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The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3397818" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 19</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Here's another post from Devo. This one comprises two game sessions, hence its length.</strong></p><p><em>sniffles</em></p><p></p><p>"Hutch, on the seat next to me, tried his best to remain stationary as the lightning rail rocked slowly from side to side. His upper lid was open and I was working with Stark, deep within the containment box that was Hutch's top-most shelf. Stark must have seen the movement of the car, because he asked to be let out so that he could it's faulty design. We had a quick discussion about what might be wrong with the Orien coach, then I turned his attention to the scroll I wanted him to work on today. I had already complained a dozen times to the chief porter, but he wouldn't let me anywhere near the main drive car. If I wasn't allowed to fix it, there was no way I was going to let Stark have all the fun."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>. An Excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"I pride myself on my ability to be prepared for any contingency. The craft of artificing lends itself to infinite capability, but in my secondary profession as an "explorer" time is invariably one of the components of an obstacle that makes it tricky to overcome. As mentioned, an artificer has infinite capability but needs a finite amount of time to prepare said ability. Often enough, the obstacles one encounters must be overcome quickly, or one pays for one's failure.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes, though, someone else pays the price.</p><p> </p><p>Dalia Sunrule has died, and I find myself culpable.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Our journey began in comfort. After many delays, we finally made our rendezvous with the Five Nations rail on it's way towards Karnaath. The delay to the train was caused by a keenly interesting monolith of epic proportions and ancient design. So large was the construction that it took two conjoined cargo cars just to hold it. I sought out the person in charge of the artifact but was rudely rebuffed. It was as if they knew who I was and intentionally ignored me. I spent some minutes looking over the monolith from a forced distance, but then had to join my companions in the ever-growing crowd of the passenger car. The one day delay had affected a great number of travelers, I saw.</p><p> </p><p>Soon enough, we were on our way. It would take four days to reach Karnaath. I spent the time reading and holding intelligent discourse with HU and S1. Each morning, I would instruct S1 in the work he was to accomplish that day, and by evening I had a newly created scroll [ref: CJ-V7-80], wand [ref: CJ-V7-82], or other artifact [ref: CJ-V7-85/91] to add to my collection. I was preparing for all of the eventualities that I could foresee. </p><p> </p><p>I have come to enjoy traveling with my dedicated wright, and will have to start carrying more materials.</p><p> </p><p>I spent time with the DC, also. We had a merry discussion in the dining car about the finale of the temple of lava below Sharn. I was ribbing DA good-naturedly about her attempts to remove the marker stone from the wall. The same attempts that resulted in an cacophonous explosion of stone and dust that left most of us blind and all of us bleeding. It got better, of course, but the explosion absolutely ruined one of my best traveling shirts. Fortunately, the stone was undamaged, and, after a long, long discussion of what to do with the key, we had made our way back home. </p><p> </p><p>It's funny. Over the last few months, DA spent a great deal of time flirting with me. HU and I even had a discussion about it a few weeks back. Whether I should encourage it or discourage it. I even thought to talk to MA about it. DA always wanted to show off what she knew about mechanisms, traps, locks, and the like. She really wasn't very good with them, though, and managed to set off more warding devices than she overcame. It occurs to me now that she was probably trying to show an interest in something that I excel at as a way to get closer to me. I think that she put herself in harms way just to impress me, and I never even thought about it. A shame, too, since day by day our journey was leading us ever closer to some of the most cunning traps we had ever seen. And the last that DA ever would.</p><p> </p><p>The monolith was unloaded in Thrane. I tried to see it moved, but they simply disconnected the cars and moved them into a rail house that stood under heavy guard. We were in Thrane for less than an hour, then on our way again.</p><p> </p><p>Crossing the border into Karnaath was a bureaucratic nightmare. Long lines. Dull, pointless questions. A body cavity search for HU. It was obvious that they were up in arms over some trivial matter. Perhaps it had something to do with the attempt on the king's life when he was down in Sharn last month. I don't know. National politics have always bored me so.</p><p> </p><p>It was in Karnaath, though, that we got our biggest surprise of the journey. IR decided to leave our company. I'm still unsure on the specifics of the situation. I know that there is a group calling themselves the Deadgrim, and that IR was off to join them. Whether this group came to IR, though, or she to them, I am uncertain. We tried to talk her out of leaving, but she would hear none of our arguments. Our split must have been causing IR some distress, for she was trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. I have to admit, I was a bit choked up, myself. IR is the only one of the DC whom I can suredly assert saved my life. On more than one occasion, too.</p><p> </p><p>I presented some fierce arguments as to why she should stay, but she chose not to listen. She was convinced that the Deadgrim were doing more useful work than we were, and that joining them would be better than breaking into an ancient crypt. Come to think of it, though, IR was probably right. History may record that what we were doing was being done for noble causes, but in the end, it was a search for material possessions. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, material possessions are the lifeblood of the artificer. I don't care what she said: this trip was necessary. It is sad, though, that it cost us two true companions. IR and DA will both be sorely missed.</p><p> </p><p>We had very little time to talk to IR before she was gone, but maybe she planned on that. Our rail had a schedule, and so we did too. Karnaath is a rough country -- not the idyllic scenery of Breland -- but the hours passed by quickly. Before long, we were routed south into the Talenta Plains, then to Gatherhold. </p><p> </p><p>Gatherhold. City of halflings. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Somehow, I had imagined myself towering over a town of tiny buildings. But such was not the case. Some of the buildings were small, true, but most were built for regular people. And there were a lot of people.</p><p> </p><p>Well, to be specific, there were a lot of halflings. Turns out we arrived just in time for some tribal gathering of some sort, and there were tribesmen in from all over the plains. They brought their beastly dinosaurs in with them, too. Nasty creatures. They smell like snakes, every one of them. Seriously. Every - single - one of them.</p><p> </p><p>Still, Gatherhold is the center of House Ghallanda, and their hospitality lives up to the reputation. The food was extraordinary, and everyone enjoyed themselves. All of us except ST, that is, who was complaining about having to pay for a meal that he could not eat. Warforged have no sense of humor. No sense of taste either, I suppose.</p><p> </p><p>The next day we left Gatherhold and went north. I would have expected CA to take the lead, as his people are supposed to be skilled plains riders, but, as is appropriate I suppose, the DC turned to me to lead them. Somewhat surprisingly, my natural gift with navigating the complexities of the city translated well to the Talenta Plains, and I guided our little group in direct and safe measure to our goal. It took a day and a half, which is what we expected. Our crude little map was some help, assuredly, but it is the skill of the craftsman that shows his quality, not the tools he uses.</p><p> </p><p>The small lake we had come all this way to find was a placid affair -- quite quaint. We approached from the south. A plateau on the east side -- no larger around than many of the towers of Sharn -- restricted approach from that side. Extending from the plateau around the north side of the lake was a steep and crumbling cliff face. The Vault that we were looking for was supposed to be at the junction between cliff and plateau, and we could just make out the entrance over the distance. Unfortunately, it was that distance that was going to cause us problems. It was occupied.</p><p> </p><p>A... herd -- for I can think of no better term -- of monstrous three-horned dinosaurs grazed on the south side of a long hill, on the other side of which was the large plateau. We could see camp smoke rising from the plateau, and as we watched, three halflings mounted on quick-looking, two-legged dinosaurs came loping around the hill. They circled the herd then disappeared around the hill again. Waiting, we saw them return. It was, perhaps, a twenty minute circuit.