Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="gfunk" data-source="post: 2813708" data-attributes="member: 1813"><p>REGROUP</p><p></p><p>No sooner had Kelvos fallen than the ruins of the room wavered and faded, replaced by a well-equipped torture chamber. Wailing victims strapped to horrific devices hung in the background from chains. In the foreground stood two figures. One was a handsome man dressed in flowing robes. Facing him was a strange, six-armed creature that looked as much insect as it did humanoid. The insect creature’s eyes were hollow sockets containing a pinpoint of light deep within. Its flesh was rotting and festering, and the green robes it wore were old and moth-eaten. The creature wielded a long green crystal rod in one hand, a cruel hooked rod in another. In two other hands it held a jeweled gold box that it presented to the man, who took it and set it upon a table. He opened it and, using a pair of iron tongs, withdrew a writhing green worm. The man’s expression changed to one of excitation as he looked upon the worm…and the vision faded.</p><p></p><p>It was obvious to the members of the League who were still capable of coherent thought, that the man was the same one they had witnessed in their vision outside in the ruins, just as it was obvious that the green worm was a Kyuss worm. The six-armed creature, however, was an enigma. None of the group had ever seen such a being, but its significance was obvious…it had gifted Kyuss with his first worm.</p><p></p><p>“Well, what now?” Giovanni asked the others after the vision passed. “I for one feel we are in no shape to go any further. Faust is a drooling beast. Grubber, Storm and Drasek have depleted their spells, and all of us are injured.”</p><p>“I might at least be able to help Faust’s situation,” Grubber said quietly.</p><p>“How so?” asked Hawk.</p><p>“It is apparent that he is under some sort of enchantment,” the goliath replied. “I have a scroll with a spell designed to break any such ensorcelment…provided the source of the effect was not too powerful. Shall I try?”</p><p>Hawk shrugged and gestured for the priest to proceed. Grubber pulled the scroll from his pack and began to read. The others watched the troll closely as the spell began to gather strength. Finally, Grubber spoke the last word, and a sense of power rippled through the air. Faust grunted, then sniffed the air before inserting one large finger into his right nostril. </p><p>“It didn’t work,” Grubber said, shaking his head. “I can perhaps try again tomorrow.”</p><p>“Then I suggest we leave now,” Giovanni spoke up. “Furthermore, I recommend we use the last scroll that Malchor gave us, and travel back to Waterdeep. We can rest there, recover, and purchase more scrolls to bring us back, now that we know where we are going.”</p><p></p><p>The others could not argue with the warlock’s logic. Camping inside the ziggurat would be foolish, and making camp in the outlying ruins or the jungle, with their unknown hazards, would be more foolish. Using their usual travel mode, several of the lighter team members slipped into Shay’s Bag of Holding, and then Giovanni read the scroll.</p><p></p><p>The night and next day were spent recuperating and restocking supplies. Grubber cast his Break Enchantment again the following morning upon Faust, who by this time had returned to his natural form, and was relieved when the psion’s mental faculties were fully restored. Once he was brought up to speed on what had transpired, Faust made a request of Grubber.</p><p>“I want you to deafen me…permanently.”</p><p>Grubber looked at him blankly. “You want me to do what?”</p><p>“Deafen me,” Faust replied calmly. “After your stories of those undead beetles with their maddening chittering, I would just as soon not succumb and be a sitting duck, if it’s all the same to you.”</p><p>“Yes,” Grubber said, “but isn’t this a bit drastic? How will we communicate with you?”</p><p>“Simple,” Faust responded. “I can mind link all of us so that we can speak telepathically with one another. It will work no matter the distance between any of us. So, if one of you should, say, fall in a pit, you can notify the others that you are still alive and what your situation is.”</p><p>Grubber shook his head. He had become accustomed to the psion’s eccentric behavior. Besides, he knew that the deafening spell could be dismissed by him whenever he wished. Shrugging, he granted Faust’s wish.</p><p></p><p>The following day, the team was ready to return to Kuluth-Mar. Both Grubber and Storm had imbued themselves with the permanent ability to see the invisible. In addition to his hearing impairment, Faust also vowed that he would not open his eyes as long as they were within the Spire. He had no intention of meeting the gaze of another naga. Instead, he manifested Touch Sight upon himself, which effectively granted him the ability of Blindsight. The group assembled in a quiet place. The bag riders re-entered their home-away-from-home. Faust once more assumed troll-form, and then Giovanni recited the teleportation spell from his scroll.</p><p>“Rise,” Mak’ar hissed into the darkness. “You are needed. There is yet work to be done, as I fear that our unwanted guests will be returning soon. In the mean time, you will stay be my side. Do not fail me in this.”</p><p></p><p>The first thing that the League noticed when they reappeared in the temple, was the absence of bodies. No sign remained of their previous battles. All of the corpses were gone.</p><p>“I don’t like this,” Grim grumbled. </p><p>“Maybe they return to the worms from which they were spawned when they die,” Grubber offered. </p><p>“Yeah, and maybe trolls can fly,” the dwarf sneered, but then he caught Faust’s eye. “Sorry.”</p><p></p><p>The team was not yet prepared to brave whatever awaited them in the steaming pit, not-the-least of which would most assuredly be more worm nagas. Instead, they made for the double stone doors on the far side of the room. After Shay assured him that the doors were not trapped, Grim pushed the portals open. The long chamber beyond obviously served as a library, as dozens of bookshelves lined the walls and stood back-to-back amid the room. In addition to the surprisingly well-preserved tomes, twelve clear jars sat on various shelves, each one filled with a thin, gray liquid and containing a single writhing, green worm. In one corner of the chamber crouched an eviscerator beetle, its mandibles clacking together rhythmically. Four other figures also stood about the room. Three wore baroque armor, which covered every inch of their skeletal forms, save for two gaping eye sockets. The ornate steel and silver plate carried a sickening, green sheen, and from the armor’s well-crafted joints, small, green worms wriggled to be free. Similar worms writhed and slid between many of the armor’s plates, yet the creatures’ grips on their massive greatswords remained firm and hinted at deadly skill. The fourth figure was a stooped creature sheathed in full plate armor, over which lay the tattered remains of ancient robes of state. The creature’s shriveled and tortured limbs teemed with writhing hordes of green worms. These vermin moved over the figure’s decayed body, crawling between the plates of its armor as well.</p><p></p><p>Havok didn’t hesitate. As soon as he saw the Kyuss spawn, he loosed an eldritch chain, which arced between the beetle and the nearest swordsman. In unison, all three of the warriors pulled a single worm from their mouths and raised it towards the ceiling. Instantaneously, three blasts of cold, negative energy surged through the members of the League, and through the undead as well. On each League member, a Soulfire or Deathward effect automatically triggered in response to the assault…all except Storm. The drow had no such protection, and she felt the cold all their way to her bones, sapping her vitality. At the same time, the wounds Havok had just inflicted upon the undead seemed to melt away, healed. The robed figure gestured silently at Hawk, and for a brief moment, the civilar felt his muscles seize and spasm, but the sensation quickly passed. The creature gestured again, and this time a powerful dispelling field settled over the entire team, stripping off defensive spells as it triggered.