NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sniktch" data-source="post: 442361" data-attributes="member: 7704">Quinn takes up sculpting.Stumpwater Jack awoke with a snort.  It was a pleasant spring evening, a chill breeze gently blowing through the air.  The insects were just starting their nightly song, and he could hear the soft neighs of the horses from a short distance away.He sat up and looked around.  He saw no sign of his companions; the only movements came from Artimas’ homunculus as it carried pails of water to the horses.  In the distance he saw the entrance to the crypts yawning open.  “Musta gone in wi’out me,” he mused, standing up and striding in the direction of the archway.  On his way the homunculus passed him, dragging a fresh bucket of water behind him.  His boot shot out and he punted the nasty little thing into the bushes, sending a spray of cold droplets through the air.He entered the crypts with a satisfied smile on his face and went to find the others.*****When the statue came to life Grick stumbled out of the room with an arm raised protectively before his face.  Malobar said, “There must be a catch that triggers the statue.  Let me find the trap and we should be able to slip by this one.”He knelt in the doorway and began examining the floor and frame.  The statue spread its arms wide and hissed, “Defilers!”  Then something issued from the sculpture, something gauzy and insubstantial that composed itself into an ectoplasmic image of the woman the statue depicted.  The spirit’s face stretched and pulled into a ghastly shape and issued a supernatural scream that froze the companions momentarily, although none of the doughty heroes were effected by the acerbic gaze.Welby went into a rage and charged into the room.  He slashed at the apparition, but his blade passed right through the spirit without harming her.  The ghost laughed and faded from view.  At the same time, the statue came to live, smashing one of its stone fists into the side of the halfling’s face and launching him across the room.Grick lurched past the spinning barbarian and brought his fist smashing into the statue’s chest, causing very little damage.  Malobar fired a pair of arrows and cursed himself for his foolishness when they simply shattered against the stone body with no effect.  He threw the useless bow to the ground and drew his sword.A solemn chant filled the room as Quinn stepped in, lost in prayer as she invoked the earth powers of Dumathoin.  She studied the statue intently as the tingling power began to course through her limbs, then she stepped forward and reached out to touch the statue.  It swung a mighty blow at her but she absorbed the impact with her raised shield, then pressed her palm to the sculpture’s side.  The stone split beneath her touch and began to flow towards the ground, hardening into a new form.  When the spell finished working its magic the graven image of the noblewoman was replaced by a solid cube of stone!The ghost rose from the stone howling in rage and frustration and directed its supernatural fury into a withering stare that it leveled at Quinn.  The sturdy dwarf could feel the power behind that stare, but she was protected by her faith and withstood the gaze unharmed.  Laughing, Artimas stretched forth his hand and a trio of streaking bolts flew from his fingers and struck the incorporeal foe.The battle ended very quickly after that.  Grick went into a blur of motion, drawing his butterfly swords and cutting at the ghost, the enchanted steel cutting the undead more often than not.  Welby and Malobar took up flanking positions and also began hacking at the spirit, while Artimas stood back and cast another stream of magic missiles.  The infuriated ghost ignored all of their attacks and focused its corrupting stare on Quinn, but the priestess was simply too strong for such a tactic and remained unharmed.The ghost finally dissipated with a long wail of “Noooooo!” and the party relaxed, standing in a semicircle around the stone block that now rested in the center of the room and regaining their wind.  A footstep from the doorway brought them all whirling around, weapons raised to confront a new threat.Jack stood in the doorway, looking bemused.  “What in the blazes are ya doin?” he demanded, and they all began to laugh.*****The small room contained four other doors beside the one they had entered through.  Each contained a single plain sarcophagus that Malobar and Artimas searched, ignoring Jack’s protests.  They found nothing of value in the first three they opened, but the last contained a skeleton wearing a gold ring set with a small green stone on one finger and a codpiece of rose gold fashioned to resemble a dragon’s head with the jaws opened wide.Malobar retrieved a pair of long metal tongs from his toolkit and used them to lift the objects free.  As he removed the ring a booming voice rent the air, declaring “Whosoever defiles my tomb shall be devoured by demons seven days hence!”Startled, the elf jerked his arm away and the ring fell to the floor with a clatter.  Recovering his wits, he scooped it up and placed it on his left hand, then removed the codpiece and packed it away.  Jack tapped him on the shoulder.“What day is it?” the dwarf asked him.Malobar answered, then puzzled, asked “Why do you wish to know?”Jack shrugged, “Cause I wanted to know what day next week I should be avoidin ya.”At this point the companions were all exhausted from their explorations, except for Jack of course.  They headed back to the wagon and set up camp, planning to delve deeper the next day.  The night passed uneventfully save for an enlightening discussion between Artimas and his homunculus.