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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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<blockquote data-quote="gfunk" data-source="post: 2813662" data-attributes="member: 1813"><p>WINDS OF CHANGE</p><p></p><p>“So you came back, traitor?” Drasek said coldly as the dragonet form of Faust reappeared a safe distance away from the group. It had been no more than a minute since his departure with Moreto. The jeweled eyes of the pseudo-dragon showed no hint of emotion.</p><p>“I have betrayed no one,” the psion said. “I did what had to be done…what you could not do. You will thank me one day, if you live through this.”</p><p>Drasek frowned, and turned to Giovanni. “And you!” he shouted. “You didn’t lift a finger to stop him! Twice now you have made bargains with the spawn of the Abyss! How will you now honor your original deal and retrieve that which you so freely traded?”</p><p>“For Shay’s life!” the warlock said defensively. “Flycatcher left me little choice. I had to promise him whatever it took for him to release Shay to me. I never intended to blindly assassinate any one without first knowing something about that individual. When I had the chance to actually speak to Moreto, I knew I could not simply kill him in cold-blood, especially since he had something of value to offer us in turn.”</p><p></p><p>“Cold-blood?!” Drasek laughed. “Doesn’t a creature have to have a beating heart to have blood at all, cold or warm? This is a walking corpse you’re speaking of with such admiration, an abomination, evil!”</p><p>“You keep throwing that word around as if it is so simply defined,” Faust interjected. “If you are so dead-set of removing evil from the world, why don’t you start with Daggerford? The town is full of evil, self-serving, back-stabbing individuals? Why, this Balabar Smenk your team mates told me of sounds like ten-times the monster that you accuse Moreto of being.”</p><p>“That’s different,” Drasek fumed. “Mortals can choose their actions, and thus they are capable of redemption. The undead are inherently corrupted.”</p><p>“That’s a matter of opinion,” Faust shrugged. </p><p>“Did you find out where the Seal is located,” Giovanni interrupted. </p><p>“Yes, he gave it to me,” the psion replied.</p><p>“So he had it on him the whole time?!” Drasek cried. “You see! We should have just destroyed him and taken it from him!”</p><p>“Ah, but then you would not have known the safe way to handle it, as Moreto instructed me.” Faust answered. “Had you simply taken it, you would have brought down the wrath of the Wind Dukes upon you.”</p><p>“Better that than to sell your soul,” the inquisitor snapped.</p><p></p><p>“Look my friend,” Grubber said, placing one large hand on Drasek’s shoulder, “Grumbar teaches that the more the world changes, the more it stays the same. Ultimately, time will bear out the boon or bane of Faust’s decision. He acted for the greater good.”</p><p>“And unleashed an undead horror into the world,” Drasek said, shrugging off the Goliath’s hand.</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Grim put in, “but I have to agree with goldilocks there. I’m all for seeing our mission thru to the end, no matter what we have to do to get there, but making deals with the undead is asking for trouble. They’re treacherous. Can’t trust’em.” </p><p></p><p>“This is pointless,” Faust said in exasperation. “What’s done is done. I have brought you the Seal, but first, Giovanni, I would speak with you alone.”</p><p>“Of course,” Drasek said, waving one hand. “What can you expect from two who are morally bankrupt? Go ahead, scheme some more!”</p><p>Giovanni cast a hurt look at the inquisitor before shaking his head and following Faust, who had moved to a distant part of the cavern. The psion began speaking without preamble as the warlock approached.</p><p>“I’ll only ask you this once. If I feel that you are not being truthful with me, I will leave now and take the Seal with me. Contrary to what Drasek thinks, I actually believe in being open and honest in all of my dealings…some may say brutally so.”</p><p>“What is it that you want to know?” Giovanni asked suspiciously.</p><p>“What were you and Shay really doing all that time while you were left alone? You managed to find yourself an awful lot of trouble for a pair who was supposed to be on a simple watch detail.”</p><p>Giovanni shrugged. “Simple,” he said. “We were cleaning out the courtesan’s tomb of the treasure Drasek had us leave behind. We cannot afford to be overly moralistic about the resources we have at our disposal to complete our goal, as I’ve just stated.”</p><p>The psion nodded. “Good. I appreciate your honesty. Now, I would also appreciate you giving me one-third of what you took for my own personal use. I assure you, my motives are not entirely selfish.”</p><p>Giovanni stared for a moment, then nodded once. “Done. No questions asked.”</p><p>Faust produced the Seal and instructed the warlock in its safe use. “Now,” he said when he had finished his tutorial, “just to show that I’m not a completely heartless bastard, I’m going to return to Daggerford and keep my eye out for Moreto to insure that he doesn’t cause any trouble. I will hopefully meet you all back there no later than tomorrow. If you’re not there, I’ll come looking for you. If you’re not here, I’ll assume the worst.” With that, once again, he vanished.</p><p></p><p>“I think our best bet is to start with the gatehouse.” Giovanni said, addressing the team after he had showed them all the Seal and taught them the words to safely use it. Drasek stubbornly refused to meet his gaze and Hawk looked troubled, but it was Shay who voiced his disagreement.</p><p>“It seems to me,” he began thoughtfully, “that the last time we met those wind warriors, they were guarding Zosiel’s true tomb. Now we meet them again, this time in the bowels of the earth, nowhere near the tomb we’ve been exploring. Don’t you think it’s reasonable to assume that they might have been put there to act as guards as well? Could it be that the entrance to Icosiol’s tomb is hidden somewhere in the shaft? Perhaps the Seal can lead us to it.”</p><p>Giovanni looked thoughtful. The rogue had an excellent point. They had to make their way back up the shaft anyway, they might as well look as they went.</p><p></p><p>“Since we can still fly, Shay, why don’t the two of us go first?” the warlock asked. “If we find anything, we’ll come back for the rest of you.”</p><p>“I’m going too,” Grim sad matter-of-factly, and he gave Giovanni a knowing look. It was clear he didn’t trust the warlock and the rogue to their own devices.</p><p>“You can’t fly,” Giovanni pointed out. Moreto had seen to that.</p><p>“Landlubber there can fix that,” the dwarf said, hooking a thumb at Grubber. The goliath looked momentarily taken aback, but then he nodded his head. </p><p>“Yes, I can do that, but how did you know I had prayed for the Aspect of the Celestial this morning.”