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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1544362" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p><strong>The Noisesome Vale</strong></p><p></p><p>“Yech.”</p><p></p><p>Tess’ simple comment summed up the entire party]s view on their new surroundings. The air, while breathable, was nauseous, and seemed to burn slightly as they breathed it in. The greenish-yellow sky overhead cast a strange pall onto the barren and rocky ground all around them.</p><p></p><p>Ahead of the party was a rise in the ground, towering cliffs of rock on either side. Beyond that, a fiery glow showed over the horizon. Every second, the party’s ears were assaulted by noise... harsh scratching noises, fierce hissing, and deep rumbling noises. They all combined to form an unholy chorus... the same chorus that gave this place its name.</p><p></p><p>“I think that glow on the horizon might be the place where we’re headed!” Siabrey shouted over the chaotic hissing and screeching. “Asuri said we have to dip it in the laval river that runs beside the old owner’s palace!”</p><p></p><p>“Not near the palace necessarily, I hope?” Shaun shouted back. Siabrey shook her head no, and the rogue gave a sigh of relief. “No offense, Empress, but I think they’ll recieve Your Majesty worse than even the most scandalous of nobles!”</p><p></p><p>“Point,” Siabrey nodded, as they scrambled up the hill. The climb was difficult... not due to the slope, more due to the fact that rocks kept slipping from under them, and they would slide back ten feet for every fifteen they’d climb. Finally, the party reached the crest of the hill, and took in the view of the ground below.</p><p></p><p>Far in the distance was, indeed, a palace. Unlike others they were more familiar with, this palace was wreathed in flames. Towering columns of fire licked upwards to form turrets and spires, while squat billows of flame marked its halls and apartments.</p><p></p><p>Far closer to the party was the enormous river of lava that stretched from the palace towards the ground below the party, rumbling by. Within its fiery grip the party could make out many many enormous shapes... each easily ten feet across, and one hundred feet or more in length. The party also saw for themselves what Asuri had told htem... the grating noise was coming from the massive shapes bumping and grinding against each other...</p><p></p><p>...the great worms.</p><p></p><p>“Um... we might want to stay away from those,” Aeron said quietly, pointing towards the enormous beasts. “I don’t know if their docile, but I wouldn’t want to find out the bad way...”</p><p></p><p>“Well, get a levitation spell on me, and I’ll float over it and dip it in,” Orion said nervously.</p><p></p><p>“You don’t need to float... just dip it in the side... that way, you can run if one of those-“ Shaun started to point out, before a voice entered the party’s heads.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow">“W...Who a...are y...you?”</span> it stammered. The voice sounded weak... tinny. More like that of a bookkeeper or shy mage’s student, not that of any kind of demon or other beast (DM’s Note: The voice sounds alot like that of the stapler guy, off of “Office Space.” <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> ). <span style="color: yellow">”You come to my master’s realm with something powerful... w...why? I b...believe m...my master w...would l...like to s...see you.”</span></p><p></p><p>“What the heck is that?” Tess was looking around, her harp out nervously. No shapes appeared over the crevices and rocks above, or the slopes down below.</p><p></p><p>“One of the old balor’s servants?” Siabrey asked, her voice nearly drowned out by the noise.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “I am Kerzit the Guardian... I watch these lands until my Lord Taurben returns...”</span> the voice said slowly, guardedly in their heads. <span style="color: yellow"> “W..why a..are you here?”</span></p><p></p><p>“I say we ignore him... he sounds like an accounting quasit, not a big balor or something,” Shaun said, starting down the slope.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “S...S...STOP! I...If you d...don’t s...stop I...I’ll h...have to h...harm you!”</span> the weak voice threatened. </p><p></p><p>“Bring it on!” Shaun shouted, before Siabrey could cover his mouth. “What?” he said, his voice muffled by the fighter’s hand. “He’s a punk quasit I bet. Or a dretch!”</p><p></p><p>“He’s named, ‘the Guardian,’ Shaun! I’m guessing he’s more than a punk minion!” Siabrey hissed.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the dark shapes in the lava to the party’s front stopped their grinding, hissing movements against each other. With a deep, resonating rumble, twelve of the beasts closest to the bank the party was near suddenly seemed to vanish... before exploding out of the lava, rising from the depths till their maws hung some fifty feet over their fiery pit.