NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 4770263" data-attributes="member: 9546">THE AIR LORD’S FAITHFULA sandy beach extended into the dark maw of a cave entrance on the inner side of the northern arch.  Each wave that coursed through the arch was answered with splashing echoes from within the cave as the water frothed and roiled.  Deeper in, the cavern narrowed down to a short curved tunnel, but a pair of tide pools that reached nearly wall-to-wall made passage through rather difficult.  The water in each pool surged and sloshed about, and the rocky depths displayed a riot of colorful anemones and tangled fronds of seaweed.  Thanks to Michael’s foresight, he had been able to imbue each of his companions with the ability to literally walk on water, so traversing the deep pools proved little problem.  The heroes were even more grateful to the priest when, a moment after they’d passed the pools, they both exploded into frothing geysers.Beyond the tidal pools, the tunnel abruptly widened into a high-ceilinged room, the roof supported by several large rock columns that had been carved to resemble clouds of fish swimming up through a watery vortex.  Each pillar also bore a single, flickering torch in a sconce.  A large stack of soggy-looking firewood lay in a heap along the southern wall, and a closed double-door sat in the north.  The room smelled wretched…a sickening combination of rotting seaweed, brine and dung.  An assortment of crates and boxes had been stacked into a large wall on the eastern side of the room, while on the western side, five large warhorses were stabled.  Their ears twitched as the newcomers entered, but otherwise they remained eerily calm.Katarina crossed the room to the far doors and found them securely locked.  Drawing her picks from her belt pouch, she made short work of the lock, and then stood back as Herc pulled the large portals opened.  The room beyond was large and open.  A long wooden table lay tipped on its side, much like a barricade, in the center of the area, wedged between a pair of vertical rock columns carved to resemble swarms of squid and fish swimming in a vortex.  Several ventilation holes lined the walls, and to the east, a stone fireplace loomed.  Nearby, a set of large selves held sundry provisions and utensils.  The north and south walls were strewn with large, nest-like beds, each cluttered with a large amount of sparkly bits of metal and glittering crystals.  A wall to the northwest bore an intricate carving of swarms of fish feeding on a screaming humanoid figure.  The air was damp, and carried with it an unsettling odor of mildew and bird.  The first thing that struck the companions as they opened the doors, however, was the sound of birdsong, though not the pleasant strains of a nightingale, but rather more like a raven striving to sound like its smaller cousin.  The croaking, discordant melody came from the throat of a bird-headed figure crouched on the far side of the overturned table.  Nearer at hand, three more birdmen stood ready, short, curved swords in their hands.  Herc and Valeris stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the doorway as the kenkus leaped and somersaulted towards them.  As the nearest drew close, the two warriors struck simultaneously, cutting him down in mid flip.  The other two, however, quickly managed to flank the duskblade.  One slashed viciously at him, ripping into his belly with a precise cut.  From back in the stable, O’Reginald quickly hurled a volley of flashing blue missiles towards the kenku, but just before they struck the rogue, they were deflected by some sort of unseen barrier surrounding the bird man.  Meanwhile, Ratbone dashed into the room and around the barricade, rushing straight towards the crooner.  The kenku shrieked as the mongrel seized him by the leg, and he fell backwards over the table, quickly rolling to his feet on the far side.  Suddenly, a loud crash came from the stables, and Kat, O’Reginald and Michael turned, startled, as the wall of crates on the far side came crumbling down.  From behind it emerged a raging ogre, a club the size of a tree trunk gripped in its hands.  A little squeak escaped the mage’s throat as he scrambled backwards in terror.  He nearly bowled over Kat in his desperation.  The Varisian gypsy impatiently shoved the young sorcerer aside as she began weaving a spell.  The ogre stood above her, club raised high, spittle dripping from its jaws to pool at her feet as she completed her casting.  The giant’s eyelids abruptly drooped and the club clattered to the floor behind him as he collapsed, snoring heavily.  In the barracks, Herc and Valeris quickly dispatched their two opponents, while Ratbone leaped over the table and landed heavily on the scrabbling bard, quieting his singing as his larynx was crushed.  It was a simple matter after that for Valeris to drive his blade through the sleeping ogre’s throat.“Well done, Archmage!”  Valeris snickered as he glared at O’Reginald.  The sorcerer’s face was still pale and his hands shook.“Leave off,” Kat said.  “He was just taken by surprise.  Come on.  We need to keep moving.”_______________________________________________________There seemed to be no way out of the kenku barracks…an utter dead end, but Kat’s keen eyes and nimble fingers discovered a hidden catch in a far corner.  Flicking it, she was rewarded when a secret panel slid aside, revealing another tunnel winding off into the darkness.  The passage gave onto a set of rough-carved steps that continued on for some distance before ending in a long, narrow room.  The walls were lined with writhing, groaning humanoid bodies that hung from their arms by manacles.  