</p><p>“I make it my business to know what might keep me alive,” Grim said cryptically. Grubber shrugged and began his incantation. When he finished, a pair of white, feathery wings sprouted from the dwarf’s back.</p><p></p><p>The trio took to the air, circling slowly back up the shaft, looking at all the walls carefully, Giovanni all-the-while holding aloft the Seal. They found nothing. Frustrated, they returned to their companions and told them of their efforts. Hawk looked pensive for a moment. </p><p>“It’s called the Seal of Law, correct?” the civilar asked finally. Giovanni nodded. “We also know that the Wind Dukes were beings of rigid laws. It would stand to reason then that perhaps the Seal might best be used by one who also follows a similar code.” Giovanni looked insulted at the implication of the paladin’s words, but logically he could not argue the point.</p><p>“I can make you fly again,” he said, passing the Seal to the civilar. Unfurling a scroll, he read it, after which it dissolved into ash. “Let’s go.” The four of them took to the air once more.</p><p></p><p>Drasek watched them go, anger still plain on his face. Without a word to Storm and Grubber, he walked to the far wall of the cavern, and seated himself cross-legged, resting his hands on his knees and closing his eyes. Softly he began to chant, his voice growing stronger by the second. He called out, not only across the chamber, but across the Planes themselves, his prayer seeking out another who walked the Path of the Exalted…a herald of Kelemvor.</p><p>‘What is it that you ask of me, Holy Warrior?’ Drasek heard the Celestial’s voice plainly in his mind as if the speaker were directly in front of him.</p><p>‘I cry your pardon, my Lord for this intrusion, but I have come to a cross-road on my journey, and I fear I lack the wisdom to choose the proper path.’</p><p>‘I know of your crisis,’ the herald said, ‘and our Lord Kelemvor regrets your sorrow. Yet these are His words that I convey to you: the apocalypse that is the Age of Worms is the greatest threat that your world, and perhaps many others, has faced in millennia. It cannot be allowed to come to pass. There are others who strive against it as do you and your companions, but the greatest opportunity for success lies with you. Your companions’ hearts are true, and their intentions pure, yet their actions place them at great peril. They risk becoming exactly that which they seek to destroy. You must show them the way and be their guide on this perilous journey. Our Lord has foreseen it to be so.’</p><p>A smile crossed Drasek’s face, and his soul was at peace. ‘I thank your for your guidance.’ As swiftly as it came, the contact was broken. The inquisitor rose and returned to his friends, his mission now crystal-clear in his head.</p><p></p><p>Hawk had reached the point in the shaft where they had encountered the second group of wind warriors, and there, clearly outlined by a softly glowing white light, was a hidden doorway behind the cascading falls.</p><p>“We’ve found it,” he said to his companions. They returned to the others. Storm wove a spell around Grubber enabling him to climb walls like a spider, and Grim then transported first Drasek, then the sorceress to the point Hawk had indicated, while Grubber followed close behind.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the secret doorway lay a narrow flight of carved, stone stairs winding steadily upwards. At the top of the stairs was a small cave, the walls and floor of which obviously been partly finished by stoneworkers. More impressive by far were the massive, fifty-foot tall doors on the far side of the cave. These dull, black doors were carved with both gigantic and tiny runes, some at eye level and others much larger. The metal of the doors seemed pristine and freshly forged.</p><p></p><p>Giovanni moved up closer to the massive portals, and peered intently at the runes. He pulled another scroll from his belt, and read aloud the spell inscribed there. As the parchment disintegrated, he looked at the runes again, this time nodding his head in comprehension. </p><p>“This language is that of the Wind Dukes,” he said over his shoulder. “Most of it seems to be a litany of curses against the forces of Chaos, but there is one prominent phrase here, over the handles. It reads, ‘Dare not enter the tomb of Icosiol, Lord of Calim, Wandering Duke and Bearer of the Scepter of Calim. His righteous peace and glorious memory are best left forever sleeping.’” When he’d finished, the warlock blinked his eyes once, reflexively shifting his gaze into a different spectrum, one where lines of magic were perceptible to him. Immediately he beheld two powerful spells woven into the doors.</p><p>“Be careful here,” he said to no one in particular. “These curses may be more than just words.”</p><p></p><p>Hawk stepped forward, and held the Seal before him. Instantly, he felt a sensation of weightlessness come over him, and in his mind words of fire appeared: Calim, Icosiol, and Skyfire…the runes inscribed on the Seal. Without hesitation, he spoke the words aloud. As the final syllable left his lips, the mighty portals swung soundlessly open.</p><p></p><p>The chamber revealed on the other side contained seven stone columns, each slightly taller than the next, rising slowly from the entrance to a small platform at the far end of the chamber before a second set of enormous doors. No floor was visible. In its place was a pit filled at a depth eighty-feet below the doorway with glowing blue fog. Swirling patterns of wind and lightning danced and howled along the walls and ceiling, filling the room with a tumultuous roar. Each of the seven columns appeared slightly different. The closest column’s top was level with the ground in the entry way. The next column was two-feet higher. The third rose up to the ceiling, forty-feet above. The fourth was three feet higher than the second one, but rotated slowly in place. The fifth column’s upper surface seemed to be covered with a thick layer of what looked like tar, and was about one-foot higher than the last. The sixth column was two-feet higher than the previous one, but was made of a lighter colored stone. A larger column, nearly twice the diameter of the others, stood to the left of the main row.</p><p></p><p>Hawk never wavered. Taking to the air, he landed lightly atop the first column, and peered down into the mist below. There, he saw the vapors begin to swirl, forming themselves into a small vortex, which became steadily larger as he watched. Soon, the whirlwind reached his level, and before he knew what was happening, it surged towards him, lifting him into its swirling midst, buffeting him about like a rag-doll.