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[5E] The Age of Worms - Solid Snake's Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="SolidSnake_01" data-source="post: 7127900" data-attributes="member: 63254"><p><strong><u>Chapter 6</u> (“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” -Buddha)</strong></p><p> </p><p>Filge awoke to the waiting forms of his captors towering over him. Egan didn’t wait for him to get his bearings before beginning the interrogation.</p><p> </p><p>"What is your life worth old man? We came to retrieve the bones from your skeletons, but we find something worse is amiss. What do you know of Smenk's problem and where are the other skeletons?"</p><p> </p><p>“What are you saying? Are you telling me you came here because of skeletons? Curse that pink-eyed fiend," Filge spat. "I just needed some helpers, so I got Smenk's white half-orc to fetch me some materials. I had no idea where or how he got them. The other three are downstairs, guarding the front door."</p><p> </p><p>“Yes actually,” Etona interjected. “I will need you to return the bones to their less lively, inanimate, condition. So why did YOU come here? What are you researching?”</p><p> </p><p>"Of course,” replied with a glimmer of hope in his voice. “We will just have to go downstairs for me to reverse the necessary enchantments. As to why I am here, that is simple. My mate Balabar called me up from the Free City for a bit of study about some weirdness in town. He made a deal with a dwarf named Dourstone to get a hold of some special provisions he could not obtain. Dourstone was a bit cagey as to what he needed it for, but he told Smenk that it was for a group of explorers that were excavating an abandoned section of his mine. Sounds like a bunch of crazed cultists if you ask me...but money is money. Anyways, Balabar suspected things were afoot when these strange green worms started showing up," he gestured over to a stoppered glass tube containing a green worm suspended in a clear fluid. "The thing is dead now of course, but Smenk said that a lot of these worms wriggled out of one of his men. The ONLY one that wasn't slaughtered by the cult after the final delivery. Smenk said that he burned the body, but he managed to keep one worm intact. I am not exactly sure of its secrets yet, but my guess is that these things can transfer necrotic energy to the host organism." He starts to get a bit excited. "Isn't that amazing?"</p><p> </p><p>Egan rested his hand on his neck before speaking. "I don't trust you Filge. Appreciate the information, but if I think you're starting to pull some funny business, then it's lights out. Furthermore, I want your word that you won't loot any more graves. I didn't come here to carry bones around, and this town has enough problems as it is."</p><p> </p><p>“This body” Etona said, while brandishing Angivre, “is a vassal of Sehanine. Do you know who that is? My people know her as a goddess who delights in meddling in the affairs of mortals. She is among us all the time. She has powerful passions. She loves lovers. She loves the moonlit night and its shadows that conceal the weak trying to rise against the mighty. She despises true darkness, however, for that way is despair. And so she hates those who create the undead to roam and spread despair. I am therefore not interested in <em>your word</em>. I want to know your heart. What are you doing here in this place? Answer me truthfully even if you think I will not like your answers, for I believe any soul may be redeemed - I am not one of your <em>paladins</em> – so I am not interested in good and evil. But I must know what you are doing here. All of it.”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment Filge looked confused. "I told you. Smenk had me come here to find out more about these green worms. The reports we have had over the past few months show a few sightings in the marshlands of the south, but the fact that they are here in Diamond Lake...that is new. This cult that Dourstone protects in his mines probably wants to know what they are too. Whoever solves this riddle will possess a very powerful weapon against their enemies. That all said, I wouldn't be here if Smenk wasn't paying me," he said with a shrug. "On my off-time, I was working on some animation theorems but the worm is turning everything I know upside down. A very exciting time."</p><p> </p><p>Satisfied with Filge’s responses, the party escorted him downstairs where they were privy to a grotesque scene. The necromancer had apparently animated a number of rotting corpses and arranged them around a large dining room table. The dead bodies would feed him compliments as he ate his meals. Etona found this to be extremely pathetic.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have many friends, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not many,” Filge replied.</p><p> </p><p>The necromancer made quick work of dispelling all the enchantments on the remains of the Land family. With a few gestures, the skeletons crumbled into a pile bones. It was only then that the group began to discuss the fate of Filge.</p><p> </p><p>“We are NEVER going to see you again, are we,” Etona asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Never,” Filge said as he scurried away.</p><p> </p><p>The party left the observatory with the precious remains of the Lands and began to make their way back the desecrated graves. As they exited the structure, they were greeted by a squawking choir of ravens. Etona found the formation and the timing quite odd, even wondering for a time if one of the crows was a shapeshifting member of her tribe. The thought passed fleetingly as she pressed onward.