Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)

[monboesen]

I just tried to add up the heros equipment value and compare to the suggested wealth at their level. No wonder they are struggling. You are using an official campaign that assumes the PC's have the suggested wealth and the possibility of trading to the equipment they really need.

I just did the math for Arun, Beorna, Dannel and Mole from the lists and levels in the rogues gallery. This is the result:

Arun (760.000 gp)
+2 amulet of health 4000
+4 belt of giant’s strength 16000
+2 ring of protection 8000
ring of evasion 25000
holy avenger long sword 120000
+3 adamantine battleaxe 21000
+3 mithral full plate 18000
+4 large steel shield 16000
Boots of striding and springing 5500
+4 gloves of dexterity 16000
+3 cloak of protection 9000

Equipment value 258.500 of the 760.000 assumed


Beorna (440.000)
dwarven platemail (adamantine) 16500
adamantine bastard sword 3000
+2 gauntlets of ogre power 4000
+6 periapt of wisdom 36000
+2 ring of protection 8000
+2 cloak of resistance 4000
+2 belt of health 4000
Equipment value 75500 of the 440.000 assumed


Dannel (440.000)
+1 evil outsider bane quarterstaff 8000
+1 longsword 2000
+3 shadow silent chain shirt 17000
+1 shocking burst mighty (+1) longbow 8000
+3 evil outsider bane mighty (+2) composite longbow 32000
50+1 holy arrows 18000
10 +1 ghost touch arrows 800
+2 ring of protection 8000
ring of evasion 25000
efficient quiver 1800
+2 amulet of health 4000
+4 cloak of charisma 16000
+6 gloves of dexterity 36000
greater bracers of archery 25000
ring of the ram 8600
Equipment value 210200 of the assumed 440.000


Mole (580.000)
small +1 dagger 2000
cape of the mountebank 10000
+8 bracers of armor 64000
+6 gloves of dexterity 36000
+3 amulet of natural armor 18000
belt of ogre power 4000
boots of striding and springing 6500
slippers of spider climbing (in pouch) 4800
rust bag of tricks 3000
+4 ring of protection 32000
ring of invisibility 20000
40 +1 shock bolts 8000
bag of holding (type 1) 2500
hat of disguise 1800
chime of opening 3000
rope of climbing 3000
+4 headband of intellect (in pouch) 16000
Equipment value 234600 of the assumed 580.000

I know and agree that the wealth system seems artificial nad a thorn in the eye. But I also believe that you can't use official adventures and non-standard wealth without heavily tinkering with the adventure.

Here is an example of how Arun could look just by upping the equipment he already have. Notice that it still leaves more than 200.000 gp to buy additional equipment, potions, scroll and wands (he should be loaded with all three)

Arun Goldenshield (Paladin 15/Divine Champion 5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Medium Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice: 20d10+120 (235 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: Move 30' (6 squares)
Armor Class: 37 (+2 Dex, +13 Armour, +7 Shield, +5 Deflection), 17 touch, 35 flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+27
Attack: Holy Avenger +33 (1d8+12 17-20*2) or Longbow +22 (1d8+5 20*3)
Full Attack: Holy Avenger +33/+28/+23/+18 (1d8+12 17-20*2) or Longbow +22/17/+12/+7 (1d8+5 20*3)
Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: Smite evil 4/day (+5 to hit and +15 damage), smite infidel 1/day
Special Qualities: aura of courage, divine health, divine grace, lay on hands (75 hp/day), detect evil, +2 sacred defense (divine spells), divine wrath 1/day, turn undead 5/day, remove disease 4x/7 days, darkvision, stonecunning, +4 vs. being bull rushed or tripped, +2 on saves vs. poison and spells, +1 atk. vs. aberrations, +4 AC vs. giants
Saves: Fort +24, Refl +16, Will +15
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 12, Con 22, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 20
Skills: Appraise (stone/metal) +2, Concentration +5, Craft (stone/metal) +5, Diplomacy +7, Heal +8, Knowledge (religion) +9, Ride +1, Sense Motive +9, Speak Language (Undercommon), Spot +4
Feats: Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Leadership (16), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Focus (warhammer),

