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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 3967890" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dungeon Crawl Classic #24 Legend of the Ripper Level 1-3 (Scaled to level 4)Turn 68: Khan again.“So what’s going on?” Jim asks, he’s wearing a loose fitting robe, smoking a pipe and wearing slippers, in fact all of the Gang are dressed for bed. Only Major Khan stands out in his dress uniform, complete with medals and decorations.“It seems that the door you opened leads into an extra-dimensional plane of existence.”Jim regrets asking the question, “A what?”“Somewhere else.” Anya simplifies.“Oh. Why didn’t he say that?” Jim points his pipe at Khan.“Anyway we have ascertained that this desert is not endless, the exit is directly north of the entrance.” Khan continues.“How far?” Cas asks.“Ahh. Unknown, I’m afraid.”“What’s on the other side?” Cas asks again.“Now that we do know. First of all, the Undine, which you are of course tasked to destroy. Secondly an object of great Power, which I’m afraid is also cursed- needless to say you should leave it alone, in fact it is quite possible that the artefact, in the wrong hands, could prove to be as deadly as the Undine, you must leave it where it is. I guarantee upon your exit that more traps will be put in place so that no-one will ever go there again, we’ll seal the place for good, so that nothing gets out.” Khan finishes his speech, looks pleased with himself.“Can’t you just do that now- save us having to destroy the Undine?” Anya asks.“No, or at least not without getting the water out of the Dungeon, you see the Undine’s bindings were probably broken when the water got into the place, so while the place is flooded she may be able to escape- we have to be certain.”“So you built the thing next to a sewer, smart.” Anya states.“Yes, well… We don’t actually know how long this prison has been there, it’s a case of which came first, the sewer, or the prison. Regardless, we are prepared to double our offer- 2,000 gold coins; we will of course equip you as best we can for the desert, whatever you wish- within reason.”The Goodman Gang consider their options.“What do you say?” Major Khan leans in, his hands are shaking Ala notices, and yet he seems to be telling the truth.“We’ll give you your answer in the morning.” Cas states.“Oh now…”“In the morning.”“Very well.”Major Khan bows low and then makes for the door, turns back, “I’d just like to say, on a personal level, how grateful I am, it’s clear to me that the City of Grimbo is a much safer place with you guys about- thank you.”Then exits.“Dick.” Jim hisses after Khan’s gone.The Gang get on with their discussion.Major Khan meanwhile heads out of the Inn and back into the shadows he came from.Two days later.In the desert.The wind’s getting up, and the sand is getting everywhere.“I’ve got sand in places I didn’t even know I had places.” Cas grins.“Shut up.” Anya grumbles.“I’m boiling.” Jim shouts in amazement- everyone ignores him.At the back of the group Jim leads Shadrack, an ex-pit pony, lately put into service as a beast of burden, the creature’s mainly carrying water and food, but also all of the warrior’s heavy armour.“How long have we been going now?” Newt shouts at Cas, he has to repeat himself because of the noise of the wind.The Paladin shrugs, “about two hours.”“Damn.”The Gnome looks back; he can still see the door, just.Anya shoves another marker in the sand, its flag flutters madly.“How long more do you think?” Newt screams.Cas shrugs again, “A couple of hours… We’ll see.”The wind roars.Ten hours later…“I hate this… Bloody sand everywhere, it’s in my ears, my bloody ears. Look at this.” Newt flops off a boot, tips it out, it’s full of sand. “I hate the sand, I bloody hate it, it’s soo… Oh I just bloody hate it. And you… You said a couple of hours.” Newt stares at Cas.The wind has dropped, not a breeze.The Gang have stopped for the night, according to Cas, and his compass, they’re right on course. The Paladin looks back, he can see the last marker Anya placed, just- they’ve used two thirds of their total already; there can’t be much more of this he thinks.Ala sidles over to him, whispers.