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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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<blockquote data-quote="gfunk" data-source="post: 2813647" data-attributes="member: 1813"><p>WIZARD IN GLASS</p><p></p><p>The campfire popped and crackled behind Hawk as he walked to the mouth of the Whispering Cairn for at least the twentieth time during his watch. Once again, the group had been forced to retreat from the tomb so that Storm and Grubber could replenish their spells, and others, including himself, could heal from the constant challenges they had encountered since entering the accursed place. Even the usually unflappable civilar was beginning to think they were on a fool’s errand. Already they had lost two of their number and been forced to retreat twice. How could Ondabar, wounded from his battle with Ilthane, have survived all alone? Still, honor demanded that they continue looking until they found him, or found credible evidence of his death.</p><p></p><p>Hawk peered out into the night, his eyes seeing in the pitch darkness as if it were bright moonlight due to his celestial bloodline. For a moment, his wool-gathering distracted him from the figure walking deliberately up the trail towards the cairn. When he did notice it, he came alert instantly, sword in hand and shield up. He shouted once over his shoulder where Shay, who shared his watch, came up from his crouch by the fire and began rousing the others.</p><p></p><p>The intruder did not appear troubled by this. In fact, he did not even slow his pace until he was within but a few paces of the civilar. </p><p>“Hello the camp,” he said. He appeared human, but to say he was unattractive would be to say Halaster Blackcloak was slightly unbalanced. The man was absolutely revolting, with his bulbous nose, sloping brow, warty skin and sparse fringe of hair on his otherwise bald pate. And he smelled. An odor which combined the worst of onions, stale fish, body odor and unwashed feet washed over Hawk in a nauseating wave. </p><p>“Who are you and what do you want?” Hawk asked for the second time in as many days, grimacing as he tried to breathe through his mouth.</p><p>“You can call me Faust,” the man said, “though I’ve gone by other names, so I have. What I want is to join up with you, simple as that.”</p><p>Hawk couldn’t suppress a bark of laughter. “Really? And what makes you think we have need of one such as yourself, a perfect stranger who simply walks foolishly into an armed camp?”</p><p>“Oh I know who you are,” Faust said. “And I know what you’ve done. I was at the Champion’s Games in Waterdeep…” He let the sentence hang, heavy with unspoken implications.</p><p>Hawk’s eyes narrowed, his suspicions rising. Reflexively he reached out with his senses, seeking the aura of evil about the man, but finding none. Still, he did not trust the stranger. “What of it?” he asked.</p><p>Faust shrugged, “Just this. I know of the Age of Worms, and the godling Kyuss. Let’s just say I have a vested interest in preventing such a thing from coming to pass.”</p><p>By this time the others had gathered behind Hawk and were staring daggers at the strange little man. </p><p>“I sense no deceit or evil intent about you,” Hawk said at length, “but why should we trust you? What do you know?”</p><p>“Probably not much more than you’ve already discerned,” Faust replied. “I know of the prophecies foretelling the dark times. I know of the spawn of Kyuss who walk the surface in increasing numbers. I know you need all the help you can get, and they don’t call me Holocaust for nothing.”</p><p>“I thought you said your name was Faust,” Hawk said.</p><p>“Among others,” Faust replied.</p><p>“Wait here then Faust, or Holocaust, or whatever you call yourself,” the civilar said sarcastically, “I must confer with my team mates.”</p><p></p><p>After several minutes, the League returned to find the ugly, little man waiting patiently. “What you say is true,” Hawk began. “We do need allies. All of us are here for our own reasons and have our own motives. We will not question yours too deeply…for now. Know this though…we do not suffer fools lightly, and traitors not at all. If you cannot pull your own weight, then we have no use for you, and if its your plan to manipulate us, you do so at your peril. Consider yourself warned.”</p><p>Faust nodded, “I understand. Now, what’ve you lot got to eat? I’m starving!”</p><p></p><p>By dawn of the next morning, the League had already reentered the tomb and returned to the large chamber where they had faced the shadow-walking spider and the dread wraiths. Of the spider, there was no sign. They knew what lay behind two of the three sets of doors exiting the room, and as a group, it was decided to bypass the bridge leading across the river of blood for the moment, and to investigate the final pair of doors instead…the easternmost, which were forged of blue steel. Again, Grubber glowed like a small sun, and upon entering the tomb, Faust had somehow transformed himself into a small dragonet with butterfly wings, and he flitted along behind the main group, taking in every detail, but saying nothing.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the door lay a large antechamber. A small statue of an armored Wind Duke, his left hand resting on a sword, his right held up to shield his eyes, stood at the far wall as part of a small shrine. The statue seemed to be made of gold, with sparkling blue gems for eyes. A beam of bright light shone onto the figure from above. The walls were carved with bas-reliefs of Wind Duke servants bowing, and soldiers saluting. An elaborate carpet covered the floor, but it was badly worn and the colors were faded, with only small patches of the complete pattern remaining.