Spells: (3/2/1/1): 1/divine favor, 1/lesser restoration, 1/protection from evil, 2/remove paralysis, 2/resist energy, 3/magic circle against evil, 4/restoration

EQUIPMENT (500.000 of 760.000)
+6 amulet of health, +6 belt of giant’s strength, +5 ring of protection, ring of evasion, holy avenger long sword, +3 adamantine battleaxe, +5 mithral full plate of heavy fortification, +5 large steel shield, boots of striding and springing, +6 gloves of dexterity, +6 cloak of charisma, masterwork mighty (+5) composite longbow

 

[Lazybones]

I just tried to add up the heros equipment value and compare to the suggested wealth at their level. No wonder they are struggling. You are using an official campaign that assumes the PC's have the suggested wealth and the possibility of trading to the equipment they really need.

True, and that was partly a conscious decision on my part, and partly a result of what the module designers had wrought. I will point out that the only treasure that the original heroes have gotten is that from the modules. I think that the authors of the series assumed that the players would find every hidden cache, slay every bad guy, and sell every item of value for at least 50% trade in. Some of the modules also assume, I think, that every bad guy just sits in his/her/its room and waits to be killed (in several of my chapters, some of the bad guys escaped with a lot of the loot, and in a few of the early books, hidden treasures were not located by the heroes). I have kept a running tally of the all the items and wealth they've collected, and did include several shopping trips/trades in the narrative.

While I can appreciate the exercise (and I did something similar to your analysis when I statted up the Travels characters), I'm not too preoocupied about the suggested wealth levels. When I introduced the Travels characters I deliberately set their wealth at 50% of the suggested amount for their level, because they had lost everything they had in the final chapters of that story (in the Abyss). This was ameliorated to some extent by Cal's item creation, which I also documented in my own records (and I did mark on the Rogues' Gallery posting, IIRC).

Keep in mind also that the "official" adventures were designed for 4 PCs. For the most part I was running 5-7 characters through the later chapters. I think a full-strength party at the actual level suggested and with the mandated gear would have had no difficulty whatsoever. Of course, it would have been rather dull to read about, I imagine.

And we're beyond the official part of the Adventure Path now in any case, so the argument is further moot.

I am going to be traveling for the remainder of the day, so here is today's post:

* * * * *

Chapter 498

“I have fought the blind stalkers before, but never have I encountered ones like these,” Umbar said, the pale blue glow of healing fading from his hands as he drew back from Hodge. They were in the larger hall outside of the small chamber where the ambush had been sprung, although they brought the stench of blood with them, their clothes and armor liberally sprayed with gore from the short but vicious fight.

“They were rather durable,” Beorna said.

“Blast, but not a one o’ them even tried to retreat,” Hodge observed, nodding to Umbar in thanks for the healing. Beorna had already treated Arun, and while the four still had a few cuts and bruises to show for the ambush, their enemies were worse off by a pretty significant margin.

“That’s not all,” Arun said. “Did you notice their hides?”

“Aye,” Umbar said. “Odd… almost transparent, some of them… like skulks. Some magical effect, perhaps?”

“No,” the paladin said. “No, I wish it was so simple. We’ve encountered it before… it’s the Vanishing, a magical affliction that destroyed this community, the gnomes that lived here decades ago. It’s part disease, part curse, and it causes the infected to fade, gradually losing substance and reality.”

“I remember you speaking of it,” Beorna said. “Zenna had been infected by it, right?”

“Yes. She got very sick before we found out what was happening and had the curse removed.”

Hodge’s eyes widened as he looked down at the bloody front of his tunic. He’d already lamented the damage wrought upon his beard by the fire-blast of the grimlocks; at the moment, he looked like a butcher who’d worked several back-to-back shifts. “Yer sayin’ them things were infected with this… Vanishin’? That mean we got it, now?”

“You need not fear any ailment, magical or mundane, while traveling in the company of the high priest of Moradin,” Umbar said.

“It’s not spread like a normal disease, anyway,” Arun said. “At least none of the others had shown any symptoms, despite having been close to Zenna during her affliction. She believed it spread through infected magical items, like the scrolls we’d found down here during our first visit.”