</p><p> </p><p>It took the better part of the morning to rebury the bodies. Everyone said a few words upon completion of the task and were rewarded with Alastor’s gratitude from beyond the Veil. With the long day finally behind them, it was agreed that the party would disband for the evening and regroup at the Spinning Giant in the morning. Egan took the notes he had accrued thus far to Allustan for translation, Rey began teaching her owlbear Obi to hunt for itself, and Etona meditated on all that transpired.</p><p>---------------------------------------------</p><p>At dawn, they all made their way back to the Whispering Cairn. Rey was glad to see that Alastor had honored his word by opening the iron door. Beyond it stood a great circular chamber, with what appeared to be a bottomless chasm at its center. Four bridges spanned the rift and terminated at a small platform from which a column of air shot straight into the ceiling. Two of the bridges were broken and the walls of the chamber seemed to show a great battle between two legendary forces.</p><p> </p><p>“These must be the Wind Dukes of Aaqa Allustan was talking about,” Egan remarked as the group cautiously circled the outer ring of the chamber.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean,” Rey asked as she began tying a rope around Etona’s waist.</p><p> </p><p>“The characters we have seen throughout the cairn are written in Auran. It is the native language of denizens that inhabit the Elemental Plane of Air,” he said before briefly pausing. “Some of the rarer glyphs are probably family names, like the one we saw on the sarcophagus.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what,” Rey responded.</p><p> </p><p>“Well it becomes important only with context. A great battle took place not far from here between the Wind Dukes and the minions of Tharizdun,” Egan began.</p><p> </p><p>“Who is Tharizdun,” Etona interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>“A long forgotten God that wished to unmake all of creation,” Egan continued. “The Wind Dukes forged a great artifact called the Rod of Seven Parts and used it to vanquish the Chained God’s legions. Allustan believes that this tomb was built for either a Wind Duke or an important general.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve heard of the Rod of Seven Parts,” Etona said as she tested the rope around her waist. “Do you got me Rey?”</p><p> </p><p>The scout nodded as Etona made her way across one of the bridges towards the strange column of air in the center of the room. As she approached, two humanoid figures emerged from the rushing wind and began to float towards the party. Both men were adorned with ancient ceremonial armor festooned with red pennons that twisted and bobbed as they landed on the platform. They silently drew their blades in unison as Etona raised her arms in the air to demonstrate her intentions. Their response was not what she had hoped for. </p><p> </p><p>If the armor was heavy, neither man showed any sign of it as their blades slashed at Etona with unbelievable speed. Etona screamed out in agony, her lifeblood spilling before her. Knowing that engaging such adept warriors in a continued melee would lead to a certain death, the elf jumped into the chasm.</p><p> </p><p>“NOOO,” Rey screamed as her grip tightened around the rope. Using Etona’s momentum, she swung the rope like a pendulum depositing the elf on solid footing a fair distance away from the enemy.</p><p> </p><p>“Obi, kill them,” Rey growled.</p><p> </p><p>The owlbear shrieked, charging forth into the fray. The armored warriors fought valiantly and without a sound, grievously wounding much of the party. On more than one occasion, everyone believed their deaths to be a certainty and yet they prevailed. </p><p> </p><p>Rey immediately began to tend to the wounds of her companions after the battle was over. While bandaging the lacerations Etona had sustained, blue electricity arced down her arms and suffused her hands with a soft light. The energy knitted wounds closed!</p><p> </p><p>“How did you do that,” Etona asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” Rey said as she stared at her hands.</p><p> </p><p>With most of the wounded now restored, the group continued their exploration of the cairn. The column of air led to a small chamber with a sarcophagus that looked identical to the one encountered earlier. Anyone approaching it noted that a voice would manifest itself inside their heads beseeching them to speak the name of the buried warrior. Egan informed them that Allustan would need more time to translate the glyphs and furiously scribed everything they had seen thus far.</p><p> </p><p>“From here we can go no further,” Etona declared. “This must be the true tomb but we are no closer to finding your sister Egan.”</p><p> </p><p>“There is a place we haven’t looked yet,” Rey said.</p><p> </p><p>“Very well,” Etona replied. “But before we go further underground, I need some fresh air.”</p><p>------------------------------------------------</p><p>Taking the metal tube deeper into the earth was worse than Etona thought it was going to be. She steadied herself by addressing the obstacles that immediately confronted her. The first of which was a giant stone slab which blocked the only exit to the room the metal tube took the party to. There was a small opening, probably enough of one to allow Etona to go through but it would certainly not be enough for someone Rey’s size.</p><p> </p><p>“What if we enlarge the opening,” Etona asked.</p><p> </p><p>“With what? We can’t break through that,” Rey stated.</p><p> </p><p>Etona turned to Egan. “What about your magic?”</p><p> </p><p>Egan shook his head. “I don’t possess power great enough to melt stone.