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Story Hour
[Story Hour Sampler] Post Your Favorite Story Hour Installment
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<blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 1871288" data-attributes="member: 11"><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px">Here is my favorite installment. Typically my posts are about 2/3 of this one, but when I posted this I wanted to put a whole session as one installment because of the nature of events - where the escape from a subterreanean complex took one entire session all of which was spent in the same basic initiative order. </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px">I wasn't sure if I should keep the footnotes in this version, but since it is how I usually post my installments I decided to keep them (they can be safely ignored).</span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-size: 10px">At the end of the session before this Ratchis had decapitated and destroyed the vampire whose imprisonment and suffering were mystically keeping the decrepit complex together.</span></em></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p><strong>Session #48 – Escape From the Necropolis of Doom</strong></p><p></p><p>“You are truly blessed by your gods!” Kazrack said in awe of Ratchis’ mighty blow, but there was no time for congratulations. The walls rumbled and shook again, and the cracks spidered everywhere. This place was going to collapse. The Fearless Manticore Killers and the dwarven company knew they had a long climb out before escaping. (1)</p><p></p><p>“We need to make for the main shaft,” Captain Adalar yelled over the increasingly loud rumbling.</p><p></p><p>Derek, however, went in the opposite direction, hoping to search for something in the sarcophagus that might stop the collapse of the structure. Martin handed him a torch.</p><p></p><p>“Blodnath! Baervard! Jeremy! Hurry ahead and get to the ropes and go up as quickly as you can,” Ratchis ordered. “We’re going need you to pull up those who are bad climbers.” </p><p></p><p>And as if to emphasize he meant for them to do what he said immediately, he spoke a quick word to his goddess and patted Jeremy’s shoulder. Suddenly, the Neergaardian’s cloak gave off an aura of bright light.</p><p></p><p>Blodnath had already snaked past everyone and was making his escape. He pause just before a large square stone that was the floor where the two narrow halls joined. </p><p></p><p>“This floor is gonna go soon,” he pointed at the clouds of dust bursting up from around the seams of the stone and then took off up the stairs. There was a deep yawning sound punctuated by crashed from deep beneath them. Baervard and Jeremy were right behind him, but the latter turned back, for everyone else seemed to be reacting too slowly for his tastes.</p><p></p><p>“Come on!” he said with some panic in his voice.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack stepped over and began to run his hands through the dust and rags inside the sarcophagus. With Derek and Martin the Green. The moved frantically and strained to see any detail about the sarcophagus that might help them in this predicament. But there was only one very clear thing about it. The inside was lined with fist-sized rubies that gleamed in the torchlight.</p><p></p><p>Ratchis cast his miracle of light once again, this time placing it on Beorth’s helmet. A second later it rang out, as a stone fell from above sending the paladin reeling towards the exit. He fell and seemed stunned. He held his head and tried to straighten his helmet. Jolnar, Golnar and Tolnar ran into the room, were yelled at by Adalar and then went back to follow Baervard and Jeremy up and out of the narrow corridors that led into this place. Helrahd stepped over to help Beorth to his feet.</p><p></p><p>“Gods!” said Kirla. She had made her way over to the sarcophagus just as Derek fled for the door giving up his search and pushing Martin in front of him. She reached down and place her calloused palm on one of the rubies and tried to turn it loose some.</p><p></p><p>Belear was moving to the exit past Ratchis, who stood his ground waiting to make sure everyone was at least heading out before sprinting for the exit itself. Kazack moved to the door, while admonishing Kirla. </p><p></p><p>“Leave the gems,” he said. “We have to get out of here!”</p><p></p><p>Kirla just screwed her face up with more determination and pulled a small chisel from her belt and went to work on it with that. To her trained eyes, she could tell this stone was loose and worth a great deal. </p><p></p><p>Ratchis looked to Kazrack and then to Helrahd who was point Beorth in the right direction, and then back to Kirla. He then turned and followed Beorth up the narrow steps. </p><p></p><p>Behind him, the stone statue in the corner fell over, widening the crack beneath it, and partially blocking the way out of the sarcophagus room for Helrahd, Kirla and Kazrack.</p><p></p><p>The half-orc came up to the main chamber above, just in time to see the floor give way beneath Martin and the watch-mage tumble into the darkness of the smaller room below. </p><p></p><p>“Oh!” cried the watch-mage.</p><p></p><p>“Martin! Come to me! We’ll get up the pillars,” Jeremy cried out in the dark, hearing his companion fall. He had already fallen into the lower level with Baervard, who was fending off the zombies to make it to a pillar of his own. Martin crawled behind Jeremy and stood, making his way over the bodies of countless zombies. More were falling from the dirt ceiling above them, and still others were still trying to dig their way out of the collapsing side tunnels. Jeremy kept an area around him clear with a wide arc of his blades.</p><p></p><p>Above, Ratchis leapt over the hole, but barely made it. Flailing his arms to regain his balance he hustled towards the gate-like door to the chamber that led to the shaft to the surface, counting on Jeremy and the others to make sure Martin made it out.</p><p></p><p>------------------------</p><p></p><p>“Damn it, woman!” Karack reached for Kirla’s wrist. “Leave the stone be! We know not its purpose!”</p><p></p><p>Behind them Belear squeezed past the fallen statue, stepping widely over the crack, as Helrahd held levered the statue a bit with one of his axes. He began to make his way up the narrow and rapidly cracking steps to the upper chamber.</p><p></p><p>“It is going to take time for you to squeeze past that statue. I’ll be right behind you!” Kirla said, jerking her hand away and continuing to work on the gem. It was turning much more freely now.</p><p></p><p>“Just leave it girl!” Kirla’s older brother, admonished. Kazrack had never heard real concern in the grizzled dwarf’s voice before.</p><p></p><p>Captain Adalar had made it across the upper chamber, but seeing that all but Tolnar were having trouble making it across, he ran back down the steps, grabbing pointing to Blodnath. </p><p></p><p>“Get a rope around a pillar,” he commanded. “We need to get those people up from down there!” However, the floor beneath him gave as he stepped back into the large chamber and soon he and Tolnar were down there with Jeremy, Blodnath and Martin.</p><p></p><p>“No!” Ratchis, slapped his forehead in shock.</p><p></p><p>“Lentus!” Martin cried, and slowed a group of zombies, keeping them from mobbing the stunned dwarves that had just fallen. Jeremy made his way over there, cutting a swath in the undead limbs, and a moment later Blodnath’s rope came down.</p><p></p><p>“Martin! Up the rope!” the Neergaardian cried. Martin hurried over, lighting a torch as he went.</p><p></p><p>“Thomas?” the Watch-mage reached out with his thoughts to his frightened familiar, which was hidden in the hood of his cloak.</p><p></p><p>“Yes?”</p><p></p><p>“If I can’t make it out, I want you to run.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m not leaving you,” the squirrel replied adamantly. “At least not yet.”</p><p></p><p>The watch-mage took a moment to scratch his familiar lovingly behind the ear. </p><p></p><p>Derek was beside Blodnath, and looking down at the horror beneath. </p><p></p><p>“You can make your way up this way,” he instructed. “There are some beams to help support you. I’ll hold the rope.”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t like zombies,” Bearvard said, pushing past Martin and grabbing the rope. Martin was agog. The dwarf had never spoken a word that the watch-mage had ever heard the whole time he had been with the group. Now, he was climbing up the rope.</p><p></p><p>--------------------------</p><p></p><p>“I got it!” The fist-sized ruby popped into Kirla’s hand, and the room shook, more. Kazrack barely stepped out of the way of a piece of ceiling. And despite this, Kirla paused to admire the gem and smile broadly. “Beautiful.”</p><p></p><p>“Put the stone back!” Kazrack commanded. “We don’t know why it was there in that formation.”</p><p></p><p>He snatched the stone from her hand.</p><p></p><p>“You have no right to take that from me!” Kirla replied, with a look of indignation.</p><p></p><p>“I will be happy to discuss propriety when I don’t have stones falling down around my ears! Now go!”</p><p></p><p>“You should not grab things out of my sister’s hands like that!” Helrahd said angrily, and snatched the gem out of Kazrack’s hand and handed it back to Kirla in one smooth motion. “Now come on!”</p><p></p><p>Kazrack’s eyes opened wide with incredulity. “You are being foolish, girl!” He followed the siblings to the partially blocked exit to the room. Helrahd squeezed through first. </p><p></p><p>“Go!” Kazrack motioned to Kirla to follow her brother, but she shook her head stubbornly. </p><p></p><p>“You go,” she replied.