The Age of Worms - Morrus' Campaign - Finished 6th August!!
Eccles
Ragged idiot in a trilby.
Lurching forwards, the lumbering undead tottered; positively dripping worms to the floor as they paced towards Flynne in the doorway. Staring at the creature in horror, the elf darted backwards, raising his bow as he tumbled and then sending a single arrow slamming into the creature’s chest.
The rotting figure barely even twitched, whilst off to Flynne’s left Endo pondered, caressed his spellbook (filled to the brim with sinister undead-related spells) and then tossed a flask of holy water at the closest lumbering figure. Flesh dissolved as though immersed in acid, and spatters of water and rotting flesh dotted the other three zombies as all four continued towards us, moaning in lingering agony.
As they closed, Igmut’s spear danced through the air between us. 1 was immediately torn in two, and collapsed to the floor. The point of the spear tore into another before Sheba’s orange furred form closed the gap and tore into a third, tearing the flesh from the bones and destroying the zombie utterly in a moment.
Whilst Malachite swung his sharp scimitar at another, I produced a slim wand from my bag and blasted it with a small number of tiny globes of force. As gobbets of flesh pattered to the floor, Igmut dropped his spear and swung his greatsword over his head and dispatched another zombie. His sword tore straight through the zombie and into the other, killing it as well.
As the zombies collapsed, the worms bubbled up through their mangled flesh and fell to the floor, wriggling slowly across the floor towards us. Grinning, Flynne and Endo poured flasks of oil around the worms, and then they were burned in a foul-smelling wriggling mass.
.oOo.
Leading away from the zombie-cavern were three narrow corridors, which wound tightly together, all emerging into the same second room. Within were a number of unkempt figures. Clearly captives, they huddled together in one corner as we strode into the room, weapons and spells at the ready.
One of the figures, an elven woman, threw herself at our feet.
“Please,” she begged. “Release us! We have been caught here for weeks. We cannot escape, as there are zombies blocking the corridor…”
She trailed off at the sight of my grin.
“Fear not, good woman,” I replied whilst shouldering my crossbow. “The adventuring band of Bunwhacket Gruntfuttock have despatched the undead abominations, and the path is clear for us to lead you to an escape.”
As I said this, a sudden discussion broke out behind me.
“Are you mad? Lead them out? It could take ages!”
“Yeah, but we could stay out there and rest. My spells are running low.”
“But the villains could escape!”
“If we take too long, my enchantments will wear off!”
“Treasure…”
“Spells…”
“Rewards…”
“I’ve got a scroll – I could teleport out and then buy another…”
“How many can you carry?”
“About three, plus myself.”
“You wally – there’s 5 of them!”
“I could buy 3 scrolls and make a couple of trips? And maybe rest for a few hours whilst I was up there?”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“We can’t just leave them here.”
“Yes we could.”
“How about you teleport us up there and we could…”
“What about the captives?”
“But they’ll fill these caverns with zombies whilst we’re away!”
“So?”
“We can’t take a whole day out. We’d come back and this place would be empty.”
Grudgingly, the group as a whole agreed that we had to lead the unfortunate captives out of the caves and up to the surface. To do anything other would have been inhuman.
An hour later, we returned. Igmut was rather morose, and glancing at him through my Clair de Lunettes revealed why. Many of the dweomers and enchantments which had made the orc into a total killing machine were starting to wink out, and his 400 pound frame was somehow lessened by their loss.
.oOo.
Taking the second exit from the cavern which had been occupied by the clutch of drow, we entered a slightly larger chamber, lined with dark rock and whose floor was smooth and glossy. Square in the centre of the room was a 10 foot wide purple symbol of tentacles.
As we looked around the room, I raised my lunettes to my eyes again, and auras sprung up around the room. The huge symbol on the floor was revealed to be illusory in nature, and also there was a tight knot of magic centred on a point high on one wall. I passed the spectacles to Endo, who identified the knot as being the key to a powerful Symbol spell – a complex magical trap.
Before he could elucidate any further, Flynne was already scrambling up the wall. Once up there, he traced the shape of the Symbol with his finger before pulling out some tools. Still hanging onto the wall as he worked, I was amazed to watch the enchantments flicker and then fail as Flynne passed his hands rapidly over it.
As it failed, so did something in one wall, which then cracked open and revealed an entrance. We took it.
.oOo.
Within, the cave reverted to nature. Several tall craggy stalagmites stretched towards the ceiling, with matching stalactites dangling from the tall ceiling. The natural aspect to the dripping cave ended on one wall, however, where two tall purple-veined white marble columns stretched from floor to ceiling, topped with a ring of the same tentacular sigils. A tall set of double doors made from the same material stood between the two columns.
Seeing nothing untoward in the room, Flynne moved towards the doors, reaching for his lockpicking tools. As he closed on the marble, however, a series of terrifyingly long claw-topped tentacles shot out from the shadows behind three of the stalagmites, slashing and stabbing at the elf quite brutally. One of the creatures emerged from the shadows, with two of the long tentacle-claws latched deeply into Flynne’s flesh and the long limbs flexed. There was an awful tearing sound as blood welled up and Flynne screamed loudly, before being tossed to one side by the creature.
Gamely, Flynne drew his sword, and used it as a crutch to lift himself back to his feet and face the monstrosities which had attacked him. Each of the three had a fleshy bulbous body supported by 4 thin tentacles, with two tremendously long tentacles flailing around in the air around them. The creatures used these much longer and stronger claw-tipped tentacles to attack targets which they picked out with their bulbous star-pupilled single eyes.
Flynne swung his sword and clipped the nearest creature, which turned to face him, and blinked. Suddenly, Flynne began to move as though immersed in water – reacting sluggishly towards further threats which were all around him, as he was struck incredibly badly by yet another of the tentacled creatures.
The third blinked its star-shaped eye at Igmut, and he also started to move more slowly, and was immediately passed by Sheba who tore into one of the creatures, clawing and biting the soft flesh with ease before Malachite stepped up to her side and stabbed his scimitar through the eyeball. Spilling vile liquids across the floor, the creature slumped, fell, and deflated.
