JollyDoc's Savage Tide-Updated 10/8!
carborundum
Adventurer
I'll sacrifice my cats for you.
Well, I say sacrifice, I'll let them wait an extra half hour for breakfast on Sunday morning. Maybe. Unless they go and open the curtains on me again. Sneaky buggers.
Good luck with the technoprobs!
Well, I say sacrifice, I'll let them wait an extra half hour for breakfast on Sunday morning. Maybe. Unless they go and open the curtains on me again. Sneaky buggers.
Good luck with the technoprobs!
JollyDoc
Explorer
carborundum said:
You can sacrifice mine as well. He's 17, has one eye, one remaining tooth, and is diabetic. I'm fairly certain he died five years ago, but don't tell him that. Our group has commented that he bears a strong resemblance to the spell-stitched cat in Complete Arcane.
"Ordinarily your a$$ would be dead as fried chicken, but you've caught me in a transitional period."
Last edited:
JollyDoc
Explorer
The techno gods have indeed smiled!! Shaundekal has blessed me with freedom of movement through cyberspace once more!!!
THE HUNGER BELOW
Across the bloody battlefield the Legionnaires flew towards the looming monolith that was the ziggurat of Holashner. No sign of life stirred as they passed over the carnage, and when they finally reached the pyramid, they could see no obvious means of ingress. It appeared as if the horde that attacked them had been encamped around the base of the structure. Slowly, they rose into the air, making orbits around the huge building as they ascended cautiously towards the top. They had just reached the small platform atop the ziggurat, when they saw that not all of their enemies had been destroyed. A welcoming party of five more behemoth kopru crouched atop the platform, and as the companions cleared the lip, the creatures sprang.
As the kopru took flight, Mandi quickly wove a spell in the air around them. A fog cloud abruptly appeared, engulfing three of them. As it did so, it solidified until it had the consistency of tar. The flying behemoths within were effectively immobilized, using all of their efforts just to move a few feet. Marius, in an almost choreographed synchronicity with Mandi, leveled a devastating fireball blast across the pyramid’s apex, the flames washing over all of the kopru, but devastatingly so over those the wizardess had entrapped.
The two guardians that were still free quickly skirted the edges of the quicksand-like fog as their companions struggled mightily to extricate themselves. As the nearest one rounded the cloud, Sepoto streaked ahead to meet it, slashing at it with his chain as he went. The second behemoth found itself face-to-face with Tower Cleaver when it cleared the fog bank, and the big minotaur made it regret its hasty charge, chopping down on its tail as it skidded to a halt in mid-air.
No sooner had the first of the trapped kopru exited the fog, than Marius sent a bolt of electricity lancing towards it, striking it full in the chest before the blast then arced to its nearby brother, who was still engaged with Sepoto. As the behemoth writhed in agony from the lightning blast, the goliath saw his opening, finishing the brute by driving the tip of his chain up through its jaw. When another of the creatures slammed into him from behind, Sepoto whirled, beheading it in one fluid motion. Meanwhile, its kinsman hammered at Tower Cleaver, trying to coil its hooked tail around the minotaur, but thanks to Daelric’s magic, the barbarian was ensorcelled in such a way that he could free himself from any such restriction of movement. As the kopru’s eyes widened when Cleaver slipped easily free of its clutches, the minotaur buried his axe between them, cleaving its head in two.
Marius was starting to get concerned. One of the kopru had broken free of the pack and was heading straight for him. The warmage uttered a quick spell, immolating himself in a burst of flame, but scorching the behemoth as well. Next, the gnome hurled a ray of sizzling fire at the thing, yet it would not slow. Just as it reached for him, its horrid jaws opening wide, a huge, red pincer descended out of nowhere, neatly snipping the kopru’s head from its body. Marius looked up, and saw the hulking, glabrezu form of Mandi hovering behind him. Before he could thank her, however, she streaked across the platform to where Cleaver was battling the last behemoth, and even as the minotaur raised his axe to deliver a killing blow, the wizard darted forward and disemboweled the creature with her smaller, though no less deadly, second pair of hands.
____________________________________________________________
Once the entire group had alighted atop the ziggurat, they saw no obvious entrance into the building. Instead, a domelike bulge of constricted, bruise-colored muscle sat in the center of the platform. As Mandi bent to examine the tumor, she saw four deep, circular fissures that broke the surface of the flesh around the barrier. Upon further investigation, she found that these sickening, wound-like rents protected muscled pads beneath.
“I think I know how to open it,” she said as she straightened. “I think its based on muscular reflex. If all four of these pads are struck simultaneously, I believe we’ll have our answer.”
The others looked at her skeptically, but Cleaver, Samson and Sepoto each stood above one of the wounds, with Mandi on the fourth. At her word, each of them plunged their hands into the purulent fluid that exuded from the sores. As they did so, the tumor suddenly snapped open, revealing a dark shaft beneath.
Sepoto was the first to descend, ignoring the strange, curve-rung ladder that adhered to one side of the shaft. Instead, he flew slowly down and before long found himself in a odd chamber that could only be described as ‘alive.’ The bruised, purple walls pulsed and quivered, heaving irregularly like the breath of a dying thing. Growths jutted from them…exposed, fleshy things like black lungs, giant many-chambered and inside-out hearts, rolling milky white eyes, and other organs with no humanoid analog. Unfinished stonework covered patches of the floor, as if some optimistic architect hoped to merely brick over the room’s obscene nature. A second open chute with another strange ladder opened through part of the masonry floor, twenty feet below, descending deeper into the structure’s depths.