“So you think that these grimlocks found some of this cursed magic, and are now affected by the disease?” Beorna asked.

“If that is true, then they are destroying themselves,” Umbar said. “Within a few tendays, the problem may resolve itself.”

“If they are intent upon assaulting the city, we may not have a few tendays,” Beorna retorted. “We handled a dozen, with our combined talents, but even one of those things is more than a match for two or three of our city guardsmen.”

“Then we must seek out the remainder and destroy them.”

“That may be difficult,” Arun said. “This complex is a maze; there are many more of those doors like the broken one we came through, most of which have potent, still-active defense mechanisms.”

“What about those burrowed tunnels?” Hodge asked.

“The most recent occupants of Jzadirune, a gang of dark creepers, opened up those side passages using a few gnomish pulverizer automatons that they were able to gain control over,” Arun explained. “They do bypass some of the doors. There is also a lift that provides entrance to a deeper complex further beneath the city; a place called the Malachite Fortress. There was an entrance into the Underdark in that latter location.”

“The humans seem willing to tolerate a lot of things beneath their city,” Umbar commented.

“It’s not that dissimilar from the existence of the Underdark beneath the Great Rift,” Arun said. The cleric frowned at the comparison, but Arun continued, “I know that the dwarves guard all such transitions very intently, and monitor any digging or new tunnels that approach their chambers. When we cleared out Jzadirune, and fought slavers who’d established themselves in the Malachite Fortress, we likewise sealed the entrance that connected the former to Ghelve’s Locks up in the city. Later, another band of adventurers traveled below and sealed the entrance to the Underdark itself.”

“It would appear that they did not do a thorough job,” Umbar said.

“As I told Beorna earlier, it is likely that the quakes opened another access point.”

“So the rest of the grimlocks, and the prisoners, may be either here in Jzadirune, or below, in the Malachite Fortress,” Beorna said.

“Those little tunnels be beggin’ fer more ambushes,” Hodge pointed out.

“Well then, we’d better get started finding them,” Arun said, sliding his sword back into its scabbard.

They spent the better part of an hour probing through the accessible parts of Jzadrune. They found no ambushes, although they did spring a few traps that, while not lethal, caused damage that clerical magic was required to treat. There were also more signs of the grimlocks, but they did not find any of the creatures themselves. A few more of the gnomish doors had been breached, but it looked as though the lair of the creatures lay somewhere beyond.

“Down it is, then,” Arun said, directing them by memory to the location of the hidden lift that descended to the black halls of the Malachite Fortress.

After their last expedition down here, when they’d fought and overcome the half-troll slaver Kazmojen, they had considered destroying the lift that connected Jzadirune and the deeper underground fortress. Ultimately they had agreed to leave it be, after setting the mechanism so that the lift could only be activated from up above. Apparently the grimlocks, if they had indeed found their way up through the Underdark, had found a way to confound that precaution, for the lift appeared to be in working order and showed signs of recent use when they finally reached it.

“Clever,” Umbar granted, as the four of them activated the lift and started down. “Gnomish work, you say?”

“So far as we could determine,” Arun replied, standing near the center of the platform as it ground its way steadily down the approximately octagonal shaft. The journey took several minutes and progressed without incident, the lintel of another recessed door appearing as the platform slowed and finally ground to a halt.

“Ready?” Arun asked.

“A moment to bolster our defenses,” Beorna said, invoking a blessing of Helm upon them. Umbar, likewise, took a moment to augment his own considerable stamina, while Arun created a magic circle against evil to enfold all of them.

Hodge used the delay to steal a few swallows from a small flask he had tucked into a pocket of his surcoat. When he’d put it back into its hiding place, he looked up to find the other three dwarves looking at him.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he tapped his axe. “Right then, ready.”

 

[Brogarn]

Thanks for the feedback. One problem is that I am lazy (thus the moniker ), and don't always do as much editing as perhaps I should. Part of it is the context; naturally I am not as incentivized to be as thorough in posting on a message board as I might be if I intended to market this material (not that it helped me sell my novels!). Generally I just write the story in fits (I usually squeeze it into breaks and slow spells at work), building up anywhere from 10-20 posts worth of material ahead of where I am currently posting. When it actually comes time to post a chapter I usually give it a quick pre-read for obvious errors before posting. I've actually noticed some of the things you mentioned when I go back and read old chapters on my PocketPC (I keep the whole thing in a Microsoft Reader file); if I could access ENWorld through my work firewall, I might be able to go back and edit old chapters. I can at home, of course, but that would cut into my NWN and BF2 time.

