PaynAndispare
First Post
Venus would have loved to have been there for that. At last you have found your peace Dent ...
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Rappan Athuk: Ravage of The Unusual Heroes!
- Thread starter Ziona
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Ziona
First Post
Grumstorg
Standing near the doorway, Gnettles Von’Pye surveyed the room. He saw Avangel smite Zygamor, and watched as Dent defeated his life-long foe, The Goblin King. When he turned and saw that the orc cleric of Gruumsh was fleeing from Ziona and Varr, he decided he would make the killing blow this time.
The gnome pulled forth a tiny ball of bat guano and sprinkled it with sulfur. He held it forward and began to chant. From his hands sprang forth a tiny bead that erupted into a fireball as it made contact with the robes of the orc cleric. Unfortunately, Varr was close behind the fleeing orc, and managed to feel some of the heat behind the spell. The dwarf wrinkled his nose as the orc called out, “Gruumsh take me!” However, Gnettles was pleased to see the vile orc fall to the floor, smoke rising from it’s corpse.
To the left of the gnome, Spiderfang and Drizzt still fought the doppelganger Spiderbane. Tansooth struck him several times with his glowing fists, but it had not been enough. Spiderbane lashed out and connected with Tansooth’s face and left the monk stunned. Before the evil imposter could act to further injure Spiderfang, Drizzt began to lose himself in his animalistic rage. His scimitars seemed to have a life of their own as they glided swiftly through the air and sliced through the flesh of the doppelganger. As Spiderbane fell to the ground convulsing, the features that resembled a corrupt Spiderfang melted away into a nondescript grey mass. The doppelganger was dead.
Meanwhile, Spiderfang’s apprentice Lia was across the room reloading her crossbow. She aimed at Lord Orakhul again and fired, hearing his cry of pain as the Holy bolt seared his flesh. As she fired the second time, she noticed the wizard did not seem to feel the stinging and burning sensation of the Holy bolt as he had last time. As Lia looked more closely, she saw that her bolt had not hit Orakhul at all…it had struck Doc Midnight! Cursing beneath her breath, she reached for another bolt and began loading her crossbow again.
Across the room, Orakhul was in immense pain, having been attacked relentlessly by Avangel, and could not understand what Grumstorg was waiting for. He reached into his cloak and pulled forth a rod.
“Grumstorg, aid us! Enough of your games,” he shouted angrily.
Then he pointed the rod and cried out, “Thunder and Lightening!!”
In a flash, a bolt of lightening tore through Avangel and Doc. Avangel seemed completely unaffected by the bolt, but was deafened from the thunder just as Doc and Orakhul had been. The pain and shock of the noise was too much for Orakhul, and he slumped to the ground unconscious.
Orakhul’s cries for help did not go unheeded, however. The door at the back of the room was nearly ripped from it’s hinges as Grumstorg entered. Hidden doors swung open in the walls, allowing four more enemies to enter. To the left of Grumstorg was an orc cleric and an orc barbarian, while on his right, an orc ranger and another orc cleric emerged.
“I’ll put you on ice!” rumbled Varr boisterously.
The dwarf ran towards the orc cleric on the right and chopped into the beast. The orc, who had a toothy, sinister grin upon his face when he entered, roared in pain.
“You die now! Gruumsh destroy you all!”
Back at the entrance of the room, Traps Lumley peered around the doorway hoping to see his brother. Thinking he heard Lox’s voice shout to Ziona, he entered cautiously. He watched as the five large orcs entered the room. He looked about feverishly, but still didn’t see his brother.
“I’m comin’ Doc!”
“Lox? Where are you?”
Traps followed the sound of his brother’s voice, which lead him in the direction of the bound Doc Midnight.
At the center of the room, Dent had picked up the Masterson Axe and slung it over his shoulder. Then he grabbed his bow and began firing into Grumstorg.
Grumstorg was the largest orc Dent had ever seen. An eye dangled from a chain about his neck, and he rumbled to Gruumsh as he entered the room. In his hands he held a large spear, which seemed to grow even larger as he spun it about.
Dent’s arrows sunk into Grumstorg’s hide, but the orc just smirked.
“I am the Chosen of Gruumsh,” he bellowed. “You will die by my hands!”
Meanwhile, Inmir and Fynder Banechild struggled to hit one another at the left side of the room. Inmir attacked Fynder and struck him several times, but Fynder barely flinched.
