Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4802440" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p><strong>To Drakmar: Prologue</strong></p><p></p><p>Stone trembled with the beat of a heart. Up ahead there was a ghost of pale light and a chill breeze. The corridor opened into a great, empty chamber. Entering, Vlad could finally straighten and stand. Kham entered behind him, Sebastian and Beldin soon after.</p><p></p><p>The crying was muted, but it didn’t matter anymore. Vlad knew that it was indeed a trick. Dril wasn’t calling to him. Dril hadn’t been there at all.</p><p></p><p>It took a moment to look into the light—weak as it was, it had an odd quality. It issued from a portal opposite. White and flat, it spilled into the cavern. Something moved there, not in the cavern but beyond it—through the doorway. </p><p></p><p>The cavern itself was a roughly circular space around sixty feet across and forty feet high. Four tunnels led into it, including the tunnel they had entered, a second and third close on either side of that, and the fourth on the other side of the cavern. The last held a great silhouette. </p><p></p><p>“What the hell is that?” asked Vlad.</p><p></p><p>A great bulk shifted sluggishly. With its elephant-like head and corpulent body it appeared to be some kind of nightmarish abomination. Its veined ears flared up, its trunk shifted, the round disc at its end questing. There was the faint sound like that of stone sliding across stone. Small creatures moved across it.</p><p></p><p>“I’d guess that’s Chaugnar Faugn,” whispered Kham. </p><p></p><p>The outline of a human emerged from under the thing and stood, dwarfed beside it, for this thing was the size of ten men. </p><p></p><p>Tcho-tchos entered from all three tunnels on their side of the cavern, more than a dozen at each. They were armed variously with boomerangs, knives, and fire-hardened spears, but made no move to attack. A priest with each group came forward a little, curious.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay calm,” said Sebastian. “Don’t make any sudden moves.”</p><p></p><p>The human figure walked from beyond the light and into the cavern. His appearance was awful. </p><p></p><p>He was naked. His eyes were put out, as were his teeth and half his tongue. His nose was flaccid and hung to his upper lip. His ears were distended and corded, twitching and flaring unnaturally. </p><p></p><p>“This is… was Professor Roberto Anzalone,” whispered Sebastian. “I recognize him from the picture.”</p><p></p><p>The thing approached each of them in turn and looked closely. Once, Anzalone tried to speak, but the sounds he made were thick and unintelligible, and a thin stream of blood drooled from his ruined mouth. The figure trudged back to stand beside the gate.</p><p></p><p>Several of the tcho-tchos went to the gate and one of the priests beckoned Kham towards it. Kham joined him at the gate.</p><p></p><p>A priest took one of Kham’s hands, palm up, and slashed it with a bone knife. Kham winced, but he kept still. </p><p></p><p>The priest let it bleed, then dipped a finger in the blood before smearing a pattern on the wall beside the portal. </p><p></p><p>Kham remembered his encounter with the King in Yellow, when it had worn the form of Elise. There, in the blowing snow, it had promised not to forget him. “<span style="font-family: 'Impact'">You are the key, Kham,</span>” it said. </p><p></p><p>The gate was activated. A high keening came through the gate, loud and constant, and as it sounded the white light became blue. A murky picture of a human standing with several tcho-tchos replaced the outline of the strange elephant being. </p><p></p><p>“Livius Carbo,” said Kham.</p><p></p><p>The priest did not hesitate but walked straight through the blue light, followed by several companions. Kham and his companions were strongly urged at spear-point to join them.</p><p></p><p>Taking a deep breath, ignoring his bleeding hand, Kham walked through the gate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 4802440, member: 3285"] [b]To Drakmar: Prologue[/b] Stone trembled with the beat of a heart. Up ahead there was a ghost of pale light and a chill breeze. The corridor opened into a great, empty chamber. Entering, Vlad could finally straighten and stand. Kham entered behind him, Sebastian and Beldin soon after. The crying was muted, but it didn’t matter anymore. Vlad knew that it was indeed a trick. Dril wasn’t calling to him. Dril hadn’t been there at all. It took a moment to look into the light—weak as it was, it had an odd quality. It issued from a portal opposite. White and flat, it spilled into the cavern. Something moved there, not in the cavern but beyond it—through the doorway. The cavern itself was a roughly circular space around sixty feet across and forty feet high. Four tunnels led into it, including the tunnel they had entered, a second and third close on either side of that, and the fourth on the other side of the cavern. The last held a great silhouette. “What the hell is that?” asked Vlad. A great bulk shifted sluggishly. With its elephant-like head and corpulent body it appeared to be some kind of nightmarish abomination. Its veined ears flared up, its trunk shifted, the round disc at its end questing. There was the faint sound like that of stone sliding across stone. Small creatures moved across it. “I’d guess that’s Chaugnar Faugn,” whispered Kham. The outline of a human emerged from under the thing and stood, dwarfed beside it, for this thing was the size of ten men. Tcho-tchos entered from all three tunnels on their side of the cavern, more than a dozen at each. They were armed variously with boomerangs, knives, and fire-hardened spears, but made no move to attack. A priest with each group came forward a little, curious. “Stay calm,” said Sebastian. “Don’t make any sudden moves.” The human figure walked from beyond the light and into the cavern. His appearance was awful. He was naked. His eyes were put out, as were his teeth and half his tongue. His nose was flaccid and hung to his upper lip. His ears were distended and corded, twitching and flaring unnaturally. “This is… was Professor Roberto Anzalone,” whispered Sebastian. “I recognize him from the picture.” The thing approached each of them in turn and looked closely. Once, Anzalone tried to speak, but the sounds he made were thick and unintelligible, and a thin stream of blood drooled from his ruined mouth. The figure trudged back to stand beside the gate. Several of the tcho-tchos went to the gate and one of the priests beckoned Kham towards it. Kham joined him at the gate. A priest took one of Kham’s hands, palm up, and slashed it with a bone knife. Kham winced, but he kept still. The priest let it bleed, then dipped a finger in the blood before smearing a pattern on the wall beside the portal. Kham remembered his encounter with the King in Yellow, when it had worn the form of Elise. There, in the blowing snow, it had promised not to forget him. “[FONT="Impact"]You are the key, Kham,[/FONT]” it said. The gate was activated. A high keening came through the gate, loud and constant, and as it sounded the white light became blue. A murky picture of a human standing with several tcho-tchos replaced the outline of the strange elephant being. “Livius Carbo,” said Kham. The priest did not hesitate but walked straight through the blue light, followed by several companions. Kham and his companions were strongly urged at spear-point to join them. Taking a deep breath, ignoring his bleeding hand, Kham walked through the gate. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
Top