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Last Stand of the Dorinthians
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<blockquote data-quote="Deuce Traveler" data-source="post: 3438807" data-attributes="member: 34958"><p>Alexander let out a small bit of a laugh and barred the door back.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Are you planning to go first Rix? Mabye with the controller's clothing?" <em>An old trick always works, that's why it's old</em></span></p><p></p><p>Kel moved over to the hole in the floor and looked down, hoping that the little bit of light that spilled in from outside would help him see better.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"I'll follow you down Rix,"</span> the elf said while looking the kobold in the eye and raising a finger to his lips. <span style="color: seagreen">"We'll go quiet like eh? You first, me following a handful of heartbeats later, and then the more cumbersome of our number following a half a minute behind?"</span></p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, a loud banging and shrieking could be heard on the other side of the door, as the troll attempted to unsuccessfully force the barred door open. With a shrug in, Rix went in first, followed by Kel and the others. The rungs of the ladder were rusty and creaked with the weight of their bodies as they descended.</p><p></p><p>Rix, Kel, and Alexander were able to see slightly better in the near darkness. It took a couple of minutes for them to fully descend, but they could not measure the distance accurately since their vision was of limited range. Meanwhile, their human companions grumbled as they attempted to climb down safely, but the demi-humans aided them when they reached the bottom.</p><p></p><p>The room was 30 feet wide by 60 feet long, and revealed several pillars decorated with the kobold motifs of the Hill Delver clan. A low basin filled with a dark, runny liquid sat in the center, and was decorated with the image of a long, skinny dragon eating its tail. A passage extended to the north.</p><p></p><p>Kel slid his bow from his back and quickly nocked an arrow. <span style="color: seagreen">"It's too dark down here for most of us,"</span> he whispered. <span style="color: seagreen">"We're going to need some light."</span></p><p></p><p>Silas shrugged off his pack and by feel removed the torch that he had strapped to the outside of it. Again by feel, he reached into his belt pouch for his flint and steel. Alexander helped him to light the torch.</p><p></p><p>Dartis and Silas now saw what they had before missed. Also, with the torch everyone could see that the liquid was water that had stagnated.</p><p></p><p>Alexander poked deeper into the basin with his scimitar, making sure there was nothing there. Then he added, <span style="color: Blue">"Let us get moving."</span> He started a stealth approach towards the northern passage.</p><p></p><p>Rix led the way in the shadowy edge of the torchlight, his darkvision giving him a bit of an edge compared to most of his companions. His thoughts lingered on the image of the dragon eating its own tail, trying to place its significance.</p><p></p><p>As the kobold examined the dragon before moving on, Silas came up next to him and realized that the symbol of a dragon eating its own tail was an ancient symbol of rebirth after death, though kept his thoughts to himself. </p><p></p><p>Rix took down one more floor trap as the party travelled down the 70 foot long corridor. The next room was 50 feet by 50 feet squared with four large pillars. Twenty-one stone slabs were arrayed in a north to south direction, 10 on the east side of the room, with 10 more on the west side. Half of these stone slabs had the mummified remains of various kobolds, each dressed in the once-fine rainments of kobold dignitaries. The larger slab in the center was bare, but had an etching of a kobold scratched on its surface. Rix saw that below the carving, in draconic letters, was written: <em>The First</em>.</p><p></p><p>Just north of the central slab was a tall, marble staircase that disappeared into the darkness above. Another tunnel led northwards.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, a pair of red, giant lips appeared above the characters. First in common, than in elven, dwarven, orc and various other languages it spit and hissed, <span style="color: yellow">"Invaders! Robbers! The children of the dragon will slay you all!"</span> It continued in other, various languages and dialects, most unknown to the party, and likely repeating the same message. When it was done screaming, it disappeared.