The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)

[Rabelais]

Great googly moogly... Monday evening cliffhangers?

 

[Rabelais]

Great googly moogly... Monday evening cliffhangers?

 

[Brogarn]

I'm with Dar again. You don't trust me to take watch? SWEET! Extra sleep for me. *gets comfy*

As far as Varo goes, it's not surprising that he was tempted by the dark side ... yet again ... I gotta wonder what he's gotten himself into. This is why I'd never make a good evil overlord guy. I'm not willing to pay the price. In fact, I don't even find the power worth it.

I remain, however, very interested in Varo and finding out what path lays before him. Hopefully the dungeon doesn't kill him before it gets interesting.

 

[Jon Potter]

I remain, however, very interested in Varo and finding out what path lays before him. Hopefully the dungeon doesn't kill him before it gets interesting.

What? Like it's not interesting already?

 

[Brogarn]

Just meant finding out more about his overarching plans for world domination.

 

[Lazybones]

Great googly moogly... Monday evening cliffhangers?

Heh, check out my custom nick. Plenty of cliffhangers to go around. One of the more entertaining thing about the serial format, actually; had I lived in the 1950s I probably would have been writing for one of those campy movie serials. With maybe a mote more internal consistency.

I'm heading out of town on Thursday, so the "week-ending cliffhanger" (as opposed to your daily run-of-the-mill cliffhanger) will be posted then.

Today update includes one of those situations where you just can't think that it can get any worse...

And then it does.

* * * * *

Chapter 36

RETURN TO ZELKOR’S LAIR


Dar woke feeling miserable, his guts clenching, bringing back memories of a bout with dysentery when he was in the army. Refusing to show weakness in front of the others, he forced himself up and through a series of warm-up exercises. Throughout the brief exertion he felt as though his stomach was about to explode. The would-be rescue party might have been fooled, but Varo saw through his charade and noted his distress.

“It is the advance of the crystal death," he said.

“You don’t seem to be all that affected.”

“The advancement of the illness varies with each victim,” the priest explained. “And in any case, there is no need to prolong our suffering. The healer should be able to purge our bodies of the substance.”

Dar nodded, although for some reason he felt oddly reluctant at the thought of subjecting himself to the healer’s touch again. But Varo took the initiative, and Allera agreed to work the magic on their behalf. After all of the worry about a slow, lingering death, the cure was remarkably anticlimactic; once she had prepared her spells for the day, it took only a few seconds of mental focus, and a momentary surge of tingling power, before she pronounced both of them fully healed.

They did not linger long in their camp. Talen and Argus efficiently broke camp while Varo and Aelos prayed to their respective gods, separated by the full breadth of the room. The captain warned that they might encounter additional servants of Orcus searching for the missing party of clerics, but the bodies were still were they had stashed them in one of the smaller side rooms, and they encountered no other threats as they made their way back into the large cavern of the purple worms. They clung to the wall and retraced their steps to the stream without incident.

“What exactly can we expect to find ahead?” Varo asked.

“The stream goes on for a long distance... not quite a mile, but it’ll feel like it,” Talen said. “Your magic, if it is the same as Aelos’s spell, will keep you above the water, so the current should not affect you, but there are places where the roof juts low and it will take some time to slip past.”

“If the current is going our way, why not just float down with it?” Dar asked.

“It’s a rough ride,” Shaylara said. “At places, the tunnel bends, twists through tight spots, and the water is churned into a nasty froth. No matter how good a swimmer you may be, I wouldn’t recommend it, let alone with a pack and full gear.”

“What about beyond?”

“The stream opens out onto a large cavern with a high ceiling,” Talen said. “The stream pours into a large recessed pool in the middle of the room. There’s a raised stone bier in the middle; we fought a pair of wraiths there when we came through.”

Varo nodded. “And the well?”

“Accessed through a series of tight tunnels that pass through several additional rooms. It wasn’t difficult to navigate, but the dark power of the place will steal your resolve. Try to focus on the objective, getting out. We got through by helping each other, last time. Don’t leave anyone behind.”