</p><p></p><p>“It’s another elemental!” Havok cried. “We have to get him out of there!” Shay quickly walked forward, holding out his empty hands.</p><p>“We come in peace,” he pleaded to the cyclone.</p><p>“Step aside, fool!” Havok shouted, elbowing him out of the way. He raised his own empty hand, and fired a blast of noxious, green energy into the whirlwind. Simultaneously, Grubber and Grim charged forward, each swinging their weapon at the huge elemental, but the creature proved to be as swift as the wind it was formed from, and moved back from the doorway, then dropped like a stone back into the mists, taking Hawk with it. Gripping his axe in both hands, Grim spreads his wings, and leaped into the void, disappearing into the fog before anyone could stop him.</p><p></p><p>Drasek was momentarily stunned by what he’d just witnessed. Just like that, Hawk was gone. As the inquisitor moved towards the edge of the pit with the others, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The third column, the one which rose to the ceiling, was illusory, or at least the part that rose to the roof was. The real column was almost level with its predecessor. Drasek didn’t know what the significance of this was, and he didn’t have time to give it further thought. He noticed the others were all engaged in preparatory actions. Storm had cast a Fly spell upon herself, and then one of Invisibility. Grubber was moving towards one of the inside walls, preparing to start climbing along it. Shay upended a flask, and then he too disappeared from sight. Havok was pulling another scroll from his belt, and came to stand beside the crusader.</p><p>“If you want, I can make you fly as well.”</p><p>Drasek looked at him, and then nodded. It was obvious they had to go after Hawk, no matter what was waiting for them below.</p><p></p><p>Hawk could barely make out his surroundings. Everywhere he looked was wind and fog. The vortex buffeted him constantly, and he couldn’t think. Desperately, he called out the words on the Seal, but nothing happened. He gripped his sword tightly, and swung blindly at the bludgeoning winds, to no avail. As his body became steadily more battered and bruised, he struggled to concentrate on his Torm-given ability to heal his own wounds, but the cyclonic winds ripped away his focus, and his powers failed him.</p><p></p><p>Grubber seemed in an endless free-fall. Already he had flown down almost four-hundred feet by his dwarven reckoning, when finally below him, he saw the whirling mass of the elemental, and Hawk’s broken form within it. At that moment, a second vortex began forming above him, and before he could take evasive action, he was sucked into its maw, trapped as effectively as Hawk.</p><p></p><p>Grubber reached out for the chamber wall, and felt his fingers grip its surface like the arachnid Storm’s spell mimicked. The moment he did so, however, a shaft of lightning tore through him, and a hurricane-force blast of wind howled around him, threatening to wrench him from his perch. Only the goliath’s bulk and strength held him to the wall, but he quickly backed away to the doorway before another of the deadly blasts hit him.</p><p></p><p>Storm didn’t stop to think before she acted. She knew that if she did, she would be paralyzed with fear and indecision. She leaped from the lip of the doorway, and followed Grim’s path down into the mists. She could only pray to Elistrae that her kinship with the storms that were her namesake would allow her to assist her companions. She flew deeper and deeper into the fog until she saw a vortex below her. To her surprise, inside it was trapped not Hawk, but Grim. Then she saw the second cyclone, and Hawk within. Thinking quickly, she cast the first spell that came to her mind…a Thunderclap. The impact reverberated within the mists, slamming into the elementals, and unfortunately their captives as well. Storm had hoped that the sound wave would stun the cyclones, but alas she failed to perceive that nature of elementals, and their natural immunity to such things. Alas too for Hawk, since he was not. The sonic boom left him dazed and limp, completely at the mercy of the destructive winds.</p><p></p><p>“We have to reach the far side,” Havok said to Grubber, indicating the small platform across the chamber. “Those doors might be the key to ending this assault.” Grubber nodded and started towards the inner wall again, this time speaking the words from the Seal before he touched them. It didn’t help. Again the wind and lightning struck at him, but this time he pressed on, crawling as rapidly as he could along the wall and to the platform on the far side. For his part, Giovanni wondered if the columns had something to do with the solution. He leaped to the first column, then quickly Dimension Doored to the second. </p><p></p><p>Drasek and Shay were the last to leave the ledge, but neither hesitated, not even the normally reserved rogue. Since Drasek could not see the invisible Shay, his path diverged from the rogues once they entered the mist. Consequently, Shay first encountered Hawk’s captor. He continued past the elemental, even deeper into the pit, until he reached the tapering end of the cyclone. Drasek, in turn, came upon the second elemental and Storm simultaneously. </p><p>“Beware!” the sorceress warned. “There is another near at hand!” </p><p></p><p>Drasek could hear the roaring wind of the second elemental, but could not see it through the fog. He began moving in the direction of the sound, but before he could close the distance, the cyclone that had trapped Grim flowed over him, engulfing his as well. </p><p></p><p>Slowly, Hawk returned to his senses, but found his situation unchanged. He was still being slammed in all directions by the whirlwind. Again, and again he swung his sword about him, unleashing surges of lightning as he did so. He could not tell if his blows had any effect, but he thought he detected a slight decrease in the force of the winds. At that moment, Storm appeared out of the mist, flying straight towards him! What was she thinking? he wondered. It was suicide coming so close in, and no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than the elemental lunged for her, sucking her into its maw. </p><p></p><p>Havok balanced atop the second column, watching Grubber’s progress. Once the goliath made the far ledge, he quickly set about healing his wounds. Havok’s gaze shifted between the goliath and the mists below. Even through the howling winds, he could hear muffled explosions echoing up from the depths. In that moment, he was decided. </p><p>“I’ll be back,” he called to the goliath, and then he flung himself off the column and down into the maelstrom.