hbarsquared
Quantum Chronomancer
Yup, I'm still here. In fact, I'm still on schedule. Look for an update to be posted later tonight-ish.
A Lonely Path: a Shackled City Story Hour, (updated 30 Apr 2008)
hbarsquared
Quantum Chronomancer
Chapter Three, Part One
Abrina reached the first landing, bare save for another iron torch sconce mounted on the south wall, grumbling to herself as she held the lit torch over her head. The staircase turned sharply and descended another twenty feet before opening into a dark room. From the landing, Abrina could hear strange sounds emanating from the chamber below, specifically chirping birds, rustling leaves, and cheery giggles. Confused, Abrina hesitantly followed the stairs.
She emerged into an ordinary forty-foot square room with a ten-foot high ceiling. Abrina glanced at her map, recognizing the ten-foot wide open passage in the far wall, directly across from the stairs. A slight draft blew into the room from the passage, and there was no sign of birds, trees, or laughing children.
Two four-foot diameter circular doors were set into the middle of the left wall, each made of wood and framed with a ring of mortared stones. The closest door was closed and inscribed with a strange glyph. The farther door bore a different glyph but rested half-open. The half-open door she recognized from Ghelve's description. It revealed an iron rim of gearlike teeth, and dim light spilled from the chamber beyond.
She stepped into the large room, unnerved by the happy sounds of a summer afternoon contrasting with the dark and foreboding pressure of stone walls. Mounted to the walls of the room were twelve tarnished copper masks, each depicting a smiling gnome's visage, almost two feet tall and clinging four feet above the floor. The soft giggling, chirping, and rustling noises seemed to pour from the very walls.
Gnomes, Abrina thought, shaking her head and forcing a smile to her lips. They had an intrinsic ability to deceive, and even after several decades of neglect the illusions of accomplished gnome spellcasters remained. Understanding the origins of the strange sounds, Abrina felt a large, unnamed weight lift from her shoulders. Perhaps an exploration of the abandoned enclave would not be so bad, after all.
Abrina walked along the edge of the room, examining each mask. Her fingers gently tugged at one, and she discovered they were fastened to the wall as if with some strong glue. They remained stuck to the bare stone and she was not able to remove them except by some strong use of force. Lowering her hand, her curiosity satisfied, she slowly circled the rest of the room.
"Welcome to Jzaridune!" rung out a voice from the mask located to the left of the open passage. Abrina gasped, nearly dropping her torch. The mouth of the animated copper mask continued to speak as Abrina attempted to catch her breath.
Behold the wonder!
But beware, ye who seek to plunder.
Traps abound and guardians peer
Beyond every portal, behind every gear.
"And if we don't seek to plunder?" she asked the mask, exasperated. Abrina did not want to steal anything, so why should she need to worry about traps? "What if I came just to find some kidnapped children?"
The mask refused to respond.
With a shrug, Abrina approached the half-open gear door holding her torch and peered through the roughly crescent-shaped gap into the room beyond. Several small cots and chests lined the walls of the dusty room, cobwebs blanketing many of the cots and chests with tiny spiders scurrying about.
A one-foot long iron rod lay in the middle of the floor, its golden tip shedding enough light to cast lurid shadows on the walls and illuminating two rough-hewn tunnels, five feet in diameter, breaching two walls.
Abrina eyed the rod quizzically. It looked like a sunrod, an expensive alchemical item that lit areas far better than a simple torch. Sunrods had a limited lifespan of only a few hours.
And it was still lit.
Abrina backed slowly away from the doorway. She pocketed the map and carefully set her flickering torch into an iron sconce in a nearby wall next to one of the masks. She drew her spear and quietly prayed to Ninurta for his divine favor.
Prepared, Abrina stepped forward and squeezed into the narrow opening, careful not to jostle the chunk of stone that had been wedged between the teeth of the gear and the floor to keep the door open. Not yet within the next room, she jabbed her spear into the empty space beyond the door.
Two rapiers flashed in the sunrod’s light, knocking her spear.
Dashing through the doorway, she discovered two of the same skulking creatures she had seen in Ghelve's workshop, their skin nearly the same color as the dark gray walls of the room. Without thinking, she clenched her spear and thrust it into the gut of one of the creatures. A tall one, she remembered Ghelve saying. Its eyes glazed as it stumbled back, gray blood spilling from its wound.
The second tall one snarled, its rapier deflected by her shield, as the injured creature hobbled toward the tunnel through the far wall. Abrina swiped the attacking tall one, grazing its arm, and dodged another thrust of its rapier.
