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<blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 4390777" data-attributes="member: 2323"><p><strong>[PLAIN][Realms #444] That's No Dwarf[/PLAIN]</strong></p><p></p><p>"My little flower!" Huzair cried upon entering the small chamber and spotting Anania struggling to remain conscious. A moment later, Morier darted into the room with Stoneblade naked in his fist. A rhythmic clanking signaled Shamalin's progress behind.</p><p></p><p>"What happened?" Morier asked Anania as he entered, taking in the surroundings as he came. She looked up at him with pain visible in every line of her face and in the sweat on her brow.</p><p></p><p>"A... trap," she managed to say around tightly clenched teeth. "There... was a... trap."</p><p></p><p>"Flor have mercy!" Shamalin exclaimed as she caught up to the others and saw the scout's broken state. Clutching her holy symbol in one hand she stepped forward with the words of a <em>Cure Serious Wounds</em> spell on her lips.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"Uumphfff. Nibble, get off my head," Ahlear grunted as he struggled to hang on while activating the <em>Ring of Communication</em>. He heard voices below and glancing down could see flickering torchlight. But it was not enough for him to make out any details. He hoped it was Huzair.</p><p></p><p>"I am hanging here," the druid hissed into the <em>Ring</em>. "Hurry, or I will fall as well."</p><p></p><p>"Where are you?" the wizard's voice asked over the <em>Ring</em>.</p><p></p><p>"Above," was Ahlear's answer. "You need to get to Anania soon, as she will get company. I overheard a conversation. And it also seems we missed a secret door near the staircase."</p><p></p><p>"What staircase?" Huzair asked and without waiting for a response, added, "Hang on. We'll get you down." Ahlear snorted at that comment.</p><p></p><p>"There's not much else I can do," he muttered, grimacing as Nibble's claws dug into him looking for firm purchase.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"Give me the <em>Slippers</em>!" Huzair said to Shamalin. He pointed to the dark shaft overhead. "Ahlear is stuck up there." Grimacing with discomfort, Anania got to her feet; Flor's gifts had healed the damage to her foot, and gone some way toward easing the discomfort in her knee.</p><p></p><p>"I saw him grab for the wall when the trap went off. I believe he may have grasped the side for dear life and I have to guess he is up there," she said. Her expression grew embarrassed and she added, "I failed to see how the trap was triggered."</p><p></p><p>"Do not worry about it, beautiful," Huzair said, his words dripping with honey. "Things like that happen sometimes. Nobody expects you to be any more perfect than you are." She shook her head.</p><p></p><p>"It is my job," she said morosely. Morier laid a hand on her shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"We all do what we can," he told her and Huzair nodded.</p><p></p><p>"And right now what you both need to do is try to find a hidden door down here," he said, watching as Shamalin stripped off the <em>Slippers of Spider Climbing</em>. "The druid said that we missed one and we were about to have hostile company. So use that elfin magic of yours and spot that door!" He moved then toward the wall, half-hopping as he struggled into the <em>Slippers</em>.</p><p></p><p>"What about you?" Morier asked Shamalin and the cleric looked at him and shrugged apologetically.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not good at finding hidden doors," she smiled wistfully. "Amaury used to say I-" Her voice hitched and she turned away. "I think I would do better as a sort of decoy... an obvious target in the center of the room."</p><p></p><p>"That will be a very dangerous position should Ahlear be correct about an enemy advance," Anania cautioned and Shamalin waved her off.</p><p></p><p>"I will cast <em>Sanctuary</em> at the first sign of conflict and will follow it up with a <em>Command</em> spell," the cleric informed her. "Do not think me fragile or unprepared."</p><p></p><p>Anania nodded once and went to search for secret doors.</p><p></p><p>Huzair huffed and puffed as he went up the side of the shaft with as much haste as he could manage when walking up a sheer wall. He'd removed from his <em>Handy Haversack</em> his <em>Everburning Torch</em> and thrust it through his belt. It filled the shaft with a bubble of magical light as he ascended and he soon spotted Ahlear's dangling feet above.</p><p></p><p>"I see you," he whispered into the <em>Ring of Communication</em>. "I brought you something that will let you down safely."</p><p></p><p>"Just hurry," Ahlear hissed back. "I can't-" He stopped speaking as he heard some mechanism winding back up behind the stone, followed by the CHUNK! CHUNK! CHUNK! sound of the stairs resetting. They slipped out of the central pillar, and locked back into the outer wall in a cascade of stone that travelled down from the top faster than a man could run.</p><p></p><p>One moment, Huzair was looking at the druid's feet and the next there were two sets of stairs between himself and Ahlear. The sound proceeded swiftly downward and just as suddenly as it had begun, the trap was reset.