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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
- Thread starter drnuncheon
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Drusilia Nailo
First Post
I'm still here too! I'll try to sweet talk Dr. N into posting again, so that you addicts can have your fix. 
drnuncheon
Explorer
Memo to Self: in the future, avoid running dungeon crawls...they are darn hard to write and make interesting (for author *and* readers). Like last time (the asylum), I bogged down writing about a long period of kick-in-the-door...
Anyway, I've been taking a long break from EN World, but I'm back now, and I'll resume posting just as soon as I find my notebook...
J
Anyway, I've been taking a long break from EN World, but I'm back now, and I'll resume posting just as soon as I find my notebook...
J
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Fifteen, Part One: Yig
Compiler's Note: Dru has been instructed to beat me savagely if I don't start doing 'post a day' until we are finished. With that in mind, here is today's installment. Also, look for Dru's Story Hour, which should be posted soon - same players, different world, very different flavor...
Session Fifteen, Part One: Yig
Dru stepped away from the door. Unlike the others in the temple, it was securely locked...and spiked shut. "It sounds like there's someone in there. Talking."
Di'Fier looked at the spikes and thought about how long the temple had remained lost. "Let's leave that one until last."
It all started to go downhill when Dru was paralyzed. Nobody expected it. Her elven blood had always let her weather the worst wounds a ghoul could inflict, but there was something different about the serpentine horrors they fought now. Di'Fier's hands shifted on the hilt of his blade, trying to keep a good grip despite the blood that ran down his arm. A crosswise cut, and one of the things leapt back, black ichor welling up in the wound. Dimly, on the edge of his vision, he could see the weakened Varesh trying to drag Dru from the room, and then the creatures were upon him again.
Garto pulled his massive axe out of the chest of one of the things. "Run!" he shouted at Di'Fier, still fending off three of the creatures. "Run!" He jumped backwards, off the table he'd been standing on, and reached for a scroll.
Di'Fier hadn't moved. "We've got to hold them off!"
"I told yer to run!" the dwarf shouted, ducking under a clawed swipe and chanting loudly. Fire blossomed from the back of the room, rushing out to engulf the serpent-creatures...and Di'Fier. A blast of heat forced Garto back as the flames cleared...revealing four figures still standing, locked in desperate combat.
"Garto...it didn't kill them!" Di'Fier took a step backward, swinging his blade - but claws tore into his smouldering clothing, and he, too fell victim to the numbing paralysis. He felt himself tip over, and begin to move.
Dru and Di'Fier lay side by side in the corridor. The elf worked her jaw for a few moments, feeling the effects of the paralysis begin to come undone. "I hate this," she mumbled indistinctly.
Her partner would have nodded, if he were able. The most he could do was to mumble indistinctly himself: "I'm ready to go home now."
Suddenly, the hairy face of Garto looked large in his vision. "Good thing yer' wakin' up. They've just about made it through the door." The sound of cracking wood underscored his words.
Slowly, the two Watchmen struggled to their feet, retrieving their weapons. They arrayed themselves around the splintering door, and the slaughter began.
Dru surveyed the crescent-shaped room warily. So far, nothing had leapt out to attack them.
She didn't like it. Her eyes played over the faded rug, the empty glass case containing a rotting log - what a strange thing to have in a room, she thought - and alighted on the desk. Atop it lay a journal, still open.
Behind her, Di'Fier sneezed. She whirled, to see her partner standing rather sheepishly in the cloud of dust he'd raised by prodding the pillows. Forcing herself to relax, she moved back towards the desk.
"It's in Valossan, of course," she muttered. "Garto! What do you make of this?"
The dwarf ambled over, leaning his axe against the desk, and riffled through the pages. "It's a journal...Alisstar's journal." He paused here and there to read in more detail, running his blunt finger along under the lines, then licking it to turn the page.
"Well?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry. I know a guy who'd pay a lot of money for this...there's a lot of detail on Valossan life in here that's been lost." He looked at the book. "If he believed it was authentic. Doesn't look like it's been lost for thousands of years, does it?"
Dru's eyes narrowed. "What does it say, Garto?"
"Hm? Oh. Well, he was worried about the Unspeakable One." At Dru's 'go-ahead' gesture, he began to read. "'It is clear that this Unspeakable God is not of this world. It is possible that he is from another plane of existence altogether. To defeat him, it may be necessary to send him back to his own plane, or imprison him on this one.'"
