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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1606023" data-attributes="member: 1210">Chanti's Quest, pt. 2We can hardly call these folks heroes.  They were villains, pirates, scoundrels and blackguards.  There was not a moral person among them, with the possible exception of the merellin Akakathan, who- by the present time in our narrative- was increasingly uneasy about his association with them.Of course, it was too late to leave by this point; Akakathan already knew that he was with them for the duration.  But as his kind are naturally kind-hearted and generous, his own heart was growing heavier by the week.Six days in the town of Kerm, staying at a very good inn called the Dragon Turtle Soup Kettle, left a local gnomish illusionist murdered and Delilah in possession of his staff, which was topped by a severed human hand.  She affected this proudly, along with the gnome’s gold ring and purse of fifty Imperials (the main Strogassian coin).  Then the group left town, heading for the fissure that led to the Underdark (according to the priest Drakar).Chanticleer felt a strong, vicious sense of satisfaction at the fact that her pirates- hers, now- were going to at last seek vengeance for Galiger.  Dexter, you will pay for what you did, she vowed.  I will kill you.A journey of about ten days ensued, and near the end of it Delilah felt a sudden shifting in her perceptions.*  Suddenly she could sense the top of the staff, as if it were her own hand atop it.  Some experimentation revealed that she could use the hand to perform her spells’ somatic components.  Intriguing, the quick-minded conjurer thought.  And it took a week for me to become attuned to it.  I’d best make sure that I stay attuned, else my staff will be useless for nine days. The final stretch of their march led them across a ravine and through a rock badlands.  The great Western Precipice that they were climbing thrust into the air, the ground broken and jagged.  Cliffs abounded.  The geography was astonishing.  Vosh shook his head.  Clearly, no natural process could achieve this.  The group continued to clamber upwards along a wide sharp trail that switched back and forth, sometimes at a severe slope.  Suddenly there was a clatter of rocks to the group’s left.  They glanced in that direction and, to their horror, saw a tremendous monster emerging from behind a jagged pinnacle of rock.  It was easily 20’ long, with a reptilian body and a great fanged mouth.  Its scales gleamed bronze in the sun, and its dull eyes were focused on them.  Great wings spread from its back and it came winging towards them, hissing violently.“Drake!” growled Urdor Darkwind, pulling out his battle axe.  The monster flapped in among them and began tearing at them.  The villains scattered, spreading out to avoid presenting an easy target, and began fighting back with all their might.Chanticleer engaged it in melee, her sword slipping beneath the beast’s scales and punctuating her intent to drive it off.  Urdor sliced into it with his axe, and the monster spat a blast of flame at Chanti, who weathered it with gritted teeth and kept hacking.  Delilah’s conjured spiders were skittering on the monster, biting at it, and Akakathan sang to motivate the group.  For indeed, a strong motivation was required to stand against such a horrible monster!  The drake bit and tore at Chanti and Urdor, but it was weakening; and Vosh’s smashing hooves confused and dazed it.  The party pressed the advantage, and in another minute it was over.  Breathing hard, Chanti wiped the blood from her sword.  “I consecrate this victory to Bleak,” she declared loudly.  Urdor nodded approvingly.The group followed the drake’s trail back, hoping they would find its lair and, if it had any, treasure.  They were quite successful.  A shallow cave filled with the monster’s shed scales and bones was also quite full of scattered treasure.  After about four hours of gathering stuff, they made a count.  In addition to roughly 4,000 gp in coins, they found three potions, a scroll, a longsword and a pair of spectacles that radiated magic, as well as a number of other items that didn’t.“Wow, we hit the jackpot,” Vosh commented.  The others murmured an assent.“I can identify these, given time and a pearl,” Delilah offered.  Chanti glanced at the sun.  “Let’s get to where we’re going first.  We still have a couple of hours before the sun goes down; with luck we can reach the entrance to the Underdark.”  She consulted her map.  “It looks like we’re almost there.”And indeed, an hour later, they found themselves approaching a gash in the ground ahead, a deep rift of unknown depth and reasonable width.  At least the first portion looked to be a vertical descent.  The sun was going down.  “Let’s make camp,” Chanti commanded.  “At first light, we’ll go down.”Little did they know that their quest was to take them to the very Abyss itself.Next Time: Hmm, I think it’s time we got back to Dexter and co... just in time for Dex to become a cleric!*Note that a Cydran week is nine days long.</blockquote>

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