Maybe I should put a note on my computer at work: ARUN !=BEARD. But my supervisor might get suspicious.

Ya, looking back, I should of kept those minor quibbles to myself. I'm more than happy with this story hour and hardly expect that level of editting. The amount of story you offer more than makes up for any small errors. I'm blown away that you manage to write this much with everything else you do.

Dana will get a chance to shine a little later; she's effectively an 18th level cleric since her PrCs stack with her cleric levels. I've been rereading Sepulchrave's story hour lately, which highlights the power of high-level pure casters, although it's unlikely that my suffering heroes will ever reach the potency of Mostin or Shomei.

Mostin... what a bad ass. I will always remember the line "Mostin learns timestop" with almost school girl giddiness. If only Sep wrote more...

That's not to detract from your characters, though. They fairly well rock, even if you do beat them down to negative hit points on a regular basis. He's just the quintessential wizard without the silly hat and pipe. The type of wizard I would want to emulate if I could find a local PnP game. >.<


EDIT : Oh, and the Umbar character is the type of person that makes me loathe organized religion. Nicely done on keeping his attitude consistent so far. Inquisitors are such... well, we'll say poopy heads and so anal retentive to the rules that you gotta wonder if the god(s) they serve don't roll their eyes when these guys come around. Or find an excuse to be elsewhere.

 

[Lazybones]

Ya, looking back, I should of kept those minor quibbles to myself.

Don't worry, as an author I appreciate the feedback, and even though I may never sell anything I write, I still try to improve my craft.

* * * * *

Chapter 499


Once they were prepared, they essayed the door. Beyond lay a wide passage familiar to Arun; on their first visit they’d battled a strange stone spike and a vicious ogre here. The iron cages that had dangled from the ceiling that last time—used by the former occupants to hold fire beetles for illumination—had been torn down and lay in battered heaps amidst scattered crushed stone debris along the walls. An ugly odor hung thick in the place, but nothing stirred to challenge them as they moved forward into the Malachite Fortress.

“What a foul stench,” Beorna said. “I thought these grimlocks relied on their sense of smell; how can they distinguish anything over this?”

“On our last visit it was worse,” Arun said. “The ogre we fought here lived in utter filth, in a chamber beyond that door up ahead.” They gave that room a wide berth, Hodge looking in briefly to confirm that the room was empty. They made their way to the far wall. Once there had been a secret door there, but it too had been torn free of its moorings, leaving an irregular gap into the next chamber beyond.

“It’s like they are compelled to destroy just for the sake of it,” Beorna commented.

“Do not expect logic from such as these,” Umbar said. “They are vermin, fit only to be tread upon by a heavy boot.”

The others exchanged a look, but did not offer comment. It was clear from the vehemence in the cleric’s voice that there was a considerable hatred behind those words.

“I do not sense Taint,” Arun said. “Let us proceed.” He stepped through the open doorway into the next room, the others following close behind.

This chamber was still mostly intact. The four xorn-shaped braziers in the corner were empty and dark. The statue in the center, of an armored dwarf facing to the huge double doors to their right, was missing its head, but otherwise appeared much as Arun remembered. There was another set of doors to their left, and Arun led them in that direction.

The paladin paused before the heavy stone portals. Coming here had triggered memories he’d thought were well and left behind. It had only been a little over a year since that trip, not long after his initial arrival here in Cauldron. He’d been angrier then, much wilder in his words and deeds, trying to recover something of what had been lost in his exile from his homeland.

He glanced at Umbar, who was looking at the dwarven statue, examining it with a critical eye. It was strange, really, Arun thought; the arrival of the cleric, a none-too-subtle reminder of his past… shouldn’t it have bothered him more? The cleric had threatened his honor, his faith, and his new-found standing within this, his adopted home. Now was not the time for introspection, but still, it was a thought he could not fully banish as he turned toward the doors.