</p><p></p><p>As their wreathed in the air, shuddering and shaking as rumbles and roars arose from their deep bellies, the laval still clinging to them fell away, revealing massive, purple scales running along their body, splotches of red and black mottled in with the purplish hue. The party recoiled, as they realized what they were...</p><p></p><p><em>Fiendish Purple Worms?!</em> Tess’ mind screamed in fear, as she scrambled back towards the rise, towards the cliffs above... when her eyes caught movement. “He’s there!” she pointed, screaming.</p><p></p><p>AS everyone else’s gaze picked a spot high above, an enormous wolf-like head peered over one of the rocks. With a suddenly leap, the creature jumped from its hieght to a position only thirty feet from the party on the path. Covered in black, matted fur, the beast stood some nine feet tall. Its eyes shone brightly as silver, and when it bared its teeth, the black fangs dripped grayish liquid. Large, octopus-like tentacles came from its shoulders in place of arms, as well as short, furry arms equipped with saw like claws from just below the tentacles.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “Now that y...you know my p...power,”</span> one of its tentacles waved, and the party saw that the worms swayed in concert with the long tentacle’s movement, <span style="color: yellow"> “P...please s...stop, a...and a...answer my q...question. W...why are y...you here?”</span></p><p></p><p>“We are merely traveler’s who are lost,” Siabrey lied blatantly. She had no plans to tell this beast, no matter how brain drained it may seem, about the staff.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “S...strange t...that you t...travel here. I...I have h...had n...no visi..visi...visitors s...since Master l...left. I...I...shall k...keep y...you until h...he ret...retu...returns.”</span> the beast stammered in their minds. <span style="color: yellow"> “H...he w...will... find the a...artifact you c...c...carry m...most in..intere...interesting,” </span> the beast motioned towards Orion and the staff. “<span style="color: yellow"> “H...he w...will likely h...have many q...q...questions about i...it.”</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: red"> “Don’t you DARE hand me over to that incompetent wretch! His master has been missing for a full millenia! And thanks to Orcus and Demogorgon, he won’t be returning! This poor excuse for a junkpile wouldn’t know whether to use me as a backscratcher or a chamberpot!</span> Graz’zt snarled from within the staff. Orion felt the demon lord try and intrude in his mind again, and the monk merely shrugged it off. He was used to it by now.</p><p></p><p>“Your master is never returning, Kerzit,” Orion said bluntly. <em>Let’s see how he reacts to this. If he runs away crying, we might not have to fight....</em> “He’s never coming back.”</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “D...D...DON’T S...SPEAK OF MY MASTER T...THAT WAY!”</span> the demon roared, advancing menacingly. <span style="color: yellow"> “M... MASTER TAURBEN WOULD N...NOT LEAVE K...KERZIT ALONE!”</span> The creature’s tentacles flew to its face, and it seemed to give a wail... a noise that was heart rending in sorrow. As it did so, whatever control he had over the purple worms let, and the twelve beasts slid back into the lava pool.</p><p></p><p><em>He’s breaking... at least worms have gone away,</em> Orion reasoned. <em>As much as its mean... I need to keep pushing this. If I can break him down, we might be able to get him to help us... or at least run away in tears. Imagine that! A demon crying?</em> the monk almost had to chuckle at that thought.</p><p></p><p>“He’s gone, Kerzit.”</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “WHO T...T...TELLS Y...YOU SUCH V...V...VILE LIES! KERZIT I...IGNORES T...THEM!”</span></p><p></p><p>“A little birdie, hidden inside this staff,” Orion smirked. The smirk vanished, when the enormous beast shuddered, and then looked at the staff, its silvery eyes burning with metallic hate and fear.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “K...KERZIT THEN WILL K...KILL THE B...B...BIRDIE!”</span> the creature roared, not understanding the metaphor, <span style="color: yellow"> “THEN K...KERZIT WILL K...KILL YOU F...FOR S...SPREADING S...SUCH LIES!”</span></p><p></p><p>As the demon roared, the party heard a moaning roar, and saw in the lava some 80 feet from them, the massive form of one of the fiendish purple worms arise from the lava, casting an enormous shadow overhead.</p><p></p><p>“Holy...” Shaun said in shock and amazement, as the enormous creature grew.</p><p></p><p>“Pretty, huh? Got bigger things to deal with right now!” Siabrey spun him around to face the onrushing Kerzit. The fighter and Orion charged the demon, which headed straight for the monk that had caused him so much mental anguish. The two tentacles lashed out at the monk, knocking him about viciously, the suckers on their underside shredding his flesh.