</p><p></p><p>The group gave the apparently empty room a cursory exam. Grim stared greedily at the statue, noting its excellent craftsmanship and obvious value, but then his eyes narrowed as he glared at Drasek. </p><p>“Better leave this be,” the dwarf sneered. “Wouldn’t want to be accused of thievery or vandalism.” </p><p>Drasek simply nodded, not dignifying the jibe with a response.</p><p></p><p>A single door led from the antechamber, and Grim pushed it open despite Shay’s protests of possible traps.</p><p>“Bah!” the dwarf said. “We’ve wasted enough time already. I’m weary of all this creeping about. I say bring whatever may be.”</p><p>His words died on his lips, however, as he beheld what lay in the room beyond the door. It was full of flickering, bluish light and a breeze that smelled like thunderstorms. The floor sloped down toward the center from all directions, like a funnel. At the bottom crackled a sparkling globe of lightning. A metallic spike protruded down from a stone block in the ceiling, touching the very tip of the globe’s upper curve. Inside the globe floated a human figure…a man with a long, dark beard wearing torn and stained red robes. Delfen Ondabar.</p><p></p><p>Storm and Grubber peered over Grim’s broad shoulders at the tableau. </p><p>“It’s another Temporal Stasis,” Grubber said with disgust.</p><p>“But something else as well,” Storm added distractedly. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but we need to be extremely cautious.”</p><p>“Bah!” Grim spat again. “I’ve told you I’m fed up with sneaking. We’ve got to get him out of there, so instead of discussing it in a committee, let’s just try the direct approach.”</p><p>Without waiting for approval, the mineral warrior started down the sloped floor of the chamber. Instantly, a sizzling bolt of electricity arced from the tip of the metal spike towards him, lighting him up like a beacon. Quickly, the dwarf backed out of the room, his armor smoking and his beard standing on end like a porcupine. </p><p>“Don’t…say….a word…” he growled as Storm and Grubber smirked.</p><p></p><p>“Allow me,” Grubber said, rubbing his hands together. “As it so happens, I am prepared for just such an eventuality.” Raising his face to the sky, he began chanting, and slowly a glimmering blue field formed over the team, settling gently over them and then disappearing. Each of them felt a tingle through their skin, and the hairs on their arms stand on end. </p><p>“There,” Grubber said. “I have imbued us all with a measure of resistance to electricity. We should be safe now.”</p><p>“You go first,” Grim muttered.</p><p></p><p>One by one the team entered the chamber, Grubber leading. As each stepped into the room, the spike sent energy bolts at all of them…to no effect. As Grubber had promised, they were protected. Yet even so, they could find no way to penetrate the sphere which surrounded Ondabar. Drasek and Havok even tried multiple Dispelling fields, with not even a flicker in the energy field. It was like the green beam which had protected the Apostolic Scrolls. </p><p></p><p>After a time, Grim grew bored and distracted with the spellcasters’ failed attempts at trying to breach the sphere. He wandered to the far side of the chamber to an archway. Beyond was a short flight of stairs leading to a sheer drop-off. Rungs descended the wall down into darkness.</p><p>“ I wonder where this leads…” the dwarf mused, and then shrugging, he lowered himself over the side. </p><p></p><p>“Um…” the dragon/Faust said into the silence of the room, “I think your dwarf friend is leaving. Is that a good idea?”</p><p>Hawk looked around abruptly and saw the top of Grim’s head disappearing below the lip of the pit. Swearing roundly, he started towards the stairs. When he reached the drop-off he could see that Grim was almost at the bottom of the shaft, forty feet below.</p><p>“Grim!” the civilar called. “What in the name of the Seven Heavens do you think you’re doing?”</p><p>“Exploring!” the dwarf called up. The floor directly below him sparkled with an intricate pattern of scarlet tiles the created a swirling mosaic. “Pretty,” Grim said. Two hallways extended away from the base of the ladder, one leading east, and one northeast. Grim stepped onto the floor, glancing down both halls and noting that they seemed to be dead-ends. “Odd,” he said, but just then he heard a ‘click’ and felt one of the tiles under his foot begin to sink into the floor. “Uh-oh.”</p><p></p><p>Hawk heard a rumbling sound from directly above him. Looking up, he saw a large, iron door slowly descending from the ceiling. He could see that if it closed all the way, it would seal off the pit from the room containing Ondabar.</p><p>“Great,” he muttered, “Just what we needed. Come on!” he shouted to his companions. “It looks like Grim’s chosen our path for us!” Quickly, the civilar began climbing down the rungs. The others followed, ducking under the closing door, and climbing after Hawk…all but Faust and Storm. The former simply flitted to the bottom of the shaft and hovered above Grim’s shoulder, while the latter stepped off ledge and floated slowly downward, the words to a Feather Fall spell on her lips. </p><p>“Was this your plan all along?” Faust asked Grim. “Devilishly clever if you ask me.”</p><p>“Nobody asked you,” the dwarf snorted, and began stalking down the eastern passage.</p><p></p><p>Grubber was the last one down. The others had followed Grim, and the goliath was preparing to do the same when he heard the iron door slam shut above him. A second later, he heard the sound of stone grinding on stone coming from both passages. This was followed by a rushing roar from the northeast…</p><p></p><p>As Grim stood with his hands on his hips staring at the blank wall before him, it suddenly slid up into the ceiling. He found himself standing on the edge of a thirty-foot diameter pit. The red river plummeted over its edge off to his left. Above, a vast cavern arched upward into darkness and Grim could just make out a short set of stairs on the far side of the pit which ended at another blank wall.