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JollyDoc's Serpent's Skull-updated 11/6/2011
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<blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 5712960" data-attributes="member: 9546"><p><strong>Snakes and Monkies</strong></p><p></p><p>The Bastards moved carefully across the jungle-choked ruins towards two vine-covered mounds that might once have been buildings. Suddenly, a cacophony of hoots and growls came from the trees around them. Soon the cries were picked up some distance away. In the tree branches above, three charau-ka crouched, their fangs bared, and rocks clutched in their hands. One of them pelted Jack in the chest, while another pegged Nkechi in the back of the head, sending the old man reeling. Lyrissa turned towards the ape-men and unleashed a blistering tirade of the most vicious invectives her companions had ever heard. The charau-ka grabbed their ears and shrieked as their skin burst into flames. They fell from the trees and rolled madly on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire. One of them stopped moving after a moment, a charred husk, and Nessalin stabbed a second one through the back before it could regain its feet. The last one wasn’t as crispy, and it leaped to its feet and charged Zavasta. The alchemist grabbed for a bomb, but the charau-ka was already on him, beating him about the head with its club, and biting into his arm. Then Jack and Lyrissa were there, stabbing the creature repeatedly until it stopped struggling.</p><p>“We need to keep moving!” Nessalin snapped, his eyes going to the trees. “We don’t know how many of these things are still out there. From the sound of it, I’d guess quite a few!”</p><p>_________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Near the center of the ruins stood the shattered remains of three conical cylinders connected by low, thick walls of piled stone. Boab trees burst from crumbling structures, their thick roots and branches devouring large chunks of ancient stonework. The walls surrounded an overgrown courtyard of toppled statues and weathered foundations, with a path of broken cobbles that wound around large, watery pools. Wide marble steps led to a short foyer hedged by low, broken walls. A gnarled boab tree erupted from the floor, its powerful roots twisted through the surrounding flagstones, leaving them cracked and shattered. As Jack and Nessalin led the group across the threshold, a loud snap sounded from above them. A large, stone block that had been suspended overhead plummeted down and smashed to pieces, peppering the rogue and the magus with fist-sized fragments. </p><p>“I’d say they already know we’re here,” Agnar remarked.</p><p></p><p>The courtyard they entered had entire sections of the outer wall that had collapsed into several small tar pits that bubbled up among the ruins. A very large pool stretched through the center of the ruins, a thin layer of black and glassy water on its surface. Crumbling remnants of walls rose from it, while huge slabs of salvaged granite formed a makeshift foundation that supported crude walkways cut from felled trees. As the companions cautiously skirted the pool, four charau-ka suddenly rose up from behind the walls, hooting and yammering as they began to hurl chunks of granite. One of the rocks caught Lyrissa in the temple, and Gorak had to grab the bardess by the arm to keep her from tumbling headlong into the tar pit. Zavasta leaped for cover, tossing a bomb as he tumbled. The acidic explosion caught one of the ape-men full-on, and splashed the others with caustic fluid. Jack ran nimbly across one of the walkways, closing the distance to the charau-ka that was still screaming from the acid bomb. As the rogue drew close, he drew back his rapier and stabbed it neatly through the ape-man’s ear, sending it sprawling into the pool. Suddenly, another of the charau-ka leaped onto the small island behind Jack, and clubbed him behind one knee. Jack turned, his swords coming up defensively, but he saw Gorak looming up behind the creature, and he knew he had nothing to worry about. The big barbarian quickly dispatched the charau-ka, only to find that another one had joined them on the island. It flailed its club at Gorak’s belly, while at the same time the last of the ape-men pelted the half-orc with rocks. Jack stabbed Gorak’s club-wielding assailant, and when it turned on him, the barbarian hacked it to pieces. Jack leaped again and tumbled past the last charau-ka. It clipped him with its cudgel as he passed. He rolled to his feet and batted the club aside, then stabbed the ape-man in the chest. It spun away, only to find itself staring at Gorak’s knocked bow. The barbarian loosed, and the arrow took the charau-ka through the throat.