“Bane’s will is far greater than the power behind your fists,” he spat.
“We shall see,” called Inmir.
At the front of the room, Gnettles began reaching into his pouch of spell components again. He pulled forth two small crystals and began to chant. The cold, harsh words began to form a shimmering cloud around the gnome’s hands. As he pointed his hands forward, a Cone of Cold extended outward towards the back of the room. The extreme cold of the spell reached and affected both orc clerics, the orc barbarian, and the orc ranger, as well as Varr and Grumstorg. Before they had a chance to react, the Hasted Gnettles cast the spell again, using the second crystal.
The orcs gnashed their teeth and bellowed out to Gruumsh to give them strength. Grumstorg raised his fist and shouted out in anger, eager to rid himself of the pestering gnome. Varr did not seem to be affected by the spell as much as the orcs, he was from Icewind Dale, after all.
Ziona, realizing her dragon companions had been trapped in their cages and were held within the range of the spells, ran to aid them. She knelt down and reached her hands into the cage and prayed. Rossal opened his eyes slowly, but perked up as he saw Ziona.
“You’ve been revived!” he spoke telepathically.
Ziona did not respond. She reached for Glindil, and realized it was too late. The faerie dragon did not withstand the cold blast. She was beyond the cleric’s help.
“Ziona?”
She looked to Rossal and shook her head. Rossal looked back at Glindil and picked up her limp body.
“I can pick the lock on the cage easily enough,” he spoke sadly. “I will take her out of this room.”
Ziona stood up and drew her sword again.
“Take her towards the door,” she said. “…it may be the safest place for now. Eilistraee be with you.”
Rossal watched as Ziona ran off to aid Avangel. Then he gently lowered Glindil back down, and began working on the lock.
Arden stood up and gazed groggily around the room. She had been attacked and had fallen unconscious, and now that she was awake again, she knew she had to get up quickly. She steadied herself against the wall and surveyed the area. She saw that several of their enemies had fallen, but there were several more she did not recognize.
Picking up her lute from the ground, she began to play. She hummed a slow and somber melody that seemed to hang lazily in the air. She focused on Grumstorg and the larger orcs that stood on his left. She closed her eyes and when her song was through, she saw that the orc cleric and orc barbarian had been affected. Their movements were slow and sluggish, and they looked as though they were struggling to move.
“Nice work,” said Gnettles smiling. “Good to see you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” said Arden. She pulled forth her rapier and moved to stand beside Dent.
Zellian assisted Varr in attacking the cleric and ranger while Megara healed them. Varr hacked down the cleric and then cleaved into the ranger. Zellian followed up with his sword and between the two of them, the ranger was badly injured.
At the opposite side of the room, Avangel was busy fending off the orc cleric of Gruumsh and the orcish barbarian. Behind him, Doc called out for “Roundy” to free him from his shackles.
The orc cleric gave Avangel a sinister grin as he reached out to touch him on the shoulder, but only swiped the air beside him as Avangel was quick to move. Managing to deflect the cleric’s attack, Avangel had placed himself open to the raging barbarian. As the orc lifted his battle axe high above his head, foamy spittle dripped from his gaping maw. The barbarian growled and frothed as he brought his axe down upon Avangel, who fell to his knees. Fighting to stand, Avangel gritted his teeth against the pain, but the axe sunk deeper into his elven flesh. First Light slid from his hands as the celestial elf slumped to the ground dead.
Grumstorg held his spear up high and roared fiercely. He then lowered the spear, looked up and charged at the ranger and bard who were directly ahead of him. Lifting his spear again, he heaved it forward and slammed it into Arden’s abdomen. The elf was thrown backwards with such force that she hit the wall near the entrance to the room, then fell to the ground in a broken, bloody heap. Without hesitation, Grumstorg spun his spear and moved to attack Dent. In two hits, the ranger was down. The last sound he heard before he died was Haley’s roar of displeasure.
It seemed Haley was not about to give up without a fight.
The Adventure Continues…
Standing near the doorway, Gnettles Von’Pye surveyed the room. He saw Avangel smite Zygamor, and watched as Dent defeated his life-long foe, The Goblin King. When he turned and saw that the orc cleric of Gruumsh was fleeing from Ziona and Varr, he decided he would make the killing blow this time.