</p><p></p><p>The whole place shook again, but this time with a deeper rumble and the demoness statue fell over onto the stone sarcophagus, shattering it. (2)</p><p></p><p>Kazrack sighed and squeezed under the statue, but the wall on his right gave way some and he had to thrust himself forward to avoid being crushed. A huge section of the wall fell off and the statue fell through the floor, revealing a deep chasm below. A great cloud of dust rose, and Kirla stepped backm placing an arm before her face. When the dust cleared, she could see Kazrack struggling to hold on to the edge of the new chasm. Helrahd had already made it around the corner to the stairs, so without help Kazrack was barely able to pull himself up.</p><p></p><p>He turned to Kirla. The statue no longer blocked the way, but the chasm was over five feet wide. </p><p></p><p>“You’ll have to jump,” he called to the dwarven woman. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.”</p><p></p><p>Kirla took a few more steps back and tucked the large ruby in her cloak pocket. She screwed up her face with determination and began to run at the gap. </p><p></p><p>Helrahd came back around the corner, “Where’s Kirla?”</p><p></p><p>“Stay back from the edge,” Kazrack said, looking over his shoulder at the dwarven scout. “The floor may be weakening.”</p><p></p><p>Kirla came hurtling over the gap and was just a few inches short. She went tumbling down the chasm. Kazrack turned back around, but too late to reach out for her.</p><p></p><p>“This is all your fault!” Her voice echoed up the shaft at Kazrack, and she pointed at him accusingly. </p><p></p><p>--------------------------------</p><p></p><p>Ratchis started tying people’s packs to the bottom of one of the ropes. He had made it all the way across the room, and was determined to get up to the surface to be able to pull up others with his divinely-enhanced orcish strength.</p><p></p><p>Blodnath left his rope to Derek and made his way to the bottom of the shaft and began to climb up one of the ropes, hand over hand.</p><p></p><p>Jolnar and Golnar moved to flank Derek and look down the hole.</p><p></p><p>“What is going on?” Jolnar asked.</p><p></p><p>“Are they okay down there?” Golnar asked.</p><p></p><p>Beorth came around the other side of the hole as Bearvard pulled himself out, grabbing onto Golnar and Jolnar’s outstretched arms.</p><p></p><p>Below, even more zombies fell out of the chunks of collapsing ceiling.</p><p></p><p>“Anubis! These lost souls wander aimlessly and seek the life force of the living. Guide them away from my companions!” The paladin aimed the divine energy down the hole, but at the moment he chose to lean over the hole the whole place shook, roaring as if trembling with anger. He tumbled down to join his friends, landing with a bone-jarring ‘oof!’ </p><p></p><p>“Beorth! Get up!” Jeremy yelled, hacking into yet another zombie. Captain Adalar finally shook off his own dizziness from his fall and hacked an approaching zombie with his great axe.</p><p></p><p>“Has everyone escaped?” Belear asked, finally getting up the steps to the main chamber. He looked around and took in the scene, answering his own question. He gave a silent prayer to Natan-Ahb, touching his pouch of runestones about his neck. (3)</p><p></p><p>“Get away from the edge!” Derek told Golnar, Tolnar and Baervard. “The whole floor is going to go soon.”</p><p></p><p>As Ratchis grabbed the rope to begin his ascent, he heard a crack and a cry above him. He looked up just in time to see Blodnoth come hurtling down atop him with a huge chunk of a fallen stone railing from one of the levels above. (4)</p><p></p><p>Martin grabbed the rope and Derek pulled him up.</p><p></p><p>“Beorth, you go after the dwarves,” Jeremy said to the paladin. “I’ll find another way up.” He hacked another zombie to pieces, ichor and blood dripping from his blonde locks.</p><p></p><p>Jolnar made his way up next, as Martin hurried to the shaft, and helped Ratchis to his feet. Blodnath shook off the fall and immediately began to climb again, even though blood flowed steadily from a gash in his forehead.</p><p></p><p>Bearvard grabbed the third rope in the shaft and began to climb, but the blood on his hands made gaining traction hard and he made little progress. Ratchis began his ascent, while Martin held the rope for Baervard and gave him a boost on his shoulders.</p><p></p><p>However, at that moment there was another rumble and another piece of stone, nearly a foot in diameter tumbled down the shaft. Ratchis and Blodnath swung out the way, and Baervard leapt off the rope and off Martin’s shoulders, letting the mage take the full brunt of the blow in the face.</p><p></p><p>Martin the Green fell to the floor bleeding. Baervard stepped around him and began to attempt his climb again, not saying a word.</p><p></p><p>----------------------------------</p><p></p><p>“What did you do?!?” Helrahd cried to Kazrack, hurrying to look over the edge. Fortunately, Kirla had landed only about twelve feet down on a rocky outcropping, but behind her the chasm was falling away and becoming deeper and wider. There was a shudder and the earth swallowed the entire statue, sarcophagus and raised dais. “We need a rope! Go get a rope!”</p><p></p><p>“Grab this!” Kazrack said, and thinking quickly he got down on his knees on the edge of the widening gap and pulled off his cloak and holding it down to the dwarven shield-maiden. Kirla got up, and rubbed her head, shaking it back and forth. She leapt up and grabbed the cloak, and Helrahd grabbed at Kazrack’s end to help pull her up.</p><p></p><p>However, there was another rumble, and Kirla swung back and forth, and as the cloak ripped she tumbled back. Once again she landed on the rocky ledge, but it slid down another ten feet away. </p><p></p><p>“Grab my ankles!” Karack said to Helrahd, and the other dwarf complied. Kazrack cursed under his breath,. As he was lowered into the hole, for he could see that the cloak, now ripped would not quite reach.</p><p></p><p>“You are going o have to climb some!” He called down, but Kirla was already looking for a handhold, and she pulled herself up about four feet and grabbed the cloak again, this time more near the middle, and with more cloth. </p><p></p><p>Helrahd pulled up Kazrack, who pulled up Kirla, and they all lay there beside the gap for a moment trying to catch their breath.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack looked at Kirla, “Just as it incited Natan-Ahb to split the Dwon, it is fascination with shiny things that caused this, not I.” (5)</p><p></p><p>Kirla rolled her eyes and stood. </p><p></p><p>The three dwarves hurried up the stairs as the hole behind them cracked open even wider, and they could hear large stones tumbling down into the gaping maw, knocking away swathes of lower stones to create an increasingly yawning abyss.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack was the first to turn the corner and come to the top, “What’s going on? Where is everyone? Have we all made it out?” He turned to Derek who still held the rope, “What are you waiting for?”</p><p></p><p>------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, Ratchis had made it over thirty feet up the main shaft, only to have a huge chunk of stone balcony strike him in the shoulder as it tumbled down and send him hurtling down the rest of the way. As he lay at the bottom, stunned, Belear hurried over and cast a healing blessing on the half-orc, spitting to one side in disgust as he did so.</p><p></p><p>Below, Jeremy decided he could not wait down there any longer. Huge chunks of the dirt ceiling continued to fall, and with it came loose more zombies. And still, even more zombie were managing to force their way through the rubble strewn side tunnels into the increasingly cramped chamber.</p><p></p><p>“Quick, before more the ceiling goes and traps us all!” He leapt onto one of the pillars that stretched from above and down into the lower chamber and started to make his way up.</p><p></p><p>Beorth and Captain Adalar were still too busy fending off zombies, while Tolnar was amid the beams trying desperately to get up to Derek and his brothers.</p><p></p><p>Martin looked back and forth, not sure what to do. He grabbed for one of the ropes to begin to try to make his way up to the surface, but again the whole complex shook and he fell to his knees. Below Beorth and Adalar both fell, as did many of the zombies, and Tolnar had to stop climbing to merely hold on and keep from falling back down. Cracks began to spider across the main floor above and Derek gulped with fear and anticipation of the worst, and the rope still in his hands moved towards the broad steps leading to the shaft.</p><p></p><p>There was a deafening crack, and suddenly the whole center portion of the main room between the four pillars collapsed. A mountain of dirt and crack tiles fell into the lower room, Beorth scrambled against a wall avoiding the majority of the rubble, but Captain Adalar disappeared beneath it, and Tolnar fell amid the beams he had been climbing only a moment before atop the pile.</p><p></p><p>Over 60 feet above, Blodnath swung over to the stone railing of the highest level before the last part of the climb that led to the top of the stone obelisk above. Bracing himself there, he took a moment to rest.</p><p></p><p>Golnar and Jolnar had rolled out of the way of the collapsing floor, and Martin looked through the broad doorway in shock.</p><p></p><p>“The floor went ‘boom’,” chittered Thomas.</p><p></p><p>It was barely half a moment later that Kazrack came hurrying into the room. Helrahd and Kirla came in behind him and passed him and moved to the edge of what was now a huge hole. However, Helrahd misjudged, and stepped in a place where the floor was still in the process of cracking even further and with a flash of dust and mortar, he plummeted down as well.