</p><p></p><p>“Guys, we’ve got trouble!” Grubber shouted down the hall to his companions. A wall of water was rushing down the northeast passage directly towards him. All eyes turned towards him for a moment, and then back towards Grim. The dwarf shrugged. “Only one way to go.” Reaching into a belt pouch, he withdrew a flask and chugged its contents. He then leaped into the air and hovered over the plunging waterfall. Drasek followed suit, quaffing his own Fly potion. Shay and Giovanni simultaneously Dimension Doored across the chasm to the relative safety of the steps on the far side.</p><p>“That just leaves you three and me,” Faust laughed, indicating Storm, Hawk and Grubber.</p><p>“In case you’ve all forgotten,” Grubber frowned. “I can’t fly! Grumbar forbids it!”</p><p>“Then you and your friends had best grab hold of me,” Faust replied. Grubber eyed the dragonet dubiously, and then the fast approaching flood waters. Making a snap decision, he quickly turned towards the water and uttered a prayer, at the end of which a solid wall of iron appeared to block the northeast hall. Grubber could hear the water roaring on the other side, but otherwise the wall seemed to be holding. Nodding in satisfaction, he walked calmly to where Hawk and Storm already had their hands placed on Faust’s back. Joining them, he was suddenly whisked through the Astral plane and back, to find himself and the others standing with Giovanni and Shay.</p><p></p><p>“Now what,” Grubber asked no one in particular, though he stared coldly at Grim. “We’re trapped here.”</p><p>“What about that door?” Storm asked, pointing towards the blank wall.</p><p>“What door?” the goliath said, staring intently at the bare stone.</p><p>“This one,” the drow said in exasperation, and she stepped in front of Grubber and placed one finger-tip against the stone. To the goliath’s amazement, the wall began sliding aside, revealing a short passage and a room beyond. The chamber was watched over by six statues of Wind Duke nobles, three against the east and west walls. The central statue to the east stood before a stone door. The statues all had cupped hands in front of them, and floating on a cushion of air above their hands were intricate carvings of strange buildings and towers. The statue before the door held no such carving. The air in the room was cold, and moved in faint whispers. A passageway to the north opened into a large room lined with red ice, sheets of which extended along the floor of the near chamber. Three large humanoid statues of red ice could be seen in the gloom of the northern room, their frozen, scarlet surfaces scribed with smoking white runes.</p><p></p><p>As the others looked with curiosity at the strange sight, Drasek noticed something amiss. The air around the statue before the eastern door appeared to shimmer, and to the inquisitor’s trained eye, a veil of illusion dropped away, revealing a metallic construct of some sort, dressed in gleaming mail and a red robe. </p><p>“Ware the statue!” he shouted. “All is not as it appears!” Immediately, the construct dropped its disguise and turned towards the intruders. Grim charged into the room, swinging his axe in a great arc, but the creature deftly avoided the blow, and then reached for a lever on the wall which had been concealed behind it. As it pulled the lever, two iron portcullises dropped, one across the southern hall, and one across the northern. Grim was now trapped with the thing, his allies stuck beyond the bars.</p><p></p><p>Without missing a beat, Hawk strapped his shield securely to his arm, and then began hammering it again and again against the portcullis. Grim appreciated the effort, but he knew he was going to be on his own in the mean time. However, help came from an unlooked for source. The little dragonet that was Faust opened his mouth and out came a sizzling current of fiery energy. It struck the construct unerringly, and began melting its metal frame. Furthermore, the flames did not cease. Faust kept his mouth open, and the current continued unabated. Faust recognized the creature as a kolyarut, an inevitable, which was to say, a construct formed for a specific purpose, in this case to ensure the enforcement of a binding agreement. The Wind Dukes must have placed it here as part of a bargain to guard their resting place. Unlike golems, inevitables were not mindless. On the contrary, they were quite intelligent, if single-minded in their purpose. They were also master tacticians. </p><p></p><p>As if to prove that point, the kolyarut stepped away from Grim and opened its palm towards Faust. A ray of black energy lanced out towards the dragonet/psion but at the last moment, Hawk hurled himself into the path of the beam an took the full brunt of its life-draining effect. For a moment, the civilar sagged against the bars, his face pale and drawn, but then, with a visible force of will, he pushed himself upright again and resumed his assault on the portcullis.</p><p></p><p>With the inevitable’s attention shifted from him, Grim rushed forward, chopping at the construct’s shoulder with his axe. The heavy blade ricocheted off the creature’s metallic hide, denting it, but not damaging it significantly. At that moment, Grim heard a great crash behind him. Incredibly, Hawk had managed to smash three of the bars, allowing enough room for Grubber and Drasek to squeeze through. The goliath quickly moved to Grim’s side, while the inquisitor made as if to flank the kolyarut, but the creature’s reflexes were cat-fast. It spun as Drasek passed, striking his chin with the palm of its hand. As metal struck flesh, Drasek felt his heart skip a beat, and weakness overcame him. At the same time, some of the damage inflicted on the inevitable by Faust’s energy current began to repair itself. Quickly, Drasek tried to step away, swinging his maul blindly as he went, and missing the construct completely. However, the kolyarut followed directly in his footsteps striking him twice more, each time draining off more of his life force, and adding to its own.