</p><p></p><p>The beasts two claws clawed at Siabrey, cutting open her arm and shoulder. The blood spilling from her shoulder and left arm seemed to drive the fighter harder, however, and her blades danced through the air. Within seconds, the beast found itself with two deep katana slices and a washazki thrust. However, the demon seemed to absorb the damage from the fire on her blades with no problem.</p><p></p><p>Shaun, seeing that Kerzit was indeed the more immediate threat, launched three arrows at him. Two seemed to glance off the creature’s hide, but one stuck deep in Kerzit’s shoulder, causing the beast to squeal in pain. Tess added her voice to the assault, her sonic screams causing Kerzit to grab his head and scream in pain.</p><p></p><p>Anias, still in sergeant form, drew his nightblade, and launched two pulses of energy from the blade at Kerzit, burning the beast slightly. As usual, Orion’s fists of fury punched hard and deep into Kerzit, and two arrows from Vin imbedded themselves deep in Kerzit’s side. Yet after all of this ferocious damage, the massive demon seemed unfazed, as Grumki called upon his divine favor with Kord before launching himself into the melee.</p><p></p><p>Aeron alone turned to face the purple worm behind them. As the beast loomed, rising higher and higher, the wizard nervously flipped through his spellbook, till he reached the page he desired. A powerful, single arcane word came from his lips, and his finger pointed at the beast. Dark power surged through the wizard’s body, and the worm’s rise seemed to pause. The beast gave a deep, rumbling gurgle, before tumbling back into the lava. At the loud noise, Tess turned momentarily... long enough she gave a whoop. (<em>finger of death</em>)</p><p></p><p>Siabrey was the creature that had hurt Kerzit the most, and his simple mind deemed her the greatest threat. His full assault launched itself at her... both tentacles, both claws, and his vicious, poison ridden bite. The fighter reeled under the blows, her armor banging and slamming into her body, leaving her with bruises where she wasn’t sliced open. Fortunately, the blood rushing from her shoulder wounds seemed to push out the poison Kerzit tried to put in her body. The fighte responded with more devastating attacks, her katana finding Kerzit an amazing six times in the space of six seconds... and her washazaki finding him twice in the same time! (a bunch of potential crits... she only confirmed one) Nonetheless, Kerzit, while bleeding badly, seemed to just not understand he was hurt, and kept on his assaults.</p><p></p><p>Shaun sent another two arrows wide. Tess’ however, made more sonic assaults connect, pounding the demon viciously again. Kerzit backed away, holding his head in pain at her screams.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “Y...Y...YOU ALL S...S...SHALL DIE! Y...YOU H...HURT K...KERZIT!”</span> the beast screamed.</p><p></p><p>Anias now charged headlong into the melee, and his nightblade danced through the air. The one angelic blow that did connect made a flash of holy light, and the demon seemed to recoil again. Orion’s fists struck the demon again, though the monk’s attempted leg sweep to trip the demon failed... Kerzit merely stumbled backwards again.</p><p></p><p>Vin this time sent four arrows into the demon, peppering its stomach with holy energy. The half-elf gave a snarl of satisfaction at seeing the demon reel. “That’s for my father!” she screamed, her own eyes feral in hatred.</p><p></p><p>As the demon had backed away slightly, Hidalas issued a prayer to Tarantor, pleading for the god’s intercession. Even in the depths of the Abyss, his piety was rewarded, and a column of fire tumbled down from above, crashing hard into Kerzit, covering the beast in a flaming pyre. Kerzit stumbled from the firestorm, his fur smoldering, his silver eyes vicious and hard.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellow"> “YOU B...BURN K...KERZIT!”</span> the beast shouted in shock. Its confusion was rewarded with a powerful <em>crunch</em> as Grumki’s warhammer slammed into its belly. Several loud cracks were heard, and one of Kerzit’s hands flew to his belly, as the pain of broken ribs flashed through the demon’s body.</p><p></p><p>IN response, Kerzit focused his bites and flailing assault on Grumki. The half-orc found himself nearly knocked down by the vicious and sharp blows, as the demon was now, for the first time, feeling <em>pain</em>... and it flailed about dangerously as a result. </p><p></p><p>Aeron’s lightning bolt seemed to be bent away from the demon by some magical force, and instead cartwheeled up into some rocks high above. The demon did not even notice the discharge that missed him, as Siabrey’s swords once again slashed hard and fast. This time, it seemed as if most of her blows were deflected by his hide, and the Empress let out a loud and entirely un-noblelike string of curses.