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Story Hour
The Fall of Civilization
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4532303" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The kobolds rush towards our heroes. In response, the party roars collectively and (mostly) charges forward to meet them. </p><p></p><p>Kobolds running <em>towards</em> a fight? Ridiculous, bad judgment- and, as our heroes are convinced they’ll see in just a moment, lethal. Sta’Ligir- who did <em>not</em> move to meet the advancing dog-lizard-men- takes a deep breath and chants the words to a spell. An instant later, a <em>scorching burst</em> explodes in the midst of the kobolds. Two of them fall instantly. The third one squeals and keeps running, passing through and past the party with the best speed it can muster.</p><p></p><p>Cook whacks it with a frying pan on the way past, and although it stumbles, it keeps moving- and swiftly escapes back the way the party came. Sta’Ligir sends a <em>magic missile</em> after it, but to no avail.</p><p></p><p>“Well, that was easy,” remarks Torinn. </p><p></p><p>Nixie replies, “If kobolds were all the Hand had to offer, we wouldn’t be having anywhere near this kind of trouble.”</p><p></p><p>Kratos nods. “Unfortunately, they do have a lot of other resources as well.”</p><p></p><p>“These kobolds aren’t Six-Fingered Hand, anyway,” Heimall announces, squatting next to the bodies of the burnt kobolds. “Look- no uniforms. Very crude weapons- these spears are improvised, without metal or even stone tips. And collars around there necks- look here, this one even has part of a chain hanging from it.” He stands up and turns around to face his friends. “I think these are escaped slaves.”</p><p></p><p>Just then, a high-pitched voice cries out from further down. <em>“Sventi oi vrogahast! Axafarhl sventul taxjack!”</em></p><p></p><p>“Ooi, what was that?” exclaims the Cook, as small blue-skinned humanoids begin to charge up the hall into sight towards our heroes. If only any of our heroes could speak a smattering of the Xvart language, they might catch the gist of the newcomer’s words: <em>Hey, those guys are killing our slaves! That’s our property- they owe us replacement slaves!</em></p><p></p><p>The leading xvart pulls a pair of manacles out of his belt and whirls them over his head. With a wild cry, he whips them forward at Vann-La. The binders wrap firmly around her waist and legs, leaving her unable to move! “Hey!” she cries. Meanwhile, a small horde of rats runs towards the party. Sta’Ligir slows their progress with a <em>scorching burst</em>- one of the rats catches fire and dies in a greasy flash and a loud squeal- but the rest move up on Vann-La, who lays about her with her warhammer as she struggles to escape the manacle-bola holding her. </p><p></p><p>There are four xvarts. Three of them throw their manacles at the party and then move in, snaring Cook, but the other one stays back. This one is covered in rats. They climb all over the small blue figure with sickening familiarity. The xvart raises a hand and points at Kratos, and a wriggling horde of filthy vermin rushes from the blue figure towards Kratos. The warlord cries out as they crawl all over him, biting and tearing at his skin!</p><p></p><p>The xvarts that have moved into combat, meanwhile, prove annoyingly elusive. They make cowardly strikes and then dance away, while Vann-La and Cook are both still caught in the manacles. The dwarf whips his frying pan down onto another of the rats, and its head cracks and bursts. “Ooi, save that one for later, he’s juicy!” the cook exclaims with a laugh. Then he hurls a meat cleaver at the xvart ratkeeper with a sly flourish. The ratkeeper tries to dodge, but the cleaver still slices a bloody line on his leg. With a snarl, he shakes himself, and a huge mass of rats pours off of his body and rushes all about, pouring all across the ground and making movement difficult. </p><p></p><p>Kratos grits his teeth. “I’m not going down like this!” he declares, madly brushing the rats (which are still biting him) off of his body. “I can take this!”* Then his eyes widen as he sees one of the xvart slavers smack Torinn in the head, stunning the dragonborn! He staggers back, and the ratkeeper directs a group of rats to attack him. They tear at him and pull him down! “No, Torinn!” Kratos yells. “Don’t let them take you down! You can stand against them- you must!”