</p><p> </p><p>DA used her magic to spy on the plateau. She told us that more halflings lay encamped there, and they had with them a pet of rather unusual qualities. It was a dinosaur, naturally, but larger than anything DA had ever seen. It was the size of a two story building, easily, with massive jaws. It stood on it's two back legs, and had tiny little arms. To be honest, I was having a hard time visualizing such a creature -- it seemed rather comical. DA assured us, however, that it looked quite dangerous.</p><p> </p><p>Given that we were interlopers in the halfling's domain, we thought it unlikely that they would be willing to parley. Our first plan was to drive the herd dinosaurs away. DA conjured an illusion of fire, heat, and smoke. As expected, the animals panicked and ran directly away from the lake. We got our first glimpse of just how fast the riders were. Two raced out to cut off the pack and steer it back around. One of the halflings, however, came around the other side of the hill to investigate what might have startled the herd. DA dropped the illusion just in time, and the poor fellow could find no trigger for the stampede. After a while, the herd and riders calmed down and settled into their previous routine.</p><p> </p><p>Our next plan was to to send scouts towards the cave. While the rest of us hung back, DA and CA crept forward. They were gone for quite some time. </p><p> </p><p>They returned in a hurry, as if DA's dinosaur were right behind them. They were bloodied, both of them, but assured us they were not being followed. As I set about healing them [ref: CJ-V5-12], they told us their tale.</p><p> </p><p>Under a cloak of invisibility, DA and CA had snuck forward to the entrance of the cave. They told us that the entrance is rather tight, but it opens up into a worked chamber very quickly. They had just stepped inside when a roar and a fusillade of spikes washed over them. It was a manticore. They turned and quickly exited the cave, hurrying all the way back to where we had set up camp, some distance off. </p><p> </p><p>Now that we knew all that we were up against, it was child's play to come up with a plan. It was complicated, however, by the fact that no one other than myself was willing to leave the horses behind. </p><p> </p><p>We set out to approach the cave under cover of darkness, when the watchers would be least likely to notice us and the manticore most likely to be settled in for the night. Rather than pitting ourselves against the halfling patrol, however, where our tracks would surely be noticed, I put into my new gorgon-headed cane a spell that would allow each of our horses to walk on water [ref: CJ-V1-12]. Circling around, we came across the lake from the west. DA, riding with CA on his horse, put up a ring of invisibility around us. CA held all of our reigns, so that we would stay close in together. To complete the screen of non-detection, DA put up a zone of silence around us, too.</p><p> </p><p>The plan was to approach the cave from over the water. The melee specialists among us would then go in to the cave to engage the beast. DA would then move her silence spell over the entrance to conceal the signs of our fighting. DA and I would go in next, then HU and XL would come in with the horses when the fight was done. The perfect assault.</p><p> </p><p>I have to remember, though, that whereas my plans always proceed flawlessly in the laboratory, as soon as I bring the DC into the mix, something will go awry. And out in the wild, there are always unknown variables.</p><p> </p><p>The first deviation from the plan was introduced by ST. His mount was uncomfortable moving over open water, and ST had a hard time controlling the beast. In his efforts to control the animal he managed to separate himself from the group. Eventually, too far away from the invisibility that DA provided. We were fortunate that neither patrol nor plateau looked out towards the lake, or they would have seen a warforged out standing in the field of water. </p><p> </p><p>HU was the first to notice ST's disappearance. He tugged on my jacket and showed me where ST had gotten off to. I sighed heavily, and though I could not be heard, I felt better for expressing myself. I was about to reach out to DA when an illusion of an arrow, just under the water, appeared in front of ST and began guiding him back towards us. DA had seen him, then.</p><p> </p><p>I still could neither see nor hear the rest of my companions, but we made our way over to the cave entrance none-the-less. And then we stood there. </p><p> </p><p>And stood there. </p><p> </p><p>Had everyone forgotten the plan? I looked around, searching the area for any sign of disturbance that might have caused CA or ST to hold where they were. It looked clear. ST was just sitting behind us, waiting. HU motioned him forward, but I reminded my comrade that ST could not see him. HU made a comical gesture towards the warforged, and I had to laugh. </p><p> </p><p>Tired of the delay, however, I reached out and found CA. Grabbing his shoulder plate, I nudged him forward, towards the cave. He immediately moved forward, dismounting. A moment later, he was out of the invisibility zone. ST joined him on the shore. A second later, Xl joined them. What was he doing?</p><p> </p><p>The trio disappeared into the cave as HU commiserated with me about the headache of having poor assistants. We never had to deal with this kind of amateur behavior in the foundry. I mentally directed HU to go retrieve the farthest horse, and dismounted. </p><p> </p><p>I stumbled for a moment on the soft, uneven ground of the shore, then tied up my horse. As I finished, though, my eyes fell on a goblin woman hiding in the bushes right next to me. Of all the random variables my master plan had accounted for, seeing a three foot tall goblin woman dressed in a silk kimono over a chain shirt, carrying a longsword, in the middle of the Talenta Plains, had not been one of the possibilities I had accounted for. </p><p> </p><p>She was just watching me, though, so I smiled politely and slowly reached for one of my more potent wands [ref: CJ-V7-55]. The goblin raised her hands in either surrender or challenge -- I really couldn't be sure which. I was about to resolve the situation when ghostly words appeared to my right: DA telling me to move into the cave, letting her deal with the goblin.</p><p> </p><p>If there was one goblin outside, it stood to reason that there could be many more inside. I backed slowly away from the woman in front of me, then turned and hurried into the cave. I am sure my companions needed me. </p><p> </p><p>The fight inside was raging. We stood in a large, semi-rectangular chamber trisected by a row of columns. XL and CA stood opposing the manticore, while ST moved outside the fight, shooting beams of energy at his enemy. I saw no other foes. As soon as I cleared the silence zone, I let loose with two scorching rays [ref: CJ-V5-43] and burned the beast terribly. It roared. Manticores are quite large!</p><p> </p><p>ST had said something about an enemy hiding in the corner. I turned to look in time to see the goblin girl race around from behind me and to one side of the chamber. "Deal with her," indeed! I wondered if DA were all right. It wasn't until she was deep in the room, though, that the goblin drew her sword. It was clean, so I stopped worrying about DA.</p><p> </p><p>The goblin introduced herself as Gwaenna Goldenbrow (GW), and called to me by name. Actually, she called me "Artemis d'Cannith", but it was close enough. I corrected her on my nomenclature, and told her that we could talk once the danger was over. </p><p> </p><p>Right behind GW, however, came DA. I was ready to direct DA's attention to the manticore, who was in the process of applying tooth and claw to CA, but as soon as she cleared the silence zone she charmed GW. That was rather rude. And I told her so. Still, an enchanter is going to do what enchanters do. We argued for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>ST had time to get one more shot in before XL leaped under the manticore's wing to deliver a powerful thrust with the butt of his spear. The cuts, bruises, and abrasions proved too much for the creature, and it finally succumbed to it's wounds, collapsing noisily onto the ground.</p><p> </p><p>DA and I were still discussing the goblin situation when ST turned and fired his energy towards GW. An ugly creature like a thick-bodied snake with a clutch of powerful tentacles around it's beaked mouth squealed and fell dead. GW had the good nature to thank ST for killing the creature behind her before racing across the room to slice another of the creatures in two. CA leapt to action, and killed another. XL sat down where he was and looked over his wounds.</p><p> </p><p>Finally at peace, we settled down to introductions and explanations. I went around the room applying what healing I could to the DC while we interrogated GW. HU, meanwhile, had started to bring the horses in. GW told us that she was from Sharn, but I had already gathered as much. The common tongue was obviously not her native language, and I had detected the tell-tale sign of a Morgrave education in her speech. She did not know we would be here, but recognized both HU and myself as soon as she saw me. The name KA came up during the discussion. GW knew the name well, and vowed that she would never have anything to do with such a villain. Good marks in her favor. </p><p> </p><p>As I had already gathered, GW had, in fact, been a student at Morgrave University. She was something of a historian, specializing in pre-Dhakaani history. I thought that odd for a goblin, but did not comment on the matter. Once I was assured that she was not here for the same dragonshard that we were after, we agreed to travel together. This place was obviously dangerous. So long as she did an equal part of the work, though, she would get an equal part of whatever we found. Minus the dragonshard, of course.