No sooner had the goliath taken in the details of the nightmare chamber, than he saw movement on either side of him. Two more behemoths emerged, flying from the shadows as if they’d been expecting him. One of them raked the side of his face with its webbed claws, but the crusader’s surprise was fleeting. His martial instincts quickly took over, and he whirled in mid-air, slashing lightning fast at the nearest brute. Suddenly, Samson and Mandi were beside him, the latter having assumed the shape of a barb-skinned devil again to allow her to navigate the narrow shaft. The wizardess quickly worded a spell, instantly striking the same behemoth Sepoto had been beating upon rigid as stone. Samson raised his morningstar to finish the brute, but at that moment, a glazed look came over his eyes.
‘Hear me,’ an alien voice spoke into his mind, and he instinctively knew it came from the paralyzed kopru. He struggled to ignore it, not hear its words, but he was powerless against its persistence.
‘You must descend to the shaft below,’ the behemoth instructed. ‘Scout the way for your companions. You must insure their safety. Go now!’
Lowering his weapon, the goblin began to descend. Sepoto saw him leaving and sensed immediately that something was amiss. Turning his attention from the second behemoth, the crusader snapped his chain directly in front of Samson, causing the dragon shaman to stand still in midair. Puzzled, Samson looked at his friend, then shrugged and spoke a command word. The boots on his feet flared with blue light, and a moment later, the goblin was on the floor of the room, magically transported through space.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle this!” Mandi snarled. Taking her time, savoring the moment, she placed her hands on either side of the immobilized kopru’s head. Then, with a savage twist, she snapped its neck. Below, Samson blinked, confused, the spell broken. Sepoto nodded his approval, then turned to finish off his own opponent.
______________________________________________________________
The shaft leading from the chamber, through which Samson had almost descended alone, ended in water fifteen feet below floor level.
“Whatever’s beneath here, it’s flooded,” Sepoto said.
“Not a problem,” Mandi replied, weaving a spell of blue light which descended over the company. As the light faded, three pairs of delicate gills appeared on the neck of each of the companions except Samson. The dragon shaman needed no such dweomer, as his draconic heritage gifted him with the ability to breathe water innately. Once more, Sepoto was the first to descend, and as he disappeared below the surface of the water, he found himself in a chamber even more bizarre than the one he’d just left.
The ziggurat’s organs in the room continued to twitch, roil and watch. The half-laid stonework glistened beneath the still water. To the east loomed a huge bust of a demonic countenance with twin baboon-like heads set in a fearsome double roar sprouting from its over-muscled chest. Across the floor lay hunks of shattered black resin and, near the statue, a black tumor grew from the fleshy stone, its size and shape reminiscent of some grotesque divan. Though he should not have been surprised this time, the crusader was still caught unaware as two more behemoths rushed at him, swimming at ceiling level as he was. Below them, near the statue of the Prince of Demons, was a third kopru, this one of normal proportions, yet clad in a chain shirt and armed with a wicked looking spear. As Sepoto struck out at one of the approaching behemoths, the kopru at floor level began chanting in some burbling tongue. In a flash, the hole through which Sepoto had descended vanished, replaced by a solid plug of stone. The goliath was on his own.
Back in the chamber above, Mandi saw the magical wall appear and cursed.
“Looks like we’ve found someone in charge,” she growled. “Perhaps its finally the ‘Lord of Dread.’ Follow me if you can.” She then spoke a command word, and just like Samson had done moments earlier, she vanished from sight in a flash of light from her silken footwear. She reappeared an instant later in the lower room beside Sepoto. Immediately, she assessed the situation, seeing the goliath locked in battle with the two behemoths, and determined that their greatest threat lay in the mail-clad kopru below. Gathering her magic to her, she hurled its power at the creature, willing the creature into the form of a turtle. She was therefore taken aback when the priest raised his spear and easily deflected the spell. Cursing roundly, the wizardess cast again, this time focusing it into a thin, emerald ray, which struck the kopru dead-on. His head flew back and he howled in pain as pieces of his body simply evaporated, but when the spell ended, he was still mostly whole, and completely enraged.
Ulioth had prepared for the coming of the surface dwellers, had in fact been watching their exploits against his lesser minions with great interest. He had anticipated their arrival by flooding the temple and girding himself with his most powerful defensive wards. Yet here were two of them, threatening him and giving him the barest moment’s pause. He snarled to himself. Hesitation was for weaklings. His patron would never allow such among his followers. Steeling his resolve, the kopru priest countered his enemy as effectively as he could…by targeting a spell of silence on one of the behemoths, and then commanding it to stay near the female. That should give her something to think about. He’d also taken note of her little parlor tricks of appearing and disappearing at will. He remedied that problem as well, but bathing her in a green luminescence that emanated from his finger tip.
‘A dimensional lock!’ Mandi gasped. The kopru was a wily one, obviously familiar with their tactics. She was still pondering her next move when the stone plug above her suddenly shattered into rubble. Looking up she saw Cleaver’s massive head protruding from the hole, fury in his eyes. At that moment, the nearest behemoth lunged at her, seeking to wrap her up in its barbed tail. The sorceress, still in her diabolic form, struck at the brute as it came, landing a lucky blow to its windpipe, and shattering it. The brute floated lifeless to the ceiling, but then its brother sprang, snapping its tail around Mandi, squeezing her in its coils. She struggled in vain to free herself, unable to call upon her magic, and unable to transport herself to safety. Worry and doubt began to creep into her mind, but they vanished a moment later when Tower Cleaver reached one massive hand through the hole and grabbed the behemoth’s head. The minotaur then yanked the beast into the shaft until its shoulders wedged tightly against the rim. There was a violent thrashing followed by a torrent of blood in the water, and then Mandi felt the behemoth’s hold on her ease as its headless corpse dropped towards the floor.
