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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour
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drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Fourteen, Part Five: The Water Guardian
Horacio: Well, since you asked...now don't get too spoiled by this, folks - I'm a contract programmer by trade and in between assignments right now, so I've got plenty of free time. That will change when I get my next gig, I'm sure.
Dru fought and kicked her way to the surface, feeling her head break through into the airy darkness. She could hear a thrashing off to her right that could only be Di'Fier, and two strong kicks sent her towards him. Her gands grabbed him just as he sank below the water, and she hauled his face above the surface.
"SCROLL!" she bellowed over his choking coughs. "Read the damned scroll!" She fought to keep her partner's head above the water as he fumbled for the watertight case. He spat a word, and the case glimmered with light as he pulled the waxed parchment from it and began to read.
The magic settled over the pair of them, and Dru relaxed. At least I don't have to worry about drowning anymore...for a few hours, anyway. She lowered Di'Fier back into the water and floated there for a moment, taking stock of her surroundings by the light of the scroll-tube: a huge cavern, mostly filled with water. She could see tunnels leading off into the rock, and a sandy beach to one side, at the limits of her vision. From the tunnel they'd come down she could hear the faint dwarven cursing of Garto.
"Di'Fier!" she called. "This way!"
As she began to swim towards the beach, the water next to Di'Fier exploded upwards.
"Damn it, we're hung up on a rock!" Garto shouted. "What the hell is going on down there?" He listened for a reply but heard only the sound of tremendous splashes in the water - splashes far too loud to be just Dru and Di'Fier. "Come on, rat-man, make yerself useful. Push us offa this rock." Garto sat down on the bench and stripped the oilcloth cover from one of the bundles he'd been carrying. He placed his foot into the stirrup and heaved with all his might, bending the great steel bow just enough to hook the string over the latch. "Hang on, we're comin'!" he shouted, as Varesh managed to work the boat free.
The tiny boat swirled and swayed in the current as Garto fumbled with his bolt. Just as he set it in the nock, they burst into the cavern.
The watchmen desperately dived and swam as they fought their opponent - a bizarre shelled creature that resembled the unholy offspring of a turtle and a crab. Di'Fier was surrounded by a cloud of blood in the water, but still the young watchman fought on, as Dru swam desperately for the shore.
The boat came careening into the center of the cavern, and Varesh leaped - but the creature chose that moment to spin, throwing the ratman from its shell into the water.
Garto held the crossbow loosely. "Di'Fier! Close yer eyes!" he cried, his thick fingers aready reaching for the multicolored grains of sand inside his pouch. As he called out the arcane words, a wave of scintillating colors washed over the creature, and it paused, slowly blinking the eyes to either side of its bizarre vertical mouth.
Di'Fier lost no time. Diving beneath the water, he abandoned the dagger he'd been using, and drew his long blade, thrusting into one of the openings of the shell. He was rewarded with a dark cloud of blood staining the water. Above him, Varesh's claws scrabbled uselessly on the thing's shell. A crossbow bolt smacked into the water and shot past him as he stabbed again - and then the weight of his gear was too much, and Di'Fier began to sink to the bottom of the lake.
Dru hauled herself onto the beach and paused. What's that sword doing here? she thought. Thrust into the sand was the gleaming blade of a saber. I don't trust that, she decided, and turned to see the combat. Her rapier had been unable to pierce the thing's shell - hopefully Di'Fier was having better luck.
But the mage was nowhere to be seen. Garto struggled with his crossbow, and the monster had turned its attentions to Varesh, whose fur was now matted with blood as well as water. "Varesh!" she cried. "Over here!"
Again the thing reached out to bite the rat-man, its teeth ripping terrible gouges into his thigh. Garto lifted the enormous crossbow and took careful aim. "Jus' hold 'er there, Varesh," he muttered, and the bolt leapt forth to sink into the thing's unprotected neck.
"Aw, crap," said Garto simply. The thing threw itself almost completely out of the water as it turned to face him with death in its eyes. He dropped the crossbow to the floor of the boat and grabbed for the oars.