</p><p></p><p>Rix, however, heard something different. In draconic he heard the lips say, <span style="color: yellow">"Welcome child of the dragon. Pay homage to Krystoryniaxast, the First of the Hill Delvers, but do not tarry. The dead deserve their rest."</span></p><p></p><p>At the words of the faceless lips, Alexander stepped -almost jumped- forth, his eyes darting from one shadow to another, and his blades ready to strike. Even his nose tried to catch clue of any presence apart from their own.</p><p></p><p>Silas also jumped when the arcane voice began its ranting then smiled grimly. <span style="color: orange">"If we hadn't been discovered before we certainly are now."</span></p><p></p><p>The party went to a ready state, looking around for signs of danger. It was Kel who found the many carcasses of large rats stacked in the far corner of the room. They were covered in webs, and looked drained and left to dry out.</p><p></p><p>As Kel examined the carcasses, he heard the faint chittering of a creature or creatures high above him beyond the torchlight.</p><p></p><p>DM's Note: Kel's player failed to respond in time, unfortunately for the other players.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue">"Well, not many children of the dragon 'round here..."</span> Alexander said while he examined the kobold remains. <span style="color: Blue">"At least not likely to slay us..."</span></p><p></p><p>The kobold hissed harshly at his companions, <span style="color: sienna">"Touch nothing."</span> Rix approached the central dais, with its empty slab, and knelt before it in reverence. Mouthing words in his own tongue.</p><p></p><p>[Rix spoke in draconic]<span style="color: sienna">"Pray dear Krystoryniaxast, First of the Hill Dwellers, the dragon blesses your memory in hopes that you have passed on to great Kurtulmak's mines. Your kin, my kin, are enslaved beneath the yoke of foul magics, made mindless and driven to thoughtless slaughter. These others aid me to free them so that the mines of the Hill Dwellers will hum again in your name."</span></p><p></p><p>Rising from in front of the slab Rix gestured to his companions, <span style="color: sienna">"Leave these dead kin to rest, and let us move on."</span> He moved towards the stairs, expecting the others to follow.</p><p></p><p>DM's Note: The magic mouth warned of death, but there was only a trap on the tomb of the kobold chief and some great treasure inside that was missed.</p><p></p><p>Dartis elbowed Alexander, and with a big grin said, <span style="color: Green">"Ah I see, kobolds are decended from rats. Explains quite a bit."</span></p><p></p><p>At Dartis' words the half-orc showed a big smile... and contained his laughther, waiting for Rix to slaughter the unsuspecting human with poison-dripping insults...</p><p>Alexander, instead of paying heed to Rix's movement, moves up to the north passage to investigate.</p><p></p><p>Vaerixsjach smirked at Dartis' attempt at humor, <span style="color: sienna">"The human apparently has half-a-wit about him. Better than the rest of you."</span></p><p></p><p>As the party enjoyed a much deserved laugh, Kel saw something moving towards them from the darkness above. He yelled a warning as two large webs descended upon the party, wrapping them all in the sticky substance, except for Kel who was able to press against the wall in time to avoid the attack.</p><p></p><p>Rix was able to slip free of the strands, slipping past gaps in the webbing. Alexander, Dartis, and Silas were stuck, however, despite their attempts to break the material.</p><p></p><p>From the darkness the adventurers saw two large spiders descending from the darkness on web lines, while at the same time the sound of a swarm of smaller spiders reached their ears. A sick feeling hit them as they saw a swarm on either side of the party begin to crawl down the eastern and western walls. Kel was almost close enough to touch the western-most swarm, as he was against that wall near the dried rat husks.</p><p></p><p>Alexander at first thought of waiting for the vermin where he was and set himself in defensive stance. But when the swarm came out he had a change of mind and hastily started pulling and hacking away at the sticky substance.</p><p></p><p>Rix backed up the stairs a bit more to give himself cover and put himself in hiding. Aiming his crossbow, he fired at one of the bigger spiders.</p><p></p><p>Dartis cursed the spiders and tried to draw a dagger and cut through the sticky webs surrounding him. <span style="color: Green">"Burn this damn stuff off us if needed Silas."