Glancing over her shoulder at the retreating tall one, Abrina sidestepped the rapier and reached the creature as it struggled to clamber into the tunnel. She caught it in the back, and the creature shuddered and collapsed with a groan.
Behind her, the second tall one attacked again, its weapon scraping against the stone wall as she shifted out of the way. With teeth clenched, she thrust her spear into the creature's shoulder and wrenched it. The tall one jerked once before its rapier fell from its hand and clattered to the stone floor.
[sblock="OOC - "]
Abrina turned in a full circle, amazed at her success. "Thank you, Ninurta," she said, watching the gray blood of both tall ones pool around their bodies and slowly change color to match the stone. Her enemies defeated, she began to examine the room.
The cots had not been slept in for years, and the chests had been opened and picked clean. The room contained no information besides the fact that the creatures used this room before heading to the surface.
Abrina brought her torch from the other room and doused it, picking up the sunrod to use instead. She peered around the body of the tall one in the tunnel to find that it split in a T intersection only a few feet away. The other tunnel extended twenty feet to an otherwise empty room on the other side. Not wanting to risk the cramped quarters of the tunnel and being caught unawares, Abrina retreated back into the large chamber with giggling voices and rustling leaves.
For a moment, she contemplated removing the chunk of stone, allowing the door to shut and possibly seal any remaining creatures behind. But the complex was too big, with too many routes, to predict how the creatures would travel. If she closed the door she may seal off a possible escape route and leave herself vulnerable to whatever gnomish traps guarded the rest of the enclave. Leaving the stone behind, she instead ignored the closed gear door and followed the breeze from the open passage in the far wall.
Abrina discovered herself at the center of a long hallway, its ends barely discernable in the shadows of her elvish vision, with more gear doors embedded on either side along its length. She glanced up and down the hallway, trying to determine from where the slight breeze originated. It seemed somewhat stronger from the left, though she was unsure if it was her imagination, and turned in that direction.
Slowly, she made her way down the hall by the light of the sunrod. Dust and debris covered the floor with no sight or sound of more strange creatures, tall ones or short ones. Abrina saw only sealed circular doors, each with a different, unrecognizable glyph in the center.
Seeing no open passages, mundane doors, or partially opened gear portals, she readied herself to turn back as she approached the far end of the hallway. She would find nothing down this hall, that was obvious—
Without warning, the floor dropped out from beneath her.
[sblock="OOC - "]
Abrina reached the first landing, bare save for another iron torch sconce mounted on the south wall, grumbling to herself as she held the lit torch over her head. The staircase turned sharply and descended another twenty feet before opening into a dark room. From the landing, Abrina could hear strange sounds emanating from the chamber below, specifically chirping birds, rustling leaves, and cheery giggles. Confused, Abrina hesitantly followed the stairs.
She emerged into an ordinary forty-foot square room with a ten-foot high ceiling. Abrina glanced at her map, recognizing the ten-foot wide open passage in the far wall, directly across from the stairs. A slight draft blew into the room from the passage, and there was no sign of birds, trees, or laughing children.
Two four-foot diameter circular doors were set into the middle of the left wall, each made of wood and framed with a ring of mortared stones. The closest door was closed and inscribed with a strange glyph. The farther door bore a different glyph but rested half-open. The half-open door she recognized from Ghelve's description. It revealed an iron rim of gearlike teeth, and dim light spilled from the chamber beyond.
She stepped into the large room, unnerved by the happy sounds of a summer afternoon contrasting with the dark and foreboding pressure of stone walls. Mounted to the walls of the room were twelve tarnished copper masks, each depicting a smiling gnome's visage, almost two feet tall and clinging four feet above the floor. The soft giggling, chirping, and rustling noises seemed to pour from the very walls.
Gnomes, Abrina thought, shaking her head and forcing a smile to her lips. They had an intrinsic ability to deceive, and even after several decades of neglect the illusions of accomplished gnome spellcasters remained. Understanding the origins of the strange sounds, Abrina felt a large, unnamed weight lift from her shoulders. Perhaps an exploration of the abandoned enclave would not be so bad, after all.
Abrina walked along the edge of the room, examining each mask. Her fingers gently tugged at one, and she discovered they were fastened to the wall as if with some strong glue. They remained stuck to the bare stone and she was not able to remove them except by some strong use of force. Lowering her hand, her curiosity satisfied, she slowly circled the rest of the room.
