D&D 5E Tap Tap Tap

[BoldItalic]

There was a knock at the door. Tap, tap, tap.

[TAP! TAP! TAP! roared the audience on cue]

BoldItalic recognized the signal. He had been expecting it. Here in his cabin in the Never Moor Woods, the guest rooms were all prepared, food was on the table and a good fire was blazing in the hearth. It wasn't that he was prescient, but the runes foretold that on this day, on a far distant plane of the multiverse, an entire world would cease to be and that travellers fleeing the destruction of that world would be arriving here.

He flung open the door. "Thrice Welcome!" he cried to the red-shielded knight who stood without.

Sir Rylnethaz, for it was indeed he, was astonished. "BoldItalic? How camest thou here? And by the look of it, thou art well-settled in this, thy cabin?"

"Hmm. As one does, as one does," was the enigmatic reply. "But come in, come in, and sup ale with me. Have you the scroll?"

Sir Rylnethaz produced an ancient scroll that he had brought with him from the old world, on which were written magical runes in the URLspeak tongue that read http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?471976-Tap-Tap-Tap-The-last-thread-of-all. It was a magic scroll but anyone could read it, for this was according to the great DMG of 5e, p.139.

"Strange 'tis," began Sir Rylnethaz ...

 

[Rylnethaz]

The Traveller was lost in the flow of time and space for a while. Then he arrived in a new world. A world where he would exist as Sir Rylnethaz, the red-shielded elven knight. The night was dark and cold but the chilly air had cleared the sky of clouds. Only the stars looked down on him. A strange serene contrast compared to the world sundering he had just escaped from. He was in a great forest, known as the Never Moor Woods. He took out the Scroll from the folds on his cloak. The strange symbols were perfectly clear and reassuring to him. This was the place but was it the right time? There was a cabin ahead. He only had to knock. And so he did.

The door opened and a familiar face greeted him with joy. Somehow younger than he remembered, it was unmistakably BoldItalic. It was a relief. At least someone else had made it through too. But when had that happened, how long had he been between worlds? It seemed that BoldItalic had been here for quite some time. Although the feast was tempting and the fire inviting, he had to satisfy his curiosity.

"BoldItalic,How camest thou here? And by the look of it, thou art well-settled in this, thy cabin?"

BoldItalic invited him in the cabin, and bade him to rest and sup. After a while, not feeling hungry or cold any more, Rylnethaz inquired;

"I have the Scroll of the old world here, however I find something puzzling. Strange 'tis but it seems the flow of time is different between some worlds. Hast thou been here for long? I see thou hast made preparations. Art thou alone, has anyone else managed to cross the veil?"

 

[BoldItalic]

"For more than a year," said BoldItalic, "I have been living in two worlds, as have many others who are our friends. Some, for far longer than me. When the gods decreed that Trevor's world should end, preparations were made to welcome as many who wanted to come here as there might be."

He paused for a swig of ale and stirred the fire in the hearth with a +1 Poker of Poking that he had won from a half-orc in a game of knuckle-head.

"People laboured mightily to save the scrolls they treasured. The god of this world, the great [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION], gave us a ship to ferry them between the worlds and a famous wizard called [MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] devised a cunning engine that made it easy for us to copy scrolls quickly and with great accuracy so that knowledge was not lost."

At that moment, there was a tapping at the window.

[ TAP! TAP! TAP! roared the audience on cue ]

BoldItalic rose and threw open the casement. A raven flapped in with a croak, and settled itself comfortably on the back of a chair. It seemed quite at home.

"You will like it here, Rylnethaz. It is a benign world; there is less strife and the guardians are more zealous in keeping unruly elements in their place."

For a long time, far into the night, they traded memories of past ages. In the morning, there was a bright dawn and the sun rose clear in a cloudless sky. "Come, let us follow the trail through the woods and see where it may lead," said BoldItalic, tapping out his pipe in the hearth.

[ You get the idea ]

Sir Rylnethaz hefted his red shield, BoldItalic took up his staff with the knobbly end, and they set off.

Rounding a corner in the path, by a fallen oak tree, ...

 

[Rylnethaz]

Rylnethaz had always had faith in the old world but as it came to be, even worlds may die and he recognized the wisdom in his friend's choice of existing in more than one world. The time passed with stories traded back and forth. Then, after a short rest they set on the trail of adventure. Gathering their gear, they followed the trail into the woods, the morning breeze and the rising sun on their backs.
They had been on the road for a while when rounding a corner in the path, by a fallen oak tree, they were met with a strange sight. There, among the trees, was a half-forgotten and moss-covered stone structure. An arched door was in the front with two stained glass panels on it. On the side, by the wall, between two pilasters, was a half broken equine statue with its upper body missing. The structure had no visible windows and gave a strange, slightly leaning impression to the viewer. There was apparently only a ground floor but the trees in this part of the woods were very dense and the lush foliage made nothing easier.

"My dear friend, said Rylnethaz, you have been here for a while. Have you ever explored this part of the woods? It is a strange sight this structure. It is so quiet too, this corner of the woods, not only the structure".