</p><p></p><p>“Helrahd!” cried Kirla.</p><p></p><p>Beorth began to frantically try to dig out Adalar, ignoring the zombies, most of which were either buried as well or awkwardly struggling to get back on their feet.</p><p></p><p>“Beorth, I’m coming back down to get you!” Jeremy called down into the hole. “Get your armor off. I’m gonna carry you out there if I have to!” And with that he grabbed hold of one of the pillar and began to shimmy back down.</p><p></p><p>Derek wrapped his end of the rope about one of the chains that held the counterweights for the door to the main shaft, and then started making his way out. Jeremy only went halfway down the pillar, seeing that Derek’s rope now secured, and waited there to give those who came up a final boost up.</p><p></p><p>“Arrrgh!” Blodnath’s blood-curdling screaming echoed over the incessant rumbling as he cam tumbling down the entire length of the shaft. He had lost his grip on the rope and landed, a bloody pulp, at the bottom of the shaft. He was unconscious and barely breathing. A shower of smaller stones, followed him, wounding him further, as well as Belear and Jolnar who tried shielding him with their own bodies. Martin pressed himself against he shaft wall and avoid the stones, and Ratchis swung out their way, cursing. </p><p></p><p>Captain Adalar burst out from under the ruble with a rasping gasp, blood flowing from several wounds on his body, and his armor dented and rented in many places.</p><p></p><p>“You are going first,” Beorth told him. Dazed, the dwarf did not argue, but in a moment he was grasping the rope and being pushed up from below, while Jeremy reached down from above. </p><p></p><p>Kazrack found his progress across the room blocked by the great hole, and running to leap across a narrower section, found himself tumbling down painfully. </p><p></p><p>“Kazrack!” Jeremy cried.</p><p></p><p>“I’m fine,” Kazrack said, getting to his feet. “Get Tolnar up that rope.” </p><p></p><p>The young dwarf began his ascent, while Adalar hurried the best he could up the steps to the main shaft, accompanied by Derek.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack turned to the paladin of Anubis, “Beorth, you are more important to the success of our mission than I am. You go after the dwarves!” </p><p></p><p>Beorth did not respond.</p><p></p><p>Way above, Ratchis finally made it to the surface. He squinted, as the sunlight painfully stabbed his yellow eyes. He looked around quickly, and noticed that not only the great block of stone was shaking, but the various pointed -pillars of stones that littered this dead land were tilting in the ashen earth, and shaking on occasion. Furrows were spidering out in all directions from the stone, and clouds of dust would burst up from the earth in places.</p><p></p><p>“Somebody grab my rope so I can pull them up!” Ratchis cried down with all his might, cupping his mouth with his hands. He prayed to Nephthys that someone heard him and then spitting on his hands grabbed the rope, waiting for the tell-tale tug that would let him know when to pull.</p><p></p><p>Helrahd made it back up to the collapsing upper room, by climbing another pillar, and grabbing Kirla’s hand.</p><p></p><p>Derek began climbing the rope that Blodnath had used to climb most of the way up.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t expect an argument from you, Beorth,” Kazrack added. “You are going next.”</p><p></p><p>There was another yawning rumble, and one of the pillar’s upper portions, cleaved straight off, bringing a huge chunk of ceiling with it and ripping right through the floor of the lower chamber, only a few feet away from where Beorth and Kazrack stood.</p><p></p><p>Kirla and Helrahd’s escape was even further blocked now, and Kirla swearing, ran at a place where the hole was narrowest, but as before, she did not make the jump. </p><p></p><p>“Kirlaaaaaaa!” Helrahd cried, as he watched his sister fall down into the abyss below. However, she was able to catch herself at the very lip of the lower hole, and keep herself from joining the rain of dirt, rock and zombies that was now disappearing into the impenetrable darkness of chasm.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack tuned and looked, but Kirla was far from his reach. Helrahd started to make his way down the partially broken pillar to reach his sister, but his weight was too much for it, and finally it creaked and groaned and tipped over, bringing another chunk of floor and ceiling with it. The top of it slammed into where Kirla held on for dear life and the brother and sister disappeared into the abyss below.</p><p></p><p>“Noooo!” cried Kazrack, and then without skipping a beat turned to Beorth. “You are next. Go!”</p><p></p><p>Beorth began to take off his splint mail, hurriedlym letting straps snap, and cutting others with a knife. “You go, Kazrack,” he said. “I will not make the climb with this on.”</p><p></p><p>Above Jeremy hefted Tolnar up, and the dwarf ran to Golnar who waited for him on the steps and the two of them ran to the main shaft.</p><p></p><p>“You should not have waited for me brother,” Tolnar panted.</p><p></p><p>By now, Baervard was being pulled up along with several packs, by Ratchis. He gripped the rope and sat with the packs beneath his rear like a seat, twisting around and around as he slowly made his way up. </p><p></p><p>Ratchis seeing who was on the rope, called down, “Baervard, when I get you up untie the pack immediately and throw it back down, I am going to start pulling up whoever is on the rope on the right!”</p><p></p><p>Martin helped Tolnar up onto another rope, and he began to try to climb it as well, but he was weak from his many falls and soon lost grip tumbling back down. He landed with a painful thud at his brothers’ feet. “I am not going to make it. Go on without me,” he croaked, and fell unconscious.</p><p></p><p>Below, the yawning chasm stretched even further. Kazrack glanced back at it nervously, and then up at Jeremy who had also stolen a glance at it, as he felt the column he was on begin to buckle.</p><p></p><p>“Hurry!” The Neergaardian called down to his companions. “Just take my hand. I’ll help you up!”</p><p></p><p>“Beorth, the likelihood of my delaying you is too great,” Kazrack tried explaining to Beorth as if the world were not collapsing around them. “You must go first. Lords and lady, please help this most dwarf-like of my friends inn his climb.” And with that the rune-thrower, cast the miracle of guidance on the paladin as he still worked on his armor.</p><p></p><p>“Kazrack, your pride will be the death of you,” Beorth said.</p><p></p><p>“Call it pride if you will, but better the death of me than the death of you,” Kazrack handed the rope to Beorth, who sighing began to climb.</p><p></p><p>Derek came tumbling back down the shaft, banging his head painfully against the wall. He had lost his grip, and tried to us his acrobatics to slow his fall.</p><p></p><p>He managed to land on his feet. “Ratchis is going to pull that other rope, I heard him telling Baervard. Someone grab it!”</p><p></p><p>Martin sighed and grabbed it, while Belear who had just finished staunching Blodnath’s wounds, healed Tolnar, who sputtering regained consciousness, though he spat blood.</p><p></p><p>Golnar began to climb the rope his brother fell from.</p><p></p><p>“I can take more than one on a rope!” Ratchis called down, as he pulled Baervard to the surface and grabbed the next rope. The taciturn dwarf began to untie the packs to throw his rope back down. No one could hear Ratchis’ cried over the distance and rumbling.</p><p></p><p>Beorth grabbed Jeremy’s hand and then climbed past him, reaching the tattered floor of the upper chamber, but unfortunately, he grabbed a splintering wooden beam for support and came tumbling back down, just inches from the what now seemed like a bottomless pit.</p><p></p><p>“Argh!” cried Jeremy, sweat dripped down his nose, and he looked nervously around. “Help him! Help him! Get him up!”</p><p></p><p>Kazrack lowered a hand to help up the clumsy paladin, “My desire to see you to safety has not been diminished by your difficulty. You go first.”</p><p></p><p>“My cowardice and my god’s displeasure have landed me here, Kazrack. You go first!’ Beorth replied standing.</p><p></p><p>“Will one of you come on! Stop fighting already! Make up your minds! Let’s go!” Jeremy was now scolding them like children.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack ignored the young warrior, who risked himself to aid them and continued to argue with Beorth. “If anyone has been abandoned. It is I! Now go!” And with that he sat on the shaking floor and folded his arms across his chest.</p><p></p><p>Beorth simply stood there not replying.</p><p></p><p>There was another crack, and Kazrack was forced to roll away from the edge of the hole to keep from going down with some stone. While Beorth clutched his head, as a remaining portion of the ceiling fell on him, drawing more blood.</p><p></p><p>“Please!” Jeremy begged. “It’s now or never! You are going to kill us all!”</p><p></p><p>“Beorth!! Go already!” Kazrack yelled. The earth shuddered as if to reinforce his command. “Do you realize what you are doing? Who is the proud one now?”</p><p></p><p>“I am headed to meet my maker,” Beorth replied calmly, and the laying a hand on his own chest said. “Anubis, give me bit of your strength that I might see the light of day again, or at the very least ensure my companions do.”</p><p></p><p>“Please?” Jeremy begged again, and he blindly sought purchase for his left foot on the pillar, for piece of it had fallen away. “I want to see my mother again!”