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<blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids" data-source="post: 7935732" data-attributes="member: 6776411"><p><strong><u>Chapter Twelve: Tomb Raider/s</u></strong></p><p></p><p>The heroes start down a flight of granite-hewn stairs, spiralling into darkness. A faint light appears, growing ever brighter as they descend. They emerge into an elaborate underground garden illuminated by large, glowing crystals. The verdant foliage rustles gently, caressed by cool breeze that seems to come from nowhere. A shallow stream gurgles across a pebbly streambed. The scene would be perfectly idyllic, if not for the four sandstone sculptures throughout the garden, each one chiseled into the form of a huge, angry face.</p><p></p><p>The water is refreshing and the fruit growing upon the trees is ripe. The party enjoy a short break to recover their Power Points. The stone heads are a little disconcerting and the heroes decide not to linger. An arch in the western wall leads to a smaller chamber. A heavy bronze plug seals the entrance to a lower level. Zain manages to get a good grip on the edge of the immense disc and lifts it up, revealing a deep, dark pit. Unsettling whispers emanate from the dark, tiny voices skittering about on the edge of hearing.</p><p></p><p><em>The heroes all pass their Fear checks.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>"Let's get this over with."</strong> Nadiyya suggests, uncoiling a length of rope from her pack.</p><p></p><p>The heroes tie several ropes together and knot one end around the almond tree in the garden. The pit is 100ft deep and crawling with illusory spiders that the heroes do their best to ignore. Nadiyya almost loses her grip when several spiders seem to become tangled in her hair.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Nadiyya, don't panic!"</strong> Misfar calls down to her, <strong>"It's only an illusion, they're not real!"</strong></p><p></p><p>Nadiyya calms down and reaches the bottom safely, as do the rest of the heroes. Fuk is disappointed that he could not eat any of the illusory vermin.</p><p></p><p>The rope ends above a tall stone pillar, rising from the centre of a huge, subterranean cavern. Surrounding the pillar on all sides is a sea of treasure! Gold and silver pieces glitter in the light from Zain's torch and giant gemstones rise from the surface like icebergs in an ocean of coin. The hoard is vast beyond belief!</p><p></p><p><strong>"Fuk rich!"</strong> Fuk sings, dancing on the spot, <strong>"Fuk wealthiest goblin in all world!"</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"A person could not hope to spend even a share of this treasure,"</strong> Nadiyya marvels, <strong>"Not even in a hundred lifetimes...."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"We can rebuild the ruined temple in Kelmarane, bigger and better than the one in Katapesh."</strong> Zain says excitedly, imagining the glory of such an undertaking.</p><p></p><p>Misfar is silent, staring hard at the golden hoard.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Something about this seems off...." </strong>he murmurs.</p><p></p><p>Misfar casts Dispel, but does not roll high enough to change anything. Not to be deterred, he stirs the surface of the treasure pile with his staff. He smears the image, as though he were tracing a brush across the surface of wet paint. The gold appears to have no physical presence whatsoever.</p><p></p><p><strong>"As I suspected!"</strong> Misfar states, looking pretty pleased with himself, <strong>"Another illusion."</strong></p><p></p><p>The other heroes are less pleased with this development.</p><p></p><p><strong>"What wizard do to gold?!"</strong> Fuk demands, <strong>"Still spend good, right? Still legal tender?!"</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"I'm afraid not, my smelly friend. No merchants will accept counterfeit coin, let alone illusory gold."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"Gaaaaaagghhh!!!"</strong> Fuk shrieks, writhing on the floor in anguish.</p><p></p><p>Nadiyya and Zain are a little better at masking their disappointment.</p><p></p><p>Misfar pokes around the edge of the pillar and finds a narrow bridge of solid stone that crosses the cavern. He leads the party carefully, tapping his staff ahead of him to stay on the path. It's unknown what lies to either side of the bridge and the heroes are none too eager too find out. The party reach what appears to be a wall of solid rock, but they have noticed a trend and Misfar pokes the wall with his staff. Sure enough, it passes right through, as though the wall weren't even there.</p><p></p><p>Passing through the illusory wall, the heroes enter a sunken temple with a sandy floor. In the centre of the chamber looms a horrific statue of a multi-tentacled abomination. A string of runes around the base of the statue reads; <em>'And lo, those who speak not the truths of Rovagug shall be the first to be consumed by the Waiting Beast'</em>.</p><p></p><p>The party put their heads together, but cannot determine what the <em>'truths of Rovagug'</em> might be.