megamania
Hero
JOHN PLAY
“PLAY TO WIN”
SEGMENT 20
“ENTRANCE TO THE GATES TO KHYBER”
Aryth 04
“What can you see?”
John Play doesn’t hear her. He is concentrating on what lies before him. There is a deep short valley with no growth near the peak of the mountain top. No plants grow here, only bare rock with gas and vapors leaking from under the larger rocks and small cracks.
At the bottom of the valley are the remains of a temple or some sort of ruin. Next to these is a large cavern entrance. All of this is important but what keeps his attention is the small fire elemental powered airship that hovers over the barren space. Looking at the air ship he sees no insignia or title on it. No national flag or dragonmark either. Not many have the personal income to own one. An Aurum member could afford one, some have two even but they generally avoid fiends. Perhaps a rogue Lyrandar agent? Maybe even a House Cannith agent?
Seeing no movement or people on the ship he looks back to the ruins. Barbarians. Not many but they are there. Mixed in with them are Warforged and horned red-skinned tailed creatures. Horns’ length
Suggests true fiends, not teiflings. Odd company.
“Well? Do you see him? My brother? Challah?”
“No. But he is not alone.” He shimmies back away from the edge and she follows. “The search for your brother just got a bit complicated. Many groups are involved and it looks like something various national groups would to know about it.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning we can’t just go down and grab your brother.”
“I knew that already.”
“When it involves fiends, I don’t take much lightly. Now that there is a very rich and possibly powerful human group there . I’m obligated to learn more and let Breland know about this.” He turns to look at her. “I need to go in alone.”
“No.”
“I have the skills…. You do not. I will return after and TOGETHER we will get your brother.”
Night falls and Shasta remains back hidden in with a lone heat damaged pine tree and some boulders as he begins to creep up the side of the hillside as silently as he can. The fire from the ship gives him some light to see by but it is still difficult to move through the loose stone and make no sounds. He drops into the valley away from the ruins and ship. He finds through the sense of smell a dead barbarian body. He hesitates and looks at the body. The fingers are raw. As if he had been clawing at stone for days. Many shallow cuts on his arms and legs suggest this also. Fine bits of rock and dust cling to his hair and armor. He was mining from the looks of it. He looks at the boots… burnt. But with … cooled molten rock? Was he mining Khyber shards? That may explain the ship if it is a Cannith agent here. Also supports the number of Warforged he has seen during the day.
He moves closer and searches the grounds for possible foes and hidden guards. There are none. Why would there be? Location alone should deter any sane person from coming here. Too bad for them. He is rarely considered sane. He ducks behind a cart as a Warforged comes out with another cart. It has earth and stones within it. Once he has moved far enough ahead he creeps forward to the mouth of the cave. He waves his hand over a pocket on his belt. A potion appears at the top of the pocket which he takes up and drinks without pause. He takes a few breathes to allow it to enter his stomach and then his blood. He closes his eyes and holds them for a moment then blinks them open. All sense of color is lost but everything is seen in clear and vibrant shades of grey. Dark Vision.
He moves into the cave and inspects the crowd. He notes the look of the fiend, barbarian and Warforged tracks. If he sees these inside he will know what they are. If sees something else, he will know this also. Hot air filled with sulfur blows out of the dark bowels of the mountain that mark the boundary between Demon Wastes and the Eldeen Reaches.
Walking in slowly, he reaches a fork in the path. The main path has the cart tracks. The other path, a smaller one, has a few of the horned fiend’s tracks only. He ducks into this one as a Warforged comes back with his empty cart. Play hears the barbarians even before the Warforged as they race at full speed out of the cave. He gives the living construct a few moments head start then follows. There is a large column of stone that he uses for cover. The servant continues on into the dark. Occasionally the miner bumps into things proving he has no dark vision. Occasionally there is a crack that bright orange light seeps out of. Knowing the answer already, Play peers down into a crack and sees molten lava pools down below. Great. This is an inactive volcanic vent. Dangerous place to be… even for a Warforged.
Moving up he sees how the larger space breaks into several branches again. Once more, he follows the Warforged deeper into the vent. He passes an area that had food and bedding. It reeks of unwashed bodies and rotting things. The barbarians he saw earlier possibly were staying here, not just outside.