As he turned his gaze briefly met Beorna’s, and she nodded, ready.

Maybe that was part of the answer, he thought, as he reached for the handle.

“Beyond these doors lies a corridor that leads to the main hall of the fortress,” he told the others. “If our foes are down here, then we’ll likely find them there.”

“Well, what are we waitin’ fer?” Hodge muttered.

“Smite evil,” Umbar said to Arun, in the dwarvish dialect of the Rift. Arun nodded, appreciating the meaning in the gesture.

“Smite evil,” he returned, pushing the door open.

The corridor was as Arun had said, running ahead for a short distance before turning right at a diagonal and continuing for at least another fifty or sixty feet before fading at the edge of the dwarves’ darkvision. Arun already knew what lay at the end, another set of double doors that led to the bazaar, the great hall where they’d confronted Kazmojen and his evil allies. About halfway down the length of the passage smaller side corridors branched off of the main route, and several doors could be seen, opening onto small rooms that they’d only cursorily searched on their last visit. They’d come here after the conclusion of their battle with the half-troll and his minions, and had been more interested in making their way back above to the clean air of Cauldron at the time.

“What a mess,” Beorna said.

The length of the corridor was strewn with debris. It looked like the grimlocks had drawn out all the furnishings from the surrounding rooms, smashed them into ruins, and then strewn the wreckage casually down the length of the hallway. The passageway was about twenty feet wide, leaving plenty of space for them to make their way through, but the assorted trash left plenty of cover for anything that might be lurking in wait.

Arun paused, sensing for Taint. He felt a vague sense of unease, but nothing else within the range of his ability.

“This smells like a trap,” Hodge said, putting the paladin’s feelings to words.

“There’s another way around,” Arun noted. “There’s another secret door in the statue room, which leads to a block of cells and a bridge across a chasm that opens onto the main hall from the west.”

“They will likely have warded every approach,” Umbar said, but he did not challenge them as Arun drew back and closed the doors, turning to the wall opposite the one through which they’d entered. The secret door there had not been destroyed, and after a few moments Arun was able to locate the hidden portal. But it refused to budge at his push, even when Beorna added her strength to his efforts.

“There may be something bolstering it from behind,” she suggested. “A bar, or maybe even a collapse in the space beyond.”

“What about those doors?” Umbar said, indicating the huge portals in the northwest wall.

“That was the entry to the Underdark,” Arun said. “The access point was originally closed by another adventuring band after our visit… but it may be open again.”

“If they ‘ave retreated into the Underdark, then catchin’ them will be tough,” Hodge said.

“Agreed,” Umbar said.

Arun nodded. “The passage, then,” he said, turning back to the double doors to the south.

They headed into the debris-choked corridor, with Arun in the lead, Beorna a step behind, then Umbar, with Hodge bringing up the rear. They hadn’t gone more than twenty feet when Arun lifted a gauntleted hand, calling a stop.

“Taint!” he warned, pointing at the double doors they could now see at the far end of the passageway. As if in response, they caught sight of a flicker of movement, as something shifted behind one of the piles of ruined furnishings.

“They be a bit more cautious, this time,” Hodge noted.

“Perhaps they can be persuaded to venture forth,” Umbar said. Lifting his hammer in invocation to Moradin, he called upon the power of his god. A grid of blue light, the pure energy of absolute Law, erupted around a point centered upon the doors. Order’s wrath drew angry cries from the grimlocks hiding behind the debris, three of whom came into view, snarling at the dwarves. One pushed open the doors and darted into the space beyond, while the other two remained behind cover, close by two levers that jutted from the passage walls near its end.

“They seek to lure us in,” Arun began, but his words fell upon deaf ears in at least one case, as Umbar lifted his hammer and charged forward, a dwarvish battle cry shaking off the walls. Arun felt a strange feeling of déjà vu… hadn’t he always been the one to lead the assault? When had caution stilled the power of righteous anger that had always guided his sword?

Hodge was watching him; apparently his cohort had no qualms about leaving the glory of the charge to others. Umbar had reached the intersection in the middle of the corridor, Beorna a few steps behind. Arun drew his sword, its glow filling the passage with its brightness, and he started after them.

