Sniktch
First Post
First drow sighting
As soon as Malobar was cured of the effects of the poison he headed in the direction of the exit. Throughout the fight, he had been aware of a black-skinned, white-haired figure that kept peeking into the room and watching the battle.
He quietly informed the others. “I think there are dark elves in the next room – one of them kept watching the battle,” he explained. “Stay out of sight but close to the entrance in case I need help. I’m going to try to find out some more information.”
The elf withdrew a steel vial from his belt and swallowed the contents. Instantly he began to undergo a startling transformation; his hair turned white, his skin black as coal, and his armor and weapons also underwent a metamorphosis, now resembling the adornments of a common drow soldier. He had spent much time in the underdark during his career, and he knew a fair bit about his dark brethren and their ways, as well as the ability to speak undercommon fluently.
When he was satisfied that his magical disguise was complete he strolled casually into the next room. It was another moldy old crypt, again with thick sheets of spider web hanging down from the ceiling. In the middle of the floor sat a beautiful female drow, completely nude and sobbing into her hands. She raised a tear-streaked face and her jaw dropped in astonishment to see another dark elf before her.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Malobar replied. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
She answered with another question, “Are you a Spider Kisser?”
The rogue tried to think. He couldn’t remember hearing this term before, but it sounded derogatory. “Uh, no,” he admitted.
“Then what goddess do you pledge faith to?” she demanded.
He considered the question. So that was what “Spider Kisser” meant, she had wanted to know if he was a follower of Lolth. He tried to think of the other drow deities, but his mind was coming up blank. “I serve Eilistraee,” he finally responded.
Her beautiful features scrunched up in rage. “Surface dwelling scum!” she spat at him. “Prepare to meet your doom!”
She hopped to her feet and began climbing up the wall, undergoing a curious change. Extra sets of long, thin legs began sprouting from her sides, her face melted and reformed into the head of a spider, and soon it was a man-sized arachnid crawling across the wall and not the lovely woman with whom he’d been speaking. He recognized the creature as an aranea, a race of intelligent spiders that possessed the power to alter their form.
A second aranea dropped from the ceiling, taking the form of a female dark elf on its descent and attacking him with a rapier and light pick. He parried the initial strike and began shouting for help, then launched into an attack routine of his own, also failing to score a hit. He heard his companions enter the room as he dodged another blow, then a sheet of webs hit him and pinned him to the floor.
After the bebiliths, Jack was very happy to be facing an opponent that was soft and weak. He was willing to bet that his axe wasn’t going to just bounce off these creatures. Kicking in his boots, he charged the one on the ground and delivered two devastating chops with his axe. The aranea’s eyes widened in pain and fear and it attempted to retreat from him, thrusting with its rapier in a futile attempt to keep the dwarf at bay. The other one attempted to cover its companion’s withdrawal, first with a thick stream of webbing that the dwarf miraculously dodged and then by aiming a wand and bombarding him with one salvo of magic missiles after another. Quinn tried to retaliate by firing a ray of searing light, but the nimble creature easily avoided the attack and shifted its attentions to her.
Artimas surveyed the fight; the one on the ground would soon be finished, he decided, but the other, on the ceiling with that wand, could prove to be a thorn in their backsides. He cast a series of spells from the cover of the entranceway, enhancing his weapon with sharp spikes, gaining the ability of flight, and raising a shield to absorb any missiles that were fired toward him. He flew into the room and towards the monster hanging from the ceiling. Grick ran up the walls to join him and Welby readied his shortbow and provided covering fire.
Jack caught the one on the floor before it could get away, and despite its skillful defense and several stinging blows, they quickly finished it. Quinn concentrated on freeing the elven rogue from the webs holding him in place. The other aranea evaded Grick and Artimas for a few moments, continuing to spray glowing orbs of force from the wand, but finally Artimas slipped through its defenses and cracked his spiked walking stick across its ribs. Grick took the opportunity to focus his ki and smash it with an attack that stunned the creature and made it lose its grip. It fell from its perch and broke upon the unyielding stone below.
There did not appear to be any further exits from the chamber, but Malobar concentrated on the movement of the air and the echoes rebounding from the walls and made a discovery. “Hey everyone, there’s another illusionary wall here!”
He felt a sting in his side as he finished speaking and looked to see a small crossbow bolt imbedded in his flesh. He pulled it out and saw the residue on the metal tip – drow sleep venom! Fighting against an attack of drowsiness, he plunged into the false wall…and got stuck. Someone had set up a web inside the illusion, and Malobar found himself once again pinned in place as a laughing dark elf stepped into view, rapier in hand, and lunged toward him.
