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The Fall of Civilization
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4517315" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The sky is streaked with plumes of smoke rising from the burning villages in the distance. Vann-La almost fancies that she can hear the screams in the distance with her fine elven hearing. She knows it must be her imagination, but still... the evidence is in the sky. It is unthinkable, but true. The Six-Fingered Hand is winning- crushing the empire.</p><p></p><p><em>We have to make a stand somewhere,</em> she thinks. <em>Maybe on the other side of the mountains.</em> </p><p></p><p>But she can’t help but wonder- will the stand <em>always</em> be on ‘the other side of the mountains,’ so to speak? Will they <em>ever</em> be able to fight back? The strength of the Hand is merciless, ruthless, crushing. The evidence is in the sky, indeed- and in the glowing fires visible in the distance at night, in all directions not blocked by the mountains. </p><p></p><p>“Why are they called the Six-Fingered Hand?” Nixie suddenly asks.</p><p></p><p>“Because there are six different races joined together,” Heimall replies. “Orcs, goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, gnolls and ogres.”</p><p></p><p>“How do they all work together? What’s the glue that hold them together?” wonders Vann-La.</p><p></p><p>“Arawn,” Kratos says. “He’s their head. He is said to be a death knight of immense power and fantastic evil. He keeps them working together through sheer presence and force- any who cross him are horribly destroyed.”</p><p></p><p>“Wow,” Nixie sighs. “He sounds like a pretty bad guy.”</p><p></p><p>The smoke in the sky agrees with her. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>They reach the cave entrance at last! It is a wide, dark passage. The party enters, and the passage gradually slopes downward but remains mostly level. Fortunately, Sta’Ligir can create a magical light, and the party has a number of lanterns, torchers and sunrods among them. After almost a mile of this shallow descent, the slope increases abruptly to about forty degrees. Our heroes move down a crumbling zone of scree that leads to another passage that is almost level.</p><p></p><p>It has taken them almost four hours to get this far. </p><p></p><p>They catch their breath for a moment and eat a light snack, then resume their journey. They have no desire to linger, and every bit of this trek is much more difficult- and therefore slower- than their previous travels across open ground had been.</p><p></p><p>Then, from above, the dangers of the Underdark make their first appearance. Strange creatures, until now masquerading as stalactites, drop down at the party. One of them creates a cloud of inky darkness, and confusion runs rampant. Someone shouts, “Darkmantles! They’re darkmantles! Like piercers, only better!” Nobody knows what a piercer is, either, so it doesn’t help much. </p><p></p><p>Several of the party stagger out of the darkness, and fortunately, Sta’’Ligir is one of them, so- thanks to his <em>light</em>- they can see. The darkness dissipates, and a general melee breaks out, becoming more confused when a pair of giant lizards climb up to the tunnel from the bottom of a cliff at the rear end of the cave, attracted by the noise and ready for a meal. </p><p></p><p>The darkmantles fly all over, trying to grab the intruders and crush them. It’s a pretty painful strategy when it works, but fortunately, our heroes are able to avoid it most of the time, either by avoiding being hit or by escaping the darkmantle’s grasp before it can get a good crush in. The lizards have a pretty brutal bite, but with a cleric and two warlords in the party to keep our heroes going, it’s only a matter of time before they annihilate all their foes. </p><p></p><p>Afterwards, the party examines the cliff that the lizards climbed up. It is about 20’ down, and the passage widens to about 30’ across.</p><p></p><p>“Well,” Sta’Ligir says after a moment, “let’s go.” </p><p></p><p>With a little effort, the party makes it down to the bottom of the cliff. Down there they find the lizards’ nest; nearby are the remains of a wagon and the bones of several small, humanoid creatures. The consensus amongst those in the party knowledgeable in such things is that the various remains are at least five years old. Within the cart is an old, rusty chest that (once smashed open) proves to hold 187 gp and 200 sp.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the lair of the lizards, the 30’ wide passage continues, narrowing and beginning to drop in stages. The party makes it through this area fairly easily, albeit slowly. Several of the passages are very narrow and require them to crouch or even crawl through them. </p><p></p><p>“Okay, this is officially not cool,” Sta’Ligir mentions, more than once. </p><p></p><p>After about an hour of this, the passage widens again, into a 20’ wide, 10’ tall zone that splits into two 15’ wide passages that fork apart. </p><p></p><p>And, coming down one of the passages- kobolds!