</p><p></p><p>This seemed to stir Kazrack’s heart, and sighing he stood and grabbed the rope and started making his way up, as Beorth boosted him.</p><p></p><p>“Finally,” Jeremy said, grabbing on dwarf’s hand and helping him past him to what remained of the upper room.</p><p></p><p>The floor below Beorth shook again. A crack appeared right beneath his feet, so he did not wait for Kazrack to complete his climb, before beginning his own.</p><p></p><p>“Bes, stack the deck in my favor,” he prayed softly.</p><p></p><p>Jeremy could hear cries of pain and horror echoing from the main shaft, where progress up to the surface was progressing in fits and starts. A cloud of dust billowed out through the broad door, and one of the chains holding it open snapped, causing the metal door to slid down askew.</p><p></p><p>Much as Beorth did, Kazrack reached the crumbling floor and trusted it to hold too much weight at once. There was a snapping sound and back he fell into the lower level. Both Jeremy and Beorth reached out to grab him, but they could not. He slammed painfully on the floor and it cracked more beneath him.</p><p></p><p>Beorth paused, and appeared to be considering heading back down.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, no you don’t!” Jeremy said, and grabbing Beorth by the shoulder yanked him up. The paladin sighed resignedly and made it up to the broad stairs. He looked back at Jeremy. “Keep going! Get out!” Jeremy commanded, and the Beorth turned and hurried through the cloud to the main shaft. </p><p></p><p>Jeremy risked going a little further down the pillar and tired whipping the rope in Kazrack’s direction. The dwarf stood and leapt away from a piece of floor falling out from under him at the rope. He tried to pull himself hand over hand, but kept slipping. For a moment his fingers laced with Jeremy’s, but then slipped loose and he fell back to the unstable floor.</p><p></p><p>“Jeremy, my fate is in the hands of gods. Go!” Kazrack called up.</p><p></p><p>“No! Come on Kazrack, you have to do this! I am not leaving you behind!” Jeremy insisted. </p><p></p><p>Kazrack roared and leapt for the rope again, and pulled himself up to Jeremy’s feet, but another portion of the pillar rack off, and Jeremy had to hurriedly move to keep from falling himself, and again Kazrack fell back down.</p><p></p><p>“You are just in my way!” Kazrack panted. “Go! At this rate the entire floor will collapse!”</p><p></p><p>“I have an idea!” Jeremy called down beginning to climb up to the upper floor. “Stay where you are. I’m gonna cut the rope and pull you up!”</p><p></p><p>“Just go!”</p><p></p><p>Jeremy clambered up dexterously, and made it to the where the rope was fasten to the remaining chain. He cut it free and moved carefully back to the edge of the hole, swinging the rope towards Kazrack, who he could see was once again trying to climb, but this time the bare pillar. Seeing the rope drop near him again, Kazrack grabbed it again.</p><p></p><p>Grunting, Jeremy pulled the heavy dwarf up hand over hand. Soon they both lay on the steps breathing hard.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s go,” Jeremy said, standing and helping Kazrack to his feet. “And don’t look back.”</p><p></p><p>The column they had been on just moments before, groaned and tipped over, taking most of what remained of the floor on this and the lower level with it.</p><p></p><p>-----------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>Beorth came through the dust cloud into the lower end of the shaft to the surface, and the light shining from his helm pierced the darkness and revealed the owners of the frantic dwarven voices around him. Belear lay bleeding and unconscious, and Captain Adalar was seeing to him. The elder dwarf had been being pulled up as he grasped Blodnath’s unconscious form and both had tumbled down when struck by falling stonework.</p><p></p><p>Above Ratchis, was yelling down for three people to get the rope he was about to pull, while Baervard and Derek pulled up Golnar, who held Blodnath, and Martin who was already up was dragging the party’s packs away from the monolith as quickly as he could. Tolnar and Jolnar had already made it to the top, and were making ready to grab the third rope, when there was another great tremor, and they fell on the blood-stained flat surface of the stone above. (6)</p><p></p><p>“Oh Nephthys! Oh-Siris, Oh Isis! Give me strength! Give me strength! Give me strength!” the watch-mage repeated as the earth shook around him. Craters began to mark the ashen earth around him, and several times he had to change his direction to avoid them.</p><p></p><p>“Beorth! Help me tie Belear to the last rope,” Captain Adalar said, as he grabbed the end of a rope. The paladin helped, and then tugged on the rope. Adalar hefted the elder dwarf and held on to the rope and in a moment Ratchis was pulling them up.</p><p></p><p>Beorth began to wrap a rope about his arm as Jeremy came into the shaft chamber.</p><p></p><p>“Is Kazrack behind you?” Beorth asked. Jeremy nodded, and turned to gesture, but at that moment there was an explosion of stone as another of the great columns fell and a shower of dust burst into the chamber. In a second they were all covering their eyes and coughing.</p><p></p><p>“There is no way anyone survived that,” Golnar said, above helping to pull a rope. A plume of dust was rising from the shaft, and the whole stone groaned as it sunk into the earth askew.</p><p></p><p>“We are going to keep pulling people up until all of my friends are here!” Ratchis said.</p><p></p><p>Derek shook his head discouraged, and looked up at the plume of smoke. “We have to get out of here. This is just a signal for someone to come and get us.”</p><p></p><p>Ratchis glared at the young ranger.</p><p></p><p>“Kazrack!” Jeremy cried, and turned to go back into the main chamber, but the dwarf came stumbling in, his helmet gone and his head bleeding profusely.</p><p></p><p>“There is not room back there anymore,” he coughed. “Just a pit, and you should be up the ropes.”</p><p></p><p>Beorth was startled as the rope he was attached to began to pull him up. Another rope was dropped beside him. “Take the rope that just came down! Hurry!” he called down to his companions as he disappeared into the darkness above.</p><p></p><p>Jeremy grabbed the rope and started pulling himself up hand over hand.</p><p></p><p>“Someone is on this rope!” Derek said, looking back down and feeling the weight of Jeremy on it. Hope filled him again.</p><p></p><p>“Adalar! Help Derek!” Ratchis commanded, straining as he pulled Beorth up.</p><p></p><p>The Captain handed Belear to Golnar. “Get moving,” the dwarf told him and his brothers. “Bring him and Blodnath out of the area. Follow the mage!”</p><p></p><p>They obeyed.</p><p></p><p>Jeremy felt the rope jerk and looked back down frantically, but the dust and the darkness did not let him see if Kazrack had grabbed on. Far below, the metal door to the main chamber fell, and the floor of the shaft cracked open, sending another rush of dust up. The Neergaardian did not want to leave it to the speed of being pulled up and he again began to go hand over hand to quicken his ascent.</p><p></p><p>In a moment, Beorth came up over the side of the shaft, taking deep rasping breaths between lung-shattering coughs.</p><p></p><p>Ratchis hurried over. “Where are the others?”</p><p></p><p>Beorth shook his head ambiguously, but there was still weight on the remaining room and the hulking half-orc stepped over and helped Adalar and Derek pull on it. Soon, Jeremy appeared, coughing as well.</p><p></p><p>He let go of the rope and crawled away from the hole.</p><p></p><p>There was still weight on the rope.</p><p></p><p>“Kazrack?”</p><p></p><p>The dwarf was pulled up.</p><p></p><p>“Where are the others?” Ratchis asked, doing a quick headcount in his mind and realizing he had not seen Helrahd and Kirla.</p><p></p><p>Kazrack just shook his head. “Let’s go.”</p><p></p><p>The Fearless Manticore Killers hustled off the great monolith as the earth rumbled around them and great rents appeared in the ashen soil. The pointed columns fell inward, and the sand slid down towards the center. The scrambled up and away from the increasing incline like ants fleeing their hill when it has been carelessly kicked.</p><p></p><p>They could all feel and hear a secondary rumble that seemed to be growing from behind and beneath them, just below the groans and crashes they could still hear coming up the shaft. It cressendoed until it was the only sound to be heard, and throwing themselves in the dirt in fear and exhaustion, they looked back to see the great black monolith swallowed by the ground. Several rows of pointed columns followed after it, along with tons of the ashen earth, sending a secondary black plume that rose up even taller than the first gray one.</p><p></p><p>The earth gave one final hard shudder, and those who tried to stand to keep running were knocked back down.</p><p></p><p>In a moment, it was eerily quiet.</p><p></p><p>“I think I just lost ten years of my life getting out of that place,” Jeremy said between gasps.