Ulioth knew he had to flee. He had to escape to Holashner’s Honor and protect the guardian. Desperate, he threw himself towards the closed sphincter leading to the lowest chamber, but before he could reach it, the goliath cut him off. As the priest recoiled, Mandi finally found the edge of the magical Silence and shouted out a command for the staff she gripped in her hands. The last thing Ulioth knew was bone-numbing, soul-killing cold.
____________________________________________________________
Though the kopru priest had obviously been in command of the ziggurat’s forces, a search of the temple chamber revealed nothing that might be construed as a source for the bilestone. Guessing that his retreat might be to that locale, the group gathered around the closed sphincter in the floor. This one also had four muscular pads, much like the one atop the pyramid, and once more Sepoto, Mandi, Samson and Tower Cleaver each pushed one of them simultaneously. Almost immediately, Sepoto realized their mistake. As the sphincter snapped open, there was a tremendous suction as the water in their room was pulled through. The room below was apparently not flooded. One by one, the Legionnaires were sucked down the drain, with the exception of Sepoto and Tower Cleaver who, by virtue of their great strength, managed to withstand the undertow.
Though Samson, Daelric, Marius and Mandi found themselves in free fall in the room beyond, the flight dweomers that surrounded them arrested their descent some ten feet below the opening. The sticky heat and pulsing walls of the cloying chamber augmented perfectly the revolting stink of bile mixed with crude oil. Four pools of putrid black muck bubbled and spurted in the floor, their edges determined by either rigid stone blocks or dimples in the fleshy ground. Four pillars separated the pools and held the sagging flesh of the ceiling aloft. Within the basins of roiling, foulness floated pristine black orbs, each the size of a man’s head and shimmering with an unsettling inner light.
Marius had been the last of the quartet pulled through the sphincter, and so it was he that was abruptly hammered by a blow that felt as if it came from a battering ram. Seconds later, pressure squeezed his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs and the gnome realized that he was caught in the grip of a behemoth. A second one hovered in the air below the hole and just above his companions. Mandi looked up at Marius’ strangled cry. Thinking quickly, she cast her magic back through the shaft, yanking Sepoto and Cleaver through the ether and causing them to appear on either side of the behemoths. With the same spell, she ripped Marius from the kopru’s clutches and hurled him back up the shaft.
Suddenly, a horrifying roar split the air of the chamber. Emerging from one of the pits below was a creature straight out of nightmare. Many-jointed legs and squirming tentacles cloaked the horror in a haze of repulsive motion. A thing half-centipede and half squid, with a single alien black eye staring fathomlessly from an octopoid head. Curled upon itself like a titanic shrimp, the beast glistened like a scarab’s shell even as it bathed itself in an endless flow of oily, black drool. As it rose from the pool, it cloaked itself in darkness, plunging the room into impenetrable blackness. This inky shadow shattered briefly a moment later as a jet of black liquid sprayed from the monster’s mouth and caught fire as it touched the air. The flames engulfed Tower Cleaver, setting him ablaze like a living torch. The minotaur howled, maddened by the pain. Striking about him by pure instinct, he stove in the skull of the nearest behemoth, then disemboweled the other as his axe whirled about like the Reaper’s scythe.
Suddenly, just as quickly as it had appeared, the darkness vanished, banished by the sudden blast of daylight from Daelric’s upstretched hand. With the beast below revealed again, Mandi struck with her staff, blasting the thing with ice. Roaring again, the leviathan plunged back beneath the black surface of its pool. Quickly, Samson made his way to the floor, Sepoto close behind. Above them, Tower Cleaver beat wildly at his still smoldering hide, struggling to douse the flames. Tentatively, Samson reached out to touch the surface of the liquid. It was cool, like water.
“Nothing,” he said, turning his head towards his companions. The surface of the pool suddenly exploded behind him as the bile wretch breached. The dragon shaman looked up, horror stricken as it reared above him. A nest of tentacles hammered at him, battering him to the floor while at the same time attempting to seize him in their grip. Samson silently thanked Daelric for his foresight in imbuing him with the ability to move freely through such attacks. Though bloodied, Samson was far from beaten. Rolling to his feet, he slammed his weapon into the creature’s chitonous hide, and black blood wept like a fountain from the wound. Scathing cold air blasted by him as Mandi leveled her staff a second time. Simultaneously, Sepoto struck, sinking his chain deep into the beast’s soft underbelly. A howl of fury from above the combatants caused them all to glance up, just in time to see a thousand pounds of minotaur hurtling down, bloodlust in his eyes. Tower Cleaver landed axe first atop the bile wretch, his momentum carrying the blade all the way through the thing’s body. The two halves fell to either side, like monoliths tumbling to earth.
_____________________________________________________________
“This is the substance the aboleth spoke of,” Mandi said as she examined the bile pools. In my research, I have heard of beasts such as this. Legend has it that Holashner itself created them to perpetuate the transformation of Black Bile of the World to bilestone and back again. Some property of it must imbue the shadow pearls with their vile power, but I’m unsure how.”
The group had recovered eight bilestone casings from the pits, within which were the unfinished shadow pearls. They intended to return them to Farshore for further study.