"Welcome to Jzaridune!" rung out a voice from the mask located to the left of the open passage. Abrina gasped, nearly dropping her torch. The mouth of the animated copper mask continued to speak as Abrina attempted to catch her breath.
Behold the wonder!
But beware, ye who seek to plunder.
Traps abound and guardians peer
Beyond every portal, behind every gear.
"And if we don't seek to plunder?" she asked the mask, exasperated. Abrina did not want to steal anything, so why should she need to worry about traps? "What if I came just to find some kidnapped children?"
The mask refused to respond.
With a shrug, Abrina approached the half-open gear door holding her torch and peered through the roughly crescent-shaped gap into the room beyond. Several small cots and chests lined the walls of the dusty room, cobwebs blanketing many of the cots and chests with tiny spiders scurrying about.
A one-foot long iron rod lay in the middle of the floor, its golden tip shedding enough light to cast lurid shadows on the walls and illuminating two rough-hewn tunnels, five feet in diameter, breaching two walls.
Abrina eyed the rod quizzically. It looked like a sunrod, an expensive alchemical item that lit areas far better than a simple torch. Sunrods had a limited lifespan of only a few hours.
And it was still lit.
Abrina backed slowly away from the doorway. She pocketed the map and carefully set her flickering torch into an iron sconce in a nearby wall next to one of the masks. She drew her spear and quietly prayed to Ninurta for his divine favor.
Prepared, Abrina stepped forward and squeezed into the narrow opening, careful not to jostle the chunk of stone that had been wedged between the teeth of the gear and the floor to keep the door open. Not yet within the next room, she jabbed her spear into the empty space beyond the door.
Two rapiers flashed in the sunrod’s light, knocking her spear.
Dashing through the doorway, she discovered two of the same skulking creatures she had seen in Ghelve's workshop, their skin nearly the same color as the dark gray walls of the room. Without thinking, she clenched her spear and thrust it into the gut of one of the creatures. A tall one, she remembered Ghelve saying. Its eyes glazed as it stumbled back, gray blood spilling from its wound.
The second tall one snarled, its rapier deflected by her shield, as the injured creature hobbled toward the tunnel through the far wall. Abrina swiped the attacking tall one, grazing its arm, and dodged another thrust of its rapier.
Glancing over her shoulder at the retreating tall one, Abrina sidestepped the rapier and reached the creature as it struggled to clamber into the tunnel. She caught it in the back, and the creature shuddered and collapsed with a groan.
Behind her, the second tall one attacked again, its weapon scraping against the stone wall as she shifted out of the way. With teeth clenched, she thrust her spear into the creature's shoulder and wrenched it. The tall one jerked once before its rapier fell from its hand and clattered to the stone floor.
[sblock="OOC - "]
- Abrina's initiative +1: rolled 9. Skulk's initiative +2: rolled 8.
- Abrina attacks skulk #1 +5 against AC 12: rolled 15, hit, 12 damage. Skulk #1 at 0 hp.
- Skulk #2 attacks +3 against AC 18: rolled 14, miss. Skulk #1 retreats.
- Abrina attacks skulk #2: rolled 17, hit, 6 damage. Skulk #2 at 6 hp.
- Skulk #2 attacks: rolled 6, miss. Skulk #1 retreats.
- Abrina follows skulk #1, provokes an attack of opportunity. Skulk #2 attacks: rolled 11, miss. Abrina attacks skulk #1: rolled 18, hit, 7 damage. Skulk #1 at -7 hp. Skulk #2 follows Abrina. Skulk #2 attacks: rolled 6, miss. Skulk #1 at -8 hp.
- Abrina's attacks skulk #2: rolled 13, hit, 7 damage. Skulk #2 at -1 hp. Skulk #1 at -9 hp. Skulk #2 at -2 hp.
Abrina turned in a full circle, amazed at her success. "Thank you, Ninurta," she said, watching the gray blood of both tall ones pool around their bodies and slowly change color to match the stone. Her enemies defeated, she began to examine the room.
The cots had not been slept in for years, and the chests had been opened and picked clean. The room contained no information besides the fact that the creatures used this room before heading to the surface.
Abrina brought her torch from the other room and doused it, picking up the sunrod to use instead. She peered around the body of the tall one in the tunnel to find that it split in a T intersection only a few feet away. The other tunnel extended twenty feet to an otherwise empty room on the other side. Not wanting to risk the cramped quarters of the tunnel and being caught unawares, Abrina retreated back into the large chamber with giggling voices and rustling leaves.