</p><p> </p><p>With that out of the way (even DA was mollified by this point), we continued our exploration. The chamber we stood in was remarkably bare of ornamentation. Smooth walls and columns were marred only by the crude addition of several hobgoblin sarcophagi. Crypts that were obviously added to a pre-existing structure, and had been looted many times.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond the manticore's nest was a destroyed doorway. Just on the other side of that was the body of an elf, perhaps three weeks dead. It was obvious that the manticore had gnawed upon the dead elf some, but it was still in decent shape. All things considered. </p><p> </p><p>We searched the body and came up with his travel papers. He bore the sign of the Deathsgate Guild -- the same guild that KA works with. This, then, was one of the agents he had sent to take the dragonshard. The guild is no ally of ours, so we took what things of value we found and moved on. The hallway the body occupied turned and opened into another large, rectangular chamber. Standing vigilant before the chamber was a massive statue, a good twelve feet tall, of a smooth-skinned human in a hawk mask. His arms were crossed over his chest and in one hand he held a crooked staff. In the other was a massive dragonshard. We were in the right place.</p><p> </p><p>GW and I stepped up to examine the statue. A wailing moan from behind us drew our attention back. A ghost had risen up from the corpse of the ex-adventurer, and it was angry! With nothing else to do for it, the DC laid in to the creature. It touched XL once, it looked like, but between ST's blade and my wand [ref: PJ-V3-72], we dispersed the creature. Once I had verified that everyone was okay, we continued our study.</p><p> </p><p>I scanned the statue and room for magic, and told everyone that there was something at the far end of the chamber. Warning them to tread carefully, I returned to my study of the statue. Though old, it had held up well to the ages.</p><p> </p><p>DA moved into the room going one way around the statue, and XL moved the other direction. Somebody triggered something, unfortunately, and the statue sprung to life. Spinning around and sweeping it's arms out, it clobbered GW, ST, and I, hitting ST the hardest. I was hurt badly, but ST was knocked clean off his feet and slammed into a wall. What a brilliant device!</p><p> </p><p>Simultaneously, DA and XL found cunning devices of their own. In the near corner, a dozen churning blades appeared and sliced deeply into DA. XL narrowly avoided the same fate in the other corner, but managed to dive away in time. That movement set off another trap, but fortunately XL was one foot farther to the right than would otherwise be dangerous. CA, hero that he is, dove forward to pull DA from the blades. Unfortunately, that set off the statue again, and we were all struck heavily. ST had just managed to get to his feet again, too.</p><p> </p><p>I yelled for everybody to please stop moving, and tried to figure out what was triggering the statue. I immediately found a locked over-ride mechanism. Instead of moving into a position where I could disable the mechanism, I called to DA to use a knock spell against it. With a click, the trap turned off.</p><p> </p><p>Stepping back slowly, I advised my group to not move into any area that had not been searched for traps. After applying some healing wands [ref: CJ-V5-13], I began my search. DA was searching up the right wall, XL up the left. </p><p> </p><p>My priority were the mechanisms already in action. They were making such a commotion. A quick search turned up the triggering device for each, and after a minute or so, all of them were quite again. They disappeared into the floor seamlessly. Brilliant!</p><p> </p><p>DA and XL made it to the far side of the room without finding anything new. DA called out that the magic I had detected earlier was a trap of some kind, so I made my way over to her. </p><p> </p><p>GW, meanwhile, went to the pit that was near the middle of the room, but off-center a bit. It looked like a pre-sprung trap. I was walking by when a ghost rose up suddenly, moaning piteously. With blinding speed, GW drew her sword and struck the creature. Fire danced along the blade and the ghost vanished, completely destroyed. With barely a word, GW cast another spell into her sword. </p><p> </p><p>A spellcaster? How surprising! We spoke for a moment about spells before she attempted to divine the presence of magic down in the pit. I looked down to see the desiccated body of another tomb-robber, impaled on a series of nasty looking spikes. She said that there were, indeed, magic items on the creature, and prepared to climb down. Warning her against other traps within the pit, I tried to lift the body with a wand [ref: CJ-V6-40]. It was too heavy, even after almost a month of deterioration. ST pulled out a line and grapple hook, and I guided the hook down with another charge from the wand. Once it was secured to the body, ST pulled it up. A quick search confirmed that this was another member of the Deathsgate Guild. He had some minor magic on him and a few coins.</p><p> </p><p>CA ran past us in a rush, crying out. DA had fallen, seeming dead. We rushed to her side, and she was alive, but paralyzed. Poison, perhaps? I told CA to watch her and went back to the trap DA had been pulled out of. Sure enough, a sticky black substance on some of the blades hinted at poison. I checked through my wands, scrolls, and potions, but I had nothing to deal with that kind of injury. </p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, IR had the foresight to send a restorative wand along with us when we parted company. It was the most powerful healing wand we had, so I tried it. Before that, though, I had HU apply one of my antitoxins to her. Just in case, I told him. Applying the wand, I activated it. </p><p> </p><p>DA's color returned immediately, and she began to move. Thank goodness!</p><p> </p><p>We turned our attention to the magic trap on the far end of the room. It was a ward of some kind, triggered by a proximity alarm attached to the doorway ahead. We couldn't approach the doorway to disable it, and couldn't move on any other way. Someone else had already tried: the body of another Deathsgate adventurer lay before the door, his lockpicks still hanging from the lock.</p><p> </p><p>Using my search wand [ref: CJ-V7-29], I discovered all of the traps within twenty feet of my location. There were the two stones that represented our traps, but the corners of the room were trapped, also. Spears, if I wasn't mistaken. Pulling a different wand, I devised a plan. It would take masterful timing, though. DA -- every adventurous -- agreed to it.</p><p> </p><p>We each set ourselves up as close to the warding stones as we could, with GW behind us scanning the area for magic. I warned everyone else back, but ST opted to stand immediately behind me. On cue, DA and I attempted to dispel the wards, me with my wand [ref: CJ-V7-8] and her with her magic. GW called out that we were both successful.</p><p> </p><p>I raced forward, tools in hand, and immediately got to work. Before our plan had been set in motion, I had infused both DA and myself with greater skill in trap-breaking. I hoped it would be enough.</p><p> </p><p>I was rushing, because I knew the ward would only be down for moments. With elation, I finished just as GW cried out that the magic was active again. I was a second too late.</p><p> </p><p>The air in the room changed as it was suddenly displaced. Immediately behind me was a magnificent warforged battle titan. It was beautiful -- gleaming adamantine, red glowing eyes, and an axe with a blade edge longer than I was tall. It raised it's axe up high and in a mechanical voice intoned "Artemis Cannith, you will pay for the enslavement of my race!" </p><p> </p><p>How did it know my name? The answer was obvious. It didn't. I knew my name, and this was not a construct of metal and wood, but of my own mind. An illusion. I recognized it for what it was and it's blade passed harmlessly through me. With a muttered "Bastard!", it disappeared. Strange. I didn't think titans swore....</p><p> </p><p>I turned to see DA standing there ghostly white. She had obviously seen her own nightmare coming to kill her. She must have gotten the better of it, though, because she stood there unharmed. She turned, and winked at me. I smiled and nodded, gesturing invitingly to the traps behind us.