</span></p><p></p><p>Silas struggled ineffectually against the webs. As the spiders got closer his struggling became more frantic, and those looking at him saw panic edging in on the wizard. Dartis' words penetrated his fear, however.</p><p></p><p>Rix took a shot from underneath the stairs, surprising one of the spiders, which squealed angrily as a bolt buried deep inside of it. Dartis took out a dagger and made some small progress cutting the strands, but it was not enough to free him. Kel scrambled away from the the spider swarm and got closer to Alexander, walking slowly to avoid the webbing on the ground. He swung his blade at the spider Rix harmed, hurting it again.</p><p></p><p>In retaliation the spider fired another stream of webbing, sticking Kel to the stone slab behind him just as the first spider swarm flowed over him, biting him with dozens of tiny fangs and unsuccessfully attempting to inflict the priest with poison. The situation nauseated Kel, who could do nothing else the next few seconds but retch in disgust.</p><p></p><p>The next spider attacked the stuck Alexander, biting deeply into his shoulder, and coursing poison into his veins. Instead of weakening the half-orc, it seemed to strengthen him. With a warcry, Alexander ripped out of the webbing around him, although his wild swing missed his opponent. DM's Note: Rolled a natural 20 for Alexander's save.</p><p></p><p>Rix was attacked by the second spider swarm, which swarmed over the legs and waist of the kobold. The creatures bit into him, causing the rogue to yell in pain and surprise.</p><p></p><p>Silas saw the predicament of his companions and lit the webbing around himself, Dartis, and Kel. It freed the trio, and burned away a portion of the swarm on Kel, but caused damage to the adventurers themselves.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Green">"My thanks Silas!"</span> Shouted Dartis, shaking off the sting of the burns. He was freed of the webbing and a little pain was worth that. <span style="color: Green">"Silas, see if you can drive back the smaller spiders with the flames,"</span> he shouted as he drew his sword and attacked the spider attacking Kel.</p><p></p><p>Grimacing at the bite, Alexander slowly moved towards the stairs to gain higher ground, defensively trying to keep at bay the spiders at all times with wide slashes than to hurt them. Seeing the spiders crowding around Rix, Alexander kicked away from him one of the larger spider's legs and asked out <span style="color: Blue"><strong>"Do we have any other torches?"</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Silas nodded grimly at Dartis' shouted thanks. His staff clattered to the floor of the room as he freed his right hand for spell-casting in case the situation became any more dire and he jabbed at the swarm around Kel with the flaming torch held in his left. <span style="color: orange">"Kel! Break free of the spiders if you can!"</span></p><p></p><p>Rix rolled out of the swarm, kicking and pulling at the remaining spiders clinging to his body and stomping in an attempt to crush them on the ground.</p><p></p><p>Despite fighting defensively, Alexander made contact against the injured large spider, severing its closest leg. It screamed in pain and attacked again, but missed the half-orc.</p><p></p><p>There were too many spiders around Kel to burn away with his torch, so Silas had to cast a burning hands spell, destroying the remnants of the swarm and causing the rest on Kel to scatter and flee, although the elf was also hurt.</p><p></p><p>While his back was turned, the other large spider attacked Silas, biting deeply into his shoulder and poisoning the abjurer. Silas turned a shade white as poison entered his system and sapped his strength.</p><p></p><p>Dartis then attacked the spider that bit Silas, slicing a gash across its body with his sword.</p><p></p><p>The swarm that Rix escaped flooded over Alexander and bit on his legs. A wave of naseau washed over Alexander, causing him to be unable to move or fight for the next few seconds.</p><p></p><p>Putting a good bit of distance between himself and the swarm of spiders swarming the half-orc, Rix reloaded his crossbow and fired it at one of the larger spiders while cursing his companions for sticking around. <span style="color: sienna">"I told you we should have moved on faster."</span> DM's note: Rix thought that this was part of the tomb's traps. It wasn't. The spiders had moved in there on their own throughout the ages and fed on vermin.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Blue"><strong>"Damn!"