</p><p></p><p>Seeing the effects of Havok’s eldritch chain, Storm decided to attempt the same tactic, only with lighting. Casting her spell, she arced a short burst from the robed undead to a nearby swordsman, but to her dismay, the electricity seemed to affect them not at all. Meanwhile Drasek, who had purchased a new maul in Waterdeep to replace the one lost by Kelvos, stepped forward to meet one of the swordsmen. He swung two mighty blows at the undead, but the creature deftly parried both with the flat of his blade. The momentum of the defense forced the inquisitor to turn with the undead warrior, exposing his flank to the closing eviscerator beetle. The insect’s mandibles snapped shut an inch from where Drasek’s lumber spine had been a moment before he managed to lean his body in the other direction. </p><p></p><p>Hawk closed to Drasek’s side, plunging his sword into the beetle’s thorax and loosing a surge of holy energy as he struck. Grubber was also moving to join the fray, but at that moment, the maddening chitter of the beetle overwhelmed his thoughts, forcing him to grab at his ears in a futile attempt to rid them of the noise. </p><p></p><p>Faust ‘saw’ Grubber’s dilemma, and secretly smiled at his own ingenuity at having the priest deafen him. As the psion scanned the battlefield, he identified each of the combatants. The swordsmen were known as Swords of Kyuss. They were once the elite shock troops of Kyuss’ army. The robed figure was a Wormcaller, at one time a lesser priest of Jergal who assisted in Kyuss’ own ascension to godhood. This was how Kyuss’ ‘rewarded’ his faithful. Not wishing to give the Wormcaller a second opportunity to rid him of his precious magical defenses, Faust manifested a current of fire between the undead priest and one of the nearby Swords. </p><p></p><p>Havok prepared to blast the beetle a second time, but he too could not drive out the horrific noise of its mandibles from his head, and he screamed in pain and frustration. </p><p></p><p>Hawk pulled his blade from the beetle just as the Sword behind him swung its own weapon. The civilar was a fraction of a second too late. The undead warrior slammed the greatsword down across the paladin’s spine. If not for his armor, he knew the blow would have severed it. As it was, he was staggered and momentarily off-balance. Deftly, the Sword took a step back so that one of its brethren could move into the breech. Winding up, and taking advantage of Hawk’s lapse in defense, it too hammered at him, this time the blade coming from beneath and catching him in the gut. The civilar spat blood as the air was driven from his lungs. </p><p></p><p>The Wormcaller hissed as its moldering robes began to smolder from the beam of fire being generated by Faust. Quickly, the priest ducked behind one of the nearby bookshelves, out of the psion’s line of sight, and thus out of the path of the energy current. </p><p></p><p>Seeing the effect that fire had had on the undead, Storm, who had moved a safe distance away from the melee, now hurled a pea-sized ball of fire into the library, where it detonated with a roar, engulfing the beetle and two of the Swords. Unfortunately, the sorceress did not take into account the susceptibility of the books to her flames, and several of the ancient tomes began to burn.</p><p></p><p>“Back pit-spawn!” Drasek cried as he loosed a spray of diamond shards at the pair of Swords harrying Hawk, catching the beetle in the blast as well. The undead moaned, and recoiled, but they recovered quickly and the beetle lunged at Hawk again, savaging one of his legs with its claw. The third Sword had still not entered the battle. Instead, it plucked another worm from its armor and raised it up. Once more, a blast of negative energy filled the area, and again the undead were healed of many of their wounds. The League was right back to where they’d started from.</p><p></p><p>Hawk was not so fortunate. His own wounds continued to bleed freely, and he was forced to stagger back into the temple room to grant himself a temporary respite. As he cleared the doorway, Grubber, who had finally managed to shake off the effects of the beetle’s chittering, called down a column of holy fire upon the two Swords who stood there, as well as the beetle. </p><p></p><p>Faust was intent on the Wormcaller. Though the Swords were unquestionably puissant, he knew that the undead priest could ultimately cause them the greatest harm if it was able to bring its full arsenal of magic to bear. Moving behind the battle line until he could see the creature again, he channeled his energy current solely into the priest. </p><p></p><p>Havok clenched his eyes shut, and ground his teeth in an effort to regain control of his faculties. Finally, driving the deafening clicking to the back of his mind, he opened his eyes again, and fixated on the beetle. Channeling his most powerful energies, he sent a roaring, green spear of eldritch power lancing into the undead insect, and then instantly followed with a second blast. The eviscerator beetle exploded into a gory pulp. </p><p></p><p>With the doorway unblocked, one of the Swords stepped quickly between Drasek and Hawk. Both paladins struck at the undead warrior as it passed, connecting solidly, but the creature seemed to shrug off their attacks, and kept moving…straight towards Faust! Grubber swung his maul as well when the Sword passed him, and the silver-headed weapon burned deeply into the creature’s flesh. It glared at him balefully, but did not deter from its course. In desperation, Faust slashed at the approaching Sword with one clawed hand, but the razor-sharp talons did not even break the rotting flesh of the warrior. To make things worse, the second Sword followed the first, darting among Hawk, Drasek and Grubber while they were distracted by its predecessor. The warriors now had Faust flanked.</p><p></p><p>Chuckling evilly, the Wormcaller once more ducked for cover from Faust’s energy beam, knowing that the hateful mortal would soon be incapable of summoning any more such magics. </p><p></p><p>The final Sword stepped into the now empty doorway, and grasped a third worm in its hand. Again, the energy blast filled the air, and again its allies began to heal. </p><p>“You’ve done quite enough for one day,” Hawk snarled, stepping up to confront the swordsman. Like a dervish, the civilar swung his blade with blinding speed, striking the undead warrior once, twice, three, four blows! Holy energy and divine might flared and the creature shrieked and gave ground, though to Hawk’s utter amazement, it did not fall. He knew he had dealt enough damage to kill an elephant, and still his opponent stood. And it had just healed its compatriots.</p><p></p><p>Drasek and Grubber struggled to put themselves between the Swords and Faust, but the warriors were too fast and coordinated. They dodged and parried blows expertly, and still managed to maintain their proximity to the psion. Faust was as close to panic as he had ever been. He manifested a second energy current between the two Swords, then pictured a point just behind Grubber, and a moment later stepped between dimensions to put himself there.</p><p></p><p>‘Just where I want you,’ Havok though as he saw the position of all three Swords. He focused, and a chain of eldritch energy leaped among the warriors. To his great relief, the one whom Hawk had dealt such withering damage to finally succumbed. Quickly, the warlock loosed an eldritch spear at one of the two remaining, and it too crumbled, perhaps not quite so healed as they had believed. Only one Sword still stood, and it lunged at Grubber, trying to fight past the goliath to get at the psion behind him. Grubber blocked the blow with the haft of his maul, and clashed with the swordsman, their footwork bringing them both dangerously close to the edge of the gaping pit.</p><p></p><p>Faust turned to find the Wormcaller again, but just as he did, the priest conjured a dispelling field solely around the psion. Faust felt spell after spell, and power after power fade away, and he did not have the resources to replenish his defenses. Storm watched from her position of relative safety, and an idea came to her. If a Feeblemind spell could neutralize as potent a psion as Faust, perhaps it could do the same on the Wormcaller. The sorceress chanted the words to the spell and focused the magic on the priest, but the creature did not so much as glance her way. If it even noticed her attempt, it gave no sign. </p><p></p><p>Drasek did, however, get the Wormcaller’s full attention. Calling upon the Deific Vengeance of Kelemvor, he began to recite a litany of the priest’s crimes, crimes made worse by the creature’s transition to unlife. The priest quailed before the diatribe, and Hawk took the opportunity to rush forward, slashing at the Wormcaller and smiting it with the power of Helm. </p><p>“I’ll handle this from here boys,” Faust said in a low, menacing voice, as he stepped to the library door. Concentrating, his used his vast mental powers to seize control of the Wormcaller’s motor functions, taking over its body in full. Like a puppet, he commanded it to begin walking forward. As it passed Hawk, the civilar swung again, carving large chunks from its flesh. Unable to defend itself, it continued past the paladin, and then past Drasek as well. The inquisitor smashed his maul into its chest as it approached, and caved in its sternum. The Wormcaller went limp, though it did not fall, still in the grip of Faust’s body control. Like a rag doll, the psion cast it aside.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, the last Sword backed Grubber closer and closer to the lip of the pit. Havok hurled an eldritch spear into it, but the warrior did not relent. Storm flung an orb of corrosive acid upon it, and still it persevered. Grubber felt his back foot slip on the edge of the chasm.</p><p>“Grubber, move!” Drasek cried. The goliath suddenly stopped resisting the Sword, and fell to one side, landing heavily on the brink of the precipice. Behind the Sword, Drasek charged. Lowering one shoulder, he slammed into the creature, which teetered precariously on the edge. The inquisitor drove the Sword into the open air above the abyss, and it dropped silently out of sight into the void.