</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> And hot on the heels of the kobolds- xvarts!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4517315, member: 1210"] The sky is streaked with plumes of smoke rising from the burning villages in the distance. Vann-La almost fancies that she can hear the screams in the distance with her fine elven hearing. She knows it must be her imagination, but still... the evidence is in the sky. It is unthinkable, but true. The Six-Fingered Hand is winning- crushing the empire. [i]We have to make a stand somewhere,[/i] she thinks. [i]Maybe on the other side of the mountains.[/i] But she can’t help but wonder- will the stand [i]always[/i] be on ‘the other side of the mountains,’ so to speak? Will they [i]ever[/i] be able to fight back? The strength of the Hand is merciless, ruthless, crushing. The evidence is in the sky, indeed- and in the glowing fires visible in the distance at night, in all directions not blocked by the mountains. “Why are they called the Six-Fingered Hand?” Nixie suddenly asks. “Because there are six different races joined together,” Heimall replies. “Orcs, goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, gnolls and ogres.” “How do they all work together? What’s the glue that hold them together?” wonders Vann-La. “Arawn,” Kratos says. “He’s their head. He is said to be a death knight of immense power and fantastic evil. He keeps them working together through sheer presence and force- any who cross him are horribly destroyed.” “Wow,” Nixie sighs. “He sounds like a pretty bad guy.” The smoke in the sky agrees with her. *** They reach the cave entrance at last! It is a wide, dark passage. The party enters, and the passage gradually slopes downward but remains mostly level. Fortunately, Sta’Ligir can create a magical light, and the party has a number of lanterns, torchers and sunrods among them. After almost a mile of this shallow descent, the slope increases abruptly to about forty degrees. Our heroes move down a crumbling zone of scree that leads to another passage that is almost level. It has taken them almost four hours to get this far. They catch their breath for a moment and eat a light snack, then resume their journey. They have no desire to linger, and every bit of this trek is much more difficult- and therefore slower- than their previous travels across open ground had been. Then, from above, the dangers of the Underdark make their first appearance. Strange creatures, until now masquerading as stalactites, drop down at the party. One of them creates a cloud of inky darkness, and confusion runs rampant. Someone shouts, “Darkmantles! They’re darkmantles! Like piercers, only better!” Nobody knows what a piercer is, either, so it doesn’t help much. Several of the party stagger out of the darkness, and fortunately, Sta’’Ligir is one of them, so- thanks to his [i]light[/i]- they can see. The darkness dissipates, and a general melee breaks out, becoming more confused when a pair of giant lizards climb up to the tunnel from the bottom of a cliff at the rear end of the cave, attracted by the noise and ready for a meal. The darkmantles fly all over, trying to grab the intruders and crush them. It’s a pretty painful strategy when it works, but fortunately, our heroes are able to avoid it most of the time, either by avoiding being hit or by escaping the darkmantle’s grasp before it can get a good crush in. The lizards have a pretty brutal bite, but with a cleric and two warlords in the party to keep our heroes going, it’s only a matter of time before they annihilate all their foes. Afterwards, the party examines the cliff that the lizards climbed up. It is about 20’ down, and the passage widens to about 30’ across. “Well,” Sta’Ligir says after a moment, “let’s go.” With a little effort, the party makes it down to the bottom of the cliff. Down there they find the lizards’ nest; nearby are the remains of a wagon and the bones of several small, humanoid creatures. The consensus amongst those in the party knowledgeable in such things is that the various remains are at least five years old. Within the cart is an old, rusty chest that (once smashed open) proves to hold 187 gp and 200 sp. Beyond the lair of the lizards, the 30’ wide passage continues, narrowing and beginning to drop in stages. The party makes it through this area fairly easily, albeit slowly. Several of the passages are very narrow and require them to crouch or even crawl through them. “Okay, this is officially not cool,” Sta’Ligir mentions, more than once. After about an hour of this, the passage widens again, into a 20’ wide, 10’ tall zone that splits into two 15’ wide passages that fork apart. And, coming down one of the passages- kobolds! [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] And hot on the heels of the kobolds- xvarts! [/QUOTE]
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