The gnome pulled forth a tiny ball of bat guano and sprinkled it with sulfur. He held it forward and began to chant. From his hands sprang forth a tiny bead that erupted into a fireball as it made contact with the robes of the orc cleric. Unfortunately, Varr was close behind the fleeing orc, and managed to feel some of the heat behind the spell. The dwarf wrinkled his nose as the orc called out, “Gruumsh take me!” However, Gnettles was pleased to see the vile orc fall to the floor, smoke rising from it’s corpse.
To the left of the gnome, Spiderfang and Drizzt still fought the doppelganger Spiderbane. Tansooth struck him several times with his glowing fists, but it had not been enough. Spiderbane lashed out and connected with Tansooth’s face and left the monk stunned. Before the evil imposter could act to further injure Spiderfang, Drizzt began to lose himself in his animalistic rage. His scimitars seemed to have a life of their own as they glided swiftly through the air and sliced through the flesh of the doppelganger. As Spiderbane fell to the ground convulsing, the features that resembled a corrupt Spiderfang melted away into a nondescript grey mass. The doppelganger was dead.
Meanwhile, Spiderfang’s apprentice Lia was across the room reloading her crossbow. She aimed at Lord Orakhul again and fired, hearing his cry of pain as the Holy bolt seared his flesh. As she fired the second time, she noticed the wizard did not seem to feel the stinging and burning sensation of the Holy bolt as he had last time. As Lia looked more closely, she saw that her bolt had not hit Orakhul at all…it had struck Doc Midnight! Cursing beneath her breath, she reached for another bolt and began loading her crossbow again.
Across the room, Orakhul was in immense pain, having been attacked relentlessly by Avangel, and could not understand what Grumstorg was waiting for. He reached into his cloak and pulled forth a rod.
“Grumstorg, aid us! Enough of your games,” he shouted angrily.
Then he pointed the rod and cried out, “Thunder and Lightening!!”
In a flash, a bolt of lightening tore through Avangel and Doc. Avangel seemed completely unaffected by the bolt, but was deafened from the thunder just as Doc and Orakhul had been. The pain and shock of the noise was too much for Orakhul, and he slumped to the ground unconscious.
Orakhul’s cries for help did not go unheeded, however. The door at the back of the room was nearly ripped from it’s hinges as Grumstorg entered. Hidden doors swung open in the walls, allowing four more enemies to enter. To the left of Grumstorg was an orc cleric and an orc barbarian, while on his right, an orc ranger and another orc cleric emerged.
“I’ll put you on ice!” rumbled Varr boisterously.
The dwarf ran towards the orc cleric on the right and chopped into the beast. The orc, who had a toothy, sinister grin upon his face when he entered, roared in pain.
“You die now! Gruumsh destroy you all!”
Back at the entrance of the room, Traps Lumley peered around the doorway hoping to see his brother. Thinking he heard Lox’s voice shout to Ziona, he entered cautiously. He watched as the five large orcs entered the room. He looked about feverishly, but still didn’t see his brother.
“I’m comin’ Doc!”
“Lox? Where are you?”
Traps followed the sound of his brother’s voice, which lead him in the direction of the bound Doc Midnight.
At the center of the room, Dent had picked up the Masterson Axe and slung it over his shoulder. Then he grabbed his bow and began firing into Grumstorg.
Grumstorg was the largest orc Dent had ever seen. An eye dangled from a chain about his neck, and he rumbled to Gruumsh as he entered the room. In his hands he held a large spear, which seemed to grow even larger as he spun it about.
Dent’s arrows sunk into Grumstorg’s hide, but the orc just smirked.
“I am the Chosen of Gruumsh,” he bellowed. “You will die by my hands!”
Meanwhile, Inmir and Fynder Banechild struggled to hit one another at the left side of the room. Inmir attacked Fynder and struck him several times, but Fynder barely flinched.
“Bane’s will is far greater than the power behind your fists,” he spat.
“We shall see,” called Inmir.
At the front of the room, Gnettles began reaching into his pouch of spell components again. He pulled forth two small crystals and began to chant. The cold, harsh words began to form a shimmering cloud around the gnome’s hands. As he pointed his hands forward, a Cone of Cold extended outward towards the back of the room. The extreme cold of the spell reached and affected both orc clerics, the orc barbarian, and the orc ranger, as well as Varr and Grumstorg. Before they had a chance to react, the Hasted Gnettles cast the spell again, using the second crystal.