For a moment, she contemplated removing the chunk of stone, allowing the door to shut and possibly seal any remaining creatures behind. But the complex was too big, with too many routes, to predict how the creatures would travel. If she closed the door she may seal off a possible escape route and leave herself vulnerable to whatever gnomish traps guarded the rest of the enclave. Leaving the stone behind, she instead ignored the closed gear door and followed the breeze from the open passage in the far wall.
Abrina discovered herself at the center of a long hallway, its ends barely discernable in the shadows of her elvish vision, with more gear doors embedded on either side along its length. She glanced up and down the hallway, trying to determine from where the slight breeze originated. It seemed somewhat stronger from the left, though she was unsure if it was her imagination, and turned in that direction.
Slowly, she made her way down the hall by the light of the sunrod. Dust and debris covered the floor with no sight or sound of more strange creatures, tall ones or short ones. Abrina saw only sealed circular doors, each with a different, unrecognizable glyph in the center.
Seeing no open passages, mundane doors, or partially opened gear portals, she readied herself to turn back as she approached the far end of the hallway. She would find nothing down this hall, that was obvious—
Without warning, the floor dropped out from beneath her.
[sblock="OOC - "]
- Reflex save +1 against DC 15: rolled 12, failure.
Richard Rawen
First Post
Well that was good stuff... and a nice cliffhangery stopping point =-)
*cricket noises*
*cricket noises*
Last edited:
hbarsquared
Quantum Chronomancer
You know, this is probably one of the longest running story hours with an author that goes on so many extended hiatuses.
I am going to admit, straight out, that I have no idea when I will update again.
All I know is that, yes, I do enjoy writing this story hour and will continue to do so as long as I am physically able. How often I implement such updates is debatable. But know that I will strive to do so as often as I can. Be it weekly or... annually.
I hope my loyal readers have not forgotten me.
Enjoy.
I am going to admit, straight out, that I have no idea when I will update again.
All I know is that, yes, I do enjoy writing this story hour and will continue to do so as long as I am physically able. How often I implement such updates is debatable. But know that I will strive to do so as often as I can. Be it weekly or... annually.I hope my loyal readers have not forgotten me.
Enjoy.
Chapter Three, Part Two
The sunrod fell from Abrina's grasp as she clawed at the air, attempting to find purchase where there was none. Her legs crumpled beneath her as she hit the stone ground, jarring pain shooting up her hips. The sunrod glanced off a sharpened stake and clattered to the bottom of the pit a few feet away. Several other stakes, lodged between loose stones in the floor of the pit, were scattered throughout.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]20-foot fall: 7 damage. 1 spike attacks +3 against AC 15 (flat-footed, no shield): rolls 9, miss. Abrina at 1 hp.
Regaining her breath, Abrina looked around the bottom of the pit, discovering that she had only barely missed one of the spikes. Grasping one, she lifted herself up and gingerly tested her feet. She had definitely twisted an ankle, and she could already feel several new bruises, but she remained in one piece. Whispering to her patron, she called upon his power to ease her pain.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]Spontaneously casts cure light wounds in place of magic weapon, rolls 9. Abrina at 8 hp.
Abrina retrieved the sunrod, raising it above her head, and examined her surroundings. A few items lay scattered across the pit’s floor, including a rapier, light crossbow, and six crossbow bolts, all in good repair and assuredly not remnants of the gnome exodus. Ignoring the rapier, she retrieved the crossbow and the bolts. Picking up the last bolt, her hand brushed against what felt like skin. Squinting her eyes and bringing the sunrod to bear, Abrina made out the nearly camouflaged naked body of one of the tall ones hanging impaled upon four of the pit's wooden spikes. Bringing her sleeve to cover her mouth, she stepped back.
How do I get out of here? she wondered, placing a hand against the stone side of the pit. The ledge was far above, and even requesting Ninurta's aid to increase her size would still not give her the reach or the strength to grasp the edge. The wall was coarse and sloped very slightly, and Abrina concluded that finding handholds in the rough stone and climbing the wall might be her only option.
Methodically she removed her chainmail, knowing that its weight would only serve to pull her back into the pit. If she fell again when nearing the top ledge, she may not survive a second fall. Abrina tucked the sunrod into her belt and removed a length of rope from her pack, tying it through a sleeve of her armor, the grip of her shield, the tip of her spear, and fastened the other end around her waist. Its length was longer than the pit was deep, and once she reached the top Abrina could pull her armor up the side.