Artimas heard the thief’s scream from the spot where he had disappeared and focused his energy on the illusionary wall, dispelling the magic that held the image in place. They saw Malobar hanging in a web at the mouth of a corridor, a male drow standing before him and repeatedly stabbing with his rapier at the squirming elf. He could see three other drow in the hallway beyond, two more males and a female, and he grasped his wand of fireballs and caused a detonation that engulfed all three of them. When the flames died out all three still stood, with nary a scorch mark upon them, their innate resistance to spells nullifying the effects of the blast. The foremost of the three shot him with a hand crossbow and the mage’s greatest task became concentrating on remaining awake.
Welby rolled unseen through the opening, avoiding the web trap that had been captured Malobar. His ring of the darkhidden allowed him to bypass the first warrior, but before he could travel further purple flames wreathed his body and clung to him, providing a glowing silhouette for the dark elves to aim at. The warrior who’d just shot Artimas dropped his hand crossbow and moved to intercept the halfling shaped flames. In the background, the female levitated to the ceiling and readied a wand.
Jack and Grick dashed up and cut the wriggling elf free of the web, and then a storm swept over them, buffeting them with cold wind and falling blocks of ice. The dark elven spellguard admired his handiwork for just a moment before raising a shield of fire to protect himself and then following the attack with a stroke of lightning. The crackling bolt tore through the hallway, injuring both dwarves and the necromancer, everyone else managing to evade or resist. Seeing the hated surface dwellers still moving, he pulled a wand from his belt and sent two more forked tongues of electricity blazing through the darkness, this time knocking Jack unconscious and forcing Quinn and Artimas to take cover lest they be slain.
A desperate melee ensued between the two dark elf warriors and the elf, halfling, and half-orc, neither side able to gain the advantage in the magical globe of darkness that enveloped them. The dark elves were much more adept at fighting without sight, but Grick evened the odds by constantly tripping them or stunning them with his ki.
The sneering dark elf wizard remained out of reach, bombarding the combatants with ravening energy, caring little if his allies were slain as long as his enemies died with them. Welby mentally directed his shadow to attack the evoker and it rose from the floor before him with grasping claws, but the female fired a ray of light from her wand that almost snuffed it out completely. Feeling his companion’s pain, Welby ordered it to sink into the floor and stay out of sight until the battle ended.
Grick swept his opponent’s legs out from under him and heard the dark elf curse as it hit the ground for perhaps the third time. He lashed out towards the sound, bringing his hand knifing down onto the dark elf’s windpipe. The curses ended in a weak gurgle and he rolled away, coming free of the darkness. Seeing the female suspended in the air he ran and jumped at her, kicking her solidly and sending her spinning across the ceiling. She screamed in pain and raised darkness surrounded her, blocking her from view. He turned to concentrate on the wizard as he felt a barrage of stinging missiles impact on his exposed backside.
Artimas and Quinn, their wounds partially healed, poked their heads back into the room just in time to absorb another lightning bolt, and they ducked right back out of sight. Before withdrawing again, Artimas did manage to summon a couple of shadows, which he set upon the powerful enemy spellcaster. Unfortunately he was too well shielded, and the undead creatures were not even able to touch him.
Quinn turned to him from her side of the entrance. “Do you have any way to dispel some of his protective magics?” she implored.
Artimas shook his head dolefully. “I wish I did, but I used my only one to get rid of that illusionary wall.”
Welby and Malobar still battled the other drow warrior in the globe of darkness. The savage little warrior was having a difficult time hitting his opponent, but the darkness did not hinder the elf’s keen senses one bit and he scored several bleeding lacerations on the enemy. Finally, a stray lightning bolt overcame the drow’s innate resistance and fried him, and Malobar sank to the floor, exhausted and bleeding from a score of cuts both large and minor. Welby was in a berserk fury and did not feel his injuries, so he went charging off to help Grick deal with the spellguard.
Grick was having a difficult time dealing with the wizard, even after the flaming shield expired. His enemy moved twice as quickly as a normal man and seemed to be enveloped by an invisible bubble of force that deflected any blow that came close. Frustrated, the drunken brawler pulled off a last ditch maneuver, feinting low and to the left before reversing his movement and cuffing the drow under the jaw. The dark elf dropped to one knee, momentarily stunned, and then the enraged halfling fell upon him, swinging his sword two-handed and continuing to hack at his fallen opponent’s body long after the life had left it.
