Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)

[Lazybones]

Chapter 24

Morgan reacted swiftly, his mace darting up into a ready position, his other hand holding firm to the arm of the skulk. Arun, too, lifted his hammer, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the newcomers.

“Peace,” the blue-eyed man said to them. “We are not enemies.” Their posture, however, was that of cats waiting to spring, either to attack or flee, and their hands did not wander far from the hilts of the swords at their belts.

Zenna, who’d been peering at the face beneath the cowl, stepped forward. “You’re that elf we saw earlier, coming out of this place,” she said.

“Half-elf, actually,” the man said, drawing back his hood to clearly reveal his angular features and ears that rose to narrow points. “Though I’ve often heard that I favor my father.”

“Who are you?” Morgan demanded.

The half-elf offered a slight bow. “I am Fellian Shard, and my companion, here, is Fario Ellegoth.”

Jenya stepped forward, making a slight gesture toward Morgan that was intended to be placating. “I am Jenya Urikas, cleric of Helm,” she said to them.

Fellian nodded. “I know who you are, Lady, and your companions as well.”

“Oh?” Mole asked. “How is it that you know us, and we’ve never seen you before? Other than earlier today, that is.”

“Yes, perhaps you’d better start with the answers, elf,” Arun growled, still not having lowered his hefty warhammer.

Fario’s expression darkened, but Fellian shot him a glance, and the man subsided. “I confess that we have been monitoring your progress,” Fellian said. “We share the same goals, I suspect... we, too, are investigating the disappearances, and are interested in bringing the perpetuators of these crimes to justice. We observed your visit to the orphanage, and obviously drew the same conclusions that led you to Ghelve. You apparently had better success in ferreting out the truth than we did, however,” he said, including his head slightly toward the skulk prisoner.

“I don’t like sneaks,” Arun said, and Ruphos added, “Why didn’t you just make yourselves known to us?”

“I apologize for our secrecy, but we are outsiders here, and were not certain who we could trust.”

“What is your interest in this, if I might ask?” Zenna asked.

“A friend of ours was among those taken,” Fario said. “A wizard named Elethor Ashstaff.”

Jenya nodded. “I know of him. A fine man, he sometimes performed feats of magic at parties for the children of the leading families of the city. He disappeared just over two tendays ago.”

Both half-elves nodded. “Our investigations were not fruitful, until we started observing you,” Fellian said.

“Now that you have uncovered who is behind this, we would aid you, and perhaps find our comrade,” Fario added.

“And we should trust you why, exactly?” Morgan said, at the same moment that Arun grumbled, “I don’t trust either of...” The two men looked at each other, their expressions suggesting that they were surprised and not entirely pleased at being in such close agreement on any matter, let alone this one.

“Trust is something that must be earned, not casually granted,” Fellian said. “But from what you said earlier, I suspect that you could use our aid.”

“Perhaps... if you would allow me to cast a spell, to help discern the purity of your motivations?” Jenya suggested. The two half-elves shared a look, but finally Fellian nodded. Jenya held aloft the silver symbol of her goddess, calling upon Helm’s divine might. She closed her eyes, her lips moving soundlessly, and then fixed her stare firmly on both Fellian and Fario for a long minute. Neither half-elf flinched at her scrutiny, and finally she nodded.

“I sense no evil about them,” she said. She turned to Ruphos. “But this is your mission, and I leave it to you to make the final decision.”

Ruphos looked around at his companions, gauging their feelings. Finally he said, “Very well, you may come with us.”

“Let’s get moving, we’ve wasted enough time here,” Arun growled, turning back toward the secret door.

And so the companions, now numbering six, returned to Jzadirune.

 

[Black Bard]

“Helm, shine the light of your guidance upon these brave travelers,” Jenya said, holding her holy symbol aloft briefly as she laid a blessing upon them. Each of the four felt the divine energy course through them, dispelling doubt and reinforcing their resolve.

Was that an effective spell?

“Half-elf, actually,”

I can consider my request half -fulfilled then...
Great writing, Lazy!!!

