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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 922848" data-attributes="member: 6294">"The Burning Plague" by Miguel Duran (WotC Free Adventure) - Part 4Only a short distance into the tunnel, the group finds a roughly hewn opening cut into the stone, where the tunnel branches in two directions.  On the right, it slopes away into the darkness, while on the left, a smoother, more regular tunnel heads toward a pair of doors.  The doors are closed, blocking any sight of what might lie beyond.In the opening itself, however, lies an upturned mine cart.  Protruding from beneath the cart are a pair of legs.  Moving closer, the adventurers are able to see that these are the booted feet of what is probably a human, as the limbs look too long and thick to be any other race."Probably a miner." The Padre makes the obvious conclusion, "Stormstrider, give me a hand to move the cart.  He may be alive -" nobody bothers to point out the absurdity of this possibility, "and if not, I should give him last rites."The burly elf moves to assist the priest, while Twinkle brings the lantern closer, so that they will be able to see what they are doing.  Anastria stands nearby, watching with a disapproving expression.  Mantreus and Rose at least make themselves useful, moving to watch the two passages in case anything approaches."On three." The Padre directs, readying himself to get a grip on the cart.  Stormstrider does not answer, but he also does not wait for the priest.  Instead, he lifts the cart with a casual flex of his arms, twisting it up and off the miner's body.BOOM!As he does so, something shifts beneath the cart, and there is a brief but deafening blast of noise, so intense it feels almost like a physical blow.  Stormstrider and the Padre stagger slightly, pressing their hands to their ears, but after a moment both have recovered, the sharp pain receding to a dull ache.Twinkle and Anastria, however, are not so lucky.The elf woman's face has turned slightly green, and she visibly fights down pain-induced nausea, her hands clamped over her still-ringing ears as she sucks in great shuddering breaths of air.  For the gnome, the experience is even worse: normally her sharp hearing is a blessing, but it has suddenly become a curse.  Pain stabs through her skull like spikes of metal, and she falls to her knees, blood  oozing out of her ears."Oh, that can't be good." The Padre's grasp of the glaringly obvious remains strong."MUST HAVE BERN AN ALARM OF SOME KIND!" Anastria suddenly bellows. "IS ANYTHING COMING?""Well if there wasn't before, there is now that you've started yelling." Mantreus gripes, "Just because the Padre blew you all up -""Hey!""- it's no reason to start shouting.""WHAT?" Anastria demands, leaning forward to stare at the sorcerer, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"The light dawns for Mantreus."Oh great, she's deaf." He pauses, then starts to smile, "Now if only she were dumb ..."Anastria frowns, obviously suspicious of the sorcerer's grin, but then Stormstrider steps into her view and pantomimes her condition to her.  As she caustically - and loudly - claims that yes, she got that already, the Padre tends to Twinkle.  It's too early for the cleric to tell if the gnome's injuries are as serious as they first appeared, but she soon proves to be as deaf as Anastria.The group confers about their next move - a conversation punctuated by loud interjections from Twinkle - before deciding to take the left hand tunnel."I don't think it would be wise to venture deeper underground without knowing what's at our backs." the Padre explains his preference."So we're going to stay at the same level without knowing what's at our backs?" Mantreus asks, then shrugs. "Fine by me.""WHAT?" Twinkle asks."We're going that way." The Padre points."OKAY." she peers down the corridor at the doors, "IT'S DARK DOWN THERE."The Padre sighs,"Why'd we bring her?"Mantreus shrugs,"Don't ask me. It's you she fancies."And with a smirk on his face and a sputtering cleric in his wake, the sorcerer strolls down the corridor toward the doors.</blockquote>

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