</p><p> </p><p>GW told us that the magic was gone again. Now that it was triggered, I was sure that it was gone for good. Just to be safe, though, I reached over and turned my spanlock a quarter turn to the right, disabling the trap. Taking up my tools, I moved to the nearest spear trap. Disabling that one was a joke. </p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, DA can't take a joke. Spears shot</p><p> </p><p>Wow. That was in poor taste. My apologies, DA. </p><p> </p><p>DA had troubles disarming her own trap. Perhaps she was still shaken from her illusory encounter. Maybe she was rushing again, so that she could show me that she was just as good as I. Whatever the reason, her trap sprung and nearly a dozen steel spears launched out of the wall. Four of them hit her, and two barely missed CA, who was unfortunately also in the path. I leapt over to her, and judicious application of a healing wand got her back in fine condition. I made sure everyone was feeling fine before we continued on.</p><p> </p><p>The last of our obstacles out of the way, we moved over the the body in front of the door. Right on queue, a ghost rose up to terrify us. GW was in position to deal with this one, too, and even ST stood ready. The ghost managed to hit GW, but did not survive past that. We sent it to it's final resting place.</p><p> </p><p>GW had already seen the magic this man held, and we stowed that away. He had a little bit of money and the symbol of the Deathsgate guild. </p><p> </p><p>While the DC were separating magic items from the corpse (have I ever described how grisly it is to pull magic boots from a decaying corpse?), I turned my attention to the door. Obviously, something bad had happened to this man while he tried to open it. I searched the area and there it was, like a huge sign with bold red letters: TRAP! He had missed this? How could a total incompetent have gotten so far?</p><p> </p><p>I shut off the trap then bypassed the lock. I was about to shoulder open the door when DA offered to do it. Shrugging, I stepped back. She put the mage hand around her neck and pointed at the door. It resisted at first, but then opened. Dust, and the still air of ages past blew into the room. We were now moving into an area that man had not tread in thousands of years. I was very excited!</p><p> </p><p>With another check to make sure everyone was in top condition, we moved forward. DA was up front with me, helping me search for traps. It was an arduous process, and the dust was soiling every peice of clothing I wore, but it seemed necessary. The traps in the out room had been so cunning and masterful that we were taking no chances.</p><p> </p><p>We were in a tight corridor, not even wide enough to spread one's arms. The hallway angled off to the right, continued fifty or so feet, then angled off to the right again. It took a couple of minutes for us to get to the next corner. We were being cautious.</p><p> </p><p>Around the corner, the hallway continued before turning right again. We had been going downward since first entering the hallway. No one else had mentioned it, so I just assumed that everyone else already recognized it. ST drew attention to the fact at this point though, and I just turned and looked at him. HU tok'd at me, and I shook my head. We got back to work and continued searching the hall.</p><p> </p><p>We didn't find anything interesting until we got around the next corner. The corridor opened up into a wide, long room filled with statues. They looked like warriors, all of them. Just like the outer statue, they were human-seeming, with hawk masks; each man standing twelve feet tall and facing the entrance that we stood at. There was a narrow walk-way in between them. We moved cautiously into the room, searching for traps or anything else of interest. There was nothing. Out the other side of the room, the corridor continued, sloping downward and angling off to the left. </p><p> </p><p>And this is where I made my fatal mistake. We had come what seemed a long way without encountering any traps -- nor anything else of interest. Except for the statuary in the room behind us, there was nothing of interest in here. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all smooth stone, unadorned in any way. I rationalized that one traps one's front door, not one's living room. We moved forward again, but I was much more casual in my searching.</p><p> </p><p>From the statue room, left, down a short corridor, and left again. We were still moving down. I paused to search then moved five or ten feet forward. With a squeal and a crash, a metal portcullis slammed down behind me. I realized I wouldn't make it to the far side, so didn't even bother jumping for it.</p><p> </p><p>The sound of the slamming portcullis died down, to be replaced by the sound of my companions, shouting to find out what had happened. We were spaced apart some, and part of the DC were still around the corner. I tried to calm everyone down (HU seemed particularly agitated), and asked DA to look for an opening mechanism on her side. I searched where I stood, but found nothing. </p><p> </p><p>DA found the mechanism and started working. A sound like rushing air -- or waves pulling back from a pebbled beach -- came to me, and I pulled out a wand [ref: CJ-V5-42]. Looking down the corridor, I had no chance to react as a swarm of coin-sized beetles scuttled into view. There were millions of them!</p><p> </p><p>They were on me before I could do anything, biting and gnawing and burrowing into flesh and gear. I screamed. Almost as quickly, they continued forward, passing through the portcullis easily to swarm over my companions. </p><p> </p><p>I fought the creatures off as best I could, and dove away from them. Coming up, I activated my wand, strafing beams of fire across their mass. I managed to score one beam into a pile of creatures swarming up and over DA. The other hit one or two, but the creatures adroitly avoided it.</p><p> </p><p>Screams and swearing filled the hall. DA, trooper that she was, was still trying to get the gate raised. I told her not to worry about it -- just get away! I heard the pop and explosion of alchemist fire again and again as my friends used the only weapons they had to hand that could affect these creatures. Two more scorching rays lit up the hallway coming from who I could only assume was GW.</p><p> </p><p>DA finally stood to run, but was having trouble fighting off the swarm. I shifted my vision to see what HU was seeing, and it was chaos. Pure pandemonium. GW cast a spell and one hand glowed with stored electrical energy. ST fought as best he could, but neither he nor CA had a weapon that could affect these creatures. XL had already scrambled all the way back to the statuary room, and was looking to climb one of the hawk men.</p><p> </p><p>I tried to visualize the shape of the statuary room. I built in my mind a blueprint of the corridors between where I stood and the center of that room, taking into account the angle of descent and measurements that I had seen but not actually measured. I mentally ordered HU into the statue room and pulled out a wand [ref:CJ-V7-67], hoping it would be close enough. I displaced.</p><p> </p><p>It's the first time I've actually used that particular wand since I created it three weeks ago. It worked flawlessly. With no sense of movement whatsoever, I suddenly stood where HU once stood, and I knew that he was on the far side of the portcullis. One more mental command sent HU up to that doorway, holding vials of alchemist fire through ST on the other side.</p><p> </p><p>DA screamed and I saw her stagger towards the room, smashing a vial of alchemist fire against her own chest. She was distorted and oddly formed, a patchwork of ripped flesh, burns, and smooth skin, all of it bubbling and puckering unnaturally. I realized with horror that some of the beetles had gotten under her skin, and were burrowing through her living flesh. And not just a couple. Hundreds of them. I almost retched at the sight.</p><p> </p><p>A discharge of electricity from out in the hallway announced the continued movement of the swarm as an explosion of beetle corpses pattered into the doorway moments before the swarm itself. DA staggered forward and fell, propelled more by the wave of tiny creatures than her own strength. I leapt forward to catch her but was struck by the physical force of the swarm, still in their thousands. The flesh-eating creatures did their work, and I, too, fell, overcome by loss of blood. The sear of alchemist fire and another flash of GW's electricity was the last thing to cut through the darkness.</p><p> </p><p>I awoke to that strange surge of energy that always comes from powerful healing. I lay on a blanket of dead beetles, still sizzling and popping from the electricity and fire. I remembered seeing XL in my last moment coming down to splash DA with a healing potion. He stood over me now with the empty bottle of another. Only seconds had passed. </p><p> </p><p>DA was alive still, but just barely. So much damage had been done to her little body that it was amazing she was still struggling. XL's healing potion had managed to counter some of the continuous damage that the swarm inside of her was doing, but that just gave them more to feed on. I didn't think I had anything that could save her, but I had never been trained for this sort of thing. IR had. </p><p> </p><p>And maybe she had given us what we needed?</p><p> </p><p>As quick as I could, I drew IR's wand. The most powerful healing we had. I pressed the tip into DA's convulsing sternum and pushed against it, willing the magic to work. Suddenly, the magic in the wand was gone. I had done something wrong. The magic had failed. The wand did not activate.</p><p> </p><p>The wand didn't fail. I did.