</p><p></p><p>As the inevitable moved past Grim, the dwarf swung with all the force in his body. The axe buried itself into the creature’s thigh, and yet Grim continued his swing, sweeping the construct’s leg off the ground, and leaving the it flat on its back. No sooner had the kolyarut hit the ground, than it vanished. Still watching from outside the bars, Storm knew the creature was still there. It had just rendered itself invisible. She called out to Grubber, who immediately responded by conjuring up an Invisibility Purge field, showing the inevitable to have gained its feet and moved behind Grim.</p><p>“Duck!” Faust shouted, and Grim complied without question. The psion opened his mouth again, and a missile of pure energy struck the kolyarut directly in the chest, exploding it into several hundred clockwork pieces.</p><p></p><p>The door that the inevitable seemed to be guarding led to a room that contained absolutely nothing. It looked as if it may have been intended for use as a private tomb, but the occupant never arrived. </p><p></p><p>The team crossed the room containing the five remaining Wind Duke statues, and entered the red ice-laden hall beyond. Before Grim had taken more than half a dozen steps, the nearest ice sculpture sprang to life, swinging one massive fist at the dwarf. Instinctively, Grim ducked beneath the blow, coming up slashing with his axe. Large chunks of the thing flew in all directions, but it didn’t seem to be slowing down. To make matters worse, the other two sculptures further down the hall had also animated, and were closing in.</p><p></p><p>As luck would have it, Faust had also heard of these creatures. Ice golems, simple constructs without the mental skills of an inevitable, but more than compensating with sheer brute force. Luckily for him, their icy nature made them particularly susceptible to fire. With a thought, the psion manifested an energy ball of pure fire, engulfing the first golem, and the one closest behind it. Storm, though not as knowledgeable about the nature of the creatures as Faust, nevertheless was a quick study. Seeing the effect of Faust’s power, she cast a more mundane Fireball in the same proximity as Faust’s, completely destroying the first golem, and severely damaging the second.</p><p></p><p>Hawk, still under the effects of his Fly potion, zoomed past Grim towards the second golem. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him slightly past the creature, which promptly smashed one frozen fist into the civilar, sending him careening into the nearby wall. The golem then drew itself up to its full height, flexing its arms and sending a blinding, piercing spray of ice shards into the paladin. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the third golem lumbered past Hawk, ignoring him completely, even when the civilar struck out at it as it passed. It moved to within a few paces of Grim, Grubber and Drasek, and then it too released a spray of ice. Wiping at his eyes furiously, Grim lunged forward, smashing his axe into the golem’s body, tearing off great hunks of ice. Grubber joined him in his attack, his maul dismantling the creature even further. But then, a scorching ray of fire pierced the construct’s head, sending great gouts of steam into the air, and melting the golem into a puddle of slush.</p><p></p><p>Storm fired a second ray at the remaining golem, damaging it, but not to the extent of her first assault. The golem lurched back several steps, only to find itself surrounded by Grim, Hawk and Drasek. It managed to strike a glancing blow at the civilar, but then a combined strike by all three warriors consigned it to the fate of its brethren.</p><p></p><p>A single door led from the end of the long, icy hall. The room beyond had a low ceiling, only eight feet in height, and was caked with ice as well. The air was even colder than the other chamber. Where a floor should have been, there was nothing more than a slowly churning pool of almost liquid snow and slush. Grim tentatively reached out to touch the pool, and then drew his hand back quickly, mist rising from his rocky flesh.</p><p>“Cold,” he said.</p><p>“Duh,” said Shay, shaking his head. “If you ever actually have need of a scout again, you will let me know, won’t you?”</p><p>Grim shot him a withering glare before turning to Hawk. “Well, we’ve reached a dead-end. What now?”</p><p>Hawk rubbed his chin for a moment. “We have two options,” he said finally. “Head back to that gatehouse we saw on the other side of the river, or follow the waterfall down that pit. Personally, I vote for the devil we know. We should check the gatehouse first. Maybe there will be something or someone there that can tell us how to free Ondabar.”</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, it was decided that Grim, Drasek and Hawk, all three of whom were still capable of flight, would follow the river upstream, away from the falls, until they reached the chamber where the gatehouse was located. The others agreed to stay put in the ice halls to await their return. </p><p></p><p>The trio made their way up the river, a simple enough task since the tunnels ceiling remained at least ten feet above the rushing water. After a time, they saw the opening ahead that lead to the gatehouse, but just before that, the river branched off into a narrower tributary to the east, and this in turn branched again to the northeast. Hawk motioned for the others to follow him, and then headed down the side-stream, anxious to be sure they did not miss any hidden details. </p><p></p><p>The eastern branch turned out to be a dead-end, the temperature dropping precipitously, and the walls of the tunnel becoming ice-coated. The three back-tracked to the northeast spur, only to find it dead-ended as well. As they turned to retrace their flight, the waters beneath them began to churn even more violently. Suddenly, the crimson tide erupted into three large, amorphous, bloody looking columns. Tendrils snaked out of the columns towards the trio, and strange, moaning faces seemed to appear and disappear in the viscous surface of the things. </p><p></p><p>“Grab me!” Drasek shouted, and when his companions had complied, he opened a dimensional portal back to where the rest of the team waited.