</p><p></p><p>The library wavered and shimmered as the last Sword fell, and suddenly a human man appeared at one of the desks nearby. A strange, gray-skinned humanoid creature with six arms stood at his shoulder. The man studied a collection of worn and pitted bronze disks arrayed on the desk before him. Faint etchings adorned the plates, and it seemed as if the alien figures and symbols writhed together at the behest of some sinister will. The gray creature pointed to one of the plates, and a look of sudden comprehension bloomed on the man’s face. The man, the creature, and the plates then faded away, and were gone. </p><p></p><p>“That’s the same creature we saw in the previous vision,” Giovanni remarked.</p><p>“I didn’t notice a creature like that in the vision we first witnessed on entering the city,” Faust replied questioningly.</p><p>“Oh yes, I forgot,” the warlock answered. “You were…not yourself when we saw the second vision. It was after we slew the eladrin.”</p><p>“Ah,” Faust nodded. “Well, for your information, that ‘creature’ was a spell weaver. An undead one if I’m not mistaken.”</p><p>“What is a spell weaver?” Grubber questioned.</p><p>“I thought you might ask,” Faust said, warming to the topic. “Spell weavers were an ancient race who steeped themselves in strange, arcane research. Their accomplishments were said to be far beyond anything we could imagine today. They supposedly died out centuries, if not millennia ago, although I have heard rumors that one might have been involved with that nasty business in Cauldron a few years back.”</p><p>“Cauldron?” Grubber asked again.</p><p>“You haven’t heard of it?” Faust said in surprise. “Its picture was on Malchor’s wall, and the archmage even spoke of it when he told us of the predictions that were the harbingers of the Age of Worms. ‘The ruin of a city built in a bowl.’ He was speaking of Cauldron. The city was built inside a supposedly dormant volcano, but it was destroyed when that same volcano erupted. All sorts of tales abound as to what caused it, but the most popular one is about demons trying to open up some sort of Gate within the city to stage an invasion of our plane. Balderdash if you ask me.”</p><p>“Well, regardless of what occurred in Cauldron,” Hawk said, “it is obvious that Kyuss was involved with at least one of these creatures, and it would appear that it was the one that gave him the knowledge to begin his divine ascension.”</p><p>“Perhaps the library itself will tell us more…” Giovanni said, walking over to a podium where a book lay open, untouched by the fire caused by Storm’s spell.</p><p></p><p>The book showed a strange diagram of a rune-covered worm inside a human head. The worm seemed to be whispering words into the human’s brain. Giovanni stared at for a moment, before slowly lifting his eyes to the jars which contained the floating worms. Three of the jars had been destroyed by the fireball, but nine still remained. Crossing the room to the nearest shelf, he lifted one of the jars to examine it more closely. As he had suspected, the worm was covered with strange, tiny runes. </p><p></p><p>“They’re knowledge receptacles,” he said absently, still studying the floating worm.</p><p>“What??” Grubber asked, incredulous.</p><p>“You heard me,” the warlock replied. “Each of these…things…contains information about a certain area of study.” He began examining each jar in turn.</p><p>“There are four disciplines in all: history, arcana, religion, and planar facts.”</p><p>“But…how are you supposed to access the information?” the goliath asked, dreading the answer. </p><p>Giovanni looked up at him and smiled, “Isn’t it obvious? You eat one.”</p><p>The entire team looked revolted, except Faust, who seemed intrigued. </p><p>“But won’t that expose you to infection?” Hawk asked.</p><p>Giovanni nodded. “Yes. It’s a calculated risk.”</p><p>“I’ll take it,” Faust said, lifting one of the jars and opening it. Before anyone could protest, he plucked the wriggling worm from the solution and swallowed it whole. The others watched him tensely. Immediately, Faust felt wracking cramps in his abdomen, followed by a searing pain in his back, which began traveling up his spine into his neck, and then his head. All along, however, he heard whispering in his mind, speaking to him of secret religious lore, things long lost from mortal knowledge. As the pain in his head became almost unbearable, he sensed the worm expire, just as the knowledge it imparted took root in his psyche.</p><p></p><p>“Well…?” Grubber asked as Faust recovered from his ordeal.</p><p>“I can’t say it would be my choice of ways to study, but it beats pulling an all-nighter.” He described to them what he had felt and what he learned. It was decided that he, Grubber and Havok would consume six of the remaining worms. Havok ate two of arcane lore, and one of planar, Grubber one of religion and one history, and Faust the last of the planar worms. All of them endured the grisly ritual, and the pain it inflicted, but all emerged otherwise unscathed. The final two worms they would take back to Malchor for further study.</p><p></p><p>The remaining books in the library contained a vast storehouse of research on all of the areas covered by the knowledge worms, but it would take days, if not weeks to catalogue it all. The group decided to leave them for the time being and retrieve them later if possible. </p><p></p><p>Back in the temple, they discovered that each of the narrow stairways leading up ended at a hidden door which opened out onto one of the high steps of the ziggurat. Nothing more was to be discovered in the upper level. That left but one choice…the abyss.</p><p></p><p>At first, the team thought to start at one of the wormholes in the side of the pit. Perhaps by following one of them, they could wind their way to the bottom without having to descend the shaft itself. They were sure to meet more of the worm nagas on the way, but dealing with them individually would be far better than being targets for them in the main pit. However, they quickly discovered that the tunnels were a chaotic, twisting maze, and it would take hours for them to find a path down. Plan B involved Faust using his ability to Dimension Door to take them to the worm hole closest to the bottom of the pit that he had seen. It would place them some forty feet above the end of the shaft. Doing so would require one of the group to ride inside Shay’s bag of holding. It was Giovanni who volunteered.</p><p></p><p>When they appeared inside the opening to the worm hole, the shaft itself had tapered down to a mere twelve feet in diameter. Similar holes opened into the shaft at the other three compass points. Grubber was the first to be able to take full stock of their surroundings, and the first thing he noticed was the baleful glare of a worm naga staring at him from no more than twenty feet further down the tunnel. Remembering Faust’s warning about the power of the nagas’ eyes, the goliath quickly averted his gaze and then charged down the tunnel, maul raised and a war-cry on his lips. His eyes on the ground just in front of him, he was unable to gauge his distance accurately, and his blow fell just short of the worm. </p><p></p><p>Storm also recalled Faust’s words, and in addition she remembered that he had said arcansists were inherently more susceptible to the feeblemind effect. She wasn’t quite sure how the psion had come to this conclusion, but she wasn’t about to test it. Closing her eyes firmly, she pictured a point in the worm hole on the opposite side of the shaft from where she and her companions stood. Speaking the words to her own Dimension Door spell, she vanished and reappeared at her chosen spot, eyes still shut. It was then that she heard the faint scrape of scales on stone coming from directly in front of her.</p><p></p><p>Hawk was right behind Grubber, his eyes turned away from the fiend. The civilar had the advantage over the priest, however, in that he was trained to rely on his other senses when in combat. His blade struck true, and he willed electricity through it, shocking the naga as he drew out its life blood.</p><p></p><p>Faust waded past the civilar and the goliath. His eyes were shut, as they had been since he’d reentered the temple, relying on his Touchsight to guide him. Reaching for the naga, he wrapped his muscular troll arms around it, hugging it to his chest, holding it immobile while at the same time preventing it from bringing its arsenal of spells to bear. Writhing and hissing in the psion/troll’s grasp, the naga lunged at Faust’s face with its razor-sharp teeth. Instinctively, Faust flinched, loosening his grip just enough for the worm to slip through his arms. Moving with amazing speed, the naga quickly disappeared around a bend in the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Drasek hastily loosened the knot binding the magical bag shut. Upending the sack, he dumped Havok unceremoniously to the floor. </p><p>“You’re on,” he said to the warlock.</p><p></p><p>Before Storm could even open her eyes, she heard the naga speaking in the language of magic, and recognized the spell just before the blast of cold air and ice shards struck her. It was the last thing she heard or saw. Drasek and Havok saw the drow fall an instant before the same blast rolled over them, chilling them to their marrow. </p><p></p><p>Grubber felt his mind-link with Storm vanish, and he knew the sorceress was dead. Still, there might be time to save her. Turning back down the tunnel, he hurried to Drasek, praying as he moved. When he reached the inquisitor, he touched him on the shoulders, granting him the celestial aspect of the winged angels. Drasek nodded in understanding, he too having felt the loss of mental contact with Storm. Taking to the air, he soared the short distance across the shaft to the opposite tunnel. Careful not to meet the gaze of the naga, the inquisitor called upon Kelemvor not to take the drow’s soul just yet. As he laid one hand upon her brow, he felt warmth return to her skin, and saw her chest rise and fall with her respirations, though she still remained unconscious.