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Piratecat's storyhour reborn! (updated July 4, 2006)
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<blockquote data-quote="Piratecat" data-source="post: 2830387" data-attributes="member: 2"><p><strong><em>Part 3: Fire and Stone</em></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>TomTom Badgerclaw hugged the outside wall of a mud and daub hut, confident that no one could see him. He could hear people stirring nearby, a baby crying somewhere, hymns being sung as several people prayed. He didn’t recognize the language. There was the muted slap of tiny boots and the gentle click of a closing door latch. Then the turn of a key.</p><p></p><p>Good, Pickett had gone inside.</p><p></p><p><em>Gnomes. You just couldn’t trust them. Gnomes were too much like squirrels.</em> TomTom slipped his head around the corner. Ahead of him was one of the more sturdily constructed huts. It stood at the edge of the muddy path fifty feet away, and it had no windows. It did, however, have a familiar raven perched jauntily on its roof. </p><p></p><p>“Squork?” asked Raevynn. The druid seemed impatient.</p><p></p><p>TomTom narrowed his eyebrows at the bird and it bobbed its head in annoyance. A gentle mental <em>push</em>, and TomTom and Raevynn were psychically linked. Raevynn’s mental signature was one of surprise.</p><p></p><p><em>“You can do that?”</em> she asked mentally.</p><p></p><p>“Obviously.” TomTom moved up to the door and examined it with a critical eye. He started low and moved upwards. The bird shifted from one leg to the other.</p><p></p><p><em> “I now know why we forgot what happened yesterday. Obviously, we were so bored by waiting that we blanked it out of our minds.” </em> Her tone was acid. <em> “Can we hurry a bit, please? Or do I need to change back and open the door myself?” </em></p><p></p><p>“If you want to set off the trap.” TomTom glared at her, fully meeting her black and beady bird eyes. “There’s some sort of magical rune on this door. Thanks all the same, but I’m going to disarm it so it doesn't go off.” Raevynn squorked once and then fell quiet, keeping watch from the roof as Tomtom brushed away the pale pigment of the rune.</p><p></p><p><em> “What would it have done?”</em></p><p></p><p>“I have no idea. Let’s see if anyone is actually inside.” </p><p></p><p>The halfling pulled out a small cone. His ear went against the cone, and the cone went against the wooden door; he’d only had one encounter with the verminous grubs known as ‘ear seekers,’ but that had been enough. Caution never hurt anyone. </p><p></p><p>Silence.</p><p></p><p>He idly picked open the poor quality lock and eased the door wide. Pickett had disappeared. The inside of the hut was a shambles, but not the sort of mess that results from a fight. Soiled clothing lay draped on moldy food scraps. Chairs lay where they had been tipped over by gnomes too lazy to set them upright. The smell was of old boots after a long hike. </p><p></p><p><em> “This?” </em> said Raevynn. <em> “This is not normal forest gnome behavior.” </em></p><p></p><p>“I’ll agree with you there.” TomTom turned slowly in place, his eyes finally settling on a section of moderately clear floor underneath the low table. “Stand back,” he said. “A trapdoor, and maybe another trap.”</p><p></p><p>He bent over the flooring, and the edge of his finger crossed an unseen spider-thin web of magical energy. The floor erupted in flame with a dull <strong>“whump!”</strong> TomTom’s reflexes were good enough that he flipped his small body up onto the filthy table, avoiding the blast entirely. Raevynn was nowhere near as lucky. The smell of charred feathers filled the air, and she forced her body back into half-elven shape so that she could beat out the flames. </p><p></p><p>“Ouch?” asked TomTom.</p><p></p><p>“Ouch,” confirmed Raevynn. Her arms were livid from the partially healed burns. “That really hurt.”</p><p></p><p>“Whoever set it is more powerful than we are, I’m guessing.” TomTom eyed the now untrapped trapdoor with distrust. “We should probably get the others.” Then something scuttled across the thatching overhead. TomTom turned and pivoted, the magical jambiya at his belt flung up in one smooth motion. It <em>thunked</em> into something small and whirled back around into Tomtom’s hand. The carcass of a small rodent fell from the thatching onto the detritus at Raevynn’s feet.</p><p></p><p>“Squirrel?” asked TomTom. He thought it was, but now the silhouette looked wrong.