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe not magic then. But what if there was a substance that we could-,” Etona’s thoughts trailed off momentarily. “That’s it!”</p><p> </p><p>The party worked together to bring down the remains of the ankheg and extract the acid it had used on them many days ago. Their ingenuity was rewarded by widening the passageway and allowing everyone to continue onward. Quite satisfied with her accomplishment, Etona gestured to the rest of her companions.</p><p> </p><p>“After you.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SolidSnake_01, post: 7127900, member: 63254"] [B][U]Chapter 6[/U] (“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” -Buddha)[/B] Filge awoke to the waiting forms of his captors towering over him. Egan didn’t wait for him to get his bearings before beginning the interrogation. "What is your life worth old man? We came to retrieve the bones from your skeletons, but we find something worse is amiss. What do you know of Smenk's problem and where are the other skeletons?" “What are you saying? Are you telling me you came here because of skeletons? Curse that pink-eyed fiend," Filge spat. "I just needed some helpers, so I got Smenk's white half-orc to fetch me some materials. I had no idea where or how he got them. The other three are downstairs, guarding the front door." “Yes actually,” Etona interjected. “I will need you to return the bones to their less lively, inanimate, condition. So why did YOU come here? What are you researching?” "Of course,” replied with a glimmer of hope in his voice. “We will just have to go downstairs for me to reverse the necessary enchantments. As to why I am here, that is simple. My mate Balabar called me up from the Free City for a bit of study about some weirdness in town. He made a deal with a dwarf named Dourstone to get a hold of some special provisions he could not obtain. Dourstone was a bit cagey as to what he needed it for, but he told Smenk that it was for a group of explorers that were excavating an abandoned section of his mine. Sounds like a bunch of crazed cultists if you ask me...but money is money. Anyways, Balabar suspected things were afoot when these strange green worms started showing up," he gestured over to a stoppered glass tube containing a green worm suspended in a clear fluid. "The thing is dead now of course, but Smenk said that a lot of these worms wriggled out of one of his men. The ONLY one that wasn't slaughtered by the cult after the final delivery. Smenk said that he burned the body, but he managed to keep one worm intact. I am not exactly sure of its secrets yet, but my guess is that these things can transfer necrotic energy to the host organism." He starts to get a bit excited. "Isn't that amazing?" Egan rested his hand on his neck before speaking. "I don't trust you Filge. Appreciate the information, but if I think you're starting to pull some funny business, then it's lights out. Furthermore, I want your word that you won't loot any more graves. I didn't come here to carry bones around, and this town has enough problems as it is." “This body” Etona said, while brandishing Angivre, “is a vassal of Sehanine. Do you know who that is? My people know her as a goddess who delights in meddling in the affairs of mortals. She is among us all the time. She has powerful passions. She loves lovers. She loves the moonlit night and its shadows that conceal the weak trying to rise against the mighty. She despises true darkness, however, for that way is despair. And so she hates those who create the undead to roam and spread despair. I am therefore not interested in [I]your word[/I]. I want to know your heart. What are you doing here in this place? Answer me truthfully even if you think I will not like your answers, for I believe any soul may be redeemed - I am not one of your [I]paladins[/I] – so I am not interested in good and evil. But I must know what you are doing here. All of it.” For a moment Filge looked confused. "I told you. Smenk had me come here to find out more about these green worms. The reports we have had over the past few months show a few sightings in the marshlands of the south, but the fact that they are here in Diamond Lake...that is new. This cult that Dourstone protects in his mines probably wants to know what they are too. Whoever solves this riddle will possess a very powerful weapon against their enemies. That all said, I wouldn't be here if Smenk wasn't paying me," he said with a shrug. "On my off-time, I was working on some animation theorems but the worm is turning everything I know upside down. A very exciting time." Satisfied with Filge’s responses, the party escorted him downstairs where they were privy to a grotesque scene. The necromancer had apparently animated a number of rotting corpses and arranged them around a large dining room table. The dead bodies would feed him compliments as he ate his meals. Etona found this to be extremely pathetic. “You don’t have many friends, do you?” “Not many,” Filge replied. The necromancer made quick work of dispelling all the enchantments on the remains of the Land family. With a few gestures, the skeletons crumbled into a pile bones. It was only then that the group began to discuss the fate of Filge. “We are NEVER going to see you again, are we,” Etona asked. “Never,” Filge said as he scurried away. The party left the observatory with the precious remains of the Lands and began to make their way back the desecrated graves. As they exited the structure, they were greeted by a squawking choir of ravens. Etona found the formation and the timing quite odd, even wondering for a time if one of the crows was a shapeshifting member of her tribe. The thought passed fleetingly as she pressed onward. It