</p><p></p><p>The two elementals were now side by side, and their prisoners could all see each other as they waged their personal battles. Drasek and Grim struck out at random with their weapons, feeling the vortex shuttered, but seeming no closer to freeing themselves. For her part, Storm only concentrated on one thing…reaching Hawk. Focusing all of her concentration, she flew against the cyclonic winds, finally reaching the civilar. She reached for him, concentrated again, and spoke the words to a spell, though Hawk could not hear the words. The results, however, were instantaneous. In the blink of an eye, both sorceress and civilar vanished.</p><p></p><p>Grubber was astonished a moment later when Hawk and Storm appeared on the narrow ledge beside him. </p><p>“He needs help,” Storm said, supporting the barely conscious paladin. Grubber nodded and helped Hawk to sit against the wall. He then began the business of ministering to the civilar’s injuries.</p><p></p><p>Shay did not see Storm’s dramatic rescue of Hawk. He assumed the civilar was still trapped, and so he began stabbing at the base of the cyclone, and then darting quickly away once the elemental saw his now visible form and whirled towards him. </p><p></p><p>Havok finally reached the top of the swirling elementals and saw Drasek and Grim’s predicament. Deliberately, he moved even closer, waiting for the tornado to approach. When it did, he willingly went into its embrace. Drasek and Grim merely gaped at him…until he leveled a tremendous eldritch blast from inside the elemental. Instantly, the whirlwind dissipated, flinging the trio in all directions as the elemental assumed its natural form, that of a smaller, but no less formidable looking cyclone. This one had two burning blue eyes, and they smoldered with rage. </p><p></p><p>Hawk struggled to his feet against Grubber’s protests.</p><p>“I’m fine,” the civilar said. “I’ve got to get back down there. The others are in trouble. Storm, make me invisible.” The sorceress didn’t question him. Once her spell was cast, Hawk stepped to the edge, looked at the long drop below, and fell forward. This time, however, he did not fly, but instead let himself free-fall. He needed speed, and he knew the pit to be at least four-hundred feet deep. He felt sure he would be able to pull out of the fall before he hit bottom. This was his last conscious thought as, moments later, the floor suddenly loomed up at him.</p><p></p><p>Havok and Grim streaked towards the elemental from opposite directions. As the warlock launched another noxious eldritch blast, Grim hacked into the ethereal substance of the creature. In response, a pseudopod-like appendage swung out from the elemental, smashing into Havok, momentarily addling him. He quickly recovered, but knew he would not survive another such attack. Quickly, the warlock Dimension Doored several dozen feet up into the mist, leaving behind an illusory image of himself. Still enraged, the elemental struck again at the image, dissipating it as its pseudopod passed through.</p><p></p><p>Drasek headed back towards the elemental as well, but as he passed the second one, still in whirlwind form, the massive creature struck out at him, sucking him inside, trapping him once again. The creature then struck downwards at Shay, who continued to harry it with his hit-and-run tactics. This time the elemental connected, driving the rogue to the floor, but Shay continued to roll and tumble with the momentum of the blow, avoiding the cyclone’s vicious suction. </p><p></p><p>Storm followed Hawk down into the mists, but the invisible, free-falling civilar outdistanced her easily, and so she was not aware of the paladin’s fate. She came upon the smaller elemental still battling Grim, its larger brethren nearby with Drasek suspended inside. Quickly, the sorceress conjured a large ball of flame into her hand, and hurled it between the two elementals. It detonated with a deafening explosion, its flames engulfing both of the creatures, and Drasek as well. Storm regretted the injury caused to her companion, but she knew that if the elementals were not destroyed, they were all as good as dead anyway.</p><p></p><p>Drasek weathered the blast, but he knew he was gravely injured. If the elemental’s buffeting continued, he would be battered to death in a matter of moments. He inhaled deeply, centering his mind, and calling on Torm’s power to deliver him. In a rush, he was instantly teleported to the relative safety of the platform high above. Once again, Grubber contributed what he could to his friends…his power to heal. </p><p></p><p>Grim was alone. Storm hovered somewhere above him, but the dwarf was now trapped between the two maddened elementals. Abruptly, the second one abandoned its cyclonic form, and now both faced him in their natural state. As he tried to maneuver from between the two, the first struck out at him, hitting him like a charging rhino. Fortunately, the mineral warrior’s thick hide absorbed the brunt of the blow. Suddenly, a lance of green energy struck from out of nowhere, slicing through the second elemental. It exploded in a cloud of green gas. Concealed in the fog, Havok smiled. The warlock had used his magic to give him one True Strike, negating the concealment afforded the elementals by the mist. He had used the opportunity to strike what he hoped was a telling blow, and had been rewarded beyond his expectations.</p><p></p><p>Shay tumbled abruptly to a stop as he rolled into something lying on the floor of the pit. Tentatively reaching out one hand, he quickly recoiled as he felt something wet and sticky. Yet he also felt the cold touch of metal armor. It was a body. An armored one. Could it be one of his companions? He couldn’t see the figure, though the warmth of its skin told him there was at least still a spark of life there. Hastily, the rogue fumbled in his belt pouch for one of his healing elixirs. Feeling blindly, he tried to locate the mouth of the person, but was unsure if he was successful when he upended the potion.</p><p></p><p>Grim and his foe traded blow after blow, clashing like titans. Havok could hear the conflict, but he dared approach no closer for fear of becoming a casualty of the melee. Blindly he launched another eldritch spear, not knowing that he had in fact hit his mark. Simultaneously, Storm lobbed an orb of lightning at the elemental, illuminating it as it collapsed in on itself and vanished from sight.</p><p></p><p>Shay felt the life leave his unknown companion, and hung his head in defeat. He still did not know which of his friends he had just lost, but he knew he could not leave his team mate. Pulling out his magical bag, which contained a large extra-dimensional space, he slowly worked until he had placed the body inside, and then he took to the air.