</p><p> </p><p>DA's body expanded suddenly, and I had an instant of hope -- the briefest moment where I thought that the wand had actually worked -- but the truth was far different. And far, far more horrifying. </p><p> </p><p>With a final surge, the beetles inside of DA burst forward, consuming every last bit of flesh, blood, bone, and hair. Bloated, perhaps, the tiny flesh-eaters scattered in every direction, leaving us with nothing left of Dalia but the shredded equipment she wore into this place.</p><p> </p><p>She wasn't just dead. She was gone. Wholly and irrevocably. Utterly consumed."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>. An Excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Robe of Useful Items: window, door, pit"</p><p>"Wand: Dimension Leap"</p><p>"Wand: Benign Transposition"</p><p>"Scroll: Stone Shape"</p><p>"Infusion: spell (any above)"</p><p>"Infusion: spell (Gaseous Form)"</p><p>"Infusion: Swarmbane Armor - Dalia"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>. An Excerpt from the "List of items I could have used to save Dalia" by Artemis Heuw Cannith</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3397818, member: 30035"] [b]The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 19[/b] [B]Here's another post from Devo. This one comprises two game sessions, hence its length.[/B] [I]sniffles[/I] "Hutch, on the seat next to me, tried his best to remain stationary as the lightning rail rocked slowly from side to side. His upper lid was open and I was working with Stark, deep within the containment box that was Hutch's top-most shelf. Stark must have seen the movement of the car, because he asked to be let out so that he could it's faulty design. We had a quick discussion about what might be wrong with the Orien coach, then I turned his attention to the scroll I wanted him to work on today. I had already complained a dozen times to the chief porter, but he wouldn't let me anywhere near the main drive car. If I wasn't allowed to fix it, there was no way I was going to let Stark have all the fun." . An Excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 "I pride myself on my ability to be prepared for any contingency. The craft of artificing lends itself to infinite capability, but in my secondary profession as an "explorer" time is invariably one of the components of an obstacle that makes it tricky to overcome. As mentioned, an artificer has infinite capability but needs a finite amount of time to prepare said ability. Often enough, the obstacles one encounters must be overcome quickly, or one pays for one's failure. Sometimes, though, someone else pays the price. Dalia Sunrule has died, and I find myself culpable. Our journey began in comfort. After many delays, we finally made our rendezvous with the Five Nations rail on it's way towards Karnaath. The delay to the train was caused by a keenly interesting monolith of epic proportions and ancient design. So large was the construction that it took two conjoined cargo cars just to hold it. I sought out the person in charge of the artifact but was rudely rebuffed. It was as if they knew who I was and intentionally ignored me. I spent some minutes looking over the monolith from a forced distance, but then had to join my companions in the ever-growing crowd of the passenger car. The one day delay had affected a great number of travelers, I saw. Soon enough, we were on our way. It would take four days to reach Karnaath. I spent the time reading and holding intelligent discourse with HU and S1. Each morning, I would instruct S1 in the work he was to accomplish that day, and by evening I had a newly created scroll [ref: CJ-V7-80], wand [ref: CJ-V7-82], or other artifact [ref: CJ-V7-85/91] to add to my collection. I was preparing for all of the eventualities that I could foresee. I have come to enjoy traveling with my dedicated wright, and will have to start carrying more materials. I spent time with the DC, also. We had a merry discussion in the dining car about the finale of the temple of lava below Sharn. I was ribbing DA good-naturedly about her attempts to remove the marker stone from the wall. The same attempts that resulted in an cacophonous explosion of stone and dust that left most of us blind and all of us bleeding. It got better, of course, but the explosion absolutely ruined one of my best traveling shirts. Fortunately, the stone was undamaged, and, after a long, long discussion of what to do with the key, we had made our way back home. It's funny. Over the last few months, DA spent a great deal of time flirting with me. HU and I even had a discussion about it a few weeks back. Whether I should encourage it or discourage it. I even thought to talk to MA about it. DA always wanted to show off what she knew about mechanisms, traps, locks, and the like. She really wasn't very good with them, though, and managed to set off more warding devices than she overcame. It occurs to me now that she was probably trying to show an interest in something that I excel at as a way to get closer to me. I think that she put herself in harms way just to impress me, and I never even thought about it. A shame, too, since day by day our journey was leading us ever closer to some of the most cunning traps we had ever seen. And the last that DA ever would. The monolith was unloaded in Thrane. I tried to see it moved, but they simply disconnected the cars and moved them into a rail house that stood under heavy guard. We were in Thrane for less than an hour, then on our way again. Crossing the border into Karnaath was a bureaucratic nightmare. Long lines. Dull, pointless questions. A body cavity search for HU. It was obvious that they were up in arms over some trivial matter. Perhaps it had something to do with the attempt on the king's life when he was down in Sharn last month. I don't know. National politics have always bored me so. It was in Karnaath, though, that we got our biggest surprise of the journey. IR decided to leave our company. I'm still unsure on the specifics of the situation. I know that there is a group calling themselves the Deadgrim, and that IR was off to join them. Whether this group came to IR, though, or she to them, I am uncertain. We tried to talk her out of leaving, but she would hear none of our arguments. Our split must have been causing IR some distress, for she was trying to get it over with as quickly as possible. I have to admit, I was a bit choked up, myself. IR is the only one of the DC whom I can suredly assert saved my life. On more than one occasion, too. I presented some fierce arguments as to why she should stay, but she chose not to listen. She was convinced that the Deadgrim were doing more useful work than we were, and that joining them would be better than breaking into an ancient crypt. Come to think of it, though, IR was probably right. History may record that what we were doing was being done for noble causes, but in the end, it was a search for material possessions. Unfortunately, material possessions are the lifeblood of the artificer. I don't care what she said: this trip was necessary. It is sad, though, that it cost us two true companions. IR and DA will both be sorely missed. We had very little time to talk to IR before she was gone, but maybe she planned on that. Our rail had a schedule, and so we did too. Karnaath is a rough country -- not the idyllic scenery of Breland -- but the hours passed by quickly. Before long, we were routed south into the Talenta Plains, then to Gatherhold. Gatherhold. City of halflings. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Somehow, I had imagined myself towering over a town of tiny buildings. But such was not the case. Some of the buildings were small, true, but most were built for regular people. And there were a lot of people. Well, to be specific, there were a lot of halflings. Turns out we arrived just in time for some tribal gathering of some sort, and there were tribesmen in from all over the plains. They brought their beastly dinosaurs in with them, too. Nasty creatures. They smell like snakes, every one of them. Seriously. Every - single - one of them. Still, Gatherhold is the center of House Ghallanda, and their hospitality lives up to the reputation. The food was extraordinary, and everyone enjoyed themselves. All of us except ST, that is, who was complaining about having to pay for a meal that he could not eat. Warforged have no sense of humor. No sense of taste either, I suppose. The next day we left Gatherhold and went north. I would have expected CA to take the lead, as his people are supposed to be skilled plains riders, but, as is appropriate I suppose, the DC turned to me to lead them. Somewhat surprisingly, my natural gift with navigating the complexities of the city translated well to the Talenta Plains, and I guided our little group in direct and safe measure to our goal. It took a day and a half, which is what we expected. Our crude little map was some help, assuredly, but it is the skill of the craftsman that shows his quality, not the tools he uses. The small lake we had come all this way to find was a placid affair -- quite quaint. We approached from the south. A plateau on the east side -- no larger around than many of the towers of Sharn -- restricted approach from that side. Extending from the plateau around the north side of the lake was a steep and crumbling cliff face. The Vault that we were looking for was supposed to be at the junction between cliff and plateau, and we could just make out the entrance over the distance. Unfortunately, it was that distance that was going to cause us problems. It was