As soon as Malobar was cured of the effects of the poison he headed in the direction of the exit. Throughout the fight, he had been aware of a black-skinned, white-haired figure that kept peeking into the room and watching the battle.
He quietly informed the others. “I think there are dark elves in the next room – one of them kept watching the battle,” he explained. “Stay out of sight but close to the entrance in case I need help. I’m going to try to find out some more information.”
The elf withdrew a steel vial from his belt and swallowed the contents. Instantly he began to undergo a startling transformation; his hair turned white, his skin black as coal, and his armor and weapons also underwent a metamorphosis, now resembling the adornments of a common drow soldier. He had spent much time in the underdark during his career, and he knew a fair bit about his dark brethren and their ways, as well as the ability to speak undercommon fluently.
When he was satisfied that his magical disguise was complete he strolled casually into the next room. It was another moldy old crypt, again with thick sheets of spider web hanging down from the ceiling. In the middle of the floor sat a beautiful female drow, completely nude and sobbing into her hands. She raised a tear-streaked face and her jaw dropped in astonishment to see another dark elf before her.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Malobar replied. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
She answered with another question, “Are you a Spider Kisser?”
The rogue tried to think. He couldn’t remember hearing this term before, but it sounded derogatory. “Uh, no,” he admitted.
“Then what goddess do you pledge faith to?” she demanded.
He considered the question. So that was what “Spider Kisser” meant, she had wanted to know if he was a follower of Lolth. He tried to think of the other drow deities, but his mind was coming up blank. “I serve Eilistraee,” he finally responded.
Her beautiful features scrunched up in rage. “Surface dwelling scum!” she spat at him. “Prepare to meet your doom!”
She hopped to her feet and began climbing up the wall, undergoing a curious change. Extra sets of long, thin legs began sprouting from her sides, her face melted and reformed into the head of a spider, and soon it was a man-sized arachnid crawling across the wall and not the lovely woman with whom he’d been speaking. He recognized the creature as an aranea, a race of intelligent spiders that possessed the power to alter their form.
A second aranea dropped from the ceiling, taking the form of a female dark elf on its descent and attacking him with a rapier and light pick. He parried the initial strike and began shouting for help, then launched into an attack routine of his own, also failing to score a hit. He heard his companions enter the room as he dodged another blow, then a sheet of webs hit him and pinned him to the floor.
After the bebiliths, Jack was very happy to be facing an opponent that was soft and weak. He was willing to bet that his axe wasn’t going to just bounce off these creatures. Kicking in his boots, he charged the one on the ground and delivered two devastating chops with his axe. The aranea’s eyes widened in pain and fear and it attempted to retreat from him, thrusting with its rapier in a futile attempt to keep the dwarf at bay. The other one attempted to cover its companion’s withdrawal, first with a thick stream of webbing that the dwarf miraculously dodged and then by aiming a wand and bombarding him with one salvo of magic missiles after another. Quinn tried to retaliate by firing a ray of searing light, but the nimble creature easily avoided the attack and shifted its attentions to her.
Artimas surveyed the fight; the one on the ground would soon be finished, he decided, but the other, on the ceiling with that wand, could prove to be a thorn in their backsides. He cast a series of spells from the cover of the entranceway, enhancing his weapon with sharp spikes, gaining the ability of flight, and raising a shield to absorb any missiles that were fired toward him. He flew into the room and towards the monster hanging from the ceiling. Grick ran up the walls to join him and Welby readied his shortbow and provided covering fire.
Jack caught the one on the floor before it could get away, and despite its skillful defense and several stinging blows, they quickly finished it. Quinn concentrated on freeing the elven rogue from the webs holding him in place. The other aranea evaded Grick and Artimas for a few moments, continuing to spray glowing orbs of force from the wand, but finally Artimas slipped through its defenses and cracked his spiked walking stick across its ribs. Grick took the opportunity to focus his ki and smash it with an attack that stunned the creature and made it lose its grip. It fell from its perch and broke upon the unyielding stone below.
There did not appear to be any further exits from the chamber, but Malobar concentrated on the movement of the air and the echoes rebounding from the walls and made a discovery. “Hey everyone, there’s another illusionary wall here!”
He felt a sting in his side as he finished speaking and looked to see a small crossbow bolt imbedded in his flesh. He pulled it out and saw the residue on the metal tip – drow sleep venom! Fighting against an attack of drowsiness, he plunged into the false wall…and got stuck. Someone had set up a web inside the illusion, and Malobar found himself once again pinned in place as a laughing dark elf stepped into view, rapier in hand, and lunged toward him.