</p><p></p><p>“No,” said Raevynn in disgust. She dangled the dead animal from two fingers, pinching its red bushy tail. “An abomination. Half squirrel, half snake. Half viper, to be exact.” Her face was red with fury. “An abomination of nature. Didn’t Rofan mention ‘squakes’? This is no holy place, no temple of Galanna! I think it’s much more likely to be. . .”</p><p></p><p>Raevynn was interrupted when something ripped the top of the hut off.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px">"Orrrrthysssss."</span> Looming over them was a massive statue of twisted, inconstant stone. Ancient cobblestones and the stone foundation of huts were embedded in its side, and its face was caked with the rutted tracks of a wagon. It rumbled in a grating thrum, and a huge stone fist smashed down into the hut’s interior.</p><p></p><p>-- o --</p><p></p><p>“What in the world is that?” Sir Valdek stared up at the stone behemoth in amazement, then pulled down the visor of his helm. He didn’t wait for an answer. Warwinner cleared his sheath as he ran down the road towards the earthen abomination.</p><p></p><p>Velendo blinked. “It looks like an earth elemental. But those are small, a lot smaller than that, at least. I’ve never seen one that big!” <em>Only once,</em> he thought, <em>and that one was was the size of a mountain. I suppose I should count myself lucky.</em> He turned to Rofan. “You’ve seen these before?”</p><p></p><p>The prophet looked confused. “I… I think so? I’m not sure I remember. I think Galanna sends them to punish non-believers.” His eyes grew wide. “It must be one of you! One of you doesn’t believe, and she has sent the earth to smite you!”</p><p></p><p>Nolin snorted in contempt. “It wasn’t Galanna who sent that. And I have the sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it is trying to kill TomTom.” He turned and sprinted towards the hut, hard on the heels of the rest of the Defenders. Rofan stood in confusion and watched them go. </p><p></p><p>“The goddess. . .”</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">“Don’t worry,” </span>said a gnome who suddenly appeared at his side. The little creature’s face was twisted into something ugly. <span style="font-size: 9px"> “We won’t let the heretics hurt you, great Prophet. We’ll see to that.”</span> The gnome scuttled after the Defenders of Daybreak, disappearing into the brush at the side of the path.</p><p></p><p>"Good?" asked Rofan. He watched them run away from him, and watched as the elder elemental stood up and silhouetted itself against the late afternoon sun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Piratecat, post: 2830387, member: 2"] [b][i]Part 3: Fire and Stone[/i][/b][i][/i] TomTom Badgerclaw hugged the outside wall of a mud and daub hut, confident that no one could see him. He could hear people stirring nearby, a baby crying somewhere, hymns being sung as several people prayed. He didn’t recognize the language. There was the muted slap of tiny boots and the gentle click of a closing door latch. Then the turn of a key. Good, Pickett had gone inside. [i]Gnomes. You just couldn’t trust them. Gnomes were too much like squirrels.[/i] TomTom slipped his head around the corner. Ahead of him was one of the more sturdily constructed huts. It stood at the edge of the muddy path fifty feet away, and it had no windows. It did, however, have a familiar raven perched jauntily on its roof. “Squork?” asked Raevynn. The druid seemed impatient. TomTom narrowed his eyebrows at the bird and it bobbed its head in annoyance. A gentle mental [i]push[/i], and TomTom and Raevynn were psychically linked. Raevynn’s mental signature was one of surprise. [i]“You can do that?”[/i] she asked mentally. “Obviously.” TomTom moved up to the door and examined it with a critical eye. He started low and moved upwards. The bird shifted from one leg to the other. [i] “I now know why we forgot what happened yesterday. Obviously, we were so bored by waiting that we blanked it out of our minds.” [/i] Her tone was acid. [i] “Can we hurry a bit, please? Or do I need to change back and open the door myself?” [/i] “If you want to set off the trap.” TomTom glared at her, fully meeting her black and beady bird eyes. “There’s some sort of magical rune on this door. Thanks all the same, but I’m going to disarm it so it doesn't go off.” Raevynn squorked once and then fell quiet, keeping watch from the roof as Tomtom brushed away the pale pigment of the rune. [i] “What would it have done?”