He hears the Warforged fall without saying a word or even a grunt. It picks itself up and rights the cart and retries to go down a stone ramp that leads somewhere his dark vision cannot see due to its limited range. With a silent sigh, he moves up again to the edge of the ramp where the Warforged slipped. Looking into the chamber he sees a winged woman speaking to several barbarians, an old woman and something he can only call a demon. Its skin is dark and its eyes and smile are wicked and glow white even within the limits of the dark vision spell. Its beard seems to move as if on its own. The woman stops suddenly and shouts in a harsh language of the demons and points his way. Crap! He thinks and he begins to back tread. He ducks into a narrow tunnel and watches as the barbarians move down the path to the large room.
A sudden explosion of fire blows the barbarians back into fiery screaming projectiles whom bounce off of the walls with sickening thuds and grunts as they then fall to the hard floor. “PLAY!” He hears Shasta yell out. “PLAY Where are you?!?” she yells again. “I can’t see in here… augh… what is that smell?” She screams as John grabs her arm and [pulls her into a hidden nook in the chamber as a Warforged carrying a torch in one hand and wielding their unique arm blade in the other comes by.
“What happened to stay and I’ll be back?” Play growls in obvious anger.
“The barbarians came running out and went up the hill where I was waiting. They knew where I was. They knew”
A Warforged is creeping back their way. Searching. Play pulls out his club. It is something his mother made. It is designed to take down constructs… even living constructs. It walks past him they suddenly stops but too late. Its neck snaps as the club strikes the metal head and jerks it hard to the left. Play struggles a bit to pull the Warforged deeper into the passage. “Your call… retreat or go in.” He knew the answer before asking.
“Ah-HAH!” snarls the fiend with the dark skin and moving beard. It thrusts with its angry looking blade but misses. Play rapidly beats on the fiend causing it call out in pain. Shasta strikes it with her Magic Missile spell uncertain if her fire spells would have any effect on it.
It snarls something again and goes to attack again. Both jabs miss. Play strikes rapidly again. The blows seem to not strike as solidly as he had expected but the fiend goes down still. The animated beard is truly alive. As in they are snakes.
“We’re not in Sharn anymore.” Is all he can say in bewilderment.
“PLAY TO WIN”
SEGMENT 20
“ENTRANCE TO THE GATES TO KHYBER”
Aryth 04
“What can you see?”
John Play doesn’t hear her. He is concentrating on what lies before him. There is a deep short valley with no growth near the peak of the mountain top. No plants grow here, only bare rock with gas and vapors leaking from under the larger rocks and small cracks.
At the bottom of the valley are the remains of a temple or some sort of ruin. Next to these is a large cavern entrance. All of this is important but what keeps his attention is the small fire elemental powered airship that hovers over the barren space. Looking at the air ship he sees no insignia or title on it. No national flag or dragonmark either. Not many have the personal income to own one. An Aurum member could afford one, some have two even but they generally avoid fiends. Perhaps a rogue Lyrandar agent? Maybe even a House Cannith agent?
Seeing no movement or people on the ship he looks back to the ruins. Barbarians. Not many but they are there. Mixed in with them are Warforged and horned red-skinned tailed creatures. Horns’ length
Suggests true fiends, not teiflings. Odd company.
“Well? Do you see him? My brother? Challah?”
“No. But he is not alone.” He shimmies back away from the edge and she follows. “The search for your brother just got a bit complicated. Many groups are involved and it looks like something various national groups would to know about it.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning we can’t just go down and grab your brother.”
“I knew that already.”
“When it involves fiends, I don’t take much lightly. Now that there is a very rich and possibly powerful human group there . I’m obligated to learn more and let Breland know about this.” He turns to look at her. “I need to go in alone.”
“No.”
“I have the skills…. You do not. I will return after and TOGETHER we will get your brother.”
Night falls and Shasta remains back hidden in with a lone heat damaged pine tree and some boulders as he begins to creep up the side of the hillside as silently as he can. The fire from the ship gives him some light to see by but it is still difficult to move through the loose stone and make no sounds. He drops into the valley away from the ruins and ship. He finds through the sense of smell a dead barbarian body. He hesitates and looks at the body. The fingers are raw. As if he had been clawing at stone for days. Many shallow cuts on his arms and legs suggest this also. Fine bits of rock and dust cling to his hair and armor. He was mining from the looks of it. He looks at the boots… burnt. But with … cooled molten rock? Was he mining Khyber shards? That may explain the ship if it is a Cannith agent here. Also supports the number of Warforged he has seen during the day.