Dru launched herself back into the water. Varesh had begun to flounder, and now struggled feebly to keep his head above the surface. She wrapped an arm around his chest and kicked back towards the shore. As she heaved him onto the sand, she yanked the healing wand from her belt and tossed it to him. "Here, use that." Her ears rang with the sound of dwarven cursing, and she turned to see Garto beating the creature about the head with one of the oars.
"Row, Garto, row!" she cried. There was a terrible splintering sound as the thing surfaced directly under the boat. "Swim, Garto, swim!" But it was not to be. Dwarves are poor swimmers under the best of circumstances, and current circumstances were far from the best. The heavyset mage sank like a stone, and Dru dived back into the water after him, struggling along the bottom to finally grasp his hand and heave him to the surface. The panicked dwarf pounded her about the head and shoulders as she struggled towards the shore.
Finally, Dru managed to heave the semiconscious Garto out of the water and onto the beach. He repaid her for saving his life by vomiting seawater all over her boots - but Dru was busy searching for any sign of her partner.
The bloody water became still and silent, with no sign of the monster...or Di'Fier.
Horacio: Well, since you asked...now don't get too spoiled by this, folks - I'm a contract programmer by trade and in between assignments right now, so I've got plenty of free time. That will change when I get my next gig, I'm sure.
Dru fought and kicked her way to the surface, feeling her head break through into the airy darkness. She could hear a thrashing off to her right that could only be Di'Fier, and two strong kicks sent her towards him. Her gands grabbed him just as he sank below the water, and she hauled his face above the surface.
"SCROLL!" she bellowed over his choking coughs. "Read the damned scroll!" She fought to keep her partner's head above the water as he fumbled for the watertight case. He spat a word, and the case glimmered with light as he pulled the waxed parchment from it and began to read.
The magic settled over the pair of them, and Dru relaxed. At least I don't have to worry about drowning anymore...for a few hours, anyway. She lowered Di'Fier back into the water and floated there for a moment, taking stock of her surroundings by the light of the scroll-tube: a huge cavern, mostly filled with water. She could see tunnels leading off into the rock, and a sandy beach to one side, at the limits of her vision. From the tunnel they'd come down she could hear the faint dwarven cursing of Garto.
"Di'Fier!" she called. "This way!"
As she began to swim towards the beach, the water next to Di'Fier exploded upwards.
"Damn it, we're hung up on a rock!" Garto shouted. "What the hell is going on down there?" He listened for a reply but heard only the sound of tremendous splashes in the water - splashes far too loud to be just Dru and Di'Fier. "Come on, rat-man, make yerself useful. Push us offa this rock." Garto sat down on the bench and stripped the oilcloth cover from one of the bundles he'd been carrying. He placed his foot into the stirrup and heaved with all his might, bending the great steel bow just enough to hook the string over the latch. "Hang on, we're comin'!" he shouted, as Varesh managed to work the boat free.
The tiny boat swirled and swayed in the current as Garto fumbled with his bolt. Just as he set it in the nock, they burst into the cavern.
The watchmen desperately dived and swam as they fought their opponent - a bizarre shelled creature that resembled the unholy offspring of a turtle and a crab. Di'Fier was surrounded by a cloud of blood in the water, but still the young watchman fought on, as Dru swam desperately for the shore.
The boat came careening into the center of the cavern, and Varesh leaped - but the creature chose that moment to spin, throwing the ratman from its shell into the water.
Garto held the crossbow loosely. "Di'Fier! Close yer eyes!" he cried, his thick fingers aready reaching for the multicolored grains of sand inside his pouch. As he called out the arcane words, a wave of scintillating colors washed over the creature, and it paused, slowly blinking the eyes to either side of its bizarre vertical mouth.
Di'Fier lost no time. Diving beneath the water, he abandoned the dagger he'd been using, and drew his long blade, thrusting into one of the openings of the shell. He was rewarded with a dark cloud of blood staining the water. Above him, Varesh's claws scrabbled uselessly on the thing's shell. A crossbow bolt smacked into the water and shot past him as he stabbed again - and then the weight of his gear was too much, and Di'Fier began to sink to the bottom of the lake.
Dru hauled herself onto the beach and paused. What's that sword doing here? she thought. Thrust into the sand was the gleaming blade of a saber. I don't trust that, she decided, and turned to see the combat. Her rapier had been unable to pierce the thing's shell - hopefully Di'Fier was having better luck.