</p><p></p><p>When the team regrouped in the entry hall, they realized that it was Hawk who had been lost. The paladin was dead, and though Grubber knew that he could retrieve the civilar’s soul, a black pall still hung over the party. They were battered, bloodied and exhausted. Though they stood on the threshold of their goal, they knew they could go no further this day. As they scanned the room for other imminent threats, Drasek noted a second illusion in the chamber, this one a false section of ceiling forty-feet above the larger pillar. He pointed it out to his companions, and though it was unanimously agreed upon that they must rest, it was decided that they would do so within the relative safety of the stairwell.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gfunk, post: 2813662, member: 1813"] WINDS OF CHANGE “So you came back, traitor?” Drasek said coldly as the dragonet form of Faust reappeared a safe distance away from the group. It had been no more than a minute since his departure with Moreto. The jeweled eyes of the pseudo-dragon showed no hint of emotion. “I have betrayed no one,” the psion said. “I did what had to be done…what you could not do. You will thank me one day, if you live through this.” Drasek frowned, and turned to Giovanni. “And you!” he shouted. “You didn’t lift a finger to stop him! Twice now you have made bargains with the spawn of the Abyss! How will you now honor your original deal and retrieve that which you so freely traded?” “For Shay’s life!” the warlock said defensively. “Flycatcher left me little choice. I had to promise him whatever it took for him to release Shay to me. I never intended to blindly assassinate any one without first knowing something about that individual. When I had the chance to actually speak to Moreto, I knew I could not simply kill him in cold-blood, especially since he had something of value to offer us in turn.” “Cold-blood?!” Drasek laughed. “Doesn’t a creature have to have a beating heart to have blood at all, cold or warm? This is a walking corpse you’re speaking of with such admiration, an abomination, evil!” “You keep throwing that word around as if it is so simply defined,” Faust interjected. “If you are so dead-set of removing evil from the world, why don’t you start with Daggerford? The town is full of evil, self-serving, back-stabbing individuals? Why, this Balabar Smenk your team mates told me of sounds like ten-times the monster that you accuse Moreto of being.” “That’s different,” Drasek fumed. “Mortals can choose their actions, and thus they are capable of redemption. The undead are inherently corrupted.” “That’s a matter of opinion,” Faust shrugged. “Did you find out where the Seal is located,” Giovanni interrupted. “Yes, he gave it to me,” the psion replied. “So he had it on him the whole time?!” Drasek cried. “You see! We should have just destroyed him and taken it from him!” “Ah, but then you would not have known the safe way to handle it, as Moreto instructed me.” Faust answered. “Had you simply taken it, you would have brought down the wrath of the Wind Dukes upon you.” “Better that than to sell your soul,” the inquisitor snapped. “Look my friend,” Grubber said, placing one large hand on Drasek’s shoulder, “Grumbar teaches that the more the world changes, the more it stays the same. Ultimately, time will bear out the boon or bane of Faust’s decision. He acted for the greater good.” “And unleashed an undead horror into the world,” Drasek said, shrugging off the Goliath’s hand. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Grim put in, “but I have to agree with goldilocks there. I’m all for seeing our mission thru to the end, no matter what we have to do to get there, but making deals with the undead is asking for trouble. They’re treacherous. Can’t trust’em.” “This is pointless,” Faust said in exasperation. “What’s done is done. I have brought you the Seal, but first, Giovanni, I would speak with you alone.” “Of course,” Drasek said, waving one hand. “What can you expect from two who are morally bankrupt? Go ahead, scheme some more!” Giovanni cast a hurt look at the inquisitor before shaking his head and following Faust, who had moved to a distant part of the cavern. The psion began speaking without preamble as the warlock approached. “I’ll only ask you this once. If I feel that you are not being truthful with me, I will leave now and take the Seal with me. Contrary to what Drasek thinks, I actually believe in being open and honest in all of my dealings…some may say brutally so.” “What is it that you want to know?” Giovanni asked suspiciously. “What were you and Shay really doing all that time while you were left alone? You managed to find yourself an awful lot of trouble for a pair who was supposed to be on a simple watch detail.” Giovanni shrugged. “Simple,” he said. “We were cleaning out the courtesan’s tomb of the treasure Drasek had us leave behind. We cannot afford to be overly moralistic about the resources we have at our disposal to complete our goal, as I’ve just stated.” The psion nodded. “Good. I appreciate your honesty. Now, I would also appreciate you giving me one-third of what you took for my own personal use. I assure you, my motives are not entirely selfish.” Giovanni stared for a moment, then nodded once. “Done. No questions asked.” Faust produced the Seal and instructed the warlock in its safe use. “Now,” he said when he had finished his tutorial, “just to show that I’m not a completely heartless bastard, I’m going to return to Daggerford and keep my eye out for Moreto to insure that he doesn’t cause any trouble. I will hopefully meet you all back there no later than tomorrow. If you’re not there, I’ll come looking for you. If you’re not here, I’ll assume the worst.” With that, once again, he vanished. “I think our best bet is to start with the gatehouse.” Giovanni said, addressing the team after he had showed them all the Seal and taught them the words to safely use it. Drasek stubbornly refused to meet his gaze and Hawk looked troubled, but it was Shay who voiced his disagreement. “It seems to me,” he began thoughtfully, “that the last time we met those wind warriors, they were guarding Zosiel’s true tomb. Now we meet them again, this time in the bowels of the earth, nowhere near the tomb we’ve been exploring. Don’t you think it’s reasonable to assume that they might have been put there to act as guards as well? Could it be that the entrance to Icosiol’s tomb is hidden somewhere in the shaft? Perhaps the Seal can lead us to it.” Giovanni looked thoughtful. The rogue had an excellent point. They had to make their way back up the shaft anyway, they might as well look as they went. “Since we can still fly, Shay, why don’t the two of us go first?” the warlock asked. “If we find anything, we’ll come back for the rest of you.” “I’m going too,” Grim sad matter-of-factly, and he gave Giovanni a knowing look. It was clear he didn’t trust the warlock and the rogue to their own devices. “You can’t fly,” Giovanni pointed out. Moreto had seen to that. “Landlubber there can fix that,” the dwarf said, hooking a thumb at Grubber. The goliath looked momentarily taken aback, but then he nodded his