"Dru, this chest is locked," called Di'Fier. "Come have a look."
The elf walked over pulling out her lockpicks. I guess Papa's training comes in handy sometimes after all, she thought, as she felt out the lock's mechanism with the tiny tools. Dimly behind her, she could hear Garto and Di'Fier talking.
"Ya know, I know a guy useta keep his pet in a case just like that."
The lock clicked open.
"Oh really? What kind of pet did he have?"
The coiled darkness inside the box lashed out, wrapping its icy form around Dru. "Snake!" she screamed. "Getitoffme! Getitoffme! Getitoffme!" The shadowy head looked at her dispassionately as she struggled to breathe. Somehow, that made it all the worse.
Garto and Di'Fier began to chant as Dru fell to one knee and wrenched her arm free of the coils. Twin beams of dusty brown lanced out, boiling the surface of the snake where they hit, making it loosen enough for her to reach her rapier. She began to saw at the thing's scales with the blade.
A crackle of ozone heralded a near miss from Varesh, and Dru took a breath. "Getitoffme! Getitoffme!" she screamed, wrenching the thing farther from her body and hacking viciously. Garto's axe passed through its insubstantial form - and nearly through Dru, who continued to hack furiously at the thing. "Varesh, the wand! The wand! Use the-" She hesitated. "Oh. It's dead."
So it came to this: the lowest level of the temple. Two great double doors faced a statue of the coiled serpent-god. Twin beams of light blazed from its eyes, lancing across the corridor to strike the eyes of the snake carved on the doors themselves. Dru studied the statue. "I think I see something."
The others watched as she clambered up the side of the carving. "These eyes have lids," she reported. "I'm going to try closing them. Get ready." Stone covers slid down, blocking the light, and the corridor was plunged into darkness. The four of them could hear the doors at the far end swing open. Dru pulled her punch-dagger, its dim glow doing the best it could to illuminate the hall.
From beyond the open doors, they could hear the rasp of massive scales on stone.
Compiler's Note: Dru has been instructed to beat me savagely if I don't start doing 'post a day' until we are finished. With that in mind, here is today's installment. Also, look for Dru's Story Hour, which should be posted soon - same players, different world, very different flavor...
Session Fifteen, Part One: Yig
Dru stepped away from the door. Unlike the others in the temple, it was securely locked...and spiked shut. "It sounds like there's someone in there. Talking."
Di'Fier looked at the spikes and thought about how long the temple had remained lost. "Let's leave that one until last."
It all started to go downhill when Dru was paralyzed. Nobody expected it. Her elven blood had always let her weather the worst wounds a ghoul could inflict, but there was something different about the serpentine horrors they fought now. Di'Fier's hands shifted on the hilt of his blade, trying to keep a good grip despite the blood that ran down his arm. A crosswise cut, and one of the things leapt back, black ichor welling up in the wound. Dimly, on the edge of his vision, he could see the weakened Varesh trying to drag Dru from the room, and then the creatures were upon him again.
Garto pulled his massive axe out of the chest of one of the things. "Run!" he shouted at Di'Fier, still fending off three of the creatures. "Run!" He jumped backwards, off the table he'd been standing on, and reached for a scroll.
Di'Fier hadn't moved. "We've got to hold them off!"
"I told yer to run!" the dwarf shouted, ducking under a clawed swipe and chanting loudly. Fire blossomed from the back of the room, rushing out to engulf the serpent-creatures...and Di'Fier. A blast of heat forced Garto back as the flames cleared...revealing four figures still standing, locked in desperate combat.
"Garto...it didn't kill them!" Di'Fier took a step backward, swinging his blade - but claws tore into his smouldering clothing, and he, too fell victim to the numbing paralysis. He felt himself tip over, and begin to move.
Dru and Di'Fier lay side by side in the corridor. The elf worked her jaw for a few moments, feeling the effects of the paralysis begin to come undone. "I hate this," she mumbled indistinctly.
Her partner would have nodded, if he were able. The most he could do was to mumble indistinctly himself: "I'm ready to go home now."
Suddenly, the hairy face of Garto looked large in his vision. "Good thing yer' wakin' up. They've just about made it through the door." The sound of cracking wood underscored his words.
Slowly, the two Watchmen struggled to their feet, retrieving their weapons. They arrayed themselves around the splintering door, and the slaughter began.