“There’s a lot of sudden ups and downs,” Krogan said. “Watch where you put your hands and feet. And keep an eye out for things lurking around the bends.”

“The well itself is located over a deep pool,” Shaylara added. “We left a rope attached just below the opening. If it’s still there, it will be a tough climb, but I think all of us can manage it.”

“And if it’s not there?” Dar asked.

“Then we find out if Shay’s as good a climber as she claims,” Talen said. The scout smiled at him.

“Are you ready, Aelos?” Talen asked. At the cleric’s nod, the companions gathered beside the overhang where the fast-moving stream vanished into the cavern wall. Dar came over to Varo, who was readying his own spell.

“Are you sure this will work?” the fighter asked.

“Have faith, mercenary,” the priest replied, invoking the power of Dagos, and touching his golden focus to the fighter’s forehead briefly.

“I don’t feel any different.”

“Look.” The cleric pointed at Talen, who was already edging under the overhang, his boots hovering a finger’s breadth over the rushing water.

The eight of them made their way through the narrow space, and followed the stream down the low passage beyond. As Talen had noted, the fit was tight at places, forcing them to bend low or even crawl over the surface of the water. But for the most part, the tunnel roof was about five feet above the stream, allowing them to made decent progress ahead.

After a time, a dark passage opened to the right, where a branch of the stream split off and headed off into another direction. “What’s that way?” Dar asked.

“We don’t know,” Argus said. “We weren’t exploring when we came this way; the divine miracle only lasts about an hour, according to Aelos.”

Varo paused briefly to look down the side tunnel, but then proceeded after the others.

As they made their way deeper down the stream, each of them began to feel a cold chill settle upon them. They’d all been splashed with the bracingly cold water numerous times, until their clothes were soaked through, but this was something deeper, a cold that seeped through their skins to cool the very bone. The light coming from Aelos’s staff dimmed slightly, drawing out the shadows that stretched along the tunnel walls.

“Focus on the goal,” Talen said. “We are getting out of here.”

Finally, after another few tight places that slowed their passage, they could see the stream tunnel opening into a wider space ahead. Wary, readying weapons, they moved forward.

“The entrance to the passage is to the left,” Talen said quietly. “Do not linger.”

Argus leaned against the side of the tunnel, but Allera was there immediately, drawing him back into line. Dar felt the same oppressive sense of ennui, an emptiness that whispered into his mind, urging him to surrender everything in the face of the inevitability of their doom. He too wanted to give up, to sit down or to throw himself into the water, letting the current carry him away. His jaw tightened until he felt pain in his teeth from the pressure, but he kept going.

“There is a powerful evil infusing this place,” Varo said.

“I’m no priest, but even I could have told you that,” Krogan said. The dwarf’s teeth were chattering.

“Come on,” Talen’s voice came from up ahead, a sharp command that drew them forward.

The light from Aelos’s staff—truly feeble now—spilled out into a cavern that was truly majestic in scope. The roar of the stream as it spilled out into the broad T-shaped pool was deafening, echoing off the distant walls all around them. For a moment, the companions stood there and took it all in, struggling with the lethargy that continued to pound away at their consciousness. Then Talen’s voice drew them again, forced them back to the immediacy of the moment.

“Over here!”

They followed him away from the stream, making an easy transition from striding across the water to solid ground. But as the cleric’s light reached the north wall of the cavern, they froze.

“I take it this was the way out?” Dar asked.

They stared at a massive heap of rubble, stones piled into a mound almost fifteen feet, high, spilling out into a trace that jutted into the cavern like a long tongue. Talen, a stricken look on his face, reached down and picked up a rock the size of his fist. For a moment he stared at it, and then he hurled it off into the darkness with an angry shout.

There was a clang.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Shaylara said, shifting her longspear in that direction.

The noise came again, this time louder and longer, a creaking noise of metal shifting. It was followed by a heavy clod upon stone, and then another.

“Something’s coming,” Argus said. The fighter was as pale as death; he reached for his sword, and then hesitated, his hand falling forgotten to his side.