</p><p></p><p>Shaun’s two arrows once again went wide... the rogue was firing in a panic. At the same time he was trying to put as many arrows as possible in the air, he was also trying to not hit his friends. Tess’ two sonic assaults also seemed to be bent away from the beast.... it was then she realized he had magical resistance (SR 30).</p><p></p><p>Orion’s bodyblows seemed to make Kerzit scream in pain more, even as the beast started to turn towards him. The demon’s assault was pre-empted, however, as Vin, in a fury that seemed entirely beyond herself, waded into the midst of melee, her own two blades flashing through the air, leaving one of the demon’s tentacles and one of its arms lying on the ground in her wake.</p><p></p><p>“That is for my husband!” she screamed as her blades slashed through the demon. Kerzit stood, reeling. Blood gushed from his the stumps of his arms, and he stumbled about, blood dribbling out of his mouth. Grumki strode forward, and putting all the strength he could into a swing that would have scared a dragon, he crushed the demon’s skull with his hammer.</p><p></p><p>“That is for Kord!” Grumki bellowed as the beast collapsed.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>“You alright, Majesty?” Vin was immediately by Siabrey’s side, checking her over. The fighter waved her bodyguard away.</p><p></p><p>“I’m fine,” Siabrey coughed, and blood came from her mouth. She tried to give a reassuring smile, but the blood in her mouth made it more disgusting than reassuring. “Grumki’ll take care of me. You alright? You went into a battle rage of some kind back there...”</p><p></p><p>Vin looked at Siabrey, and then back at the demon’s twisted form laying on the ground, then shook her head. “I don’t know.... I don’t know what came over me. I just saw images of what happened to my father, and my husband... and all this...”</p><p></p><p>“’Tis alright, Vin,” Siabrey put an hand on the archer’s shoulder, even as she winced when Grumki started probing her other shoulder’s bloody wounds, “... you helped me take down this thing.”</p><p></p><p>“Us,” Orion said gruffly, already headed down towards the lava, “she helped US.”</p><p></p><p>“Us then! Ouch! Dammit!” Siabrey bit her lower lip and hissed. She closed her eyes, and when they reopened, she was back in control of her body’s reactions to the pain. She then looked back at Vin. “My point issss...” she hissed again suddenly, “...is that we beat it... and you were a vital part in helping out with that. I don’t know how many more of those tentacle swipes me, Grumki, or Orion could have taken.... what?” she spun her head in annoyance at a shout from Shaun.</p><p></p><p>“Dear goddess...”</p><p></p><p>Siabrey spun around, yanking Vin with her. Annoyed, Grumki looked up, and stopped work as well, as the party beheld a sight that would stay in their nightmares forever.</p><p></p><p>Orion was holding the end of the staff in the lava, causing smoke and fire to issue in billows towards the greenish sky. Beyond the towering columns of smoke arose the massive, sinuous forms of what seemed to be hundreds of purple worms, writhing in the sky. As the party watched, they all began to bellow, roaring, shouting as one, in seeming pain at the staff being in the lava. As the smoke dissipated, and Orion withdrew the now neutralized end of the staff from the fiery river, the roaring ended. The fifty or so worms the party could see then, as one, lowered themselves back into the lava... and the hissing, grating noise of them sliding against each other resumed.</p><p></p><p>“Holy gods in Celestia,” Tess finally breathed. The bard looked around at the others, her eyes wide with fear and relief that they had survived. “That... that...”</p><p></p><p>“Um... I don’t think I want to be healed on this side of the hill,” Siabrey said uneasily, as the monk returned. “You... you stood there while all of those?” she pointed alternately and gawked at Orion, who seemed to be unfazed.</p><p></p><p>“All those what?” the monk asked, confused. “I couldn’t see anything... the smoke billowing up from the damn thing blocked everything. What happened?”</p><p></p><p>= = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = == = = == = = == = = </p><p></p><p>(DM's Note: Kerzit can be found in the Creature Catalogue on this site. I did a few slight modifications to him mostly for flavor. One was making him the servant of the missing balor lord of the Noisesome Vale. As such, I thought it would be reasonable he could communicate with the 'worms' that gave the place its name... and as the worms weren't described, I thought throwing in purple worms would give the players a big scare. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Second, I gave him his stuttering, halting speech on a whim. All the demons and devils the party had previously dealt with had the stereotypical demonic voice... loud, rumbling, threatening. I wanted Kerzit to be different... and how far can you get from commanding than the voice of the stapler guy off of "Office Space?" The little ploy worked... a downright fearsome demon with a weak, tinny, halting voice.</p><p></p><p>As for Kerzit himself... I picked him out as he could just plain soak up damage. Siabrey triple crits and inflicts 104 points of damage? Kerzit just has 312 left where that came from. He was meant to be a challenge... even more of a challenge if his purple worm friend had come into play. I had Aeron do the thing a panicked wizard would do... try and kill the big purple thing the fighter's weren't busy with... and I rolled the worm's fort save in the open... a 1. Worm dies <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1544362, member: 15043"] [b]The Noisesome Vale[/b] “Yech.” Tess’ simple comment summed up the entire party]s view on their new surroundings. The air, while breathable, was nauseous, and seemed to burn slightly as they breathed it in. The greenish-yellow sky overhead cast a strange pall onto the barren and rocky ground all around them. Ahead of the party was a rise in the ground, towering cliffs of rock on either side. Beyond that, a fiery glow showed over the horizon. Every second, the party’s ears were assaulted by noise... harsh scratching noises, fierce hissing, and deep rumbling noises. They all combined to form an unholy chorus... the same chorus that gave this place its name. “I think that glow on the horizon might be the place where we’re headed!” Siabrey shouted over the chaotic hissing and screeching. “Asuri said we have to dip it in the laval river that runs beside the old owner’s palace!” “Not near the palace necessarily, I hope?” Shaun shouted back. Siabrey shook her head no, and the rogue gave a sigh of relief. “No offense, Empress, but I think they’ll recieve Your Majesty worse than even the most scandalous of nobles!” “Point,” Siabrey nodded, as they scrambled up the hill. The climb was difficult... not due to the slope, more due to the fact that rocks kept slipping from under them, and they would slide back ten feet for every fifteen they’d climb. Finally, the party reached the crest of the hill, and took in the view of the ground below. Far in the distance was, indeed, a palace. Unlike others they were more familiar with, this palace was wreathed in flames. Towering columns of fire licked upwards to form turrets and spires, while squat billows of flame marked its halls and apartments. Far closer to the party was the enormous river of lava that stretched from the palace towards the ground below the party, rumbling by. Within its fiery grip the party could make out many many enormous shapes... each easily ten feet across, and one hundred feet or more in length. The party also saw for themselves what Asuri had told htem... the grating noise was coming from the massive shapes bumping and grinding against each other... ...the great worms. “Um... we might want to stay away from those,” Aeron said quietly, pointing towards the enormous beasts. “I don’t know if their docile, but I wouldn’t want to find out the bad way...” “Well, get a levitation spell on me, and I’ll float over it and dip it in,” Orion said nervously. “You don’t need to float... just dip it in the side... that way, you can run if one of those-“ Shaun started to point out, before a voice entered the party’s heads. [color=yellow]“W...Who a...are y...you?”[/color] it stammered. The voice sounded weak... tinny. More like that of a bookkeeper or shy mage’s student, not that of any kind of demon or other beast (DM’s Note: The voice sounds alot like that of the stapler guy, off of “Office Space.” :D ). [color=yellow]”You come to my master’s realm with something powerful... w...why? I b...believe m...my master w...would l...like to s...see you.”[/color] “What the heck is that?” Tess was looking around, her harp out nervously. No shapes appeared over the crevices and rocks above, or the slopes down below. “One of the old balor’s servants?” Siabrey asked, her voice nearly drowned out by the noise. [color=yellow] “I am Kerzit the Guardian... I watch these lands until my Lord Taurben returns...”[/color] the voice said slowly, guardedly in their heads. [color=yellow] “W..why a..are you here?”[/color] “I say we ignore him... he sounds like an accounting quasit, not a big balor or something,” Shaun said, starting down the slope. [color=yellow] “S...S...STOP! I...If you d...don’t s...stop I...I’ll h...have to h...harm you!”