Jon Potter
First Post
[Realms #213] The Big Squeeze
"Cursed Aphyx!" Ruze spat from the rear. "More tentacles!"
Finian grunted in pain and reversed his grip on his sword in order to stab downward at the tentacle. Before he could do so, however, Ixin took a step to the side and gestured passed Ledare's right shoulder.
"Hesjingacid!" she growled and a dollop iridescent green flew from the mage's clawed fingertips. Her aim was off, however, and the missile splashed down three feet shy of the tentacle; its acid hissed on the stone at Draelond's feet.
The Archer saw none of this, of course. He was doing his best to prevent himself from being dragged down into the filth below while at the same time trying to sever the gripping limb with his sword. He succeeded in neither regard. The barbed tentacle continued to swell upward, wrapping itself snuggly around the half-elf's waist and only the fact that the hole was too small for Finian to fit though prevented him from disappearing into the dark recesses of the under chamber.
"Draelond, mighten you have a flame bomb from Rhem's you can-" the Battleguard started to ask, but the big warrior darted forward with his hands gripping Ravager tightly.
"Hold still!" he bellowed and swung the bastard sword at the writhing tentacle. His attack was more restrained than was his norm, but in his effort to avoid damaging Finian, he missed the tentacle as well.
"Dammit!" Ledare cursed and stepped to the right, putting her into a flanking position with Draelond. Her sword sought an opening, but found none. Finian felt the bones in his leg and pelvis groan in protest as the tentacle continued to constrict.
"Ledare! Wait!" Ruze cried. "Let me tie a rope around your waist!" But it was too late for that, and it wasn't Ledare that needed to worry. A second tentacle snaked up from another nearby hole and flailed at Draelond, but fortunately found no purchase on the man's chain hauberk.
Ixin repeated her invocation and flicked her arm outward at the tentacle that had reared up behind the big fighter. Although Acid Splash was an old spell and one that she had cast countless times during her years stuck amongst the greens in the Duchy of Bluffside, she somehow managed to stumble over the last syllable of the verbal component. Consequently, the acid droplet appeared on the tips of her fingers but didn't go anywhere; the noxious smell of Ixin's burning flesh blossomed amidst the general reek of the chamber.
Finian tried his longsword again, but he just couldn't manage to strike the tentacle. Dark spots were forming in front of his eyes.
Grumbling about the lack of planning and poor listening skills of his companions, Ruze moved in to help Finian. He latched his strong hands onto the throbbing tentacle and managed to loosen it momentarily - long enough for Finian to take in a ragged gasp of air.
Draelond twirled Ravager in his hands and brought it to bare on the limb that swayed in the air above him. It seemed that Lukane was frowning on his actions however; the bastard sword flew from his practiced hands as if the grip had been coated in butter. It clanged to the cave floor a few feet away.
Ledare's sword again flashed in, seeking a solid blow against the limb of their unseen opponent, but found only air. Fortunately for Draelond, the tentacle that hunted for him was having no better luck than his Janissary Companion. He felt the thing part the air beside his head as he darted after his fallen weapon.
Finian cried out as the tentacle squeezed him again, turning his guts to paste despite the Battleguard's help.
"We need to get out of here for Io's sake!!!!" Ixin hissed, but instead of retreating, she darted forward to add her not-insignificant strength to Ruze's. But her hand was slick with blood where the acid had burned her and she couldn't get a grip on the tentacle. The Battleguard's help was enough, it seemed. Finian was able to muscle his way free of the coils and regain his feet although the pain in his stomach and leg was enormous.
At once, Ruze released his grip on the tentacle and scooped up Finian as he had once scooped up Ledare in the collapsing temple of Aphyx. In the process, he presented the flailing limb with an opportunity to strike at him - which it did, wrapping itself around him as snuggly as it had the Archer. The cleric tried in vain to swear an oath, but the constricting limb forced the air from his lungs.
While Draelond fumbled in the darkness for his dropped sword, Ledare once again moved into a flanking position, this time opposite Finian and Ixin. She slashed at the tentacle but missed for a third time. This time, however, she was alone in her misfortune; no sooner had Draelond's fingers closed around Ravager's familiar black walnut handle then the second tentacle found him. He felt the barbs that lined the tentacle's underside rake against his left thigh, but was able to muscle the limb aside before it could successfully grapple him.