[/i] “I have no idea. Let’s see if anyone is actually inside.” The halfling pulled out a small cone. His ear went against the cone, and the cone went against the wooden door; he’d only had one encounter with the verminous grubs known as ‘ear seekers,’ but that had been enough. Caution never hurt anyone. Silence. He idly picked open the poor quality lock and eased the door wide. Pickett had disappeared. The inside of the hut was a shambles, but not the sort of mess that results from a fight. Soiled clothing lay draped on moldy food scraps. Chairs lay where they had been tipped over by gnomes too lazy to set them upright. The smell was of old boots after a long hike. [i] “This?” [/i] said Raevynn. [i] “This is not normal forest gnome behavior.” [/i] “I’ll agree with you there.” TomTom turned slowly in place, his eyes finally settling on a section of moderately clear floor underneath the low table. “Stand back,” he said. “A trapdoor, and maybe another trap.” He bent over the flooring, and the edge of his finger crossed an unseen spider-thin web of magical energy. The floor erupted in flame with a dull [b]“whump!”[/b] TomTom’s reflexes were good enough that he flipped his small body up onto the filthy table, avoiding the blast entirely. Raevynn was nowhere near as lucky. The smell of charred feathers filled the air, and she forced her body back into half-elven shape so that she could beat out the flames. “Ouch?” asked TomTom. “Ouch,” confirmed Raevynn. Her arms were livid from the partially healed burns. “That really hurt.” “Whoever set it is more powerful than we are, I’m guessing.” TomTom eyed the now untrapped trapdoor with distrust. “We should probably get the others.” Then something scuttled across the thatching overhead. TomTom turned and pivoted, the magical jambiya at his belt flung up in one smooth motion. It [i]thunked[/i] into something small and whirled back around into Tomtom’s hand. The carcass of a small rodent fell from the thatching onto the detritus at Raevynn’s feet. “Squirrel?” asked TomTom. He thought it was, but now the silhouette looked wrong. “No,” said Raevynn in disgust. She dangled the dead animal from two fingers, pinching its red bushy tail. “An abomination. Half squirrel, half snake. Half viper, to be exact.” Her face was red with fury. “An abomination of nature. Didn’t Rofan mention ‘squakes’? This is no holy place, no temple of Galanna! I think it’s much more likely to be. . .” Raevynn was interrupted when something ripped the top of the hut off. [size=4]"Orrrrthysssss."[/size] Looming over them was a massive statue of twisted, inconstant stone. Ancient cobblestones and the stone foundation of huts were embedded in its side, and its face was caked with the rutted tracks of a wagon. It rumbled in a grating thrum, and a huge stone fist smashed down into the hut’s interior. -- o -- “What in the world is that?” Sir Valdek stared up at the stone behemoth in amazement, then pulled down the visor of his helm. He didn’t wait for an answer. Warwinner cleared his sheath as he ran down the road towards the earthen abomination. Velendo blinked. “It looks like an earth elemental. But those are small, a lot smaller than that, at least. I’ve never seen one that big!” [i]Only once,[/i] he thought, [i]and that one was was the size of a mountain. I suppose I should count myself lucky.[/i] He turned to Rofan. “You’ve seen these before?” The prophet looked confused. “I… I think so? I’m not sure I remember. I think Galanna sends them to punish non-believers.” His eyes grew wide. “It must be one of you! One of you doesn’t believe, and she has sent the earth to smite you!” Nolin snorted in contempt. “It wasn’t Galanna who sent that. And I have the sneaking suspicion that whoever sent it is trying to kill TomTom.” He turned and sprinted towards the hut, hard on the heels of the rest of the Defenders. Rofan stood in confusion and watched them go. “The goddess. . .” [size=1]“Don’t worry,” [/size]said a gnome who suddenly appeared at his side. The little creature’s face was twisted into something ugly. [size=1] “We won’t let the heretics hurt you, great Prophet. We’ll see to that.”[/size] The gnome scuttled after the Defenders of Daybreak, disappearing into the brush at the side of the path. "Good?" asked Rofan. He watched them run away from him, and watched as the elder elemental stood up and silhouetted itself against the late afternoon sun. [/QUOTE]
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