Dru surveyed the crescent-shaped room warily. So far, nothing had leapt out to attack them.
She didn't like it. Her eyes played over the faded rug, the empty glass case containing a rotting log - what a strange thing to have in a room, she thought - and alighted on the desk. Atop it lay a journal, still open.
Behind her, Di'Fier sneezed. She whirled, to see her partner standing rather sheepishly in the cloud of dust he'd raised by prodding the pillows. Forcing herself to relax, she moved back towards the desk.
"It's in Valossan, of course," she muttered. "Garto! What do you make of this?"
The dwarf ambled over, leaning his axe against the desk, and riffled through the pages. "It's a journal...Alisstar's journal." He paused here and there to read in more detail, running his blunt finger along under the lines, then licking it to turn the page.
"Well?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry. I know a guy who'd pay a lot of money for this...there's a lot of detail on Valossan life in here that's been lost." He looked at the book. "If he believed it was authentic. Doesn't look like it's been lost for thousands of years, does it?"
Dru's eyes narrowed. "What does it say, Garto?"
"Hm? Oh. Well, he was worried about the Unspeakable One." At Dru's 'go-ahead' gesture, he began to read. "'It is clear that this Unspeakable God is not of this world. It is possible that he is from another plane of existence altogether. To defeat him, it may be necessary to send him back to his own plane, or imprison him on this one.'"
"Dru, this chest is locked," called Di'Fier. "Come have a look."
The elf walked over pulling out her lockpicks. I guess Papa's training comes in handy sometimes after all, she thought, as she felt out the lock's mechanism with the tiny tools. Dimly behind her, she could hear Garto and Di'Fier talking.
"Ya know, I know a guy useta keep his pet in a case just like that."
The lock clicked open.
"Oh really? What kind of pet did he have?"
The coiled darkness inside the box lashed out, wrapping its icy form around Dru. "Snake!" she screamed. "Getitoffme! Getitoffme! Getitoffme!" The shadowy head looked at her dispassionately as she struggled to breathe. Somehow, that made it all the worse.
Garto and Di'Fier began to chant as Dru fell to one knee and wrenched her arm free of the coils. Twin beams of dusty brown lanced out, boiling the surface of the snake where they hit, making it loosen enough for her to reach her rapier. She began to saw at the thing's scales with the blade.
A crackle of ozone heralded a near miss from Varesh, and Dru took a breath. "Getitoffme! Getitoffme!" she screamed, wrenching the thing farther from her body and hacking viciously. Garto's axe passed through its insubstantial form - and nearly through Dru, who continued to hack furiously at the thing. "Varesh, the wand! The wand! Use the-" She hesitated. "Oh. It's dead."
So it came to this: the lowest level of the temple. Two great double doors faced a statue of the coiled serpent-god. Twin beams of light blazed from its eyes, lancing across the corridor to strike the eyes of the snake carved on the doors themselves. Dru studied the statue. "I think I see something."
The others watched as she clambered up the side of the carving. "These eyes have lids," she reported. "I'm going to try closing them. Get ready." Stone covers slid down, blocking the light, and the corridor was plunged into darkness. The four of them could hear the doors at the far end swing open. Dru pulled her punch-dagger, its dim glow doing the best it could to illuminate the hall.
From beyond the open doors, they could hear the rasp of massive scales on stone.
Last edited:
Jon Potter
First Post
At long last...
It's good to see an update.
Been checking here and at the EZ board site daily; I'm always happy when my bull-headed persistance pays off.
Good to have you back and I also look forward to checking out Dru's storyhour when it debutes!
It's good to see an update.
Been checking here and at the EZ board site daily; I'm always happy when my bull-headed persistance pays off.
Good to have you back and I also look forward to checking out Dru's storyhour when it debutes!
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Fifteen, Part Two: The Madman's Riddle
Post-a-Day continues! Is the 200-post thread limit still in effect on the new servers?
A single eye shone dully in the darkness - an eye far larger than any Dru had ever wanted to see in her life. As the gigantic snake slithered out of the chamber it had been trapped in for so long, the stench of rot hit the Watchmen like a mace. The monstrous serpent had suffered the same fate as the other inhabitants of the temple - trapped beyond death, forced to inhabit a decaying, almost mummified carcass.
At least there's no maggots on this one, she thought wryly.
