Dungeon Crawl Classic #3
The Mysterious Tower
Level 3-5
Turn 98: Things that go bump in the night.
Five minutes later and the entire Gang are standing round the key holes.
“We can’t have missed them.” Cas pleads.
“Well we have… I’ve not got them, anyone else want to own up to possessing four keys? Nope.” Newt replies while the other members of the Gang shrug and shake their heads.
“And that’s what lowers the force field- four keys?”
“I figure.” Newt shrugs.
“Well does it or doesn’t it?” Cas gets tetchy, bustles over to the smiling Gnome.
“Once again, for those at the back, I think so- four keys, one force field, me and Anya have checked the place over, so have you- there’s nothing else to find, I suggest we acquaint ourselves with the missing keys and put it to the test. If that’s alright with you tin man?” Newt grins up at Cas, who silently fumes.
“Come on then, let’s turn the force fields back on in the last chamber and get some rest, I think we need to gather our strength rather than keep pushing on, Cas?” Jim adds.
Cas continues to fume, then nods, no more than a slight incline, they head back to their favourite Otyugh Bard- Scat.
The Gang meet back up with Scat who is in hot pursuit of a large rat, “Jeeerm, yew is bakk, an no sqwished or anyfing, Oh Jeerm yew sow veri bwave.”
The Otyugh cuddles the Ranger, with no way out, Jim cuddles the Otyugh back.
“Jim’s got a girlfriend.” Newt chimes in, in a sing-song voice.
Anya looks daggers at the Gnome, Ala giggles like she’s thirteen again, Cas looks… looks- not quite how a Paladin should.
“I no girly-friends Jeerm.” Scat states somewhat indignant, “I hench-monsta, see-nyah Poppit, Jeerm Masta of Poppets. Aren’t I Jeerm, an Bad?”
Jim is less sure.
Ala giggles again.
It gets Jim’s attention, he smiles, it’s a winning smile- warm and fuzzy, Ala feels it all over.
There’s a lot of healing to be done, mostly minor wounds, nothing dramatic- just cuts and bruises from the Ankheg fight and before, Jim it seems is the worst hurt, certainly he gets the most attention from Ala.
The others are getting bedded down, Cas and Anya all the while keeping a close eye, surreptitiously, on Jim and Ala. The pair whisper in conversation, and when they think the others have finally drifted off to sleep- they head out of the chamber, to where Moma Owlbear still patrols.
“If you could just use some of your magic to heal her wounds- I don’t want them infecting, the kids wont stand a chance on their own.” Jim moves stealthily into the huge cavern, starlight filters in through the hole to the surface.
Ala nods, creeps closer to the Ranger, her eyes glisten in the light.
“Shhh.” Jim whispers, the pair creep close, Moma Owlbear is watching them, the kids fast asleep, one of them snorts, then snores on.
Ala smiles, Jim stifles a laugh and grins back at the Priestess.
They’re only feet away from the female Owlbear, a tear in the creatures side oozes blood and worse.
Jim creeps closer, Ala hunched behind him, the Ranger reaches back, grabs Ala’s forearm and reaches forward, guiding her touch, gently the Elf lays her hand on the huge monstrous creatures fur, a glowing light pulses and fades, the wound knits tight, all hurt instantly gone.
The Owlbear blinks one rheumy eye, half-sighs, and turns away from Jim and Ala, soon it is asleep.
The pair don’t move for ages.
Locked in their awkward embrace, it should be uncomfortable, and yet…
Back in the rest room, with Scat whistling and farting to himself, two pairs of eyes search the room lit by a guttering camp fire- two bedrolls are empty still, Jim and Ala, very soon after it’s four bedrolls that are empty.
Cas and Anya head off a little way in the opposite direction to Jim and Ala, into the smashed armoury.
Neither of them speaks for quite a while, eventually it’s Anya that breaks the silence.
“You ok?”
“Mmm.” Cas half-nods and wipes his brow.
“What do you think they’re doing?”