But the mage was nowhere to be seen. Garto struggled with his crossbow, and the monster had turned its attentions to Varesh, whose fur was now matted with blood as well as water. "Varesh!" she cried. "Over here!"
Again the thing reached out to bite the rat-man, its teeth ripping terrible gouges into his thigh. Garto lifted the enormous crossbow and took careful aim. "Jus' hold 'er there, Varesh," he muttered, and the bolt leapt forth to sink into the thing's unprotected neck.
"Aw, crap," said Garto simply. The thing threw itself almost completely out of the water as it turned to face him with death in its eyes. He dropped the crossbow to the floor of the boat and grabbed for the oars.
Dru launched herself back into the water. Varesh had begun to flounder, and now struggled feebly to keep his head above the surface. She wrapped an arm around his chest and kicked back towards the shore. As she heaved him onto the sand, she yanked the healing wand from her belt and tossed it to him. "Here, use that." Her ears rang with the sound of dwarven cursing, and she turned to see Garto beating the creature about the head with one of the oars.
"Row, Garto, row!" she cried. There was a terrible splintering sound as the thing surfaced directly under the boat. "Swim, Garto, swim!" But it was not to be. Dwarves are poor swimmers under the best of circumstances, and current circumstances were far from the best. The heavyset mage sank like a stone, and Dru dived back into the water after him, struggling along the bottom to finally grasp his hand and heave him to the surface. The panicked dwarf pounded her about the head and shoulders as she struggled towards the shore.
Finally, Dru managed to heave the semiconscious Garto out of the water and onto the beach. He repaid her for saving his life by vomiting seawater all over her boots - but Dru was busy searching for any sign of her partner.
The bloody water became still and silent, with no sign of the monster...or Di'Fier.
drnuncheon
Explorer
For the benefit of readers who are having trouble accessing these forums, I've begun posting to the ENworld backup forums as well. The thread is here:
http://pub82.ezboard.com/fenworldfrm7.showMessage?topicID=7.topic
...which won't do you much good if these forums are down, but I can fool myself into thinking someone might bookmark me.
Looking back, I see that I haven't tormented Horacio enough, so: Madness in Freeport came to a spectacularly bloody finale on Saturday, with no less than three brave souls paying the final price in their quest to save the city. And as for the results of that battle...well...you'll have to wait.
J
...it's interesting to note that there are no priests in Freeport capable of raising the dead...
http://pub82.ezboard.com/fenworldfrm7.showMessage?topicID=7.topic
...which won't do you much good if these forums are down, but I can fool myself into thinking someone might bookmark me.
Looking back, I see that I haven't tormented Horacio enough, so: Madness in Freeport came to a spectacularly bloody finale on Saturday, with no less than three brave souls paying the final price in their quest to save the city. And as for the results of that battle...well...you'll have to wait.
J
...it's interesting to note that there are no priests in Freeport capable of raising the dead...
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Fourteen, Part Six: The Ghost of Old Black Dog
For long moments the trio waited by the edge, but the surface of the water was undisturbed.
"He can't have drowned..." Dru muttered. "He had the spell on."
Garto shook his head slowly. "Looks like he ain't-" Any further words were drowned out by the titanic surge of water that blasted forth - water stained with red, carrying unidentified gobbets of meat with it.
"...the hell was that?" shouted the dwarf. The water rained back down from the cavern's roof, and then all became still once more.
Suddenly, a ripple appeared on the surface...and then an object broke through. Staggering, bloodied, barely alive, Di'Fier stumbled onto the beach, dropping a heavy object into the sand. He let the water pour from his mouth before giving Garto a weak grin. "Found your crossbow."
"Aye, that saber's magical all right," the dwarven mage confirmed. "There's somethin' else about it, though. Somethin' I don't like."
"Then maybe we should leave it here," said Dru, looking back to where Varesh was dutifully plying the magic of the healing wand on her partner. "I don't think we need any more fights than we absolutely have to have..." She shuddered to think how close they'd come to death. "I can see why nobody ever came back from this place."