</strong></span> yelled a sick Alexander while he himself feebly swatted with the flat of his blade at his legs, stripping away some of his own skin, but also some of the arachnids at the same time. </p><p></p><p>Rix fired his bow at the creature near Silas, hitting it squarely and causing blood to splurt upwards. The spider has no time to react before the injured mage did. In anger, Silas stumbled past the spider that had attacked him while on the way towards the stairs and swung upwards with his torch at the creature, both clubbing the spider and setting it on fire. It screamed and attempted to flee, but made it only several feet more before dying.</p><p></p><p>Dartis moved forward to protect Alexander, slashing the spider in front of him and wounding it. It returned the attack, but missed the nimble human. Kel casted a spell of healing on Alexander, but took damage as the creatures swarmed over his arm. Although Alexander was restored, Kel became nauseous again.</p><p></p><p>Rix fired another bolt the next round, but missed the remaining large creature. Alexander recovered, and with a roar stomped his feet and swung his sword at the spider swarm around him. In his rage, he scattered enough of them to render the swarm useless.</p><p></p><p>The last spider attacked Dartis, but missed, only to have the fighter's own swing connect and bury deeply into it. Silas flanked the beast and connected, also wounding it. In panic, the creature attempted to flee, but Dartis wounded it critically, splitting a part of its body in half while Kel buried his own blade deep into the shrieking mass.</p><p></p><p>The battle was mercifully over.</p><p></p><p>Rix stomped a stray spider with the butt of his crossbow, <span style="color: sienna">"Next time listen when I say we shouldn't stick around."</span> He berated the others. <span style="color: sienna">"Now, can someone see to these bites, as they've nearly torn half my scales off. The nasty little things."</span></p><p></p><p>Ignoring Rix, Silas spit to clear an acrid taste from his mouth then reached around with fingers under the armor on his shoulder. Withdrawing them, all can see his fingers are covered in blood and a foul smelling liquid. <span style="color: orange">"It might be wise for us to retreat to a place of safety."</span> He wiped his hand on the corner of his cloak.</p><p></p><p>The party backed into the previous room, hid and closed up the exit once more, and camped near the stone basin, spending the next twelve hours resting and allowing Kel to perform his healing magics. They took turns guarding each other, and the time passed peacefully, giving them time to talk and rest. The party members also found some unburned torches in sconces in the pillars and lit each as they needed them. These torches were unfortunately bolted to their hangers, although they could have been removed with effort.</p><p></p><p>Rix spent his time thinking about the message he had heard before, remembering that the First correlated to the first kobold founder of the Hill Delver clan. He was a famous trickster, much respected by other enemy kobold tribes. They were unique among kobolds as having stronger tendencies of dragon worship, and believed such creatures held the key to long, if not eternal, life. Some kobold priests even believed that kobolds that had proven themselves could become dragons in later lives. In this manner, some stranger sects regarded the kobold as the second highest stage of reincarnation and the dragon as the ultimate stage. In this weaker shell and life they would learn cunning before becoming dragon eggs.</p><p></p><p>Alexander broke the kobold's recollections. <span style="color: Blue">"Now they know we attacked... but they don't know we are here." <em>Or at least I hope so.</em></span> A pair of seconds of silence went by. <span style="color: Blue">"We might still have the surprise factor..."</span></p><p></p><p>Alexander's words sunk in. The floor did look dusty and unused, as if no one had come here in months, if not years. The party began to doubt that the kobolds now in charge of the hill knew of the existence of these crypts.</p><p></p><p>Alexander thanked Kel for the mending of the flesh, and added something with a genuine inquiring tone <span style="color: Blue">"But... how did you come in communion with Artemis? Aren't elves politicians and soldiers?"</span></p><p></p><p>During their convalesence, Kel spoke to Alexander about the Huntress he worshipped. <span style="color: seagreen">"The God I worship is not the same as yours, although perhaps she just wears many masks?"</span> He speculated on this a moment. <span style="color: seagreen">"Not all elves emerse themselves in words and platitudes, since some of us still revere the old ways and the Huntress is an ancient God, though truth be told, not many of our kind still worship her."