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Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
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<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 6118" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>LORD OF THE IRON FORTRESS-- Part II</strong></p><p></p><p>Shorty, Alliane, and Keldas joined them in the room, and the town watch was hot on their heels, drawn by the sound of battle. The assmar from the front gate was with them. “WHAT IN THE SEVEN HEAVENS IS GOING ON HERE?”</p><p></p><p>Wulf looked around-- at the gore-spattered remains of the blacksmith, at Shorty, Keldas, and Alliane sitting quietly and nursing their wounds, and at Karak, standing in the center of the room brandishing a holy sword that still shone like the north star.</p><p></p><p>“Ahhh…” he expertly lied, “the paladin here went crazy, see.... but we reigned him in and took this ‘un alive.” Wulf booted the critter and it stirred ever so slightly. </p><p></p><p>Wulf’s blatant lie seemed genuine enough-- from the right perspective. The aasimar raised an eyebrow, clearly aware that Wulf was lying and making the logical assumption that he was deliberately trying to stir up trouble for Karak.</p><p></p><p>Keldas smoothly stepped in to take over with just enough of the truth to sweeten the deception. He thought it best not to even mention its <em>disintegrated</em> counterpart, but he stayed as close as possible to what had really happened. “We found this creature attacking the keeper of this shop. We were too late to save the poor shopkeep, but we did our best to take the culprit alive.”</p><p></p><p>The aasimar seemed satisfied with the evidence at hand. “Don’t stray from the city and keep yourselves available at the inn. We may have additional questions for you.” He gestured to his men to drag away the captive.</p><p></p><p>“Poor Verachus…” muttered Shorty.</p><p></p><p>The aasimar turned, laughing, as he departed. “This isn’t Verachus,” he said. “Verachus is an efreet, and, believe me, more than a match for any assassin.”</p><p></p><p>“Well,” Wulf mused, standing patiently while Alliane attended to his wounds with a wand of healing, “let’s check it out tomorrow. I’ve had enough for one day.”</p><p></p><p>“I say we press on!” said Karak.</p><p></p><p>“What’s yer hurry? Assmar just told us Verachus is safe.”</p><p></p><p>Karak started to cast his eyes down, almost sheepishly, then looked up. Now, his eyes were blazing. “I have accepted a <em>quest</em> from my church. I must eliminate Imperagon!” </p><p></p><p>The paladin looked around at the incredulous faces of his companions. “Of course, you guys are welcome to join me.”</p><p></p><p>“Bloody friggin’ gracious of yer.” Wulf knew a bit about <em>quests</em> and <em>geases</em>. Why anyone would willingly accept a debilitating disease to run some other fool’s errand, he had no idea. “Well… Those lion things were no fun. We got no weapons to match ‘em. I say we head home for… oh, a month, two months, yer know, make summat ‘at can hurt ‘em.”</p><p></p><p>Shorty joined in. “Sounds like a plan to me, too.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf kept on. “Well,” he said, shaking the paladin’s hand. “Good luck with all <em>that</em>.”</p><p></p><p>The group headed for the inn, leaving the paladin sputtering and muttering in disbelief. “Hey!” he yelled, running after them.</p><p></p><p>“Calm down,” said Keldas. “They’re only kidding.”</p><p></p><p>“Ach… right, I suppose so,” said Wulf. </p><p></p><p>“Let’s go talk to the genie,” suggested Shorty.</p><p></p><p>“Do me a favor,” said Wulf, nodding. “When we meet him, call him a genie.”</p><p></p><p>**</p><p></p><p>They came upon Verachus as he was closing up his shop. The efreet, with flaming hair and shining brass-colored robes, sat arrogantly astride an enormous, horned, 12-legged wurm. His fire giant bodyguard stood up from locking the door, then crossed his arms and did his best to look imposing.</p><p></p><p>Wulf looked up beneath the fire giant's steel-plated kilt. "Guess it ain't true what they say about giants after all. We’re lookin’ for Verachus.”</p><p></p><p>“Verachus does not deal with ignorant primes,” sneered the efreet.</p><p></p><p>“That so?” asked Wulf, suddenly inspired to kick his teeth down his throat. <em>Giant, no problem. Behir, no problem. Might kill Shorty and Keldas, though. Efreet could be unpleasant if he’s got any spells.</em> “Perhaps Verachus deals with Imperagon, then?”