“In any event,” Mandi continued, “the bile here should solidify and become inert with a day, now that the bile wretch has been destroyed. We have accomplished what we came for. It is time to leave this abominable place.”
“What about the Cerulean Curtain?” Marius asked.
“It stays intact,” Mandi shrugged. “Let the aboleths continue to rot in their endless sleep.”
With that, the sorceress gathered her companions around her, spoke a word, and vanished in a flash of light.
In Gaping Maw, a demon lord chuckled…
THE HUNGER BELOW
Across the bloody battlefield the Legionnaires flew towards the looming monolith that was the ziggurat of Holashner. No sign of life stirred as they passed over the carnage, and when they finally reached the pyramid, they could see no obvious means of ingress. It appeared as if the horde that attacked them had been encamped around the base of the structure. Slowly, they rose into the air, making orbits around the huge building as they ascended cautiously towards the top. They had just reached the small platform atop the ziggurat, when they saw that not all of their enemies had been destroyed. A welcoming party of five more behemoth kopru crouched atop the platform, and as the companions cleared the lip, the creatures sprang.
As the kopru took flight, Mandi quickly wove a spell in the air around them. A fog cloud abruptly appeared, engulfing three of them. As it did so, it solidified until it had the consistency of tar. The flying behemoths within were effectively immobilized, using all of their efforts just to move a few feet. Marius, in an almost choreographed synchronicity with Mandi, leveled a devastating fireball blast across the pyramid’s apex, the flames washing over all of the kopru, but devastatingly so over those the wizardess had entrapped.
The two guardians that were still free quickly skirted the edges of the quicksand-like fog as their companions struggled mightily to extricate themselves. As the nearest one rounded the cloud, Sepoto streaked ahead to meet it, slashing at it with his chain as he went. The second behemoth found itself face-to-face with Tower Cleaver when it cleared the fog bank, and the big minotaur made it regret its hasty charge, chopping down on its tail as it skidded to a halt in mid-air.
No sooner had the first of the trapped kopru exited the fog, than Marius sent a bolt of electricity lancing towards it, striking it full in the chest before the blast then arced to its nearby brother, who was still engaged with Sepoto. As the behemoth writhed in agony from the lightning blast, the goliath saw his opening, finishing the brute by driving the tip of his chain up through its jaw. When another of the creatures slammed into him from behind, Sepoto whirled, beheading it in one fluid motion. Meanwhile, its kinsman hammered at Tower Cleaver, trying to coil its hooked tail around the minotaur, but thanks to Daelric’s magic, the barbarian was ensorcelled in such a way that he could free himself from any such restriction of movement. As the kopru’s eyes widened when Cleaver slipped easily free of its clutches, the minotaur buried his axe between them, cleaving its head in two.
Marius was starting to get concerned. One of the kopru had broken free of the pack and was heading straight for him. The warmage uttered a quick spell, immolating himself in a burst of flame, but scorching the behemoth as well. Next, the gnome hurled a ray of sizzling fire at the thing, yet it would not slow. Just as it reached for him, its horrid jaws opening wide, a huge, red pincer descended out of nowhere, neatly snipping the kopru’s head from its body. Marius looked up, and saw the hulking, glabrezu form of Mandi hovering behind him. Before he could thank her, however, she streaked across the platform to where Cleaver was battling the last behemoth, and even as the minotaur raised his axe to deliver a killing blow, the wizard darted forward and disemboweled the creature with her smaller, though no less deadly, second pair of hands.
____________________________________________________________
Once the entire group had alighted atop the ziggurat, they saw no obvious entrance into the building. Instead, a domelike bulge of constricted, bruise-colored muscle sat in the center of the platform. As Mandi bent to examine the tumor, she saw four deep, circular fissures that broke the surface of the flesh around the barrier. Upon further investigation, she found that these sickening, wound-like rents protected muscled pads beneath.
“I think I know how to open it,” she said as she straightened. “I think its based on muscular reflex. If all four of these pads are struck simultaneously, I believe we’ll have our answer.”
The others looked at her skeptically, but Cleaver, Samson and Sepoto each stood above one of the wounds, with Mandi on the fourth. At her word, each of them plunged their hands into the purulent fluid that exuded from the sores. As they did so, the tumor suddenly snapped open, revealing a dark shaft beneath.
Sepoto was the first to descend, ignoring the strange, curve-rung ladder that adhered to one side of the shaft. Instead, he flew slowly down and before long found himself in a odd chamber that could only be described as ‘alive.’ The bruised, purple walls pulsed and quivered, heaving irregularly like the breath of a dying thing. Growths jutted from them…exposed, fleshy things like black lungs, giant many-chambered and inside-out hearts, rolling milky white eyes, and other organs with no humanoid analog. Unfinished stonework covered patches of the floor, as if some optimistic architect hoped to merely brick over the room’s obscene nature. A second open chute with another strange ladder opened through part of the masonry floor, twenty feet below, descending deeper into the structure’s depths.
No sooner had the goliath taken in the details of the nightmare chamber, than he saw movement on either side of him. Two more behemoths emerged, flying from the shadows as if they’d been expecting him. One of them raked the side of his face with its webbed claws, but the crusader’s surprise was fleeting. His martial instincts quickly took over, and he whirled in mid-air, slashing lightning fast at the nearest brute. Suddenly, Samson and Mandi were beside him, the latter having assumed the shape of a barb-skinned devil again to allow her to navigate the narrow shaft. The wizardess quickly worded a spell, instantly striking the same behemoth Sepoto had been beating upon rigid as stone. Samson raised his morningstar to finish the brute, but at that moment, a glazed look came over his eyes.