Igmut scythed his greatsword into the form of a second, carving a deep wound into the body of the thing before Flynne stepped up behind it, his sword moving slowly, but with pinpoint accuracy, into the centre of the creature. The body split wide under the twin assault, and it also collapsed to the floor.
The surviving creature dealt an appalling series of slashing, tearing and rending injuries to Malachite, who backed away as a wand-shot from Endo went wild over his head. Sheba dived towards the last foe, the one which had hurt her master and simply tore it limb from rubbery limb.
Pulling out wands, Igmut, Malachite and I pulled out our wands and turned to curing the many injuries suffered by the group, whilst Flynne checked the door, declaring it not to be locked, but to clearly be barred from the other side. Placing his ear to the marble, he also said that he could hear a pulsing, humming sound from the other side of the doorway.
.oOo.
Once everyone was healed, Igmut, Sheba and Flynne threw themselves physically at the door, whilst Endo used a stick of chalk to indicate where they should be directing their blows. The first rush, they slammed noisily into the door, and collapsed in a heap at the foot of the heavy marble.
Undiminished, they turned and ran at the door a second time, and there was a loud cracking noise as both doors flew open to show a massive circular chamber, with a set of stairs to one side. Standing on a pedestal in the centre of the room was a ten foot wide brain, formed of the same marble as the doors, the veins of purple within the rock throbbing with vibrant power. Spaced evenly around the room were 4 benches, set with manacles.
As they stared at the monstrous stone brain, first Igmut and then Malachite clutched their hands to their heads, shouting in pain and frustration as something tried to control their minds.
“Me smash brain!” Igmut moved swiftly, raising a morningstar and bringing it down full-force onto the stone, chipping a few small flakes of marble onto the floor. Sheba and Manachite ran up to join him, but their weapons simply slid off the stone with a series of scraping and clinking noises. As I started up a song of encouragement, and Flynne’s arrows bounced off the stone surface, Malachite paused for a second, and cast a simple spell.
Abruptly, the humming noise stopped. Malachite touched the stone, which seemed to liquefy for a second, and then reshape itself into a tall angular block of stone, pierced through with a series of deep fist-sized holes. Malachite had literally turned the vile and psionic stone brain into a ten foot tall block of swiss cheese. He grinned, and we turned to the stairs.
.oOo.
At the top of the stairs was an oddly-shaped chamber, roughly in a semicircle. We ascended to one of the corners, and stairs continued up at the far side. On the flat surface was a stone door, whilst facing it was a truly colossal glass tank filled with a thick green liquid. The walls were dotted with bookcases and a paper-covered desk, which we turned to look at first.
The papers (written in Undercommon), detailed the steps undertaken to create the ‘Octopin’ monsters – the bulbous tentacular monstrosities which we had defeated downstairs. It was clear that their creator had also been working on their improvement by making a larger, tougher specimen. This creator, who called himself “Zyrxog”, had also been tinkering with a species of worm which could burrow into a target to make them more suggestible. These, he called “Mind Worms”.
Suddenly, with no apparent cause, the glass tank shattered, sending a wave of thick green liquid pouring across the floor, and a truly titanic Octopin smashed its way through the remaining shards of glass. Instinctively, Flynne turned and fired two shots into the creature, although it managed to smash a 2 foot long claw across his temple as he did so. Endo cast a spell from a wand, missing the monstrosity, before it positively savaged Flynne, dealing him a titanic series of slashes and tears. Flynne just barely managed to stay on his feet.
Stepping forwards, Igmut swung a series of powerful blows with his greatsword, but the sword simply bounced off a heavily armoured and rubbery body.
I cast a swift spell and began to sing encouragement at the others, as Sheba dashed in to the fray. As she leapt forwards, she was badly injured by the creature’s backswing, but managed to claw several deep gashes into its body. It screamed in alien rage, and glared at her in anger. Around the monster, Malachite began to speak the words of a spell, whilst Flynne dashed away to the foot of the stairs leading upwards and quaffed a potion which repaired some of the appalling damage to his thin frame.
Triggering a wand, Endo managed to surround the thing in a cloud of screaming and tearing spirits, but to no avail, as the creature unleashed all of its fury on Sheba. 4, then 4 blows landed, shredding through the brave tiger’s fur, and exposing organs and bones beneath. Dead in an instant, Sheba dropped to the floor.
“Nooooo!” wailed Malachite, a mad fury blazing in his eyes.
“For the glory of Kord,” bellowed Igmut, whose greatsword drove down in a blur of enchanted strength and speed. A gout of ichor sprayed into the air, and then the half-orc swung again, hacking through the creature’s mid-section as though it were the thinnest eggshell. It buckled, and collapsed before us.
.oOo.
Malachite was inconsolable. Breaking up the furniture and piling it upon Sheba’s body as though he intended to start a funeral pyre that instant, all the while glaring at Endo and muttering that “he mustn’t get her”. We spent several minutes trying to console him, without success, but we did manage to persuade him that we would carry the body of the tiger out when we were done, so that she could be buried properly.
.oOo.
Drinking a potion, Flynne checked the stone door with enchanted vision, and opened it. Beyond lay a small room with a pool of water standing between utterly bare stone walls.
Moving in, we noticed a strange reflection from the water, and stood closer, our mouths falling open at the sight. Within, we could see a large chamber, whose floor was decorated with a series of octagonal symbols. At the centre lay a deep pool of green liquid. Floating above the pool was a staff-wielding illithid.
I scrutinised the pool, using the Clair de Lunettes as I did so, and the image exploded with a dozen different auras. His boots, cloak, necklace, ring and several other items glowed with the power of a series of enchantments, but these were utterly overshadowed by the power radiating from the staff. The apparently simple length of wood resounded to my eyes with a series of auras of several types so bright that I had to snatch the glasses off my head rather than continue to look at it.
.oOo.
Realising that there was little else to do, and that the illithid may well be preparing something even more terrible from this last pool of green liquid, we headed out of this small room (after another lengthy argument about whether to rest at this point). At the top of the stairs, two large doors blocked our passage, until Flynne managed to open them.