</span> </p><p></p><p>DM's Note: The elves refused to believe it, but long ago, humans brought the worship of the Rider to them after the god revealed himself in a battle of humans and elves versus a combined orc horde. The humans saw the Rider in his male aspect of a hooded, but masculine hunter. The elves and orcs perceived the Rider as female, although the large hunting clothes and hood render the gender of the god as unknowable.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"Well, should we continue?"</span> Kel queried the rest of the group once everyone was well enough to proceed. <span style="color: seagreen">"It seems as though we are safe from kobold attack down here but other fell things reside in the darkness."</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deuce Traveler, post: 3438807, member: 34958"] Alexander let out a small bit of a laugh and barred the door back. [COLOR=Blue]"Are you planning to go first Rix? Mabye with the controller's clothing?" [I]An old trick always works, that's why it's old[/I][/COLOR] Kel moved over to the hole in the floor and looked down, hoping that the little bit of light that spilled in from outside would help him see better. [color=seagreen]"I'll follow you down Rix,"[/color] the elf said while looking the kobold in the eye and raising a finger to his lips. [color=seagreen]"We'll go quiet like eh? You first, me following a handful of heartbeats later, and then the more cumbersome of our number following a half a minute behind?"[/color] Meanwhile, a loud banging and shrieking could be heard on the other side of the door, as the troll attempted to unsuccessfully force the barred door open. With a shrug in, Rix went in first, followed by Kel and the others. The rungs of the ladder were rusty and creaked with the weight of their bodies as they descended. Rix, Kel, and Alexander were able to see slightly better in the near darkness. It took a couple of minutes for them to fully descend, but they could not measure the distance accurately since their vision was of limited range. Meanwhile, their human companions grumbled as they attempted to climb down safely, but the demi-humans aided them when they reached the bottom. The room was 30 feet wide by 60 feet long, and revealed several pillars decorated with the kobold motifs of the Hill Delver clan. A low basin filled with a dark, runny liquid sat in the center, and was decorated with the image of a long, skinny dragon eating its tail. A passage extended to the north. Kel slid his bow from his back and quickly nocked an arrow. [color=seagreen]"It's too dark down here for most of us,"[/color] he whispered. [color=seagreen]"We're going to need some light."[/color] Silas shrugged off his pack and by feel removed the torch that he had strapped to the outside of it. Again by feel, he reached into his belt pouch for his flint and steel. Alexander helped him to light the torch. Dartis and Silas now saw what they had before missed. Also, with the torch everyone could see that the liquid was water that had stagnated. Alexander poked deeper into the basin with his scimitar, making sure there was nothing there. Then he added, [COLOR=Blue]"Let us get moving."[/COLOR] He started a stealth approach towards the northern passage. Rix led the way in the shadowy edge of the torchlight, his darkvision giving him a bit of an edge compared to most of his companions. His thoughts lingered on the image of the dragon eating its own tail, trying to place its significance. As the kobold examined the dragon before moving on, Silas came up next to him and realized that the symbol of a dragon eating its own tail was an ancient symbol of rebirth after death, though kept his thoughts to himself. Rix took down one more floor trap as the party travelled down the 70 foot long corridor. The next room was 50 feet by 50 feet squared with four large pillars. Twenty-one stone slabs were arrayed in a north to south direction, 10 on the east side of the room, with 10 more on the west side. Half of these stone slabs had the mummified remains of various kobolds, each dressed in the once-fine rainments of kobold dignitaries. The larger slab in the center was bare, but had an etching of a kobold scratched on its surface. Rix saw that below the carving, in draconic letters, was written: [i]The First[/i]. Just north of the central slab was a tall, marble staircase that disappeared into the darkness above. Another tunnel led northwards. Suddenly, a pair of red, giant lips appeared above the characters. First in common, than in elven, dwarven, orc and various other languages it spit and hissed, [color=yellow]"Invaders! Robbers! The children of the dragon will slay you all!"