</p><p></p><p>End of Session #48</p><p></p><p>----------------------------------------------------------</p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p></p><p>(1) <strong>Expository Note:</strong> This entire session (approx 6 hours) was done in the same initiative order in rounds, based on the initiative rolled the session before. As the PCs made their way out of the Necropolis of Doom, I rolled an initiative for the collapse of the place itself. And when its number came around I rolled an increasing chance of an ‘effect’. Effects ranged from simply a cinematic description of something breaking or crashing, to the whole place shaking (calling for balance checks) to pieces of the floor or ceiling collapsing. There was a tense atmosphere of fear and excitement around the table and when it was all over, the players gave me a round of applause because they had enjoyed themselves so much and were impressed with what I had come up with. I never received around of applause from players before. I was taken aback and felt like Pirate Cat was about to step out of the bathroom to award me some kind of DMing plaque. But, if I can for a second imagine that Kevin Kulp did come out from lurking in my bathroom like a three-legged spider in the drain, indulge me this little humble acceptance speech: I’d like to thank my players because without them this would all be impossible, or I’d be a little weirder than I already am.</p><p></p><p>(2) <strong>Expository Note:</strong> As the action was happening in separate places, I took some license to describe several rounds of action in one area and then in another, while in game it took place simultaneously. I tried to use specific events to tie together PC/NPC action chronologically.</p><p></p><p>(3) Natan-Ahb is the head of the dwarven pantheon.</p><p></p><p>(4) Remember, the shaft to the surface had four levels that held masks and sarcophagi.</p><p></p><p>(5) Kazrack refers to the time before the First Age, when all dwarves were united under one king and there was but one immense island in the world. However, in punishment for their greed, Natan-ahb smashed it with his great hammer, making Aquerra into the many islands it is today.</p><p></p><p> (6) The party first came upon the monolith in Session #40.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="el-remmen, post: 1871288, member: 11"] [I][size=2]Here is my favorite installment. Typically my posts are about 2/3 of this one, but when I posted this I wanted to put a whole session as one installment because of the nature of events - where the escape from a subterreanean complex took one entire session all of which was spent in the same basic initiative order. I wasn't sure if I should keep the footnotes in this version, but since it is how I usually post my installments I decided to keep them (they can be safely ignored). At the end of the session before this Ratchis had decapitated and destroyed the vampire whose imprisonment and suffering were mystically keeping the decrepit complex together.[/size][/I] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Session #48 – Escape From the Necropolis of Doom[/b] “You are truly blessed by your gods!” Kazrack said in awe of Ratchis’ mighty blow, but there was no time for congratulations. The walls rumbled and shook again, and the cracks spidered everywhere. This place was going to collapse. The Fearless Manticore Killers and the dwarven company knew they had a long climb out before escaping. (1) “We need to make for the main shaft,” Captain Adalar yelled over the increasingly loud rumbling. Derek, however, went in the opposite direction, hoping to search for something in the sarcophagus that might stop the collapse of the structure. Martin handed him a torch. “Blodnath! Baervard! Jeremy! Hurry ahead and get to the ropes and go up as quickly as you can,” Ratchis ordered. “We’re going need you to pull up those who are bad climbers.” And as if to emphasize he meant for them to do what he said immediately, he spoke a quick word to his goddess and patted Jeremy’s shoulder. Suddenly, the Neergaardian’s cloak gave off an aura of bright light. Blodnath had already snaked past everyone and was making his escape. He pause just before a large square stone that was the floor where the two narrow halls joined. “This floor is gonna go soon,” he pointed at the clouds of dust bursting up from around the seams of the stone and then took off up the stairs. There was a deep yawning sound punctuated by crashed from deep beneath them. Baervard and Jeremy were right behind him, but the latter turned back, for everyone else seemed to be reacting too slowly for his tastes. “Come on!” he said with some panic in his voice. Kazrack stepped over and began to run his hands through the dust and rags inside the sarcophagus. With Derek and Martin the Green. The moved frantically and strained to see any detail about the sarcophagus that might help them in this predicament. But there was only one very clear thing about it. The inside was lined with fist-sized rubies that gleamed in the torchlight. Ratchis cast his miracle of light once again, this time placing it on Beorth’s helmet. A second later it rang out, as a stone fell from above sending the paladin reeling towards the exit. He fell and seemed stunned. He held his head and tried to straighten his helmet. Jolnar, Golnar and Tolnar ran into the room, were yelled at by Adalar and then went back to follow Baervard and Jeremy up and out of the narrow corridors that led into this place. Helrahd stepped over to help Beorth to his feet. “Gods!” said Kirla. She had made her way over to the sarcophagus just as Derek fled for the door giving up his search and pushing Martin in front of him. She reached down and place her calloused palm on one of the rubies and tried to turn it loose some. Belear was moving to the exit past Ratchis, who stood his ground waiting to make sure everyone was at least heading out before sprinting for the exit itself. Kazack moved to the door, while admonishing Kirla. “Leave the gems,” he said. “We have to get out of here!” Kirla just screwed her face up with more determination and pulled a small chisel from her belt and went to work on it with that. To her trained eyes, she could tell this stone was loose and worth a great deal. Ratchis looked to Kazrack and then to Helrahd who was point Beorth in the right direction, and then back to Kirla. He then turned and followed Beorth up the narrow steps. Behind him, the stone statue in the corner fell over, widening the crack beneath it, and partially blocking the way out of the sarcophagus room for Helrahd, Kirla and Kazrack. The half-orc came up to the main chamber above, just in time to see the floor give way beneath Martin and the watch-mage tumble into the darkness of the smaller room below. “Oh!” cried the watch-mage. “Martin! Come to me! We’ll get up the pillars,” Jeremy cried out in the dark, hearing his companion fall. He had already fallen into the lower level with Baervard, who was fending off the zombies to make it to a pillar of his own. Martin crawled behind Jeremy and stood, making his way over the bodies of countless zombies. More were falling from the dirt ceiling above them, and still others were still trying to dig their way out of the collapsing side tunnels. Jeremy kept an area around him clear with a wide arc of his blades. Above, Ratchis leapt over the hole, but barely made it. Flailing his arms to regain his balance he hustled towards the gate-like door to the chamber that led to the shaft to the surface, counting on Jeremy and the others to make sure Martin made it out. ------------------------ “Damn it, woman!” Karack reached for Kirla’s wrist. “Leave the stone be! We know not its purpose!” Behind them Belear squeezed past the fallen statue, stepping widely over the crack, as Helrahd held levered the statue a bit with one of his axes. He began to make his way up the narrow and rapidly cracking steps to the upper chamber. “It is going to take time for you to squeeze past that statue. I’ll be right behind you!” Kirla said, jerking her hand away and continuing to work on the gem. It was turning much more freely now. “Just leave it girl!” Kirla’s older brother, admonished. Kazrack had never heard real concern in the grizzled dwarf’s voice before. Captain Adalar had made it across the upper chamber, but seeing that all but Tolnar were having trouble making it across, he ran back down the steps, grabbing pointing to Blodnath. “Get a rope around a pillar,” he commanded. “We need to get those people up from down there!” However, the floor beneath him gave as he stepped back into the large chamber and soon he and Tolnar were down there with Jeremy, Blodnath and Martin. “No!” Ratchis, slapped his forehead in shock. “Lentus!” Martin cried, and slowed a group of zombies, keeping them from mobbing the stunned dwarves that had just fallen. Jeremy made his way over there, cutting a swath in the undead limbs, and a moment later Blodnath’s rope came down. “Martin! Up the rope!” the Neergaardian cried. Martin hurried over, lighting a torch as he went. “Thomas?” the Watch-mage reached out with his thoughts to his frightened familiar, which was hidden in the hood of his cloak. “Yes?” “If I can’t make it out, I want you to run.” “I’m not leaving you,” the squirrel replied adamantly. “At least not yet.” The watch-mage took a moment to scratch his familiar lovingly behind the ear. Derek was beside Blodnath, and looking down at the horror beneath. “You can make your way up this way,” he instructed. “There are some beams to help support you. I’ll hold the rope.” “I don’t like zombies,” Bearvard said, pushing past Martin and grabbing the rope. Martin was agog. The dwarf had never spoken a word that the watch-mage had ever heard the whole time he had been with the group. Now, he was climbing up the rope. -------------------------- “I got it!” The fist-sized ruby popped into Kirla’s hand, and the room shook, more. Kazrack barely stepped out of the way of a piece of ceiling. And despite this, Kirla paused to admire the gem and smile broadly. “Beautiful.” “Put the stone back!” Kazrack commanded. “We don’t know why it was there in that formation.” He snatched the stone from her hand. “You have no right to