</p><p></p><p>Judging from the look on Verachus’ face, he <em>clearly</em> had some dealings with Imperagon. They had his attention now. “Come by at noon tomorrow, when Verachus’ shop is open. We will talk further.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf shrugged, oblivious to any duplicity. “Ok.” He waited until Verachus and his menagerie had walked off. “Don’t think I coulda took another second o’ listenin’ to him refer to himself in the third person. Halma had better grammar, for cryin’ out loud.”</p><p></p><p>Shorty hopped from foot to foot. “Guess we head back to the inn, then?”</p><p></p><p>**</p><p></p><p>The night passed uneventfully. No scrying, no unexpected assassins sent by either Imperagon or Verachus.</p><p></p><p>They gathered up and discussed what to do with their morning. Wulf would have preferred to head back to the forge but was content to search Rigus for the supplies he needed.</p><p></p><p>“Keldas’ spellbook is in dire need of <em>Greater Magic Whuppin’</em>-- at least till Dorn rejoins us. Let’s find a scroll shop. Anybody got the cash?”</p><p></p><p>Keldas nodded. “I brought all my gold. I have a few thousand.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf wanted to thump him. “Yer outta leave that behind at the forge where it’s safe. Then again, can’t hardly complain about it right now.”</p><p></p><p>Shorty helped them find a scroll shop, though they were disappointed to find the shopkeep had only two scrolls-- and at inflated prices. Wulf figured that <em>greater magic weapon</em> was in pretty high demand in the outer planes, what with everybody and their brother having some kind of immunity. He bristled at the high price, but it couldn’t be helped. The shopkeep could tell he had them over a barrel.</p><p></p><p>They bought the two scrolls, one for scribing into Keldas’ spellbook, one as a backup, and headed out to meet Verachus. They found him waiting in his shop-- his enormous shop, with room for an efreet and a fire giant to easily work inside. </p><p></p><p>If Wulf’s skill at diplomacy had taught him anything, it was that an honest and direct approach worked best. “Well, we’re lookin’ to kill Imperagon. Hope yer not working with him cause that would just mean we’d have to kill yer too. So… ahh… where can we find him?”</p><p></p><p>“Imperagon is no ally of Verachus. You will find him in Avalas, in a cube known only as ‘The Lost Cube.’ It is so called because it has no gates that lead directly to it.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf nodded, indicating that Verachus should go on.</p><p></p><p>“Now as to what you can do for Verachus… Imperagon has stolen a large amount of adamantine from me.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf felt the familiar stirring in his pants-- err, in his soul, rather-- at the mention of the precious ore.</p><p></p><p>“This is no small sum,” said Verachus, doing calculations in his head. “About 200,000 of your gold crowns’ worth of ore. Verachus would very much like it returned, without any particular consideration of the methods.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf jumped, perhaps a bit too eagerly, at the opportunity. “No problem.”</p><p></p><p>Verachus was suddenly suspicious. “Perhaps some insurance is appropriate…” He began casting.</p><p></p><p>Keldas interrupted him. “You can’t come off any worse. Either Imperagon will have your ore or we will.” He paused. “And if you try to cast <em>Geas</em> on me I’ll kill you now.”</p><p></p><p>Verachus held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, then turned to the fire giant. “Snurreson?”</p><p></p><p>“I wish that if they attempt to betray you in any way, you will immediately know.”</p><p></p><p>Verachus seemed satisfied, as did Wulf. He was really more interested in killing Imperagon than in the adamantine. He didn’t have any plans to betray Verachus.</p><p></p><p>Verachus handed Keldas a small crystal rod. “You will want to enter Acheron via the Battlecube. From there, this crystal rod will point the way to Imperagon’s Lost Cube. Return here when you have the ore.”</p><p></p><p>**</p><p></p><p>The party walked through Rigus and exited out the other side, crossing a bit more of the outlands until they reached the gate to the Battlecube. The gate was an enormous arch, at least 50’ high by Wulf’s reckoning, and made entirely of bleached bone piled up and fused together by some unholy magic.</p><p></p><p>“Oh,” Keldas understated.</p><p></p><p>“Ready?” said Wulf.</p><p></p><p>They stepped through. </p><p></p><p>The Battlecube was an enormous flat plane of hard, black iron. In the distance they could hear the sounds of battle: weapons rang, foes shouted, others cried out in agony. It would have been an experience to remember had they not been distracted by what they faced as soon as they stepped through the gate.