He had barely managed two steps before he saw the grimlocks leap up, and reach for the levers.

Damn! he thought, a moment before the floor collapsed from under him, and he was falling, staring down at the forest of jagged spikes rushing up to meet him from below.

 

[monboesen]

It had only been a little over a year since that trip

Hehe. Here you are touching upon one of my major quibbles with D&D (or potentially any gaming system). Characters that go from being fresh apprentices to master wizards, fighters, paladins etc. in such short time spans. Lately in my own games I have begun to insert long periods of time where nothing happens to stretch the charactes careers from 1-2 years to 10-20 years.

I don't even know if that is possible with the Shackled City series.

 

[ForceUser]

Yeah. I make it a point to have long downtimes IMC. 16th-level wizards should be old.

 

[HugeOgre]

You know LB, you may never sell your works, but if a guy were to take a trip through the store here on EnWorld and put together a Wishlist, you never know WHAT might show up in your inbox... I for one would love to give you something in return for all your efforts, and I know I cant be the only one.

 

[Solarious]

Ahh... nothing like a lethal band of abberations to remind high level characters that you ain't invincible. I'm loving the action and the expected hanging on by their fingernails feeling you have come to just casually insert into these stories. You're so very harsh on them, as another poster once said... Maybe this is why I love reading your work. The adventurers are garunteed to feel pain, and very possibly a healthy dose of loving misery.

One also wonders about umbrage Umbar (they sound so similar! ) has with Grimlocks? I also love his one-liner: "Perhaps they can be pursaded to venture forth.", and then following it up with a nasty AoE spell. I'm using that for my Warforged-raised Warmage... when the right campaign comes up for it.

As to beat the dead horse once more, great writing, and keep it up! Don't leave us hanging on triweekly updates once more. That's too much to bear for our aching minds.

 

[Lazybones]

Hehe. Here you are touching upon one of my major quibbles with D&D (or potentially any gaming system). Characters that go from being fresh apprentices to master wizards, fighters, paladins etc. in such short time spans. Lately in my own games I have begun to insert long periods of time where nothing happens to stretch the charactes careers from 1-2 years to 10-20 years.

I don't even know if that is possible with the Shackled City series.

I agree, it can be a bit jarring especially with 3e's rapid advancement. My Monday night NWN group has just begun to hit the epic levels after weekly sessions that started in Sept. 2003; that represents about 6-7 years of game time (including down time between each module). Some of the PCs in that campaign have gotten married, and have kids. I am planning one more epic mod after the current one, and am going to FF 10 years of game time (luckily NWN supports gray hair and bulging guts!).

In this story I've tried to occasionally reference how unusual this rapid advancement is (I think I had Zenna comment on it a few times when she was still around). I think the series was written for relatively fast advancement, and I didn't want to mess with the urgency and drama by allowing for a year off here and there.

You know LB, you may never sell your works, but if a guy were to take a trip through the store here on EnWorld and put together a Wishlist, you never know WHAT might show up in your inbox... I for one would love to give you something in return for all your efforts, and I know I cant be the only one.

Well, thanks! I am not running a PnP campaign at the moment, so don't have much need for supplements... but that said, I certainly wouldn't refuse anything! I think my email is posted here, but if not I can certainly share it with any generous readers who are interested. And I'll take a look at what the ENWorld store has to offer.

As to beat the dead horse once more, great writing, and keep it up! Don't leave us hanging on triweekly updates once more. That's too much to bear for our aching minds.

I'm getting close to the story catching up to where I am in writing, as I haven't had time to write much over the last few weeks. Usually after being away for some time it's harder to get back into the "flow". But I've got an outline and intend to just force it some in the coming days (it's the only way to get through a block IMO), so hopefully I can stick to the "post-a-day" schedule for the remainder of the story. Don't worry, there's a lot left, including a few twists that you might find... amusing.