"Well, we ain't findin' this door of yers just sittin' here lookin' at it. Let's go."
Dru looked at the boat. It was watertight - barely - and it creaked dangerously. "I think Di'Fier and I will swim and hold onto the boat, since we've got the spell of water breathing on us. You two stay inside."
The dwarf nodded, turned towards Di'Fier. "Hell of a spell you cast there. I've got one similar, but it ain't quite so powerful."
Di'Fier nodded, the healing having raised his spirits considerably. "I'm almost sorry I had to use it so soon, though. It's not really meant for a single enemy - more for groups, or spirits."
"Hah. Yer wouldn't've survived without usin' it, right? Then it were well cast. I've seen more'n one wizard die with spells in his head, because they was savin' 'em. Don't do yer much good that way, an' it gets yer friends killed as well." The dwarf hopped into the boat. "Now, let's get this show on the road."
Dru and Di'Fier heaved the boat onto the shore and looked at what awaited them up the beach. Three poles, seven feet long and wickedly sharp, thrust up out of the sand to impale the skeletal remains of those who'd found the caves in the past.
"Right," said Dru. "Looks like fun." Her eyes narrowed as she peered into the dimly lit cavern. "I can't be sure, but I think there's a hidden door that way...so these are probably traps, and not just a warning. I'll go first." With that she set confidently out across the sand, her eyes searching for any sign of impaling stakes.
There was a thwock and a shower of sand, and Dru stared at the sharpened stake that thrust up where she had been only a moment before. "Found one," she muttered.
Again she crept forward. All right...I know what to look for, now...just a little depression in the sand...
thwock!
Garto watched Dru limp back to the rest of them. "I knew a dwarf used to find traps that way," he nodded, as Varesh moved forward with the wand. "Looks painful," he observed, seemingly oblivious to the bloodchilling look Dru was favoring him with. She turned and headed once again towards the cavern. Her persistance was rewarded: no more of the stake traps remained in her path, and she reached the corner of the cave without further injury. Moreover, her instinct was right - there was indeed a secret door.
Moments later, her companions were beside her as she slid the portal open and they looked down a short hall to another door, this one of iron-bound wood. Dru peered at it. "Enter here and face the wrath of Black Dog." She pushed on it. "Locked."
"Right, my turn then," said Garto, rolling up his sleeves. His stubby fingers bent in an arcane pattern, he shouted a single word that sent the door bursting from its frame to fall flat on the floor behind it. "Now, let's see what kind of treasure this Black Dog has to...ah...ah..." He froze in mid-stride.
"Who dares disturb the treasure of Black Dog?" The voice seemed to come from the very walls of the chamber, but as the foursome watched, a shimmering green apparition rose from the stone floor, cutlass in hand. "Ye cannot hope t'stand before me! Leave now, and no harm will come to ye...or stay, and be doomed to everlasting damnation!"
"Close the door, Garto," Di'Fier said urgently.
"Can't," the dwarf muttered. "Knocked it off the hinges." He began to back away as the apparition moved forward.
For long moments the trio waited by the edge, but the surface of the water was undisturbed.
"He can't have drowned..." Dru muttered. "He had the spell on."
Garto shook his head slowly. "Looks like he ain't-" Any further words were drowned out by the titanic surge of water that blasted forth - water stained with red, carrying unidentified gobbets of meat with it.
"...the hell was that?" shouted the dwarf. The water rained back down from the cavern's roof, and then all became still once more.
Suddenly, a ripple appeared on the surface...and then an object broke through. Staggering, bloodied, barely alive, Di'Fier stumbled onto the beach, dropping a heavy object into the sand. He let the water pour from his mouth before giving Garto a weak grin. "Found your crossbow."
"Aye, that saber's magical all right," the dwarven mage confirmed. "There's somethin' else about it, though. Somethin' I don't like."
"Then maybe we should leave it here," said Dru, looking back to where Varesh was dutifully plying the magic of the healing wand on her partner. "I don't think we need any more fights than we absolutely have to have..." She shuddered to think how close they'd come to death. "I can see why nobody ever came back from this place."
"Well, we ain't findin' this door of yers just sittin' here lookin' at it. Let's go."