 

[Lazybones]

Was that an effective spell?

Yes, for about five minutes (the duration of bless). Mostly for "color" in this scene.

I can consider my request half -fulfilled then...
Great writing, Lazy!!!

Well, Fario and Fellian together make up a whole elf... But actually, the character I was referring to will make his appearance in "Flood Season," and he's my creation, not from the module.

* * * * *

Chapter 25

With the information provided by the skulk, they were able to find the secret door without too much difficulty. It was located near the bottom of the twisting staircase that descended into Jzadirune from Ghelve’s shop, and led to a short, blank corridor hidden within the stone. According to the skulk’s directions, the secret passage provided access to the lift that descended into the Malachite Fortress. Whether it was guarded... well, the adventurers were too savvy to take anything for granted on that score.

“I miss Smashy,” Mole said, as they moved into the corridor. Arun was still in the lead, but the half-elves were close behind, followed by the gnome and Zenna, with Ruphos again bringing up the rear. The cleric’s torch was still the only light, but the half-elves were gifted with the low-light vision of their elvish parents, an ability that Mole shared as well, and of course Arun and Zenna needed no light at all. Fellian and Fario moved with a smooth grace, each seeming to complement the other, their short recurved bows ready with an arrow nocked, ready to be drawn and fired at a moment’s notice. Arun could be heard to grumble every now and again as they followed him like twin shadows, but he did not offer any specific critique.

Zenna, for one, was glad to have them; although she hadn’t been willing to admit it to the others, she’d been worried that the four of them alone would end up quickly in over their heads within the Malachite Fortress. Even the name seemed dark and foreboding, and the skulk’s description of the slaver and his minions had been accompanied by genuine anxiety.

“The automaton was a useful ally,” Ruphos said to Mole, “But we could not risk leaving it for the stalker, or any other hostile foe left in Jzadirune.” With it already heavily damaged, it had only taken a pair of heavy blows from Arun’s hammer, and they’d left the machine strewn in pieces in the lair of the creepers and their still-at-large leader.

The secret corridor was not lengthy, only about twenty feet long, and while they could not make out any obvious exit, the skulk had told them that they would find another hidden door that opened onto the lift. Even as Ruphos closed the secret door to the stairs behind them, Arun started in that direction, the others close behind.

Arun went straight to the far wall and started feeling at the stone. Fellian gestured for the others to remain back a short distance. “Be wary, there might be a trap,” he said. “Perhaps you should let Fario and I handle the search.”

“Bah, I’ve worked with dozens of different kinds of secret doors; the dwarves damn near invented the things, you know. Don’t be trying to tell a dwarf about stonework,” Arun said, moving along the length of the wall slowly, probing and prodding along the stone, carefully examining every detail in the stone surface of the wall.

With a wry look, Fario walked up to a place near the center of the wall where the dwarf had just looked, and reached up to touch a small protrusion about four feet above the floor.

“Perhaps you need some elvish eyes,” the half-elf said, venturing a slight grin that contrasted with the dwarf’s scowl. A slab of stone about four feet across swung open in the wall beside the trigger, pivoting on its vertical axis, revealing a dark space beyond.

But the grin evaporated as a sudden grinding noise erupted beneath them, lasting only a split-second before the floor collapsed beneath their feet.

Arun fell like a stone, plummeting to the floor of the pit. The fall was not severe, only about ten feet, but as he hit he splashed into a mire of a thick, black, clinging goo, the substance coating the floor to a depth of a few inches. It was not enough to break his fall, but dangerous nonetheless, as became evident as the dwarf felt hot pain sizzle where the viscous substance touched his flesh.

Fario lunged out and grabbed hold of the bottom sill of the secret doorway, dropping his bow to fall into the muck below. Even as he fell against the wall of the pit, he shot out his other hand to meet Fellian’s. Their hands locked together and held their grasp even as Fellian swung forward and crashed against the wall beneath Fario, the former half-elf’s feet dangling just a few feet above the acidic sludge covering the floor of the pit.