[/color] the weak voice threatened. “Bring it on!” Shaun shouted, before Siabrey could cover his mouth. “What?” he said, his voice muffled by the fighter’s hand. “He’s a punk quasit I bet. Or a dretch!” “He’s named, ‘the Guardian,’ Shaun! I’m guessing he’s more than a punk minion!” Siabrey hissed. Suddenly, the dark shapes in the lava to the party’s front stopped their grinding, hissing movements against each other. With a deep, resonating rumble, twelve of the beasts closest to the bank the party was near suddenly seemed to vanish... before exploding out of the lava, rising from the depths till their maws hung some fifty feet over their fiery pit. As their wreathed in the air, shuddering and shaking as rumbles and roars arose from their deep bellies, the laval still clinging to them fell away, revealing massive, purple scales running along their body, splotches of red and black mottled in with the purplish hue. The party recoiled, as they realized what they were... [i]Fiendish Purple Worms?![/i] Tess’ mind screamed in fear, as she scrambled back towards the rise, towards the cliffs above... when her eyes caught movement. “He’s there!” she pointed, screaming. AS everyone else’s gaze picked a spot high above, an enormous wolf-like head peered over one of the rocks. With a suddenly leap, the creature jumped from its hieght to a position only thirty feet from the party on the path. Covered in black, matted fur, the beast stood some nine feet tall. Its eyes shone brightly as silver, and when it bared its teeth, the black fangs dripped grayish liquid. Large, octopus-like tentacles came from its shoulders in place of arms, as well as short, furry arms equipped with saw like claws from just below the tentacles. [color=yellow] “Now that y...you know my p...power,”[/color] one of its tentacles waved, and the party saw that the worms swayed in concert with the long tentacle’s movement, [color=yellow] “P...please s...stop, a...and a...answer my q...question. W...why are y...you here?”[/color] “We are merely traveler’s who are lost,” Siabrey lied blatantly. She had no plans to tell this beast, no matter how brain drained it may seem, about the staff. [color=yellow] “S...strange t...that you t...travel here. I...I have h...had n...no visi..visi...visitors s...since Master l...left. I...I...shall k...keep y...you until h...he ret...retu...returns.”[/color] the beast stammered in their minds. [color=yellow] “H...he w...will... find the a...artifact you c...c...carry m...most in..intere...interesting,” [/color] the beast motioned towards Orion and the staff. “[color=yellow] “H...he w...will likely h...have many q...q...questions about i...it.”[/color] [color=red] “Don’t you DARE hand me over to that incompetent wretch! His master has been missing for a full millenia! And thanks to Orcus and Demogorgon, he won’t be returning! This poor excuse for a junkpile wouldn’t know whether to use me as a backscratcher or a chamberpot![/color] Graz’zt snarled from within the staff. Orion felt the demon lord try and intrude in his mind again, and the monk merely shrugged it off. He was used to it by now. “Your master is never returning, Kerzit,” Orion said bluntly. [i]Let’s see how he reacts to this. If he runs away crying, we might not have to fight....[/i] “He’s never coming back.” [color=yellow] “D...D...DON’T S...SPEAK OF MY MASTER T...THAT WAY!”[/color] the demon roared, advancing menacingly. [color=yellow] “M... MASTER TAURBEN WOULD N...NOT LEAVE K...KERZIT ALONE!”[/color] The creature’s tentacles flew to its face, and it seemed to give a wail... a noise that was heart rending in sorrow. As it did so, whatever control he had over the purple worms let, and the twelve beasts slid back into the lava pool. [i]He’s breaking... at least worms have gone away,[/i] Orion reasoned. [i]As much as its mean... I need to keep pushing this. If I can break him down, we might be able to get him to help us... or at least run away in tears. Imagine that! A demon crying?[/i] the monk almost had to chuckle at that thought. “He’s gone, Kerzit.” [color=yellow] “WHO T...T...TELLS Y...YOU SUCH V...V...VILE LIES! KERZIT I...IGNORES T...THEM!”[/color] “A little birdie, hidden inside this staff,” Orion smirked. The smirk vanished, when the enormous beast shuddered, and then looked at the staff, its silvery eyes burning with metallic hate and fear. [color=yellow] “K...KERZIT THEN WILL K...KILL THE B...B...BIRDIE!”[/color] the creature roared, not understanding the metaphor, [color=yellow] “THEN K...KERZIT WILL K...KILL YOU F...FOR S...SPREADING S...SUCH LIES!”[/color] As the demon roared, the party heard a moaning roar, and saw in the lava some 80 feet from them, the massive form of one of the fiendish purple worms arise from the lava, casting an enormous shadow overhead. “Holy...” Shaun said in shock and amazement, as the enormous creature grew. “Pretty, huh? Got bigger things to deal with right now!” Siabrey spun him around to face the onrushing Kerzit. The fighter and Orion charged the demon, which headed straight for the monk that had caused him so much mental anguish. The two tentacles lashed out at the monk, knocking him about viciously, the suckers on their underside shredding his flesh. The beasts two claws clawed at Siabrey, cutting open her arm and shoulder. The blood spilling from her shoulder and left arm seemed to drive