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As the Bastards continued working their way through the ruins of the ancient temple, they came to the remains of one of the outer cylinders, which contained another of the ubiquitous tar pits, again with rough planks splayed crookedly across it. On the near side was a towering marble statue of an elephant. Beyond the tower entrance lay a single, circular chamber, its walls arched inward to form a dome. Across the curved walls coiled a sculpture of a massive, decapitated skeletal serpent formed from thousands of blackened bones pasted to the stone with tar. A single, glittering eye winked from the serpent’s severed head. When the group eased their way past the massive statue, hooting and shouting erupted above them as four more charau-ka stood up from their hiding places atop the elephant. In the room beyond, another charau-ka stepped into view. He wore armor crafted from the skins of giant serpents, and wielded a bloody, tar-soaked mace. His yellow eyes were wide and staring, betraying a madness within. This was Raogru, the self-proclaimed Fang of Ydersius. Behind him was his constant companion, a truly enormous ringed python.</p><p></p><p>Arioch had fully expected an ambush of some sort, and when it came, he was ready. He quickly summoned a golden-pelted leopard right next to the charau-ka priest. The big cat leaped on the ape-man and wrapped him up in its paws. Then it was mayhem around the Bastards as the charau-ka above began hurling chunks of masonry at them. Agnar turned and unleashed a concussive blast of sound at their assailants, sending three of them reeling. Gorak broke from his companions and leaped the short distance across the tar pit to land next to Raogru. He raised his sword to strike the priest down, but in that moment, his eyes locked with the charau-ka’s yellow, slitted ones, and the barbarian felt himself falling into their jaundiced depths. As Raogru kept his hypnotic gaze upon the big half-orc, his serpent companion struck lightning fast, sinking its teeth into the leopard. As the cat drew back, the snake held on, and began wrapping its coils around it. In seconds, the leopard was crushed into a bloody pulp.</p><p></p><p>Zavasta tossed one of his bombs over handed to the top of the elephant statue. It exploded among the charau-ka, soaking them all in burning fluid. One of them snatched up a last stone, and cracked Lyrissa in the head with it. Then Zavasta threw another incindiary, killing the charau-ka warriors instantly.</p><p></p><p>Arioch hastily performed another summoning, and a quartet of earth elementals surfaced around Raogru. The priest began to shriek in an enraged frenzy, and struck Gorak viciously across the head with his mace. Then the elementals were upon him, beating and hammering at him with their stony fists. Finally, one struck Raogru in the back, breaking his spine with an audible snap. The priest fell to the floor writhing in agony as he died, and Gorak was suddenly free again. He turned on the giant serpent and swept its head from its body with a great swing of his blade.</p><p> _______________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>“I thought you said charau-ka were demon worshippers,” Agnar remarked to Nkechi as the group searched the dead priest’s lair.</p><p>The old priest shrugged. “It is true. I have only ever heard such.”</p><p>“Then why are they worshipping a dead snake god?” Agnar wondered aloud.</p><p>“Snakes seem to be a recurring theme,” Jack snorted. “First that snake-headed bitch maroons us on the Shiv, and now we find a snake cult in the one place that is supposed to lead us to the city the snake lady was looking for. Sounds fishy to me.”</p><p>“Don’t you mean snaky?” Nessalin grinned.</p><p>“Have a look at this,” Arioch interrupted. </p><p>The summoner was standing near the bas-relief of the Ydersius on the wall. He was examining the moonstone that comprised the carving’s eye.</p><p>“I’m sensing a faint magic from this,” Arioch said. “I’m going to take it with us.”</p><p>“You say that as if that fact where ever in doubt!” Jack said. “You forget…I’m only in this for the money!”</p><p>___________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>As the Bastards made their way back out of the ancient temple, they literally stumbled upon a trio of charau-ka dressed in shabby acolyte robes in the process of setting three Mwangi dipped in tar on fire. Arioch immediately set his elementals upon the ape-men, but the charau-ka were more than a match. In the end, though they were badly wounded, the acolytes destroyed all four of the elementals, forcing Jack and Gorak to put an end to them themselves. It was too late for two of the prisoners, but the third was still alive, though horribly burned. Nkechi tended to the worst of his wounds, and though he was grateful, he had no information to share about his captors. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the cursed ruins and back to his tribe. The Bastards escorted him back to the walls, and then turned towards the last structure in the compound to be explored…a lone, vine-covered ziggurat.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JollyDoc, post: 5712960, member: 9546"] [b]Snakes and Monkies[/b] The Bastards moved carefully across the jungle-choked ruins towards two vine-covered mounds that might once have been buildings. Suddenly, a cacophony of hoots and growls came from the trees around them. Soon the cries were picked up some distance away. In the tree branches above, three charau-ka crouched, their fangs bared, and rocks clutched in their hands. One of them pelted Jack in the chest, while another pegged Nkechi in the back of the head, sending the old man reeling. Lyrissa turned towards the ape-men and unleashed a blistering tirade of the most vicious invectives her companions had ever heard. The charau-ka grabbed their ears and shrieked as their skin burst into flames. They fell from the trees and rolled madly on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire. One of them stopped moving after a moment, a charred husk, and Nessalin stabbed a second one through the back before it could regain its feet. The last one wasn’t as crispy, and it leaped to its feet and charged Zavasta. The alchemist grabbed for a bomb, but the charau-ka was already on him, beating him about the head with its club, and biting into his arm. Then Jack and Lyrissa were there, stabbing the creature repeatedly until it stopped struggling. “We need to keep moving!” Nessalin snapped, his eyes going to the trees. “We don’t know how many of these things are still out there. From the sound of it, I’d guess quite a few!” _________________________________________________________ Near the center of the ruins stood the shattered remains of three conical cylinders connected by low, thick walls of piled stone. Boab trees burst from crumbling structures, their thick roots and branches devouring large chunks of ancient stonework. The walls surrounded an overgrown courtyard of toppled statues and weathered foundations, with a path of broken cobbles that wound around large, watery pools. Wide marble steps led to a short foyer hedged by low, broken walls. A gnarled boab tree erupted from the floor, its powerful roots twisted through the surrounding flagstones, leaving them cracked and shattered. As Jack and Nessalin led the group across the threshold, a loud snap sounded from above them. A large, stone block that had been suspended overhead plummeted down and smashed to pieces, peppering the rogue and the magus with fist-sized fragments. “I’d say they already know we’re here,” Agnar remarked. The courtyard they entered had entire sections of the outer wall that had collapsed into several small tar pits that bubbled up among the ruins. A very large pool stretched through the center of the ruins, a thin layer of black and glassy water on its surface. Crumbling remnants of walls rose from it, while huge slabs of salvaged granite formed a makeshift foundation that supported crude walkways cut from felled trees. As the companions cautiously skirted the pool, four charau-ka suddenly rose up from behind the walls, hooting and yammering as they began to hurl chunks of granite. One of the rocks caught Lyrissa in the temple, and Gorak had to grab the bardess by the arm to keep her from tumbling headlong into the tar pit. Zavasta leaped for cover, tossing a bomb as he tumbled. The acidic explosion caught one of the ape-men full-on, and splashed the others with caustic fluid. Jack ran nimbly across one of the walkways, closing the distance to the charau-ka that was still screaming from the acid bomb. As the rogue drew close, he drew back his rapier and stabbed it neatly through the ape-man’s ear, sending it sprawling into the pool. Suddenly, another of the charau-ka leaped onto the small island behind Jack, and clubbed him behind one knee. Jack turned, his swords coming up defensively, but he saw Gorak looming up behind the creature, and he knew he had nothing to worry about. The big barbarian quickly dispatched the charau-ka, only to find that another one had joined them on the island. It flailed its club at Gorak’s belly, while at the same time the last of the ape-men pelted the half-orc with rocks. Jack stabbed Gorak’s club-wielding assailant, and when it turned on him, the barbarian hacked it to pieces. Jack leaped again and tumbled past the last charau-ka. It clipped him with its cudgel as he passed. He rolled to his feet and batted the club aside, then stabbed the ape-man in the chest. It spun away, only to find itself staring at Gorak’s knocked bow. The barbarian loosed, and the arrow took the charau-ka through the throat. As the Bastards continued working their way through the ruins of the ancient temple, they came to the remains of one of the outer cylinders, which