* * * * *

Chapter 500

The dwarves were all veterans, but luck abandoned them as they fell prey to the grimlock trap. When the levers were pulled, two trapdoors the full width of the passage, twenty feet wide by ten feet long, had fallen open beneath the charging dwarves, one on either side of the intersection in the middle of the passage. Umbar tumbled facedown into the first, and Beorna, close on his heels, could not arrest her charge in time to avoid following him in. She tried to leap across the gap; normally a ten-foot jump would have been trivial for one of her strength, but her armor weighed her down, and she slammed hard into the far edge, her sword going flying from her grasp as she clutched at the bare stone, the weight of her gear threatening to drag her down after the cleric. She held on as a wave of heat rushed up from below, enveloping her in wisps of white flame.

Arun’s monentary delay had put him right over the second pit, and luck was not with him as he tumbled down into the black opening. Hodge was the only one not to fall, the dwarf halting right at the edge of Arun’s pit. But he could do nothing but watch as the paladin landed hard on the spikes below. Arun’s armor protected him from serious injury from the spikes, but their situation was complicated an instant later as the flasks that the grimlocks had piled under the debris choking the tunnel shattered on the spikes, flooding the pits with an explosion of white fire. Hodge fell back, blinded by the intensity of the flare, hoping that the paladin, lost within the inferno, could withstand the immolation.

Beorna looked up to see the two grimlocks rushing forward toward her, their axes poised to drive her back into the burning pit. Calling upon Helm for a surge of strength, she roared and pulled herself up in time to meet them. One tried to bull rush her back into the pit, but against her augmented strength it may as well have been trying to topple a stone wall. It rebounded off her her as she stood, and she reached out, snaring it by the throat with the iron grip of a gauntleted hand. The grimlock tried to shake free, and its companion laid into her with a powerful blow of its axe, but she ignored both and bodily hurled her captive into the pit behind her.

“Arun!” Hodge yelled, as the white fire continued to engulf the pit, hiding the paladin from view. The dwarf had a rope, but if he could not see his friend within the pit, then how was Arun supposed to see the line?

But the question became moot a moment later, as a glowing length of steel rose up out of the pit, wreathed in wisps of persistent fire and trailing smoke. Arun’s sword landed with a loud clatter on the far side of the pit, followed a moment later by the paladin himself, leaping out from the smoke to seize the pit edge, pulling himself up with a surge of strength before he collapsed in the middle of the intersection, blinded and coughing.

Thus incapacitated, he didn’t see the door at the end of the side corridor to the east burst open, or the half-dozen grimlocks that surged through it, axes raised as they rushed toward him.

Beorna turned to face her remaining foe, taking an axe hit across the front of her helmet that failed to do anything more than cause her ears to ring. Her bastard sword was out of reach, so she drew forth her backup weapon, stepping into the grimlock’s reach to punch the dagger meatily into its torso. A foot of steel stuck into its side had to have hurt it, but the creature only unleashed another series of attacks with its axe, each of the blows clanging uselessly off of the templar’s adamantine armor.

But her prospects took a turn for the worse as the double doors behind it opened, and a horde of the creatures came charging through it.

And beyond the doors, a shadowy figure momentarily stepped into view, but behind the more pressing wave of grimlock barbarians, the templar failed to notice it. She saw her sword, lying about six feet away down the corridor, but there was no way that she was going to be able to recover it before the wave broke upon her.

So, being practical, she called upon Helm and transformed her dagger into a holy sword.

The grimlocks surged into her, moving to flank her, leaping at her with powerful two-handed blows from their stolen axes and swords. The pit, a mere pace behind her, protected that flank, but that still left her open to up to five attackers at time, pressing in at her from every direction. Another tried to grapple her, but she dissuaded it by punching her dagger into its shoulder, opening a gusher of red blood that ran down the front of its scarred torso.

Behind her, white smoke billowed out of the pit, forming a wall at her back. A familiar roar signaled the arrival of reinforcements, as Umbar vaulted out of the pit. The cleric was transformed, filled with the righteous might of Moradin to double his normal size. He’d dropped his shield in the pit, but as he clambered up into the corridor he drew his warhammer—likewise significantly increased in size—out of his belt, driving it into the face of the first grimlock that turned his way. The creature staggered back, but was immediately replaced by three others that violently surged at the cleric, trying to keep him off balance. The priest, his defenses significantly augmented by his spell, shrugged off the hits.