At this point, still muttering in words I didn’t understand, Malachite’s form blurred and he assumed the shape of a large tiger, apparently in honour of his fallen companion.
This latest circular room contained a tall ebony statue of a winged, vulture headed monster, the spitting likeness of a vrock demon, as well as a series of large glass cases. Within these cases were a number of severed body parts and relics, apparently souvenirs of the owner’s adventures and travels. A preserved head of a black dragon stood alone in one case, whilst opposite it was a dark-coloured dagger resting on a cushion. A battered sword was in another case, near a small bronze statue of a griffon. Finally, most disconcertingly, there was a foot-tall doll littered with pins, which seemed to have a near-perfect likeness of Malachite, and appeared, at least to my eyes, to have the aura of necromantic magic to it.
Bellowing, Igmut ran in, making a beeline for the black statue, which instantly gained a good deal of colour and movement as it turned to face him. Flynne and I fired our weapons, whilst I started to chant. Tiger-Malachite dashed into the room, and the creature swiped at him, leaving some kind of spore in his flesh.
Endo cast once, and then immediately again, using the last charge from his Rod of Quickening for that day, but neither spell had any effect on the demon. In response, it burst outwards, and the room suddenly appeared to be filled with 9 of the creatures, all weaving in and out of one another and filling the area with still more spores.
I fired my crossbow, which flew true and struck one of the creatures in the chest, and it vanished in an instant, before Flynne plied his bow, and three more of the spectral images vanished in a series of accurate shots.
Laying about himself with claws and teeth, Malachite was not as fortunate; he managed to vanquish one of the false images, before missing a second. His teeth clamped shut over the arm of the real thing, but it merely shook him off, before slashing at him with its own claws and a razor-edged beak. Igmut’s sword swept through the last of the images, dispelling one before carving through another.
I snatched a vial from Endo’s outstretched hand, and ran to pour its contents over Malachite, which seemed to cause the spores to shrivel up and drop off, whilst behind me Flynne’s arrows struck heavily into the creature’s body. Malachite leapt up, clawing at the vrock, and brought it to the floor, where Endo struck it with a spell of enfeeblement, which failed to take purchase on the feathered fiend, but then Igmut, grown to twice his normal height through some spell Kord had granted him, struck down on the fiend which was being held to the ground at his feet.
With an almighty blow, he cleaved the head of the monster right off its shoulders, and the beaked head half bounced, half rolled away through the room, trailing ichor as it went.
I reached up to pat him on the arm.
“That’ll do, Ig. That’ll do.”
The rotting figure barely even twitched, whilst off to Flynne’s left Endo pondered, caressed his spellbook (filled to the brim with sinister undead-related spells) and then tossed a flask of holy water at the closest lumbering figure. Flesh dissolved as though immersed in acid, and spatters of water and rotting flesh dotted the other three zombies as all four continued towards us, moaning in lingering agony.
As they closed, Igmut’s spear danced through the air between us. 1 was immediately torn in two, and collapsed to the floor. The point of the spear tore into another before Sheba’s orange furred form closed the gap and tore into a third, tearing the flesh from the bones and destroying the zombie utterly in a moment.
Whilst Malachite swung his sharp scimitar at another, I produced a slim wand from my bag and blasted it with a small number of tiny globes of force. As gobbets of flesh pattered to the floor, Igmut dropped his spear and swung his greatsword over his head and dispatched another zombie. His sword tore straight through the zombie and into the other, killing it as well.
As the zombies collapsed, the worms bubbled up through their mangled flesh and fell to the floor, wriggling slowly across the floor towards us. Grinning, Flynne and Endo poured flasks of oil around the worms, and then they were burned in a foul-smelling wriggling mass.
.oOo.
Leading away from the zombie-cavern were three narrow corridors, which wound tightly together, all emerging into the same second room. Within were a number of unkempt figures. Clearly captives, they huddled together in one corner as we strode into the room, weapons and spells at the ready.
One of the figures, an elven woman, threw herself at our feet.
“Please,” she begged. “Release us! We have been caught here for weeks. We cannot escape, as there are zombies blocking the corridor…”
She trailed off at the sight of my grin.
“Fear not, good woman,” I replied whilst shouldering my crossbow. “The adventuring band of Bunwhacket Gruntfuttock have despatched the undead abominations, and the path is clear for us to lead you to an escape.”
As I said this, a sudden discussion broke out behind me.
“Are you mad? Lead them out? It could take ages!”
“Yeah, but we could stay out there and rest. My spells are running low.”
“But the villains could escape!”
“If we take too long, my enchantments will wear off!”
“Treasure…”
“Spells…”
“Rewards…”
“I’ve got a scroll – I could teleport out and then buy another…”
“How many can you carry?”
“About three, plus myself.”
“You wally – there’s 5 of them!”
“I could buy 3 scrolls and make a couple of trips? And maybe rest for a few hours whilst I was up there?”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“We can’t just leave them here.”
“Yes we could.”
“How about you teleport us up there and we could…”
“What about the captives?”
“But they’ll fill these caverns with zombies whilst we’re away!”
“So?”
“We can’t take a whole day out. We’d come back and this place would be empty.”
Grudgingly, the group as a whole agreed that we had to lead the unfortunate captives out of the caves and up to the surface. To do anything other would have been inhuman.
An hour later, we returned. Igmut was rather morose, and glancing at him through my Clair de Lunettes revealed why. Many of the dweomers and enchantments which had made the orc into a total killing machine were starting to wink out, and his 400 pound frame was somehow lessened by their loss.
.oOo.
Taking the second exit from the cavern which had been occupied by the clutch of drow, we entered a slightly larger chamber, lined with dark rock and whose floor was smooth and glossy. Square in the centre of the room was a 10 foot wide purple symbol of tentacles.
As we looked around the room, I raised my lunettes to my eyes again, and auras sprung up around the room. The huge symbol on the floor was revealed to be illusory in nature, and also there was a tight knot of magic centred on a point high on one wall. I passed the spectacles to Endo, who identified the knot as being the key to a powerful Symbol spell – a complex magical trap.