He moved a few steps closer to the door.

"The lock does not seem sturdy. Should we explore?"

BoldItalic touched briefly the knobbly end of his staff on his forehead and seemed in deep thought for a few seconds, his sight focusing on the structure. Then, looking back at Rylnethaz he said, ...

 

[BoldItalic]

"Yes, we should enter, but with reverence," said BoldItalic. "This building is the tomb of the Elf King Orfindel, who once ruled this forest. He was your ancestor, though you are, I imagine, unaware of it."

"My great-grandmother's grandfather was called Orfindel the Blue," said Rylnethaz, "My family never knew the manner of his ending. If this is indeed his mausoleum, then I must enter and meditate a while."

And so BoldItalic knocked sharply on the lock with his staff and uttered a magic phrase that caused it to open, for all that it was of cunning gnomish design with nine wards. Inside the tomb, all was dark and the air was still and silent. Cobwebs hung from a high vaulted ceiling and around the walls were bas-relief carvings of heroic scenes of knights in antique-looking armour. A beetle scurried across the floor towards a stone sarcophagus that had an effigy carved upon its lid. Though he could see little in the gloom, BoldItalic refrained from casting his magical light, for he knew that his elven friend had no need of it and he himself was a mere bystander in this reunion. Rylnethaz gazed upon the face of the effigy. He was almost unnerved, for it was a face like unto his own face that he saw. "This was indeed my kinsman," he declared in a quiet voice.

Then Rylnethaz recited an elvish prayer that his grandfather had once taught him for although the wording was archaic and made little sense, the rhyme was solemn and it seemed fitting. As he spoke the last word, ...

 

[Rylnethaz]

Rylnethaz was surprised to find here the tomb of his forefathers. What his knowledgeable friend said was certainly true. The semblance was unmistakable. What came to his mind was a forgotten prayer passed down to him by his grandfather who had also learned it by his great grandfather. The words were in such an archaic dialect that he almost stumbled. Yet in the end the words came out perfectly intoned and for a moment it was as if the scene was a part of the past coming to life.

As he spoke the last word, a cold blue light appeared in the back of the dusty chamber, beyond the two pairs of colonnaded half walls. An arch that seemingly led nowhere, slid to the side revealing a passage.

“My friend, do you hear this?” said Rylnethaz.

A faint sucking sound was heard deep in the far side of the chamber, something not like a draft of air but more like a breath.

“I do, said BoldItalic, but generally speaking, tombs to not breathe, something is wrong here. Let’s investigate further” and with a flick of his wrist over his eye he cast a spell that enabled him to see in darkness.

Moving in silence, Rylnethaz in the front and BoldItalic right behind him, they went through the passage and crossed two more rooms, empty apart from the grave niches and the desiccated corpses in them. The air was stale and dry. However instead of being embalmed, most of the corpses in the neches had turned to dust, something had disturbed the place. In the last room, the wall and part of the floor was torn down and the opening led deeper.

Rylnethaz was shocked, how could somebody have defiled such a place.

"Whoever did this, did not use the front door, said BoldItalic, let's have a look. Gather your strength my friend, we will not let this unpunished."

When they looked through the opening, they saw…

 

[BoldItalic]

... a rough-hewn flight of steps leading downwards, for as far as could be seen. They were not cut from the same stone as the burial chambers of the tomb, but rather crudely cut from the bedrock itself.

"Strange. This stair was not made by man nor elf," remarked BoldItalic, "See how small the steps are; they were made by something with shorter legs and smaller feet than ours."

"Dwarves, do you think?" mused Rylnethaz, "Some tribes of duergar are known to plunder tombs for their treasure."

"Nay, dwarven work would be finer-cut than this," was BoldItalic's opinion. "Kobolds more like, or some small race akin to them. We should be cautious. A large nest of such creatures could overwhelm us by sheer weight of numbers."

Rylnethaz hefted his shield and loosened his elven sword in its scabbard. "I have lately learned the Tunnel Fighter feat", he remarked, "This could be a good time to exercise it."

"Bravely said, Sir Rylnethaz," chortled BoldItalic, "and I fancy I might have a few spells up my sleeve that would give a pack of kobolds pause for thought. So let us descend warily and see what mischief is afoot below."

As they crept downwards, a sound was heard, faint at first but then unmistakable. A sound as of a hammer on rock. Tap, tap, tap.

[ TAP! TAP! TAP! roared the audience on cue ]

"There are miners still at work," whispered BoldItalic. "Let us hope they are not expecting visitors. Tread softly, and we may yet catch them unawares." Alas that was not to be, for BoldItalic fumbled his Dexterity(Stealth) roll and sent a loose piece of stone clattering down the stairs. The tapping sound ceased ubruptly and guttural voices were heard calling in some unknown tongue.

Without waiting, Sir Rylnethaz drew his sword and ran down the stairs. BoldItalic readied a sleep spell in his mind and followed hard on his heels. At the bottom, in a rocky chamber, they saw ...