</p><p></p><p>Hawk didn’t have time to spare see what was happening with his comrades, though he guessed at Storm’s fate. Instead, he pursued the fleeing naga, catching up to it just around the corner. His eyes still averted, he swung again, but this time his skills failed him, and his blade cut only air. </p><p></p><p>Havok scrambled to his feet, trying to shake off his momentary disorientation. To his right, he saw Hawk disappear around a bend. To his left, he saw Storm’s body lying on the ground before a worm naga, Drasek facing off with it on the other side of the fallen sorceress. Quickly turning his eyes away, he loosed an eldritch spear, but the shot went just wide of the mark, striking the wall inches from the naga’s head. His quickened follow-up, however, was right on target, gouging a deep fissure across the worm’s carapace. </p><p></p><p>Enraged, the naga before Drasek spoke its spell a second time, unleashing a second cone of cold. Drasek took the blast full force, as did Havok in the tunnel behind him. Unfortunately, the newly revivified Storm was also caught in the blast. Drasek saw her life-force wink out once again. </p><p></p><p>Hawk’s opponent prepared to strike at the civilar, a potent spell on its lips. However, at precisely that moment, Faust rounded the corner, and manifested a circular wall of fire around the naga, with one edge of the barrier passing directly through half of the worm. It reeled, and tried to move away from the flames, but Hawk was there. Praying to Helm to grant him strength, he buried his sword deep behind the naga’s neck, momentarily stunning the creature as he connected.</p><p></p><p>Havok was weak, his armor doing everything in its power to keep him alive. Concentrating one more time, he fired another blast at the naga across the shaft. As the blast struck, the naga shriveled into an unrecognizable husk. </p><p></p><p>Drasek knew of only one other way to save Storm. Though the prayer he requested was normally used to grant a soul slain before its time one final chance at vengeance against its killer, this time it would temporarily restore Storm’s life for a few minutes. When the spell expired, Storm would die, and Drasek would attempt to Revivify her once more. </p><p></p><p>The stunned naga was unable to remove itself from Faust’s burning energy wall, and so it continued to cook in the roaring flames. Not wanting to waste further needless mental energy to no purpose, the psion instead charged forward, slashing at the worm with his claws. At the same time, Hawk struck as well, his sword disemboweling the creature. </p><p></p><p>“We should keep going,” Faust said after the team had regrouped in the first tunnel.</p><p>“Storm’s not doing so well,” Drasek said pointedly.</p><p>“What are you talking about?” the sorceress asked. “I am a little bruised, but otherwise I feel fine.”</p><p>Drasek turned to her, his face grim. “You are fine…for now, but the spell I cast to restore your life is of limited duration. You have maybe another ten minutes to live.”</p><p>The drow stared at him, shocked. “You mean I going to die again!? Why did you bring me back then? Just so I could suffer?”</p><p>“Not at all,” the inquisitor said, placing his hands on Storm’s shoulders to calm her. “I only have the ability to perform one more Revivification prayer today. If I had done it while the naga was still alive, it would have just killed you again, and then you might have been lost to us forever. This way, when you die, I will restore you permanently, and heal you in the bargain.”</p><p>Storm nodded in understanding, and then looked into Drasek’s eyes. “Why not just kill myself now? Get if over with?”</p><p>“I can’t allow you to do that,” he replied calmly. “Kelemvor sees suicide as an abomination. Just wait. I assure you that your death will be painless.”</p><p>“Which is more than I can say for the rest of us if we stay here until more of those nagas come,” Faust snapped. </p><p>“Then we should leave until Storm has regained her strength,” Drasek said flatly.</p><p>“And I say we should move on,” Faust argued. “We know those worms are in the room below us. We can at least clear that threat out of our path and see what lies beyond. If our resources are too taxed, we can retreat then.”</p><p>For a moment, there was silence, and then everyone looked at Hawk. </p><p>“We go on,” he said after a time. “We take as many of them by surprise as we can now. I fear what forces may be arrayed against us if we continue to let our enemies know that we are coming, yet are unable to finish the task.</p><p></p><p>Preparations were made. Storm rendered Faust invisible. The troll/psion then quaffed a fly potion, and descended into the rapidly narrowing shaft, until he was just above the opening in the ceiling of the lower room. Grubber drank his own potion, enabling him to climb the sheer walls of the pit like a spider, and he quickly moved to join Faust. Drasek was the last to follow, still using his wings that Grubber had granted him. The others remained in the tunnels above, ready to lend support if need be.</p><p></p><p>Faust peered into the small chamber below, and beheld the thousands of writhing worms blanketing the floor. Unfortunately, his deafness prevented him from hearing another sound…the scuttling of something large moving his way, followed by a very familiar clicking. </p><p></p><p>Storm was just preparing to cast an invisibility spell upon herself when the clicking noise filled the air. She clenched her eyes shut, but could not drive out the sound. Slowly, hands covering her ears, she sank to the floor of the wormhole. </p><p></p><p>Faust quickly descended into the chamber, noticing the beetle for the first time. He also noticed that all of the worms were slithering from the room. Half disappeared through an archway to the west. As Faust watched them go, he could see the room beyond, the floor of which was covered with perfectly preserved corpses, arrayed head-to-toe in neat rows. Thick dust obscured the walls and floors, signs of the chamber’s great age, yet no trace of decay touched the corpses. The massive green stone blocks that lined the chamber were covered with ancient symbols resembling coiling worms. Another group of worms had crawled down a short southern passage. Beyond it, Faust could just see what appeared to be an immense cavern filled with a horrific sea of writhing green and the nauseating susurrus of millions of slimy bodies slithering over each other. One clump of worms remained, directly under the hole in the ceiling.</p><p>“Not so fast, my wriggling friends,” the psion muttered, and he loosed a cone of fiery power down the western hallway. It engulfed the slithering horde, and also the swarm still in the chamber with him. Unfortunately, his attack ended his concealment. With a target plainly in view, the eviscerator beetle charged, clamping its mandibles around the troll’s thigh.</p><p></p><p>Grubber clung to the top of the hole like the spider who’s power he was emulating. Into the center of the room, he unleashed a Storm of Shards, the razor-sharp blades spilling into the corridors beyond. The remaining worms in the western corridor were obliterated, as was the group directly below him. “Faust’s in trouble!” he called over his shoulder, back up the shaft.</p><p></p><p>Back in the wormhole, Havok unfurled a scroll. Reading the arcane writing upon it, he spoke the name of Magmus Moltenspear, summoning the noble salamander from his home in the City of Brass. The elemental appeared in the center of the chamber, beneath Grubber. “Your enemies are mine, master,” he said, “for now…” Gripping his great, iron spear in both hands, Magmus stabbed at the eviscerator beetle again and again, each blow leaving gaping holes in its already crumbling carapace.</p><p></p><p>Drasek folded his wings and dropped past Grubber to land in the room adjacent to Faust, his eyes darting to the three exits from the room, wary of other enemies. Behind him, Storm had managed to free herself of the beetle’s enthrallment, and had rendered herself invisible. She glided silently down the shaft, and into the room, hovering just near the ceiling. At that moment, Drasek spotted movement from the western hall, in the room lined with corpses. </p><p>“We’ve got company,” he said.</p><p></p><p>A Wormcaller and three Swords of Kyuss appeared in the entry to the far chamber. The undead priest immediately gestured, and a powerful dispelling field filled the near room. Instantly, Magmus vanished, the summoning spell undone. Likewise, Storm’s cloak of invisibility was stripped away, as were several defensive spells upon Grubber, Drasek and Faust. </p><p></p><p>“Time to go gentlemen,” Hawk said, the civilar dropping through the ceiling hole and landing near the others. “I’ll hold the retreat.”