Before he could elucidate any further, Flynne was already scrambling up the wall. Once up there, he traced the shape of the Symbol with his finger before pulling out some tools. Still hanging onto the wall as he worked, I was amazed to watch the enchantments flicker and then fail as Flynne passed his hands rapidly over it.
As it failed, so did something in one wall, which then cracked open and revealed an entrance. We took it.
.oOo.
Within, the cave reverted to nature. Several tall craggy stalagmites stretched towards the ceiling, with matching stalactites dangling from the tall ceiling. The natural aspect to the dripping cave ended on one wall, however, where two tall purple-veined white marble columns stretched from floor to ceiling, topped with a ring of the same tentacular sigils. A tall set of double doors made from the same material stood between the two columns.
Seeing nothing untoward in the room, Flynne moved towards the doors, reaching for his lockpicking tools. As he closed on the marble, however, a series of terrifyingly long claw-topped tentacles shot out from the shadows behind three of the stalagmites, slashing and stabbing at the elf quite brutally. One of the creatures emerged from the shadows, with two of the long tentacle-claws latched deeply into Flynne’s flesh and the long limbs flexed. There was an awful tearing sound as blood welled up and Flynne screamed loudly, before being tossed to one side by the creature.
Gamely, Flynne drew his sword, and used it as a crutch to lift himself back to his feet and face the monstrosities which had attacked him. Each of the three had a fleshy bulbous body supported by 4 thin tentacles, with two tremendously long tentacles flailing around in the air around them. The creatures used these much longer and stronger claw-tipped tentacles to attack targets which they picked out with their bulbous star-pupilled single eyes.
Flynne swung his sword and clipped the nearest creature, which turned to face him, and blinked. Suddenly, Flynne began to move as though immersed in water – reacting sluggishly towards further threats which were all around him, as he was struck incredibly badly by yet another of the tentacled creatures.
The third blinked its star-shaped eye at Igmut, and he also started to move more slowly, and was immediately passed by Sheba who tore into one of the creatures, clawing and biting the soft flesh with ease before Malachite stepped up to her side and stabbed his scimitar through the eyeball. Spilling vile liquids across the floor, the creature slumped, fell, and deflated.
Igmut scythed his greatsword into the form of a second, carving a deep wound into the body of the thing before Flynne stepped up behind it, his sword moving slowly, but with pinpoint accuracy, into the centre of the creature. The body split wide under the twin assault, and it also collapsed to the floor.
The surviving creature dealt an appalling series of slashing, tearing and rending injuries to Malachite, who backed away as a wand-shot from Endo went wild over his head. Sheba dived towards the last foe, the one which had hurt her master and simply tore it limb from rubbery limb.
Pulling out wands, Igmut, Malachite and I pulled out our wands and turned to curing the many injuries suffered by the group, whilst Flynne checked the door, declaring it not to be locked, but to clearly be barred from the other side. Placing his ear to the marble, he also said that he could hear a pulsing, humming sound from the other side of the doorway.
.oOo.
Once everyone was healed, Igmut, Sheba and Flynne threw themselves physically at the door, whilst Endo used a stick of chalk to indicate where they should be directing their blows. The first rush, they slammed noisily into the door, and collapsed in a heap at the foot of the heavy marble.
Undiminished, they turned and ran at the door a second time, and there was a loud cracking noise as both doors flew open to show a massive circular chamber, with a set of stairs to one side. Standing on a pedestal in the centre of the room was a ten foot wide brain, formed of the same marble as the doors, the veins of purple within the rock throbbing with vibrant power. Spaced evenly around the room were 4 benches, set with manacles.
As they stared at the monstrous stone brain, first Igmut and then Malachite clutched their hands to their heads, shouting in pain and frustration as something tried to control their minds.
“Me smash brain!” Igmut moved swiftly, raising a morningstar and bringing it down full-force onto the stone, chipping a few small flakes of marble onto the floor. Sheba and Manachite ran up to join him, but their weapons simply slid off the stone with a series of scraping and clinking noises. As I started up a song of encouragement, and Flynne’s arrows bounced off the stone surface, Malachite paused for a second, and cast a simple spell.
Abruptly, the humming noise stopped. Malachite touched the stone, which seemed to liquefy for a second, and then reshape itself into a tall angular block of stone, pierced through with a series of deep fist-sized holes. Malachite had literally turned the vile and psionic stone brain into a ten foot tall block of swiss cheese. He grinned, and we turned to the stairs.
.oOo.
At the top of the stairs was an oddly-shaped chamber, roughly in a semicircle. We ascended to one of the corners, and stairs continued up at the far side. On the flat surface was a stone door, whilst facing it was a truly colossal glass tank filled with a thick green liquid. The walls were dotted with bookcases and a paper-covered desk, which we turned to look at first.
The papers (written in Undercommon), detailed the steps undertaken to create the ‘Octopin’ monsters – the bulbous tentacular monstrosities which we had defeated downstairs. It was clear that their creator had also been working on their improvement by making a larger, tougher specimen. This creator, who called himself “Zyrxog”, had also been tinkering with a species of worm which could burrow into a target to make them more suggestible. These, he called “Mind Worms”.
Suddenly, with no apparent cause, the glass tank shattered, sending a wave of thick green liquid pouring across the floor, and a truly titanic Octopin smashed its way through the remaining shards of glass. Instinctively, Flynne turned and fired two shots into the creature, although it managed to smash a 2 foot long claw across his temple as he did so. Endo cast a spell from a wand, missing the monstrosity, before it positively savaged Flynne, dealing him a titanic series of slashes and tears. Flynne just barely managed to stay on his feet.
Stepping forwards, Igmut swung a series of powerful blows with his greatsword, but the sword simply bounced off a heavily armoured and rubbery body.
I cast a swift spell and began to sing encouragement at the others, as Sheba dashed in to the fray. As she leapt forwards, she was badly injured by the creature’s backswing, but managed to claw several deep gashes into its body. It screamed in alien rage, and glared at her in anger. Around the monster, Malachite began to speak the words of a spell, whilst Flynne dashed away to the foot of the stairs leading upwards and quaffed a potion which repaired some of the appalling damage to his thin frame.