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gfunk, post: 2813647, member: 1813"] WIZARD IN GLASS The campfire popped and crackled behind Hawk as he walked to the mouth of the Whispering Cairn for at least the twentieth time during his watch. Once again, the group had been forced to retreat from the tomb so that Storm and Grubber could replenish their spells, and others, including himself, could heal from the constant challenges they had encountered since entering the accursed place. Even the usually unflappable civilar was beginning to think they were on a fool’s errand. Already they had lost two of their number and been forced to retreat twice. How could Ondabar, wounded from his battle with Ilthane, have survived all alone? Still, honor demanded that they continue looking until they found him, or found credible evidence of his death. Hawk peered out into the night, his eyes seeing in the pitch darkness as if it were bright moonlight due to his celestial bloodline. For a moment, his wool-gathering distracted him from the figure walking deliberately up the trail towards the cairn. When he did notice it, he came alert instantly, sword in hand and shield up. He shouted once over his shoulder where Shay, who shared his watch, came up from his crouch by the fire and began rousing the others. The intruder did not appear troubled by this. In fact, he did not even slow his pace until he was within but a few paces of the civilar. “Hello the camp,” he said. He appeared human, but to say he was unattractive would be to say Halaster Blackcloak was slightly unbalanced. The man was absolutely revolting, with his bulbous nose, sloping brow, warty skin and sparse fringe of hair on his otherwise bald pate. And he smelled. An odor which combined the worst of onions, stale fish, body odor and unwashed feet washed over Hawk in a nauseating wave. “Who are you and what do you want?” Hawk asked for the second time in as many days, grimacing as he tried to breathe through his mouth. “You can call me Faust,” the man said, “though I’ve gone by other names, so I have. What I want is to join up with you, simple as that.” Hawk couldn’t suppress a bark of laughter. “Really? And what makes you think we have need of one such as yourself, a perfect stranger who simply walks foolishly into an armed camp?” “Oh I know who you are,” Faust said. “And I know what you’ve done. I was at the Champion’s Games in Waterdeep…” He let the sentence hang, heavy with unspoken implications. Hawk’s eyes narrowed, his suspicions rising. Reflexively he reached out with his senses, seeking the aura of evil about the man, but finding none. Still, he did not trust the stranger. “What of it?” he asked. Faust shrugged, “Just this. I know of the Age of Worms, and the godling Kyuss. Let’s just say I have a vested interest in preventing such a thing from coming to pass.” By this time the others had gathered behind Hawk and were staring daggers at the strange little man. “I sense no deceit or evil intent about you,” Hawk said at length, “but why should we trust you? What do you know?” “Probably not much more than you’ve already discerned,” Faust replied. “I know of the prophecies foretelling the dark times. I know of the spawn of Kyuss who walk the surface in increasing numbers. I know you need all the help you can get, and they don’t call me Holocaust for nothing.” “I thought you said your name was Faust,” Hawk said. “Among others,” Faust replied. “Wait here then Faust, or Holocaust, or whatever you call yourself,” the civilar said sarcastically, “I must confer with my team mates.” After several minutes, the League returned to find the ugly, little man waiting patiently. “What you say is true,” Hawk began. “We do need allies. All of us are here for our own reasons and have our own motives. We will not question yours too deeply…for now. Know this though…we do not suffer fools lightly, and traitors not at all. If you cannot pull your own weight, then we have no use for you, and if its your plan to manipulate us, you do so at your peril. Consider yourself warned.” Faust nodded, “I understand. Now, what’ve you lot got to eat? I’m starving!” By dawn of the next morning, the League had already reentered the tomb and returned to the large chamber where they had faced the shadow-walking spider and the dread wraiths. Of the spider, there was no sign. They knew what lay behind two of the three sets of doors exiting the room, and as a group, it was decided to bypass the bridge leading across the river of blood for the moment, and to investigate the final pair of doors instead…the easternmost, which were forged of blue steel. Again, Grubber glowed like a small sun, and upon entering the tomb, Faust had somehow transformed himself into a small dragonet with butterfly wings, and he flitted along behind the main group, taking in every detail, but saying nothing. Beyond the door lay a large antechamber. A small statue of an armored Wind Duke, his left hand resting on a sword, his right held up to shield his eyes, stood at the far wall as part of a small shrine. The statue seemed to be made of gold, with sparkling blue gems for eyes. A beam of bright light shone onto the figure from above. The walls were carved with bas-reliefs of Wind Duke servants bowing, and soldiers saluting. An elaborate carpet covered the floor, but it was badly worn and the colors were faded, with only small patches of the complete pattern remaining. The group gave the apparently empty room a cursory exam. Grim stared greedily at the statue, noting its excellent