contained another of the ubiquitous tar pits, again with rough planks splayed crookedly across it. On the near side was a towering marble statue of an elephant. Beyond the tower entrance lay a single, circular chamber, its walls arched inward to form a dome. Across the curved walls coiled a sculpture of a massive, decapitated skeletal serpent formed from thousands of blackened bones pasted to the stone with tar. A single, glittering eye winked from the serpent’s severed head. When the group eased their way past the massive statue, hooting and shouting erupted above them as four more charau-ka stood up from their hiding places atop the elephant. In the room beyond, another charau-ka stepped into view. He wore armor crafted from the skins of giant serpents, and wielded a bloody, tar-soaked mace. His yellow eyes were wide and staring, betraying a madness within. This was Raogru, the self-proclaimed Fang of Ydersius. Behind him was his constant companion, a truly enormous ringed python. Arioch had fully expected an ambush of some sort, and when it came, he was ready. He quickly summoned a golden-pelted leopard right next to the charau-ka priest. The big cat leaped on the ape-man and wrapped him up in its paws. Then it was mayhem around the Bastards as the charau-ka above began hurling chunks of masonry at them. Agnar turned and unleashed a concussive blast of sound at their assailants, sending three of them reeling. Gorak broke from his companions and leaped the short distance across the tar pit to land next to Raogru. He raised his sword to strike the priest down, but in that moment, his eyes locked with the charau-ka’s yellow, slitted ones, and the barbarian felt himself falling into their jaundiced depths. As Raogru kept his hypnotic gaze upon the big half-orc, his serpent companion struck lightning fast, sinking its teeth into the leopard. As the cat drew back, the snake held on, and began wrapping its coils around it. In seconds, the leopard was crushed into a bloody pulp. Zavasta tossed one of his bombs over handed to the top of the elephant statue. It exploded among the charau-ka, soaking them all in burning fluid. One of them snatched up a last stone, and cracked Lyrissa in the head with it. Then Zavasta threw another incindiary, killing the charau-ka warriors instantly. Arioch hastily performed another summoning, and a quartet of earth elementals surfaced around Raogru. The priest began to shriek in an enraged frenzy, and struck Gorak viciously across the head with his mace. Then the elementals were upon him, beating and hammering at him with their stony fists. Finally, one struck Raogru in the back, breaking his spine with an audible snap. The priest fell to the floor writhing in agony as he died, and Gorak was suddenly free again. He turned on the giant serpent and swept its head from its body with a great swing of his blade. _______________________________________________________ “I thought you said charau-ka were demon worshippers,” Agnar remarked to Nkechi as the group searched the dead priest’s lair. The old priest shrugged. “It is true. I have only ever heard such.” “Then why are they worshipping a dead snake god?” Agnar wondered aloud. “Snakes seem to be a recurring theme,” Jack snorted. “First that snake-headed bitch maroons us on the Shiv, and now we find a snake cult in the one place that is supposed to lead us to the city the snake lady was looking for. Sounds fishy to me.” “Don’t you mean snaky?” Nessalin grinned. “Have a look at this,” Arioch interrupted. The summoner was standing near the bas-relief of the Ydersius on the wall. He was examining the moonstone that comprised the carving’s eye. “I’m sensing a faint magic from this,” Arioch said. “I’m going to take it with us.” “You say that as if that fact where ever in doubt!” Jack said. “You forget…I’m only in this for the money!” ___________________________________________________________ As the Bastards made their way back out of the ancient temple, they literally stumbled upon a trio of charau-ka dressed in shabby acolyte robes in the process of setting three Mwangi dipped in tar on fire. Arioch immediately set his elementals upon the ape-men, but the charau-ka were more than a match. In the end, though they were badly wounded, the acolytes destroyed all four of the elementals, forcing Jack and Gorak to put an end to them themselves. It was too late for two of the prisoners, but the third was still alive, though horribly burned. Nkechi tended to the worst of his wounds, and though he was grateful, he had no information to share about his captors. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the cursed ruins and back to his tribe. The Bastards escorted him back to the walls, and then turned towards the last structure in the compound to be explored…a lone, vine-covered ziggurat. [/QUOTE]
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