occupied. A... herd -- for I can think of no better term -- of monstrous three-horned dinosaurs grazed on the south side of a long hill, on the other side of which was the large plateau. We could see camp smoke rising from the plateau, and as we watched, three halflings mounted on quick-looking, two-legged dinosaurs came loping around the hill. They circled the herd then disappeared around the hill again. Waiting, we saw them return. It was, perhaps, a twenty minute circuit. DA used her magic to spy on the plateau. She told us that more halflings lay encamped there, and they had with them a pet of rather unusual qualities. It was a dinosaur, naturally, but larger than anything DA had ever seen. It was the size of a two story building, easily, with massive jaws. It stood on it's two back legs, and had tiny little arms. To be honest, I was having a hard time visualizing such a creature -- it seemed rather comical. DA assured us, however, that it looked quite dangerous. Given that we were interlopers in the halfling's domain, we thought it unlikely that they would be willing to parley. Our first plan was to drive the herd dinosaurs away. DA conjured an illusion of fire, heat, and smoke. As expected, the animals panicked and ran directly away from the lake. We got our first glimpse of just how fast the riders were. Two raced out to cut off the pack and steer it back around. One of the halflings, however, came around the other side of the hill to investigate what might have startled the herd. DA dropped the illusion just in time, and the poor fellow could find no trigger for the stampede. After a while, the herd and riders calmed down and settled into their previous routine. Our next plan was to to send scouts towards the cave. While the rest of us hung back, DA and CA crept forward. They were gone for quite some time. They returned in a hurry, as if DA's dinosaur were right behind them. They were bloodied, both of them, but assured us they were not being followed. As I set about healing them [ref: CJ-V5-12], they told us their tale. Under a cloak of invisibility, DA and CA had snuck forward to the entrance of the cave. They told us that the entrance is rather tight, but it opens up into a worked chamber very quickly. They had just stepped inside when a roar and a fusillade of spikes washed over them. It was a manticore. They turned and quickly exited the cave, hurrying all the way back to where we had set up camp, some distance off. Now that we knew all that we were up against, it was child's play to come up with a plan. It was complicated, however, by the fact that no one other than myself was willing to leave the horses behind. We set out to approach the cave under cover of darkness, when the watchers would be least likely to notice us and the manticore most likely to be settled in for the night. Rather than pitting ourselves against the halfling patrol, however, where our tracks would surely be noticed, I put into my new gorgon-headed cane a spell that would allow each of our horses to walk on water [ref: CJ-V1-12]. Circling around, we came across the lake from the west. DA, riding with CA on his horse, put up a ring of invisibility around us. CA held all of our reigns, so that we would stay close in together. To complete the screen of non-detection, DA put up a zone of silence around us, too. The plan was to approach the cave from over the water. The melee specialists among us would then go in to the cave to engage the beast. DA would then move her silence spell over the entrance to conceal the signs of our fighting. DA and I would go in next, then HU and XL would come in with the horses when the fight was done. The perfect assault. I have to remember, though, that whereas my plans always proceed flawlessly in the laboratory, as soon as I bring the DC into the mix, something will go awry. And out in the wild, there are always unknown variables. The first deviation from the plan was introduced by ST. His mount was uncomfortable moving over open water, and ST had a hard time controlling the beast. In his efforts to control the animal he managed to separate himself from the group. Eventually, too far away from the invisibility that DA provided. We were fortunate that neither patrol nor plateau looked out towards the lake, or they would have seen a warforged out standing in the field of water. HU was the first to notice ST's disappearance. He tugged on my jacket and showed me where ST had gotten off to. I sighed heavily, and though I could not be heard, I felt better for expressing myself. I was about to reach out to DA when an illusion of an arrow, just under the water, appeared in front of ST and began guiding him back towards us. DA had seen him, then. I still could neither see nor hear the rest of my companions, but we made our way over to the cave entrance none-the-less. And then we stood there. And stood there. Had everyone forgotten the plan? I looked around, searching the area for any sign of disturbance that might have caused CA or ST to hold where they were. It looked clear. ST was just sitting behind us, waiting. HU motioned him forward, but I reminded my comrade that ST could not see him. HU made a comical gesture towards the warforged, and I had to laugh. Tired of the delay, however, I reached out and found CA. Grabbing his shoulder plate, I nudged him forward, towards the cave. He immediately moved forward, dismounting. A moment later, he was out of the invisibility zone. ST joined him on the shore. A second later, Xl joined them. What was he doing? The trio disappeared into the cave as HU commiserated with me about the headache of having poor assistants. We never had to deal with this kind of amateur behavior in the foundry. I mentally directed HU to go retrieve the farthest horse, and dismounted. I stumbled for a moment on the soft, uneven ground of the shore, then tied up my horse. As I finished, though, my eyes fell on a goblin woman hiding in the bushes right next to me. Of all the random variables my master plan had accounted for, seeing a three foot tall goblin woman dressed in a silk kimono over a chain shirt, carrying a longsword, in the middle of the Talenta Plains, had not been one of the possibilities I had accounted for. She was just watching me, though, so I smiled politely and slowly reached for one of my more potent wands [ref: CJ-V7-55]. The goblin raised her hands in either surrender or challenge -- I really couldn't be sure which. I was about to resolve the situation when ghostly words appeared to my right: DA telling me to move into the cave, letting her deal with the goblin. If there was one goblin outside, it stood to reason that there could be many more inside. I backed slowly away from the woman in front of me, then turned and hurried into the cave. I am sure my companions needed me. The fight inside was raging. We stood in a large, semi-rectangular chamber trisected by a row of columns. XL and CA stood opposing the manticore, while ST moved outside the fight, shooting beams of energy at his enemy. I saw no other foes. As soon as I cleared the silence zone, I let loose with two scorching rays [ref: CJ-V5-43] and burned the beast terribly. It roared. Manticores are quite large! ST had said something about an enemy hiding in the corner. I turned to look in time to see the goblin girl race around from behind me and to one side of the chamber. "Deal with her," indeed! I wondered if DA were all right. It wasn't until she was deep in the room, though, that the goblin drew her sword. It was clean, so I stopped worrying about DA. The goblin introduced herself as Gwaenna Goldenbrow (GW), and called to me by name. Actually, she called me "Artemis d'Cannith", but it was close enough. I corrected her on my nomenclature, and told her that we could talk once the danger was over. Right behind GW, however, came DA. I was ready to direct DA's attention to the manticore, who was in the process of applying tooth and claw to CA, but as soon as she cleared the silence zone she charmed GW. That was rather rude. And I told her so. Still, an enchanter is going to do what enchanters do. We argued for a moment. ST had time to get one more shot in before XL leaped under the manticore's wing to deliver a powerful thrust with the butt of his spear. The cuts, bruises, and abrasions proved too much for the creature, and it finally succumbed to it's wounds, collapsing noisily onto the ground. DA and I were still discussing the goblin situation when ST turned and fired his energy towards GW. An ugly creature like a thick-bodied snake with a clutch of powerful tentacles around it's beaked mouth squealed and fell dead. GW had the good nature to thank ST for killing the creature behind her before racing across the room to slice another of the creatures in two. CA leapt to action, and killed another. XL sat down where he was and looked over his wounds. Finally at peace, we settled down to introductions and explanations. I went around the room applying what healing I could to the DC while we interrogated GW. HU, meanwhile, had started to bring the horses in. GW told us that she was from Sharn, but I had already gathered as much. The common tongue was obviously not her native language, and I had detected the tell-tale sign of a Morgrave education in her speech. She did not know we would be here, but recognized both HU and myself as soon as she saw me. The name KA came up during the discussion. GW knew the name well, and vowed that she would never have anything to do with such