take that from me!” Kirla replied, with a look of indignation. “I will be happy to discuss propriety when I don’t have stones falling down around my ears! Now go!” “You should not grab things out of my sister’s hands like that!” Helrahd said angrily, and snatched the gem out of Kazrack’s hand and handed it back to Kirla in one smooth motion. “Now come on!” Kazrack’s eyes opened wide with incredulity. “You are being foolish, girl!” He followed the siblings to the partially blocked exit to the room. Helrahd squeezed through first. “Go!” Kazrack motioned to Kirla to follow her brother, but she shook her head stubbornly. “You go,” she replied. The whole place shook again, but this time with a deeper rumble and the demoness statue fell over onto the stone sarcophagus, shattering it. (2) Kazrack sighed and squeezed under the statue, but the wall on his right gave way some and he had to thrust himself forward to avoid being crushed. A huge section of the wall fell off and the statue fell through the floor, revealing a deep chasm below. A great cloud of dust rose, and Kirla stepped backm placing an arm before her face. When the dust cleared, she could see Kazrack struggling to hold on to the edge of the new chasm. Helrahd had already made it around the corner to the stairs, so without help Kazrack was barely able to pull himself up. He turned to Kirla. The statue no longer blocked the way, but the chasm was over five feet wide. “You’ll have to jump,” he called to the dwarven woman. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.” Kirla took a few more steps back and tucked the large ruby in her cloak pocket. She screwed up her face with determination and began to run at the gap. Helrahd came back around the corner, “Where’s Kirla?” “Stay back from the edge,” Kazrack said, looking over his shoulder at the dwarven scout. “The floor may be weakening.” Kirla came hurtling over the gap and was just a few inches short. She went tumbling down the chasm. Kazrack turned back around, but too late to reach out for her. “This is all your fault!” Her voice echoed up the shaft at Kazrack, and she pointed at him accusingly. -------------------------------- Ratchis started tying people’s packs to the bottom of one of the ropes. He had made it all the way across the room, and was determined to get up to the surface to be able to pull up others with his divinely-enhanced orcish strength. Blodnath left his rope to Derek and made his way to the bottom of the shaft and began to climb up one of the ropes, hand over hand. Jolnar and Golnar moved to flank Derek and look down the hole. “What is going on?” Jolnar asked. “Are they okay down there?” Golnar asked. Beorth came around the other side of the hole as Bearvard pulled himself out, grabbing onto Golnar and Jolnar’s outstretched arms. Below, even more zombies fell out of the chunks of collapsing ceiling. “Anubis! These lost souls wander aimlessly and seek the life force of the living. Guide them away from my companions!” The paladin aimed the divine energy down the hole, but at the moment he chose to lean over the hole the whole place shook, roaring as if trembling with anger. He tumbled down to join his friends, landing with a bone-jarring ‘oof!’ “Beorth! Get up!” Jeremy yelled, hacking into yet another zombie. Captain Adalar finally shook off his own dizziness from his fall and hacked an approaching zombie with his great axe. “Has everyone escaped?” Belear asked, finally getting up the steps to the main chamber. He looked around and took in the scene, answering his own question. He gave a silent prayer to Natan-Ahb, touching his pouch of runestones about his neck. (3) “Get away from the edge!” Derek told Golnar, Tolnar and Baervard. “The whole floor is going to go soon.” As Ratchis grabbed the rope to begin his ascent, he heard a crack and a cry above him. He looked up just in time to see Blodnoth come hurtling down atop him with a huge chunk of a fallen stone railing from one of the levels above. (4) Martin grabbed the rope and Derek pulled him up. “Beorth, you go after the dwarves,” Jeremy said to the paladin. “I’ll find another way up.” He hacked another zombie to pieces, ichor and blood dripping from his blonde locks. Jolnar made his way up next, as Martin hurried to the shaft, and helped Ratchis to his feet. Blodnath shook off the fall and immediately began to climb again, even though blood flowed steadily from a gash in his forehead. Bearvard grabbed the third rope in the shaft and began to climb, but the blood on his hands made gaining traction hard and he made little progress. Ratchis began his ascent, while Martin held the rope for Baervard and gave him a boost on his shoulders. However, at that moment there was another rumble and another piece of stone, nearly a foot in diameter tumbled down the shaft. Ratchis and Blodnath swung out the way, and Baervard leapt off the rope and off Martin’s shoulders, letting the mage take the full brunt of the blow in the face. Martin the Green fell to the floor bleeding. Baervard stepped around him and began to attempt his climb again, not saying a word. ---------------------------------- “What did you do?!?” Helrahd cried to Kazrack, hurrying to look over the edge. Fortunately, Kirla had landed only about twelve feet down on a rocky outcropping, but behind her the chasm was falling away and becoming deeper and wider. There was a shudder and the earth swallowed the entire statue, sarcophagus and raised dais. “We need a rope! Go get a rope!” “Grab this!” Kazrack said, and thinking quickly he got down on his knees on the edge of the widening gap and pulled off his cloak and holding it down to the dwarven shield-maiden. Kirla got up, and rubbed her head, shaking it back and forth. She leapt up and grabbed the cloak, and Helrahd grabbed at Kazrack’s end to help pull her up. However, there was another rumble, and Kirla swung back and forth, and as the cloak ripped she tumbled back. Once again she landed on the rocky ledge, but it slid down another ten feet away. “Grab my ankles!” Karack said to Helrahd, and the other dwarf complied. Kazrack cursed under his breath,. As he was lowered into the hole, for he could see that the cloak, now ripped would not quite reach. “You are going o have to climb some!” He called down, but Kirla was already looking for a handhold, and she pulled herself up about four feet and grabbed the cloak again, this time more near the middle, and with more cloth. Helrahd pulled up Kazrack, who pulled up Kirla, and they all lay there beside the gap for a moment trying to catch their breath. Kazrack looked at Kirla, “Just as it incited Natan-Ahb to split the Dwon, it is fascination with shiny things that caused this, not I.” (5) Kirla rolled her eyes and stood. The three dwarves hurried up the stairs as the hole behind them cracked open even wider, and they could hear large stones tumbling down into the gaping maw, knocking away swathes of lower stones to create an increasingly yawning abyss. Kazrack was the first to turn the corner and come to the top, “What’s going on? Where is everyone? Have we all made it out?” He turned to Derek who still held the rope, “What are you waiting for?” ------------------------------------ In the meantime, Ratchis had made it over thirty feet up the main shaft, only to have a huge chunk of stone balcony strike him in the shoulder as it tumbled down and send him hurtling down the rest of the way. As he lay at the bottom, stunned, Belear hurried over and cast a healing blessing on the half-orc, spitting to one side in disgust as he did so. Below, Jeremy decided he could not wait down there any longer. Huge chunks of the dirt ceiling continued to fall, and with it came loose more zombies. And still, even more zombie were managing to force their way through the rubble strewn side tunnels into the increasingly cramped chamber. “Quick, before more the ceiling goes and traps us all!” He leapt onto one of the pillars that stretched from above and down into the lower chamber and started to make his way up. Beorth and Captain Adalar were still too busy fending off zombies, while Tolnar was amid the beams trying desperately to get up to Derek and his brothers. Martin looked back and forth, not sure what to do. He grabbed for one of the ropes to begin to try to make his way up to the surface, but again the whole complex shook and he fell to his knees. Below Beorth and Adalar both fell, as did many of the zombies, and Tolnar had to stop climbing to merely hold on and keep from falling back down. Cracks began to spider across the main floor above and Derek gulped with fear and anticipation of the worst, and the rope still in his hands moved towards the broad steps leading to the shaft. There was a deafening crack, and suddenly the whole center portion of the main room between the four pillars collapsed. A mountain of dirt and crack tiles fell into the lower room, Beorth scrambled against a wall avoiding the majority of the rubble, but Captain Adalar disappeared beneath it, and Tolnar fell amid the beams he had been climbing only a moment before atop the pile. Over 60 feet above, Blodnath swung over to the stone railing of the highest level before the last part of the climb that led to the top of the stone obelisk above. Bracing himself there, he took a moment to rest. Golnar and Jolnar had rolled out of the way of the collapsing floor, and Martin looked through the broad doorway in shock. “The floor went ‘boom’,” chittered Thomas. It was barely half a moment later that Kazrack came hurrying into the room. Helrahd and Kirla came in behind him and passed him and moved to the edge of what was now a huge hole. However, Helrahd misjudged, and stepped in a place where the floor was still in the process of