Bones littered the floor near the walls and various dilapidated instruments of torture occupied the space between the three stony pillars of carved fish that rose up to support the roof.  A large hammock hung between two of those pillars.  Cautiously, the group started across the chamber, Ratbone in the lead.  To Michael, it was obvious that the shackled prisoners were beyond dead.  He was on the verge of channeling Iomedae’s power into the lot of them and wiping their blight from existence, when a primal roar came from the ceiling above.  As one, the companions looked up, and saw a nightmare figure clinging to the roof.  It was the size and general appearance of an ogre, but its skin was deep purple, and curved yellow horns sprouted from its head.  With another roar, the ogre mage unleashed a blast of frigid, ice-laden air, sending it washing over the company.  Shouting and cursing, they recoiled back towards the tunnel…all except Herc and Ratbone.  The big mercenary took three running steps and leaped into the air.  His blade reached just high enough to rake the giant’s belly.  Immediately, the wound began to close.  A moment later, Ratbone shifted from dog to bird in the blink of an eye.  He quickly took wing and launched himself at the ogre, his talons ripping deep into its flesh.  Where his claws touched, golden ice covered the wound in a glittering shell.  However, unlike his previous foes, the ogre mage did not simply slow its reflexes…instead, it became completely paralyzed.  “Now!”  Kat shouted when she realized the situation.O’Reginald, to his credit, stepped up, shaking off the bone-chilling cold that still numbed his limbs.  He loosed a barrage of mystic bolts, and when they struck the giant, the brute reeled and sank slowly to the floor, unconscious.  “It’s regenerating!”  Michael snarled, pointing to the ogre’s rapidly healing wounds.Valeris and O’Reginald rushed quickly to the creature’s side and began raining acid down upon it, over and over again until its flesh dissolved from its bones, and then its bones disintegrated as well._______________________________________________________Beyond the hideous prison chamber, the tunnel began a steady rise before leveling out and running straight.  It seemed they had reached the top of the arch itself.  Once more, Ratbone took the lead, but though the druid’s muzzle was low to the ground, sniffing out their path, he, and his companions, were taken completely by surprise at what happened next.  One moment he was prowling along the passage, and the next he was simply…gone…vanished through the floor.  Abruptly, from the still solid-looking stone floor, a chorus of high-pitched giggles sounded.  An instant later, a swarm of mist-shrouded, winged pixie-like creatures erupted from the floor.  Their laughter quickly turned to vicious hisses as they opened their mouths and breathed clouds of scalding steam into the passage.  Once again, the companions were forced to retreat, but to the amazement of his companions, it was O’Reginald who instead stepped to the fore.“Is that all you’ve got?!” he spat, and then his voice boomed as words of power burst from his throat.  A pea-sized ball of fire streaked from his finger-tips, reaching the mephitis in a heartbeat.  They barely had time to gasp before the ball exploded, engulfing the entire swarm.  When the flames cleared, only ashes remained.“Wow,” Ratbone’s voice came from behind the others.  They turned and saw the druid standing in his natural form behind them, battered and bruised, but smiling.  “It was a long fall, but I’m still here, which is more than I can say for those…whatever they were.  Well done, ‘Reg.  I didn’t know you had it in you.”The sorcerer looked at his hands, disbelief on his face.“Neither did I…,” he whispered.______________________________________________________The corridor ahead narrowed to a width of little more than three feet.  Passage was made even more difficult due to a series of badly rusted metal poles that ran its length.  The passage itself was sloped sharply downward.  Valeris stepped forward, sword in hand, his adamantine blade gleaming in the torchlight.  He swung twice and severed the first pole neatly at top and bottom, as easily as if he were slicing hot bread.  Taking the lead, he continued down the hall, hewing the metal supports one-by-one, and praying that they weren’t all that was holding the roof of the tunnel up.The narrow passage emerged over one-hundred feet up the wall of a huge cavern.  Several immense stone columns supported the domed roof overhead.  The cave was naturally lit by a few large tunnels on the left and right that curved steeply up towards other openings.  The majority of the cave floor was a large, churning tide pool, its depths a riot of color in the form of anemones, urchins and writhing forests of seaweed.  The rhythmic surging of waves came from around the far southern corner towards the sea.  Partially submerged in the pool was the long dead shell and skeleton of a massive draconic turtle.  O’Reginald peered over the edge at the vertiginous drop to the water below.  He pulled a slender wand from his robes, and quickly tapped each of his companions with it, imbuing them with the transient ability to fly.  One-by-one they stepped out into the gulf and floated gently down to the pool, landing lightly on top of it as if it were solid ground, thanks to Michael’s lingering enchantment.  They started across the pool towards the nearest exit, but Ratbone, once more in the lead, stopped abruptly when he saw shadowy movement among the waving kelp fronds in the depths.  Suddenly, a trio of sea cats burst from the weeds and rushed to the surface, breaching directly in front of the companions.  They roared and howled, and as their cries echoed through the cave, a much, much larger shape emerged from the carcass of the dragon turtle.  