Triggering a wand, Endo managed to surround the thing in a cloud of screaming and tearing spirits, but to no avail, as the creature unleashed all of its fury on Sheba. 4, then 4 blows landed, shredding through the brave tiger’s fur, and exposing organs and bones beneath. Dead in an instant, Sheba dropped to the floor.
“Nooooo!” wailed Malachite, a mad fury blazing in his eyes.
“For the glory of Kord,” bellowed Igmut, whose greatsword drove down in a blur of enchanted strength and speed. A gout of ichor sprayed into the air, and then the half-orc swung again, hacking through the creature’s mid-section as though it were the thinnest eggshell. It buckled, and collapsed before us.
.oOo.
Malachite was inconsolable. Breaking up the furniture and piling it upon Sheba’s body as though he intended to start a funeral pyre that instant, all the while glaring at Endo and muttering that “he mustn’t get her”. We spent several minutes trying to console him, without success, but we did manage to persuade him that we would carry the body of the tiger out when we were done, so that she could be buried properly.
.oOo.
Drinking a potion, Flynne checked the stone door with enchanted vision, and opened it. Beyond lay a small room with a pool of water standing between utterly bare stone walls.
Moving in, we noticed a strange reflection from the water, and stood closer, our mouths falling open at the sight. Within, we could see a large chamber, whose floor was decorated with a series of octagonal symbols. At the centre lay a deep pool of green liquid. Floating above the pool was a staff-wielding illithid.
I scrutinised the pool, using the Clair de Lunettes as I did so, and the image exploded with a dozen different auras. His boots, cloak, necklace, ring and several other items glowed with the power of a series of enchantments, but these were utterly overshadowed by the power radiating from the staff. The apparently simple length of wood resounded to my eyes with a series of auras of several types so bright that I had to snatch the glasses off my head rather than continue to look at it.
.oOo.
Realising that there was little else to do, and that the illithid may well be preparing something even more terrible from this last pool of green liquid, we headed out of this small room (after another lengthy argument about whether to rest at this point). At the top of the stairs, two large doors blocked our passage, until Flynne managed to open them.
At this point, still muttering in words I didn’t understand, Malachite’s form blurred and he assumed the shape of a large tiger, apparently in honour of his fallen companion.
This latest circular room contained a tall ebony statue of a winged, vulture headed monster, the spitting likeness of a vrock demon, as well as a series of large glass cases. Within these cases were a number of severed body parts and relics, apparently souvenirs of the owner’s adventures and travels. A preserved head of a black dragon stood alone in one case, whilst opposite it was a dark-coloured dagger resting on a cushion. A battered sword was in another case, near a small bronze statue of a griffon. Finally, most disconcertingly, there was a foot-tall doll littered with pins, which seemed to have a near-perfect likeness of Malachite, and appeared, at least to my eyes, to have the aura of necromantic magic to it.
Bellowing, Igmut ran in, making a beeline for the black statue, which instantly gained a good deal of colour and movement as it turned to face him. Flynne and I fired our weapons, whilst I started to chant. Tiger-Malachite dashed into the room, and the creature swiped at him, leaving some kind of spore in his flesh.
Endo cast once, and then immediately again, using the last charge from his Rod of Quickening for that day, but neither spell had any effect on the demon. In response, it burst outwards, and the room suddenly appeared to be filled with 9 of the creatures, all weaving in and out of one another and filling the area with still more spores.
I fired my crossbow, which flew true and struck one of the creatures in the chest, and it vanished in an instant, before Flynne plied his bow, and three more of the spectral images vanished in a series of accurate shots.
Laying about himself with claws and teeth, Malachite was not as fortunate; he managed to vanquish one of the false images, before missing a second. His teeth clamped shut over the arm of the real thing, but it merely shook him off, before slashing at him with its own claws and a razor-edged beak. Igmut’s sword swept through the last of the images, dispelling one before carving through another.
I snatched a vial from Endo’s outstretched hand, and ran to pour its contents over Malachite, which seemed to cause the spores to shrivel up and drop off, whilst behind me Flynne’s arrows struck heavily into the creature’s body. Malachite leapt up, clawing at the vrock, and brought it to the floor, where Endo struck it with a spell of enfeeblement, which failed to take purchase on the feathered fiend, but then Igmut, grown to twice his normal height through some spell Kord had granted him, struck down on the fiend which was being held to the ground at his feet.
With an almighty blow, he cleaved the head of the monster right off its shoulders, and the beaked head half bounced, half rolled away through the room, trailing ichor as it went.
I reached up to pat him on the arm.
“That’ll do, Ig. That’ll do.”
Eccles
Ragged idiot in a trilby.
Short addition by Malachite's player: Sheba's tale.
.oOo.
When i was little i had two brothers and a sister . Little runt was too small to fight us so when mother brought food he never got any and after a ferw days he stopped moving. The rest of us played and ate and grew and followed mother hunting. She taught us to stalk and to pounce and to chase and to kill. Then the men came and killed mother. We ran away but they threw nets at us and my legs wouldn't run any more. Then they took us to a big cage where we ate very little. I got bigger than the others and the men used to make me stand by a fire and they hit me with whips. I stood as long as i could and then to escape ran through the fire. They stopped hitting me for a few days and then they would do it again. Sometimes there would be lots of other people while they did this, but only a few would hit me.
After the cold had come and gone as many times as i have paws a man came and talked to me. None of them had ever done this before. I liked Green. Green came back with another man and i decided i would like to go with him.
He lived in a building with a big fire and lots of food. I liked to lie by the fire and people would give me food and no-one hit me with a whip. Green had four friends - talky, make pain go, creepy and arrows. Talky didn't smell like his shape but he was Green's friend so i liked him.
One day a man attacked Green so i leapt at him. I was going to rip his throat open, but i could sense Green didn't want him dead, so i just flattened him so he wouldn't attack Green any more. Then he cut me very deep with metal and Green wanted me to leave so i did. Then make pain go made me better with a stick.
A few days after that Green and his friends went for a long walk at night and i decided to go with them to make sure Green was all right. Lots of things tried to hurt Green so i killed them. Some of them hid in the open so i sniffed where they were and killed them. For some reason none of the others sniffed them out. Talky fell in some water and didn't come out for ages. When he did he was his real shape and wasn't moving anymore.