The orcs gnashed their teeth and bellowed out to Gruumsh to give them strength. Grumstorg raised his fist and shouted out in anger, eager to rid himself of the pestering gnome. Varr did not seem to be affected by the spell as much as the orcs, he was from Icewind Dale, after all.
Ziona, realizing her dragon companions had been trapped in their cages and were held within the range of the spells, ran to aid them. She knelt down and reached her hands into the cage and prayed. Rossal opened his eyes slowly, but perked up as he saw Ziona.
“You’ve been revived!” he spoke telepathically.
Ziona did not respond. She reached for Glindil, and realized it was too late. The faerie dragon did not withstand the cold blast. She was beyond the cleric’s help.
“Ziona?”
She looked to Rossal and shook her head. Rossal looked back at Glindil and picked up her limp body.
“I can pick the lock on the cage easily enough,” he spoke sadly. “I will take her out of this room.”
Ziona stood up and drew her sword again.
“Take her towards the door,” she said. “…it may be the safest place for now. Eilistraee be with you.”
Rossal watched as Ziona ran off to aid Avangel. Then he gently lowered Glindil back down, and began working on the lock.
Arden stood up and gazed groggily around the room. She had been attacked and had fallen unconscious, and now that she was awake again, she knew she had to get up quickly. She steadied herself against the wall and surveyed the area. She saw that several of their enemies had fallen, but there were several more she did not recognize.
Picking up her lute from the ground, she began to play. She hummed a slow and somber melody that seemed to hang lazily in the air. She focused on Grumstorg and the larger orcs that stood on his left. She closed her eyes and when her song was through, she saw that the orc cleric and orc barbarian had been affected. Their movements were slow and sluggish, and they looked as though they were struggling to move.
“Nice work,” said Gnettles smiling. “Good to see you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” said Arden. She pulled forth her rapier and moved to stand beside Dent.
Zellian assisted Varr in attacking the cleric and ranger while Megara healed them. Varr hacked down the cleric and then cleaved into the ranger. Zellian followed up with his sword and between the two of them, the ranger was badly injured.
At the opposite side of the room, Avangel was busy fending off the orc cleric of Gruumsh and the orcish barbarian. Behind him, Doc called out for “Roundy” to free him from his shackles.
The orc cleric gave Avangel a sinister grin as he reached out to touch him on the shoulder, but only swiped the air beside him as Avangel was quick to move. Managing to deflect the cleric’s attack, Avangel had placed himself open to the raging barbarian. As the orc lifted his battle axe high above his head, foamy spittle dripped from his gaping maw. The barbarian growled and frothed as he brought his axe down upon Avangel, who fell to his knees. Fighting to stand, Avangel gritted his teeth against the pain, but the axe sunk deeper into his elven flesh. First Light slid from his hands as the celestial elf slumped to the ground dead.
Grumstorg held his spear up high and roared fiercely. He then lowered the spear, looked up and charged at the ranger and bard who were directly ahead of him. Lifting his spear again, he heaved it forward and slammed it into Arden’s abdomen. The elf was thrown backwards with such force that she hit the wall near the entrance to the room, then fell to the ground in a broken, bloody heap. Without hesitation, Grumstorg spun his spear and moved to attack Dent. In two hits, the ranger was down. The last sound he heard before he died was Haley’s roar of displeasure.
It seemed Haley was not about to give up without a fight.
The Adventure Continues…
Last edited:
Breakstone
First Post
Woah!
Say, Xaltar, don't you love it when a big, badass villain does some damage?
MasterOfHeaven
First Post
You know, Gnettles seems strangely unconcerned about friendly fire. Sure, he got the enemy with two nasty spells, but couldn't he have maneuvered into a better position so he didn't hit Varr and freeze Glindil? At least, I assume it was Gnettles spell that killed Glindil.
I agree, by the way. Very good writing job, Ziona. You did a great job portraying the battle, and I like the way you wrote the various characters deaths. Speaking of which.... I like that Orc! Give him a pat on the back for me, wills ya? It's always good to see a badass villian lay down some pain and carnage before/if he falls.
I agree, by the way. Very good writing job, Ziona. You did a great job portraying the battle, and I like the way you wrote the various characters deaths. Speaking of which.... I like that Orc! Give him a pat on the back for me, wills ya? It's always good to see a badass villian lay down some pain and carnage before/if he falls.