[/color] It continued in other, various languages and dialects, most unknown to the party, and likely repeating the same message. When it was done screaming, it disappeared. Rix, however, heard something different. In draconic he heard the lips say, [color=yellow]"Welcome child of the dragon. Pay homage to Krystoryniaxast, the First of the Hill Delvers, but do not tarry. The dead deserve their rest."[/color] At the words of the faceless lips, Alexander stepped -almost jumped- forth, his eyes darting from one shadow to another, and his blades ready to strike. Even his nose tried to catch clue of any presence apart from their own. Silas also jumped when the arcane voice began its ranting then smiled grimly. [color=orange]"If we hadn't been discovered before we certainly are now."[/color] The party went to a ready state, looking around for signs of danger. It was Kel who found the many carcasses of large rats stacked in the far corner of the room. They were covered in webs, and looked drained and left to dry out. As Kel examined the carcasses, he heard the faint chittering of a creature or creatures high above him beyond the torchlight. DM's Note: Kel's player failed to respond in time, unfortunately for the other players. [COLOR=Blue]"Well, not many children of the dragon 'round here..."[/COLOR] Alexander said while he examined the kobold remains. [COLOR=Blue]"At least not likely to slay us..."[/COLOR] The kobold hissed harshly at his companions, [color=sienna]"Touch nothing."[/color] Rix approached the central dais, with its empty slab, and knelt before it in reverence. Mouthing words in his own tongue. [Rix spoke in draconic][color=sienna]"Pray dear Krystoryniaxast, First of the Hill Dwellers, the dragon blesses your memory in hopes that you have passed on to great Kurtulmak's mines. Your kin, my kin, are enslaved beneath the yoke of foul magics, made mindless and driven to thoughtless slaughter. These others aid me to free them so that the mines of the Hill Dwellers will hum again in your name."[/color] Rising from in front of the slab Rix gestured to his companions, [color=sienna]"Leave these dead kin to rest, and let us move on."[/color] He moved towards the stairs, expecting the others to follow. DM's Note: The magic mouth warned of death, but there was only a trap on the tomb of the kobold chief and some great treasure inside that was missed. Dartis elbowed Alexander, and with a big grin said, [COLOR=Green]"Ah I see, kobolds are decended from rats. Explains quite a bit."[/COLOR] At Dartis' words the half-orc showed a big smile... and contained his laughther, waiting for Rix to slaughter the unsuspecting human with poison-dripping insults... Alexander, instead of paying heed to Rix's movement, moves up to the north passage to investigate. Vaerixsjach smirked at Dartis' attempt at humor, [color=sienna]"The human apparently has half-a-wit about him. Better than the rest of you."[/color] As the party enjoyed a much deserved laugh, Kel saw something moving towards them from the darkness above. He yelled a warning as two large webs descended upon the party, wrapping them all in the sticky substance, except for Kel who was able to press against the wall in time to avoid the attack. Rix was able to slip free of the strands, slipping past gaps in the webbing. Alexander, Dartis, and Silas were stuck, however, despite their attempts to break the material. From the darkness the adventurers saw two large spiders descending from the darkness on web lines, while at the same time the sound of a swarm of smaller spiders reached their ears. A sick feeling hit them as they saw a swarm on either side of the party begin to crawl down the eastern and western walls. Kel was almost close enough to touch the western-most swarm, as he was against that wall near the dried rat husks. Alexander at first thought of waiting for the vermin where he was and set himself in defensive stance. But when the swarm came out he had a change of mind and hastily started pulling and hacking away at the sticky substance. Rix backed up the stairs a bit more to give himself cover and put himself in hiding. Aiming his crossbow, he fired at one of the bigger spiders. Dartis cursed the spiders and tried to draw a dagger and cut through the sticky webs surrounding him. [COLOR=Green]"Burn this damn stuff off us if needed Silas."