A little later lots of people who weren't their own shape attacked Green so i killed them. Green made a new friend called Song Man. I liked Song Man. When he sang i thought of mother and what the men had done to her and it made me want to kill the things that attacked Green even more.
Often when i killed the things that attacked Green and his friends i would get hurt, but Green and Makes Pain Go and Song Man would make me fell better my pointing at me with sticks.
Then one day something with very long arms was trying to kill arrows so i tried to kill it. While i was ripping at it with my claws i couldn't feel my legs and then everything went dark for a long time.
.oOo.
When i was little i had two brothers and a sister . Little runt was too small to fight us so when mother brought food he never got any and after a ferw days he stopped moving. The rest of us played and ate and grew and followed mother hunting. She taught us to stalk and to pounce and to chase and to kill. Then the men came and killed mother. We ran away but they threw nets at us and my legs wouldn't run any more. Then they took us to a big cage where we ate very little. I got bigger than the others and the men used to make me stand by a fire and they hit me with whips. I stood as long as i could and then to escape ran through the fire. They stopped hitting me for a few days and then they would do it again. Sometimes there would be lots of other people while they did this, but only a few would hit me.
After the cold had come and gone as many times as i have paws a man came and talked to me. None of them had ever done this before. I liked Green. Green came back with another man and i decided i would like to go with him.
He lived in a building with a big fire and lots of food. I liked to lie by the fire and people would give me food and no-one hit me with a whip. Green had four friends - talky, make pain go, creepy and arrows. Talky didn't smell like his shape but he was Green's friend so i liked him.
One day a man attacked Green so i leapt at him. I was going to rip his throat open, but i could sense Green didn't want him dead, so i just flattened him so he wouldn't attack Green any more. Then he cut me very deep with metal and Green wanted me to leave so i did. Then make pain go made me better with a stick.
A few days after that Green and his friends went for a long walk at night and i decided to go with them to make sure Green was all right. Lots of things tried to hurt Green so i killed them. Some of them hid in the open so i sniffed where they were and killed them. For some reason none of the others sniffed them out. Talky fell in some water and didn't come out for ages. When he did he was his real shape and wasn't moving anymore.
A little later lots of people who weren't their own shape attacked Green so i killed them. Green made a new friend called Song Man. I liked Song Man. When he sang i thought of mother and what the men had done to her and it made me want to kill the things that attacked Green even more.
Often when i killed the things that attacked Green and his friends i would get hurt, but Green and Makes Pain Go and Song Man would make me fell better my pointing at me with sticks.
Then one day something with very long arms was trying to kill arrows so i tried to kill it. While i was ripping at it with my claws i couldn't feel my legs and then everything went dark for a long time.
Eccles
Ragged idiot in a trilby.
Reaching the top of the stairs, we paused a short distance away as Flynne produced his tools and ran his hands over the massive stone door. Abruptly, there was a huge red-hot explosion which blossomed from inches away from his nose. A scream tore through the air, as we witnessed Flynne, hair ablaze, hurtling backwards across the room before he slammed into the wall.
Igmut slapped out the flames, and then he, Malachite and I produced wands which we tapped to his scorched flesh to restore him to full health before pushing him back towards the door.
A few seconds later, and he was finished. The door at the top of the stairs opened into a grand chamber, 80 feet in height. The far side of the circular room was marked by a colossal jet-black octagonal inscribed with jagged runes. At the foot of this monolith was a green-coloured pool. Perhaps 50 feet above the pool floated the dark-cloaked creature, which turned its rubbery purplish tentacled face towards us.
“You dare enter my sanctum?” The creature’s voice rang out both in the air and in all of our minds. “Fools! I shall finish what Talakin could not. Your weak minds will be a sumptuous feast, your terror a pleasing garnish!”
The creature gestured, and from either side of him there came a pair of twanging sounds as unseen assailants fired crossbow bolts at both Flynne, who was silhouetted in the doorway, as well as at Igmut’s bulky form just behind his shoulder. Clearly, the two drow who had escaped us some hours ago had fled back to their master and would also have to be dealt with.
Before we could spring into action, however, the illithid’s gestures became more precise, and it chanted briefly, sending a tremendous bolt of lightning surging through us all, causing our limbs to jerk and spasm as the electricity crackled between us, leaving almost all of us badly hurt. All of us except Flynne, who had avoided the bolt by taking cover behind the stone doors.
Endo moved up to the doorway quickly, casting a spell which sent Igmut spiralling into the air on unseen wings. Igmut therefore flew across the threshold into the room towards the illithid, but as he did so he was struck from both sides by familiar-looking claw-tipped tentacles.
Singing, I tossed down the statuette of the bronze griffon we had found in the preceding room, which burst outwards and took flight up and off towards the side of the room, where I could hear it clawing at one of the two drow archers atop a high pillar.
Suddenly, the tentacled octopins acted again, and a series of tentacles lashed down again and again, grabbing and tearing at Endo who stood in the doorway. They snatched and shredded his already lightning-seared form, before two claws from each side latched onto his body and each pulled at him. There was a bloody tug-of-war between the two creatures, as they fought over the bloody, screaming rag which had so recently been my friend. Abruptly, the screaming stopped, and his body was simply torn in two and dropped to the floor in a bloodied pile of damaged limbs and exposed viscera.
Igmut slapped out the flames, and then he, Malachite and I produced wands which we tapped to his scorched flesh to restore him to full health before pushing him back towards the door.
A few seconds later, and he was finished. The door at the top of the stairs opened into a grand chamber, 80 feet in height. The far side of the circular room was marked by a colossal jet-black octagonal inscribed with jagged runes. At the foot of this monolith was a green-coloured pool. Perhaps 50 feet above the pool floated the dark-cloaked creature, which turned its rubbery purplish tentacled face towards us.
“You dare enter my sanctum?” The creature’s voice rang out both in the air and in all of our minds. “Fools! I shall finish what Talakin could not. Your weak minds will be a sumptuous feast, your terror a pleasing garnish!”