Even as she heard the click, Mole leapt backward, clearing the edge of the pit by inches. She collided against Zenna, who with Ruphos had been beyond the edge of the pit, thanks to Fellian’s earlier warning for them to stay back.

“Are you all right?” Zenna yelled down to Arun, who was trying to stand up. Mole put her crossbow down on the floor and slipped off her small pack, digging in it for her coil of rope.

“Argh, by Moradin’s blasted beard, this stuff burns!” the dwarf cried. Still, he managed to stand and stagger to the edge of the pit under them, although there was no way for him to manage the sheer walls without help. On the far side, under the secret door, Fario continued to hold on with one hand, supporting both his weight and the weight of his friend, his face twisted into a grimace with the weight of his effort.

“Hold on!” Ruphos said to them, standing behind Mole as she found and dug out the rope.

Distracted as he was, he didn’t see the shadowy forms that came into view on the far side of the portal, or the glint of steel that shone in the light of his torch.

 

[Black Bard]

I'm looking forward to see our true elf... Mean while, I hope our heroes don't get killed... How are they going to fight with Arun down on the pit?? I think now is the time to Ruphos to show the power o Helm... beginning to pray now...

Are you going to post Fario and Fellian stats?

And, as always, congratulations, Lazy!!!

 

[Lazybones]

Are you going to post Fario and Fellian stats?

Done. Check out the Rogues' Gallery. Both are straight from the module.

And don't noboby be down on my man Ruphos... that kid's got a 17 point build, it's not his fault that he's a wuss (5 of his stats end in odd numbers, for criminy's sake!).

* * * * *

Chapter 26

It was Zenna who first detected the danger, but too late to save them from harm.

“Look out!” she cried, hefting her crossbow.

A long shaft shot out from behind the door, flying across the pit to strike Ruphos in the shoulder. The javelin did not bite deep, his armor protecting him from serious harm, but the cleric cried out in pain and surprise, dodging back as he wrenched the head of the missile free.

Zenna fired her crossbow, but the shot glanced off of the wall just left of the door. The portal formed by the rotating secret door was a pair of slit openings, each about two feet wide and four feet high, giving whoever was behind them excellent cover. The companions on the far side of the pit caught a glimpse of a ferocious humanoid visage for a moment before another javelin came flying out, narrowly missing Zenna and caroming violently down the corridor behind them.

“I have it!” Mole cried, hurriedly unwinding the rope and tossing one end down to Arun. “Help me!” she yelled to Ruphos, offering the other end to him.

The dwarf had quickly realized what was happening, and ignoring the blazing pain that continued to sizzle up his legs he turned and hurled one of his light hammers up toward the opening. The missile shot up just a foot over the threshold where Fario held on, but they did not hear the sound of a successful impact, only the delayed thump that indicated the hammer had hit a wall somewhere beyond.

Zenna crouched down and reloaded, while Ruphos and Mole grasped onto the rope. “It’s no good, he’s too heavy!” Ruphos said, even before Arun had taken up the rope. “He’ll pull us right in after him... we have to anchor it somewhere!”

“I’m open to suggestions!” Mole replied.

Fario, meanwhile, was slipping, his body stretched by the strain of holding he and Fellian up by one hand. The two half-elves shared a quick look, some unspoken communication passing between them in that instant, and Fellian let go. He only dropped a few feet, landing easily on the slippery surface, but the acidic slime quickly went to work on his boots, smoking where the splash of his short fall had landed it on his leggings.

Ruphos, thinking quickly, turned and dashed down the corridor back toward the first secret door. For a moment he stood there blankly, faced with a featureless stone surface, but then he remembered the location of the triggering stone and swung the rotating portal open. The gnomish door was counterweight to swing back shut when he released pressure, but before it could close again he’d wrapped the end of the rope around his mace, and jammed it into the corner of the opening, where it was quickly wedged into place by the closing door.

“Go!” he cried back down the corridor.