head. “Yes, I can do that, but how did you know I had prayed for the Aspect of the Celestial this morning.” “I make it my business to know what might keep me alive,” Grim said cryptically. Grubber shrugged and began his incantation. When he finished, a pair of white, feathery wings sprouted from the dwarf’s back. The trio took to the air, circling slowly back up the shaft, looking at all the walls carefully, Giovanni all-the-while holding aloft the Seal. They found nothing. Frustrated, they returned to their companions and told them of their efforts. Hawk looked pensive for a moment. “It’s called the Seal of Law, correct?” the civilar asked finally. Giovanni nodded. “We also know that the Wind Dukes were beings of rigid laws. It would stand to reason then that perhaps the Seal might best be used by one who also follows a similar code.” Giovanni looked insulted at the implication of the paladin’s words, but logically he could not argue the point. “I can make you fly again,” he said, passing the Seal to the civilar. Unfurling a scroll, he read it, after which it dissolved into ash. “Let’s go.” The four of them took to the air once more. Drasek watched them go, anger still plain on his face. Without a word to Storm and Grubber, he walked to the far wall of the cavern, and seated himself cross-legged, resting his hands on his knees and closing his eyes. Softly he began to chant, his voice growing stronger by the second. He called out, not only across the chamber, but across the Planes themselves, his prayer seeking out another who walked the Path of the Exalted…a herald of Kelemvor. ‘What is it that you ask of me, Holy Warrior?’ Drasek heard the Celestial’s voice plainly in his mind as if the speaker were directly in front of him. ‘I cry your pardon, my Lord for this intrusion, but I have come to a cross-road on my journey, and I fear I lack the wisdom to choose the proper path.’ ‘I know of your crisis,’ the herald said, ‘and our Lord Kelemvor regrets your sorrow. Yet these are His words that I convey to you: the apocalypse that is the Age of Worms is the greatest threat that your world, and perhaps many others, has faced in millennia. It cannot be allowed to come to pass. There are others who strive against it as do you and your companions, but the greatest opportunity for success lies with you. Your companions’ hearts are true, and their intentions pure, yet their actions place them at great peril. They risk becoming exactly that which they seek to destroy. You must show them the way and be their guide on this perilous journey. Our Lord has foreseen it to be so.’ A smile crossed Drasek’s face, and his soul was at peace. ‘I thank your for your guidance.’ As swiftly as it came, the contact was broken. The inquisitor rose and returned to his friends, his mission now crystal-clear in his head. Hawk had reached the point in the shaft where they had encountered the second group of wind warriors, and there, clearly outlined by a softly glowing white light, was a hidden doorway behind the cascading falls. “We’ve found it,” he said to his companions. They returned to the others. Storm wove a spell around Grubber enabling him to climb walls like a spider, and Grim then transported first Drasek, then the sorceress to the point Hawk had indicated, while Grubber followed close behind. Beyond the secret doorway lay a narrow flight of carved, stone stairs winding steadily upwards. At the top of the stairs was a small cave, the walls and floor of which obviously been partly finished by stoneworkers. More impressive by far were the massive, fifty-foot tall doors on the far side of the cave. These dull, black doors were carved with both gigantic and tiny runes, some at eye level and others much larger. The metal of the doors seemed pristine and freshly forged. Giovanni moved up closer to the massive portals, and peered intently at the runes. He pulled another scroll from his belt, and read aloud the spell inscribed there. As the parchment disintegrated, he looked at the runes again, this time nodding his head in comprehension. “This language is that of the Wind Dukes,” he said over his shoulder. “Most of it seems to be a litany of curses against the forces of Chaos, but there is one prominent phrase here, over the handles. It reads, ‘Dare not enter the tomb of Icosiol, Lord of Calim, Wandering Duke and Bearer of the Scepter of Calim. His righteous peace and glorious memory are best left forever sleeping.’” When he’d finished, the warlock blinked his eyes once, reflexively shifting his gaze into a different spectrum, one where lines of magic were perceptible to him. Immediately he beheld two powerful spells woven into the doors. “Be careful here,” he said to no one in particular. “These curses may be more than just words.” Hawk stepped forward, and held the Seal before him. Instantly, he felt a sensation of weightlessness come over him, and in his mind words of fire appeared: Calim, Icosiol, and Skyfire…the runes inscribed on the Seal. Without hesitation, he spoke the words aloud. As the final syllable left his lips, the mighty portals swung soundlessly open. The chamber revealed on the other side contained seven stone columns, each slightly taller than the next, rising slowly from the entrance to a small platform at the far end of the chamber before a second set of enormous doors. No floor was visible. In its place was a pit filled at a depth eighty-feet below the doorway with glowing blue fog. Swirling patterns of wind and lightning danced and howled along the walls and ceiling, filling the room with a tumultuous roar. Each of the seven columns appeared slightly different. The closest column’s top was level with the ground in the entry way. The next column was two-feet higher. The third rose up to the ceiling, forty-feet above. The fourth was three feet higher than the second one, but rotated slowly in place. The fifth column’s upper surface seemed to be covered with a thick layer of what looked like tar, and was about one-foot higher than the last. The sixth column was two-feet higher than the previous one, but was made of a lighter colored stone. A larger column, nearly twice the diameter of the others, stood to the left of the main row. Hawk never wavered. Taking to the air, he landed lightly atop the first column, and peered down into the mist below. There, he saw the vapors begin to swirl, forming themselves into a small vortex, which became steadily larger as he watched. Soon, the whirlwind reached his level, and before he knew what was happening, it surged towards him, lifting him into its swirling midst, buffeting him about like a rag-doll. “It’s another elemental!” Havok cried. “We have to get him out of there!” Shay quickly walked forward, holding out his empty hands. “We come in peace,” he pleaded to the cyclone. “Step aside, fool!” Havok shouted, elbowing him out of the way. He raised his own