The creature gestured, and from either side of him there came a pair of twanging sounds as unseen assailants fired crossbow bolts at both Flynne, who was silhouetted in the doorway, as well as at Igmut’s bulky form just behind his shoulder. Clearly, the two drow who had escaped us some hours ago had fled back to their master and would also have to be dealt with.
Before we could spring into action, however, the illithid’s gestures became more precise, and it chanted briefly, sending a tremendous bolt of lightning surging through us all, causing our limbs to jerk and spasm as the electricity crackled between us, leaving almost all of us badly hurt. All of us except Flynne, who had avoided the bolt by taking cover behind the stone doors.
Endo moved up to the doorway quickly, casting a spell which sent Igmut spiralling into the air on unseen wings. Igmut therefore flew across the threshold into the room towards the illithid, but as he did so he was struck from both sides by familiar-looking claw-tipped tentacles.
Singing, I tossed down the statuette of the bronze griffon we had found in the preceding room, which burst outwards and took flight up and off towards the side of the room, where I could hear it clawing at one of the two drow archers atop a high pillar.
Suddenly, the tentacled octopins acted again, and a series of tentacles lashed down again and again, grabbing and tearing at Endo who stood in the doorway. They snatched and shredded his already lightning-seared form, before two claws from each side latched onto his body and each pulled at him. There was a bloody tug-of-war between the two creatures, as they fought over the bloody, screaming rag which had so recently been my friend. Abruptly, the screaming stopped, and his body was simply torn in two and dropped to the floor in a bloodied pile of damaged limbs and exposed viscera.
Inconsequenti-AL
Breaks Games
2 Short updates = 1 big update!
That was nicely written there Mr Eccles, think you caught the wear you down + unpleasant nature of that place neatly!
Dead Sheeba.
Empowered Lightning bolts.
Enough tentacles to upset a Lovecraft fan.
Dead Endo.
Mortal Peril!
What a cliffhanger.
That was nicely written there Mr Eccles, think you caught the wear you down + unpleasant nature of that place neatly!
Dead Sheeba.
Empowered Lightning bolts.
Enough tentacles to upset a Lovecraft fan.
Dead Endo.
Mortal Peril!
What a cliffhanger.
Darmanicus
I'm Ray...of Enfeeblement
I'm afraid that's it for the brothers Grim.
I don't think mom's gonna take the news too well though.............
I don't think mom's gonna take the news too well though.............
Eccles
Ragged idiot in a trilby.
Up in the sky, face to face with the screaming Igmut, the illithid floated backwards slightly. The four thick-set tentacles squirmed in unison, and overhead I could see the air ripple slightly under some strange psionic pulse. As the ripple moved, the top of the green pond pulsed in sympathy. Dust flew through the air, whilst banners hanging from the wall flapped in the energies, but Igmut didn’t so much as twitch.
Malachite, meanwhile, was near me still in the form of a tiger. He pawed at a potion bottle which Igmut had left on the floor, and lapped at the spilled liquid – abruptly he dashed into the room and ran up the wall to the right side, towards the second drow archer.
In front of Flynne and myself, the two octopins dropped from the wall, lashing out at my elven friend and I, causing us both to scream in agony at the terrifying claw-wounds.
As more lightning flew overhead, blasting through Igmut’s heavy armour and dealing him serious wounds despite his avoiding the worst of the bolt. The heavy-set orc simply moved forwards grimly, slashing repeatedly with his sword as he tried to back the flying illithid against the walls. Dark blood seeped from a number of wounds, but many of Igmut’s blows slashed through illusionary effects which shrouded the creature making it appear to be subtly out-of-place.
Back on the ground, I shouted a suggestion to Flynne, who held back his assault whilst I dived through the forest of snapping claw-tipped tentacles to the far side of the closest beast and stabbed at it with my rapier. With the creature distracted, Flynne stepped forwards, and thrust his longsword with deadly pinpoint accuracy. Seeping ichor from terrible injuries, it sagged and collapsed to the ground.
Behind me, there was a crash of an armoured drow falling to the floor, followed by Malachite’s roar of triumph. Meanwhile, squealing shrilly at the loss of its mate, the remaining octopin lashed out savagely at Flynne, gripping him with both claws and trying its best to tear off his arm at the shoulder.
Meanwhile, the echoes of Malachite’s triumphant roar were joined by the savage shrieks of the bronze griffon which continued its assault on the second drow warrior, who was now hacking back at it with its long thing sword. A third voice was raised in fury, as Igmut entered his warrior’s frenzy, hacking deep wounds into the Illithid before it floated backwards against the wall and cast a familiar looking spell – a dark ray struck the half orc and drained him of much of his fury-borne strength in an instant. This didn’t stop Igmut from moving forwards and hacking once more.
Back on the ground, Flynne and I repeated our ploy against the second octopin, as I ducked and weaved through its weaving limbs to distract it – whilst Flynne’s blows were viciously perfect in their accuracy, my rapier glanced off its rubbery hide.
Malachite, still in tiger-form, ran around the room – his paws clinging to the wall with the power of Igmut’s potion as he went. When he reached the dark stone column, he roared once again in pain, as black energies cracked around him, but he leapt from the column to cling to the wall several feet above the illithid.
Whilst the octopin slashed Flynne across his already-wounded shoulder, the illithid plummeted 20 feet towards the floor, ducking away from Igmut’s sword-swing as it fell before looking up and sending another pulse of energies up towards both Igmut and tiger-Malachite. Malachite seemed to simply blink off the effect of the vicious energies whirling around him, whilst Igmut seemed to have a harder time of it, clutching his greatsword and muttering ‘Kord’ through gritted teeth as he shook off the psionic effect.
Screeching all the while, the griffon managed to slash the second drow, dealing enough injuries to drop the archer off his tower to crash to the floor in a shower of weapons, armour and deep blue coloured skin.
Igmut’s sword swung triumphantly downwards, sensing weakness in the now-panicked illithid, but the blow scythed through the protective illusion, not the illithid itself.