</p><p></p><p>An enormous spider, as big as a summer cottage, 40 feet across from side to side, scuttled forwards, towering over them. Wulf craned his neck up to take in the entire gargantuan monstrosity. Atop its back sat a female drow, riding easily and confidently atop the hairy, lurching platform.</p><p></p><p>Wulf tensed. He couldn’t see Keldas, but he could almost sense the hairs standing up on the elf’s neck.</p><p></p><p>“Step aside,” the drow announced from her high perch. “I would use the gate...”</p><p></p><p>Keldas stood fast in front of the gate. “Who do you serve?”</p><p></p><p>“’Whom’,” Wulf whispered. “And don’t be an ass.”</p><p></p><p>“I serve my own interests,” the drow replied. “Now, will you step aside?”</p><p></p><p>“NO.”</p><p></p><p><em>Deeper Darkness</em> fell across the group, but at least a few among them knew what Keldas’ inevitable stupid decision would be, so they were ready. Shorty responded immediately by dispelling the darkness, just in time for Wulf to see the spider looming over Keldas. </p><p></p><p>Wulf grabbed the elf from behind and spun him around, putting his own back to the spider and doing his best to shield Keldas. He felt huge fangs sink into his back, where the neckline of his chain shirt left his flesh exposed. So close to the throbbing arteries in his neck, there was little Wulf could do to resist the poison. <em>Sons of Odin,</em> he thought, <em>it burns like hellfire!</em> </p><p></p><p>Wulf’s knees felt like jelly and it was all he could do to quickdraw his daggers. He turned and backhanded them towards the drow, but the poison in his veins was eating his muscles alive-- and it wasn’t exactly taking its time about it. All three daggers fell short or bounced away harmlessly.</p><p></p><p>Loyal drew and fired three times, each shot nailing the spider dead on-- and glancing harmlessly off its hide.</p><p></p><p><em>Not good. It’s infernal.</em></p><p></p><p>Clearly not one to take any chances, the drow cast a <em>flame strike</em> on the group and centered it directly on Loyal-- catching Keldas and Alliane as a bonus. Wulf managed to dodge the blast and Keldas and Alliane did their best, but Loyal was caught completely off guard. He took the full force of the blast. He staggered on his feet for a moment, teetering on the brink of sudden death, drawing desperately on a deep hidden well of elven fortitude.</p><p></p><p>Well, perhaps more accurately, lapping desperately at the puddle of elven fortitude. At any rate, despite the power of the blast, he somehow held on.</p><p></p><p>Keldas straightened his robes where Wulf had roughly grabbed him and cast <em>mass haste</em>. He was still within reach of the spider-- a spider that big, Wulf figured, had a reach of 15 or 20 feet!-- but he cast defensively and immediately chained into a second spell, a <em>hold monster</em> for the spider. Unfortunately, the infernal spider was a little more clever than Keldas gave him credit for. This time, the spider read the elf’s movements and lunged at him unexpectedly. Keldas skipped back out of the way-- but it was enough. He lost his concentration and his spell fizzled. </p><p></p><p>From deep in the back ranks Alliane acted, first with a <em>flame strike</em> that caught both drow and spider, then with a <em>divine storm</em> of whirling blades that hovered high in the air and sliced through both enemies at an angle. To Wulf’s eye, it was obvious that the spider ignored both spells. </p><p></p><p>“Take out the weak link!” Wulf shouted. “Drow first!”</p><p></p><p>Loyal responded by stapling the drow with three arrows in rapid succession. Shorty was next, first casting a <em>spectral hand</em> then blasting the priestess with a <em>brutal seething surge</em>. Wulf had seen this new trick of Shorty’s a couple of times. It wasn’t pleasant in the best of circumstances, but Shorty had managed to work his <em>spectral hand</em> into a critical spot before unleashing the surge. It seethed. Brutally. The drow fell dead in crispy blasted tatters.</p><p></p><p>Though it was now on its own, the spider moved with unnerving intelligence, leaving the entire group to wonder exactly who was enthralled to whom in drow-spider relations. The spider raised its bulk high over the group, moving out of the divine storm so that it could sink its fangs into Alliane.