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A Savage Tidings Tale
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<blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 3857031" data-attributes="member: 5868"><p>They followed the serpentine brick passage for some distance before it finally terminated in a closed wooden door. The moisture from the passage had swollen the door shut, and it took Athal, Thalas, and Quinn working in concert to force the door open. Beyond was a passage roughly ten feet wide and twenty feet long running perpendicular to the serpentine passage. Double doors hung broken from their hinges at either end of the passage, mold crusted the walls, and a rivulet of water ran down the center of the natural stone floor.</p><p></p><p>"I hear a moaning sound coming from the left," Athal whispered. Thalas drew Demonbane, and the others readied their weapons. Athal led, with Thalas following carrying a torch in one hand, and they turned left into the passage and passed through the swinging double doors beyond.</p><p></p><p>They found themselves in a large, damp, pillared chamber -- large enough that despite the torch and his elven sight, Thalas could not see the far side from where he stood in the doorway. Athal was glancing about, and suddenly the moaning grew louder as from the right, three figures shambled into the torchlight. </p><p></p><p>They looked like men, or could once have been men, but they were now clearly lifeless, with flesh drooping and dripping from their staggering carcasses. They were dressed as sailors, but where there once had been human mounths there now gaped gigantic maws that held long teeth set into slavering jaws.</p><p></p><p>Athal sprang into action, charging to meet the creatures, as Thalas dropped the torch and moved further into the room, channeling arcane energy to fire two bolts of green energy which struck two of the creatures, slowing but not stopping them. Athal struck true, but in turn received several bite as the creatures moved to surround him, and soon he was staggering. Arrows flew from over Thalas' shoulder and he could hear Korlick barking, and suddenly a faint light flashed and the three corpse-pirates were turning to retreat into the darkness. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kyrsith hoisting something in one hand that the creatures seemed to flee from.</p><p></p><p>Thalas and Athal pursued, each dropping a retreating creature as Korlick savaged the last until it moved no more. Then the group paused to catch their breath and consider their surroundings, and Athal downed a restorative draught.</p><p></p><p>"Zombie pirates," Morderas observed. "Good thing they weren't ninjas, or we'd really have been screwed."</p><p></p><p>The chamber extended to just beyond the torchlight. three other water-swollen doors led out of the chamber to right and forward, while to the left there was a large pool of water that had apparently seeped under the right-hand wall. Thalas could see a humanoid corpse floating in the water, and he sheathed his longsword, retrieving the glaive strapped to his back to reach out and pull the body to the flagstone.</p><p></p><p>The water beyond was obviously much deeper, and Thalas' movements had stirred it, disturbing something below, as suddenly giant crabs exploded from the pool, grasping at him with razor sharp pincers. Morderas, rushing to aid, was injured by one, though Thalas was able to dispatch one after another with mighty swings of his glaive, dancing back out of their grasp each time a crab closed with him. Korlick once again ran to his side, biting into one and causing its juices to splatter over the party. Everyone else joined in the melee as Thalas nearly disintegrated a crab with a well-placed blow [OOC: Full power attack crit with a glaive ... nasty!]. Soon the pool was silent again.</p><p></p><p>The corpse was half-eaten and had obviously been in the water for some time, yielding no clues. The party was just beginning to catch its collective breath when Quinn, who had posted himself in the entry corridor to provide warning, shouted: "There's more of them pirates coming -- I hear moans from the far corridor."</p><p></p><p>The group quickly resumed formation and marched back down the right-hand branch of the entryway, Athal leading with Thalas just behind carrying a torch. They entered a second large chamber, and through hanging double doors on the far side of the room they could hear more moaning, so they charged ahead, entering a narrow hallway where zombie pirates suddenly lunged out from a room to the right. </p><p></p><p>Athal spun this way and that, trying to keep the creatures from leaving the doorway, as Thalas dropped his torch and used the glaive to attack when Athal was clear. In the narrow hallway, the others had difficulty bringing their weapons to bear, and soon Athal was badly wounded with but minor wounds inflicting on the shambling enemy.</p><p></p><p>One surged past Athal's guard and closed on Thalas, even as he tried backpedaling to get clear of the creature, to no avail. The pirate's jaws clamped down on Thalas' neck, and Thalas could feel the blood begin to flow before he blacked out.</p><p></p><p>When Thalas came to, the melee was still ranging around him. Kyrsith helped him to his feet as he recovered some of his energy, and then immediately retrieved his glaive from the floor to step into line just as Athal was himself knocked unconscious. A zombie pirate stepped onto the downed elf's body, considering, and then bit into the unconscious warrior.</p><p></p><p><em>I've got to hold the line long enough for Kyrsith to pull Athal free</em>, he thought. <em>One well-placed spell and I could drop one or two, but taking the time to channel a spell in these close quarters and Athal will surely be eaten, and we'll all die.</em></p><p></p><p>Thalas instead attacked wildly, succeeding in knocking the pirate creature back away from Athal and stepping up to bar the doorway himself. He could hear a shout from Kyrsith just as another flash of light appeared, and the undead creatures began retreating. Thalas, Arjan, and Morderas pursued, striking the creatures' unprotected backs as they retreated and finally dispatching them all.</p><p></p><p>They dragged Athal's bleeding body back into the room, forcing a healing draught down his throat, and the elf eventually coughed and regained consciousness.</p><p></p><p>"I can still fight," Thalas said, "but I'm not sure if we can make it through another fight like that without a chance to catch our breath. The only escape is onward, but perhaps we'd better hole up for a little while before going onward."