Abrina maneuvered through the spikes to a corner of the pit. She sought a small handhold and lifted herself up with a grunt, bracing herself against the two walls. She managed to make it nearly half way when her grip slipped and she slid back into the pit, scraping her fingers raw as she dug them into the rock searching for another handhold.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]Climb check +3 (0 ranks, +3 Str) against DC 15 (DC 20, -5 for climbing corner): rolls 23, progress 5 feet.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 4, 10-foot fall, 4 damage. Abrina at 4 hp.
In frustration, Abrina pounded the pit wall with a bare palm, but after inhaling deeply, braced herself in the corner and attempted a second time.
And a third time. And a fourth time.
Each time, the handholds slipped from her grasp, dust and bare rock tearing at her fingers. Scraped, sweating, and bleeding, she persevered, and after a blur of several tries, she finally discovered herself nearing the top of the pit.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 10, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 11, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 13, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 12, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 7, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 16, progress 5 feet.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 5, 10-foot fall, 3 damage. Abrina at 1 hp.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 5, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 11, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 10, failure.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 16, progress 5 feet.
[*]Climb check +3 against DC 15: rolls 20, progress 5 feet.
Abrina breathed deeply without looking down to the spike-lined floor of the pit. Falling from this height would definitely put her in more danger than she preferred.
"Dear Ninurta," she prayed, pressing her body close to the stone, "please guide my hand and bless me with the strength to escape this pit." A warmth suffused her palms and with renewed confidence she reached for another handhold.
Her foot slipped, with dust and small stones clattering down the pit face to the floor below. Abrina's heart thudded in her ears as her hands struggled to hold her body against the stone. With her god's help, she somehow managed to lift one arm, and slowly crawled over the lip of the edge.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]Casts guidance. Climb check +4 (0 ranks, +3 Str, +1 guidance) against DC 15: rolls 15, reaches top.
Abrina collapsed on her back at the edge of the pit trap, exhausted and worn, staring at the ceiling of the hall. With Ninurta's guidance, she had succeeded.
"Thank you," she whispered under her breath to her god and struggled to lift herself to a sitting position.
Abrina pulled on the rope, lifting her equipment to the ledge, and took a few moments to don her armor. Readied, she stood and weighed her options, staring at the unremarkable stone wall at the end of the hallway across from the open pit. She pulled out Ghelve's map and stared at it in hopes of finding another path to take that did not require bypassing the trapped gear doors.
Her eyes narrowed as she examined the passageway where she currently found herself. The gear doors were clearly labeled, but the map showed the hall continuing unimpeded into another room, whereas now she saw nothing but an unremarkable stone wall. Perplexed, she approached the wall, carefully inching around the yawning pit, and slowly brought her hand up to the wall. Instead of falling upon cold stone, her hand simply disappeared through it. She gasped, yanked her hand away, and paused to collect herself.
Clever, she thought, An illusory wall. What's hiding back there? She smiled and closed her eyes, blocking out the disturbing presence of the wall, and stepped through.
Abrina passed through the wall without difficulty, her sunrod revealing two familiar circular doors in the center of the walls on either side of the room. Carved into the opposite wall was a large map with lines that glowed faintly, showing various interconnected rooms and corridors. The passageways outlined on the wall map were the same as those on her own, revealing no secret passageways that Ghelve had hinted at, nor the methods to bypass whatever traps sealed the gear doors.
With a sigh, Abrina returned to the hallway through the illusionary wall and bypassed the pit trap. Gingerly, she slowly made her way to the opposite end of the hall, aware and ready for any other pits that might appear beneath her. When she reached the section of floor just before the two doors at the end, she inched along the wall to be safe. Coming to the stone wall, she lifted a hand and half-expected it to slip through the surface as she touched it.
Her hand fell upon solid stone.
She traced the outline of the mortared stones with one finger, pleading to Ninurta that there was a secret way. The children were down here in this forgotten enclave, somewhere. She did not want to risk the doors and become a permanent resident here herself. Nor did she want to hazard the crudely made tunnels where skulking creatures lurked. Abrina would, of course, if it came to it, but she prayed that she would not have to.
Her palm rested against one stone, and slowly she felt it give. The stone retreated slightly into the wall with a deep klunk that reverberated down the hall, and a four-foot section of stone in the center of the wall began to pivot on a central vertical axis, revealing a room beyond.