‘Hear me,’ an alien voice spoke into his mind, and he instinctively knew it came from the paralyzed kopru. He struggled to ignore it, not hear its words, but he was powerless against its persistence.
‘You must descend to the shaft below,’ the behemoth instructed. ‘Scout the way for your companions. You must insure their safety. Go now!’
Lowering his weapon, the goblin began to descend. Sepoto saw him leaving and sensed immediately that something was amiss. Turning his attention from the second behemoth, the crusader snapped his chain directly in front of Samson, causing the dragon shaman to stand still in midair. Puzzled, Samson looked at his friend, then shrugged and spoke a command word. The boots on his feet flared with blue light, and a moment later, the goblin was on the floor of the room, magically transported through space.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle this!” Mandi snarled. Taking her time, savoring the moment, she placed her hands on either side of the immobilized kopru’s head. Then, with a savage twist, she snapped its neck. Below, Samson blinked, confused, the spell broken. Sepoto nodded his approval, then turned to finish off his own opponent.
______________________________________________________________
The shaft leading from the chamber, through which Samson had almost descended alone, ended in water fifteen feet below floor level.
“Whatever’s beneath here, it’s flooded,” Sepoto said.
“Not a problem,” Mandi replied, weaving a spell of blue light which descended over the company. As the light faded, three pairs of delicate gills appeared on the neck of each of the companions except Samson. The dragon shaman needed no such dweomer, as his draconic heritage gifted him with the ability to breathe water innately. Once more, Sepoto was the first to descend, and as he disappeared below the surface of the water, he found himself in a chamber even more bizarre than the one he’d just left.
The ziggurat’s organs in the room continued to twitch, roil and watch. The half-laid stonework glistened beneath the still water. To the east loomed a huge bust of a demonic countenance with twin baboon-like heads set in a fearsome double roar sprouting from its over-muscled chest. Across the floor lay hunks of shattered black resin and, near the statue, a black tumor grew from the fleshy stone, its size and shape reminiscent of some grotesque divan. Though he should not have been surprised this time, the crusader was still caught unaware as two more behemoths rushed at him, swimming at ceiling level as he was. Below them, near the statue of the Prince of Demons, was a third kopru, this one of normal proportions, yet clad in a chain shirt and armed with a wicked looking spear. As Sepoto struck out at one of the approaching behemoths, the kopru at floor level began chanting in some burbling tongue. In a flash, the hole through which Sepoto had descended vanished, replaced by a solid plug of stone. The goliath was on his own.
Back in the chamber above, Mandi saw the magical wall appear and cursed.
“Looks like we’ve found someone in charge,” she growled. “Perhaps its finally the ‘Lord of Dread.’ Follow me if you can.” She then spoke a command word, and just like Samson had done moments earlier, she vanished from sight in a flash of light from her silken footwear. She reappeared an instant later in the lower room beside Sepoto. Immediately, she assessed the situation, seeing the goliath locked in battle with the two behemoths, and determined that their greatest threat lay in the mail-clad kopru below. Gathering her magic to her, she hurled its power at the creature, willing the creature into the form of a turtle. She was therefore taken aback when the priest raised his spear and easily deflected the spell. Cursing roundly, the wizardess cast again, this time focusing it into a thin, emerald ray, which struck the kopru dead-on. His head flew back and he howled in pain as pieces of his body simply evaporated, but when the spell ended, he was still mostly whole, and completely enraged.
Ulioth had prepared for the coming of the surface dwellers, had in fact been watching their exploits against his lesser minions with great interest. He had anticipated their arrival by flooding the temple and girding himself with his most powerful defensive wards. Yet here were two of them, threatening him and giving him the barest moment’s pause. He snarled to himself. Hesitation was for weaklings. His patron would never allow such among his followers. Steeling his resolve, the kopru priest countered his enemy as effectively as he could…by targeting a spell of silence on one of the behemoths, and then commanding it to stay near the female. That should give her something to think about. He’d also taken note of her little parlor tricks of appearing and disappearing at will. He remedied that problem as well, but bathing her in a green luminescence that emanated from his finger tip.
‘A dimensional lock!’ Mandi gasped. The kopru was a wily one, obviously familiar with their tactics. She was still pondering her next move when the stone plug above her suddenly shattered into rubble. Looking up she saw Cleaver’s massive head protruding from the hole, fury in his eyes. At that moment, the nearest behemoth lunged at her, seeking to wrap her up in its barbed tail. The sorceress, still in her diabolic form, struck at the brute as it came, landing a lucky blow to its windpipe, and shattering it. The brute floated lifeless to the ceiling, but then its brother sprang, snapping its tail around Mandi, squeezing her in its coils. She struggled in vain to free herself, unable to call upon her magic, and unable to transport herself to safety. Worry and doubt began to creep into her mind, but they vanished a moment later when Tower Cleaver reached one massive hand through the hole and grabbed the behemoth’s head. The minotaur then yanked the beast into the shaft until its shoulders wedged tightly against the rim. There was a violent thrashing followed by a torrent of blood in the water, and then Mandi felt the behemoth’s hold on her ease as its headless corpse dropped towards the floor.