Cas stares hard at Anya, “I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”
The silence stretches.
“She’s very beautiful- Ala.”
Cas nods.
“How did you meet her?”
“It was years ago, I was very young- she looked after me, when I was growing up, she was beautiful then too, I asked her to marry me… I was only eight at the time.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she’d think about it, she thought I was joking.”
“Were you?”
“I was eight… It’s just that…”
“What?”
“Nothing’s changed- I still love her.” Cas sighs.
“Then why don’t you ask her- for an answer, at least you’d know?”
“That’s it though- I’m not sure I want to know.”
“How do you mean?”
“I don’t know how I’d react if she said no…”
“Cas.” Anya moves over to the Paladin, her hand smoothes his strong back, up to his shoulder, the nape of his neck.
“I don’t know what I’d do if she said yes.”
Cas meets Anya’s gaze.
“Oh.” Anya mouths.
Cas bows his head, unable to sustain her gaze.
“You should do what I do.”
Cas looks up, “what’s that?”
“Live for the moment.” Anya’s clothes fall away, Cas cannot help himself…
The next day the search is on.
In truth it takes very little time to locate the missing keys, less than thirty minutes in fact.
“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” Newt bends low to retrieve the last key, they're on the hands, or rather the keys are the index fingers of the Skeletons, the first four in the coffins, the ones that did not animate in the chamber with the statue of Meelkor in the centre.
“Skeleton Keys. SKell-Ing-TON Keys.” Newt raps on the side of his skull, as if to fix the logic of this inside.
The Gang are back at the impasse less than five minutes later.
“Now turn.” Newt orders.
Cas, Ala, Anya, and the Rogue, of course, twist the keys in unison, and the force field is gone.
“Oh.” Newt makes a discovery, “my key’s stuck.”
“Same.” Ala states.
Anya and Cas nod in agreement.
“Oh.” Newt adds to the mix.
“What does it matter?” Cas asks.
“Well, if we can’t take them with us that means that anyone can come along and lock us in.” Newt confirms.
“In where?” Cas enquires, not quite on the same page.
“They can turn the keys back and the force field will seal us in.”
“There’s got to be another way out?” Cas is certain.
“Well your mate Baltha-whatsit hasn’t found it for… Oh centuries, do you want to take the chance?”
“Oh.” Cas’ mouth is a perfect circle.
“Exactly.” Newt finishes.
CHUNG
Newt ducks and rolls in a rush, where his head was a moment ago a Barbarian’s foot now rests, the top of the Skeleton key is smashed off. Newt turns to look up at a grinning Bec.
“Now try and turn it.” The Barbarian adds.
Newt has a go.
“Nope, it’s wedged in tight”, he grins up at Bec.
“Brute force and ignorance saves the day.” Bec stifles a yawn and heads off.
The passage ahead splits north and south, south there’s a door, Newt heads over to investigate, and is soon through, he’s looking down a short hallway into a small 20-by-20 room, the Gnome creeps forward, so he can see into the chamber, he suddenly pulls up short studies the floor intently.
“What is it?” Jim whispers.
“Trap.” Newt states calmly and taps his foot on the floor.
Newt flings a lit sunrod into the chamber beyond.
On the far wall is a large human mouth some four feet across, seemingly carved into the wall. There is nothing else of note.
“Can you disarm it?” Jim asks.
“Do I want to?” Newt shoots back.
Jim thinks about it a while.
“Okay, we’ll leave it, see what lies north.”
The Gang move out and north, through another door, checked over by Newt.
The corridor turns immediately west.
“We’re heading in a circle- from where we came down, I think.” Cas studies his feet.
“Bloody Dwarf.” The Gnome mutters and slowly shuffles forward.
“There’s another one.”
“Another what?” Cas asks.
“Pit trap- I don’t like this, what is this place? Trap after trap, we take our time from here on, here Bec grab hold of this.”
Newt fetches out his trusty rope, ties it around his waist and throws the slack to Bec.
“Hold on tight, and the rest of you stay back a while.”