</p><p></p><p>Wulf knew from first-hand experience, but the super-concentrated poison of the infernal spider came as a shock to the rest of the group, starting with Alliane. She spasmed for only the briefest of moments before collapsing. In mere seconds every muscle in her body was useless.</p><p></p><p>Seeing the lady go down, Karak charged in, bellowing his usual “SMITE!” warcry. Of course, he didn’t figure on the spider’s reach, and as he moved within its range it sank its fangs deep into his flesh. Karak’s luck was little better than Alliane’s. His strength vanished, and though he managed to complete his charge, he struck the spider with all the ferocity of a mewling babe.</p><p></p><p>Then he collapsed under the weight of his own plate mail.</p><p></p><p>As the paladin lay there on his back, his arms and legs flailing feebly, Wulf couldn’t help drawing the comparison again: Karak looked like he needed someone to change his nappy.</p><p></p><p>Keldas summoned a celestial dire bear to attack the spider from behind while Wulf stepped up to flank it. With Loyal’s arrows providing a distraction, Wulf managed to land four solid blows on the spider-- two with <em>Taranak</em>, two with the dagger. The spider ignored the flames from <em>Taranak</em>, indeed it ignored both blades for the most part, but Wulf had managed to work both of them into tender spots on the creature’s belly. It couldn’t ignore <em>that</em>.</p><p></p><p>Still the spider acted with uncanny intelligence. Perhaps, like Wulf and his companions, it knew to concentrate on the weak link. Perhaps it ignored Wulf because the sturdy dwarf was the only one among the group to have taken the spider’s poison and stayed on his feet.</p><p></p><p>But it chose to attack Karak, and so Wulf chose to imagine that, whatever intelligence lurked behind those multifaceted eyes… well, this spider had a sense of humor:</p><p></p><p>The spider <em>smited</em> Karak. </p><p></p><p>The fangs sunk deep but the bite didn’t kill him. The smite didn’t kill him. It was the poison that did the work. Karak was finally completely paralyzed, as helpless as Alliane. </p><p></p><p>More worthless than the peck on a bad day.</p><p></p><p>“Goddamn yer!” Wulf shouted. “It’s just poison! Are yer even <em>tryin’</em> to resist it?”</p><p></p><p>Using Wulf as a distraction, the paladin managed to activate his <em>helm of teleportation</em> by thought alone. He teleported away, about thirty feet, just enough to take himself out of harm’s way.</p><p></p><p>“Ach! Yer complete puss!”</p><p></p><p>Never one to let his emotions get in the way, Keldas moved blithely along, stepping up to cast <em>greater magic weapon</em> on Loyal’s quiver. While Shorty’s <em>spectral hand</em> chased the spider around with <em>brutal seething surge</em>, Loyal filled it full of arrows: four solid hits. The spider noticed Loyal anew. Those arrows bit <em>deep</em>.</p><p></p><p>The spider leapt away from from Wulf and the dire bear and closed in on Loyal. One gargantuan bite later and Loyal was staggered-- he couldn’t resist the poison either, and although it didn’t take his strength out completely, he’d simply had enough, what with the <em>flame strike</em> from before, that he settled on discretion. He fell over and played dead.</p><p></p><p>They were down to Wulf, Keldas, and Shorty-- and Wulf wasn’t counting on the two mages sticking around if things got any worse. He tumbled through the spider’s tree-like legs and came face to face with it. Try as he might, he couldn’t keep it at bay, and once again the spider sank its fangs deep into Wulf’s flesh. Wulf grit his teeth and somehow-- perhaps by his great fortitude, perhaps by his dwarven resistance, perhaps by sheer force of will alone-- managed to fight off the effects of the poison. Wulf waited the briefest of moments while the dire bear lumbered up into flanking position with the spider.</p><p></p><p>Thousands of axes and daggers glimmered in the spider’s eyes as Wulf suddenly sprang to action, hacking and stabbing. Indeed to the spider it may have seemed like an army of thousands was at work on his underbelly. The spider was split open and collapsed like an enormous, rotten plum.</p><p></p><p>Wulf bent over with his hands on his knees. He could feel the poison still coursing through his veins. “Comin’ again...”