** Torinn’s eyes flutter open. With a groan, the dragonborn shakes off the effects of the xvart slaver’s blow. </p><p></p><p>Cook, meanwhile, has finally managed to wiggle out of the manacles entrapping his legs. He reaches into a pocket inside his shabby coat and pulls out a handful of shuriken. With a single motion, he throws them all at a handful of xvarts nearby in a blinding barrage, and the attack sinks shuriken into two of them right above the eyes!</p><p></p><p>However, this seems to trigger a particularly cowardly reaction in the wounded xvarts, and they both begin to withdraw!</p><p></p><p>This seems to be enough to turn the tide. The rats are all gone by now, and Sta’Ligir blasts another of the xvarts with an <em>acid arrow</em>. It squeaks and begins to retreat as well. Vann-La, still trapped by the manacles, has taken quite a beating by now; she takes a moment to get her second wind, and then slams into another of the xvarts like a tide of iron. Even though she can’t follow them, she can certainly push them around!</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the retreating xvart slavers seem to have run into some kind of complication. They’re out of the light, but the party can hear some kind of further engagement down there. Sta’Ligir decides to help light this situation up magically, and once he does, it becomes apparent that there is a tiefling down there, blocking the xvart retreat! He is armed and equipped, but a broken chain dangles from a collar around his neck. Clearly, he is another escaped slave- and thanks to him, the xvarts are flanked. </p><p></p><p>The ratkeeper snarls and unleashes a squeaking horde, which rushes all over Kratos, Vann-La, Torinn, Cook and Sta’Ligir, biting and crawling all over them all. Torinn heals himself as he tries to slay some of the rats covering him, but he is badly wounded. Sta’Ligir, too, is barely standing, even after using his second wind. A moment later, he collapses, with rats still chewing on him! Vann-La, too, goes down. </p><p></p><p>The ratkeeper grins, but then falters as Cook and Kratos begin moving towards him. Giving them all a dirty look, he turns to flee.</p><p></p><p>The stranger has taken care of one of the escaping xvart slavers, though the other two slipped past him. Now, as the ratkeeper attempts to slip past him, he tries to stop the ratkeeper in turn, and manages to wound him! But the ratkeeper is beating a hasty retreat, and-</p><p></p><p><em>“Git!”</em> cries Kratos to the stranger.</p><p></p><p>The stranger hurls a shuriken at the escaping ratkeeper, and it sinks into the xvart’s blue throat. Without a word, the rat-covered villain falls. </p><p></p><p>Those who are still standing work quickly to clear the rats from those that are not, and to stop them from bleeding to death. It is only after they have successfully ensured all of their companions’ survival that they turn to the newcomer.</p><p></p><p>”Who are you?” Kratos demands. </p><p></p><p>“My name,” says the newcomer, “is Nowhere Jones. Thanks for helping me kill these guys- they were slavers, and they’d taken me prisoner. Some of their other slaves escaped, so they parked their wagon while they pursued them. I managed to get free while they were looking for the kobolds, and I wanted to get back to the surface and escape this area.”</p><p></p><p>“Where did they take you prisoner?” asks the warlord. “What were you doing down here?”</p><p></p><p>“I was part of a band of adventurers. We were exploring the passage under the mountain- we’d heard there’s often a lot of treasure to be found down here. The xvarts came on us, and most of us got slain. They stunned me, though, and put me in chains.” </p><p></p><p>“They’re slippery,” Cook comments. </p><p></p><p>“Yes, once they are badly wounded it seems that their cowardice kicks into high gear,” Kratos agrees. “What do you know about their city?”</p><p></p><p>“Not much. I was only taken recently- I think we were on our way to their city, but when the kobolds got away, they changed direction.”</p><p></p><p>“Probably safer together,” Cook says. </p><p></p><p>Kratos nods. “You helped us fight the xvarts; I see no reason why we couldn’t join together, at least for now.”</p><p></p><p>“Where are you headed? What are <em>you</em> doing down here?”</p><p></p><p>“The Six-Fingered Hand is assaulting the east,” Kratos says. “We are trying to get word to Fandelose before they, too, come under attack. We plan to pass through Xvaangensleff, as it is the most direct route.”</p><p></p><p>“All right,” Nowhere Jones pronounces. “I’m in.”