</p><p>Faust manifested two glowing missiles of pure energy, one at the beetle, and the second at the Wormcaller, before leaping towards the ceiling. As he left the ground, the beetle lunged at him, taking a large bite out of his right foot. The beetle then rounded on Drasek, closing the distance between them rapidly. The inquisitor fended off the undead horror’s assault, and loosed one final spell at the approaching Wormcaller and Swords. The Diamond Spray ripped into the minions of Kyuss, but did not stop their advance. Shaking his head, Drasek flew towards the ceiling as well, but again the beetle attacked, pulling off one of his boots, but luckily not his foot. </p><p></p><p>“Grubber, go!” Hawk called, but he saw that the goliath was clutching his head in agony. The beetle again. ‘We’re in trouble,’ the civilar thought.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gfunk, post: 2813708, member: 1813"] REGROUP No sooner had Kelvos fallen than the ruins of the room wavered and faded, replaced by a well-equipped torture chamber. Wailing victims strapped to horrific devices hung in the background from chains. In the foreground stood two figures. One was a handsome man dressed in flowing robes. Facing him was a strange, six-armed creature that looked as much insect as it did humanoid. The insect creature’s eyes were hollow sockets containing a pinpoint of light deep within. Its flesh was rotting and festering, and the green robes it wore were old and moth-eaten. The creature wielded a long green crystal rod in one hand, a cruel hooked rod in another. In two other hands it held a jeweled gold box that it presented to the man, who took it and set it upon a table. He opened it and, using a pair of iron tongs, withdrew a writhing green worm. The man’s expression changed to one of excitation as he looked upon the worm…and the vision faded. It was obvious to the members of the League who were still capable of coherent thought, that the man was the same one they had witnessed in their vision outside in the ruins, just as it was obvious that the green worm was a Kyuss worm. The six-armed creature, however, was an enigma. None of the group had ever seen such a being, but its significance was obvious…it had gifted Kyuss with his first worm. “Well, what now?” Giovanni asked the others after the vision passed. “I for one feel we are in no shape to go any further. Faust is a drooling beast. Grubber, Storm and Drasek have depleted their spells, and all of us are injured.” “I might at least be able to help Faust’s situation,” Grubber said quietly. “How so?” asked Hawk. “It is apparent that he is under some sort of enchantment,” the goliath replied. “I have a scroll with a spell designed to break any such ensorcelment…provided the source of the effect was not too powerful. Shall I try?” Hawk shrugged and gestured for the priest to proceed. Grubber pulled the scroll from his pack and began to read. The others watched the troll closely as the spell began to gather strength. Finally, Grubber spoke the last word, and a sense of power rippled through the air. Faust grunted, then sniffed the air before inserting one large finger into his right nostril. “It didn’t work,” Grubber said, shaking his head. “I can perhaps try again tomorrow.” “Then I suggest we leave now,” Giovanni spoke up. “Furthermore, I recommend we use the last scroll that Malchor gave us, and travel back to Waterdeep. We can rest there, recover, and purchase more scrolls to bring us back, now that we know where we are going.” The others could not argue with the warlock’s logic. Camping inside the ziggurat would be foolish, and making camp in the outlying ruins or the jungle, with their unknown hazards, would be more foolish. Using their usual travel mode, several of the lighter team members slipped into Shay’s Bag of Holding, and then Giovanni read the scroll. The night and next day were spent recuperating and restocking supplies. Grubber cast his Break Enchantment again the following morning upon Faust, who by this time had returned to his natural form, and was relieved when the psion’s mental faculties were fully restored. Once he was brought up to speed on what had transpired, Faust made a request of Grubber. “I want you to deafen me…permanently.” Grubber looked at him blankly. “You want me to do what?” “Deafen me,” Faust replied calmly. “After your stories of those undead beetles with their maddening chittering, I would just as soon not succumb and be a sitting duck, if it’s all the same to you.” “Yes,” Grubber said, “but isn’t this a bit drastic? How will we communicate with you?” “Simple,” Faust responded. “I can mind link all of us so that we can speak telepathically with one another. It will work no matter the distance between any of us. So, if one of you should, say, fall in a pit, you can notify the others that you are still alive and what your situation is.” Grubber shook his head. He had become accustomed to the psion’s eccentric behavior. Besides, he knew that the deafening spell could be dismissed by him whenever he wished. Shrugging, he granted Faust’s wish. The following day, the team was ready to return to Kuluth-Mar. Both Grubber and Storm had imbued themselves with the permanent ability to see the invisible. In addition to his hearing impairment, Faust also vowed that he would not open his eyes as long as they were within the Spire. He had no intention of meeting the gaze of another naga. Instead, he manifested Touch Sight upon himself, which effectively granted him the ability of Blindsight. The group assembled in a quiet place. The bag riders re-entered their home-away-from-home. Faust once more assumed troll-form, and then Giovanni recited the teleportation spell from his scroll. “Rise,” Mak’ar hissed into the darkness. “You are needed. There is yet work to be done, as I fear that our unwanted guests will be returning soon. In the mean time, you will stay be my side. Do not fail me in this.” The first thing that the League noticed when they reappeared in the temple, was the absence of bodies. No sign remained of their previous battles. All of the corpses were gone. “I don’t like this,” Grim grumbled. “Maybe they return to the worms from which they were spawned when they die,” Grubber offered. “Yeah, and maybe trolls can fly,” the dwarf sneered, but then he caught Faust’s eye. “Sorry.” The team was not yet prepared to brave whatever awaited them in the steaming pit, not-the-least of which would most assuredly be more worm nagas. Instead, they made for the double stone doors on the far side of the room. After Shay assured him that the doors were not trapped, Grim pushed the portals open. The long chamber beyond obviously served as a library, as dozens of bookshelves lined the walls and stood back-to-back amid the room. In addition to the surprisingly well-preserved tomes, twelve clear jars sat on various shelves, each one filled with a thin, gray liquid and containing a single writhing, green worm. In one corner of the chamber crouched an eviscerator beetle, its mandibles clacking together rhythmically. Four other figures also stood about the room. Three wore baroque armor, which covered every inch of their skeletal forms, save for two gaping eye sockets. The ornate steel and silver plate carried a sickening, green sheen, and from the armor’s well-crafted joints, small, green worms wriggled to be free. Similar worms writhed and slid between many of the armor’s plates, yet the creatures’ grips on their massive greatswords remained firm and hinted at deadly skill. The fourth figure was a stooped creature sheathed in full plate armor, over which lay the tattered remains of ancient robes of state. The creature’s shriveled and tortured limbs teemed with writhing hordes of green worms. These vermin moved over the figure’s decayed body, crawling between the plates of its armor as well. Havok didn’t hesitate. As soon as he saw the Kyuss spawn, he loosed an eldritch chain, which arced between the beetle and the nearest swordsman. In unison, all three of the warriors pulled a single worm from their mouths and raised it towards the ceiling. Instantaneously, three blasts of cold, negative energy surged through the members of the League, and through the undead as well. On each League member, a Soulfire or Deathward effect automatically triggered in response to the assault…all except Storm. The drow had no such protection, and she felt the cold all their way to her bones, sapping her vitality. At the same time, the wounds Havok had just inflicted upon the undead seemed to melt away, healed. The robed figure gestured silently at Hawk, and for a brief moment, the civilar felt his muscles seize and spasm, but the sensation quickly passed. The creature gestured again, and this time a powerful dispelling field settled over the entire team, stripping off defensive spells as it triggered. Seeing the effects of Havok’s eldritch chain, Storm decided to attempt the same tactic, only with lighting. Casting her spell, she arced a short burst from the robed undead to a nearby swordsman, but to her dismay, the electricity seemed to affect them not at all. Meanwhile Drasek, who had purchased a new maul in Waterdeep to replace the one lost by Kelvos, stepped forward to meet one of the swordsmen. He swung two mighty blows at the undead, but the creature deftly parried both with the flat of his blade. The momentum of the defense forced the inquisitor to turn with the undead warrior, exposing his flank to the closing eviscerator beetle. The insect’s mandibles snapped shut an inch from where Drasek’s lumber spine had been a moment before he managed to lean his body in the other direction. Hawk closed to Drasek’s side, plunging his