The enemies behind the portal had not let up in their attack, although fortunately they had not apparently noticed the fingers hanging on at the base of the threshold. Another javelin shot out, this time aimed at Arun, thankfully glancing off of his armored torso without causing damage. A few seconds later a second shot out across at the far side of the pit, this one hitting Mole with a glancing hit that grazed her left leg.

“Ouch!” the gnome cried. She dove for her crossbow, hefting the loaded weapon and taking careful aim before firing. The bolt shot straight and true into one of the openings, where she was rewarded by a sudden cry of pain that turned into a bloody gurgle.

With Fellian’s weight removed, Fario grabbed onto the sill of the door with both hands and pulled himself up with a mighty heave. He was immediately faced with a heavily armored hobgoblin warrior, whose eyes widened with surprise as the half-elf rose up before him. The hobgoblin didn’t hesitate, eschewing the sword at his hip for the javelin that he already had in hand, thrusting the weapon like a spear at the half-elf. The javelin bit deep into his side, but Fario thrust forward anyway, tearing himself off the point and quickly drawing the shortsword from his belt. The hobgoblin backed away, trying to draw his own sword—and nearly stumbling over the body of his companion, Mole’s bolt lodged in its throat—but crumpled as Fario stabbed him in the gut, half the length of his short blade crunching through his armor into the organs underneath.

Arun had grabbed onto the rope, but hesitated as Fellian—already limping as the acid made short work of his boots—came up behind him. “Go!” he yelled, shoving the rope at him.

“You first, you’re hurt more!”

“Don’t be arguing, elf!” the dwarf roared, though the pain showed clearly in his face now as he all but dragged Fellian to the rope. The half-elf nimbly moved up the rope, although it was difficult given the current condition of his feet. Arun waited until he’d reached the lip of the pit, however, and Ruphos had pulled him over the edge, before he started up the rope. The rope had started to smoke where Fellian had touched it with his legs, but it held long enough for them the paladin to reach the relative safety of the top. Fario, meanwhile, had reappeared in the opening, waving to them that the way was now clear.

“Two dead hobgoblins,” he reported. “Well equipped, with heavy armor. It looks like this is the lift the skulk mentioned, there’s a wooden floor and a chain that connects with some sort of winch in the ceiling.”

“Good work,” Zenna said, “Especially since you were off your guard, climbing up.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” he replied. “Your markswoman there took out one, critical hit to the throat.”

“Well, he made me mad,” Mole said.

But their relief at winning past this difficult encounter quickly faded as they realized the difficulty of their current situation. All of them save Zenna were hurt, Arun seriously. His and Fellian’s boots were ruined, with only pitted leather left. Ruphos’s healing wand and Fellian’s own divine powers—the half-elf was a cleric of Shaundakul, as it happened—were able to treat their injuries, but of more pressing concern was how they were going to get across the pit.

“What about the rope?” Zenna suggested. “It should be long enough to make it across, and Fario can anchor it to something on that end...”

“The rope’s shot,” Arun broke in. “Between Fellian and I crawling up it with that stuff all over our legs, I’d not trust it to hold even the gnome here, not over that pit.”

“So what do we do?” Ruphos asked, tucking the wand back into his pouch. They were now restored somewhat, although Arun would be walking about on bare feet for the time being.

Mole drew out her map, the one that Ghelve had given them what seemed like days before. “Look, I’ll bet that the lift is this octagonal room here,” she said. “We should be able to get to it by going through these doors here, and here.”

“But we know those doors are trapped,” Zenna said.

Mole shrugged. “I don’t see another option.”

Arun hefted his hammer. “All right then,” he said. “Fario, you stay put, we’ll be there shortly. I’d stay away from the door, if I were you.” The half-elf nodded, and retreated back into the room, leaving the secret door propped slightly ajar.

Ruphos recovered his mace, and the companions set out once more.

 

[Black Bard]

Just great, Lazy!!!

But...Don't you have any respect for gnomes??!!!