Ulioth knew he had to flee. He had to escape to Holashner’s Honor and protect the guardian. Desperate, he threw himself towards the closed sphincter leading to the lowest chamber, but before he could reach it, the goliath cut him off. As the priest recoiled, Mandi finally found the edge of the magical Silence and shouted out a command for the staff she gripped in her hands. The last thing Ulioth knew was bone-numbing, soul-killing cold.
____________________________________________________________
Though the kopru priest had obviously been in command of the ziggurat’s forces, a search of the temple chamber revealed nothing that might be construed as a source for the bilestone. Guessing that his retreat might be to that locale, the group gathered around the closed sphincter in the floor. This one also had four muscular pads, much like the one atop the pyramid, and once more Sepoto, Mandi, Samson and Tower Cleaver each pushed one of them simultaneously. Almost immediately, Sepoto realized their mistake. As the sphincter snapped open, there was a tremendous suction as the water in their room was pulled through. The room below was apparently not flooded. One by one, the Legionnaires were sucked down the drain, with the exception of Sepoto and Tower Cleaver who, by virtue of their great strength, managed to withstand the undertow.
Though Samson, Daelric, Marius and Mandi found themselves in free fall in the room beyond, the flight dweomers that surrounded them arrested their descent some ten feet below the opening. The sticky heat and pulsing walls of the cloying chamber augmented perfectly the revolting stink of bile mixed with crude oil. Four pools of putrid black muck bubbled and spurted in the floor, their edges determined by either rigid stone blocks or dimples in the fleshy ground. Four pillars separated the pools and held the sagging flesh of the ceiling aloft. Within the basins of roiling, foulness floated pristine black orbs, each the size of a man’s head and shimmering with an unsettling inner light.
Marius had been the last of the quartet pulled through the sphincter, and so it was he that was abruptly hammered by a blow that felt as if it came from a battering ram. Seconds later, pressure squeezed his chest, forcing the air out of his lungs and the gnome realized that he was caught in the grip of a behemoth. A second one hovered in the air below the hole and just above his companions. Mandi looked up at Marius’ strangled cry. Thinking quickly, she cast her magic back through the shaft, yanking Sepoto and Cleaver through the ether and causing them to appear on either side of the behemoths. With the same spell, she ripped Marius from the kopru’s clutches and hurled him back up the shaft.
Suddenly, a horrifying roar split the air of the chamber. Emerging from one of the pits below was a creature straight out of nightmare. Many-jointed legs and squirming tentacles cloaked the horror in a haze of repulsive motion. A thing half-centipede and half squid, with a single alien black eye staring fathomlessly from an octopoid head. Curled upon itself like a titanic shrimp, the beast glistened like a scarab’s shell even as it bathed itself in an endless flow of oily, black drool. As it rose from the pool, it cloaked itself in darkness, plunging the room into impenetrable blackness. This inky shadow shattered briefly a moment later as a jet of black liquid sprayed from the monster’s mouth and caught fire as it touched the air. The flames engulfed Tower Cleaver, setting him ablaze like a living torch. The minotaur howled, maddened by the pain. Striking about him by pure instinct, he stove in the skull of the nearest behemoth, then disemboweled the other as his axe whirled about like the Reaper’s scythe.
Suddenly, just as quickly as it had appeared, the darkness vanished, banished by the sudden blast of daylight from Daelric’s upstretched hand. With the beast below revealed again, Mandi struck with her staff, blasting the thing with ice. Roaring again, the leviathan plunged back beneath the black surface of its pool. Quickly, Samson made his way to the floor, Sepoto close behind. Above them, Tower Cleaver beat wildly at his still smoldering hide, struggling to douse the flames. Tentatively, Samson reached out to touch the surface of the liquid. It was cool, like water.
“Nothing,” he said, turning his head towards his companions. The surface of the pool suddenly exploded behind him as the bile wretch breached. The dragon shaman looked up, horror stricken as it reared above him. A nest of tentacles hammered at him, battering him to the floor while at the same time attempting to seize him in their grip. Samson silently thanked Daelric for his foresight in imbuing him with the ability to move freely through such attacks. Though bloodied, Samson was far from beaten. Rolling to his feet, he slammed his weapon into the creature’s chitonous hide, and black blood wept like a fountain from the wound. Scathing cold air blasted by him as Mandi leveled her staff a second time. Simultaneously, Sepoto struck, sinking his chain deep into the beast’s soft underbelly. A howl of fury from above the combatants caused them all to glance up, just in time to see a thousand pounds of minotaur hurtling down, bloodlust in his eyes. Tower Cleaver landed axe first atop the bile wretch, his momentum carrying the blade all the way through the thing’s body. The two halves fell to either side, like monoliths tumbling to earth.
_____________________________________________________________
“This is the substance the aboleth spoke of,” Mandi said as she examined the bile pools. In my research, I have heard of beasts such as this. Legend has it that Holashner itself created them to perpetuate the transformation of Black Bile of the World to bilestone and back again. Some property of it must imbue the shadow pearls with their vile power, but I’m unsure how.”
The group had recovered eight bilestone casings from the pits, within which were the unfinished shadow pearls. They intended to return them to Farshore for further study.
“In any event,” Mandi continued, “the bile here should solidify and become inert with a day, now that the bile wretch has been destroyed. We have accomplished what we came for. It is time to leave this abominable place.”
“What about the Cerulean Curtain?” Marius asked.
“It stays intact,” Mandi shrugged. “Let the aboleths continue to rot in their endless sleep.”
With that, the sorceress gathered her companions around her, spoke a word, and vanished in a flash of light.