</p><p></p><p>Ahlear dropped down onto the stair, quite pleased to have solid stone beneath his boots again. He lifted the still-trembling Nibble off his shoulder and scratched the animal reassuringly for a moment. Then he heard the door open above him again and the sound of several pairs of tramping boots moving down the stairs toward him.</p><p></p><p>Ahlear heard the sound of metal on metal above followed by a startled grunt.</p><p></p><p>"Konerk!" a gruff voice shouted in undercommon. "Are yer feet made of lead, boy?!"</p><p></p><p>"I don't think so," a second voice answered. "I never thought to check tho-" The voice was cut off by another clank of metal on metal.</p><p></p><p>"It's yer head what's full of lead, methinks!" The first voice grumbled. "Now pick up yer feet or so help me I'll feed ye to Dagga myself!"</p><p></p><p>"I doubt she'll be very hungry after she eats the giant," Konerk replied and metal struck metal again prompting another cry of pain.</p><p></p><p>"Keep Quiet!" the first voice shouted. "An ye nae see we're tryin' ta be sneaky 'ere?"</p><p></p><p>"Shh!!" someone hissed - someone closer than the other two, Ahlear thought.</p><p></p><p>He quickly gave Nibble a command and sent the rat scrambling down the stair. His animal companion's nails chittered over the stone as Ahlear activated the <em>Ring of Invisibility</em> and pressed himself against the wall in the dark.</p><p></p><p>"Did ye hear that?" a voice asked - one he hadn't heard yet.</p><p></p><p>"I did," replied a fourth. Then, raising his voice he called, "Garkil, there's somethin' alive down here!"</p><p></p><p>"Well, then," the first voice shouted back down, "Let's see if we can't change that, shall we?" Ahlear could almost hear the smile spreading on Garkil's lips as weapons were readied above.</p><p></p><p>It didn't take them long to pass by the spot where Ahlear stood silently. He could not see them in the utter darkness, of course, but the stench of unwashed bodies hung about them like an almost tangible cloud. As someone used to spending long periods in the wilderness, he was no stranger to the smell of sweat, but this was a sour and unwholesome miasma that almost made him gag aloud. Their footsteps were nearly without sound as they tread upon the steps - even Konerk now was as light-footed as any guild thief. But at least one of them was mumbling under their breath, something about blood and death in a cadence that made Ahlear think it might be a song of some kind.</p><p></p><p>He listened as the sing-song babbling moved passed him in the darkness and was about to step away from the wall when something unseen brushed passed him, rough enough to send him against the central column. He sucked in his breath and hefted his hammer, ready for further assault, but it didn't come. Soon, he could no longer hear the mutterings and determined himself to be along in the immediate area.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Below, Huzair heard the hiss of air being sucked through wet lips and turned toward the sound. He'd dropped his <em>Everburning Torch on</em> a stair a little bit below the spot where he clung invisible to the stairs overhead and it continued to shed bright, magical light over the entire area. It was enough for the mage to spot the figure at the edge of the shadowy illumination. He wasn't entirely sure what it was he was seeing, but he knew one thing: it was no dwarf.</p><p></p><p>The creature crouching in the shadows at the curve of the stair was dwarf-sized, but that's where the similarity ended. Its skin was devoid of pigment, being the same blue-white as Morier's. Its hair and mustache were platinum-colored and matted with dried blood and filth. It held a boxy repeating crossbow awkwardly in one hand while it shielded its bulbous, milky-white eyes from the light of Huzair's everburning torch with the other. Its lips were pulled back from cracked, brown teeth in disgust.</p><p></p><p>"Don't just stand there, Garto, douse that light!" a voice hissed and Huzair saw that there was another of the creatures behind the first. Garto turned to its fellow and gnashed its teeth, then, spitting once on the stairs it cloaked itself in swirling tendrils of darkness and darted forward.</p><p></p><p>It was difficult to see exactly what it was doing - the veil of shadows obscured it somewhat - but it reached the <em>Everburning Torch</em>, scooped it up and then extinguished the light, plunging the stairwell into darkness. Huzair could hear the hushed tread of feet moving below him in the darkness and he risked touching his <em>Darkvision</em> tattoo, activating its magic. At once, he could see again, albeit in black-and-white only. But he saw now that there were four of the dwarflike creatures moving stealthily down the stairs. They were dressed in ratty studded leather armor, and each carried a repeating crossbow. One of them had a strange hooked spear strapped across his back, but the others all bore shortswords at their hips.</p><p></p><p>Huzair grinned and, drawing out a prepared scroll from his traveler's purse, he dropped a <em>Web</em> in their midst. Immediately the stairwell was filled floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall with thick sticky strands, and one of the dwarf things was utterly entombed within the mass. The other three, however, faired better; two of them were tangled up in the web but still looked mobile while the fourth, through some miracle of evasion managed to tumble free of the spell's area of effect. He landed on his back on the stairs, curses streaming nonsensically from his lips.