The hidden

[megamania]

THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
07 EMERALD CLAW ON THE MOVE
SEGMENT 145
“HOWLS IN THE NIGHT and GHOULS IN THE NIGHT”
10/27/17

LHARVION 26, 1000

It is now late evening and the group is tired. Them slept little the night before and it looks bad for finding shelter tonight.

Then comes the first howl. It is in the distance. The howl is not that of a wolf or dog. It is deeper. The group stops and listens carefully to it.

“ow-ow-owwwwl who-who-wo-wllllllllll .” mimics the summoner. More stares from Tyson and Ayru.

They continue with their weapons drawn and ready for anything…. Even dinosaurs.

Before too long, they see the source of the noise- large horse sized dogs with long quills on their shoulders and hips. Howlers.

Feldrix draws three of them onto him while the fourth circles to attack the others. Quills stab at the knight but with no flesh, they do little to nothing to him. The battle goes back and forth just the same.

In the end, the group wins. Healing potions for everyone (well—the living ones anyway).

LHARVION 28, 1000
They feel they are getting closer to the Claw caravan. Recent eye witnesses saw them just one day away.

Near dark, they spot a dock and building. There was a group of adventurers that suggested they saw a caravan stopped at a cabin that survived the New Water transformation. This could be the spot.

Carefully they climb onto the dock and look around. The windows have been blackened. On closer inspection, Tyson notes they are blackened from the outside. Zig wipes a “smiley” face in the window. Smiling he turns and is about to show what he did when something hisses and slaps against the window. The smile is gone instantly.

“Something…. Is inside.” Feldrix answers in a flat monotone voice.

“Why is the door….. glued?” asks Ayru as she looks it over.

A window breaks and a sickly green tongue snakes out. It retracts and an arm comes out. It is a green tinted pale with black claws. Ayru slams it and it retracts quickly. Zig activates a glowing potion and releases it into the broken window.

An eruption of hisses and scampering bodies can be seen. “Ghouls.” Answers Feldrix.

“It appears the Claw left us a gift.” Adds Tyson.

The creatures begin to pound on the walls.

“Zig- got any fire potions?” asks Tyson.

They set the building on fire and wait at the windows. Many of the undead flesh-eaters die by fire. Others tear through the walls or find and break out through the windows only to shot or gutted by the group.

“You know…. I’m kinda tired of the Claw at this point.” Says Zig looking at the burning building.

 

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Howlers attack.....

 

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Burn the undead !!!!

 

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THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
07 EMERALD CLAW ON THE MOVE
SEGMENT 146
“HIDDEN BUTTER”
10/31/17

LHARVION 28, 1000

Zig and Kyr wait for Tyson and Ayru to fall asleep in the small shed also on the deck. Before leaving Yrlag, Zig had crushed more of the pits then mixed it into a butter. He hoped this may help control the amount of a “vision” he would have.

Kyr is happy to take the biggest piece of cracker with the most Hidden Butter on it. They sit back and smirk and suppress giggles as they enjoy getting one up on the two “adults” of the group. Feldrix doesn’t interfere. He is aware of many that used dreamlily in a way that allowed to them to touch inner magical contact. Others that went too far but his friend is not at that point. He hopes he never does.

There is no high anymore. Zig is uncertain if this is normal. He is not one to take drugs so much of this is new to him. Slowly he closes his eyes and begins to dream.

It is dark. More than likely underground. Looking around you enter a large featureless room. There are no creatures or people within it but there are shadows on the walls. Dancing shadows. Gaunt creatures with tentacles on their shoulders dance and twirl. A large floating ball or blob also seems to dance about. Smaller tentacles sprout from its top. Smaller blobs with long tentacles that seem to drag on the ground swoosh and swirl about. The dance is eerie but you can not take your eyes off of it.

Kyr takes longer to sleep. He is so looking forward to seeing his daddy again. He does eventually fall asleep. The air is damp and dark. A strong smell like sweat and BO hangs in the air. You open your eyes slowly and a large squid headed creature looks into your eyes as it leans over you. It communicates with you but you see no mouth and hear nothing with your ears. It speaks to your mind…. With it’s own mind.