Something resolved out of the darkness, a massive form that took form at the edges of Aelos’s light. It was formed like a man, but no mere man stood twelve feet tall, or made the noises that continued to come from it, the sound of metal bending in a most unnatural way. The fragments of light that reached it glinted off of an emerald skin, alien and terrible.

“An iron golem!” Varo cried.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dar said, as the massive terror continued to lumber forward, bringing with it the promise of death.

 

[Aramis Simara]

Well the new party was fun to have around for a little bit. No wait, this is the Iron Golem of lollipops and sunshine sent here to save the day! Right LB?

 

[jfaller]

This might be a stupid question but, Dagos...who is he? Looked it up and he appears to be from Hell. Some kind of uber-pit fiend? Never heard of him.

Orcus is from the Abyss and Dagos is from Hell...don't imagine that those two get along all that well.

Hmmmm...and Varos, how'd he collapse this escape route? Maybe via the skull? And more importantly, why?

 

[Ximix]

jfaller I think you are on to something there . . . but the method involved is not important, although dropping an Iron Golem through the well shaft might do it *chuckles* or perhaps the golem simply tore it apart from below... and then waited.
In any case, I think Varo needs these warm bodies for his goal... whatever the heck it is, and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep them available.

Sooner or later he'll have to take out Aelos though... that'll be a nifty trick too.
Assuming he has some way of staying alive through This nifty 'trick'.

 

[Lazybones]

This might be a stupid question but, Dagos...who is he? Looked it up and he appears to be from Hell. Some kind of uber-pit fiend? Never heard of him.

Dagos and the Shining Father are both my own creations for this setting; don't read anything too much into other sources. More about both will be revealed in the course of the story.

* * * * *

Chapter 37

EMERALD DEATH


“We cannot stand before this foe,” Varo said to Dar, who was already edging back from the approaching creature.

But Talen had already raised his sword, the magical steel shining against the encroaching darkness. “Defend yourselves!” he shouted, surging ahead. Shaylara and Argus went with him, meeting the creature’s approach.

The golem’s fist came sweeping around. Talen saw it coming and dodged aside, but it still clipped him hard on the shoulder, spinning him around. The veteran soldier narrowly kept his footing and countered with a powerful swing of his sword, but the weapon merely bounced off the golem’s metal thigh, ringing loudly as it sent a painful jolt up Talen’s arm.

Shaylara and Argus came at the golem from its flanks. Their attacks likewise struck the creature hard, but without any apparent effect. It swept its arms around in low arcs. Talen was hit again, his darkwood buckler shattering under the force of the blow. The shield saved his arm from being broken, but the fighter’s face still twisted in agony as he staggered back, trying to recover. Argus was hit by its second attack, the younger fighter’s shoulder hit so hard that it was dislocated by the force of the impact. The soldier screamed and dropped his sword, his arm hanging limply at his side.

Before the battered combatants could recover from the construct’s powerful attacks, the golem bent forward. Its mouth opened wide, and it unleashed a gout of ugly brown gas onto Talen and Argus.

Allera started to rush forward, but Aelos grabbed her arm, forestalling her. “No, child!”

Dar and Varo were already back at the stream. The sounds of the golem’s movements were echoing throughout the room, but as they reached the water’s edge, they could hear a distinct noise, not an echo, from out in the darkness ahead.

“There’s another one on the far side of the room!” Varo yelled back at the others. “Return to the stream... now!”

The first golem’s toxic cloud dissipated to show the two soldiers in bad shape. Argus staggered and fell, while Talen, momentarily blinded, swung his sword in a wild arc that failed to connect with anything. Shaylara stabbed at its flank with her spear, trying to draw its attention, but it seemed focused on Talen as it lifted its arms, clasping its fists together into a deadly iron bludgeon.

“Talen, run!” Shaylara shouted. The golem stepped forward, poised to deliver a killing blow to the nearly defenseless soldier.

Another loud impact resounded from the golem’s leg. The huge construct shifted to the side, momentarily off balance; its attack aborted. It turned to face Krogan, steam hissing from the crack in its knee that the dwarf’s adamantine urgosh had wrought.

