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Story Hour
The Fall of Civilization
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4566608" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>For a long, terrible moment as he falls, arms and legs flailing, through the empty air, Torinn thinks he is about to die. He has no idea whatsoever how long the fall is. The moment seems to stretch, stretch, streeeetch until it feels like he must have been falling for <em>seconds,</em> for <em>minutes</em>, for <em>ever</em>-</p><p></p><p>And then he hits bottom with a bone-jarring impact that is only partially cushioned by a filthy mass of webbing, the shells of great beetles and other bugs sucked dry by the spider that lurks under the bridge. A few feet away, Nixie groans and rises on shaky legs.</p><p></p><p>“The idol!” shouts Torinn to his companions, who he can still here fighting above. “Watch out for the idol! It can... zap you, scare you over the edge of the cliff!”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Up above, the situation continues to develop. Vann-La, finally completely freed of the dancing venom (whatever the hell <em>that</em> was), manages to smite the freakish spider and bring it down; and, warned by the shouts of her friends at the bottom of the chasm (or at least, one of them), she steels herself for whatever terrors the great spider-god idol might be able to inflict. </p><p></p><p>At the rear of the party, meanwhile, Cook and Sta’Ligir still struggle to extract themselves from the poison web that the chagmat priest cast. Cursing, Sta’Ligir even tries to burn it with a <em>scorching burst,</em> but to no avail. Finally, grunting and ripping out a substantial amount of his hair in the process, the Cook tears loose. Gasping, he staggers forward to the edge of the chasm- and halts, looking down in terror.</p><p></p><p>It’s a long way down. Torinn and Nixie are already at the bottom, scrabbling uselessly for purchase. Cook gulps. Across the way, now illuminated by the glare of a sunrod that has been dropped on the web bridge, the spider idol is now visible. It looms over Vann-La like an onrushing monster about to devour her.</p><p></p><p>Heimall rushes up next to the statue. Ignoring the chagmat priest, the warlord loops a rope around the statue; the other end is tied to his waist. “Rope up!” he cries. “That way it can’t knock you off the bridge!”</p><p></p><p>Hissing angrily at this sacrilege, the chagmat scurries forward to intercede. Unfortunately for it, Vann-La is too fast. She lunges forward and swings her warhammer with chitin-cracking force, and the last chagmat falls!</p><p></p><p>The idol’s eyes flash red, but now that Heimall is tied to it- and our heroes can emulate him quickly enough- the gig is up. It takes Cook, Nixie and Torinn a few moments, working together, to disable/desecrate the statue. And then the battle is won.</p><p></p><p>If ever they have needed rest more, our heroes can’t think of when. So- setting a careful guard- they rest in the most secure place they can find that is not littered with blood and death. And, as soon as they have rested enough to travel, they leave the now-lifeless chagmat cave behind them as quickly as they can, resuming their journey through the Underdark.</p><p></p><p>And, in less than an hour, much to their surprise, the party encounters another small band of travelers. These strangers are dwarves, and they turn out to be four members of the Hammersell clan. They sell arms and armor, and are happy to offer their wares for sale to our heroes. </p><p></p><p>A few minutes of conversation reveals that the dwarves are from a clan that mostly dwells and trades underground. They help our heroes with some basic landmarks to guide them towards the xvart city, and they offer the party some advice, as well. When asked how the dwarves would approach Xvaangensleff, one of the Hammersells says flatly, “I wouldn’t. At least, not without a significant bodyguard. You need to look tough to deal with xvarts. You want them to take you seriously- if you look weak, they will try to take what you have by force.” </p><p></p><p>“Why would you want to go to Xvaangensleff, anyway?” asks Thorin Hammersell. </p><p></p><p>“We don’t, really,” replies Nixie.</p><p></p><p>Kratos elaborates, “We are going under the mountain in an attempt to reach Fandelose before the armies of the Six-Fingered Hand. They are on the march... and they are overrunning the east.”</p><p></p><p>But these dwarves, having never seen the sun, don’t even know who the Six-Fingered Hand is. Cook shakes his head. <em>Different worlds,</em> he thinks, mindful of just how different his homeland, Muk Nam, is from the Empire. </p><p></p><p>“There might be another option for you, though,” Thorin muses. </p><p></p><p>Darrel Hammersell speaks gruffly. “There’s a tunnel, but it’s not safe.”</p><p></p><p>“What do you mean?” asks Sta’Ligir.</p><p></p><p>Zurin speaks up. “That tunnel is cursed. There used to be a terrible dragon that lived in it, Voxis by name. She dripped venom from her maw that smoked and burned the stone beneath her. For a century she reigned over that tunnel, until a group of dwarves went in and finally rooted out her evil. With her last breath she cursed the area, and now, often as not, travelers in there vanish. That was, oh, a decade ago.</p><p></p><p>“Now, we’ll be glad to show you to it, but I think you might want some of our wares first.”</p><p></p><p>The dwarves offer to sell the pcs weapons crafted with special dwarven lore. “They are more resistant to wear and damage than most weapons are,” explains Zurin Hammersell. Additionally, the dwarves have a small cache of magic weapons for sale; Kratos buys a magical warhammer. It is of the basest magical nature, but that’s okay. He grins as he hefts it. It will help him do the job better. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Vann-La and Sta’Ligir try to get more details on the tunnel. The dwarves explain that one of the travelers lost in the tunnel in question was their uncle Klavis. He was in possession of one of the clan’s most prized hammers- a smith’s hammer. The dwarven elders have forbidden any more of the Hammersells to enter the tunnel, but if the pcs could go in, retrieve the hammer and return it, the dwarves would happily trade any one of the magic weapons for it. </p><p></p><p>“I think we should do it,” Kratos says immediately. “It could shorten our journey considerably.”