the fighter harder, however, and her blades danced through the air. Within seconds, the beast found itself with two deep katana slices and a washazki thrust. However, the demon seemed to absorb the damage from the fire on her blades with no problem. Shaun, seeing that Kerzit was indeed the more immediate threat, launched three arrows at him. Two seemed to glance off the creature’s hide, but one stuck deep in Kerzit’s shoulder, causing the beast to squeal in pain. Tess added her voice to the assault, her sonic screams causing Kerzit to grab his head and scream in pain. Anias, still in sergeant form, drew his nightblade, and launched two pulses of energy from the blade at Kerzit, burning the beast slightly. As usual, Orion’s fists of fury punched hard and deep into Kerzit, and two arrows from Vin imbedded themselves deep in Kerzit’s side. Yet after all of this ferocious damage, the massive demon seemed unfazed, as Grumki called upon his divine favor with Kord before launching himself into the melee. Aeron alone turned to face the purple worm behind them. As the beast loomed, rising higher and higher, the wizard nervously flipped through his spellbook, till he reached the page he desired. A powerful, single arcane word came from his lips, and his finger pointed at the beast. Dark power surged through the wizard’s body, and the worm’s rise seemed to pause. The beast gave a deep, rumbling gurgle, before tumbling back into the lava. At the loud noise, Tess turned momentarily... long enough she gave a whoop. ([i]finger of death[/i]) Siabrey was the creature that had hurt Kerzit the most, and his simple mind deemed her the greatest threat. His full assault launched itself at her... both tentacles, both claws, and his vicious, poison ridden bite. The fighter reeled under the blows, her armor banging and slamming into her body, leaving her with bruises where she wasn’t sliced open. Fortunately, the blood rushing from her shoulder wounds seemed to push out the poison Kerzit tried to put in her body. The fighte responded with more devastating attacks, her katana finding Kerzit an amazing six times in the space of six seconds... and her washazaki finding him twice in the same time! (a bunch of potential crits... she only confirmed one) Nonetheless, Kerzit, while bleeding badly, seemed to just not understand he was hurt, and kept on his assaults. Shaun sent another two arrows wide. Tess’ however, made more sonic assaults connect, pounding the demon viciously again. Kerzit backed away, holding his head in pain at her screams. [color=yellow] “Y...Y...YOU ALL S...S...SHALL DIE! Y...YOU H...HURT K...KERZIT!”[/color] the beast screamed. Anias now charged headlong into the melee, and his nightblade danced through the air. The one angelic blow that did connect made a flash of holy light, and the demon seemed to recoil again. Orion’s fists struck the demon again, though the monk’s attempted leg sweep to trip the demon failed... Kerzit merely stumbled backwards again. Vin this time sent four arrows into the demon, peppering its stomach with holy energy. The half-elf gave a snarl of satisfaction at seeing the demon reel. “That’s for my father!” she screamed, her own eyes feral in hatred. As the demon had backed away slightly, Hidalas issued a prayer to Tarantor, pleading for the god’s intercession. Even in the depths of the Abyss, his piety was rewarded, and a column of fire tumbled down from above, crashing hard into Kerzit, covering the beast in a flaming pyre. Kerzit stumbled from the firestorm, his fur smoldering, his silver eyes vicious and hard. [color=yellow] “YOU B...BURN K...KERZIT!”[/color] the beast shouted in shock. Its confusion was rewarded with a powerful [i]crunch[/i] as Grumki’s warhammer slammed into its belly. Several loud cracks were heard, and one of Kerzit’s hands flew to his belly, as the pain of broken ribs flashed through the demon’s body. IN response, Kerzit focused his bites and flailing assault on Grumki. The half-orc found himself nearly knocked down by the vicious and sharp blows, as the demon was now, for the first time, feeling [i]pain[/i]... and it flailed about dangerously as a result. Aeron’s lightning bolt seemed to be bent away from the demon by some magical force, and instead cartwheeled up into some rocks high above. The demon did not even notice the discharge that missed him, as Siabrey’s swords once again slashed hard and fast. This time, it seemed as if most of her blows were deflected by his hide, and the Empress let out a loud and entirely un-noblelike string of curses. Shaun’s two arrows once again went wide... the rogue was firing in a panic. At the same time he was trying to put as many arrows as possible in the air, he was also trying to not hit his friends. Tess’ two sonic assaults also seemed to be bent away from the beast.... it was then she realized he had magical resistance (SR 30). Orion’s bodyblows seemed to make Kerzit scream in pain more, even as