In Gaping Maw, a demon lord chuckled…
JollyDoc
Explorer
Joachim
First Post
JollyDoc said:Just browsing pictures, and thought I'd share one with you all of Gfunk and Joachim at Gen Con last year. Gfunk is on right and Joachim on left. Tower Cleaver is in the middle....
Please note the book that cheating bastard Joachim has clutched in his hot little hand...![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Point of order: That is the Savage Tides Player's Guide...and I am a player...ergo I am not a cheating bastard.
Well...at least not because of _that_ book.
carborundum
Adventurer
Sweet! You made it! Not only that, but early too. My cats will be very relieved! I've pasted it into notepad and printed it out - I'm going to save it for Sunday morning coffee. Thanks mate! Can't wait 
Joachim
First Post
Mandi levelled to 13th, and thus on to 7th level spells!
Ozymandia 'Mandi' Enoreth (CR 13)
Female gold elf Wizard 3 / Master Specialist (Transmutation) 10
LE Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; darkvision 60 feet; Listen -1, Spot -1
Languages Common, Elven, Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial, Draconic, Maztican
----------------------------------
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 14
(+5 Dex, +4 armor)
hp 99 (13 HD)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +15; +2 racial bonus against Enchantment effects
----------------------------------
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), Swim 15 ft. (3 squares)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +5
Combat Gear staff of frost (12 charges), wand of enlarged fireball (28 charges), wand of detect secret doors (28 charges), wand of comprehend languages (50 charges), 12 potions of cure light wounds, 4 potions of cure moderate wounds, scroll of haste, 5 scrolls of benign transposition, 6 scrolls of knock, scroll of shrink item, scroll of teleport
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 14th, 17th for Transmutation, 16th for spells from the Teleportation subschool), +2 to all caster level checks to break SR, can take 10 on all caster level checks:
7th - final rebuke (DC 25), glass strike (DC 27), limited wish (DC 25)
6th - disintegrate (x3)(DC 26)(+11 ranged touch), Rary's arcane conversion
5th - baleful polymorph (x2)(DC 25), hold monster (x2)(DC 23), wall of force
4th - assay spell resistance (x2), celerity (x2), polymorph (x2), solid fog (plus Pearl of Power, 4th level)
3rd - dimension step (x2), fly, greater mage armor, slow (x2)(DC 23), water breathing (plus Pearl of Power, 3rd level)
2nd - alter self (x2), glitterdust (x2)(DC 20), heroics, rope trick, see invisibility (plus Pearl of Power, 2nd level)
1st - benign transposition, grease (DC 19), nerveskitter (x2), ray of clumsiness (x2)(+11 ranged touch), shield
0 - detect magic (x4), message
----------------------------------
Abilities Str 8, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 27, Wis 14, Cha 8
SQ Immunity to sleep effects, able to notice secret or concealed doors, prohibited from using spells from the schools necromancy and illusion, no familiar, immediate magic option (PHB II) sudden shift 8/day, minor school esoterica (transmutation), moderate school esoterica (transmutation), major school esoterica (transmutation) 3/day, caster level increase +2 (transmutation), outsider traits
Feats Arcane Mastery, Collegiate Wizard, Craft Wondrous Item, Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation)(B), Minor Shapeshift, Otherwordly, Scribe Scroll (B), Skill Focus (Spellcraft)(B), Spell Focus (Transmutation)
Flaw Innattentive
Trait Absent-Minded
Team Feats Spell Barrage
Skills Concentration +26, Diplomacy +1, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +25, Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge (the planes) +25, Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (religion) +15, Search +10, Spellcraft +29, Survival +4
Possessions combat gear plus Ring of Enduring Arcana, Tunic of Steady Spellcasting augmented with +3 resistance bonus to saves and +6 enhancement bonus to Con, Third Eye (Penetrate) augmented with +6 enhancement bonus to Int, Amulet of Arcane Freedom, Boots of Big Stepping augmented with +6 enhancement bonus to Dex, Robe of Arcane Might (Transmutation), Belt of Battle, Mage's Circlet, Ring of Arcane Might, Heward's Handy Haversack, Greater Crystal of Aquatic Action (continually attached to robe), Pearl of Power (2nd level), Pearl of Power (3rd level), Pearl of Power (4th level), 1000 gp focus for greater anticipate teleportation
Spellbook spells prepared, plus 0 - all (minus illusion and necromancy); 1st - benign transposition, expeditious retreat, feather fall, grease, identify, lesser orb of acid, lesser orb of cold, lesser orb of fire, lesser orb of sound, mage armor, mount, true strike; 2nd - bear's endurance, cat's grace, fox's cunning, knock, resist energy, scorching ray, wraithstrike; 3rd - dispel magic, fireball, haste, sound lance; 4th - blast of flame, dimension door, evard's black tentacles, flame whips, orb of force, Rary's mnemomic enhancer, solid fog; 5th - cone of cold, greater blink, Rary's telepathic bond, telekinesis, teleport; 6th - antimagic field, greater anticipate teleportation, greater dispel magic, control water, true seeing, wall of iron; 7th - greater teleport
----------------------------------
Hook "(Sighing) Please do not test my patience...I have very little, and you wouldn't like spending the rest of your existence as a toad."