</p><p></p><p><em>And I sure wouldn’t mind getting my revenge on the xvarts while I’m in their city.</em></p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Our heroes traverse a dangerous zone and find a dark lake!</p><p></p><p></p><p>*This was an <em>inspiring word,</em> naturally. </p><p></p><p>**This was another <em>inspiring word,</em> of course.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4532303, member: 1210"] The kobolds rush towards our heroes. In response, the party roars collectively and (mostly) charges forward to meet them. Kobolds running [i]towards[/i] a fight? Ridiculous, bad judgment- and, as our heroes are convinced they’ll see in just a moment, lethal. Sta’Ligir- who did [i]not[/i] move to meet the advancing dog-lizard-men- takes a deep breath and chants the words to a spell. An instant later, a [i]scorching burst[/i] explodes in the midst of the kobolds. Two of them fall instantly. The third one squeals and keeps running, passing through and past the party with the best speed it can muster. Cook whacks it with a frying pan on the way past, and although it stumbles, it keeps moving- and swiftly escapes back the way the party came. Sta’Ligir sends a [i]magic missile[/i] after it, but to no avail. “Well, that was easy,” remarks Torinn. Nixie replies, “If kobolds were all the Hand had to offer, we wouldn’t be having anywhere near this kind of trouble.” Kratos nods. “Unfortunately, they do have a lot of other resources as well.” “These kobolds aren’t Six-Fingered Hand, anyway,” Heimall announces, squatting next to the bodies of the burnt kobolds. “Look- no uniforms. Very crude weapons- these spears are improvised, without metal or even stone tips. And collars around there necks- look here, this one even has part of a chain hanging from it.” He stands up and turns around to face his friends. “I think these are escaped slaves.” Just then, a high-pitched voice cries out from further down. [i]“Sventi oi vrogahast! Axafarhl sventul taxjack!”[/i] “Ooi, what was that?” exclaims the Cook, as small blue-skinned humanoids begin to charge up the hall into sight towards our heroes. If only any of our heroes could speak a smattering of the Xvart language, they might catch the gist of the newcomer’s words: [i]Hey, those guys are killing our slaves! That’s our property- they owe us replacement slaves![/i] The leading xvart pulls a pair of manacles out of his belt and whirls them over his head. With a wild cry, he whips them forward at Vann-La. The binders wrap firmly around her waist and legs, leaving her unable to move! “Hey!” she cries. Meanwhile, a small horde of rats runs towards the party. Sta’Ligir slows their progress with a [i]scorching burst[/i]- one of the rats catches fire and dies in a greasy flash and a loud squeal- but the rest move up on Vann-La, who lays about her with her warhammer as she struggles to escape the manacle-bola holding her. There are four xvarts. Three of them throw their manacles at the party and then move in, snaring Cook, but the other one stays back. This one is covered in rats. They climb all over the small blue figure with sickening familiarity. The xvart raises a hand and points at Kratos, and a wriggling horde of filthy vermin rushes from the blue figure towards Kratos. The warlord cries out as they crawl all over him, biting and tearing at his skin! The xvarts that have moved into combat, meanwhile, prove annoyingly elusive. They make cowardly strikes and then dance away, while Vann-La and Cook are both still caught in the manacles. The dwarf whips his frying pan down onto another of the rats, and its head cracks and bursts. “Ooi, save that one for later, he’s juicy!” the cook exclaims with a laugh. Then he hurls a meat cleaver at the xvart ratkeeper with a sly flourish. The ratkeeper tries to dodge, but the cleaver still slices a bloody line on his leg. With a snarl, he shakes himself, and a huge mass of rats pours off of his body and rushes all about, pouring all across the ground and making movement difficult. Kratos grits his teeth. “I’m not going down like this!” he declares, madly brushing the rats (which are still biting him) off of his body. “I can take this!”* Then his eyes widen as he sees one of the xvart slavers smack Torinn in the head, stunning the dragonborn! He staggers back, and the ratkeeper directs a group of rats to attack him. They tear at him and pull him down! “No, Torinn!” Kratos yells. “Don’t let them take you down! You can stand against them- you must!”