</p><p></p><p>Keldas grabbed Shorty and started pulling off rings and cloaks to aid Wulf’s resistance, but he waved them away. “Nah, I got it… Just a little spider bite, right?” After a minute of intense agony, Wulf finally stood. He could use a <em>restoration</em>, sure, but the poison had spread so far through his body that, in dispersed doses, he’d fought it off. </p><p></p><p>Wulf looked up to see Keldas standing up from the body of the drow. He’d sorted her magical belongings into a neat pile and as he stood, the elf tucked a scrap of paper into his sleeve. Wulf caught only the briefest of glimpses before the scrap disappeared. It didn’t mean anything to him but it clearly meant something to Keldas. The scrap said, “KOLYORAL.” It was nonsense to Wulf and so, therefore, <em>file and forget</em>. He had other things on his mind, anyway. He started dragging his fallen comrades back towards the gate to Rigus.</p><p></p><p>“Yer complete an’ utter prick…” Wulf muttered to Keldas. “Get it through yer head now, we’re gonna meet a lot of unpleasant folk out here. An’ some of ‘em yer just gonna have to ignore, right? Between yer and Karak I reckon we’ll be pickin’ fights with every pit fiend an’ ‘is brother before this is all over.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 6118, member: 94"] [b]LORD OF THE IRON FORTRESS-- Part II[/b] Shorty, Alliane, and Keldas joined them in the room, and the town watch was hot on their heels, drawn by the sound of battle. The assmar from the front gate was with them. “WHAT IN THE SEVEN HEAVENS IS GOING ON HERE?” Wulf looked around-- at the gore-spattered remains of the blacksmith, at Shorty, Keldas, and Alliane sitting quietly and nursing their wounds, and at Karak, standing in the center of the room brandishing a holy sword that still shone like the north star. “Ahhh…” he expertly lied, “the paladin here went crazy, see.... but we reigned him in and took this ‘un alive.” Wulf booted the critter and it stirred ever so slightly. Wulf’s blatant lie seemed genuine enough-- from the right perspective. The aasimar raised an eyebrow, clearly aware that Wulf was lying and making the logical assumption that he was deliberately trying to stir up trouble for Karak. Keldas smoothly stepped in to take over with just enough of the truth to sweeten the deception. He thought it best not to even mention its [I]disintegrated[/I] counterpart, but he stayed as close as possible to what had really happened. “We found this creature attacking the keeper of this shop. We were too late to save the poor shopkeep, but we did our best to take the culprit alive.” The aasimar seemed satisfied with the evidence at hand. “Don’t stray from the city and keep yourselves available at the inn. We may have additional questions for you.” He gestured to his men to drag away the captive. “Poor Verachus…” muttered Shorty. The aasimar turned, laughing, as he departed. “This isn’t Verachus,” he said. “Verachus is an efreet, and, believe me, more than a match for any assassin.” “Well,” Wulf mused, standing patiently while Alliane attended to his wounds with a wand of healing, “let’s check it out tomorrow. I’ve had enough for one day.” “I say we press on!” said Karak. “What’s yer hurry? Assmar just told us Verachus is safe.” Karak started to cast his eyes down, almost sheepishly, then looked up. Now, his eyes were blazing. “I have accepted a [I]quest[/I] from my church. I must eliminate Imperagon!” The paladin looked around at the incredulous faces of his companions. “Of course, you guys are welcome to join me.” “Bloody friggin’ gracious of yer.” Wulf knew a bit about [I]quests[/I] and [I]geases[/I]. Why anyone would willingly accept a debilitating disease to run some other fool’s errand, he had no idea. “Well… Those lion things were no fun. We got no weapons to match ‘em. I say we head home for… oh, a month, two months, yer know, make summat ‘at can hurt ‘em.” Shorty joined in. “Sounds like a plan to me, too.” Wulf kept on. “Well,” he said, shaking the paladin’s hand. “Good luck with all [I]that[/I].” The group headed for the inn, leaving the paladin sputtering and muttering in disbelief. “Hey!” he yelled, running after them. “Calm down,” said Keldas. “They’re only kidding.” “Ach… right, I suppose so,” said Wulf. “Let’s go talk to the genie,” suggested Shorty. “Do me a favor,” said Wulf, nodding. “When we meet him, call him a genie.” ** They came upon Verachus as he was closing up his shop. The efreet, with flaming hair and shining brass-colored robes, sat arrogantly astride an enormous, horned, 12-legged wurm. His fire giant bodyguard stood up from locking the door, then crossed his arms and did his best to look imposing. Wulf looked up beneath the fire giant's steel-plated kilt. "Guess it ain't true what they say about giants after all. We’re lookin’ for Verachus.” “Verachus does not deal with ignorant primes,” sneered the efreet. “That so?” asked Wulf, suddenly inspired to kick his teeth down his throat. [I]Giant, no problem. Behir, no problem. Might kill Shorty and Keldas, though. Efreet could be unpleasant if he’s got any spells.