CASE FILE 001: THE CASE OF THE MISSING HOLYMAN
Session 2: Attack of the Big F'ing Spiders
Dirk fished a crushed box of Belkers
1 from the inner pocket of his leather jacket, frowning at the state of affairs as he flipped the lid open. Half full and all mangled. Picking the best of a poor lot, he lit the cigarette with a practiced motion of his lighter. Exhaling a plume of smoke, he nodded at the kobold, "Lead away, kiddo. By the way, the name is Dirk." Gesturing to the Lud-Man, he said, "This here is Case Nine." The kobold bobbed his head rapidly in confirmation as he frantically scrambled for his meager possessions. Grabbing a crude spear and a rusty knife, he headed off for a shadowy corner of the room, gesturing for the duo. Dirk took out his sunrod and followed, Case Nine close behind him.
They were led through darkened chambers and halls, the splendor of the ruins still evident after untold eons. Elaborate dragons wound around pillars that supported ceilings that vaulted into darkness and fading frescos of wyrms lording over races of antiquity, some familiar and some forgotten, still clung to the walls. From the shadows, kobold warriors swarmed at the sight of the interlopers, sharp spears at the ready, despite the urgings of Meepo.
At the end of a long hall, Dirk and Case were brought to a great room that was dominated by a massive throne. Upon the throne, which was carved in the shape of a dragon, sat a kobold garbed in rich but faded robes and a thin silver crown. Splayed around the ruler were six kobold warriors dressed in leather armor and wielding spears.
The kobold upon the throne raised her hand to the outsiders and spoke in surprising good Pell-Mell, "Above-Worlders! I am Yusdrayl, Queen of the Children of the Dragon and Scion of Ashardalon, King of All Dragons and Destroyer of Worlds!" At the invocation of the name of the ancient dragon, all the kobolds bowed their head in reverence. The queen then turned her unblinking gaze to Meepo, "Lowly Meepo, why have you brought the Above-Worlders into the most sacred lair of our people."
Meepo's voice trembled as he spoke, "They have come for the other Above-Worlders who sought the magic apple. They are mighty warriors and can hel ... " The queen of the kobolds silenced Meepo with a gesture, the scrawny kobold cowering and covering his face with his spindly arms. Yusdrayl sunk back into her throne, "That is for me to decide!" Turning to Case and Dirk, "The Above-Worlders you seek have gone deep into this mighty fortress. The area they have entered is controlled by goblins ..." she turned an spat in disgust before continuing, " ... who infest this holy place. If they live, they are with them."
"My people seek to slay these goblins and regain our rightful place in the House of Ashardalon." Once more, heads were bowed. "But they are a strong and devious lot. One of their greatest warriors has recently raided our area and kidnapped an ice dragon wyrmling in our care." She stared at Dirk and Case, her head cocked to one side and her eyes narrowing. Her long mouth quirked into a fanged grin as an idea formed in her clever mind, "Perhaps we can help each other."
"If you enter the goblin territories and retrieve the ice dragon Calcryx, we will allow you to pass through our area unharmed and rest in safety among my people." Case and Dirk looked at each other and shrugged. Dirk spoke, "Good enough." He then smiled and turned on the old Chance charm, "Queen Yusdrayl, we are strangers in this land and we will need a guide." The queen nodded, "Take Meepo. He is worthless to us. He has failed in keeping his ward, the ice dragon, safe from harm and has so failed his people." At the declaration, the scrawny kobold hung his head in shame.
* * *
Meepo led Dirk and Case Nine out of the kobold lair and into the contested zone between the warring tribes of humanoids. Slipping into an area known to be infrequently visited by either side, the duo hoped to sneak into the goblin territories by the backdoor. Moving down twisting halls and long abandoned chambers, they soon came upon a room with a strange stone door, a dusty fountain adorned with swooping dragons and a large archway that led into darkness.
Despite the urgings of the kobold to continue, the duo decided to have a look around. Ignoring the fountain, Dirk quickly examined the stone door, which was graven with diving dragons and soaring drakes, and found that it had neither handle nor knob. Holding his sunrod close, he found a passage carved into the door in Draconic. He read it out loud as "Tana Aman Heka Men", which translated into Pell-Mell as "Channel good, open the way". Looking back to Case and Meepo, he said, "Mean anything to either of you?" The robot and kobold shook their heads. "Me either." Turning around, he jerked his thumb to the door and nodded to Case Nine, "You know what to do."
The Lud-Man gripped his greathammer and began to batter down the stone door, each thunderous blow echoing up and down the empty halls. Dirk lit a fresh cigarette and ventured to the large archway, Meepo by his side. As he flipped his lighter closed and looked up, the smoldering cigarette fell from his slackening mouth and all color drained from his face. Meepo gripped his leg and whimpered as he caught sight of the monstrosities lurching toward them.
The things were clearly of spider stock, but each was the size of a large dog, and warped either by long inbreeding or the weirdness of distant Lud.
2 One had a head clustered with ill-formed black eyes; one was thick with weeping tumors; one had twice as many legs as it needed and dragged the useless quivering appendages along. All had dripping fangs that twitched in anticipation.