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Destroyers gonna' destroy?"</strong> Nadiyya guesses.</p><p></p><p>Wrong! Without warning, the statue surges into motion, covering the distance to the heroes so suddenly that it enjoys a Surprise round!</p><p></p><p>One tentacle whips out and sends Misfar flying into the cavern wall with a bone-jarring thud. A second tentacle coils around Fuk's scrawny body and wrenches him into the air. Fuk cries out, bloody spittle staining his pointy teeth, as the (no longer) Waiting Beast begins to squeeze....</p><p></p><p>Fuk struggles to escape the Waiting Beast's rib-splinteringly tight embrace, but he is securely Bound. Zain weaves between the writhing tentacles and makes a Wild Attack against the appendage grappling Fuk. <em>Tempest</em> strikes true and severs the tentacle, soaking Zain in a geyser of foul black ichor from the stump. The Waiting Beast howls in fury! A tentacle whips out and sweeps the warrior's legs out from under him. Zain rolls away as a second tentacle spears the ground where he had just fallen. Dashki cries out as he is snatched up by another of the monster's questing limbs. Misfar picks himself up and hurls a handful of sand toward the beast. It transforms into a scything blade of glass that cuts clean through the tentacle holding the gnoll whisperer aloft.</p><p></p><p>Zain staggers to his feet and continues carving into the Waiting Beast.</p><p>Misfar casts Slumber on the injured monster. It immediately falls limp and begins to snore loud, monstery snores. Misfar urgently gestures that the rest of the party should be really ****ing quiet. Zain gingerly edges away from the sleeping horror.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Search the tomb, but be quick and be quiet!"</strong> Misfar whispers.</p><p></p><p>The only item of much interest is a sinister black sarcophagus, marred by crude carvings of a nine legged spider with a gaping maw. The party have spent enough time in the House of the Beast to recognise this as being the unholy symbol of Rovagug.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Do you really want to open that?"</strong> Dashki asks, fearfully.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Not really."</strong> Zain shrugs, but he does it anyway.</p><p></p><p>Working together, the party try to lift the heavy lid without waking the Beast. With agonising care, they slide the lid to one side, revealing the skeletal remains of a long dead gnoll priestess. A plain looking scroll case is clutched in her bony fingers. There is no other treasure in the box.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Is this it?"</strong> Nadiyya asks, prising the scroll out of the dead gnoll's grasp, <strong>"Is this what Zayifid is looking for?"</strong></p><p></p><p>She begins to unroll the scroll, but Misfar reaches out to stop her.</p><p></p><p><strong>"Maybe we should pull back to the garden before we open that?"</strong> the wizard suggests, with a meaningful glance toward the Waiting Beast.</p><p></p><p><em>TBC</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mikeawmids, post: 7935732, member: 6776411"] [B][U]Chapter Twelve: Tomb Raider/s[/U][/B] The heroes start down a flight of granite-hewn stairs, spiralling into darkness. A faint light appears, growing ever brighter as they descend. They emerge into an elaborate underground garden illuminated by large, glowing crystals. The verdant foliage rustles gently, caressed by cool breeze that seems to come from nowhere. A shallow stream gurgles across a pebbly streambed. The scene would be perfectly idyllic, if not for the four sandstone sculptures throughout the garden, each one chiseled into the form of a huge, angry face. The water is refreshing and the fruit growing upon the trees is ripe. The party enjoy a short break to recover their Power Points. The stone heads are a little disconcerting and the heroes decide not to linger. An arch in the western wall leads to a smaller chamber. A heavy bronze plug seals the entrance to a lower level. Zain manages to get a good grip on the edge of the immense disc and lifts it up, revealing a deep, dark pit. Unsettling whispers emanate from the dark, tiny voices skittering about on the edge of hearing. [I]The heroes all pass their Fear checks.[/I] [B]"Let's get this over with."[/B] Nadiyya suggests, uncoiling a length of rope from her pack. The heroes tie several ropes together and knot one end around the almond tree in the garden. The pit is 100ft deep and crawling with illusory spiders that the heroes do their best to ignore. Nadiyya almost loses her grip when several spiders seem to become tangled in her hair. [B]"Nadiyya, don't panic!"[/B] Misfar calls down to her, [B]"It's only an illusion, they're not real!"[/B] Nadiyya calms down and reaches the bottom safely, as do the rest of the heroes. Fuk is disappointed that he could not eat any of the illusory vermin. The rope ends above a tall stone pillar, rising from the centre of a huge, subterranean cavern. Surrounding the pillar on all sides is a sea of treasure! Gold and silver pieces glitter in the light from Zain's torch and giant gemstones rise from the surface like icebergs in an ocean of coin. The hoard is vast beyond belief! [B]"Fuk rich!"