“He kicked me,” whined the battered construct, displaying the boot print on its backside.“Oh, he did, did he?” Artimas answered.  “Well, we’ll just have to keep a closer eye on our friend Stumpwater and make sure he behaves himself better in the future.”The next morning they re-entered the catacombs, this time moving further into the crypts and down a great staircase they found hewn into the rock.  At the bottom of the stairs they found themselves in a series of natural caverns, the walls pockmarked with alcoves that were filled with piles and piles of bones.  More bones lay strewn about the floor, and the party knew they had passed into the commoners’ crypts.Malobar, Welby, and the halfling’s shadow companion took up a leading position about sixty feet in front of the others to scout ahead.  They passed through the first cave uneventfully and moved into the second.  This vaulted chamber was exactly the same as the first, save that a huge statue stood upon a raised pedestal in the center of the room.  Twenty feet tall, the sculpture depicted a gaunt emaciated man draped in heavy robes and cowl, carried a giant scythe which it had raised as if poised to cut grain.  An inscription was carved into the base of the statue, but it was written in the ancient tongues and Malobar could not decipher it.  He and Welby passed the statue by and headed to the other side of the room to watch the exit while they waited for the others to catch up.Artimas fell to one knee as soon as he saw the statue.  “Lord Arawn!” he gasped, then began searching the floor of the cave carefully.Grick stared at him curiously.  “Wash you doin?” he slurred at the necromancer.“If this area has been consecrated to Arawn then my powers may prove more potent within its confines.  I would like to test that theory.  Aha!  This will do,”  the mage finished and stood, holding the tiny furred corpse of a recently deceased fruit bat.  He intoned the words of the pet cemetery spell, sprinkling the corpse with ground onyx.As the newly animated zombie stretched its wings and took clumsy flight a crash resounded through the room.  They all turned to see that the statue of Arawn had come to life, and strode toward the necromancer with great, echoing steps, scythe raised to strike.“Now look what ya’ve done!” Jack yelled at him.  “The statue were placed here ta protect the dead, not help snakes like you ta defile ‘em.  Now ya’ll reap what ya’ve sewn, wizard.”  Jack finished and moved to sit on a broad, flat rock, pulling his pipe from his pouch.“I’m gonna enjoy watchin this,” he sneered as he tamped a pinch of tobacco in the pipe and readied a tinderstick.“Mantish shleap!” Grick cried and launched himself into a flying kick towards the towering construct.  He soared across the thirty foot distance separating him from the opponent, his foot striking the stone with such force that he knocked several chips free and hairline fractures spread across the statue’s broad chest.  It didn’t slow, merely swatting him to the ground with an enormous hand and trampling him into the floor as it sped towards Artimas.The wizard quailed fearfully and launched a volley of magic missiles, but they had little effect upon his rocky enemy.  It moved close enough to strike and brought the giant granite scythe down with brutal force, barely clipping Artimas and sending him spinning through the air.Welby had started rushing toward the battle as soon as he heard the statue move.  He caught up to the giant figure and hacked at the back of its ankles, but failed to do more than knock a few chips from the stone.  Malobar stayed by the exit with his bow ready but did not fire, fearing he could cause no more damage than he had against the smaller statue they’d fought the night before.Quinn came to Artimas’ rescue, then, once more using her powers over earth to substantially alter the course of the battle.  She reached out with her divinely granted power and softened the rock, changing it from near-impenetrable granite to soft clay.  Large soft chunks of mud began dripping from the figure as it lashed out at the necromancer again, smashing him back against the wall.Malobar saw the change in the statue and began firing.  Now his arrows did not shatter but sank deep into the clay.  He wasn’t sure this was doing any good, either, but at least he felt he was contributing to the fight.  Meanwhile Grick had recovered from being trod upon and focused his chi abilities on his injuries, causing the bleeding to stop and the pain to subside.  He sprang to his feet and jumped across the room in another flying kick.  This time his attack caused catastrophic damage as the half-orc hit the clay with such force that he plunged right through, tearing the statue’s head from its shoulders.  The construct stopped moving and fell sideways to the ground with a resounding boom, the spell animating the statue losing its power due to the strain of the damage it had taken.Malobar lowered his bow without firing the last arrow he’d nocked and sighed in relief.  He was certainly glad that was over, and he hoped that his next opponent would be flesh and blood.  No more statues, enough was enough.He caught movement in his peripheral vision and turned in time to see a hideous, ghoul-like creature springing from the shadows.  It tore into him with teeth and claws and he lost control of his limbs, freezing in place, immobilized before he could even gasp in astonishment.  The creature grabbed a handful of his hair and started dragging him away down the tunnel.Next:  The chase.</blockquote>

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