a villain. Good marks in her favor. As I had already gathered, GW had, in fact, been a student at Morgrave University. She was something of a historian, specializing in pre-Dhakaani history. I thought that odd for a goblin, but did not comment on the matter. Once I was assured that she was not here for the same dragonshard that we were after, we agreed to travel together. This place was obviously dangerous. So long as she did an equal part of the work, though, she would get an equal part of whatever we found. Minus the dragonshard, of course. With that out of the way (even DA was mollified by this point), we continued our exploration. The chamber we stood in was remarkably bare of ornamentation. Smooth walls and columns were marred only by the crude addition of several hobgoblin sarcophagi. Crypts that were obviously added to a pre-existing structure, and had been looted many times. Beyond the manticore's nest was a destroyed doorway. Just on the other side of that was the body of an elf, perhaps three weeks dead. It was obvious that the manticore had gnawed upon the dead elf some, but it was still in decent shape. All things considered. We searched the body and came up with his travel papers. He bore the sign of the Deathsgate Guild -- the same guild that KA works with. This, then, was one of the agents he had sent to take the dragonshard. The guild is no ally of ours, so we took what things of value we found and moved on. The hallway the body occupied turned and opened into another large, rectangular chamber. Standing vigilant before the chamber was a massive statue, a good twelve feet tall, of a smooth-skinned human in a hawk mask. His arms were crossed over his chest and in one hand he held a crooked staff. In the other was a massive dragonshard. We were in the right place. GW and I stepped up to examine the statue. A wailing moan from behind us drew our attention back. A ghost had risen up from the corpse of the ex-adventurer, and it was angry! With nothing else to do for it, the DC laid in to the creature. It touched XL once, it looked like, but between ST's blade and my wand [ref: PJ-V3-72], we dispersed the creature. Once I had verified that everyone was okay, we continued our study. I scanned the statue and room for magic, and told everyone that there was something at the far end of the chamber. Warning them to tread carefully, I returned to my study of the statue. Though old, it had held up well to the ages. DA moved into the room going one way around the statue, and XL moved the other direction. Somebody triggered something, unfortunately, and the statue sprung to life. Spinning around and sweeping it's arms out, it clobbered GW, ST, and I, hitting ST the hardest. I was hurt badly, but ST was knocked clean off his feet and slammed into a wall. What a brilliant device! Simultaneously, DA and XL found cunning devices of their own. In the near corner, a dozen churning blades appeared and sliced deeply into DA. XL narrowly avoided the same fate in the other corner, but managed to dive away in time. That movement set off another trap, but fortunately XL was one foot farther to the right than would otherwise be dangerous. CA, hero that he is, dove forward to pull DA from the blades. Unfortunately, that set off the statue again, and we were all struck heavily. ST had just managed to get to his feet again, too. I yelled for everybody to please stop moving, and tried to figure out what was triggering the statue. I immediately found a locked over-ride mechanism. Instead of moving into a position where I could disable the mechanism, I called to DA to use a knock spell against it. With a click, the trap turned off. Stepping back slowly, I advised my group to not move into any area that had not been searched for traps. After applying some healing wands [ref: CJ-V5-13], I began my search. DA was searching up the right wall, XL up the left. My priority were the mechanisms already in action. They were making such a commotion. A quick search turned up the triggering device for each, and after a minute or so, all of them were quite again. They disappeared into the floor seamlessly. Brilliant! DA and XL made it to the far side of the room without finding anything new. DA called out that the magic I had detected earlier was a trap of some kind, so I made my way over to her. GW, meanwhile, went to the pit that was near the middle of the room, but off-center a bit. It looked like a pre-sprung trap. I was walking by when a ghost rose up suddenly, moaning piteously. With blinding speed, GW drew her sword and struck the creature. Fire danced along the blade and the ghost vanished, completely destroyed. With barely a word, GW cast another spell into her sword. A spellcaster? How surprising! We spoke for a moment about spells before she attempted to divine the presence of magic down in the pit. I looked down to see the desiccated body of another tomb-robber, impaled on a series of nasty looking spikes. She said that there were, indeed, magic items on the creature, and prepared to climb down. Warning her against other traps within the pit, I tried to lift the body with a wand [ref: CJ-V6-40]. It was too heavy, even after almost a month of deterioration. ST pulled out a line and grapple hook, and I guided the hook down with another charge from the wand. Once it was secured to the body, ST pulled it up. A quick search confirmed that this was another member of the Deathsgate Guild. He had some minor magic on him and a few coins. CA ran past us in a rush, crying out. DA had fallen, seeming dead. We rushed to her side, and she was alive, but paralyzed. Poison, perhaps? I told CA to watch her and went back to the trap DA had been pulled out of. Sure enough, a sticky black substance on some of the blades hinted at poison. I checked through my wands, scrolls, and potions, but I had nothing to deal with that kind of injury. Fortunately, IR had the foresight to send a restorative wand along with us when we parted company. It was the most powerful healing wand we had, so I tried it. Before that, though, I had HU apply one of my antitoxins to her. Just in case, I told him. Applying the wand, I activated it. DA's color returned immediately, and she began to move. Thank goodness! We turned our attention to the magic trap on the far end of the room. It was a ward of some kind, triggered by a proximity alarm attached to the doorway ahead. We couldn't approach the doorway to disable it, and couldn't move on any other way. Someone else had already tried: the body of another Deathsgate adventurer lay before the door, his lockpicks still hanging from the lock. Using my search wand [ref: CJ-V7-29], I discovered all of the traps within twenty feet of my location. There were the two stones that represented our traps, but the corners of the room were trapped, also. Spears, if I wasn't mistaken. Pulling a different wand, I devised a plan. It would take masterful timing, though. DA -- every adventurous -- agreed to it. We each set ourselves up as close to the warding stones as we could, with GW behind us scanning the area for magic. I warned everyone else back, but ST opted to stand immediately behind me. On cue, DA and I attempted to dispel the wards, me with my wand [ref: CJ-V7-8] and her with her magic. GW called out that we were both successful. I raced forward, tools in hand, and immediately got to work. Before our plan had been set in motion, I had infused both DA and myself with greater skill in trap-breaking. I hoped it would be enough. I was rushing, because I knew the ward would only be down for moments. With elation, I finished just as GW cried out that the magic was active again. I was a second too late. The air in the room changed as it was suddenly displaced. Immediately behind me was a magnificent warforged battle titan. It was beautiful -- gleaming adamantine, red glowing eyes, and an axe with a blade edge longer than I was tall. It raised it's axe up high and in a mechanical voice intoned "Artemis Cannith, you will pay for the enslavement of my race!" How did it know my name? The answer was obvious. It didn't. I knew my name, and this was not a construct of metal and wood, but of my own mind. An illusion. I recognized it for what it was and it's blade passed harmlessly through me. With a muttered "Bastard!", it disappeared. Strange. I didn't think titans swore.... I turned to see DA standing there ghostly white. She had obviously seen her own nightmare coming to kill her. She must have gotten the better of it, though, because she stood there unharmed. She turned, and winked at me. I smiled and nodded, gesturing invitingly to the traps behind us. GW told us that the magic was gone again. Now that it was triggered, I was sure that it was gone for good. Just to be safe, though, I reached over and turned my spanlock a quarter turn to the right, disabling the trap. Taking up my tools, I moved to the nearest spear trap. Disabling that one was a joke. Unfortunately, DA can't take a joke. Spears shot Wow. That was in poor taste. My apologies, DA. DA had troubles disarming her own trap. Perhaps she was still shaken from her illusory encounter. Maybe she was rushing again, so that she could show me that she was just as good as I. Whatever the reason, her trap sprung and nearly a dozen steel spears launched out of the wall. Four of them hit her, and two barely missed CA, who was unfortunately also in the path. I leapt over to her, and judicious application of a healing wand got her back in fine