“’Kay.” Bec takes the strain, the others take a step, or two, back.
Newt swigs a potion, takes a couple of steps back and then leaps.
The Gnome lands ten to twelve feet away.
FRUMMMNG
The floor beneath his feet falls away.
“NEWT.” Bec screams, and grasps the rope tight.
“Okay.” The Gnome quickly calls back, Newt strides up the side of the pit trap and back to the surface, and the horizontal axis.
“Spider Climb- my favourite.” He grins.
There are three pairs of pit traps in total, the last staggered, the gap between the pair is over ten feet, that foxes the Gnome for a minute or two, but gravity helps him find the last of the pits.
Newt leads the Gang on, a long way south and then east, and finally a short distance north into a much larger smooth walled chamber.
“He’s right.” Newt comments.
“Who is?” Bec asks.
“The tin man- Cas, we’ve been going in a circle, can’t be much further north and we’ll be directly beneath the tower, I think.”
Cas looks suitably smug.
Another long, oval-shaped room, 50 by 70 feet, with rounded corners. There’s a single door in the centre of the north wall, and a small metal chest sitting in the exact centre of the room.
“Bound to be trapped- take your time Newt. Stay alert people.” Cas offers.
The remaining members of the Goodman Gang squat and slump on the floor, clearly not ‘alert’, Cas grimaces.
“It’s a bit dull- all this thinking, no killing.” Bec states.
Anya finds herself nodding, then grinning at a frustrated looking Cas.
“I like to be in the action too.” Anya teases and then heads over to drape herself over a surprised looking Bec.
“There’s no tra…”
BOOM
Newt is suddenly very on fire.
The Gang scramble, Bec trips the flailing Gnome, many hands make light work of extinguishing the flames, Ala is as quick to pump her healing magics into the charred Gnome.
Nobody says anything for a good while, Newt shuffles over to a wall, still smoking lightly.
Time passes.
“What are we doing here?” Newt eventually breaks the silence.
“You know that.” Cas states.
“No, I’ve forgotten, remind me again”, the Gnome stares hard at the Paladin.
“We free the ghost, it tells us what’s going on, you remember- the Orc, the birds- Tsathzar Rho, you were there, for all of it.” Cas crosses his arms.
Time passes some more.
“Right, got it. Now what’s in it for me?” Newt holds the Paladin’s gaze.
“What do you mean Newt?” Ala asks.
“Reward. My reward for all of this?”
“You get a fare share of everything we find.”
“Which is?” The Gnome is quick to counter.
“Well, not much so far, admittedly, but there may be more treasure ahead to satisfy your cravings.” Cas sounds harsh.
“My cravings. My cravings.” Newt repeats and shakes his head.
“What?” Cas asks.
“I’m not in this for the feelgood factor, look we’ve been at this a while, yes?”
Cas, Bec then Jim, and the others nod their ascent- they’re all listening.
“Well when’s the big score coming, I want paying- for the risk, it’s trap after trap down here- heavy going and so far we’ve found buttons.”
Cas goes to interrupt, but is talked over.
“I want money Cas, I need money, my cravings- what rubbish. You’ll get yours in heaven, and before…”, Newt winks at Cas, which leaves the Paladin floundering, his eyes slide quickly over to Anya, then back. The Gnome continues- “I want my reward, I want something back, more than I’ve been getting- why do you think I’m doing this?”
“Because it’s your duty.”
“Ha.” Newt snorts, “duty, a measly word, used by a measly man- duty, what do you know of my duty- nothing.”
Anya heads over to Newt, tries to lay a hand on his shoulder, the Gnome shrugs past her and stutters over to the chest again.
“There better be buckets of cash at the end of this, else I’m done.”
“If that’s how you feel…” Cas begins.
“Yes. Yes, it is- now get back, give me some bloody room to work.”
The Gang mooch away.
“He’s mad.” Cas whispers to Ala.
“So am I.” Ala whispers back.
Next Turn: Rust in pieces.