Ruze, who was already firmly gripped within the other tentacle's coils could do nothing but fight back a scream as the taste of his own blood bubbled up in the back of his throat. He dimly felt himself hauled into the air.
"Hold on, holy man!" Ixin said as she looked up into the cleric's rapidly-purpling face. She renewed her efforts to grip the tentacle and this time she managed to latch onto it solidly. She wrenched backward with all the draconic strength in her limbs and the Battleguard was able to suck in a single breath of air.
Finian gritted his teeth and drew his dagger. His twin blades licked out at the barbed coils that restrained the cleric. His longsword missed by a wide margin, but his dagger opened a line of blood along the tentacle and they heard a squeal of pain echo up from somewhere below. Momentarily heartened, Ruze strained against the limb that was doing its best to crush his ribs, but it was to no avail. The thing's grip was too powerful.
With Ravager in hand once more, Draelond felt a good deal better about his chances of survival and he threw everything he had into the sword. It sliced through the tentacle that was harrying him, severing it four feet from its barbed tip. An agonized roar filled their ears and the stump of flesh retreated below, leaving the majority of the tentacle to writhe around at Draelond's feet.
Ledare tried desperately to replicate her companion's success, but she couldn't seem to land a telling blow. Her sword struck the tentacle binding Ruze, but skittered off the thick hide without causing any damage. And the thick limb then gave the Battleguard another squeeze that caused his eyes to bulge in their sockets. Ropes of swollen veins stood out along his face and neck and he sprayed a gout of blood from his mouth before going limp in the thing's coils.
"Holy man!" Ixin roared and slashed at the tentacles ineffectually with her claws.
Finian lunged in again with both sword and dagger and this time it was his longsword that scored a hit, skewering the tentacle momentarily before the Archer removed the blade, sending the creature's blood spraying in two directions. Again their was a squeal from below and the coils unwrapped from around the cleric whipping back down through the hole in the floor.
The Battleguard fell unceremoniously onto the hard stone floor.
"Rereat! Now!" Ledare barked as she sheathed her sword. She grabbed Ruze's limp arm with her free hand and dragged him back into the narrow 'staircase' away from the holes where she lowered him gently to the ground. She stepped away from him, giving Finian room to examine the fallen cleric. "Is he-?" she asked afraid to give voice to her fears.
The Archer bent down, feeling the Battleguard's throat for a lifebeat with one hand even as he fished in his herb satchel with the other. "He's alive. But just barely," Finian said grimly. "Give me some room to work."
Ledare stepped back and pointed at Draelond. "You be ready if that thing decides to try again," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the dark chamber where they had just done battle. As the warrior reluctantly took up his position, the Janissary spotted Ixin's yellow eyes regarding her from the shadows.
"I am confused about what is going on here," Ixin told the half-elf. "I had agreed to try to save the girl, Nilia, because I thought she had been taken by humans or humanoids. In my opinion, we are in over our heads."
"I didn't ask for your opinion and I don't much care what it is at this point," Ledare told her coldly and she heard Draelond suck in his breath with surprise. He turned and her lowlight vision had no trouble picking out the disapproving scowl on his face.
"Ixin is right, Ledare," he said. "We are in greater jeopardy every moment we stay in this evil place."
"And what of Kirnoth?" the Janissary asked, her voice sounding very small in the darkness. "What danger does he now face?"
"Trust me Ledare, I understand as well as anyone your desire to find Kirnoth, but at what cost?" he asked. "If Ruze is lost but we find Kirnoth is the price sufficient? If we find him dead? If we find him as a wererat?"
"I need confirmation that he could no longer be saved by us," the Janissary replied. "I can't leave him without proof of that."
"I respect the very little I know of your mission to find your friend, but I am not very comfortable blindly running headlong into my death," Ixin said bluntly and Draelond nodded.
"If he will have us back, let us retreat to Rherram's and regroup," the warrior said. "Perhaps if Kirnoth is alive he can find his way back to that place as well."
"I've done all I can for him," Finian said as the Archer got painfully to his feet. "He's stabilized, but he won't be much use to us in his present state."
"What say you, Ledare?" Draelond asked. "I shall follow your lead, but my suggestion has been gi-" The man's words ended in a startled grunt as an arrowhead appeared with a spurt just below his collarbone. Draelond stared at it uncomprehendingly as he pitched forward against the stone wall.
Two more shafts launched themselves out of the darkness of the foul-smelling chamber and clattered against the tunnel wall. A fourth dinged off of Ledare's steel shield.