“Cas, I’ve only got three Endure Elements spells for tomorrow, who gets them?” She stares hard at her love.Cas spits, his hands are cracked and dry, what he’d give for a dollop of the moisturising balm in the tub by his bed- his regime’s gone to pot.“You, Anya and Newt.” The Paladin suddenly makes up his mind, then scrambles to his feet, “Right then, let’s put up the tents.”The Goodman Gang wander over to Shadrack, Jim in charge of supplies suddenly has a thought, “What tents?” He squints at Cas framed by the sinking sun.Newt turns away quickly; he doesn’t want them to see him cry.It gets dark very quickly.And cold.A fairly uncomfortable eight hours later, the Gang are up and raring to go.“That wasn’t too bad.” Jim leaps up and does a bunch of star jumps, gets the blood flowing. “Come on…” He cajoles- no takers.After a rushed breakfast they’re on their way again, the first Endure Elements spells have ended, except for Newt, Anya and Ala who get new applications for the day, for Jim, Bec and Cas it’s all for real now.Three hours later…It’s above 90C, there’s still no shade, no sign of a door ahead, or behind for that matter, and no sign of their last marker.Cas is a slick of sweat, staggering at times. Bec the same, the giant man cannot seem to keep the stinging sweat out of his eyes, he blinks furiously rubs the spot till its red raw. “What shape are we going to be in when we get there?” Anya asks Cas when they break from their trek for a moments rest.Cas just stares at her, hands on his hips, breathing hard, between mouthfuls of warm and bitter tasting water, finally he just shakes his head.Three hours later…They stop again for a brief but fortifying meal, Jim insists on warm food, and plenty of it. Bec and Cas who are clearly feeling the heat are fortified, briefly- they trudge on.Jim whistles as he walks, tickling Shadrack’s ear.One hour later…Cas stumbles, sprawls onto the baking sand, it’s nice here- rest now.Jim is first to him, picks him up with Ala’s help- pushes a full canteen into the Paladin’s mouth, upends it for a while then uses the rest to cool the Paladin’s burning face. “Soak your clothes, keep them wet- there’s plenty of water, we’re not going to run out.”Ala nods, “I have spells to conjure water- use as much as you need, come on Cas, not much further.”“I’ll tell you what though.” Jim calls from the back, when they’re on the move again, “its baking isn’t it.” The Ranger wipes his brow, pats Shadrack’s flank, and hums a pleasant tune.Two hours later…Cas is staggering again, an official rest break is called for.“Ok, that’s enough, we’ll have something more to eat, then we can make up our minds if we want to go on or not- maybe just for a couple of hours. Let’s get a fire started. Get some warm food in you; it’s going to get cold tonight…” Jim starts.“Especially with no tents.” Ala adds.“Ok. Ok, my bad- let’s get Cas settled for a bit.”Bec sinks to his knees, wobbles, even though the temperature is dropping, the sun is heading down below the horizon, he can see two of things- two Jim’s, two Anya’s, in fact two of everything. He keeps quiet, drinks two whole canteens of water, then upends a third over him, soaks himself thoroughly- feels a little better for it.An hour later…“Are you sure you’re ok to carry on?” Ala stares at Cas.“Yes.” The Paladin manages and then clambers to his feet.It’s a lot cooler now, the sun is setting fast, there’s still enough light to see the compass and the miles and miles of desert ahead of them.“How long more do you think?” Cas whispers when Jim comes close.“Dunno, lovely sunset though.” The Ranger stops to stare, the Paladin plods on.Two hours later…“Pelor’s fishcake, trilobites nibbling on my trousers. I am the Walrus, THE WALRUS… ALA. ALA. ALA I CAN’T SEE YOU. Mew. Rue. Dooooooo…” Cas gasps for breath.“Hold him down.” Ala instructs.“Sun stroke.” Jim confirms.“We’re not going any further.” Ala states.“Get a fire lit, all the water you can, and blankets.” Jim shouts at Anya and Newt, they comply.“Crab apple sun stroke, moke, broke, toke… joke… poke.” Cas rambles.Bec crumples, there’s… a lot of everybody… and things… everythings… a lot of it… joining up all the time… blurry. Bec slips into unconsciousness; it seems infinitely more pleasant than his present surroundings, “Sand… wich.” His last word, or words.Next Turn: Oh Sandy.</blockquote>

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