In-between swings of his hammer, the sensors of Case Nine noted certain anomalies in the breathing patterns of Dirk and Meepo and peculiar new sounds. Given prior experience, current environment, and results of complex risk algorithms, there was a 96.387% probability of an untoward event occurring in the immediate time-frame. Turning about, the warforged caught sight of the chittering abominations and his fear-frozen comrades. Sensing no threat to him in the spider-things, Case charged forth and pushed past the ashen Dirk and weeping Meepo, who had burrowed his face into the leg of Dirk's jeans.
Swinging his hammer in wide devastating arcs, the robot laid into the monstrous vermin. The creatures tried to surge past the Lud-Man to feed upon the living prey beyond, but Case Nine's assault smashed and killed before they could advance. Splattered in gore, Case turned to Dirk, who had recovered somewhat, saying, "More webs ahead. I will take point." Shaking the clinging kobold off his leg, Dirk readjusted his leather jacket and pulled out his pistol. Moving behind the robot, he peered into the gloom from which the mutant spiders had emerged, "Appreciate it, Case." Blanching as he passed the rent corpses, Dirk muttered, "God-
damned spiders."
* * *
The three of them moved down what must have been a series of stables in days long past. Now each of the booths was the domain of the spiders and was thick with webs and the remains of past meals. Desiccated corpses of great rats and small humanoids hung in grotesque cocoons in many of the webs and bones littered the floor. Case Nine pulled down the webbing with his hammer and in some of the debris they found ancient coins and other baubles.
The hall of stables eventually terminated in a large room strewn with ragged strands of webbing. In the flat light of the sunrod, the group could make out two large pits in the floor, each with trapdoors lodged open with iron spikes, and a single doorway that was half-shrouded with sheets of filthy cobwebs. Against the far wall, another fountain adorned with dragons stood, the shattered bones of past prey littering its dry basin. Dirk instantly recognized what had transpired in the room, "Looks like someone beat us here. They spiked the traps." Case Nine cautiously advanced into the room, his scanners sweeping the area for signs of danger. Dirk crept in as well, knelling beside one of the disabled traps to inspect the work.
As Dirk got up from his crouch, his knees popping loudly in the quiet, he groaned as he caught sight of movement from the room partially concealed by webbing. Two more of the monstrous spiders skittered forth; one heading for Case, the other lurching toward Dirk. However, what emerged next nearly sent Dirk screaming from the ruins. A truly huge spider, its abdomen swollen with cancerous growths, struggled to squeeze through the door and enter the chamber. Meepo wheeled back, pointing at the horse-sized spider, and managed to squeal out "Guthash" before darting away.
3
Dirk raised his pistol, his hands trembling and took several shots at the advancing spider-thing, but in his blind panic missed each time. The creature dove at the rogue, driving its fangs deep into Drik's arm. Dirk screamed as his arm seemed to catch flame, the poison streaming through his blood, and dropped his gun. With a mighty act of will, he managed to tear the creature off and send it crashing to the ground. Experience and instinct overcoming thought and terror, he pulled out his short sword and skewered the spider-thing as it tried to right itself.
After mashing the head of the monster with his boot to make sure it was dead, Dirk flipped his blade and looked up to see his reflection eight times in the glittering eyes of Guthash. Scrambling back in dread, Dirk weaved and wove, avoiding the darting strikes of Guthash, whose fangs were the size of a human hand. As he dove back, he suddenly hit something hard and unyielding. Realizing in horror that he had backed himself into a corner, the rogue held out his blade and watched as the great spider rose up to deliver his doom.
Meanwhile, Case Nine slaughtered the mutant spider charging him, crushing the monster flat with a single vicious overhead blow with his greathammer. However, even this brief encounter cost the robot time, as Guthash strode past him and went straight for Dirk. Case's friend was not thinking clearly and appeared to be unaware of the great monster approaching him. The Lud-Man was too slow to intercept, but as Dirk was pressed into the corner by Guthash, the robot surged forward. Swinging his hammer in a wide arc, he slammed into the massive spider-thing, sending foul smelling ichor splattering in all directions.
Wheeling around, Guthash lashed out at the source of its pain. While the poison was of no concern to the warforged, the fangs of the monstrosity were strong and it rent and tore the armor of the Lud-Man. Distracted by the assault of Case Nine, Guthash momentarily ignored Dirk and thus sealed its fate. Fighting though the horror, the rogue slid to one side and using both hands drove his short sword hilt-deep into the thorax of the monster. Squealing in pain, Guthash listed to the side and staggered about before finally falling to the ground, its many legs jerking wildly for quite sometime after its death.
* * *
Dirk rummaged through his pack until he found what he wanted: Bertik's Patented No. 34 Antitoxin Elixir.
4 Hastily unscrewing the cap, he gulped down the noxious tasting liquid. Minutes crawled by as he waited to see if the poison of the spiders would have any effect. When he felt no worse, he knew the alchemic had worked. Meanwhile, Case Nine applied some enchanted unguents and oils to his battered armor plating, the magic mending the damage he had sustained. The danger abated, Meepo sheepishly crept back into the room from his hiding place in the hall.