“Release the Dragon Bane…. Release the Dragon Fear. Kill the dragons. Only when they are all dead can you and your father be joined…. Your new father.

Kyr awakens briefly then smiles and lets out a happy sigh and goes back to sleep.

 

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THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
07 EMERALD CLAW ON THE MOVE
SEGMENT 147
“CRACK IN THE GLASS”
10/31/17

BARRAKAS 1, 1000

It is near dusk as the group spots a large landmass….. very large.

Towers of glass that stab the sky reflect the strange star light and stranger moon (light is given off but there is no visible moon). There are now slight currents within the water. These currents move away from the direct the group is moving to.

“Is that…. The Hidden?” asks Zigland.

“dah-dah-dah….” Stutters the summoner. (daddy)

“The wall that surrounds it anyway. Are those campfires within it?” adds the Inquisitive.

“Several….. fires.” Concurs the knight.

“Enough for a large caravan to camp by.” Adds the protector.

“Maybe…. Auser can help….” Offers Kyr.

“Who? What is an Auser?” asks the changeling cook.

“Auser….. is my pet raven.”

“More secrets Kyr.” States Tyson with obvious distain for the strange most likely insane summoner. Insane and dangerous.

“No secret. No one ever asked me about her.”

“so….. now I am asking. Who or what is Auser the raven?” demands Tyson while watching over the summoner’s shoulder- at the campfires.

“A familiar I would presume.” Interrupts Ayru.

“I want him to answer.” Says Tyson with an angry undercurrent. The more the summoner says, the better a read he will get on the mage.

The summoner clicks his tongue and raises his arm to offer a landing site. Shortly, a strange black raven flies down. Tyson swears he saw a third eye on the side of its skull. More mutations.

Shortly the raven takes to the sky once more and flies towards the camp fires. Kyr is getting a mental image of what the raven sees with its eyes.

The New Water surrounds a peninsula of black glass. The glass is cracked in two by crevasse that goes deep into a jungle – like valley. There are four large fires that are located along the edges of this crack. Many people, possibly two dozen, are here along with one very large cart. A huge creature of burden is on the other side of the cart.

Kyr tells the group about this much. If the raven and he saw more, he doesn’t tell about it.

“Get closer then summon…. Critters?” asks the changeling.

“How do we attack them from both sides of the crevasse?” asks Ayru.

“How many invisibility potions do you have?” asks Tyson.

Everyone is speaking at once.

“What other spells do you have?” asks Feldrix of Kyr.

“Many” and with that the summoner moves away. Zig turns invisible then begins to fly up.

Ayru points at them with frustration and anger. “It is done.” Says Tyson as he turns and makes way for the closest opening through the glass where the summoner is headed.

Almost as if it were planned, Zig begins to drop acidic bombs onto the largest cluster of soldiers and Kyr sends in a mutated dire wolf. As the wolf gets close he summons a thick fog.

“He…lacks ….planning” says the undead warrior as he and the remaining two move towards the parked caravan wagon.

The summoned beast can not fully attack now but neither can the Emerald Claw members. The acid potions are causing a great deal of confusion on the other side of the crack. Everyone is looking around for the attackers but not looking up. Good for Zig.

A few soldiers fall over the edge as they try to escape the acid and burns. One leader, a cleric, spots Zig and summons a spiritual weapon to attack him.

To the side, the Claw members watching over the caravan wagon are attempting to leave. Tyson attempts to climb onto the wagon but he not the physical type. Ayru is trying to track all of the activity. Feldrix is trying to reach the caravan but in his armor he is slow. Kyr, mentally commanding his wolf to finish off everyone in the small crystal walled space now follows the others. Zig’s acid attacks are killing off many of the claw members.

Kyr summons up a distorted gorilla whom attacks the wheel of the wagon. Tyson climbs up onto the wagon finally but unluckily for him three men rush him and drive him into the water.