Mule’s bolt lodged in its throat

 

[Lazybones]

Eh, Mole, Mule, what's the difference...

*typo fixed*

* * * * *

Chapter 27

“Let’s try this way first,” Mole said, checking her map.

The passage in question was one of the side-branches of the skulk tunnels that they’d bypassed earlier. According to the map, it led back in the direction of the rooms that they wanted to get to, so Arun led them in that direction. The dwarf had insisted on maintaining his position of leadership at the front of the line, and Fellian did not further contest the issue. The half-elf moved close behind the dwarf, however, an arrow fitted to his bow.

The circular tunnel twisted and turned before straightening out once more and coming to an end beneath a steep shaft that led up to an opening in the ceiling about seven feet above them.

“Boost me up, I’ll lower the rope down to help the rest of you up,” Mole said. She’d rescued as much of her rope as wasn’t damaged by the acidic goo from the pit trap, leaving her with a segment about ten feet in length.

“I don’t like it, there might be something waiting for us up there,” Arun said.

“Well, unless you’re going to sprout wings, or can leap straight up seven feet...”

“Listen, you two,” Zenna broke in. “Whatever may be up there, it’s already heard you bickering, if it didn’t hear you coming fifty paces distant, what with all the clanking we’re making. Let’s lift Mole, but drop back down if you see anything dangerous, okay?”

Arun harrumphed, but he helped Fellian lift Mole up to the opening. The gnome nimbly leapt up into the opening, pulling herself through and disappearing from sight.

“Everything all right?” Zenna called up.

“Smells like skulk,” came the gnome’s voice, “but there’s no one here now. It’s just a little dead end-room, no obvious exists, but maybe one of those secret doors.”

“Lift me up,” Fellian said. “I’ll help her search.”

“We’ll all go,” Zenna said. “Arun, why don’t you come last, and we can all hold the rope to help you up, since you’re the heaviest.”

The dwarf grumbled some more at that, but helped each of them up in turn, then pulled himself up with the help of the rope. By the time they were all in the confines of the small chamber, Fellian had already located the secret door in the east wall, and they opened it to find the hexagonal room indicated on their map, just south of the lift. Unfortunately, that meant that there were still two of the trapped gnome-doors to navigate before they could reach Fario and the route down to the Malachite Fortress.

“I bet you’re wishing that you hadn’t destroyed Smashy now,” Mole said.

“Give it a rest, Mole,” Zenna said.

The room was mostly unremarkable, but what caught their attention immediately was a large, iron-bound chest sitting in the exact center of the chamber. Atop the chest was a small iron cage, inside which was a small brown rat. The rat, which had a white star-shaped patch of fur on its forehead, chittered excitedly as they entered the room, grasping the bars of its cage with its tiny paws.

“The locksmith’s familiar, I presume,” Zenna said.

“Ah, a treasure chest, allow me, this is my specialty,” Mole said, slinging her crossbow across her back and cracking her knuckles before starting forward. She’d barely gotten within ten paces of it, however, before the chest suddenly began to... move. A seam opened within its front, resolving into a gaping maw full of jagged teeth. Mole jumped back in surprise, letting out a startled, “Eep!” The cage and its occupant bucked slightly at the chest-creature’s movements, although it remained fixed to its perch.

“On second thought, maybe you’d better handle it,” she said to the others.

 

[Lazybones]

Chapter 28

The gap-toothed mouth expanded until it crossed half the width of the chest, then it started speaking, a rough, gibbous sound that filled the confines of the chamber.

“What is it saying?” Ruphos asked, his mouth twisted into an expression of disgust.

Arun had hefted one of this throwing hammers the moment the chest had started moving, but he held his throw as he listened to the spew of gibberish coming from the chest. “It’s speaking Undercommon,” he finally said, lowering the hammer fractionally. “Or at least it’s trying to, its accent is... poor.”

“What is it saying?” Fellian asked, echoing Ruphos’s question. He, too, had his bow half-ready to fire, but the chest-monster seemed content to hold its position, not advancing any closer to them.