[/I] “Perhaps Verachus deals with Imperagon, then?” Judging from the look on Verachus’ face, he [I]clearly[/I] had some dealings with Imperagon. They had his attention now. “Come by at noon tomorrow, when Verachus’ shop is open. We will talk further.” Wulf shrugged, oblivious to any duplicity. “Ok.” He waited until Verachus and his menagerie had walked off. “Don’t think I coulda took another second o’ listenin’ to him refer to himself in the third person. Halma had better grammar, for cryin’ out loud.” Shorty hopped from foot to foot. “Guess we head back to the inn, then?” ** The night passed uneventfully. No scrying, no unexpected assassins sent by either Imperagon or Verachus. They gathered up and discussed what to do with their morning. Wulf would have preferred to head back to the forge but was content to search Rigus for the supplies he needed. “Keldas’ spellbook is in dire need of [I]Greater Magic Whuppin’[/I]-- at least till Dorn rejoins us. Let’s find a scroll shop. Anybody got the cash?” Keldas nodded. “I brought all my gold. I have a few thousand.” Wulf wanted to thump him. “Yer outta leave that behind at the forge where it’s safe. Then again, can’t hardly complain about it right now.” Shorty helped them find a scroll shop, though they were disappointed to find the shopkeep had only two scrolls-- and at inflated prices. Wulf figured that [I]greater magic weapon[/I] was in pretty high demand in the outer planes, what with everybody and their brother having some kind of immunity. He bristled at the high price, but it couldn’t be helped. The shopkeep could tell he had them over a barrel. They bought the two scrolls, one for scribing into Keldas’ spellbook, one as a backup, and headed out to meet Verachus. They found him waiting in his shop-- his enormous shop, with room for an efreet and a fire giant to easily work inside. If Wulf’s skill at diplomacy had taught him anything, it was that an honest and direct approach worked best. “Well, we’re lookin’ to kill Imperagon. Hope yer not working with him cause that would just mean we’d have to kill yer too. So… ahh… where can we find him?” “Imperagon is no ally of Verachus. You will find him in Avalas, in a cube known only as ‘The Lost Cube.’ It is so called because it has no gates that lead directly to it.” Wulf nodded, indicating that Verachus should go on. “Now as to what you can do for Verachus… Imperagon has stolen a large amount of adamantine from me.” Wulf felt the familiar stirring in his pants-- err, in his soul, rather-- at the mention of the precious ore. “This is no small sum,” said Verachus, doing calculations in his head. “About 200,000 of your gold crowns’ worth of ore. Verachus would very much like it returned, without any particular consideration of the methods.” Wulf jumped, perhaps a bit too eagerly, at the opportunity. “No problem.” Verachus was suddenly suspicious. “Perhaps some insurance is appropriate…” He began casting. Keldas interrupted him. “You can’t come off any worse. Either Imperagon will have your ore or we will.” He paused. “And if you try to cast [I]Geas[/I] on me I’ll kill you now.” Verachus held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, then turned to the fire giant. “Snurreson?” “I wish that if they attempt to betray you in any way, you will immediately know.” Verachus seemed satisfied, as did Wulf. He was really more interested in killing Imperagon than in the adamantine. He didn’t have any plans to betray Verachus. Verachus handed Keldas a small crystal rod. “You will want to enter Acheron via the Battlecube. From there, this crystal rod will point the way to Imperagon’s Lost Cube. Return here when you have the ore.” ** The party walked through Rigus and exited out the other side, crossing a bit more of the outlands until they reached the gate to the Battlecube. The gate was an enormous arch, at least 50’ high by Wulf’s reckoning, and made entirely of bleached bone piled up and fused together by some unholy magic. “Oh,” Keldas understated. “Ready?” said Wulf. They stepped through. The Battlecube was an enormous flat plane of hard, black iron. In the distance they could hear the sounds of battle: weapons rang, foes shouted, others cried out in agony. It would have been an experience to remember had they not been distracted by what they faced as soon as they stepped through the gate. An enormous spider, as big as a summer cottage, 40 feet across from side to side, scuttled forwards, towering over them. Wulf craned his neck up to take in the entire gargantuan