[/COLOR] Silas struggled ineffectually against the webs. As the spiders got closer his struggling became more frantic, and those looking at him saw panic edging in on the wizard. Dartis' words penetrated his fear, however. Rix took a shot from underneath the stairs, surprising one of the spiders, which squealed angrily as a bolt buried deep inside of it. Dartis took out a dagger and made some small progress cutting the strands, but it was not enough to free him. Kel scrambled away from the the spider swarm and got closer to Alexander, walking slowly to avoid the webbing on the ground. He swung his blade at the spider Rix harmed, hurting it again. In retaliation the spider fired another stream of webbing, sticking Kel to the stone slab behind him just as the first spider swarm flowed over him, biting him with dozens of tiny fangs and unsuccessfully attempting to inflict the priest with poison. The situation nauseated Kel, who could do nothing else the next few seconds but retch in disgust. The next spider attacked the stuck Alexander, biting deeply into his shoulder, and coursing poison into his veins. Instead of weakening the half-orc, it seemed to strengthen him. With a warcry, Alexander ripped out of the webbing around him, although his wild swing missed his opponent. DM's Note: Rolled a natural 20 for Alexander's save. Rix was attacked by the second spider swarm, which swarmed over the legs and waist of the kobold. The creatures bit into him, causing the rogue to yell in pain and surprise. Silas saw the predicament of his companions and lit the webbing around himself, Dartis, and Kel. It freed the trio, and burned away a portion of the swarm on Kel, but caused damage to the adventurers themselves. [COLOR=Green]"My thanks Silas!"[/COLOR] Shouted Dartis, shaking off the sting of the burns. He was freed of the webbing and a little pain was worth that. [COLOR=Green]"Silas, see if you can drive back the smaller spiders with the flames,"[/COLOR] he shouted as he drew his sword and attacked the spider attacking Kel. Grimacing at the bite, Alexander slowly moved towards the stairs to gain higher ground, defensively trying to keep at bay the spiders at all times with wide slashes than to hurt them. Seeing the spiders crowding around Rix, Alexander kicked away from him one of the larger spider's legs and asked out [COLOR=Blue][B]"Do we have any other torches?"[/B][/COLOR] Silas nodded grimly at Dartis' shouted thanks. His staff clattered to the floor of the room as he freed his right hand for spell-casting in case the situation became any more dire and he jabbed at the swarm around Kel with the flaming torch held in his left. [color=orange]"Kel! Break free of the spiders if you can!"[/color] Rix rolled out of the swarm, kicking and pulling at the remaining spiders clinging to his body and stomping in an attempt to crush them on the ground. Despite fighting defensively, Alexander made contact against the injured large spider, severing its closest leg. It screamed in pain and attacked again, but missed the half-orc. There were too many spiders around Kel to burn away with his torch, so Silas had to cast a burning hands spell, destroying the remnants of the swarm and causing the rest on Kel to scatter and flee, although the elf was also hurt. While his back was turned, the other large spider attacked Silas, biting deeply into his shoulder and poisoning the abjurer. Silas turned a shade white as poison entered his system and sapped his strength. Dartis then attacked the spider that bit Silas, slicing a gash across its body with his sword. The swarm that Rix escaped flooded over Alexander and bit on his legs. A wave of naseau washed over Alexander, causing him to be unable to move or fight for the next few seconds. Putting a good bit of distance between himself and the swarm of spiders swarming the half-orc, Rix reloaded his crossbow and fired it at one of the larger spiders while cursing his companions for sticking around. [color=sienna]"I told you we should have moved on faster."[/color] DM's note: Rix thought that this was part of the tomb's traps. It wasn't. The spiders had moved in there on their own throughout the ages and fed on vermin. [COLOR=Blue][B]"Damn!"