar, who was getting to her feet. "You're a priestess. Can't you..." "No," Shar replied frostily. "Now I suggest you begin by telling us who you are, and why you are here. It's not too late for you to join your companion." "Shar!" "The cleric is correct," Semaki said lightly, emerging from the grass, arrow still at nock, "...though not polite. In this place, in this time, we must assume any stranger is a threat." Her coal black eyes fixed on the warrior. "Who are you?" The man's face hardened. "Mark del'Sol," he replied. "Of Caron. This is...was...Pique. If any of you have the means to help him..." Shar gave an exasperated sigh, and Shayuri shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mark." Semaki just continued watching, somehow seeming both relaxed and ready to pounce at the same time. Mark deflated a bit and looked down at the lump of ripped charcoal. He made a reverent gesture and closed his eyes in a moment of silence. When he opened them again, he was all business. "And you all are?" he asked crisply. Introductions were made and he absorbed each name without comment. "Good to meet you all. I thank you for the assistance." His deep blue eyes surveyed the group, lingering a moment on each of Quadim, Shayuri, and Semaki. "I will be frank. My life is in danger, as you have all seen. There will be more of these things coming for me. Will you let me accompany you?" Piklum shrugged noncomittally and edged a bit closer to the smoldering body. "I don't mind." Shar smiled grimly, "Any enemy of Gidi is a potential friend of mine. Can you handle that sword?" Mark simply nodded, his expression not changing. Semaki merely put her arrow back in its quiver. "The day is getting on," she said calmly, "we should get moving." "A moment," Mark said tightly, stepping between Piklum and his erstwhile friend. Piklum scuttled back a few steps and put on an innocent, nigh-cherubic expression. Mark paid no attention, grimacing as he knelt down and pried the remains of the backpack off the body. "Sorry, old man," he said quietly, fondly. "These will do you no good now though." With a sickening *ripping* noise, the backpack came free, and Mark hastily upended it. Much of the contents were ruined, but three things were conspicuously unharmed. A set of leather bracers with metal inlays, a simple bronze ring, and a metal segmented necklace made of gold. He looked at the others, "Are any of you..." he grimaced again, as if hating the sound of the word, "...magicians? These things have some power, I think, but he never told me much about them." Shayuri darted forward, eyes widening. "Let me see them," she said, reaching out. The sorceress intoned strange words of Shaping, and twists of arcane energy rippled around her fingers. The mystic auras of the items bloomed into her view as she examined each of them. "Oh yes," she said, "Definitely magical. The bracers and necklace were made with transmutation, as well as abjuration...odd combination, that..." She faded into a moment of thoughtful silence, then said, "The ring is pure transmutation, and is quite powerful by the look of it." Mark held his hand out rather pointedly, and Shayuri, after an almost imperceptible pause, returned the items. "Are they safe to use?" Mark asked. Shayuri shrugged. "I'm afraid I can't see that much detail. Didn't your friend talk about them? Where did he get them?" "He was involved with a group of mages," Mark grumped. "He wouldn't talk about them though. They apparently liked their privacy. Unfortunately, someone must have found out...hence the...whatever it is." He indicated the crater where the Gidian construct had been. "And you?" Semaki inquired in that quiet voice of hers. "Who are you involved with?" Mark was silent for a moment. "I'm not ready to say yet," he said at last. "I do appreciate your help, but...you must understand. There are many more lives than mine at stake." "Hold," Shar abruptly interjected. "We are followed." Semaki whirled to look back at the forest. In the distance could be seen three human-shaped figures walking slowly out of the trees. Something like surprise flickered across her impassive features for a moment, but she said nothing; only reached to take an arrow and put it to nock. "Who are they?" Mark asked, drawing his sword. The blade of it was an odd, unreflective black metal inlaid with peculiar runes. Shayuri's eyes immediately gravitated to it, though she did not say anything at once. "I do not know," Semaki replied, though there was a brief hesitation before the statement. Quadim flinched. "Masters, your servants...they are dead, or serve you no longer. It wasn't my fault! Please..." Mark fixed Quadim with a cold expression for a moment, then strode out to intercept the three. Shar, not to be outdone, hastily followed. The others watched. Mark suddenly cried, "Zombies! Undead!" and charged forward, sword upraised. Semaki loosed her arrow, which arched high and buried itself into the chest of one. Closely following it was a brilliant shard of magic force that launched itself from Shayuri. Between the two, the lurching thing fell, it's midsection hanging in tatters. Then Shar and Mark reached the remaining two, and did their grisly work. In moments, the shambling corpses were dead once more. Semaki, looking paler than usual, went forward to look at the remains. She didn't seem surprised when she reported, "I knew these men. They were with me. When we went into the caves." "Caves?" Mark said confusedly, "What caves?" "It's a long story, Mark. We'll tell you tonight, when we camp," Shayuri replied uneasily, looking from the mangled rotted bodies on the ground to Semaki. "Faugh...fine," the warrior replied, wiping gunk off his blade and sheathing it. "Let's go quickly though. Too many enemies have found us here for my liking." "Agreed," Semaki said, and without further comment set off westward, trailing Quadim like a lost puppy. Shayuri quickly fell into step, and Shar hustled to take the lead. Piklum grinned companionably at Mark. "Women, eh?" Then pattered after them. Mark watched them for a moment, debating with himself. Then with long, heavy strides, he followed. --------------- To be Continued [/QUOTE]
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