monstrosity. Atop its back sat a female drow, riding easily and confidently atop the hairy, lurching platform. Wulf tensed. He couldn’t see Keldas, but he could almost sense the hairs standing up on the elf’s neck. “Step aside,” the drow announced from her high perch. “I would use the gate...” Keldas stood fast in front of the gate. “Who do you serve?” “’Whom’,” Wulf whispered. “And don’t be an ass.” “I serve my own interests,” the drow replied. “Now, will you step aside?” “NO.” [I]Deeper Darkness[/I] fell across the group, but at least a few among them knew what Keldas’ inevitable stupid decision would be, so they were ready. Shorty responded immediately by dispelling the darkness, just in time for Wulf to see the spider looming over Keldas. Wulf grabbed the elf from behind and spun him around, putting his own back to the spider and doing his best to shield Keldas. He felt huge fangs sink into his back, where the neckline of his chain shirt left his flesh exposed. So close to the throbbing arteries in his neck, there was little Wulf could do to resist the poison. [I]Sons of Odin,[/I] he thought, [I]it burns like hellfire![/I] Wulf’s knees felt like jelly and it was all he could do to quickdraw his daggers. He turned and backhanded them towards the drow, but the poison in his veins was eating his muscles alive-- and it wasn’t exactly taking its time about it. All three daggers fell short or bounced away harmlessly. Loyal drew and fired three times, each shot nailing the spider dead on-- and glancing harmlessly off its hide. [I]Not good. It’s infernal.[/I] Clearly not one to take any chances, the drow cast a [I]flame strike[/I] on the group and centered it directly on Loyal-- catching Keldas and Alliane as a bonus. Wulf managed to dodge the blast and Keldas and Alliane did their best, but Loyal was caught completely off guard. He took the full force of the blast. He staggered on his feet for a moment, teetering on the brink of sudden death, drawing desperately on a deep hidden well of elven fortitude. Well, perhaps more accurately, lapping desperately at the puddle of elven fortitude. At any rate, despite the power of the blast, he somehow held on. Keldas straightened his robes where Wulf had roughly grabbed him and cast [I]mass haste[/I]. He was still within reach of the spider-- a spider that big, Wulf figured, had a reach of 15 or 20 feet!-- but he cast defensively and immediately chained into a second spell, a [I]hold monster[/I] for the spider. Unfortunately, the infernal spider was a little more clever than Keldas gave him credit for. This time, the spider read the elf’s movements and lunged at him unexpectedly. Keldas skipped back out of the way-- but it was enough. He lost his concentration and his spell fizzled. From deep in the back ranks Alliane acted, first with a [I]flame strike[/I] that caught both drow and spider, then with a [I]divine storm[/I] of whirling blades that hovered high in the air and sliced through both enemies at an angle. To Wulf’s eye, it was obvious that the spider ignored both spells. “Take out the weak link!” Wulf shouted. “Drow first!” Loyal responded by stapling the drow with three arrows in rapid succession. Shorty was next, first casting a [I]spectral hand[/I] then blasting the priestess with a [I]brutal seething surge[/I]. Wulf had seen this new trick of Shorty’s a couple of times. It wasn’t pleasant in the best of circumstances, but Shorty had managed to work his [I]spectral hand[/I] into a critical spot before unleashing the surge. It seethed. Brutally. The drow fell dead in crispy blasted tatters. Though it was now on its own, the spider moved with unnerving intelligence, leaving the entire group to wonder exactly who was enthralled to whom in drow-spider relations. The spider raised its bulk high over the group, moving out of the divine storm so that it could sink its fangs into Alliane. Wulf knew from first-hand experience, but the super-concentrated poison of the infernal spider came as a shock to the rest of the group, starting with Alliane. She spasmed for only the briefest of moments before collapsing. In mere seconds every muscle in her body was useless. Seeing the lady go down, Karak charged in, bellowing his usual “SMITE!” warcry. Of course, he didn’t figure on the spider’s reach, and as he moved within its range it sank its fangs deep into his flesh. Karak’s luck was little better than Alliane’s. His strength vanished, and though he managed to complete his charge, he struck the spider with all the ferocity of a mewling babe. Then he collapsed under the weight of his own plate mail. As the