craftsmanship and obvious value, but then his eyes narrowed as he glared at Drasek. “Better leave this be,” the dwarf sneered. “Wouldn’t want to be accused of thievery or vandalism.” Drasek simply nodded, not dignifying the jibe with a response. A single door led from the antechamber, and Grim pushed it open despite Shay’s protests of possible traps. “Bah!” the dwarf said. “We’ve wasted enough time already. I’m weary of all this creeping about. I say bring whatever may be.” His words died on his lips, however, as he beheld what lay in the room beyond the door. It was full of flickering, bluish light and a breeze that smelled like thunderstorms. The floor sloped down toward the center from all directions, like a funnel. At the bottom crackled a sparkling globe of lightning. A metallic spike protruded down from a stone block in the ceiling, touching the very tip of the globe’s upper curve. Inside the globe floated a human figure…a man with a long, dark beard wearing torn and stained red robes. Delfen Ondabar. Storm and Grubber peered over Grim’s broad shoulders at the tableau. “It’s another Temporal Stasis,” Grubber said with disgust. “But something else as well,” Storm added distractedly. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but we need to be extremely cautious.” “Bah!” Grim spat again. “I’ve told you I’m fed up with sneaking. We’ve got to get him out of there, so instead of discussing it in a committee, let’s just try the direct approach.” Without waiting for approval, the mineral warrior started down the sloped floor of the chamber. Instantly, a sizzling bolt of electricity arced from the tip of the metal spike towards him, lighting him up like a beacon. Quickly, the dwarf backed out of the room, his armor smoking and his beard standing on end like a porcupine. “Don’t…say….a word…” he growled as Storm and Grubber smirked. “Allow me,” Grubber said, rubbing his hands together. “As it so happens, I am prepared for just such an eventuality.” Raising his face to the sky, he began chanting, and slowly a glimmering blue field formed over the team, settling gently over them and then disappearing. Each of them felt a tingle through their skin, and the hairs on their arms stand on end. “There,” Grubber said. “I have imbued us all with a measure of resistance to electricity. We should be safe now.” “You go first,” Grim muttered. One by one the team entered the chamber, Grubber leading. As each stepped into the room, the spike sent energy bolts at all of them…to no effect. As Grubber had promised, they were protected. Yet even so, they could find no way to penetrate the sphere which surrounded Ondabar. Drasek and Havok even tried multiple Dispelling fields, with not even a flicker in the energy field. It was like the green beam which had protected the Apostolic Scrolls. After a time, Grim grew bored and distracted with the spellcasters’ failed attempts at trying to breach the sphere. He wandered to the far side of the chamber to an archway. Beyond was a short flight of stairs leading to a sheer drop-off. Rungs descended the wall down into darkness. “ I wonder where this leads…” the dwarf mused, and then shrugging, he lowered himself over the side. “Um…” the dragon/Faust said into the silence of the room, “I think your dwarf friend is leaving. Is that a good idea?” Hawk looked around abruptly and saw the top of Grim’s head disappearing below the lip of the pit. Swearing roundly, he started towards the stairs. When he reached the drop-off he could see that Grim was almost at the bottom of the shaft, forty feet below. “Grim!” the civilar called. “What in the name of the Seven Heavens do you think you’re doing?” “Exploring!” the dwarf called up. The floor directly below him sparkled with an intricate pattern of scarlet tiles the created a swirling mosaic. “Pretty,” Grim said. Two hallways extended away from the base of the ladder, one leading east, and one northeast. Grim stepped onto the floor, glancing down both halls and noting that they seemed to be dead-ends. “Odd,” he said, but just then he heard a ‘click’ and felt one of the tiles under his foot begin to sink into the floor. “Uh-oh.” Hawk heard a rumbling sound from directly above him. Looking up, he saw a large, iron door slowly descending from the ceiling. He could see that if it closed all the way, it would seal off the pit from the room containing Ondabar. “Great,” he muttered, “Just what we needed. Come on!” he shouted to his companions. “It looks like Grim’s chosen our path for us!” Quickly, the civilar began climbing down the rungs. The others followed, ducking under the closing door, and climbing after Hawk…all but Faust and Storm. The former simply flitted to the bottom of the shaft and hovered above Grim’s shoulder, while the latter stepped off ledge and floated slowly downward, the words to a Feather Fall spell on her lips. “Was this your plan all along?” Faust asked Grim. “Devilishly clever if you ask me.” “Nobody asked you,” the dwarf snorted, and began stalking down the eastern passage. Grubber was the last one down. The others had followed Grim, and the goliath was preparing to do the same when he heard the iron door slam shut above him. A second later, he heard the sound of stone grinding on stone coming from both passages. This was followed by a rushing roar from the northeast… As Grim stood with his hands on his hips staring at the blank wall before him, it suddenly slid up into the ceiling. He found himself standing on the edge of a thirty-foot diameter pit. The red river plummeted over its edge off to his left. Above, a vast cavern arched upward into darkness and Grim could just make out a short set of stairs on the far side of the pit which ended at another blank wall. “Guys, we’ve got trouble!” Grubber shouted down the hall to his companions. A wall of water was rushing down the northeast passage directly towards him. All eyes turned towards him for a moment, and then back towards