</p><p></p><p>The others nodded, and they began making plans to secure the area to attempt to recover some strength before proceeding on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Olgar Shiverstone, post: 3857031, member: 5868"] They followed the serpentine brick passage for some distance before it finally terminated in a closed wooden door. The moisture from the passage had swollen the door shut, and it took Athal, Thalas, and Quinn working in concert to force the door open. Beyond was a passage roughly ten feet wide and twenty feet long running perpendicular to the serpentine passage. Double doors hung broken from their hinges at either end of the passage, mold crusted the walls, and a rivulet of water ran down the center of the natural stone floor. "I hear a moaning sound coming from the left," Athal whispered. Thalas drew Demonbane, and the others readied their weapons. Athal led, with Thalas following carrying a torch in one hand, and they turned left into the passage and passed through the swinging double doors beyond. They found themselves in a large, damp, pillared chamber -- large enough that despite the torch and his elven sight, Thalas could not see the far side from where he stood in the doorway. Athal was glancing about, and suddenly the moaning grew louder as from the right, three figures shambled into the torchlight. They looked like men, or could once have been men, but they were now clearly lifeless, with flesh drooping and dripping from their staggering carcasses. They were dressed as sailors, but where there once had been human mounths there now gaped gigantic maws that held long teeth set into slavering jaws. Athal sprang into action, charging to meet the creatures, as Thalas dropped the torch and moved further into the room, channeling arcane energy to fire two bolts of green energy which struck two of the creatures, slowing but not stopping them. Athal struck true, but in turn received several bite as the creatures moved to surround him, and soon he was staggering. Arrows flew from over Thalas' shoulder and he could hear Korlick barking, and suddenly a faint light flashed and the three corpse-pirates were turning to retreat into the darkness. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kyrsith hoisting something in one hand that the creatures seemed to flee from. Thalas and Athal pursued, each dropping a retreating creature as Korlick savaged the last until it moved no more. Then the group paused to catch their breath and consider their surroundings, and Athal downed a restorative draught. "Zombie pirates," Morderas observed. "Good thing they weren't ninjas, or we'd really have been screwed." The chamber extended to just beyond the torchlight. three other water-swollen doors led out of the chamber to right and forward, while to the left there was a large pool of water that had apparently seeped under the right-hand wall. Thalas could see a humanoid corpse floating in the water, and he sheathed his longsword, retrieving the glaive strapped to his back to reach out and pull the body to the flagstone. The water beyond was obviously much deeper, and Thalas' movements had stirred it, disturbing something below, as suddenly giant crabs exploded from the pool, grasping at him with razor sharp pincers. Morderas, rushing to aid, was injured by one, though Thalas was able to dispatch one after another with mighty swings of his glaive, dancing back out of their grasp each time a crab closed with him. Korlick once again ran to his side, biting into one and causing its juices to splatter over the party. Everyone else joined in the melee as Thalas nearly disintegrated a crab with a well-placed blow [OOC: Full power attack crit with a glaive ... nasty!]. Soon the pool was silent again. The corpse was half-eaten and had obviously been in the water for some time, yielding no clues. The party was just beginning to catch its collective breath when Quinn, who had posted himself in the entry corridor to provide warning, shouted: "There's more of them pirates coming -- I hear moans from the far corridor." The group quickly resumed formation and marched back down the right-hand branch of the entryway, Athal leading with Thalas just behind carrying a torch. They entered a second large chamber, and through hanging double doors on the far side of the room they could hear more moaning, so they charged ahead, entering a narrow hallway where zombie pirates suddenly lunged out from a room to the right. Athal spun this way and that, trying to keep the creatures from leaving the doorway, as Thalas dropped his torch and used the glaive to attack when Athal was clear. In the narrow hallway, the others had difficulty bringing their weapons to bear, and soon Athal was badly wounded with but minor wounds inflicting on the shambling enemy. One surged past Athal's guard and closed on Thalas, even as he tried backpedaling to get clear of the creature, to no avail. The pirate's jaws clamped down on Thalas' neck, and Thalas could feel the blood begin to flow before he blacked out. When Thalas came to, the melee was still ranging around him. Kyrsith helped him to his feet as he recovered some of his energy, and then immediately retrieved his glaive from the floor to step into line just as Athal was himself knocked unconscious. A zombie pirate stepped onto the downed elf's body, considering, and then bit into the unconscious warrior. [i]I've got to hold the line long enough for Kyrsith to pull Athal free[/i], he thought. [i]One well-placed spell and I could drop one or two, but taking the time to channel a spell in these close quarters and Athal will surely be eaten, and we'll all die.[/i] Thalas instead attacked wildly, succeeding in knocking the pirate creature back away from Athal and stepping up to bar the doorway himself. He could hear a shout from Kyrsith just as another flash of light appeared, and the undead creatures began retreating. Thalas, Arjan, and Morderas pursued, striking the creatures' unprotected backs as they retreated and finally dispatching them all. They dragged Athal's bleeding body back into the room, forcing a healing draught down his throat, and the elf eventually coughed and regained consciousness. "I can still fight," Thalas said, "but I'm not sure if we can make it through another fight like that without a chance to catch our breath. The only escape is onward, but perhaps we'd better hole up for a little while before going onward." The others nodded, and they began making plans to secure the area to attempt to recover some strength before proceeding on. [/QUOTE]
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