Ozymandia 'Mandi' Enoreth (CR 13)
Female gold elf Wizard 3 / Master Specialist (Transmutation) 10
LE Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; darkvision 60 feet; Listen -1, Spot -1
Languages Common, Elven, Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial, Draconic, Maztican
----------------------------------
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 14
(+5 Dex, +4 armor)
hp 99 (13 HD)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +15; +2 racial bonus against Enchantment effects
----------------------------------
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), Swim 15 ft. (3 squares)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +6; Grp +5
Combat Gear staff of frost (12 charges), wand of enlarged fireball (28 charges), wand of detect secret doors (28 charges), wand of comprehend languages (50 charges), 12 potions of cure light wounds, 4 potions of cure moderate wounds, scroll of haste, 5 scrolls of benign transposition, 6 scrolls of knock, scroll of shrink item, scroll of teleport
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 14th, 17th for Transmutation, 16th for spells from the Teleportation subschool), +2 to all caster level checks to break SR, can take 10 on all caster level checks:
7th - final rebuke (DC 25), glass strike (DC 27), limited wish (DC 25)
6th - disintegrate (x3)(DC 26)(+11 ranged touch), Rary's arcane conversion
5th - baleful polymorph (x2)(DC 25), hold monster (x2)(DC 23), wall of force
4th - assay spell resistance (x2), celerity (x2), polymorph (x2), solid fog (plus Pearl of Power, 4th level)
3rd - dimension step (x2), fly, greater mage armor, slow (x2)(DC 23), water breathing (plus Pearl of Power, 3rd level)
2nd - alter self (x2), glitterdust (x2)(DC 20), heroics, rope trick, see invisibility (plus Pearl of Power, 2nd level)
1st - benign transposition, grease (DC 19), nerveskitter (x2), ray of clumsiness (x2)(+11 ranged touch), shield
0 - detect magic (x4), message
----------------------------------
Abilities Str 8, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 27, Wis 14, Cha 8
SQ Immunity to sleep effects, able to notice secret or concealed doors, prohibited from using spells from the schools necromancy and illusion, no familiar, immediate magic option (PHB II) sudden shift 8/day, minor school esoterica (transmutation), moderate school esoterica (transmutation), major school esoterica (transmutation) 3/day, caster level increase +2 (transmutation), outsider traits
Feats Arcane Mastery, Collegiate Wizard, Craft Wondrous Item, Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation)(B), Minor Shapeshift, Otherwordly, Scribe Scroll (B), Skill Focus (Spellcraft)(B), Spell Focus (Transmutation)
Flaw Innattentive
Trait Absent-Minded
Team Feats Spell Barrage
Skills Concentration +26, Diplomacy +1, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +25, Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge (the planes) +25, Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (religion) +15, Search +10, Spellcraft +29, Survival +4
Possessions combat gear plus Ring of Enduring Arcana, Tunic of Steady Spellcasting augmented with +3 resistance bonus to saves and +6 enhancement bonus to Con, Third Eye (Penetrate) augmented with +6 enhancement bonus to Int, Amulet of Arcane Freedom, Boots of Big Stepping augmented with +6 enhancement bonus to Dex, Robe of Arcane Might (Transmutation), Belt of Battle, Mage's Circlet, Ring of Arcane Might, Heward's Handy Haversack, Greater Crystal of Aquatic Action (continually attached to robe), Pearl of Power (2nd level), Pearl of Power (3rd level), Pearl of Power (4th level), 1000 gp focus for greater anticipate teleportation
Spellbook spells prepared, plus 0 - all (minus illusion and necromancy); 1st - benign transposition, expeditious retreat, feather fall, grease, identify, lesser orb of acid, lesser orb of cold, lesser orb of fire, lesser orb of sound, mage armor, mount, true strike; 2nd - bear's endurance, cat's grace, fox's cunning, knock, resist energy, scorching ray, wraithstrike; 3rd - dispel magic, fireball, haste, sound lance; 4th - blast of flame, dimension door, evard's black tentacles, flame whips, orb of force, Rary's mnemomic enhancer, solid fog; 5th - cone of cold, greater blink, Rary's telepathic bond, telekinesis, teleport; 6th - antimagic field, greater anticipate teleportation, greater dispel magic, control water, true seeing, wall of iron; 7th - greater teleport
----------------------------------
Hook "(Sighing) Please do not test my patience...I have very little, and you wouldn't like spending the rest of your existence as a toad."
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JollyDoc
Explorer
SUNDAY NIGHT TEASER
_____________________
1) The group returns to Farshore to find Jakara waiting with a tale to tell of demons and artifacts.
2) Acting on this information, the company sets out for the Isle's mysterious central plateau. First stop, the lost village of Mantru, which is strangely deserted except for a pair of couatls. These divine beings take issue with Mandi's wardrobe selection and hilarity ensues!!
3) After being banished from Mantru, the party sets up camp in preparation for journeying to Taboo Island. During the night, they are paid a visit by the long lost missionary, Noltus Innersol, along with his faithful dog and six converts. Yet all is not as it seems with the priest. In a throwdown for the ages, one Legionnaire dies and one is left a drooling idiot! An update not to be missed!
_____________________
1) The group returns to Farshore to find Jakara waiting with a tale to tell of demons and artifacts.
2) Acting on this information, the company sets out for the Isle's mysterious central plateau. First stop, the lost village of Mantru, which is strangely deserted except for a pair of couatls. These divine beings take issue with Mandi's wardrobe selection and hilarity ensues!!
3) After being banished from Mantru, the party sets up camp in preparation for journeying to Taboo Island. During the night, they are paid a visit by the long lost missionary, Noltus Innersol, along with his faithful dog and six converts. Yet all is not as it seems with the priest. In a throwdown for the ages, one Legionnaire dies and one is left a drooling idiot! An update not to be missed!
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