The snake reared up as high as it could in the tight confines of the corridor, and bared its fangs: two gleaming ivory curves as long as a man's forearm - the Fangs of Yig. A bolt from Garto's crossbow clattered off the wall, and the dwarf swore as the serpent surged forward to meet them. Their blades sunk into the undead flesh with no effect, but the fangs sank deep into Dru's leg, and she nearly fell from her perch on the statue of Yig.
Garto chanted, and the air was filled with the reek of acid as a magical bolt impacted on the creature's scales and started to eat its way through. The fangs pierced Di'Fier's shoulder, and the coursing blood made the grip of his sword slick - but he and his partner's blades struck deep, cleaving off huge chunks of decaying flesh.
The serpent shuddered as Varesh plied the magic of Dru's healing wand against it - and attracted its attention. Doubling back on itself, it struck like lightning - and then coiled its body around the rat, squeezing the breath from him. He struggled futilely to free himself, but the undead muscles were too strong, and all he could do was gnaw away at the putrid meat that captivated him until the pain was too great for him to bear.
Letting its unconscious prey fall to the floor, the snake lashed out down the corridor at Dru, who dove behind the statue of Yig. Di'Fier grabbed Varesh and dragged him away, pouring the contents of a vial down his throat and restoring him to consciousness.
The snake, foiled in its attempts to get Dru from behidn Yig's statue, reversed itself - and Dru took the opportunity to leap out and bury her blade to the hilt in its side. Di'Fier's blade slashed across its snout, making the abomination instinctively rear back with a hiss. Varesh plied the healing wand again as Dru's blade struck deep, and then dove out of the way as the creature thundered down the corridor towards Di'Fier.
The young mage drew his wand from its belt loop and pointed it at the snake. The golden dart of energy slammed trough the back of the thing's skull, and it crashed unmoving to the floor.
"Di'Fier, are you all right?" called Dru.
"Hang on," he said, drawing his dagger and prying the great mouth open. "I'm doing some dentistry."
With the Fangs and Scales of Yig safely in their possession, the foursome had half of the artifacts they had set out to find - but the Amulet and the Venom were yet to be located. Di'Fier cautiously pushed the door in front of him open.
The room was small, and stones set into the walls glowed with heat. The floor was littered with leathery eggshells, crushed, split, destroyed. They entered cautiously, poking about in the fragments.
It was Dru that found the intact egg. Soon all four were gathered around it, looking at the only survivor of the carnage.
Varesh's opinion was simple. "Kill it," the rat-man hissed. As if to punctuate his words, the spear he carried crackled, and gave off a scent of ozone.
Dru looked at her partner, and finding no guidance there, shrugged and stepped away. A single strike from Varesh, and the egg joined the rest of the clutch.
As the others filed out, Di'Fier looked down at the egg. I hope we don't regret this... he thought to himself.
They reassembled outside the door that had been spiked shut, and Dru leaned her ear to it. "I can still hear it," she muttered.
"Not much else to do," said Garto, hammering the spikes out. As he did so, the voice became silent. They paused, waiting, but no sound came. Finally, Dru pushed the door open.
A voice floated out - a soft, hypnotic croon. "Come to me you musst, young oness...the Venom you sseek...only Sseth knows where it is hidden..." Then it changed, seeming almost to snarl with rage. "But tell you I will not!" It relaxed, again: "Yess...you musst...No!...yess..."
The companions looked dubiously at each other as the voice continued. "Yess, I will...ansswer a riddle they musst." Garto at least relaxed - for an adventurer, this was familiar ground. "Ask away," he rumbled.
I create life and also nourish it.
I contain life and the future for some.
I am first, although some say I came last.
I am fragile, yet strong enough to hold precious cargo.
There was a moment of silence, and Di'Fier's stomach turned with guilt and fear. There was really only one possible answer. Softly, he swallowed and said, "Egg."
"Desstroyed the eggss, I did..." Sseth spat. "To ssave them from the cursse...but egg iss the ansswer, yess. Ssearch the sstatue of Yig, in the middle of hiss tail, and you will find the Venom of the Sserpent."
Post-a-Day continues! Is the 200-post thread limit still in effect on the new servers?