 

[Rylnethaz]

... six kobolds arguing with each other and pointing at the staircase. Pickaxes and hammers were in their hands and they were clearly excavating the area. On the far side of the round area was the beginning of another tunnel. On the left, hung from a wooden pole was a bell with a chain trailing from the bell into the tunnel on the far side and supported by hooks nailed on the walls. Clearly an alarm system connected to other bells.

At that very moment, one of the kobolds broke into a run for the bell. Rylnethaz shrugged with dismay and he was right behind it, passing by the rest of the kobolds. Those, in turn, gathering their wits and realizing the situation, run right after Rylnethaz.
In the last possible moment, Rylnethaz’s sword sliced through the arm and half the upper body of the kobold reaching for the bell and then, in a swift motion, Rylnethaz turned to impale one of his pursuers all the while readying his shield for the impact of the attack. However, a wall of bodies slammed into him and threw him to the ground. Only his fine elven armor and shield protected him from the stabs and bites.
As if on cue, an arcane phrase was heard and then three of the kobolds fell unconscious, the forth paid for its resilience to the spell, with his head being cut off by Rylnethaz’s sword.
BoldItalic was also at the bottom of the staircase now, his arcane energies binding the kobolds in forced slumber.

“Indeed you were quite correct in your assumptions dear BoldItalic. Kobolds!” Exclaimed Sir Rylnethaz with one eye towards the tunnel. “But this could not be just a simple mining operation. Why would miners connect their mine to the inside of a tomb? There must be another purpose to this. That staircase was not just a couple of steps to a higher elevation, we have been descending for quite a while now.”

BoldItalic eyed the tunnel wearily and replied. “You are right, of course this must be something else. The question is though, do we go any further now or do we do something about the three kobolds left? The spell will not hold for more than a minute.”

Rylnethaz said “We don’t want surprises on our backs.”

BoldItalic moved closer and …

 

[BoldItalic]

BoldItalic moved closer and, calling on his friend to aid him, dragged the three unconscious kobolds and the three corpses across and wedged them together into the tunnel opening, stuffing them so tightly that the three still alive would not be able to move or wriggle free, even when they awoke. Then he motioned Rylnethaz to station himself beside the opening, back to the wall, and placed himself on the other side. "We will ambush whoever comes in response to the alarm," BoldItalic explained in a low voice. "Rather than meeting them on their own ground, let them come to us, here, where we have the upper hand." And so saying, he gave the alarm chain four good pulls and was rewarded with the sound of bells far down the tunnel.

Sure enough, moments later the sound of running feet could be heard approaching. A single kobold guard arrived and, seeing the mass of his fellow creatures wedged in the opening, began to laugh derisively, thinking that they had somehow trapped themselves like that in a panic. It was his last thought, for BoldItalic moved swiftly to the opening and, taking a sight over the heads of the waist-high kobolds, unleashed a frigid beam of blue-white light that froze the laughing guard dead where he stood.

There were no more footsteps after that, and the only sound was the muffled noises coming from the the kobolds that were beginning to wake up and starting to wriggle.

"There may be virtue in interrogating them," suggested Rylnethaz. "Do you know their language? I myself do not, nor would I wish to."

"Alas, no. I could cast a spell to understand what they are saying but it is fairly obvious that they are somewhat uncomfortable, even without using magic. I do not know any spell that would make them understand our questions, though."

"Perhaps we are obliged to slay them out of hand after all, but it grieves me to say it."

Just then, one of the kobolds in the heap surprised them by speaking in the common tongue. His accent was thick and it was hard to make out what he was saying but it was clear that he wanted to parley, to bargain for his life.

"Tell us why you are here. Who sent you to mine this cavern beneath the stairs above?" demanded Sir Rylnethaz sternly of the kobold.

And this is what the kobold told them ...

 

[Rylnethaz]

The kobold shouted in high pitched voice, “It was not me, not me!”

“Well, obviously,” said Rylnethaz, “otherwise we would not be asking you that foul creature, we would put you to the sword. But if you do not answer we might just do so.”

“Just speak, who is behind all this, my friend may be a man of few words but he is very quick with the sword, you don’t want to end up like your friends over there, do you,” asked BoldItalic. As if to stress the point Rylnethaz moved his sword closer to the kobold’s neck.

The kobold moved its snout left and right emphatically, “No, no, no sword, no sword!”

“It is the dragon lady, she ordered us to dig and dig and dig up to the old elves’ big grave and then stab the weird nails on every dead elf.”

“Do you mean a dragon that is a female,” asked BoldItalic, “no, no, it’s a female that is a dragon,” said the kobold.

“The wretch talks about a half dragon,” said Rylnethaz. “Tell us what she does with those nails and the bodies.”

“Me not know, the dragon lady says we stab and we stab the dead and then the dead get like dust. Dragon lady said something like rest or full gory.”

“Restore to full glory you mean,” said BoldItalic.

“Yes, that's it, you can talk funny too,” said the kobold.

“BoldItalic, it is obvious, she tries to ascend to full dragon form using some kind of ritual and the energies of the dead by defiling my ancestors. We have to act. But what about these three?”

BoldItalic replied, “there is only one thing we can do about them”…