"Cursed Aphyx!" Ruze spat from the rear. "More tentacles!"
Finian grunted in pain and reversed his grip on his sword in order to stab downward at the tentacle. Before he could do so, however, Ixin took a step to the side and gestured passed Ledare's right shoulder.
"Hesjingacid!" she growled and a dollop iridescent green flew from the mage's clawed fingertips. Her aim was off, however, and the missile splashed down three feet shy of the tentacle; its acid hissed on the stone at Draelond's feet.
The Archer saw none of this, of course. He was doing his best to prevent himself from being dragged down into the filth below while at the same time trying to sever the gripping limb with his sword. He succeeded in neither regard. The barbed tentacle continued to swell upward, wrapping itself snuggly around the half-elf's waist and only the fact that the hole was too small for Finian to fit though prevented him from disappearing into the dark recesses of the under chamber.
"Draelond, mighten you have a flame bomb from Rhem's you can-" the Battleguard started to ask, but the big warrior darted forward with his hands gripping Ravager tightly.
"Hold still!" he bellowed and swung the bastard sword at the writhing tentacle. His attack was more restrained than was his norm, but in his effort to avoid damaging Finian, he missed the tentacle as well.
"Dammit!" Ledare cursed and stepped to the right, putting her into a flanking position with Draelond. Her sword sought an opening, but found none. Finian felt the bones in his leg and pelvis groan in protest as the tentacle continued to constrict.
"Ledare! Wait!" Ruze cried. "Let me tie a rope around your waist!" But it was too late for that, and it wasn't Ledare that needed to worry. A second tentacle snaked up from another nearby hole and flailed at Draelond, but fortunately found no purchase on the man's chain hauberk.
Ixin repeated her invocation and flicked her arm outward at the tentacle that had reared up behind the big fighter. Although Acid Splash was an old spell and one that she had cast countless times during her years stuck amongst the greens in the Duchy of Bluffside, she somehow managed to stumble over the last syllable of the verbal component. Consequently, the acid droplet appeared on the tips of her fingers but didn't go anywhere; the noxious smell of Ixin's burning flesh blossomed amidst the general reek of the chamber.
Finian tried his longsword again, but he just couldn't manage to strike the tentacle. Dark spots were forming in front of his eyes.
Grumbling about the lack of planning and poor listening skills of his companions, Ruze moved in to help Finian. He latched his strong hands onto the throbbing tentacle and managed to loosen it momentarily - long enough for Finian to take in a ragged gasp of air.
Draelond twirled Ravager in his hands and brought it to bare on the limb that swayed in the air above him. It seemed that Lukane was frowning on his actions however; the bastard sword flew from his practiced hands as if the grip had been coated in butter. It clanged to the cave floor a few feet away.
Ledare's sword again flashed in, seeking a solid blow against the limb of their unseen opponent, but found only air. Fortunately for Draelond, the tentacle that hunted for him was having no better luck than his Janissary Companion. He felt the thing part the air beside his head as he darted after his fallen weapon.
Finian cried out as the tentacle squeezed him again, turning his guts to paste despite the Battleguard's help.
"We need to get out of here for Io's sake!!!!" Ixin hissed, but instead of retreating, she darted forward to add her not-insignificant strength to Ruze's. But her hand was slick with blood where the acid had burned her and she couldn't get a grip on the tentacle. The Battleguard's help was enough, it seemed. Finian was able to muscle his way free of the coils and regain his feet although the pain in his stomach and leg was enormous.
At once, Ruze released his grip on the tentacle and scooped up Finian as he had once scooped up Ledare in the collapsing temple of Aphyx. In the process, he presented the flailing limb with an opportunity to strike at him - which it did, wrapping itself around him as snuggly as it had the Archer. The cleric tried in vain to swear an oath, but the constricting limb forced the air from his lungs.
While Draelond fumbled in the darkness for his dropped sword, Ledare once again moved into a flanking position, this time opposite Finian and Ixin. She slashed at the tentacle but missed for a third time. This time, however, she was alone in her misfortune; no sooner had Draelond's fingers closed around Ravager's familiar black walnut handle then the second tentacle found him. He felt the barbs that lined the tentacle's underside rake against his left thigh, but was able to muscle the limb aside before it could successfully grapple him.
Ruze, who was already firmly gripped within the other tentacle's coils could do nothing but fight back a scream as the taste of his own blood bubbled up in the back of his throat. He dimly felt himself hauled into the air.