the beast started to turn towards him. The demon’s assault was pre-empted, however, as Vin, in a fury that seemed entirely beyond herself, waded into the midst of melee, her own two blades flashing through the air, leaving one of the demon’s tentacles and one of its arms lying on the ground in her wake. “That is for my husband!” she screamed as her blades slashed through the demon. Kerzit stood, reeling. Blood gushed from his the stumps of his arms, and he stumbled about, blood dribbling out of his mouth. Grumki strode forward, and putting all the strength he could into a swing that would have scared a dragon, he crushed the demon’s skull with his hammer. “That is for Kord!” Grumki bellowed as the beast collapsed. “You alright, Majesty?” Vin was immediately by Siabrey’s side, checking her over. The fighter waved her bodyguard away. “I’m fine,” Siabrey coughed, and blood came from her mouth. She tried to give a reassuring smile, but the blood in her mouth made it more disgusting than reassuring. “Grumki’ll take care of me. You alright? You went into a battle rage of some kind back there...” Vin looked at Siabrey, and then back at the demon’s twisted form laying on the ground, then shook her head. “I don’t know.... I don’t know what came over me. I just saw images of what happened to my father, and my husband... and all this...” “’Tis alright, Vin,” Siabrey put an hand on the archer’s shoulder, even as she winced when Grumki started probing her other shoulder’s bloody wounds, “... you helped me take down this thing.” “Us,” Orion said gruffly, already headed down towards the lava, “she helped US.” “Us then! Ouch! Dammit!” Siabrey bit her lower lip and hissed. She closed her eyes, and when they reopened, she was back in control of her body’s reactions to the pain. She then looked back at Vin. “My point issss...” she hissed again suddenly, “...is that we beat it... and you were a vital part in helping out with that. I don’t know how many more of those tentacle swipes me, Grumki, or Orion could have taken.... what?” she spun her head in annoyance at a shout from Shaun. “Dear goddess...” Siabrey spun around, yanking Vin with her. Annoyed, Grumki looked up, and stopped work as well, as the party beheld a sight that would stay in their nightmares forever. Orion was holding the end of the staff in the lava, causing smoke and fire to issue in billows towards the greenish sky. Beyond the towering columns of smoke arose the massive, sinuous forms of what seemed to be hundreds of purple worms, writhing in the sky. As the party watched, they all began to bellow, roaring, shouting as one, in seeming pain at the staff being in the lava. As the smoke dissipated, and Orion withdrew the now neutralized end of the staff from the fiery river, the roaring ended. The fifty or so worms the party could see then, as one, lowered themselves back into the lava... and the hissing, grating noise of them sliding against each other resumed. “Holy gods in Celestia,” Tess finally breathed. The bard looked around at the others, her eyes wide with fear and relief that they had survived. “That... that...” “Um... I don’t think I want to be healed on this side of the hill,” Siabrey said uneasily, as the monk returned. “You... you stood there while all of those?” she pointed alternately and gawked at Orion, who seemed to be unfazed. “All those what?” the monk asked, confused. “I couldn’t see anything... the smoke billowing up from the damn thing blocked everything. What happened?” = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = == = = == = = == = = (DM's Note: Kerzit can be found in the Creature Catalogue on this site. I did a few slight modifications to him mostly for flavor. One was making him the servant of the missing balor lord of the Noisesome Vale. As such, I thought it would be reasonable he could communicate with the 'worms' that gave the place its name... and as the worms weren't described, I thought throwing in purple worms would give the players a big scare. :) Second, I gave him his stuttering, halting speech on a whim. All the demons and devils the party had previously dealt with had the stereotypical demonic voice... loud, rumbling, threatening. I wanted Kerzit to be different... and how far can you get from commanding than the voice of the stapler guy off of "Office Space?" The little ploy worked... a downright fearsome demon with a weak, tinny, halting voice. As for Kerzit himself... I picked him out as he could just plain soak up damage. Siabrey triple crits and inflicts 104 points of damage? Kerzit just has 312 left where that came from. He was meant to be a challenge... even more of a challenge if his purple worm friend had come into play. I had Aeron do the thing a panicked wizard would do... try and kill the big purple thing the fighter's weren't busy with... and I rolled the worm's fort save in the open... a 1. Worm dies :). [/QUOTE]
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