condition. I made sure everyone was feeling fine before we continued on. The last of our obstacles out of the way, we moved over the the body in front of the door. Right on queue, a ghost rose up to terrify us. GW was in position to deal with this one, too, and even ST stood ready. The ghost managed to hit GW, but did not survive past that. We sent it to it's final resting place. GW had already seen the magic this man held, and we stowed that away. He had a little bit of money and the symbol of the Deathsgate guild. While the DC were separating magic items from the corpse (have I ever described how grisly it is to pull magic boots from a decaying corpse?), I turned my attention to the door. Obviously, something bad had happened to this man while he tried to open it. I searched the area and there it was, like a huge sign with bold red letters: TRAP! He had missed this? How could a total incompetent have gotten so far? I shut off the trap then bypassed the lock. I was about to shoulder open the door when DA offered to do it. Shrugging, I stepped back. She put the mage hand around her neck and pointed at the door. It resisted at first, but then opened. Dust, and the still air of ages past blew into the room. We were now moving into an area that man had not tread in thousands of years. I was very excited! With another check to make sure everyone was in top condition, we moved forward. DA was up front with me, helping me search for traps. It was an arduous process, and the dust was soiling every peice of clothing I wore, but it seemed necessary. The traps in the out room had been so cunning and masterful that we were taking no chances. We were in a tight corridor, not even wide enough to spread one's arms. The hallway angled off to the right, continued fifty or so feet, then angled off to the right again. It took a couple of minutes for us to get to the next corner. We were being cautious. Around the corner, the hallway continued before turning right again. We had been going downward since first entering the hallway. No one else had mentioned it, so I just assumed that everyone else already recognized it. ST drew attention to the fact at this point though, and I just turned and looked at him. HU tok'd at me, and I shook my head. We got back to work and continued searching the hall. We didn't find anything interesting until we got around the next corner. The corridor opened up into a wide, long room filled with statues. They looked like warriors, all of them. Just like the outer statue, they were human-seeming, with hawk masks; each man standing twelve feet tall and facing the entrance that we stood at. There was a narrow walk-way in between them. We moved cautiously into the room, searching for traps or anything else of interest. There was nothing. Out the other side of the room, the corridor continued, sloping downward and angling off to the left. And this is where I made my fatal mistake. We had come what seemed a long way without encountering any traps -- nor anything else of interest. Except for the statuary in the room behind us, there was nothing of interest in here. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all smooth stone, unadorned in any way. I rationalized that one traps one's front door, not one's living room. We moved forward again, but I was much more casual in my searching. From the statue room, left, down a short corridor, and left again. We were still moving down. I paused to search then moved five or ten feet forward. With a squeal and a crash, a metal portcullis slammed down behind me. I realized I wouldn't make it to the far side, so didn't even bother jumping for it. The sound of the slamming portcullis died down, to be replaced by the sound of my companions, shouting to find out what had happened. We were spaced apart some, and part of the DC were still around the corner. I tried to calm everyone down (HU seemed particularly agitated), and asked DA to look for an opening mechanism on her side. I searched where I stood, but found nothing. DA found the mechanism and started working. A sound like rushing air -- or waves pulling back from a pebbled beach -- came to me, and I pulled out a wand [ref: CJ-V5-42]. Looking down the corridor, I had no chance to react as a swarm of coin-sized beetles scuttled into view. There were millions of them! They were on me before I could do anything, biting and gnawing and burrowing into flesh and gear. I screamed. Almost as quickly, they continued forward, passing through the portcullis easily to swarm over my companions. I fought the creatures off as best I could, and dove away from them. Coming up, I activated my wand, strafing beams of fire across their mass. I managed to score one beam into a pile of creatures swarming up and over DA. The other hit one or two, but the creatures adroitly avoided it. Screams and swearing filled the hall. DA, trooper that she was, was still trying to get the gate raised. I told her not to worry about it -- just get away! I heard the pop and explosion of alchemist fire again and again as my friends used the only weapons they had to hand that could affect these creatures. Two more scorching rays lit up the hallway coming from who I could only assume was GW. DA finally stood to run, but was having trouble fighting off the swarm. I shifted my vision to see what HU was seeing, and it was chaos. Pure pandemonium. GW cast a spell and one hand glowed with stored electrical energy. ST fought as best he could, but neither he nor CA had a weapon that could affect these creatures. XL had already scrambled all the way back to the statuary room, and was looking to climb one of the hawk men. I tried to visualize the shape of the statuary room. I built in my mind a blueprint of the corridors between where I stood and the center of that room, taking into account the angle of descent and measurements that I had seen but not actually measured. I mentally ordered HU into the statue room and pulled out a wand [ref:CJ-V7-67], hoping it would be close enough. I displaced. It's the first time I've actually used that particular wand since I created it three weeks ago. It worked flawlessly. With no sense of movement whatsoever, I suddenly stood where HU once stood, and I knew that he was on the far side of the portcullis. One more mental command sent HU up to that doorway, holding vials of alchemist fire through ST on the other side. DA screamed and I saw her stagger towards the room, smashing a vial of alchemist fire against her own chest. She was distorted and oddly formed, a patchwork of ripped flesh, burns, and smooth skin, all of it bubbling and puckering unnaturally. I realized with horror that some of the beetles had gotten under her skin, and were burrowing through her living flesh. And not just a couple. Hundreds of them. I almost retched at the sight. A discharge of electricity from out in the hallway announced the continued movement of the swarm as an explosion of beetle corpses pattered into the doorway moments before the swarm itself. DA staggered forward and fell, propelled more by the wave of tiny creatures than her own strength. I leapt forward to catch her but was struck by the physical force of the swarm, still in their thousands. The flesh-eating creatures did their work, and I, too, fell, overcome by loss of blood. The sear of alchemist fire and another flash of GW's electricity was the last thing to cut through the darkness. I awoke to that strange surge of energy that always comes from powerful healing. I lay on a blanket of dead beetles, still sizzling and popping from the electricity and fire. I remembered seeing XL in my last moment coming down to splash DA with a healing potion. He stood over me now with the empty bottle of another. Only seconds had passed. DA was alive still, but just barely. So much damage had been done to her little body that it was amazing she was still struggling. XL's healing potion had managed to counter some of the continuous damage that the swarm inside of her was doing, but that just gave them more to feed on. I didn't think I had anything that could save her, but I had never been trained for this sort of thing. IR had. And maybe she had given us what we needed? As quick as I could, I drew IR's wand. The most powerful healing we had. I pressed the tip into DA's convulsing sternum and pushed against it, willing the magic to work. Suddenly, the magic in the wand was gone. I had done something wrong. The magic had failed. The wand did not activate. The wand didn't fail. I did. DA's body expanded suddenly, and I had an instant of hope -- the briefest moment where I thought that the wand had actually worked -- but the truth was far different. And far, far more horrifying. With a final surge, the beetles inside of DA burst forward, consuming every last bit of flesh, blood, bone, and hair. Bloated, perhaps, the tiny flesh-eaters scattered in every direction, leaving us with nothing left of Dalia but the shredded equipment she wore into this place. She wasn't just dead. She was gone. Wholly and irrevocably. Utterly consumed." . An Excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 "Robe of Useful Items: window, door, pit" "Wand: Dimension Leap" "Wand: Benign Transposition" "Scroll: Stone Shape" "Infusion: spell (any above)" "Infusion: spell (Gaseous Form)" "Infusion: Swarmbane Armor - Dalia" . An Excerpt from the "List of items I could have used to save Dalia" by Artemis Heuw Cannith [/QUOTE]
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