Grim. The dwarf shrugged. “Only one way to go.” Reaching into a belt pouch, he withdrew a flask and chugged its contents. He then leaped into the air and hovered over the plunging waterfall. Drasek followed suit, quaffing his own Fly potion. Shay and Giovanni simultaneously Dimension Doored across the chasm to the relative safety of the steps on the far side. “That just leaves you three and me,” Faust laughed, indicating Storm, Hawk and Grubber. “In case you’ve all forgotten,” Grubber frowned. “I can’t fly! Grumbar forbids it!” “Then you and your friends had best grab hold of me,” Faust replied. Grubber eyed the dragonet dubiously, and then the fast approaching flood waters. Making a snap decision, he quickly turned towards the water and uttered a prayer, at the end of which a solid wall of iron appeared to block the northeast hall. Grubber could hear the water roaring on the other side, but otherwise the wall seemed to be holding. Nodding in satisfaction, he walked calmly to where Hawk and Storm already had their hands placed on Faust’s back. Joining them, he was suddenly whisked through the Astral plane and back, to find himself and the others standing with Giovanni and Shay. “Now what,” Grubber asked no one in particular, though he stared coldly at Grim. “We’re trapped here.” “What about that door?” Storm asked, pointing towards the blank wall. “What door?” the goliath said, staring intently at the bare stone. “This one,” the drow said in exasperation, and she stepped in front of Grubber and placed one finger-tip against the stone. To the goliath’s amazement, the wall began sliding aside, revealing a short passage and a room beyond. The chamber was watched over by six statues of Wind Duke nobles, three against the east and west walls. The central statue to the east stood before a stone door. The statues all had cupped hands in front of them, and floating on a cushion of air above their hands were intricate carvings of strange buildings and towers. The statue before the door held no such carving. The air in the room was cold, and moved in faint whispers. A passageway to the north opened into a large room lined with red ice, sheets of which extended along the floor of the near chamber. Three large humanoid statues of red ice could be seen in the gloom of the northern room, their frozen, scarlet surfaces scribed with smoking white runes. As the others looked with curiosity at the strange sight, Drasek noticed something amiss. The air around the statue before the eastern door appeared to shimmer, and to the inquisitor’s trained eye, a veil of illusion dropped away, revealing a metallic construct of some sort, dressed in gleaming mail and a red robe. “Ware the statue!” he shouted. “All is not as it appears!” Immediately, the construct dropped its disguise and turned towards the intruders. Grim charged into the room, swinging his axe in a great arc, but the creature deftly avoided the blow, and then reached for a lever on the wall which had been concealed behind it. As it pulled the lever, two iron portcullises dropped, one across the southern hall, and one across the northern. Grim was now trapped with the thing, his allies stuck beyond the bars. Without missing a beat, Hawk strapped his shield securely to his arm, and then began hammering it again and again against the portcullis. Grim appreciated the effort, but he knew he was going to be on his own in the mean time. However, help came from an unlooked for source. The little dragonet that was Faust opened his mouth and out came a sizzling current of fiery energy. It struck the construct unerringly, and began melting its metal frame. Furthermore, the flames did not cease. Faust kept his mouth open, and the current continued unabated. Faust recognized the creature as a kolyarut, an inevitable, which was to say, a construct formed for a specific purpose, in this case to ensure the enforcement of a binding agreement. The Wind Dukes must have placed it here as part of a bargain to guard their resting place. Unlike golems, inevitables were not mindless. On the contrary, they were quite intelligent, if single-minded in their purpose. They were also master tacticians. As if to prove that point, the kolyarut stepped away from Grim and opened its palm towards Faust. A ray of black energy lanced out towards the dragonet/psion but at the last moment, Hawk hurled himself into the path of the beam an took the full brunt of its life-draining effect. For a moment, the civilar sagged against the bars, his face pale and drawn, but then, with a visible force of will, he pushed himself upright again and resumed his assault on the portcullis. With the inevitable’s attention shifted from him, Grim rushed forward, chopping at the construct’s shoulder with his axe. The heavy blade ricocheted off the creature’s metallic hide, denting it, but not damaging it significantly. At that moment, Grim heard a great crash behind him. Incredibly, Hawk had managed to smash three of the bars, allowing enough room for Grubber and Drasek to squeeze through. The goliath quickly moved to Grim’s side, while the inquisitor made as if to flank the kolyarut, but the creature’s reflexes were cat-fast. It spun as Drasek passed, striking his chin with the palm of its hand. As metal struck flesh, Drasek felt his heart skip a beat, and weakness overcame him. At the same time, some of the damage inflicted on the inevitable by Faust’s energy current began to repair itself. Quickly, Drasek tried to step away, swinging his maul blindly as he went, and missing the construct completely. However, the kolyarut followed directly in his footsteps striking him twice more, each time draining off more of his life force, and adding to its own. As the inevitable moved past Grim, the dwarf swung with all the force in his body. The axe buried itself into the creature’s thigh, and yet Grim continued his swing, sweeping the construct’s leg off the ground, and leaving the it flat on