Dru looked at the boat. It was watertight - barely - and it creaked dangerously. "I think Di'Fier and I will swim and hold onto the boat, since we've got the spell of water breathing on us. You two stay inside."
The dwarf nodded, turned towards Di'Fier. "Hell of a spell you cast there. I've got one similar, but it ain't quite so powerful."
Di'Fier nodded, the healing having raised his spirits considerably. "I'm almost sorry I had to use it so soon, though. It's not really meant for a single enemy - more for groups, or spirits."
"Hah. Yer wouldn't've survived without usin' it, right? Then it were well cast. I've seen more'n one wizard die with spells in his head, because they was savin' 'em. Don't do yer much good that way, an' it gets yer friends killed as well." The dwarf hopped into the boat. "Now, let's get this show on the road."
Dru and Di'Fier heaved the boat onto the shore and looked at what awaited them up the beach. Three poles, seven feet long and wickedly sharp, thrust up out of the sand to impale the skeletal remains of those who'd found the caves in the past.
"Right," said Dru. "Looks like fun." Her eyes narrowed as she peered into the dimly lit cavern. "I can't be sure, but I think there's a hidden door that way...so these are probably traps, and not just a warning. I'll go first." With that she set confidently out across the sand, her eyes searching for any sign of impaling stakes.
There was a thwock and a shower of sand, and Dru stared at the sharpened stake that thrust up where she had been only a moment before. "Found one," she muttered.
Again she crept forward. All right...I know what to look for, now...just a little depression in the sand...
thwock!
Garto watched Dru limp back to the rest of them. "I knew a dwarf used to find traps that way," he nodded, as Varesh moved forward with the wand. "Looks painful," he observed, seemingly oblivious to the bloodchilling look Dru was favoring him with. She turned and headed once again towards the cavern. Her persistance was rewarded: no more of the stake traps remained in her path, and she reached the corner of the cave without further injury. Moreover, her instinct was right - there was indeed a secret door.
Moments later, her companions were beside her as she slid the portal open and they looked down a short hall to another door, this one of iron-bound wood. Dru peered at it. "Enter here and face the wrath of Black Dog." She pushed on it. "Locked."
"Right, my turn then," said Garto, rolling up his sleeves. His stubby fingers bent in an arcane pattern, he shouted a single word that sent the door bursting from its frame to fall flat on the floor behind it. "Now, let's see what kind of treasure this Black Dog has to...ah...ah..." He froze in mid-stride.
"Who dares disturb the treasure of Black Dog?" The voice seemed to come from the very walls of the chamber, but as the foursome watched, a shimmering green apparition rose from the stone floor, cutlass in hand. "Ye cannot hope t'stand before me! Leave now, and no harm will come to ye...or stay, and be doomed to everlasting damnation!"
"Close the door, Garto," Di'Fier said urgently.
"Can't," the dwarf muttered. "Knocked it off the hinges." He began to back away as the apparition moved forward.
drnuncheon said:
You're a really bad man! Torturing me day after day, teasing and cliffhanging your story! Bad! Bad!
And now I will have to wait
Because from tomorrow until Monday I will be out of town, on holydays, without computer and internet. And your teasing will spoil my holydays, I will be on the beach, thinking about Freeport instead of enjoying myself Until Monday, people!
drnuncheon
Explorer
Vurt: Well, they do seem to share similar speech patterns...nah, probably just coincidence. 
Garto hangs around with perfumed foppy elves who call themselves 'Gothos Ebonrazor'.
Horacio: Look at it this way...at the rate I'm going, I'll have finished Madness by Monday, so you'll be able to get through all the cliffhangers at once! Have fun on your vacation!
J
Garto hangs around with perfumed foppy elves who call themselves 'Gothos Ebonrazor'.Horacio: Look at it this way...at the rate I'm going, I'll have finished Madness by Monday, so you'll be able to get through all the cliffhangers at once!
Have fun on your vacation!J
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Fourteen, Part Seven: The Serpent Portal
"I think we need a better plan," said Dru as the shimmering ghostly cutlass swept up into the air.
"Got one," Garto assured her.
"Well, what is it?"
"Run!" And with that, Garto was out the door as fast as his stumpy dwarven legs could carry him. Dru and Di'Fier gaped a moment, then followed, with Varesh trailing behind.