[sblock=OOC]
- [*]Casts guidance. Search check +0 (0 ranks, -1 int, +1 guidance) against DC 20: takes 20 for a total of 20, success.
Abrina breathed a sigh of relief a moment before the acrid stench filling the chamber billowed out to fill her nostrils. She coughed and covered her mouth and nose with a sleeve as she peered into the chamber. One tabletop was cluttered with alchemical apparatus while the other, flipped on its side, had spilled its contents into the middle of the room. Both were draped in cobwebs, left untouched for decades.
Abrina took a tentative step into the room. Amid the fragments of shattered glass lay some broken candles, some spent tindtertwigs, various sundry utensils, and a pile of rags. Against the opposite wall stood a cabinet, its doors set with jagged shards of frosted glass, as if someone had smashed through the glass to reach the contents within. A familiar tunnel bore through the left wall, and mounted to the ceiling was a web-shrouded wooden fan connected to some gears and a rope belt that crossed the ceiling and disappeared into the far wall.
When Abrina took a second step, the pile of rags stirred, lifting themselves up of their own accord. Slowly, at first, the pile collected itself. Then, suddenly, as Abrina stared, the rags wrenched upward and careened through the air directly toward her, latching onto her wrist. She involuntarily screamed and shook her arm but the rags held fast. Pieces of cloth, whiplike, lashed out at her arms and her face as Abrina stumbled backward pulling at the tight grip of the rags.
Then the sound of grinding stone alerted her that the secret door was beginning to close.
In desperation she yanked one last time at the flailing cloth and managed to throw it to the floor. Abrina turned and dashed through the closing stone door mere moments before it shut tightly, leaving one tattered rag pinned between it and the stone wall. It stretched and snapped, as if still reaching for her, like a flag caught in a serious of strong gusts. Abrina eyed the cloth, her heart still pounding and her nerves still on edge, and grasped it with one hand. Pulling a tindertwig from a pocket, she struck it against the stone and held it to the rag. It tried to wrench itself from her grasp, but Abrina held tight as the cloth caught and soon became consumed in fire. After a few moments, the charred remnants fell slowly to the floor.
When she returned, Abrina resolved to enter the chamber more prepared. Until then, she decided to explore the passages more recently carved out by the creatures that had stolen the children. She turned back down the hall, again avoiding the area near the two gear doors, and retraced her steps back to the room with the gnome masks.
The door remained ajar, just as Abrina had left it. She peered into the dark room and saw it just as it was before: the denizens had not yet discovered the deaths of the creatures. She still had time to find the tall one with the set of keys, and the creature was down one of the tunnels. Abrina stepped into the room and breathed deeply. If none had yet detected her presence, she might have a chance to find the keys unheard and unseen.
Standing before the dark tunnel, Abrina slowly removed her armor, shield, and bow. She lay them carefully against the wall and discarded her spear, as well, considering it too awkward to wield within the confines of the tunnel. She removed the dagger from her belt and grasped it firmly as she ducked her head and entered the tunnel, crawling over the corpse of the tall one she had speared from behind. The tunnel soon split into three passages. She investigated one, to find it opened upward into another room. She turned back, hesitating to leave herself in such a vulnerable position to whatever creature resided above. A second path led straight into a large chamber with flickering lights and the sound of trickling water. After a moment, she heard no other sounds of the creatures and resolved to explore the chamber later. The third path led to a small room, barely lit, and Abrina peered from her crawlspace.
Dead rats, burnt tindertwigs, and bits of broken stone littered the floor of the room whose only furnishings included a cot against a wall and a wooden chest bearing a dented lantern. The lantern was lit, but barely enough light escaped through its shutters to illuminate the room. Across from the tunnel was a familiar round door. On the cot was a cloak encasing the form of a sleeping tall one.
Abrina quietly lowered herself to the rubble-strewn floor and slowly approached the creature. As it slept, she removed a length of rope from her pack and placed it on the cot next to the sleeping creature. Abrina took a deep breath and lowered the dagger to the creature's neck, a hairsbreadth away, and clamped her other hand on the creature's mouth.
"Wake up," she hissed as the pale eyes of the creature shot open. "Wake up, you miserable creature, and don't struggle or your life is mine." She pressed the dagger against the rapidly whitening skin so the creature could feel the touch of cold steel. It froze.
Abrina could not be sure if it understood her words, but it understood the sharp metal only a brief struggle away from spilling its blood. She flicked her eyes to the rope at the creature's side.