I managed to dispatch the octopin with a lunge and a twist, taking the point of my drow-wrought sword through its single eye. Suddenly free from this threat, Flynne snatched up his bow and fired a pair of arrows, one of which went wide, but he second sank to the fletchings between the illithid’s dark eyes. Sagging, the monster released its grip on the enchanted rod, and hung limply in the air, dead.
.oOo.
We all paused for almost a full minute, deeply relieved that we hadn’t all been slaughtered as swiftly as Endo. Catching our breath, however, we then turned, and Malachite, Igmut and I used dozens of charges of wands to heal our many serious injuries. I had to discard one of mine in disgust as it was exhausted, and borrowed a second from Igmut.
Whilst Flynne snatched up a key from the body of the illithid and examined the small door which stood at the foot of the column, Malachite turned to destroying a colony of tiny purple tadpoles he found swimming in the green pond. I helped Igmut piece Endo together, then sat to one side of the room with a quill and Endo’s spellbook, where I penned a short masterpiece in remembrance of the mage, at the foot of the two similar passages in memory of his brother Morgan.
.oOo.
When I had finished, Flynne had not only managed to pick his way into a small room containing bookshelves, a desk and a small chest, which he opened with the captured key.
On the book lay a heavy ledger of sales and purchases penned in undercommon. Most recently, I saw a passage which detailed a contract having been taken out to kill a group of adventurers which plainly detailed my friends and myself.
Since then, the illithid had sold something called the “Apostolic Scrolls” to one Lauris Racnian, the Director of the Free City’s Arena.
Malachite, meanwhile, was near me still in the form of a tiger. He pawed at a potion bottle which Igmut had left on the floor, and lapped at the spilled liquid – abruptly he dashed into the room and ran up the wall to the right side, towards the second drow archer.
In front of Flynne and myself, the two octopins dropped from the wall, lashing out at my elven friend and I, causing us both to scream in agony at the terrifying claw-wounds.
As more lightning flew overhead, blasting through Igmut’s heavy armour and dealing him serious wounds despite his avoiding the worst of the bolt. The heavy-set orc simply moved forwards grimly, slashing repeatedly with his sword as he tried to back the flying illithid against the walls. Dark blood seeped from a number of wounds, but many of Igmut’s blows slashed through illusionary effects which shrouded the creature making it appear to be subtly out-of-place.
Back on the ground, I shouted a suggestion to Flynne, who held back his assault whilst I dived through the forest of snapping claw-tipped tentacles to the far side of the closest beast and stabbed at it with my rapier. With the creature distracted, Flynne stepped forwards, and thrust his longsword with deadly pinpoint accuracy. Seeping ichor from terrible injuries, it sagged and collapsed to the ground.
Behind me, there was a crash of an armoured drow falling to the floor, followed by Malachite’s roar of triumph. Meanwhile, squealing shrilly at the loss of its mate, the remaining octopin lashed out savagely at Flynne, gripping him with both claws and trying its best to tear off his arm at the shoulder.
Meanwhile, the echoes of Malachite’s triumphant roar were joined by the savage shrieks of the bronze griffon which continued its assault on the second drow warrior, who was now hacking back at it with its long thing sword. A third voice was raised in fury, as Igmut entered his warrior’s frenzy, hacking deep wounds into the Illithid before it floated backwards against the wall and cast a familiar looking spell – a dark ray struck the half orc and drained him of much of his fury-borne strength in an instant. This didn’t stop Igmut from moving forwards and hacking once more.
Back on the ground, Flynne and I repeated our ploy against the second octopin, as I ducked and weaved through its weaving limbs to distract it – whilst Flynne’s blows were viciously perfect in their accuracy, my rapier glanced off its rubbery hide.
Malachite, still in tiger-form, ran around the room – his paws clinging to the wall with the power of Igmut’s potion as he went. When he reached the dark stone column, he roared once again in pain, as black energies cracked around him, but he leapt from the column to cling to the wall several feet above the illithid.
Whilst the octopin slashed Flynne across his already-wounded shoulder, the illithid plummeted 20 feet towards the floor, ducking away from Igmut’s sword-swing as it fell before looking up and sending another pulse of energies up towards both Igmut and tiger-Malachite. Malachite seemed to simply blink off the effect of the vicious energies whirling around him, whilst Igmut seemed to have a harder time of it, clutching his greatsword and muttering ‘Kord’ through gritted teeth as he shook off the psionic effect.
Screeching all the while, the griffon managed to slash the second drow, dealing enough injuries to drop the archer off his tower to crash to the floor in a shower of weapons, armour and deep blue coloured skin.
Igmut’s sword swung triumphantly downwards, sensing weakness in the now-panicked illithid, but the blow scythed through the protective illusion, not the illithid itself.
I managed to dispatch the octopin with a lunge and a twist, taking the point of my drow-wrought sword through its single eye. Suddenly free from this threat, Flynne snatched up his bow and fired a pair of arrows, one of which went wide, but he second sank to the fletchings between the illithid’s dark eyes. Sagging, the monster released its grip on the enchanted rod, and hung limply in the air, dead.
.oOo.
We all paused for almost a full minute, deeply relieved that we hadn’t all been slaughtered as swiftly as Endo. Catching our breath, however, we then turned, and Malachite, Igmut and I used dozens of charges of wands to heal our many serious injuries. I had to discard one of mine in disgust as it was exhausted, and borrowed a second from Igmut.
Whilst Flynne snatched up a key from the body of the illithid and examined the small door which stood at the foot of the column, Malachite turned to destroying a colony of tiny purple tadpoles he found swimming in the green pond. I helped Igmut piece Endo together, then sat to one side of the room with a quill and Endo’s spellbook, where I penned a short masterpiece in remembrance of the mage, at the foot of the two similar passages in memory of his brother Morgan.
.oOo.
When I had finished, Flynne had not only managed to pick his way into a small room containing bookshelves, a desk and a small chest, which he opened with the captured key.
On the book lay a heavy ledger of sales and purchases penned in undercommon. Most recently, I saw a passage which detailed a contract having been taken out to kill a group of adventurers which plainly detailed my friends and myself.
Since then, the illithid had sold something called the “Apostolic Scrolls” to one Lauris Racnian, the Director of the Free City’s Arena.
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