"Hold on, holy man!" Ixin said as she looked up into the cleric's rapidly-purpling face. She renewed her efforts to grip the tentacle and this time she managed to latch onto it solidly. She wrenched backward with all the draconic strength in her limbs and the Battleguard was able to suck in a single breath of air.
Finian gritted his teeth and drew his dagger. His twin blades licked out at the barbed coils that restrained the cleric. His longsword missed by a wide margin, but his dagger opened a line of blood along the tentacle and they heard a squeal of pain echo up from somewhere below. Momentarily heartened, Ruze strained against the limb that was doing its best to crush his ribs, but it was to no avail. The thing's grip was too powerful.
With Ravager in hand once more, Draelond felt a good deal better about his chances of survival and he threw everything he had into the sword. It sliced through the tentacle that was harrying him, severing it four feet from its barbed tip. An agonized roar filled their ears and the stump of flesh retreated below, leaving the majority of the tentacle to writhe around at Draelond's feet.
Ledare tried desperately to replicate her companion's success, but she couldn't seem to land a telling blow. Her sword struck the tentacle binding Ruze, but skittered off the thick hide without causing any damage. And the thick limb then gave the Battleguard another squeeze that caused his eyes to bulge in their sockets. Ropes of swollen veins stood out along his face and neck and he sprayed a gout of blood from his mouth before going limp in the thing's coils.
"Holy man!" Ixin roared and slashed at the tentacles ineffectually with her claws.
Finian lunged in again with both sword and dagger and this time it was his longsword that scored a hit, skewering the tentacle momentarily before the Archer removed the blade, sending the creature's blood spraying in two directions. Again their was a squeal from below and the coils unwrapped from around the cleric whipping back down through the hole in the floor.
The Battleguard fell unceremoniously onto the hard stone floor.
"Rereat! Now!" Ledare barked as she sheathed her sword. She grabbed Ruze's limp arm with her free hand and dragged him back into the narrow 'staircase' away from the holes where she lowered him gently to the ground. She stepped away from him, giving Finian room to examine the fallen cleric. "Is he-?" she asked afraid to give voice to her fears.
The Archer bent down, feeling the Battleguard's throat for a lifebeat with one hand even as he fished in his herb satchel with the other. "He's alive. But just barely," Finian said grimly. "Give me some room to work."
Ledare stepped back and pointed at Draelond. "You be ready if that thing decides to try again," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the dark chamber where they had just done battle. As the warrior reluctantly took up his position, the Janissary spotted Ixin's yellow eyes regarding her from the shadows.
"I am confused about what is going on here," Ixin told the half-elf. "I had agreed to try to save the girl, Nilia, because I thought she had been taken by humans or humanoids. In my opinion, we are in over our heads."
"I didn't ask for your opinion and I don't much care what it is at this point," Ledare told her coldly and she heard Draelond suck in his breath with surprise. He turned and her lowlight vision had no trouble picking out the disapproving scowl on his face.
"Ixin is right, Ledare," he said. "We are in greater jeopardy every moment we stay in this evil place."
"And what of Kirnoth?" the Janissary asked, her voice sounding very small in the darkness. "What danger does he now face?"
"Trust me Ledare, I understand as well as anyone your desire to find Kirnoth, but at what cost?" he asked. "If Ruze is lost but we find Kirnoth is the price sufficient? If we find him dead? If we find him as a wererat?"
"I need confirmation that he could no longer be saved by us," the Janissary replied. "I can't leave him without proof of that."
"I respect the very little I know of your mission to find your friend, but I am not very comfortable blindly running headlong into my death," Ixin said bluntly and Draelond nodded.
"If he will have us back, let us retreat to Rherram's and regroup," the warrior said. "Perhaps if Kirnoth is alive he can find his way back to that place as well."
"I've done all I can for him," Finian said as the Archer got painfully to his feet. "He's stabilized, but he won't be much use to us in his present state."
"What say you, Ledare?" Draelond asked. "I shall follow your lead, but my suggestion has been gi-" The man's words ended in a startled grunt as an arrowhead appeared with a spurt just below his collarbone. Draelond stared at it uncomprehendingly as he pitched forward against the stone wall.
Two more shafts launched themselves out of the darkness of the foul-smelling chamber and clattered against the tunnel wall. A fourth dinged off of Ledare's steel shield.