paladin lay there on his back, his arms and legs flailing feebly, Wulf couldn’t help drawing the comparison again: Karak looked like he needed someone to change his nappy. Keldas summoned a celestial dire bear to attack the spider from behind while Wulf stepped up to flank it. With Loyal’s arrows providing a distraction, Wulf managed to land four solid blows on the spider-- two with [I]Taranak[/I], two with the dagger. The spider ignored the flames from [I]Taranak[/I], indeed it ignored both blades for the most part, but Wulf had managed to work both of them into tender spots on the creature’s belly. It couldn’t ignore [I]that[/I]. Still the spider acted with uncanny intelligence. Perhaps, like Wulf and his companions, it knew to concentrate on the weak link. Perhaps it ignored Wulf because the sturdy dwarf was the only one among the group to have taken the spider’s poison and stayed on his feet. But it chose to attack Karak, and so Wulf chose to imagine that, whatever intelligence lurked behind those multifaceted eyes… well, this spider had a sense of humor: The spider [I]smited[/I] Karak. The fangs sunk deep but the bite didn’t kill him. The smite didn’t kill him. It was the poison that did the work. Karak was finally completely paralyzed, as helpless as Alliane. More worthless than the peck on a bad day. “Goddamn yer!” Wulf shouted. “It’s just poison! Are yer even [I]tryin’[/I] to resist it?” Using Wulf as a distraction, the paladin managed to activate his [I]helm of teleportation[/I] by thought alone. He teleported away, about thirty feet, just enough to take himself out of harm’s way. “Ach! Yer complete puss!” Never one to let his emotions get in the way, Keldas moved blithely along, stepping up to cast [I]greater magic weapon[/I] on Loyal’s quiver. While Shorty’s [I]spectral hand[/I] chased the spider around with [I]brutal seething surge[/I], Loyal filled it full of arrows: four solid hits. The spider noticed Loyal anew. Those arrows bit [I]deep[/I]. The spider leapt away from from Wulf and the dire bear and closed in on Loyal. One gargantuan bite later and Loyal was staggered-- he couldn’t resist the poison either, and although it didn’t take his strength out completely, he’d simply had enough, what with the [I]flame strike[/I] from before, that he settled on discretion. He fell over and played dead. They were down to Wulf, Keldas, and Shorty-- and Wulf wasn’t counting on the two mages sticking around if things got any worse. He tumbled through the spider’s tree-like legs and came face to face with it. Try as he might, he couldn’t keep it at bay, and once again the spider sank its fangs deep into Wulf’s flesh. Wulf grit his teeth and somehow-- perhaps by his great fortitude, perhaps by his dwarven resistance, perhaps by sheer force of will alone-- managed to fight off the effects of the poison. Wulf waited the briefest of moments while the dire bear lumbered up into flanking position with the spider. Thousands of axes and daggers glimmered in the spider’s eyes as Wulf suddenly sprang to action, hacking and stabbing. Indeed to the spider it may have seemed like an army of thousands was at work on his underbelly. The spider was split open and collapsed like an enormous, rotten plum. Wulf bent over with his hands on his knees. He could feel the poison still coursing through his veins. “Comin’ again...” Keldas grabbed Shorty and started pulling off rings and cloaks to aid Wulf’s resistance, but he waved them away. “Nah, I got it… Just a little spider bite, right?” After a minute of intense agony, Wulf finally stood. He could use a [I]restoration[/I], sure, but the poison had spread so far through his body that, in dispersed doses, he’d fought it off. Wulf looked up to see Keldas standing up from the body of the drow. He’d sorted her magical belongings into a neat pile and as he stood, the elf tucked a scrap of paper into his sleeve. Wulf caught only the briefest of glimpses before the scrap disappeared. It didn’t mean anything to him but it clearly meant something to Keldas. The scrap said, “KOLYORAL.” It was nonsense to Wulf and so, therefore, [I]file and forget[/I]. He had other things on his mind, anyway. He started dragging his fallen comrades back towards the gate to Rigus. “Yer complete an’ utter prick…” Wulf muttered to Keldas. “Get it through yer head now, we’re gonna meet a lot of unpleasant folk out here. An’ some of ‘em yer just gonna have to ignore, right? Between yer and Karak I reckon we’ll be pickin’ fights with every pit fiend an’ ‘is brother before this is all over.” [/QUOTE]
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