A single eye shone dully in the darkness - an eye far larger than any Dru had ever wanted to see in her life. As the gigantic snake slithered out of the chamber it had been trapped in for so long, the stench of rot hit the Watchmen like a mace. The monstrous serpent had suffered the same fate as the other inhabitants of the temple - trapped beyond death, forced to inhabit a decaying, almost mummified carcass.
At least there's no maggots on this one, she thought wryly.
The snake reared up as high as it could in the tight confines of the corridor, and bared its fangs: two gleaming ivory curves as long as a man's forearm - the Fangs of Yig. A bolt from Garto's crossbow clattered off the wall, and the dwarf swore as the serpent surged forward to meet them. Their blades sunk into the undead flesh with no effect, but the fangs sank deep into Dru's leg, and she nearly fell from her perch on the statue of Yig.
Garto chanted, and the air was filled with the reek of acid as a magical bolt impacted on the creature's scales and started to eat its way through. The fangs pierced Di'Fier's shoulder, and the coursing blood made the grip of his sword slick - but he and his partner's blades struck deep, cleaving off huge chunks of decaying flesh.
The serpent shuddered as Varesh plied the magic of Dru's healing wand against it - and attracted its attention. Doubling back on itself, it struck like lightning - and then coiled its body around the rat, squeezing the breath from him. He struggled futilely to free himself, but the undead muscles were too strong, and all he could do was gnaw away at the putrid meat that captivated him until the pain was too great for him to bear.
Letting its unconscious prey fall to the floor, the snake lashed out down the corridor at Dru, who dove behind the statue of Yig. Di'Fier grabbed Varesh and dragged him away, pouring the contents of a vial down his throat and restoring him to consciousness.
The snake, foiled in its attempts to get Dru from behidn Yig's statue, reversed itself - and Dru took the opportunity to leap out and bury her blade to the hilt in its side. Di'Fier's blade slashed across its snout, making the abomination instinctively rear back with a hiss. Varesh plied the healing wand again as Dru's blade struck deep, and then dove out of the way as the creature thundered down the corridor towards Di'Fier.
The young mage drew his wand from its belt loop and pointed it at the snake. The golden dart of energy slammed trough the back of the thing's skull, and it crashed unmoving to the floor.
"Di'Fier, are you all right?" called Dru.
"Hang on," he said, drawing his dagger and prying the great mouth open. "I'm doing some dentistry."
With the Fangs and Scales of Yig safely in their possession, the foursome had half of the artifacts they had set out to find - but the Amulet and the Venom were yet to be located. Di'Fier cautiously pushed the door in front of him open.
The room was small, and stones set into the walls glowed with heat. The floor was littered with leathery eggshells, crushed, split, destroyed. They entered cautiously, poking about in the fragments.
It was Dru that found the intact egg. Soon all four were gathered around it, looking at the only survivor of the carnage.
Varesh's opinion was simple. "Kill it," the rat-man hissed. As if to punctuate his words, the spear he carried crackled, and gave off a scent of ozone.
Dru looked at her partner, and finding no guidance there, shrugged and stepped away. A single strike from Varesh, and the egg joined the rest of the clutch.
As the others filed out, Di'Fier looked down at the egg. I hope we don't regret this... he thought to himself.
They reassembled outside the door that had been spiked shut, and Dru leaned her ear to it. "I can still hear it," she muttered.
"Not much else to do," said Garto, hammering the spikes out. As he did so, the voice became silent. They paused, waiting, but no sound came. Finally, Dru pushed the door open.
A voice floated out - a soft, hypnotic croon. "Come to me you musst, young oness...the Venom you sseek...only Sseth knows where it is hidden..." Then it changed, seeming almost to snarl with rage. "But tell you I will not!" It relaxed, again: "Yess...you musst...No!...yess..."
The companions looked dubiously at each other as the voice continued. "Yess, I will...ansswer a riddle they musst." Garto at least relaxed - for an adventurer, this was familiar ground. "Ask away," he rumbled.
I create life and also nourish it.
I contain life and the future for some.
I am first, although some say I came last.
I am fragile, yet strong enough to hold precious cargo.
There was a moment of silence, and Di'Fier's stomach turned with guilt and fear. There was really only one possible answer. Softly, he swallowed and said, "Egg."
"Desstroyed the eggss, I did..." Sseth spat. "To ssave them from the cursse...but egg iss the ansswer, yess. Ssearch the sstatue of Yig, in the middle of hiss tail, and you will find the Venom of the Sserpent."
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