its back. No sooner had the kolyarut hit the ground, than it vanished. Still watching from outside the bars, Storm knew the creature was still there. It had just rendered itself invisible. She called out to Grubber, who immediately responded by conjuring up an Invisibility Purge field, showing the inevitable to have gained its feet and moved behind Grim. “Duck!” Faust shouted, and Grim complied without question. The psion opened his mouth again, and a missile of pure energy struck the kolyarut directly in the chest, exploding it into several hundred clockwork pieces. The door that the inevitable seemed to be guarding led to a room that contained absolutely nothing. It looked as if it may have been intended for use as a private tomb, but the occupant never arrived. The team crossed the room containing the five remaining Wind Duke statues, and entered the red ice-laden hall beyond. Before Grim had taken more than half a dozen steps, the nearest ice sculpture sprang to life, swinging one massive fist at the dwarf. Instinctively, Grim ducked beneath the blow, coming up slashing with his axe. Large chunks of the thing flew in all directions, but it didn’t seem to be slowing down. To make matters worse, the other two sculptures further down the hall had also animated, and were closing in. As luck would have it, Faust had also heard of these creatures. Ice golems, simple constructs without the mental skills of an inevitable, but more than compensating with sheer brute force. Luckily for him, their icy nature made them particularly susceptible to fire. With a thought, the psion manifested an energy ball of pure fire, engulfing the first golem, and the one closest behind it. Storm, though not as knowledgeable about the nature of the creatures as Faust, nevertheless was a quick study. Seeing the effect of Faust’s power, she cast a more mundane Fireball in the same proximity as Faust’s, completely destroying the first golem, and severely damaging the second. Hawk, still under the effects of his Fly potion, zoomed past Grim towards the second golem. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him slightly past the creature, which promptly smashed one frozen fist into the civilar, sending him careening into the nearby wall. The golem then drew itself up to its full height, flexing its arms and sending a blinding, piercing spray of ice shards into the paladin. Meanwhile, the third golem lumbered past Hawk, ignoring him completely, even when the civilar struck out at it as it passed. It moved to within a few paces of Grim, Grubber and Drasek, and then it too released a spray of ice. Wiping at his eyes furiously, Grim lunged forward, smashing his axe into the golem’s body, tearing off great hunks of ice. Grubber joined him in his attack, his maul dismantling the creature even further. But then, a scorching ray of fire pierced the construct’s head, sending great gouts of steam into the air, and melting the golem into a puddle of slush. Storm fired a second ray at the remaining golem, damaging it, but not to the extent of her first assault. The golem lurched back several steps, only to find itself surrounded by Grim, Hawk and Drasek. It managed to strike a glancing blow at the civilar, but then a combined strike by all three warriors consigned it to the fate of its brethren. A single door led from the end of the long, icy hall. The room beyond had a low ceiling, only eight feet in height, and was caked with ice as well. The air was even colder than the other chamber. Where a floor should have been, there was nothing more than a slowly churning pool of almost liquid snow and slush. Grim tentatively reached out to touch the pool, and then drew his hand back quickly, mist rising from his rocky flesh. “Cold,” he said. “Duh,” said Shay, shaking his head. “If you ever actually have need of a scout again, you will let me know, won’t you?” Grim shot him a withering glare before turning to Hawk. “Well, we’ve reached a dead-end. What now?” Hawk rubbed his chin for a moment. “We have two options,” he said finally. “Head back to that gatehouse we saw on the other side of the river, or follow the waterfall down that pit. Personally, I vote for the devil we know. We should check the gatehouse first. Maybe there will be something or someone there that can tell us how to free Ondabar.” Ultimately, it was decided that Grim, Drasek and Hawk, all three of whom were still capable of flight, would follow the river upstream, away from the falls, until they reached the chamber where the gatehouse was located. The others agreed to stay put in the ice halls to await their return. The trio made their way up the river, a simple enough task since the tunnels ceiling remained at least ten feet above the rushing water. After a time, they saw the opening ahead that lead to the gatehouse, but just before that, the river branched off into a narrower tributary to the east, and this in turn branched again to the northeast. Hawk motioned for the others to follow him, and then headed down the side-stream, anxious to be sure they did not miss any hidden details. The eastern branch turned out to be a dead-end, the temperature dropping precipitously, and the walls of the tunnel becoming ice-coated. The three back-tracked to the northeast spur, only to find it dead-ended as well. As they turned to retrace their flight, the waters beneath them began to churn even more violently. Suddenly, the crimson tide erupted into three large, amorphous, bloody looking columns. Tendrils snaked out of the columns towards the trio, and strange, moaning faces seemed to appear and disappear in the viscous surface of the things. “Grab me!” Drasek shouted, and when his companions had complied, he opened a dimensional portal back to where the rest of the team waited. [/QUOTE]
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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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