“It says that it doesn’t want to fight us,” the dwarf said, his expression clearly conveying his skepticism. “It claims to have been set here to guard the rat, but it doesn’t sound quite content with its current employers.”

“Maybe you should tell it that it’s now unemployed,” Zenna said.

“I don’t know, maybe we don’t want to tick it off,” Mole said. She’d unslung her crossbow, and now pointed it warily at the chest as it continued to gibber at them.

“What is it, exactly?” Fellian asked.

“It’s a mimic,” Arun said. “Aberrations, shapeshifters that are sometimes found in the deep ways of the Underdark. They can imitate just about any inanimate object, and they’re tough combatants to boot. It may not look it, but that thing weights several thousand pounds, and you’ll feel it when it hits you.”

“All the more reason not to make it mad,” Mole added.

“Will it let us pass?” Zenna asked.

“Hold,” Arun said to them, listening to the creature’s continued babbling. He said something to it in Undercommon, and the mimic responded.

“It says that it was tasked with guarding the rat, not the entrance to the Fortress. But it’s hungry—apparently the skulks only feed it rats and spiders.”

“Yuck!” Mole said.

“It’ll let us take the rat, if we give it something tasty to eat.”

“I shudder to think what that thing might find tasty,” Fellian said.

“Well, there was those skulks we killed in the room with the floating lights,” Mole said. “It’s only been a few hours, they probably aren’t too ‘ripe’ yet.”

“So you wish to deal with this... thing, then?” Ruphos asked her.

“Well, I certainly don’t want to fight it,” the gnome replied. “And we should probably take the rat; with the skulks dead, it’ll starve to death, and it’s not like it did anything wrong.”

Arun frowned. “I do not sense evil from the creature.”

“Well then, let’s get it a meal and be on our way,” Fellian offered.

Arun said something to the mimic in Undercommon, but it reared back, its huge maw twisting in a clear expression of distaste, spitting out a response. “It doesn’t savor the idea of eating skulks,” the dwarf said. “Apparently they smell and taste rather... poor.”

Zenna raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I’d want a guard creature working for me that knows what I taste like.”

“How about those hobgoblins we fought earlier?” Mole suggested.

“Great, now I’m a waiter for an aberration,” Arun said, turning back to the creature. But the mimic seemed amenable to the idea, saying that it hadn’t eaten a hobgoblin before, and was willing to accept the opportunity.

“Well, now we just have to find a way past these doors,” Mole said, as they moved past the mimic—giving it a wide berth—and approached the circular door. The portal seemed malevolent, threatening, given what they knew about the gnomish doors and their tricky traps.

“So all of these little doors are trapped, then?” Fellian asked.

“Well, the skulks thought so,” Zenna replied. “We only tried two, and one shot out a cloud of acidic gas, and the second a blast of fire.”

“Yes, and we don’t have our special door-opener any more,” Mole pointed out. She moved ahead, and examined the door and its surrounding threshold. There was a runic mark on the door, which Mole said was a gnomish letter “R”. There was a small notch in the stone threshold to the left of the door, which Mole examined carefully before drawing back and turning back to them.

“It looks like this is a keyhole of sorts,” she said. “But we don’t have a key.”

“I’ve got a key,” Arun said, stepping forward with his warhammer readied.

 

[Renfield]

Wow, finally made it. Sort of sped read through some of the posts but all in all very entertaining! *sigh* the most annoying thing about message boards is catching up. Anyway, great story so far Lazy Bones, plan on keeping tabs on it myself seeing as I intend on running the adventure path for my group after my current campaign is completed. Seems I have a long distance to go before my skills catch up with the likes of you and Sepulchre's. Oi, so much to do lol. Anyway, great job on the dwarf, nice change of pace being from the great rift. Grumble to the half elves but that's just the dwarven side of me talking (damn sunderer's of faerun ) Anyway, looking forward to the next post.

 

[Black Bard]

Wonderful, Lazy!!
I can imagine Arun's disgust dealing with the mimic...