</p><p></p><p>"We've been tricked, boys!" Garkil shouted as he struggled to his feet. "I'm goin' after Thorlum! Ye lot hold the stairs!" The others growled and gibbered in the webs as Garkil started back up toward the top, scrambling almost on all fours as he went.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jon Potter, post: 4390777, member: 2323"] [b][PLAIN][Realms #444] That's No Dwarf[/PLAIN][/b] "My little flower!" Huzair cried upon entering the small chamber and spotting Anania struggling to remain conscious. A moment later, Morier darted into the room with Stoneblade naked in his fist. A rhythmic clanking signaled Shamalin's progress behind. "What happened?" Morier asked Anania as he entered, taking in the surroundings as he came. She looked up at him with pain visible in every line of her face and in the sweat on her brow. "A... trap," she managed to say around tightly clenched teeth. "There... was a... trap." "Flor have mercy!" Shamalin exclaimed as she caught up to the others and saw the scout's broken state. Clutching her holy symbol in one hand she stepped forward with the words of a [i]Cure Serious Wounds[/i] spell on her lips. "Uumphfff. Nibble, get off my head," Ahlear grunted as he struggled to hang on while activating the [i]Ring of Communication[/i]. He heard voices below and glancing down could see flickering torchlight. But it was not enough for him to make out any details. He hoped it was Huzair. "I am hanging here," the druid hissed into the [i]Ring[/i]. "Hurry, or I will fall as well." "Where are you?" the wizard's voice asked over the [i]Ring[/i]. "Above," was Ahlear's answer. "You need to get to Anania soon, as she will get company. I overheard a conversation. And it also seems we missed a secret door near the staircase." "What staircase?" Huzair asked and without waiting for a response, added, "Hang on. We'll get you down." Ahlear snorted at that comment. "There's not much else I can do," he muttered, grimacing as Nibble's claws dug into him looking for firm purchase. "Give me the [i]Slippers[/i]!" Huzair said to Shamalin. He pointed to the dark shaft overhead. "Ahlear is stuck up there." Grimacing with discomfort, Anania got to her feet; Flor's gifts had healed the damage to her foot, and gone some way toward easing the discomfort in her knee. "I saw him grab for the wall when the trap went off. I believe he may have grasped the side for dear life and I have to guess he is up there," she said. Her expression grew embarrassed and she added, "I failed to see how the trap was triggered." "Do not worry about it, beautiful," Huzair said, his words dripping with honey. "Things like that happen sometimes. Nobody expects you to be any more perfect than you are." She shook her head. "It is my job," she said morosely. Morier laid a hand on her shoulder. "We all do what we can," he told her and Huzair nodded. "And right now what you both need to do is try to find a hidden door down here," he said, watching as Shamalin stripped off the [i]Slippers of Spider Climbing[/i]. "The druid said that we missed one and we were about to have hostile company. So use that elfin magic of yours and spot that door!" He moved then toward the wall, half-hopping as he struggled into the [i]Slippers[/i]. "What about you?" Morier asked Shamalin and the cleric looked at him and shrugged apologetically. "I'm not good at finding hidden doors," she smiled wistfully. "Amaury used to say I-" Her voice hitched and she turned away. "I think I would do better as a sort of decoy... an obvious target in the center of the room." "That will be a very dangerous position should Ahlear be correct about an enemy advance," Anania cautioned and Shamalin waved her off. "I will cast [i]Sanctuary[/i] at the first sign of conflict and will follow it up with a [i]Command[/i] spell," the cleric informed her. "Do not think me fragile or unprepared." Anania nodded once and went to search for secret doors. Huzair huffed and puffed as he went up the side of the shaft with as much haste as he could manage when walking up a sheer wall. He'd removed from his [i]Handy Haversack[/i] his [i]Everburning Torch[/i] and thrust it through his belt. It filled the shaft with a bubble of magical light as he ascended and he soon spotted Ahlear's dangling feet above. "I see you," he whispered into the [i]Ring of Communication[/i]. "I brought you something that will let you down safely." "Just hurry," Ahlear hissed back. "I can't-" He stopped speaking as he heard some mechanism winding back up behind the stone, followed by the CHUNK! CHUNK! CHUNK! sound of the stairs resetting. They slipped out of the central pillar, and locked back into the outer wall in a cascade of stone that travelled down from the top faster than a man could run. One moment, Huzair was looking at the druid's feet and the next there were two sets of stairs between himself and Ahlear. The sound proceeded swiftly downward and just as suddenly as it had begun, the trap was reset. Ahlear dropped down onto the stair, quite pleased to have solid stone beneath his boots again. He lifted the still-trembling Nibble off his shoulder and scratched the animal reassuringly for a moment. Then he heard the door open above him again and the sound