The cleric within the wagon begins to attack the summoned monstrousity. A small fire breaks out on the wagon and then all-hell breaks out. Kyr summons up another creature that falls through the canvas roof. This bear hits the floor then suddenly bursts into a pile of walking and growling tentacles.

A soldier attacks the gorilla. For its attempt, the soldier loses his head as the creature stuffs it into the spokes of the large wheels just as the wagon begins to move forward.

Zig finishes with his last men as several flee into the darkness. Some succeed…. Others fall over the cliffs edge or into the glass shards.

The cleric fighting the “bear” damages it greatly before the gorilla blindly reaches into an open window and nearly catches the cleric. Scared and trapped, he tries to fight off the summoned creatures. He is nearly saved as more soldiers arrive. The gorilla “places” more heads and body parts into the moving spokes.

This only leaves the three men that are attacking Tyson. He is on full defensive and even then takes many hard hits from their flails and shields. Feldrix attempts to rush through several shards of glass and instead becomes wedged in. His armor makes an ear jarring screech before his forward momentum stops.

Ayru tries to push the knight through but can not. Kyr, powering up tries to help. By time he is free, Tyson has been forced to flee the action. He takes healing potions quickly as the others take down the soldiers.

“Easy easy quite pleasy.” Says the summoner.

“Next?”

“I saw ropes on the other side leading down into the crack….. into The Hidden.

 

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"The Crack"

 

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Beast of Burden

 

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Some of the Claw members in a pocket of glass

 

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THE HIDDEN: BEYOND NEW WATER
08 EXPLORE THE HIDDEN
SEGMENT 148
“Guards and Guardians”
11/03/17

BARRAKAS 2, 1000

Having rested above, the group awakes and looks out into The Hidden.

The deep valley is filled with jungle, waterways and ruins. Miles of it in each direction. It is all encased by glass shard walls with small points of water coming through. Near the center are two black highly-reflective globes. They float very high in the sky.

Checking the ropes leading down for strength, Ayru nods a yes. Feldrix wants to go first as he fears if he slips he may hurt others. Plus he is certain there will be guards at the bottom.

“Guards?” says Zig as he edges up to the cliff. “Yup.” He smiles as he pulls out a potion. Four guards and they are close together near the end of the rope. Kyr wants to go quicker and is impatient. Kyr is given a potion of spider-climb and down he goes without fear or pause of going over the edge.

The men and woman below call out in pain as the acid hits them. Weakened, they are no threat as the warrior and summoner reach them. The camp is easily searched. Little of use is here.

Water.

Water is everywhere. Dozens of small waterfalls can be seen and more heard. They come mainly from small cracks in the glass. Bigger falls rush forth from separations of the glass shards. The ground is soft and water is just below the surface. The five colors of the beads are in greater quantities here. They cover the floor of the water ways with in many cases over a foot of color. Worse, the water depth is uncertain. Sometimes it is the usual foot to eighteen inches and sometimes it is over four feet deep.

These make for ideal conditions for surprise attacks by things under the water.

Kyr collects samples of the leaves here. They are emerald green five armed maple leaves with red, green, blue, yellow and orange boils on the top surface.

It is not long before they learn what kind of creatures live here.

Ayru and Tyson spot a medium sized lizard watching them from ahead. It tilts its head like a dog may watching and listening to them.

“I don’t like this. It looks….. intelligent.” Says Tyson.

“Worse…. Looks like raptors.” Says Zig recalling his days in Talenta once again. “Fast, sneaky and they like ambushes.”

Kyr has wandered away from them to look for the fruit Zig uses for his “Hidden Butter.” As he looks he hears a soft hoot and a whistle. Curious, he pushes the plants apart and….. tentacled lizards attack! Two from the right, two from the left and one straight ahead that was distracting them. The summoner takes repeated slaps from the reaching tentacles. Their bites also do damage.

Zig throws more acid potions at them which makes them screech loudly and begin to back off. The secondary burns however kill them.

 

[megamania]

Raptor attack..... mutated raptors that is.....