Out on the beach, they heaved the secret door closed. "Do you think that will stop him?" asked Di'Fier.
"...no. But maybe he won't bother us now if'n he see's we're not goin' after his treasure."
Dru scowled. "I didn't see a serpent portal in there. Where did the logbook say it was again?"
"It didn't," Di'Fier said sheepishly. "It just said that Black Dog had the passage boarded up so nobody could go down there."
Garto sat down in the sand. "Great. All that treasure an' no way to get to it. We need a priest. An' the only one who knows where the serpent door is, is back in there sayin' 'boo'."
Di'Fier thought about that a moment. "Maybe we could ask him. I mean, as long as we tell him we're not here for the treasure..."
"If he believes us..." muttered his partner.
Di'Fier shrugged. "We've got to at least try..."
The boards gave way with a wet, spintering crack. Di'Fier tucked his mace back into his belt and took hold of the plank, tearing it away. Garto and Dru helped to widen the hole. "I see a beach up ahead," reported the dwarf. "Just like the ghost said."
In short order they had cleared a space for the boat, and guided it down the passage to a sandy beach. Dru waded out of the water, lifting her glowing dagger high to cast light over the place.
"Will you look at that wall..." muttered Garto. "That's pure jade, or I'm a peck. An' the mural's Valossan, too."
"What was your first clue?" asked Dru. "All the serpent people?" She knelt down by the carving of an enormous cobra that emerged from the door. "There's a knob inside, and an inscription below. What did Black Dog say about the door, Di'Fier?"
"He said one of his crewmen tried it - stuck his hand in the mouth, tried to open the door. He started screaming, and pulled his hand out, and the door spat some kind of poison onto him." The mage made a few passes with his hands and studied the door intently. "Yep, there's definitely poison. I can't quite figure out what kind, though."
"'All those who would enter the temple must pass the test of fangs'," Garto read. "'Reach into the mouth of Yig and your courage will be rewarded.' Hm. Draw straws, then? Got some here...there ya go. Just pick one. Whoever gets the shortest...aw, sh*t."
He began rolling up his sleeve. "Awright, stand back an' watch how a dwarf does it." So saying, he thrust his arm into the mouth of the serpent, grabbed the knob firmly...and screamed.
A gout of black bile shot forth from the carved head, steaming where it hit the water. Garto was cradling the arm he'd yanked from the serpent's mouth a split-second before. "Damn thing bit me..." he said, but his flesh showed no wounds.
"It couldn't have bitten you, Garto," Dru said. "We all watched it, it didn't move." She stuck her own hand in, and her expression changed. Again the gout of black fluid. Dru pulled her hand from the mouth, but not quickly enough, and her movement send drops spraying across the cavern. She dropped to the sand and scraped the noxious stuff off of her arm. "Damn, he's right."
Di'Fier studied the mouth. "It must be some kind of illusion," he reported. "There's no way for the mouth to move."
"Yeah, well, if yer so damned sure then you try it. How's that hand, Dru?"
"Burns a little, but I think I got it off in time."
The line in the sand where the venom hit was constantly hissing and steaming now, as the caustic stuff reacted with the dampness beneath. All had tried and failed, and now they looked helplessly at the carving.
"Can't believe we're gettin' stymied by a damn door," muttered Garto, rubbing his arm where the venom had struck him on his second try. "I know it can't move, but it sure as hell feels like it's bitin' yer."
Di'Fier sighed. "OK. There's no way the statue can move. It's an illusion. We know it's an illusion. Therefore, I should be able to reach in there and open the door. Like this."
click
Di'Fier let go and gaped, as the door swung open.
"I think we need a better plan," said Dru as the shimmering ghostly cutlass swept up into the air.
"Got one," Garto assured her.
"Well, what is it?"
"Run!" And with that, Garto was out the door as fast as his stumpy dwarven legs could carry him. Dru and Di'Fier gaped a moment, then followed, with Varesh trailing behind.
Out on the beach, they heaved the secret door closed. "Do you think that will stop him?" asked Di'Fier.
"...no. But maybe he won't bother us now if'n he see's we're not goin' after his treasure."