It to was a sea cat, but gigantic beyond compare.  As it heaved its bulk to the surface, it was like a leviathan looming over its smaller children.  Herc quickly stepped to Ratbone’s side and swung his shield at the nearest cat, snapping its neck with the metal edge.  Ratbone pounced on a second, tearing past its wicked claws with his own ripping fangs and talons.  The final of the trio abruptly erupted in a column of fire as O’Reginald hurled arcane words, quickly warming to his new-found power.  That left only the mother.  The giant beast reared high over the companions, and when it brought its enormous paws and jaws down, Katarina was directly beneath it.  The beguiler screamed as she saw her doom approaching, but her voice was cut short as the monster picked her up, shook her like a rag doll, and hurled her across the chamber.  She struck a rock outcropping and slid to the water’s surface, limp and unmoving.  While the cat’s attention was momentarily diverted, Herc, Valeris and Ratbone rushed in.  Their combined assault was withering, and though the sea cat was horribly strong and powerful, it could not hold before the onslaught.  It crashed back down into the water like capsized ship, and then sank slowly to the bottom of the pool.    Michael rushed to Katarina’s side, and breathed a silent prayer that she was still breathing.  He placed his hands upon her broken body and channeled power into her for several long moments.  Finally, she gasped and opened her eyes, drawing air deeply into her lungs.  For a moment she glanced wildly around, looking for the ravening sea cat.“It’s over,” Michael said soothingly.  Gradually, Kat relaxed, and Michael helped her back to her feet.  The priest was momentarily taken aback, however, when the Varisian woman threw her arms around his neck in a brief, but grateful embrace.  The two separated a moment later and rejoined their friends.  Unfortunately, all of the tunnels that led from the sea cave led to the outside.  There seemed to be no way to venture any further into the arch, and they were still no closer to discovering who, or what was leading the bandits, or what was behind the pearl thefts.  Finally, in exasperation, Katarina pulled a wand from her skirts and spoke a quick word.  She turned in one complete circle, and then stopped, focused on one blank wall.“There,” she said, and then walked to the wall and tapped it once with the wand.  Abruptly, a large section of the stone slide aside, revealing a passage that sloped steeply upward._____________________________________________________The tunnel was a short one, and ended in another blank wall.  Once more, Kat employed her wand, and another secret door slid aside.  The polished rock walls of the large room beyond glistened brightly.  Four ornate columns arrayed symmetrically around an altar at the center supported a ceiling pierced by several narrow skylights.  In each corner of the room, large statues of a humanoid figure stood sentinel over the room.  Each statue depicted an imposing, well-proportioned man with the talons of a hawk, the face of a demonic, needle-toothed bird, and four large feathered wings on his back…Pazuzu.  An impressive throne to the south had a back adorned with a halo of razor-edged metallic feathers.  Unfortunately, the details of the room could not be taken in fully due to the swarms of locusts that blocked the entrance, and the two monstrous scorpions that skittered menacingly around the altar.“ ‘Reg!  Clear a path!”  Herc shouted.The sorcerer obliged, conjuring his signature hail of stones from midair.  The rocks fell among the locusts, temporarily scattering the swarm, allowing Herc and Ratbone to dart inside.  The pair fell upon the scorpions, and the arachnids first crumpled, and then completely vanished.“Beware!”  Michael called from the passageway.  “They were summoned!  The summoner must be nearby!”As if in answer to his warning, a column of fire suddenly erupted in the center of the room, engulfing Herc and Ratbone, as well as dozens of flying locusts.  In the air twenty feet above the altar, a man dressed in chainmail, with a full, avian shaped face mask, appeared.  It was his first, and last mistake.  Herc, still under the effects of O’Reginald’s fly spell, ignored his badly scorched flesh and launched himself into the air.  Behind him, Ratbone also emerged from the flames, having assumed his avian shape.  The pair closed on the priest, and behind his mask, his eyes went wide in fear.“Pazuzu, Pazuzu, Pazuzu!” he screamed, but if his god heard him, his prayer went unanswered.  Perhaps the demon lord preferred to give his answer in person when the cleric’s soul departed the Material Plane for the Abyss a moment later.______________________________________________________In a hidden grotto beyond the temple, the companions found detailed notes written by Artimus Fisk, the Pazuzan priest they had slain.  In them, Fisk outlined his plan to undermine Shoalbury’s economy to the point where its citizens would have to abandon the town.  Then he and his kenku cultists would be able to occupy the village and use the oyster beds to fund a growing movement of Pazuzu worshipers.  Also hidden in the grotto was the full supply of pearls which had been stolen over the past six months.  The heroes returned to Shoalbury and handed over the pearls to the councilmen.  The townspeople were beyond grateful, and begged the friends to stay and receive a proper reception.  The K.I.A. had to beg off, however, stating that they were needed back in Korvosa.  They departed with Seacrust in tow, not realizing how true that would turn out to be…</blockquote>

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