[/B] Fuk sings, dancing on the spot, [B]"Fuk wealthiest goblin in all world!" "A person could not hope to spend even a share of this treasure,"[/B] Nadiyya marvels, [B]"Not even in a hundred lifetimes...." "We can rebuild the ruined temple in Kelmarane, bigger and better than the one in Katapesh."[/B] Zain says excitedly, imagining the glory of such an undertaking. Misfar is silent, staring hard at the golden hoard. [B]"Something about this seems off...." [/B]he murmurs. Misfar casts Dispel, but does not roll high enough to change anything. Not to be deterred, he stirs the surface of the treasure pile with his staff. He smears the image, as though he were tracing a brush across the surface of wet paint. The gold appears to have no physical presence whatsoever. [B]"As I suspected!"[/B] Misfar states, looking pretty pleased with himself, [B]"Another illusion."[/B] The other heroes are less pleased with this development. [B]"What wizard do to gold?!"[/B] Fuk demands, [B]"Still spend good, right? Still legal tender?!" "I'm afraid not, my smelly friend. No merchants will accept counterfeit coin, let alone illusory gold." "Gaaaaaagghhh!!!"[/B] Fuk shrieks, writhing on the floor in anguish. Nadiyya and Zain are a little better at masking their disappointment. Misfar pokes around the edge of the pillar and finds a narrow bridge of solid stone that crosses the cavern. He leads the party carefully, tapping his staff ahead of him to stay on the path. It's unknown what lies to either side of the bridge and the heroes are none too eager too find out. The party reach what appears to be a wall of solid rock, but they have noticed a trend and Misfar pokes the wall with his staff. Sure enough, it passes right through, as though the wall weren't even there. Passing through the illusory wall, the heroes enter a sunken temple with a sandy floor. In the centre of the chamber looms a horrific statue of a multi-tentacled abomination. A string of runes around the base of the statue reads; [I]'And lo, those who speak not the truths of Rovagug shall be the first to be consumed by the Waiting Beast'[/I]. The party put their heads together, but cannot determine what the [I]'truths of Rovagug'[/I] might be. [B]"Destroyers gonna' destroy?"[/B] Nadiyya guesses. Wrong! Without warning, the statue surges into motion, covering the distance to the heroes so suddenly that it enjoys a Surprise round! One tentacle whips out and sends Misfar flying into the cavern wall with a bone-jarring thud. A second tentacle coils around Fuk's scrawny body and wrenches him into the air. Fuk cries out, bloody spittle staining his pointy teeth, as the (no longer) Waiting Beast begins to squeeze.... Fuk struggles to escape the Waiting Beast's rib-splinteringly tight embrace, but he is securely Bound. Zain weaves between the writhing tentacles and makes a Wild Attack against the appendage grappling Fuk. [I]Tempest[/I] strikes true and severs the tentacle, soaking Zain in a geyser of foul black ichor from the stump. The Waiting Beast howls in fury! A tentacle whips out and sweeps the warrior's legs out from under him. Zain rolls away as a second tentacle spears the ground where he had just fallen. Dashki cries out as he is snatched up by another of the monster's questing limbs. Misfar picks himself up and hurls a handful of sand toward the beast. It transforms into a scything blade of glass that cuts clean through the tentacle holding the gnoll whisperer aloft. Zain staggers to his feet and continues carving into the Waiting Beast. Misfar casts Slumber on the injured monster. It immediately falls limp and begins to snore loud, monstery snores. Misfar urgently gestures that the rest of the party should be really ****ing quiet. Zain gingerly edges away from the sleeping horror. [B]"Search the tomb, but be quick and be quiet!"[/B] Misfar whispers. The only item of much interest is a sinister black sarcophagus, marred by crude carvings of a nine legged spider with a gaping maw. The party have spent enough time in the House of the Beast to recognise this as being the unholy symbol of Rovagug. [B]"Do you really want to open that?"[/B] Dashki asks, fearfully. [B]"Not really."[/B] Zain shrugs, but he does it anyway. Working together, the party try to lift the heavy lid without waking the Beast. With agonising care, they slide the lid to one side, revealing the skeletal remains of a long dead gnoll priestess. A plain looking scroll case is clutched in her bony fingers. There is no other treasure in the box. [B]"Is this it?"[/B] Nadiyya asks, prising the scroll out of the dead gnoll's grasp, [B]"Is this what Zayifid is looking for?"[/B] She begins to unroll the scroll, but Misfar reaches out to stop her. [B]"Maybe we should pull back to the garden before we open that?"[/B] the wizard suggests, with a meaningful glance toward the Waiting Beast. [I]TBC[/I] [/QUOTE]
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