sword into the beetle’s thorax and loosing a surge of holy energy as he struck. Grubber was also moving to join the fray, but at that moment, the maddening chitter of the beetle overwhelmed his thoughts, forcing him to grab at his ears in a futile attempt to rid them of the noise. Faust ‘saw’ Grubber’s dilemma, and secretly smiled at his own ingenuity at having the priest deafen him. As the psion scanned the battlefield, he identified each of the combatants. The swordsmen were known as Swords of Kyuss. They were once the elite shock troops of Kyuss’ army. The robed figure was a Wormcaller, at one time a lesser priest of Jergal who assisted in Kyuss’ own ascension to godhood. This was how Kyuss’ ‘rewarded’ his faithful. Not wishing to give the Wormcaller a second opportunity to rid him of his precious magical defenses, Faust manifested a current of fire between the undead priest and one of the nearby Swords. Havok prepared to blast the beetle a second time, but he too could not drive out the horrific noise of its mandibles from his head, and he screamed in pain and frustration. Hawk pulled his blade from the beetle just as the Sword behind him swung its own weapon. The civilar was a fraction of a second too late. The undead warrior slammed the greatsword down across the paladin’s spine. If not for his armor, he knew the blow would have severed it. As it was, he was staggered and momentarily off-balance. Deftly, the Sword took a step back so that one of its brethren could move into the breech. Winding up, and taking advantage of Hawk’s lapse in defense, it too hammered at him, this time the blade coming from beneath and catching him in the gut. The civilar spat blood as the air was driven from his lungs. The Wormcaller hissed as its moldering robes began to smolder from the beam of fire being generated by Faust. Quickly, the priest ducked behind one of the nearby bookshelves, out of the psion’s line of sight, and thus out of the path of the energy current. Seeing the effect that fire had had on the undead, Storm, who had moved a safe distance away from the melee, now hurled a pea-sized ball of fire into the library, where it detonated with a roar, engulfing the beetle and two of the Swords. Unfortunately, the sorceress did not take into account the susceptibility of the books to her flames, and several of the ancient tomes began to burn. “Back pit-spawn!” Drasek cried as he loosed a spray of diamond shards at the pair of Swords harrying Hawk, catching the beetle in the blast as well. The undead moaned, and recoiled, but they recovered quickly and the beetle lunged at Hawk again, savaging one of his legs with its claw. The third Sword had still not entered the battle. Instead, it plucked another worm from its armor and raised it up. Once more, a blast of negative energy filled the area, and again the undead were healed of many of their wounds. The League was right back to where they’d started from. Hawk was not so fortunate. His own wounds continued to bleed freely, and he was forced to stagger back into the temple room to grant himself a temporary respite. As he cleared the doorway, Grubber, who had finally managed to shake off the effects of the beetle’s chittering, called down a column of holy fire upon the two Swords who stood there, as well as the beetle. Faust was intent on the Wormcaller. Though the Swords were unquestionably puissant, he knew that the undead priest could ultimately cause them the greatest harm if it was able to bring its full arsenal of magic to bear. Moving behind the battle line until he could see the creature again, he channeled his energy current solely into the priest. Havok clenched his eyes shut, and ground his teeth in an effort to regain control of his faculties. Finally, driving the deafening clicking to the back of his mind, he opened his eyes again, and fixated on the beetle. Channeling his most powerful energies, he sent a roaring, green spear of eldritch power lancing into the undead insect, and then instantly followed with a second blast. The eviscerator beetle exploded into a gory pulp. With the doorway unblocked, one of the Swords stepped quickly between Drasek and Hawk. Both paladins struck at the undead warrior as it passed, connecting solidly, but the creature seemed to shrug off their attacks, and kept moving…straight towards Faust! Grubber swung his maul as well when the Sword passed him, and the silver-headed weapon burned deeply into the creature’s flesh. It glared at him balefully, but did not deter from its course. In desperation, Faust slashed at the approaching Sword with one clawed hand, but the razor-sharp talons did not even break the rotting flesh of the warrior. To make things worse, the second Sword followed the first, darting among Hawk, Drasek and Grubber while they were distracted by its predecessor. The warriors now had Faust flanked. Chuckling evilly, the Wormcaller once more ducked for cover from Faust’s energy beam, knowing that the hateful mortal would soon be incapable of summoning any more such magics. The final Sword stepped into the now empty doorway, and grasped a third worm in its hand. Again, the energy blast filled the air, and again its allies began to heal. “You’ve done quite enough for one day,” Hawk snarled, stepping up to confront the swordsman. Like a dervish, the civilar swung his blade with blinding speed, striking the undead warrior once, twice, three, four blows! Holy energy and divine might flared and the creature shrieked and gave ground, though to Hawk’s utter amazement, it did not fall. He knew he had dealt enough damage to kill an elephant, and still his opponent stood. And it had just healed its compatriots. Drasek and Grubber struggled to put themselves between the Swords and Faust, but the warriors were too fast and coordinated. They dodged and parried blows expertly, and still managed to maintain their proximity to the psion. Faust was as close to panic as he had ever been. He manifested a second energy current between the two Swords, then pictured a point just behind Grubber, and a moment later stepped between dimensions to put himself there. ‘Just where I want you,’ Havok though as he saw the position of all three Swords. He focused, and a chain of eldritch energy leaped among the warriors. To his great relief, the one whom Hawk had dealt such withering damage to finally succumbed. Quickly, the warlock loosed an eldritch spear at one of the two remaining, and it too crumbled, perhaps not quite so healed as they had believed. Only one Sword still stood, and it lunged at Grubber, trying to fight past the goliath to get at the psion behind him. Grubber blocked the blow with the haft of his maul, and clashed with the swordsman, their footwork bringing them both dangerously close to the edge of the gaping pit. Faust turned to find the Wormcaller again, but just as he did, the priest conjured a dispelling field solely around the psion. Faust felt spell after spell, and power after power fade away, and he did not have the resources to replenish his defenses. Storm watched from her position of relative safety, and an idea came to her. If a Feeblemind spell could neutralize as potent a psion as Faust, perhaps it could do the same on the Wormcaller. The sorceress chanted the words to the spell and focused the magic on the priest, but the creature did not so much as glance her way. If it even noticed her attempt, it gave no sign. Drasek did, however, get the Wormcaller’s full attention. Calling upon the Deific Vengeance of Kelemvor, he began to recite a litany of the priest’s crimes, crimes made worse by the creature’s transition to unlife. The priest quailed before the diatribe, and Hawk took the opportunity to rush forward, slashing at the Wormcaller and smiting it with the power of Helm. “I’ll handle this from here boys,” Faust said in a low, menacing voice, as he stepped to the library door. Concentrating, his used his vast mental powers to seize control of the Wormcaller’s motor functions, taking over its body in full. Like a puppet, he commanded it to begin walking forward. As it passed Hawk, the civilar swung again, carving large chunks from its flesh. Unable to defend itself, it continued past the paladin, and then past Drasek as well. The inquisitor smashed his maul into its chest as it approached, and caved in its sternum. The Wormcaller went limp, though it did not fall, still in the grip of Faust’s body control. Like a rag doll, the psion cast it aside. Slowly, the last Sword backed Grubber closer and closer to the lip of the pit. Havok hurled an eldritch spear into it, but the warrior did not relent. Storm flung an orb of corrosive acid upon it, and still it persevered. Grubber felt his back foot slip on the edge of the chasm. “Grubber, move!” Drasek cried. The goliath suddenly stopped resisting the Sword, and fell to one side, landing heavily on the brink of the precipice. Behind the Sword, Drasek charged. Lowering one shoulder, he slammed into the creature, which teetered precariously on the edge. The inquisitor drove the Sword into the open air above the abyss, and it dropped silently out of sight into the void. The library wavered and shimmered as the last Sword fell, and suddenly a human man appeared at one of the desks nearby. A strange, gray-skinned humanoid creature with six arms stood at his shoulder. The man studied a collection of worn and pitted bronze disks arrayed on the desk before him. Faint etchings