took the better part of the morning to rebury the bodies. Everyone said a few words upon completion of the task and were rewarded with Alastor’s gratitude from beyond the Veil. With the long day finally behind them, it was agreed that the party would disband for the evening and regroup at the Spinning Giant in the morning. Egan took the notes he had accrued thus far to Allustan for translation, Rey began teaching her owlbear Obi to hunt for itself, and Etona meditated on all that transpired. --------------------------------------------- At dawn, they all made their way back to the Whispering Cairn. Rey was glad to see that Alastor had honored his word by opening the iron door. Beyond it stood a great circular chamber, with what appeared to be a bottomless chasm at its center. Four bridges spanned the rift and terminated at a small platform from which a column of air shot straight into the ceiling. Two of the bridges were broken and the walls of the chamber seemed to show a great battle between two legendary forces. “These must be the Wind Dukes of Aaqa Allustan was talking about,” Egan remarked as the group cautiously circled the outer ring of the chamber. “What do you mean,” Rey asked as she began tying a rope around Etona’s waist. “The characters we have seen throughout the cairn are written in Auran. It is the native language of denizens that inhabit the Elemental Plane of Air,” he said before briefly pausing. “Some of the rarer glyphs are probably family names, like the one we saw on the sarcophagus.” “So what,” Rey responded. “Well it becomes important only with context. A great battle took place not far from here between the Wind Dukes and the minions of Tharizdun,” Egan began. “Who is Tharizdun,” Etona interrupted. “A long forgotten God that wished to unmake all of creation,” Egan continued. “The Wind Dukes forged a great artifact called the Rod of Seven Parts and used it to vanquish the Chained God’s legions. Allustan believes that this tomb was built for either a Wind Duke or an important general.” “I’ve heard of the Rod of Seven Parts,” Etona said as she tested the rope around her waist. “Do you got me Rey?” The scout nodded as Etona made her way across one of the bridges towards the strange column of air in the center of the room. As she approached, two humanoid figures emerged from the rushing wind and began to float towards the party. Both men were adorned with ancient ceremonial armor festooned with red pennons that twisted and bobbed as they landed on the platform. They silently drew their blades in unison as Etona raised her arms in the air to demonstrate her intentions. Their response was not what she had hoped for. If the armor was heavy, neither man showed any sign of it as their blades slashed at Etona with unbelievable speed. Etona screamed out in agony, her lifeblood spilling before her. Knowing that engaging such adept warriors in a continued melee would lead to a certain death, the elf jumped into the chasm. “NOOO,” Rey screamed as her grip tightened around the rope. Using Etona’s momentum, she swung the rope like a pendulum depositing the elf on solid footing a fair distance away from the enemy. “Obi, kill them,” Rey growled. The owlbear shrieked, charging forth into the fray. The armored warriors fought valiantly and without a sound, grievously wounding much of the party. On more than one occasion, everyone believed their deaths to be a certainty and yet they prevailed. Rey immediately began to tend to the wounds of her companions after the battle was over. While bandaging the lacerations Etona had sustained, blue electricity arced down her arms and suffused her hands with a soft light. The energy knitted wounds closed! “How did you do that,” Etona asked. “I don’t know,” Rey said as she stared at her hands. With most of the wounded now restored, the group continued their exploration of the cairn. The column of air led to a small chamber with a sarcophagus that looked identical to the one encountered earlier. Anyone approaching it noted that a voice would manifest itself inside their heads beseeching them to speak the name of the buried warrior. Egan informed them that Allustan would need more time to translate the glyphs and furiously scribed everything they had seen thus far. “From here we can go no further,” Etona declared. “This must be the true tomb but we are no closer to finding your sister Egan.” “There is a place we haven’t looked yet,” Rey said. “Very well,” Etona replied. “But before we go further underground, I need some fresh air.” ------------------------------------------------ Taking the metal tube deeper into the earth was worse than Etona thought it was going to be. She steadied herself by addressing the obstacles that immediately confronted her. The first of which was a giant stone slab which blocked the only exit to the room the metal tube took the party to. There was a small opening, probably enough of one to allow Etona to go through but it would certainly not be enough for someone Rey’s size. “What if we enlarge the opening,” Etona asked. “With what? We can’t break through that,” Rey stated. Etona turned to Egan. “What about your magic?” Egan shook his head. “I don’t possess power great enough to melt stone.” “Maybe not magic then. But what if there was a substance that we could-,” Etona’s thoughts trailed off momentarily. “That’s it!” The party worked together to bring down the remains of the ankheg and extract the acid it had used on them many days ago. Their ingenuity was rewarded by widening the passageway and allowing everyone to continue onward. Quite satisfied with her accomplishment, Etona gestured to the rest of her companions. “After you.” [/QUOTE]
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