[/B][/COLOR] yelled a sick Alexander while he himself feebly swatted with the flat of his blade at his legs, stripping away some of his own skin, but also some of the arachnids at the same time. Rix fired his bow at the creature near Silas, hitting it squarely and causing blood to splurt upwards. The spider has no time to react before the injured mage did. In anger, Silas stumbled past the spider that had attacked him while on the way towards the stairs and swung upwards with his torch at the creature, both clubbing the spider and setting it on fire. It screamed and attempted to flee, but made it only several feet more before dying. Dartis moved forward to protect Alexander, slashing the spider in front of him and wounding it. It returned the attack, but missed the nimble human. Kel casted a spell of healing on Alexander, but took damage as the creatures swarmed over his arm. Although Alexander was restored, Kel became nauseous again. Rix fired another bolt the next round, but missed the remaining large creature. Alexander recovered, and with a roar stomped his feet and swung his sword at the spider swarm around him. In his rage, he scattered enough of them to render the swarm useless. The last spider attacked Dartis, but missed, only to have the fighter's own swing connect and bury deeply into it. Silas flanked the beast and connected, also wounding it. In panic, the creature attempted to flee, but Dartis wounded it critically, splitting a part of its body in half while Kel buried his own blade deep into the shrieking mass. The battle was mercifully over. Rix stomped a stray spider with the butt of his crossbow, [color=sienna]"Next time listen when I say we shouldn't stick around."[/color] He berated the others. [color=sienna]"Now, can someone see to these bites, as they've nearly torn half my scales off. The nasty little things."[/color] Ignoring Rix, Silas spit to clear an acrid taste from his mouth then reached around with fingers under the armor on his shoulder. Withdrawing them, all can see his fingers are covered in blood and a foul smelling liquid. [color=orange]"It might be wise for us to retreat to a place of safety."[/color] He wiped his hand on the corner of his cloak. The party backed into the previous room, hid and closed up the exit once more, and camped near the stone basin, spending the next twelve hours resting and allowing Kel to perform his healing magics. They took turns guarding each other, and the time passed peacefully, giving them time to talk and rest. The party members also found some unburned torches in sconces in the pillars and lit each as they needed them. These torches were unfortunately bolted to their hangers, although they could have been removed with effort. Rix spent his time thinking about the message he had heard before, remembering that the First correlated to the first kobold founder of the Hill Delver clan. He was a famous trickster, much respected by other enemy kobold tribes. They were unique among kobolds as having stronger tendencies of dragon worship, and believed such creatures held the key to long, if not eternal, life. Some kobold priests even believed that kobolds that had proven themselves could become dragons in later lives. In this manner, some stranger sects regarded the kobold as the second highest stage of reincarnation and the dragon as the ultimate stage. In this weaker shell and life they would learn cunning before becoming dragon eggs. Alexander broke the kobold's recollections. [COLOR=Blue]"Now they know we attacked... but they don't know we are here." [I]Or at least I hope so.[/I][/COLOR] A pair of seconds of silence went by. [COLOR=Blue]"We might still have the surprise factor..."[/COLOR] Alexander's words sunk in. The floor did look dusty and unused, as if no one had come here in months, if not years. The party began to doubt that the kobolds now in charge of the hill knew of the existence of these crypts. Alexander thanked Kel for the mending of the flesh, and added something with a genuine inquiring tone [COLOR=Blue]"But... how did you come in communion with Artemis? Aren't elves politicians and soldiers?"[/COLOR] During their convalesence, Kel spoke to Alexander about the Huntress he worshipped. [color=seagreen]"The God I worship is not the same as yours, although perhaps she just wears many masks?"[/color] He speculated on this a moment. [color=seagreen]"Not all elves emerse themselves in words and platitudes, since some of us still revere the old ways and the Huntress is an ancient God, though truth be told, not many of our kind still worship her."[/color] DM's Note: The elves refused to believe it, but long ago, humans brought the worship of the Rider to them after the god revealed himself in a battle of humans and elves versus a combined orc horde. The humans saw the Rider in his male aspect of a hooded, but masculine hunter. The elves and orcs perceived the Rider as female, although the large hunting clothes and hood render the gender of the god as unknowable. [color=seagreen]"Well, should we continue?"[/color] Kel queried the rest of the group once everyone was well enough to proceed. [color=seagreen]"It seems as though we are safe from kobold attack down here but other fell things reside in the darkness."[/color] [/QUOTE]
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