“Fall before the righteous!” the cleric said, laying about him with powerful blows of his hammer, crushing bones with each solid impact.

“Arun, look out!”

The paladin was trying to pull himself to his feet as Hodge’s warning reached him. His sword was lying just a few feet away, but even with its bright glow he could not see it, the aftereffects of the flare and stinging white fire having thoroughly blinded him. The first grimlock eschewed its axe and hurled itself on top of the paladin, seeking to bring him down with sheer weight and fury. Arun straightened, refusing to be overborne, but the movement opened himself to powerful blows from the axes of the grimlock’s friends. One blow cracked heavily into his left elbow, drawing a cry of pain from the paladin; his shield too had been lost in the escape from the pit.

“Damnation!” Hodge cursed, watching the grimlocks surge over his friend. The ten-foot gap between them might have been a league for the armored dwarf; he’d watched Beorna, who was far stronger than he, fail that leap, and while he was a decent climber, Hodge had never been much for jumping over chasms. Especially not ones filled with spikes and lingering wisps of white fire and burning smoke.

“Moradin’s balls!” he finally yelled, dropping back and shucking his shield, taking his axe up in both hands as he rushed toward the gap. The smoke seemed to swirl up to enfold him, and he nearly misjudged the edge; but then he was flying across, the smoke absorbing his vision for a moment before he was through, and a grimlock was rushing straight for him. He was a bit surprised when his boots landed on solid ground.

“Aaaaaaaaar!” he shouted, bringing his axe down into the grimlock’s chest. The weapon tore a deep gash in its chest but snagged on its breastbone. Two grimlocks were on him in a flash, stabbing with hook-shaped curving swords that tried to find gaps in his plate armor. He suspected that if he let them, they’d gut him and hang him up to rot soon enough.

“Eat crap, ye bastards!” he yelled, laying out with everything he had. It was a gamble, since these guys were tough and agile, and too much strength would overextend himself and cause a miss, leaving him open to the inevitable counterattacks. But his first power attack connected, hitting the one he’d injured with enough force to cut through its body all the way to the spine. The grimlock went down in a bloody mess, almost wrenching his axe from his grip before he could yank it free. A sharp point snagged in his side, no doubt puncturing something significant, but there wasn’t time to worry about that just now.

“By yer right foot!” he yelled at Arun, not able to spare even a moment to look over to see how the paladin was doing. Well, he hoped; he had a feeling he was going to need some help in a couple of seconds, and he’d lost sight of Beorna and the cleric in all the smoke and confusion.

Something hard caromed off of the side of his head, and he staggered. The white smoke rose up and he could feel the edge of the pit drop off on the side of his boot. Damn, that was close, he thought.

Then a pair of grimlocks slammed into him, and the lot of them went over, swallowed up into the searing white fog.

 

[Solarious]

There are four of these super-dwarves, two of them very capable divine spellcasters with fairly heavy investments in melee, one capable of becomming what amounts to an immobile tower of hewing death, and one is a Paladin with a Holy Avenger who's there to chew gum and chop down Grimlocks, and he's all out of gum.

And these Grimlock barbarians (I assume that's their class) manage to overwhelm all four with their numbers?

How many of the blind freaks ARE there?

On the other hand, I love the pain, suffering, and general difficulty they're having.

I'm getting close to the story catching up to where I am in writing, as I haven't had time to write much over the last few weeks. Usually after being away for some time it's harder to get back into the "flow".

Uh oh. This is bad.

But I've got an outline and intend to just force it some in the coming days (it's the only way to get through a block IMO), so hopefully I can stick to the "post-a-day" schedule for the remainder of the story.

Oh. Much better. Thank you muchly!

Suddenly, I am filled with the image of a tank that runs on Story Outlines, is built out of Willpower, and fires pure Effort into a block of a solid substance of your choosing, the metaphorical repesentation of a writer's block. Meanwhile, I am generating in my mind the sound of you laughing maniacally while screaming "FULL SPEED AHEAD!" and reducing the block to a pile of rubble. I find it tremendously funny.

Don't worry, there's a lot left, including a few twists that you might find... amusing.

Eeeexcelent. [/Mr. Burns]