He moves closer and searches the grounds for possible foes and hidden guards. There are none. Why would there be? Location alone should deter any sane person from coming here. Too bad for them. He is rarely considered sane. He ducks behind a cart as a Warforged comes out with another cart. It has earth and stones within it. Once he has moved far enough ahead he creeps forward to the mouth of the cave. He waves his hand over a pocket on his belt. A potion appears at the top of the pocket which he takes up and drinks without pause. He takes a few breathes to allow it to enter his stomach and then his blood. He closes his eyes and holds them for a moment then blinks them open. All sense of color is lost but everything is seen in clear and vibrant shades of grey. Dark Vision.
He moves into the cave and inspects the crowd. He notes the look of the fiend, barbarian and Warforged tracks. If he sees these inside he will know what they are. If sees something else, he will know this also. Hot air filled with sulfur blows out of the dark bowels of the mountain that mark the boundary between Demon Wastes and the Eldeen Reaches.
Walking in slowly, he reaches a fork in the path. The main path has the cart tracks. The other path, a smaller one, has a few of the horned fiend’s tracks only. He ducks into this one as a Warforged comes back with his empty cart. Play hears the barbarians even before the Warforged as they race at full speed out of the cave. He gives the living construct a few moments head start then follows. There is a large column of stone that he uses for cover. The servant continues on into the dark. Occasionally the miner bumps into things proving he has no dark vision. Occasionally there is a crack that bright orange light seeps out of. Knowing the answer already, Play peers down into a crack and sees molten lava pools down below. Great. This is an inactive volcanic vent. Dangerous place to be… even for a Warforged.
Moving up he sees how the larger space breaks into several branches again. Once more, he follows the Warforged deeper into the vent. He passes an area that had food and bedding. It reeks of unwashed bodies and rotting things. The barbarians he saw earlier possibly were staying here, not just outside.
He hears the Warforged fall without saying a word or even a grunt. It picks itself up and rights the cart and retries to go down a stone ramp that leads somewhere his dark vision cannot see due to its limited range. With a silent sigh, he moves up again to the edge of the ramp where the Warforged slipped. Looking into the chamber he sees a winged woman speaking to several barbarians, an old woman and something he can only call a demon. Its skin is dark and its eyes and smile are wicked and glow white even within the limits of the dark vision spell. Its beard seems to move as if on its own. The woman stops suddenly and shouts in a harsh language of the demons and points his way. Crap! He thinks and he begins to back tread. He ducks into a narrow tunnel and watches as the barbarians move down the path to the large room.
A sudden explosion of fire blows the barbarians back into fiery screaming projectiles whom bounce off of the walls with sickening thuds and grunts as they then fall to the hard floor. “PLAY!” He hears Shasta yell out. “PLAY Where are you?!?” she yells again. “I can’t see in here… augh… what is that smell?” She screams as John grabs her arm and [pulls her into a hidden nook in the chamber as a Warforged carrying a torch in one hand and wielding their unique arm blade in the other comes by.
“What happened to stay and I’ll be back?” Play growls in obvious anger.
“The barbarians came running out and went up the hill where I was waiting. They knew where I was. They knew”
A Warforged is creeping back their way. Searching. Play pulls out his club. It is something his mother made. It is designed to take down constructs… even living constructs. It walks past him they suddenly stops but too late. Its neck snaps as the club strikes the metal head and jerks it hard to the left. Play struggles a bit to pull the Warforged deeper into the passage. “Your call… retreat or go in.” He knew the answer before asking.
“Ah-HAH!” snarls the fiend with the dark skin and moving beard. It thrusts with its angry looking blade but misses. Play rapidly beats on the fiend causing it call out in pain. Shasta strikes it with her Magic Missile spell uncertain if her fire spells would have any effect on it.
It snarls something again and goes to attack again. Both jabs miss. Play strikes rapidly again. The blows seem to not strike as solidly as he had expected but the fiend goes down still. The animated beard is truly alive. As in they are snakes.
“We’re not in Sharn anymore.” Is all he can say in bewilderment.