Once ready, Case Nine entered the lair of Guthash, his hammer held high. Inside was a stinking nest of web, debris, and bones. As the robot looked around, he caught sight of a human-sized body strung in the webs. Putting away his hammer and taking out a knife, he cut the corpse down and brought it out into the room, as Dirk would have no part in entering Guthash's nest. The body, although mummified, appeared somewhat fresh and dressed in studded leather armor, a well-worn pack, and good boots. Meepo stared for a moment then jumped up in excitement, "I know this Above-Worlder! He was with the one you are looking for." Dirk nodded and quietly searched the body, finding the pack full of various supplies and a gold ring upon his finger. On the inside of the ring was engraved a single word: Karakas.
Case Nine, who had left Dirk to his work and returned to Guthash's lair, continued to pick through the nest. Eventually he found a Dragon rifle, which based on the ammunition they found in Karakas' pack had probably belonged to him, as well as a number of other trinkets. Giving the rifle to Dirk, the duo took what they could use and left the rest behind.
* * *
Nerves still on edge, the group backtracked to where Case Nine had slaughtered the first of the spider-things. Here, Meepo noted another path that he assured Dirk and Case would lead them into the goblin territories. Forgoing the stone door that Case had started to break down, the group followed the path pointed out by Meepo. Passing through several empty chambers, they eventually came to an ancient wooden door with a rusty knob.
Kneeling before it, Dirk carefully inspected the door for signs of subterfuge. As he examined the door, he noted that a key hole had only been partially filled in, allowing a glimpse of what was beyond. A flickering light could be dimly made out at the end of a long hall. Of far more interest, the rogue could see a string on the other side of the door that draped past the keyhole. Figuring this was an alarm bell, Dirk made preparations and began his work.
Using a set of long metal implements, Dirk carefully picked the mechanism that held the door fast. Next, he asked Case Nine and Meepo to stand back and handed off the sunrod to Meepo, who then wrapped it in a rag to dampen the light. Controlling his breathing and steadying his hand, he carefully opened the door slightly, noting that he was correct and a banged up cowbell had been rigged to the door. Quietly disabling this alarm, he then slipped into the room, giving himself a moment to adjust to the darkness.
Looking ahead, he could see a long hallway and what appeared to be a barricade almost at the end. This makeshift barrier was silhouetted by dim, flickering firelight. Listening carefully, Dirk could make out what sounded like slurred Goblin and drunken laughter from behind the barricade. Crouching, he padded his way forward, noting that the floor was covered with a carpet of caltrops and he picked each step with care.
However, about halfway up the hall, he overlooked a caltrop and it shout out from the edge of his boot, pinging and bouncing down the hall. The laughter suddenly stopped and small heads shot up over the top of the barricade, cries of alarm rose as the goblin lookouts spotted Dirk. Cursing, the rogue drew his blade, but before he could act, he was pushed aside by Case Nine, who came roaring up the hall. The caltrops crushed beneath his thick tread, the robot burst through the barrier and sent the goblin sentinels scattering in all directions.
There were four goblins in total and one immediately fled in terror through a doorway. The others stood their ground, attacking the robot with crude maces. Case Nine swung his heavy hammer, smashing the goblins and sending them flying. As swiftly as it began, the battle was over, and Dirk closed the door the one goblin had fled through. The duo quickly looted the defeated goblins, but found only a few coins, and Dirk also scooped up what few of the caltrops remained serviceable after the Lud-Man's charge.
Weapons at the ready, Case Nine kicked open the door the goblin had fled through and the group charged down a twisting pathway into a huge room. This room, as the hallway before, had been separated by a low barricade of debris. Behind this wall stood at least nine goblins and this time the humanoids were ready for attack. They let loose a hail of javelins and Dirk was hit badly. Even Case Nine, whose thick armor turned most blows, was damaged in the merciless barrage. Dirk managed to fire a few shots, but the goblins used the cover of the barricade to their benefit and none were harmed. Case attempted to burst through the wall in hopes of getting into melee range, but was repulsed by another barrage of javelins.
Bleeding and sparking, Dirk and Case Nine fled the battle, chased by javelins and taunts. Meepo was not far behind.
Notes:
1 Belkers are a popular brand of cigarettes in Asheril. Widely known for their slogan "A New Dimension of Flavor" and their ubiquitous advertising mascot, Belky the
Belker.
2 The area around Old Lud is filled with strange energies that can mutate living creatures. At times, it has been known to affect even inanimate objects or non-living creatures, giving them odd new qualities. These energies have not yet been successfully quantified by modern technologies or sorceries, making them difficult to detect and extremely dangerous. Advanced Arcanics, a research consortium with divisions in both Asheril and New Lud, is thought to be close to creating a device that will detect this energy, but working prototypes have not yet been publicly demonstrated.
3 A goblin word. Translated into Pell-Mell it roughly means "Bloated One".
4 Another fine product from Bertik & Company Alchemics and Chemicals.