Talen saw the dwarf. He tried to say something, but could only cough the golem’s poison from his lungs.

“Get Argus out!” the dwarf yelled, lifting his weapon to strike again. But before he could attack, the golem’s fists came down, driving with finality into the dwarf’s head.

“Krogan!” Talen yelled, his voice hoarse.

“Talen, get out!” Shaylara repeated, as the golem slowly turned toward him, blood dripping from its locked fists. There was nothing left of Krogan Deepshaft but a mangled heap of crushed flesh.

Talen grabbed Argus, dragging the nearly-helpless fighter to his feet. The golem lurched forward and smashed its fists down again, intending to crush them both, but at the last instant its damaged leg twisted, and the blow narrowly missed. It hit the floor with enough force to crack the stone, and the two fighters nearly went down as the ground shook under their boots.

Allera and Aelos were there to meet them, helping the wounded men as they tried to get away. The golem was only a step behind them, slow but inevitable, ready to kill them at the slightest stumble. Shaylara was still thrusting her spear at its back, and finally she seemed to draw its attention, as it stopped and started to turn toward her.

“Shay!” Talen yelled. “Get out of there!”

But the scout was already running, not toward them, but back toward the slain dwarf. The golem followed, steam hissing from the rent in its leg with every step it took.

Talen started after her, but Aelos forestalled him. “Captain! We’ve got to get out... there’s another one moving to block the exit!”

“I won’t leave her!”

“She can move faster alone!” the cleric insisted. “Captain... Argus isn’t going to make it without help!” he said, as he and Allera dragged the semiconscious fighter between them. “If that second golem blocks the stream exit, we’re all dead!”

The first golem was already fading at the edge of their light; there was no sign of Shaylara. “Shay, we’re getting out!” he yelled, frustration clear in his voice.

Shaylara had reached the crushed body of Krogan. With the light of Aelos’s staff and Talen’s sword retreating fast, she had to search his body by touch, all too aware of the heavy footsteps of the fast-approaching golem.

She found what she was looking for just as the golem reached her, and she rolled away a split second before a huge iron fist came crashing down onto the ground where she’d been kneeling.

She could see the other golem now, silhouetted in the light of Aelos’s staff. Her companions had reached the stream, and were making their way across the water to the exit. The golem apparently wasn’t going to let a little water stop it; as she watched the big creature stepped into the fast-moving stream, the water splashing up in a white froth around it.

The first golem blocked her way back to the others, and while she could easily outrun it, she wasn’t up to chancing a dash in total darkness across a floor that she knew was scattered with debris from the rockfall. Instead, she ran forward out onto the T-shaped pool, her boots treading lightly over the surface of the water. The low waterfall from where the stream entered the pool announced itself through noise and the spray of water across her face. Running into the spray, she sprang and leapt, easily clearing the low barrier, landing on the stream. The maneuver would have been impossible had Aelos’s spell not allowed her to avoid the rushing current, but each step barely disturbed the surface of the water as she ran after the others.

Of course, there was the small matter of the golem blocking her way.

The creature seemed to sense her coming, even though her rush across the water made barely a whisper, certainly not audible over the rush of the waterfall behind her. She could see it clearly, highlighted in the light cast by the staff in the tunnel beyond it. She focused on that light, and as the golem’s fist came around she dove, the water walk keeping her hovering an inch above the water, her momentum carrying her past the golem. The creature tried to grab her with its other hand, but before it could react she was up and gone, charging after the departing light.

The golem did not follow.

Neither Shay nor any of her companions had spotted the shadowy figure that had hung in the air high above the cavern floor, silently watching during the encounter. As the last lingering remains of light faded, and the cavern returned to utter darkness, the insubstantial form drifted back to the ground. As it made its way to the south, the golems came lumbering after it.

It had been difficult for Zelkor to resist the urge to taste the life energy of those poor, pathetic, struggling mortals. The woman, in particular, had felt particularly... tasty. But Zelkor was bound to a greater power, and in this instance, at least, there were commands that must be obeyed.

Later, perhaps, an acolyte would serve as an appropriate compensation for its sacrifice.