</p><p></p><p>The party talks it over for a few moments, with Sta’Ligir arguing for continuing on the route they already know about. But in the end, the party decides to check out Voxis’ old tunnel. </p><p></p><p>And her curse. </p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> The Curse of Voxis!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4566608, member: 1210"] For a long, terrible moment as he falls, arms and legs flailing, through the empty air, Torinn thinks he is about to die. He has no idea whatsoever how long the fall is. The moment seems to stretch, stretch, streeeetch until it feels like he must have been falling for [i]seconds,[/i] for [i]minutes[/i], for [i]ever[/i]- And then he hits bottom with a bone-jarring impact that is only partially cushioned by a filthy mass of webbing, the shells of great beetles and other bugs sucked dry by the spider that lurks under the bridge. A few feet away, Nixie groans and rises on shaky legs. “The idol!” shouts Torinn to his companions, who he can still here fighting above. “Watch out for the idol! It can... zap you, scare you over the edge of the cliff!” *** Up above, the situation continues to develop. Vann-La, finally completely freed of the dancing venom (whatever the hell [i]that[/i] was), manages to smite the freakish spider and bring it down; and, warned by the shouts of her friends at the bottom of the chasm (or at least, one of them), she steels herself for whatever terrors the great spider-god idol might be able to inflict. At the rear of the party, meanwhile, Cook and Sta’Ligir still struggle to extract themselves from the poison web that the chagmat priest cast. Cursing, Sta’Ligir even tries to burn it with a [i]scorching burst,[/i] but to no avail. Finally, grunting and ripping out a substantial amount of his hair in the process, the Cook tears loose. Gasping, he staggers forward to the edge of the chasm- and halts, looking down in terror. It’s a long way down. Torinn and Nixie are already at the bottom, scrabbling uselessly for purchase. Cook gulps. Across the way, now illuminated by the glare of a sunrod that has been dropped on the web bridge, the spider idol is now visible. It looms over Vann-La like an onrushing monster about to devour her. Heimall rushes up next to the statue. Ignoring the chagmat priest, the warlord loops a rope around the statue; the other end is tied to his waist. “Rope up!” he cries. “That way it can’t knock you off the bridge!” Hissing angrily at this sacrilege, the chagmat scurries forward to intercede. Unfortunately for it, Vann-La is too fast. She lunges forward and swings her warhammer with chitin-cracking force, and the last chagmat falls! The idol’s eyes flash red, but now that Heimall is tied to it- and our heroes can emulate him quickly enough- the gig is up. It takes Cook, Nixie and Torinn a few moments, working together, to disable/desecrate the statue. And then the battle is won. If ever they have needed rest more, our heroes can’t think of when. So- setting a careful guard- they rest in the most secure place they can find that is not littered with blood and death. And, as soon as they have rested enough to travel, they leave the now-lifeless chagmat cave behind them as quickly as they can, resuming their journey through the Underdark. And, in less than an hour, much to their surprise, the party encounters another small band of travelers. These strangers are dwarves, and they turn out to be four members of the Hammersell clan. They sell arms and armor, and are happy to offer their wares for sale to our heroes. A few minutes of conversation reveals that the dwarves are from a clan that mostly dwells and trades underground. They help our heroes with some basic landmarks to guide them towards the xvart city, and they offer the party some advice, as well. When asked how the dwarves would approach Xvaangensleff, one of the Hammersells says flatly, “I wouldn’t. At least, not without a significant bodyguard. You need to look tough to deal with xvarts. You want them to take you seriously- if you look weak, they will try to take what you have by force.” “Why would you want to go to Xvaangensleff, anyway?” asks Thorin Hammersell. “We don’t, really,” replies Nixie. Kratos elaborates, “We are going under the mountain in an attempt to reach Fandelose before the armies of the Six-Fingered Hand. They are on the march... and they are overrunning the east.” But these dwarves, having never seen the sun, don’t even know who the Six-Fingered Hand is. Cook shakes his head. [i]Different worlds,[/i] he thinks, mindful of just how different his homeland, Muk Nam, is from the Empire. “There might be another option for you, though,” Thorin muses. Darrel Hammersell speaks gruffly. “There’s a tunnel, but it’s not safe.” “What do you mean?” asks Sta’Ligir. Zurin speaks up. “That tunnel is cursed. There used to be a terrible dragon that lived in it, Voxis by name. She dripped venom from her maw that smoked and burned the stone beneath her. For a century she reigned over that tunnel, until a group of dwarves went in and finally rooted out her evil. With her last breath she cursed the area, and now, often as not, travelers in there vanish. That was, oh, a decade ago. “Now, we’ll be glad to show you to it, but I think you might want some of our wares first.” The dwarves offer to sell the pcs weapons crafted with special dwarven lore. “They are more resistant to wear and damage than most weapons are,” explains Zurin Hammersell. Additionally, the dwarves have a small cache of magic weapons for sale; Kratos buys a magical warhammer. It is of the basest magical nature, but that’s okay. He grins as he hefts it. It will help him do the job better. Meanwhile, Vann-La and Sta’Ligir try to get more details on the tunnel. The dwarves explain that one of the travelers lost in the tunnel in question was their uncle Klavis. He was in possession of one of the clan’s most prized hammers- a smith’s hammer. The dwarven elders have forbidden any more of the Hammersells to enter the tunnel, but if the pcs could go in, retrieve the hammer and return it, the dwarves would happily trade any one of the magic weapons for it. “I think we should do it,” Kratos says immediately. “It could shorten our journey considerably.” The party talks it over for a few moments, with Sta’Ligir arguing for continuing on the route they already know about. But in the end, the party decides to check out Voxis’ old tunnel. And her curse. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] The Curse of Voxis! [/QUOTE]
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