adorned the plates, and it seemed as if the alien figures and symbols writhed together at the behest of some sinister will. The gray creature pointed to one of the plates, and a look of sudden comprehension bloomed on the man’s face. The man, the creature, and the plates then faded away, and were gone. “That’s the same creature we saw in the previous vision,” Giovanni remarked. “I didn’t notice a creature like that in the vision we first witnessed on entering the city,” Faust replied questioningly. “Oh yes, I forgot,” the warlock answered. “You were…not yourself when we saw the second vision. It was after we slew the eladrin.” “Ah,” Faust nodded. “Well, for your information, that ‘creature’ was a spell weaver. An undead one if I’m not mistaken.” “What is a spell weaver?” Grubber questioned. “I thought you might ask,” Faust said, warming to the topic. “Spell weavers were an ancient race who steeped themselves in strange, arcane research. Their accomplishments were said to be far beyond anything we could imagine today. They supposedly died out centuries, if not millennia ago, although I have heard rumors that one might have been involved with that nasty business in Cauldron a few years back.” “Cauldron?” Grubber asked again. “You haven’t heard of it?” Faust said in surprise. “Its picture was on Malchor’s wall, and the archmage even spoke of it when he told us of the predictions that were the harbingers of the Age of Worms. ‘The ruin of a city built in a bowl.’ He was speaking of Cauldron. The city was built inside a supposedly dormant volcano, but it was destroyed when that same volcano erupted. All sorts of tales abound as to what caused it, but the most popular one is about demons trying to open up some sort of Gate within the city to stage an invasion of our plane. Balderdash if you ask me.” “Well, regardless of what occurred in Cauldron,” Hawk said, “it is obvious that Kyuss was involved with at least one of these creatures, and it would appear that it was the one that gave him the knowledge to begin his divine ascension.” “Perhaps the library itself will tell us more…” Giovanni said, walking over to a podium where a book lay open, untouched by the fire caused by Storm’s spell. The book showed a strange diagram of a rune-covered worm inside a human head. The worm seemed to be whispering words into the human’s brain. Giovanni stared at for a moment, before slowly lifting his eyes to the jars which contained the floating worms. Three of the jars had been destroyed by the fireball, but nine still remained. Crossing the room to the nearest shelf, he lifted one of the jars to examine it more closely. As he had suspected, the worm was covered with strange, tiny runes. “They’re knowledge receptacles,” he said absently, still studying the floating worm. “What??” Grubber asked, incredulous. “You heard me,” the warlock replied. “Each of these…things…contains information about a certain area of study.” He began examining each jar in turn. “There are four disciplines in all: history, arcana, religion, and planar facts.” “But…how are you supposed to access the information?” the goliath asked, dreading the answer. Giovanni looked up at him and smiled, “Isn’t it obvious? You eat one.” The entire team looked revolted, except Faust, who seemed intrigued. “But won’t that expose you to infection?” Hawk asked. Giovanni nodded. “Yes. It’s a calculated risk.” “I’ll take it,” Faust said, lifting one of the jars and opening it. Before anyone could protest, he plucked the wriggling worm from the solution and swallowed it whole. The others watched him tensely. Immediately, Faust felt wracking cramps in his abdomen, followed by a searing pain in his back, which began traveling up his spine into his neck, and then his head. All along, however, he heard whispering in his mind, speaking to him of secret religious lore, things long lost from mortal knowledge. As the pain in his head became almost unbearable, he sensed the worm expire, just as the knowledge it imparted took root in his psyche. “Well…?” Grubber asked as Faust recovered from his ordeal. “I can’t say it would be my choice of ways to study, but it beats pulling an all-nighter.” He described to them what he had felt and what he learned. It was decided that he, Grubber and Havok would consume six of the remaining worms. Havok ate two of arcane lore, and one of planar, Grubber one of religion and one history, and Faust the last of the planar worms. All of them endured the grisly ritual, and the pain it inflicted, but all emerged otherwise unscathed. The final two worms they would take back to Malchor for further study. The remaining books in the library contained a vast storehouse of research on all of the areas covered by the knowledge worms, but it would take days, if not weeks to catalogue it all. The group decided to leave them for the time being and retrieve them later if possible. Back in the temple, they discovered that each of the narrow stairways leading up ended at a hidden door which opened out onto one of the high steps of the ziggurat. Nothing more was to be discovered in the upper level. That left but one choice…the abyss. At first, the team thought to start at one of the wormholes in the side of the pit. Perhaps by following one of them, they could wind their way to the bottom without having to descend the shaft itself. They were sure to meet more of the worm nagas on the way, but dealing with them individually would be far better than being targets for them in the main pit. However, they quickly discovered that the tunnels were a chaotic, twisting maze, and it would take hours for them to find a path down. Plan B involved Faust using his ability to Dimension Door to take them to the worm hole closest to the bottom of the pit that he had seen. It would place them some forty feet above the end of the shaft. Doing so would require one of the group to ride inside Shay’s bag of holding. It was Giovanni who volunteered. When they appeared inside the opening to the worm hole, the shaft itself had tapered down to a mere twelve feet in diameter. Similar holes opened into the shaft at the other three compass points. Grubber was the first to be able to take full stock of their surroundings, and the first thing he noticed was the baleful glare of a worm naga staring at him from no more than twenty feet further down the tunnel. Remembering Faust’s warning about the power of the nagas’ eyes, the goliath quickly averted his gaze and then charged down the tunnel, maul raised and a war-cry on his lips. His eyes on the ground just in front of him, he was unable to gauge his distance accurately, and his blow fell just short of the worm. Storm also recalled Faust’s words, and in addition she remembered that he had said arcansists were inherently more susceptible to the feeblemind effect. She wasn’t quite sure how the psion had come to this conclusion, but she wasn’t about to test it. Closing her eyes firmly, she pictured a point in the worm hole on the opposite side of the shaft from where she and her companions stood. Speaking the words to her own Dimension Door spell, she vanished and reappeared at her chosen spot, eyes still shut. It was then that she heard the faint scrape of scales on stone coming from directly in front of her. Hawk was right behind Grubber, his eyes turned away from the fiend. The civilar had the advantage over the priest, however, in that he was trained to rely on his other senses when in combat. His blade struck true, and he willed electricity through it, shocking the naga as he drew out its life blood. Faust waded past the civilar and the goliath. His eyes were shut, as they had been since he’d reentered the temple, relying on his Touchsight to guide him. Reaching for the naga, he wrapped his muscular troll arms around it, hugging it to his chest, holding it immobile while at the same time preventing it from bringing its arsenal of spells to bear. Writhing and hissing in the psion/troll’s grasp, the naga lunged at Faust’s face with its razor-sharp teeth. Instinctively, Faust flinched, loosening his grip just enough for the worm to slip through his arms. Moving with amazing speed, the naga quickly disappeared around a bend in the tunnel. Drasek hastily loosened the knot binding the magical bag shut. Upending the sack, he dumped Havok unceremoniously to the floor. “You’re on,” he said to the warlock. Before Storm could even open her eyes, she heard the naga speaking in the language of magic, and recognized the spell just before the blast of cold air and ice shards struck her. It was the last thing she heard or saw. Drasek and Havok saw the drow fall an instant before the same blast rolled over them, chilling them to their marrow. Grubber felt his mind-link with Storm vanish, and he knew the sorceress was dead. Still, there might be time to save her. Turning back down the tunnel, he hurried to Drasek, praying as he moved. When he reached the inquisitor, he touched him on the shoulders, granting him the celestial aspect of the winged angels. Drasek nodded in understanding, he too having felt the loss of mental contact with Storm. Taking to the air, he soared the short distance across the shaft to the opposite tunnel. Careful not to meet the gaze of the naga, the inquisitor called upon Kelemvor not to take the drow’s soul just yet. As he laid one hand upon her brow, he felt warmth return to her skin, and saw her chest rise and fall with her respirations, though