empty hand, and fired a blast of noxious, green energy into the whirlwind. Simultaneously, Grubber and Grim charged forward, each swinging their weapon at the huge elemental, but the creature proved to be as swift as the wind it was formed from, and moved back from the doorway, then dropped like a stone back into the mists, taking Hawk with it. Gripping his axe in both hands, Grim spreads his wings, and leaped into the void, disappearing into the fog before anyone could stop him. Drasek was momentarily stunned by what he’d just witnessed. Just like that, Hawk was gone. As the inquisitor moved towards the edge of the pit with the others, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The third column, the one which rose to the ceiling, was illusory, or at least the part that rose to the roof was. The real column was almost level with its predecessor. Drasek didn’t know what the significance of this was, and he didn’t have time to give it further thought. He noticed the others were all engaged in preparatory actions. Storm had cast a Fly spell upon herself, and then one of Invisibility. Grubber was moving towards one of the inside walls, preparing to start climbing along it. Shay upended a flask, and then he too disappeared from sight. Havok was pulling another scroll from his belt, and came to stand beside the crusader. “If you want, I can make you fly as well.” Drasek looked at him, and then nodded. It was obvious they had to go after Hawk, no matter what was waiting for them below. Hawk could barely make out his surroundings. Everywhere he looked was wind and fog. The vortex buffeted him constantly, and he couldn’t think. Desperately, he called out the words on the Seal, but nothing happened. He gripped his sword tightly, and swung blindly at the bludgeoning winds, to no avail. As his body became steadily more battered and bruised, he struggled to concentrate on his Torm-given ability to heal his own wounds, but the cyclonic winds ripped away his focus, and his powers failed him. Grubber seemed in an endless free-fall. Already he had flown down almost four-hundred feet by his dwarven reckoning, when finally below him, he saw the whirling mass of the elemental, and Hawk’s broken form within it. At that moment, a second vortex began forming above him, and before he could take evasive action, he was sucked into its maw, trapped as effectively as Hawk. Grubber reached out for the chamber wall, and felt his fingers grip its surface like the arachnid Storm’s spell mimicked. The moment he did so, however, a shaft of lightning tore through him, and a hurricane-force blast of wind howled around him, threatening to wrench him from his perch. Only the goliath’s bulk and strength held him to the wall, but he quickly backed away to the doorway before another of the deadly blasts hit him. Storm didn’t stop to think before she acted. She knew that if she did, she would be paralyzed with fear and indecision. She leaped from the lip of the doorway, and followed Grim’s path down into the mists. She could only pray to Elistrae that her kinship with the storms that were her namesake would allow her to assist her companions. She flew deeper and deeper into the fog until she saw a vortex below her. To her surprise, inside it was trapped not Hawk, but Grim. Then she saw the second cyclone, and Hawk within. Thinking quickly, she cast the first spell that came to her mind…a Thunderclap. The impact reverberated within the mists, slamming into the elementals, and unfortunately their captives as well. Storm had hoped that the sound wave would stun the cyclones, but alas she failed to perceive that nature of elementals, and their natural immunity to such things. Alas too for Hawk, since he was not. The sonic boom left him dazed and limp, completely at the mercy of the destructive winds. “We have to reach the far side,” Havok said to Grubber, indicating the small platform across the chamber. “Those doors might be the key to ending this assault.” Grubber nodded and started towards the inner wall again, this time speaking the words from the Seal before he touched them. It didn’t help. Again the wind and lightning struck at him, but this time he pressed on, crawling as rapidly as he could along the wall and to the platform on the far side. For his part, Giovanni wondered if the columns had something to do with the solution. He leaped to the first column, then quickly Dimension Doored to the second. Drasek and Shay were the last to leave the ledge, but neither hesitated, not even the normally reserved rogue. Since Drasek could not see the invisible Shay, his path diverged from the rogues once they entered the mist. Consequently, Shay first encountered Hawk’s captor. He continued past the elemental, even deeper into the pit, until he reached the tapering end of the cyclone. Drasek, in turn, came upon the second elemental and Storm simultaneously. “Beware!” the sorceress warned. “There is another near at hand!” Drasek could hear the roaring wind of the second elemental, but could not see it through the fog. He began moving in the direction of the sound, but before he could close the distance, the cyclone that had trapped Grim flowed over him, engulfing his as well. Slowly, Hawk returned to his senses, but found his situation unchanged. He was still being slammed in all directions by the whirlwind. Again, and again he swung his sword about him, unleashing surges of lightning as he did so. He could not tell if his blows had any effect, but he thought he detected a slight decrease in the force of the winds. At that moment, Storm appeared out of the mist, flying straight towards him! What was she thinking? he wondered. It was suicide coming so close in, and no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than the elemental lunged for her, sucking her into its maw. Havok balanced atop the second column, watching Grubber’s progress. Once the goliath made the far ledge, he quickly set about healing his wounds. Havok’s gaze shifted between the goliath and the mists below. Even through the howling winds, he could hear muffled explosions echoing up from the depths. In that moment, he was decided. “I’ll be back,” he called to the goliath, and then he flung himself off the column and down into the maelstrom. The two elementals were now side by side, and their prisoners could all see each other as they waged their personal battles. Drasek and Grim struck out at random with their weapons, feeling the vortex shuttered, but seeming no closer to freeing themselves. For her part, Storm only concentrated on one thing…reaching Hawk. Focusing all of her concentration, she flew against the cyclonic winds, finally reaching the civilar. She reached for him, concentrated again, and spoke the words to a spell, though Hawk could not hear the words. The results, however, were instantaneous. In the blink of an eye, both sorceress and