Artimas heard the thief’s scream from the spot where he had disappeared and focused his energy on the illusionary wall, dispelling the magic that held the image in place. They saw Malobar hanging in a web at the mouth of a corridor, a male drow standing before him and repeatedly stabbing with his rapier at the squirming elf. He could see three other drow in the hallway beyond, two more males and a female, and he grasped his wand of fireballs and caused a detonation that engulfed all three of them. When the flames died out all three still stood, with nary a scorch mark upon them, their innate resistance to spells nullifying the effects of the blast. The foremost of the three shot him with a hand crossbow and the mage’s greatest task became concentrating on remaining awake.
Welby rolled unseen through the opening, avoiding the web trap that had been captured Malobar. His ring of the darkhidden allowed him to bypass the first warrior, but before he could travel further purple flames wreathed his body and clung to him, providing a glowing silhouette for the dark elves to aim at. The warrior who’d just shot Artimas dropped his hand crossbow and moved to intercept the halfling shaped flames. In the background, the female levitated to the ceiling and readied a wand.
Jack and Grick dashed up and cut the wriggling elf free of the web, and then a storm swept over them, buffeting them with cold wind and falling blocks of ice. The dark elven spellguard admired his handiwork for just a moment before raising a shield of fire to protect himself and then following the attack with a stroke of lightning. The crackling bolt tore through the hallway, injuring both dwarves and the necromancer, everyone else managing to evade or resist. Seeing the hated surface dwellers still moving, he pulled a wand from his belt and sent two more forked tongues of electricity blazing through the darkness, this time knocking Jack unconscious and forcing Quinn and Artimas to take cover lest they be slain.
A desperate melee ensued between the two dark elf warriors and the elf, halfling, and half-orc, neither side able to gain the advantage in the magical globe of darkness that enveloped them. The dark elves were much more adept at fighting without sight, but Grick evened the odds by constantly tripping them or stunning them with his ki.
The sneering dark elf wizard remained out of reach, bombarding the combatants with ravening energy, caring little if his allies were slain as long as his enemies died with them. Welby mentally directed his shadow to attack the evoker and it rose from the floor before him with grasping claws, but the female fired a ray of light from her wand that almost snuffed it out completely. Feeling his companion’s pain, Welby ordered it to sink into the floor and stay out of sight until the battle ended.
Grick swept his opponent’s legs out from under him and heard the dark elf curse as it hit the ground for perhaps the third time. He lashed out towards the sound, bringing his hand knifing down onto the dark elf’s windpipe. The curses ended in a weak gurgle and he rolled away, coming free of the darkness. Seeing the female suspended in the air he ran and jumped at her, kicking her solidly and sending her spinning across the ceiling. She screamed in pain and raised darkness surrounded her, blocking her from view. He turned to concentrate on the wizard as he felt a barrage of stinging missiles impact on his exposed backside.
Artimas and Quinn, their wounds partially healed, poked their heads back into the room just in time to absorb another lightning bolt, and they ducked right back out of sight. Before withdrawing again, Artimas did manage to summon a couple of shadows, which he set upon the powerful enemy spellcaster. Unfortunately he was too well shielded, and the undead creatures were not even able to touch him.
Quinn turned to him from her side of the entrance. “Do you have any way to dispel some of his protective magics?” she implored.
Artimas shook his head dolefully. “I wish I did, but I used my only one to get rid of that illusionary wall.”
Welby and Malobar still battled the other drow warrior in the globe of darkness. The savage little warrior was having a difficult time hitting his opponent, but the darkness did not hinder the elf’s keen senses one bit and he scored several bleeding lacerations on the enemy. Finally, a stray lightning bolt overcame the drow’s innate resistance and fried him, and Malobar sank to the floor, exhausted and bleeding from a score of cuts both large and minor. Welby was in a berserk fury and did not feel his injuries, so he went charging off to help Grick deal with the spellguard.
Grick was having a difficult time dealing with the wizard, even after the flaming shield expired. His enemy moved twice as quickly as a normal man and seemed to be enveloped by an invisible bubble of force that deflected any blow that came close. Frustrated, the drunken brawler pulled off a last ditch maneuver, feinting low and to the left before reversing his movement and cuffing the drow under the jaw. The dark elf dropped to one knee, momentarily stunned, and then the enraged halfling fell upon him, swinging his sword two-handed and continuing to hack at his fallen opponent’s body long after the life had left it.