Dru scowled. "I didn't see a serpent portal in there. Where did the logbook say it was again?"
"It didn't," Di'Fier said sheepishly. "It just said that Black Dog had the passage boarded up so nobody could go down there."
Garto sat down in the sand. "Great. All that treasure an' no way to get to it. We need a priest. An' the only one who knows where the serpent door is, is back in there sayin' 'boo'."
Di'Fier thought about that a moment. "Maybe we could ask him. I mean, as long as we tell him we're not here for the treasure..."
"If he believes us..." muttered his partner.
Di'Fier shrugged. "We've got to at least try..."
The boards gave way with a wet, spintering crack. Di'Fier tucked his mace back into his belt and took hold of the plank, tearing it away. Garto and Dru helped to widen the hole. "I see a beach up ahead," reported the dwarf. "Just like the ghost said."
In short order they had cleared a space for the boat, and guided it down the passage to a sandy beach. Dru waded out of the water, lifting her glowing dagger high to cast light over the place.
"Will you look at that wall..." muttered Garto. "That's pure jade, or I'm a peck. An' the mural's Valossan, too."
"What was your first clue?" asked Dru. "All the serpent people?" She knelt down by the carving of an enormous cobra that emerged from the door. "There's a knob inside, and an inscription below. What did Black Dog say about the door, Di'Fier?"
"He said one of his crewmen tried it - stuck his hand in the mouth, tried to open the door. He started screaming, and pulled his hand out, and the door spat some kind of poison onto him." The mage made a few passes with his hands and studied the door intently. "Yep, there's definitely poison. I can't quite figure out what kind, though."
"'All those who would enter the temple must pass the test of fangs'," Garto read. "'Reach into the mouth of Yig and your courage will be rewarded.' Hm. Draw straws, then? Got some here...there ya go. Just pick one. Whoever gets the shortest...aw, sh*t."
He began rolling up his sleeve. "Awright, stand back an' watch how a dwarf does it." So saying, he thrust his arm into the mouth of the serpent, grabbed the knob firmly...and screamed.
A gout of black bile shot forth from the carved head, steaming where it hit the water. Garto was cradling the arm he'd yanked from the serpent's mouth a split-second before. "Damn thing bit me..." he said, but his flesh showed no wounds.
"It couldn't have bitten you, Garto," Dru said. "We all watched it, it didn't move." She stuck her own hand in, and her expression changed. Again the gout of black fluid. Dru pulled her hand from the mouth, but not quickly enough, and her movement send drops spraying across the cavern. She dropped to the sand and scraped the noxious stuff off of her arm. "Damn, he's right."
Di'Fier studied the mouth. "It must be some kind of illusion," he reported. "There's no way for the mouth to move."
"Yeah, well, if yer so damned sure then you try it. How's that hand, Dru?"
"Burns a little, but I think I got it off in time."
The line in the sand where the venom hit was constantly hissing and steaming now, as the caustic stuff reacted with the dampness beneath. All had tried and failed, and now they looked helplessly at the carving.
"Can't believe we're gettin' stymied by a damn door," muttered Garto, rubbing his arm where the venom had struck him on his second try. "I know it can't move, but it sure as hell feels like it's bitin' yer."
Di'Fier sighed. "OK. There's no way the statue can move. It's an illusion. We know it's an illusion. Therefore, I should be able to reach in there and open the door. Like this."
click
Di'Fier let go and gaped, as the door swung open.
The temp boards
Dr N,
Just wanted to let you know I have been reading your story on the temp boards, and it is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED that you have been posting there as well. This is the first time since last friday that I have been able to get on the standard boards, so your posts kept me up to date.
Course, I can't post on the temp boards because for some damn fool reason, exboards won't take my id. Bleh!
Just wanted to thank you for keeping me updated, if not anyone else.
Dr N,
Just wanted to let you know I have been reading your story on the temp boards, and it is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED that you have been posting there as well. This is the first time since last friday that I have been able to get on the standard boards, so your posts kept me up to date.
Course, I can't post on the temp boards because for some damn fool reason, exboards won't take my id. Bleh!
Just wanted to thank you for keeping me updated, if not anyone else.
- Status