civilar vanished. Grubber was astonished a moment later when Hawk and Storm appeared on the narrow ledge beside him. “He needs help,” Storm said, supporting the barely conscious paladin. Grubber nodded and helped Hawk to sit against the wall. He then began the business of ministering to the civilar’s injuries. Shay did not see Storm’s dramatic rescue of Hawk. He assumed the civilar was still trapped, and so he began stabbing at the base of the cyclone, and then darting quickly away once the elemental saw his now visible form and whirled towards him. Havok finally reached the top of the swirling elementals and saw Drasek and Grim’s predicament. Deliberately, he moved even closer, waiting for the tornado to approach. When it did, he willingly went into its embrace. Drasek and Grim merely gaped at him…until he leveled a tremendous eldritch blast from inside the elemental. Instantly, the whirlwind dissipated, flinging the trio in all directions as the elemental assumed its natural form, that of a smaller, but no less formidable looking cyclone. This one had two burning blue eyes, and they smoldered with rage. Hawk struggled to his feet against Grubber’s protests. “I’m fine,” the civilar said. “I’ve got to get back down there. The others are in trouble. Storm, make me invisible.” The sorceress didn’t question him. Once her spell was cast, Hawk stepped to the edge, looked at the long drop below, and fell forward. This time, however, he did not fly, but instead let himself free-fall. He needed speed, and he knew the pit to be at least four-hundred feet deep. He felt sure he would be able to pull out of the fall before he hit bottom. This was his last conscious thought as, moments later, the floor suddenly loomed up at him. Havok and Grim streaked towards the elemental from opposite directions. As the warlock launched another noxious eldritch blast, Grim hacked into the ethereal substance of the creature. In response, a pseudopod-like appendage swung out from the elemental, smashing into Havok, momentarily addling him. He quickly recovered, but knew he would not survive another such attack. Quickly, the warlock Dimension Doored several dozen feet up into the mist, leaving behind an illusory image of himself. Still enraged, the elemental struck again at the image, dissipating it as its pseudopod passed through. Drasek headed back towards the elemental as well, but as he passed the second one, still in whirlwind form, the massive creature struck out at him, sucking him inside, trapping him once again. The creature then struck downwards at Shay, who continued to harry it with his hit-and-run tactics. This time the elemental connected, driving the rogue to the floor, but Shay continued to roll and tumble with the momentum of the blow, avoiding the cyclone’s vicious suction. Storm followed Hawk down into the mists, but the invisible, free-falling civilar outdistanced her easily, and so she was not aware of the paladin’s fate. She came upon the smaller elemental still battling Grim, its larger brethren nearby with Drasek suspended inside. Quickly, the sorceress conjured a large ball of flame into her hand, and hurled it between the two elementals. It detonated with a deafening explosion, its flames engulfing both of the creatures, and Drasek as well. Storm regretted the injury caused to her companion, but she knew that if the elementals were not destroyed, they were all as good as dead anyway. Drasek weathered the blast, but he knew he was gravely injured. If the elemental’s buffeting continued, he would be battered to death in a matter of moments. He inhaled deeply, centering his mind, and calling on Torm’s power to deliver him. In a rush, he was instantly teleported to the relative safety of the platform high above. Once again, Grubber contributed what he could to his friends…his power to heal. Grim was alone. Storm hovered somewhere above him, but the dwarf was now trapped between the two maddened elementals. Abruptly, the second one abandoned its cyclonic form, and now both faced him in their natural state. As he tried to maneuver from between the two, the first struck out at him, hitting him like a charging rhino. Fortunately, the mineral warrior’s thick hide absorbed the brunt of the blow. Suddenly, a lance of green energy struck from out of nowhere, slicing through the second elemental. It exploded in a cloud of green gas. Concealed in the fog, Havok smiled. The warlock had used his magic to give him one True Strike, negating the concealment afforded the elementals by the mist. He had used the opportunity to strike what he hoped was a telling blow, and had been rewarded beyond his expectations. Shay tumbled abruptly to a stop as he rolled into something lying on the floor of the pit. Tentatively reaching out one hand, he quickly recoiled as he felt something wet and sticky. Yet he also felt the cold touch of metal armor. It was a body. An armored one. Could it be one of his companions? He couldn’t see the figure, though the warmth of its skin told him there was at least still a spark of life there. Hastily, the rogue fumbled in his belt pouch for one of his healing elixirs. Feeling blindly, he tried to locate the mouth of the person, but was unsure if he was successful when he upended the potion. Grim and his foe traded blow after blow, clashing like titans. Havok could hear the conflict, but he dared approach no closer for fear of becoming a casualty of the melee. Blindly he launched another eldritch spear, not knowing that he had in fact hit his mark. Simultaneously, Storm lobbed an orb of lightning at the elemental, illuminating it as it collapsed in on itself and vanished from sight. Shay felt the life leave his unknown companion, and hung his head in defeat. He still did not know which of his friends he had just lost, but he knew he could not leave his team mate. Pulling out his magical bag, which contained a large extra-dimensional space, he slowly worked until he had placed the body inside, and then he took to the air. When the team regrouped in the entry hall, they realized that it was Hawk who had been lost. The paladin was dead, and though Grubber knew that he could retrieve the civilar’s soul, a black pall still hung over the party. They were battered, bloodied and exhausted. Though they stood on the threshold of their goal, they knew they could go no further this day. As they scanned the room for other imminent threats, Drasek noted a second illusion in the chamber, this one a false section of ceiling forty-feet above the larger pillar. He pointed it out to his companions, and though it was unanimously agreed upon that they must rest, it was decided that they would do so within the relative safety of the stairwell. [/QUOTE]
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JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
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