she still remained unconscious. Hawk didn’t have time to spare see what was happening with his comrades, though he guessed at Storm’s fate. Instead, he pursued the fleeing naga, catching up to it just around the corner. His eyes still averted, he swung again, but this time his skills failed him, and his blade cut only air. Havok scrambled to his feet, trying to shake off his momentary disorientation. To his right, he saw Hawk disappear around a bend. To his left, he saw Storm’s body lying on the ground before a worm naga, Drasek facing off with it on the other side of the fallen sorceress. Quickly turning his eyes away, he loosed an eldritch spear, but the shot went just wide of the mark, striking the wall inches from the naga’s head. His quickened follow-up, however, was right on target, gouging a deep fissure across the worm’s carapace. Enraged, the naga before Drasek spoke its spell a second time, unleashing a second cone of cold. Drasek took the blast full force, as did Havok in the tunnel behind him. Unfortunately, the newly revivified Storm was also caught in the blast. Drasek saw her life-force wink out once again. Hawk’s opponent prepared to strike at the civilar, a potent spell on its lips. However, at precisely that moment, Faust rounded the corner, and manifested a circular wall of fire around the naga, with one edge of the barrier passing directly through half of the worm. It reeled, and tried to move away from the flames, but Hawk was there. Praying to Helm to grant him strength, he buried his sword deep behind the naga’s neck, momentarily stunning the creature as he connected. Havok was weak, his armor doing everything in its power to keep him alive. Concentrating one more time, he fired another blast at the naga across the shaft. As the blast struck, the naga shriveled into an unrecognizable husk. Drasek knew of only one other way to save Storm. Though the prayer he requested was normally used to grant a soul slain before its time one final chance at vengeance against its killer, this time it would temporarily restore Storm’s life for a few minutes. When the spell expired, Storm would die, and Drasek would attempt to Revivify her once more. The stunned naga was unable to remove itself from Faust’s burning energy wall, and so it continued to cook in the roaring flames. Not wanting to waste further needless mental energy to no purpose, the psion instead charged forward, slashing at the worm with his claws. At the same time, Hawk struck as well, his sword disemboweling the creature. “We should keep going,” Faust said after the team had regrouped in the first tunnel. “Storm’s not doing so well,” Drasek said pointedly. “What are you talking about?” the sorceress asked. “I am a little bruised, but otherwise I feel fine.” Drasek turned to her, his face grim. “You are fine…for now, but the spell I cast to restore your life is of limited duration. You have maybe another ten minutes to live.” The drow stared at him, shocked. “You mean I going to die again!? Why did you bring me back then? Just so I could suffer?” “Not at all,” the inquisitor said, placing his hands on Storm’s shoulders to calm her. “I only have the ability to perform one more Revivification prayer today. If I had done it while the naga was still alive, it would have just killed you again, and then you might have been lost to us forever. This way, when you die, I will restore you permanently, and heal you in the bargain.” Storm nodded in understanding, and then looked into Drasek’s eyes. “Why not just kill myself now? Get if over with?” “I can’t allow you to do that,” he replied calmly. “Kelemvor sees suicide as an abomination. Just wait. I assure you that your death will be painless.” “Which is more than I can say for the rest of us if we stay here until more of those nagas come,” Faust snapped. “Then we should leave until Storm has regained her strength,” Drasek said flatly. “And I say we should move on,” Faust argued. “We know those worms are in the room below us. We can at least clear that threat out of our path and see what lies beyond. If our resources are too taxed, we can retreat then.” For a moment, there was silence, and then everyone looked at Hawk. “We go on,” he said after a time. “We take as many of them by surprise as we can now. I fear what forces may be arrayed against us if we continue to let our enemies know that we are coming, yet are unable to finish the task. Preparations were made. Storm rendered Faust invisible. The troll/psion then quaffed a fly potion, and descended into the rapidly narrowing shaft, until he was just above the opening in the ceiling of the lower room. Grubber drank his own potion, enabling him to climb the sheer walls of the pit like a spider, and he quickly moved to join Faust. Drasek was the last to follow, still using his wings that Grubber had granted him. The others remained in the tunnels above, ready to lend support if need be. Faust peered into the small chamber below, and beheld the thousands of writhing worms blanketing the floor. Unfortunately, his deafness prevented him from hearing another sound…the scuttling of something large moving his way, followed by a very familiar clicking. Storm was just preparing to cast an invisibility spell upon herself when the clicking noise filled the air. She clenched her eyes shut, but could not drive out the sound. Slowly, hands covering her ears, she sank to the floor of the wormhole. Faust quickly descended into the chamber, noticing the beetle for the first time. He also noticed that all of the worms were slithering from the room. Half disappeared through an archway to the west. As Faust watched them go, he could see the room beyond, the floor of which was covered with perfectly preserved corpses, arrayed head-to-toe in neat rows. Thick dust obscured the walls and floors, signs of the chamber’s great age, yet no trace of decay touched the corpses. The massive green stone blocks that lined the chamber were covered with ancient symbols resembling coiling worms. Another group of worms had crawled down a short southern passage. Beyond it, Faust could just see what appeared to be an immense cavern filled with a horrific sea of writhing green and the nauseating susurrus of millions of slimy bodies slithering over each other. One clump of worms remained, directly under the hole in the ceiling. “Not so fast, my wriggling friends,” the psion muttered, and he loosed a cone of fiery power down the western hallway. It engulfed the slithering horde, and also the swarm still in the chamber with him. Unfortunately, his attack ended his concealment. With a target plainly in view, the eviscerator beetle charged, clamping its mandibles around the troll’s thigh. Grubber clung to the top of the hole like the spider who’s power he was emulating. Into the center of the room, he unleashed a Storm of Shards, the razor-sharp blades spilling into the corridors beyond. The remaining worms in the western corridor were obliterated, as was the group directly below him. “Faust’s in trouble!” he called over his shoulder, back up the shaft. Back in the wormhole, Havok unfurled a scroll. Reading the arcane writing upon it, he spoke the name of Magmus Moltenspear, summoning the noble salamander from his home in the City of Brass. The elemental appeared in the center of the chamber, beneath Grubber. “Your enemies are mine, master,” he said, “for now…” Gripping his great, iron spear in both hands, Magmus stabbed at the eviscerator beetle again and again, each blow leaving gaping holes in its already crumbling carapace. Drasek folded his wings and dropped past Grubber to land in the room adjacent to Faust, his eyes darting to the three exits from the room, wary of other enemies. Behind him, Storm had managed to free herself of the beetle’s enthrallment, and had rendered herself invisible. She glided silently down the shaft, and into the room, hovering just near the ceiling. At that moment, Drasek spotted movement from the western hall, in the room lined with corpses. “We’ve got company,” he said. A Wormcaller and three Swords of Kyuss appeared in the entry to the far chamber. The undead priest immediately gestured, and a powerful dispelling field filled the near room. Instantly, Magmus vanished, the summoning spell undone. Likewise, Storm’s cloak of invisibility was stripped away, as were several defensive spells upon Grubber, Drasek and Faust. “Time to go gentlemen,” Hawk said, the civilar dropping through the ceiling hole and landing near the others. “I’ll hold the retreat.” Faust manifested two glowing missiles of pure energy, one at the beetle, and the second at the Wormcaller, before leaping towards the ceiling. As he left the ground, the beetle lunged at him, taking a large bite out of his right foot. The beetle then rounded on Drasek, closing the distance between them rapidly. The inquisitor fended off the undead horror’s assault, and loosed one final spell at the approaching Wormcaller and Swords. The Diamond Spray ripped into the minions of Kyuss, but did not stop their advance. Shaking his head, Drasek flew towards the ceiling as well, but again the beetle attacked, pulling off one of his boots, but luckily not his foot. “Grubber, go!” Hawk called, but he saw that the goliath was clutching his head in agony. The beetle again. ‘We’re in trouble,’ the civilar thought. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
JollyDoc's Age of Worms (Updated 11/30, Epilogue!)
Top