"Now, take that rope and gag yourself. Tightly."
She saw no recognition in the creature's pale face, so she nodded to the rope a second time. Slowly, it reached a hand over and grabbed the rope. Keeping her hand across its mouth, she motioned for it to place the rope in her hand's place.
Slowly, the creature followed her pantomimed directions, placing the rope into its own mouth and tying it in a knot behind its head. Abrina stepped back, keeping her eyes upon the creature and holding the dagger threateningly. She picked up the remaining rope and bound its hands. Satisfied it was not capable of attacking her or calling for help, she rummaged through its possessions stowed under the cot, discovering two small stones with jagged carvings, its crossbow with a supply of bolts, and a silver ring with three keys of different size. She clenched the keys in triumph.
"You won't be kidnapping any more children now, you skulk," she said.
The bound creature could do nothing but stare blankly at her.
hbarsquared
Quantum Chronomancer
Chapter Three, Part Three
Abrina returned to Ghelve's shop above with the gray creature in tow and immediately had the gnome summon the town guard. He tried to object, but when she threatened to unbind the "tall one,” he paled and scurried out the front door in search of a patrol.
She handed the keys over to the guard sergeant that arrived an hour later, explaining their function and pointing out the creature as one of the kidnappers residing in the labyrinthine structure below. Ghelve confessed his involvement, shaking in fear and unable to avert his eyes from their breastplates emblazoned with the town emblem, a watchful eye wreathed in flames.
"Don't take me to jail," Ghelve pleaded, clasping his hands. "They forced me to do it, they threatened me! And they took Starbrow! What was I supposed to do?"
The sergeant, a grizzled veteran with a red face and bulging nose, rolled his eyes as he motioned for the other guards to remove the creature. Two roughly wrenched the hairless skulk from the ground and roughly dragged the pathetic creature outside.
"You won't go to jail, Ghelve," the sergeant said, "but you will have to come with us. You'll likely pay a fine for your involvement, and you will help us find the rest of the kidnapped victims. In the meantime, your shop is closed."
Ghelve gulped and nodded.
"Get your things. You won't be back for a while."
Ghelve nodded again and retreated upstairs. The sergeant turned to face Abrina.
"As for you, thank you for your help. We will need you to answer some questions, though, as soon as you're able."
"Thank you," Abrina said, leaning heavily against a wall. The adrenaline of victory had worn off, and her aches had already begun to take their toll.
"I still want to help," she continued. "When will I be able to go back and search for the missing children?"
The sergeant scoffed. "That is not your concern. You’re lucky I don’t bring you in for stirring up these creatures. If they come boiling out of this underground dungeon you speak of, it will be on your head. I thank you for your help, but now that we know the location of the kidnappers, we will find the missing victims. Not you.”
"But, the Church..." Abrina protested as Ghelve slowly made his way back down the stairs.
The sergeant held up a hand. "No. I have said before: it is not your concern, and we do not need the Church's help.” He eyed Ghelve paused on the stairs. “Ghelve, are you ready?"
The gnome nodded. "Can I say good-bye, and thank Abrina for her help?"
"Yes," he said, “you can have a minute.” He turned and stepped outside to guard the creature with the rest of the patrol.
"Please find my Starbrow," Ghelve whispered to Abrina, clasping his small hands in her own, and she felt the touch of cold metal in her palm as he stepped back. She looked down at the small key in her hand. She eyed him quizzically, but he did nothing but give her a faint grin.
They left the shop, escorted by the guard, and Ghelve locked the door behind them, with a wink to Abrina as he did so. Abrina blinked in the sunlight, finding it hard to believe she had been gone only a few hours.
"Do you need someone to help you to the temple?" asked the sergeant.
"No, no, I'm fine," she said, concealing the key Ghelve had given her moments before and placing it into one of the pockets of her vestments. "Thank you."
She hurried to the Church of Enlil, eager to report to Jenya of her discoveries, and of the partial answer to the riddle she had discovered.
Jenya had seemed reluctant to allow Abrina to return to Jzaridune. If the guard forbade her from returning, then Abrina should not interfere. Yet, the guard had also promised to resolve the kidnappings and shown themselves incapable of doing so. And Jenya had made a vow of her own to find the children and bring the kidnappers to justice. In the end, she agreed with Abrina, but encouraged her to rest for the night first before returning to the halls of Jzaridune in the morning.