cracking even further and with a flash of dust and mortar, he plummeted down as well. “Helrahd!” cried Kirla. Beorth began to frantically try to dig out Adalar, ignoring the zombies, most of which were either buried as well or awkwardly struggling to get back on their feet. “Beorth, I’m coming back down to get you!” Jeremy called down into the hole. “Get your armor off. I’m gonna carry you out there if I have to!” And with that he grabbed hold of one of the pillar and began to shimmy back down. Derek wrapped his end of the rope about one of the chains that held the counterweights for the door to the main shaft, and then started making his way out. Jeremy only went halfway down the pillar, seeing that Derek’s rope now secured, and waited there to give those who came up a final boost up. “Arrrgh!” Blodnath’s blood-curdling screaming echoed over the incessant rumbling as he cam tumbling down the entire length of the shaft. He had lost his grip on the rope and landed, a bloody pulp, at the bottom of the shaft. He was unconscious and barely breathing. A shower of smaller stones, followed him, wounding him further, as well as Belear and Jolnar who tried shielding him with their own bodies. Martin pressed himself against he shaft wall and avoid the stones, and Ratchis swung out their way, cursing. Captain Adalar burst out from under the ruble with a rasping gasp, blood flowing from several wounds on his body, and his armor dented and rented in many places. “You are going first,” Beorth told him. Dazed, the dwarf did not argue, but in a moment he was grasping the rope and being pushed up from below, while Jeremy reached down from above. Kazrack found his progress across the room blocked by the great hole, and running to leap across a narrower section, found himself tumbling down painfully. “Kazrack!” Jeremy cried. “I’m fine,” Kazrack said, getting to his feet. “Get Tolnar up that rope.” The young dwarf began his ascent, while Adalar hurried the best he could up the steps to the main shaft, accompanied by Derek. Kazrack turned to the paladin of Anubis, “Beorth, you are more important to the success of our mission than I am. You go after the dwarves!” Beorth did not respond. Way above, Ratchis finally made it to the surface. He squinted, as the sunlight painfully stabbed his yellow eyes. He looked around quickly, and noticed that not only the great block of stone was shaking, but the various pointed -pillars of stones that littered this dead land were tilting in the ashen earth, and shaking on occasion. Furrows were spidering out in all directions from the stone, and clouds of dust would burst up from the earth in places. “Somebody grab my rope so I can pull them up!” Ratchis cried down with all his might, cupping his mouth with his hands. He prayed to Nephthys that someone heard him and then spitting on his hands grabbed the rope, waiting for the tell-tale tug that would let him know when to pull. Helrahd made it back up to the collapsing upper room, by climbing another pillar, and grabbing Kirla’s hand. Derek began climbing the rope that Blodnath had used to climb most of the way up. “I don’t expect an argument from you, Beorth,” Kazrack added. “You are going next.” There was another yawning rumble, and one of the pillar’s upper portions, cleaved straight off, bringing a huge chunk of ceiling with it and ripping right through the floor of the lower chamber, only a few feet away from where Beorth and Kazrack stood. Kirla and Helrahd’s escape was even further blocked now, and Kirla swearing, ran at a place where the hole was narrowest, but as before, she did not make the jump. “Kirlaaaaaaa!” Helrahd cried, as he watched his sister fall down into the abyss below. However, she was able to catch herself at the very lip of the lower hole, and keep herself from joining the rain of dirt, rock and zombies that was now disappearing into the impenetrable darkness of chasm. Kazrack tuned and looked, but Kirla was far from his reach. Helrahd started to make his way down the partially broken pillar to reach his sister, but his weight was too much for it, and finally it creaked and groaned and tipped over, bringing another chunk of floor and ceiling with it. The top of it slammed into where Kirla held on for dear life and the brother and sister disappeared into the abyss below. “Noooo!” cried Kazrack, and then without skipping a beat turned to Beorth. “You are next. Go!” Beorth began to take off his splint mail, hurriedlym letting straps snap, and cutting others with a knife. “You go, Kazrack,” he said. “I will not make the climb with this on.” Above Jeremy hefted Tolnar up, and the dwarf ran to Golnar who waited for him on the steps and the two of them ran to the main shaft. “You should not have waited for me brother,” Tolnar panted. By now, Baervard was being pulled up along with several packs, by Ratchis. He gripped the rope and sat with the packs beneath his rear like a seat, twisting around and around as he slowly made his way up. Ratchis seeing who was on the rope, called down, “Baervard, when I get you up untie the pack immediately and throw it back down, I am going to start pulling up whoever is on the rope on the right!” Martin helped Tolnar up onto another rope, and he began to try to climb it as well, but he was weak from his many falls and soon lost grip tumbling back down. He landed with a painful thud at his brothers’ feet. “I am not going to make it. Go on without me,” he croaked, and fell unconscious. Below, the yawning chasm stretched even further. Kazrack glanced back at it nervously, and then up at Jeremy who had also stolen a glance at it, as he felt the column he was on begin to buckle. “Hurry!” The Neergaardian called down to his companions. “Just take my hand. I’ll help you up!” “Beorth, the likelihood of my delaying you is too great,” Kazrack tried explaining to Beorth as if the world were not collapsing around them. “You must go first. Lords and lady, please help this most dwarf-like of my friends inn his climb.” And with that the rune-thrower, cast the miracle of guidance on the paladin as he still worked on his armor. “Kazrack, your pride will be the death of you,” Beorth said. “Call it pride if you will, but better the death of me than the death of you,” Kazrack handed the rope to Beorth, who sighing began to climb. Derek came tumbling back down the shaft, banging his head painfully against the wall. He had lost his grip, and tried to us his acrobatics to slow his fall. He managed to land on his feet. “Ratchis is going to pull that other rope, I heard him telling Baervard. Someone grab it!” Martin sighed and grabbed it, while Belear who had just finished staunching Blodnath’s wounds, healed Tolnar, who sputtering regained consciousness, though he spat blood. Golnar began to climb the rope his brother fell from. “I can take more than one on a rope!” Ratchis called down, as he pulled Baervard to the surface and grabbed the next rope. The taciturn dwarf began to untie the packs to throw his rope back down. No one could hear Ratchis’ cried over the distance and rumbling. Beorth grabbed Jeremy’s hand and then climbed past him, reaching the tattered floor of the upper chamber, but unfortunately, he grabbed a splintering wooden beam for support and came tumbling back down, just inches from the what now seemed like a bottomless pit. “Argh!” cried Jeremy, sweat dripped down his nose, and he looked nervously around. “Help him! Help him! Get him up!” Kazrack lowered a hand to help up the clumsy paladin, “My desire to see you to safety has not been diminished by your difficulty. You go first.” “My cowardice and my god’s displeasure have landed me here, Kazrack. You go first!’ Beorth replied standing. “Will one of you come on! Stop fighting already! Make up your minds! Let’s go!” Jeremy was now scolding them like children. Kazrack ignored the young warrior, who risked himself to aid them and continued to argue with Beorth. “If anyone has been abandoned. It is I! Now go!” And with that he sat on the shaking floor and folded his arms across his chest. Beorth simply stood there not replying. There was another crack, and Kazrack was forced to roll away from the edge of the hole to keep from going down with some stone. While Beorth clutched his head, as a remaining portion of the ceiling fell on him, drawing more blood. “Please!” Jeremy begged. “It’s now or never! You are going to kill us all!” “Beorth!! Go already!” Kazrack yelled. The earth shuddered as if to reinforce his command. “Do you realize what you are doing? Who is the proud one now?” “I am headed to meet my maker,” Beorth replied calmly, and the laying a hand on his own chest said. “Anubis, give me bit of your strength that I might see the light of day again, or at the very least ensure my companions do.” “Please?” Jeremy begged again, and he blindly sought purchase for his left foot on the pillar, for piece of it had fallen away. “I want to see my mother again!” This seemed to stir Kazrack’s heart, and sighing he stood and grabbed the rope and started making his way up, as Beorth boosted him. “Finally,” Jeremy said, grabbing on dwarf’s hand and helping him past him to what remained of the upper room. The floor below Beorth shook again. A crack appeared right beneath his feet, so he did not wait for Kazrack to complete his climb, before beginning his own. “Bes, stack the deck in my favor,” he prayed softly. Jeremy could hear cries of pain and horror echoing from the main shaft, where progress up to the surface was progressing in fits and starts. A cloud of dust billowed out through the broad door, and one of the chains holding it open snapped, causing the metal door to slid down askew. Much as Beorth did, Kazrack reached the crumbling floor and trusted it