of several pairs of tramping boots moving down the stairs toward him. Ahlear heard the sound of metal on metal above followed by a startled grunt. "Konerk!" a gruff voice shouted in undercommon. "Are yer feet made of lead, boy?!" "I don't think so," a second voice answered. "I never thought to check tho-" The voice was cut off by another clank of metal on metal. "It's yer head what's full of lead, methinks!" The first voice grumbled. "Now pick up yer feet or so help me I'll feed ye to Dagga myself!" "I doubt she'll be very hungry after she eats the giant," Konerk replied and metal struck metal again prompting another cry of pain. "Keep Quiet!" the first voice shouted. "An ye nae see we're tryin' ta be sneaky 'ere?" "Shh!!" someone hissed - someone closer than the other two, Ahlear thought. He quickly gave Nibble a command and sent the rat scrambling down the stair. His animal companion's nails chittered over the stone as Ahlear activated the [i]Ring of Invisibility[/i] and pressed himself against the wall in the dark. "Did ye hear that?" a voice asked - one he hadn't heard yet. "I did," replied a fourth. Then, raising his voice he called, "Garkil, there's somethin' alive down here!" "Well, then," the first voice shouted back down, "Let's see if we can't change that, shall we?" Ahlear could almost hear the smile spreading on Garkil's lips as weapons were readied above. It didn't take them long to pass by the spot where Ahlear stood silently. He could not see them in the utter darkness, of course, but the stench of unwashed bodies hung about them like an almost tangible cloud. As someone used to spending long periods in the wilderness, he was no stranger to the smell of sweat, but this was a sour and unwholesome miasma that almost made him gag aloud. Their footsteps were nearly without sound as they tread upon the steps - even Konerk now was as light-footed as any guild thief. But at least one of them was mumbling under their breath, something about blood and death in a cadence that made Ahlear think it might be a song of some kind. He listened as the sing-song babbling moved passed him in the darkness and was about to step away from the wall when something unseen brushed passed him, rough enough to send him against the central column. He sucked in his breath and hefted his hammer, ready for further assault, but it didn't come. Soon, he could no longer hear the mutterings and determined himself to be along in the immediate area. Below, Huzair heard the hiss of air being sucked through wet lips and turned toward the sound. He'd dropped his [i]Everburning Torch on[/i] a stair a little bit below the spot where he clung invisible to the stairs overhead and it continued to shed bright, magical light over the entire area. It was enough for the mage to spot the figure at the edge of the shadowy illumination. He wasn't entirely sure what it was he was seeing, but he knew one thing: it was no dwarf. The creature crouching in the shadows at the curve of the stair was dwarf-sized, but that's where the similarity ended. Its skin was devoid of pigment, being the same blue-white as Morier's. Its hair and mustache were platinum-colored and matted with dried blood and filth. It held a boxy repeating crossbow awkwardly in one hand while it shielded its bulbous, milky-white eyes from the light of Huzair's everburning torch with the other. Its lips were pulled back from cracked, brown teeth in disgust. "Don't just stand there, Garto, douse that light!" a voice hissed and Huzair saw that there was another of the creatures behind the first. Garto turned to its fellow and gnashed its teeth, then, spitting once on the stairs it cloaked itself in swirling tendrils of darkness and darted forward. It was difficult to see exactly what it was doing - the veil of shadows obscured it somewhat - but it reached the [i]Everburning Torch[/i], scooped it up and then extinguished the light, plunging the stairwell into darkness. Huzair could hear the hushed tread of feet moving below him in the darkness and he risked touching his [i]Darkvision[/i] tattoo, activating its magic. At once, he could see again, albeit in black-and-white only. But he saw now that there were four of the dwarflike creatures moving stealthily down the stairs. They were dressed in ratty studded leather armor, and each carried a repeating crossbow. One of them had a strange hooked spear strapped across his back, but the others all bore shortswords at their hips. Huzair grinned and, drawing out a prepared scroll from his traveler's purse, he dropped a [i]Web[/i] in their midst. Immediately the stairwell was filled floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall with thick sticky strands, and one of the dwarf things was utterly entombed within the mass. The other three, however, faired better; two of them were tangled up in the web but still looked mobile while the fourth, through some miracle of evasion managed to tumble free of the spell's area of effect. He landed on his back on the stairs, curses streaming nonsensically from his lips. "We've been tricked, boys!" Garkil shouted as he struggled to his feet. "I'm goin' after Thorlum! Ye lot hold the stairs!" The others growled and gibbered in the webs as Garkil started back up toward the top, scrambling almost on all fours as he went. [/QUOTE]
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