Jenya called upon the blessing of Enlil to heal Abrina so that she may rest peacefully, and when Abrina awoke she felt invigorated and ready to face the skulks of Jzaridune once again. Before leaving, Jenya approached her and provided her with a small vial of clear liquid, a potion that would cure any moderate wounds she might sustain in the underground enclave. Jenya also pressed the small stones with jagged markings Abrina had found into her hand, describing them as thunderstones that exploded with painful noise when thrown. Abrina thanked her, hefted her spear, and headed for Ghelve's Locks in the bright morning sun.
Abrina returned to Ghelve's shop above with the gray creature in tow and immediately had the gnome summon the town guard. He tried to object, but when she threatened to unbind the "tall one,” he paled and scurried out the front door in search of a patrol.
She handed the keys over to the guard sergeant that arrived an hour later, explaining their function and pointing out the creature as one of the kidnappers residing in the labyrinthine structure below. Ghelve confessed his involvement, shaking in fear and unable to avert his eyes from their breastplates emblazoned with the town emblem, a watchful eye wreathed in flames.
"Don't take me to jail," Ghelve pleaded, clasping his hands. "They forced me to do it, they threatened me! And they took Starbrow! What was I supposed to do?"
The sergeant, a grizzled veteran with a red face and bulging nose, rolled his eyes as he motioned for the other guards to remove the creature. Two roughly wrenched the hairless skulk from the ground and roughly dragged the pathetic creature outside.
"You won't go to jail, Ghelve," the sergeant said, "but you will have to come with us. You'll likely pay a fine for your involvement, and you will help us find the rest of the kidnapped victims. In the meantime, your shop is closed."
Ghelve gulped and nodded.
"Get your things. You won't be back for a while."
Ghelve nodded again and retreated upstairs. The sergeant turned to face Abrina.
"As for you, thank you for your help. We will need you to answer some questions, though, as soon as you're able."
"Thank you," Abrina said, leaning heavily against a wall. The adrenaline of victory had worn off, and her aches had already begun to take their toll.
"I still want to help," she continued. "When will I be able to go back and search for the missing children?"
The sergeant scoffed. "That is not your concern. You’re lucky I don’t bring you in for stirring up these creatures. If they come boiling out of this underground dungeon you speak of, it will be on your head. I thank you for your help, but now that we know the location of the kidnappers, we will find the missing victims. Not you.”
"But, the Church..." Abrina protested as Ghelve slowly made his way back down the stairs.
The sergeant held up a hand. "No. I have said before: it is not your concern, and we do not need the Church's help.” He eyed Ghelve paused on the stairs. “Ghelve, are you ready?"
The gnome nodded. "Can I say good-bye, and thank Abrina for her help?"
"Yes," he said, “you can have a minute.” He turned and stepped outside to guard the creature with the rest of the patrol.
"Please find my Starbrow," Ghelve whispered to Abrina, clasping his small hands in her own, and she felt the touch of cold metal in her palm as he stepped back. She looked down at the small key in her hand. She eyed him quizzically, but he did nothing but give her a faint grin.
They left the shop, escorted by the guard, and Ghelve locked the door behind them, with a wink to Abrina as he did so. Abrina blinked in the sunlight, finding it hard to believe she had been gone only a few hours.
"Do you need someone to help you to the temple?" asked the sergeant.
"No, no, I'm fine," she said, concealing the key Ghelve had given her moments before and placing it into one of the pockets of her vestments. "Thank you."
She hurried to the Church of Enlil, eager to report to Jenya of her discoveries, and of the partial answer to the riddle she had discovered.
* * *
Jenya had seemed reluctant to allow Abrina to return to Jzaridune. If the guard forbade her from returning, then Abrina should not interfere. Yet, the guard had also promised to resolve the kidnappings and shown themselves incapable of doing so. And Jenya had made a vow of her own to find the children and bring the kidnappers to justice. In the end, she agreed with Abrina, but encouraged her to rest for the night first before returning to the halls of Jzaridune in the morning.
Jenya called upon the blessing of Enlil to heal Abrina so that she may rest peacefully, and when Abrina awoke she felt invigorated and ready to face the skulks of Jzaridune once again. Before leaving, Jenya approached her and provided her with a small vial of clear liquid, a potion that would cure any moderate wounds she might sustain in the underground enclave. Jenya also pressed the small stones with jagged markings Abrina had found into her hand, describing them as thunderstones that exploded with painful noise when thrown. Abrina thanked her, hefted her spear, and headed for Ghelve's Locks in the bright morning sun.
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