to hold too much weight at once. There was a snapping sound and back he fell into the lower level. Both Jeremy and Beorth reached out to grab him, but they could not. He slammed painfully on the floor and it cracked more beneath him. Beorth paused, and appeared to be considering heading back down. “Oh, no you don’t!” Jeremy said, and grabbing Beorth by the shoulder yanked him up. The paladin sighed resignedly and made it up to the broad stairs. He looked back at Jeremy. “Keep going! Get out!” Jeremy commanded, and the Beorth turned and hurried through the cloud to the main shaft. Jeremy risked going a little further down the pillar and tired whipping the rope in Kazrack’s direction. The dwarf stood and leapt away from a piece of floor falling out from under him at the rope. He tried to pull himself hand over hand, but kept slipping. For a moment his fingers laced with Jeremy’s, but then slipped loose and he fell back to the unstable floor. “Jeremy, my fate is in the hands of gods. Go!” Kazrack called up. “No! Come on Kazrack, you have to do this! I am not leaving you behind!” Jeremy insisted. Kazrack roared and leapt for the rope again, and pulled himself up to Jeremy’s feet, but another portion of the pillar rack off, and Jeremy had to hurriedly move to keep from falling himself, and again Kazrack fell back down. “You are just in my way!” Kazrack panted. “Go! At this rate the entire floor will collapse!” “I have an idea!” Jeremy called down beginning to climb up to the upper floor. “Stay where you are. I’m gonna cut the rope and pull you up!” “Just go!” Jeremy clambered up dexterously, and made it to the where the rope was fasten to the remaining chain. He cut it free and moved carefully back to the edge of the hole, swinging the rope towards Kazrack, who he could see was once again trying to climb, but this time the bare pillar. Seeing the rope drop near him again, Kazrack grabbed it again. Grunting, Jeremy pulled the heavy dwarf up hand over hand. Soon they both lay on the steps breathing hard. “Let’s go,” Jeremy said, standing and helping Kazrack to his feet. “And don’t look back.” The column they had been on just moments before, groaned and tipped over, taking most of what remained of the floor on this and the lower level with it. ----------------------------------------------- Beorth came through the dust cloud into the lower end of the shaft to the surface, and the light shining from his helm pierced the darkness and revealed the owners of the frantic dwarven voices around him. Belear lay bleeding and unconscious, and Captain Adalar was seeing to him. The elder dwarf had been being pulled up as he grasped Blodnath’s unconscious form and both had tumbled down when struck by falling stonework. Above Ratchis, was yelling down for three people to get the rope he was about to pull, while Baervard and Derek pulled up Golnar, who held Blodnath, and Martin who was already up was dragging the party’s packs away from the monolith as quickly as he could. Tolnar and Jolnar had already made it to the top, and were making ready to grab the third rope, when there was another great tremor, and they fell on the blood-stained flat surface of the stone above. (6) “Oh Nephthys! Oh-Siris, Oh Isis! Give me strength! Give me strength! Give me strength!” the watch-mage repeated as the earth shook around him. Craters began to mark the ashen earth around him, and several times he had to change his direction to avoid them. “Beorth! Help me tie Belear to the last rope,” Captain Adalar said, as he grabbed the end of a rope. The paladin helped, and then tugged on the rope. Adalar hefted the elder dwarf and held on to the rope and in a moment Ratchis was pulling them up. Beorth began to wrap a rope about his arm as Jeremy came into the shaft chamber. “Is Kazrack behind you?” Beorth asked. Jeremy nodded, and turned to gesture, but at that moment there was an explosion of stone as another of the great columns fell and a shower of dust burst into the chamber. In a second they were all covering their eyes and coughing. “There is no way anyone survived that,” Golnar said, above helping to pull a rope. A plume of dust was rising from the shaft, and the whole stone groaned as it sunk into the earth askew. “We are going to keep pulling people up until all of my friends are here!” Ratchis said. Derek shook his head discouraged, and looked up at the plume of smoke. “We have to get out of here. This is just a signal for someone to come and get us.” Ratchis glared at the young ranger. “Kazrack!” Jeremy cried, and turned to go back into the main chamber, but the dwarf came stumbling in, his helmet gone and his head bleeding profusely. “There is not room back there anymore,” he coughed. “Just a pit, and you should be up the ropes.” Beorth was startled as the rope he was attached to began to pull him up. Another rope was dropped beside him. “Take the rope that just came down! Hurry!” he called down to his companions as he disappeared into the darkness above. Jeremy grabbed the rope and started pulling himself up hand over hand. “Someone is on this rope!” Derek said, looking back down and feeling the weight of Jeremy on it. Hope filled him again. “Adalar! Help Derek!” Ratchis commanded, straining as he pulled Beorth up. The Captain handed Belear to Golnar. “Get moving,” the dwarf told him and his brothers. “Bring him and Blodnath out of the area. Follow the mage!” They obeyed. Jeremy felt the rope jerk and looked back down frantically, but the dust and the darkness did not let him see if Kazrack had grabbed on. Far below, the metal door to the main chamber fell, and the floor of the shaft cracked open, sending another rush of dust up. The Neergaardian did not want to leave it to the speed of being pulled up and he again began to go hand over hand to quicken his ascent. In a moment, Beorth came up over the side of the shaft, taking deep rasping breaths between lung-shattering coughs. Ratchis hurried over. “Where are the others?” Beorth shook his head ambiguously, but there was still weight on the remaining room and the hulking half-orc stepped over and helped Adalar and Derek pull on it. Soon, Jeremy appeared, coughing as well. He let go of the rope and crawled away from the hole. There was still weight on the rope. “Kazrack?” The dwarf was pulled up. “Where are the others?” Ratchis asked, doing a quick headcount in his mind and realizing he had not seen Helrahd and Kirla. Kazrack just shook his head. “Let’s go.” The Fearless Manticore Killers hustled off the great monolith as the earth rumbled around them and great rents appeared in the ashen soil. The pointed columns fell inward, and the sand slid down towards the center. The scrambled up and away from the increasing incline like ants fleeing their hill when it has been carelessly kicked. They could all feel and hear a secondary rumble that seemed to be growing from behind and beneath them, just below the groans and crashes they could still hear coming up the shaft. It cressendoed until it was the only sound to be heard, and throwing themselves in the dirt in fear and exhaustion, they looked back to see the great black monolith swallowed by the ground. Several rows of pointed columns followed after it, along with tons of the ashen earth, sending a secondary black plume that rose up even taller than the first gray one. The earth gave one final hard shudder, and those who tried to stand to keep running were knocked back down. In a moment, it was eerily quiet. “I think I just lost ten years of my life getting out of that place,” Jeremy said between gasps. End of Session #48 ---------------------------------------------------------- [b]Notes:[/b] (1) [b]Expository Note:[/b] This entire session (approx 6 hours) was done in the same initiative order in rounds, based on the initiative rolled the session before. As the PCs made their way out of the Necropolis of Doom, I rolled an initiative for the collapse of the place itself. And when its number came around I rolled an increasing chance of an ‘effect’. Effects ranged from simply a cinematic description of something breaking or crashing, to the whole place shaking (calling for balance checks) to pieces of the floor or ceiling collapsing. There was a tense atmosphere of fear and excitement around the table and when it was all over, the players gave me a round of applause because they had enjoyed themselves so much and were impressed with what I had come up with. I never received around of applause from players before. I was taken aback and felt like Pirate Cat was about to step out of the bathroom to award me some kind of DMing plaque. But, if I can for a second imagine that Kevin Kulp did come out from lurking in my bathroom like a three-legged spider in the drain, indulge me this little humble acceptance speech: I’d like to thank my players because without them this would all be impossible, or I’d be a little weirder than I already am. (2) [b]Expository Note:[/b] As the action was happening in separate places, I took some license to describe several rounds of action in one area and then in another, while in game it took place simultaneously. I tried to use specific events to tie together PC/NPC action chronologically. (3) Natan-Ahb is the head of the dwarven pantheon. (4) Remember, the shaft to the surface had four levels that held masks and sarcophagi. (5) Kazrack refers to the time before the First Age, when all dwarves were united under one king and there was but one immense island in the world. However, in punishment for their greed, Natan-ahb smashed it with his great hammer, making Aquerra into the many islands it is today. (6) The party first came upon the monolith in Session #40. [/QUOTE]
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