** Torinn’s eyes flutter open. With a groan, the dragonborn shakes off the effects of the xvart slaver’s blow. Cook, meanwhile, has finally managed to wiggle out of the manacles entrapping his legs. He reaches into a pocket inside his shabby coat and pulls out a handful of shuriken. With a single motion, he throws them all at a handful of xvarts nearby in a blinding barrage, and the attack sinks shuriken into two of them right above the eyes! However, this seems to trigger a particularly cowardly reaction in the wounded xvarts, and they both begin to withdraw! This seems to be enough to turn the tide. The rats are all gone by now, and Sta’Ligir blasts another of the xvarts with an [i]acid arrow[/i]. It squeaks and begins to retreat as well. Vann-La, still trapped by the manacles, has taken quite a beating by now; she takes a moment to get her second wind, and then slams into another of the xvarts like a tide of iron. Even though she can’t follow them, she can certainly push them around! Meanwhile, the retreating xvart slavers seem to have run into some kind of complication. They’re out of the light, but the party can hear some kind of further engagement down there. Sta’Ligir decides to help light this situation up magically, and once he does, it becomes apparent that there is a tiefling down there, blocking the xvart retreat! He is armed and equipped, but a broken chain dangles from a collar around his neck. Clearly, he is another escaped slave- and thanks to him, the xvarts are flanked. The ratkeeper snarls and unleashes a squeaking horde, which rushes all over Kratos, Vann-La, Torinn, Cook and Sta’Ligir, biting and crawling all over them all. Torinn heals himself as he tries to slay some of the rats covering him, but he is badly wounded. Sta’Ligir, too, is barely standing, even after using his second wind. A moment later, he collapses, with rats still chewing on him! Vann-La, too, goes down. The ratkeeper grins, but then falters as Cook and Kratos begin moving towards him. Giving them all a dirty look, he turns to flee. The stranger has taken care of one of the escaping xvart slavers, though the other two slipped past him. Now, as the ratkeeper attempts to slip past him, he tries to stop the ratkeeper in turn, and manages to wound him! But the ratkeeper is beating a hasty retreat, and- [i]“Git!”[/i] cries Kratos to the stranger. The stranger hurls a shuriken at the escaping ratkeeper, and it sinks into the xvart’s blue throat. Without a word, the rat-covered villain falls. Those who are still standing work quickly to clear the rats from those that are not, and to stop them from bleeding to death. It is only after they have successfully ensured all of their companions’ survival that they turn to the newcomer. ”Who are you?” Kratos demands. “My name,” says the newcomer, “is Nowhere Jones. Thanks for helping me kill these guys- they were slavers, and they’d taken me prisoner. Some of their other slaves escaped, so they parked their wagon while they pursued them. I managed to get free while they were looking for the kobolds, and I wanted to get back to the surface and escape this area.” “Where did they take you prisoner?” asks the warlord. “What were you doing down here?” “I was part of a band of adventurers. We were exploring the passage under the mountain- we’d heard there’s often a lot of treasure to be found down here. The xvarts came on us, and most of us got slain. They stunned me, though, and put me in chains.” “They’re slippery,” Cook comments. “Yes, once they are badly wounded it seems that their cowardice kicks into high gear,” Kratos agrees. “What do you know about their city?” “Not much. I was only taken recently- I think we were on our way to their city, but when the kobolds got away, they changed direction.” “Probably safer together,” Cook says. Kratos nods. “You helped us fight the xvarts; I see no reason why we couldn’t join together, at least for now.” “Where are you headed? What are [i]you[/i] doing down here?” “The Six-Fingered Hand is assaulting the east,” Kratos says. “We are trying to get word to Fandelose before they, too, come under attack. We plan to pass through Xvaangensleff, as it is the most direct route.” “All right,” Nowhere Jones pronounces. “I’m in.” [i]And I sure wouldn’t mind getting my revenge on the xvarts while I’m in their city.[/i] [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Our heroes traverse a dangerous zone and find a dark lake! *This was an [i]inspiring word,[/i] naturally. **This was another [i]inspiring word,[/i] of course. [/QUOTE]
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