Creatures of the Maze
The group was exiting the room when Belasco called out for them to halt.
“I think there is a door here.”
Dent strode back into the room and examined the area with his masked companion. Although he didn’t see it at first, he realized Belasco was right once he saw a vague outline of a footmark. The print lead up to the wall.
“Where is the halfling?” asked Belasco.
“Lox, there’s a hidden door over here,” called Dent. “Wouldn’t you like to open it?”
Before they turned around, they heard it.
“Lumley, you twit!”
Nuttin was yelling at Lox again. Belasco crossed his arms and Dent turned to see what the trouble was. Standing before him was the hairy creature from the cage.
“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”
The creature lumbered next to Lox, who smiled sheepishly at group.
“See? He’s stuck here, just like us. He’s not a bad guy, are you?”
“Lox, we don’t know what this creature is, or what it’s saying,” insisted Venus. “We can’t be sure it’s safe to travel with.”
“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh,” said the creature as it bumped up against Belasco.
“Stand aside,” said Belasco with a snarl. But the creature continued it’s strange string of words as it continued to nudge against Belasco.
“I think he likes you,” giggled Lox.
Finally Belasco gave it a light push and it stopped in it’s tracks.
“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”
“We aren’t actually considering traveling with this…thing,” said Elmond with a sigh.
“We’re travellin’ with you, aren’t we?” said Nuttin with a chuckle.
“Don’t start,” said Venus with a serious look.
“Lox, you need to think more carefully before you go ahead and do crazy things like this,” lectured Dent.
“But, Dent! Lookathim! He’s so neat and fuzzy. There’s no way anything so cute could be mean,” said Lox with his usual childlike innocence.
“Looks can be deceiving,” said Prynne. “This could be a hostile creature. I don’t think we should allow it to follow us.”
“Aw, you’re just jealous that it has more hair than you,” laughed Nuttin.
Prynne turned and glared at the old halfling, but would not waste her breath to argue with him anymore.
“Are we going to have the halfling open the door or not,” hissed Belasco.
“A door? Oh, yeah, I see that door,” said Lox. He immediately went to work and before long, the door swung open.
“Listen,” whispered Dent. The corridor ahead of them was dark and carried an odd scent in the air. Now that they were silent, the party could hear the barking and growling that Dent heard.
“Send the halfling ahead of us,” said Belasco.
Dent looked over at the masked man and shook his head.
“I’ll lead the group.”
Dent stealthily crept down the corridor followed by Lox, Venus, Prynne, Belasco, Nuttin, Elmond, and the hair creature. (Elmond kept glancing behind him to see if the creature had stayed behind, but it continued on with the party.) As they turned the corner, the animal noises seemed to quiet down, and then suddenly stop. The hall opened into a large, well lit room. Torches and lanterns hung from the walls, interspersed with many large plaques bearing stuffed animal heads. There was the head of a hyena, a hippo, jaguar, lion, and wild boar heads.
“Look at all these animals,” said Lox in awe. “I feel like they’re looking at me.”
Most of the group agreed with Lox, though no one spoke of the creepiness of the room. Everyone was silent as they glanced about. There were full-sized creatures standing around the room as well, and they, too, seemed to watch the party make their way across the room. The full-sized animals glaring that the group included a spotted lion, a wild bull, titanothere, dire wolf, ceratosaurus, yeti, hell hound, and even a displacer beast. Most of the creatures looked agitated, and it seemed to the group that if these creatures were alive, they would be agressive.
As the group made it half way through the room, the barking, growling, and baying began again. Everyone was startled by the cacophony, and reached for their weapons. As they did, the hell hound and displacer beast sprang to life and leapt from the bases they stood on. The party stood their ground, however, attacking the animated creatures as a team. Just as the hell hound fell, the door leading to the next room opened. A piercing shriek could be heard as an owlbear entered the room.
The owlbear stalked into the room looking for a morsel, and the first thing it saw was Lox. With a shriek, it was upon him. Lox planted his short sword into the owlbear’s leg and Dent was suddenly there to assist him. Belasco, Venus, and Prynne were still taking on the displacer beast while Nuttin and Elmond fired Magic Missiles towards their foes. The hairy creature stood behind in the hall calling out, “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…”
Before long, the vicious creatures fell to the might of the party.
“Wow, I thought that giant bird was gonna eat me up,” said Lox. “What an adventure that would have been!”
“Perhaps next time…” said Belasco.
Dent heard the comment and winced. “The more you encourage his behavior, the worse he’ll be.”
“I am encouraging nothing,” retorted Belasco. “Where I come from, we always sent the grunts first.”
“Well, I don’t know where you come from,” said Dent, “but in this maze we’re a team. We need to start looking out for one another instead of bickering, and then maybe we can make it out of here and get our damn wishes.”
“That was heartwarming,” said Belasco sarcastically. “Let’s move along.”
Venus entered the next room first with his trusty scimitar drawn. He was not about to be surprised by another stuffed creature.
“Halt!”
Venus and Dent stood their ground with weapons drawn.
“Why have you come to disturb Lord Korvish’s Trophy Chamber?”
“Come forward and fight,” yelled Venus, “or are you a coward?”
From behind a large, half-stuffed bear came a man wielding a longsword.
“Do not think of stopping us,” cautioned Dent. “Move lest you be beaten.”
“I cannot allow you to go on,” said the man, moving to slice into Venus with his sword.
But, the man had underestimated Venus’s abilities. Venus had dodged the scrape and made a clean cut in the man’s arm.
The man leapt back, then came in again, this time it was Dent he was swiping at. Dent did not hesitate to take a swing at the man with his axe, which connected with the man’s leg.
“Okay,” pleaded the man, “You may pass…good lord, I only work here…”
Venus and Dent just looked at each other in disbelief.
“Do you surrender?” asked Venus.
“No, I told you, I just work here. My name is Oleck and I was hired to stuff Korvish’s trophies…I heard you come in when the animals started screeching and I animated them to attack you and scare you off…”
“What do you mean ‘animated’ the creatures?” asked Dent.
By this time the rest of the party had entered the room and were searching around for any doors or items.
“It’s an amulet. It makes the stuffed animals come to life.”
“An amulet? Can I see it? Does it have pretty jewels and bangles on it…” asked Lox excitedly.
“Hand over the amulet,” said Venus, “or prepare to face the consequences.”
“Here, take it,” said Oleck. “I don’t want to get killed…I’m just here to make ends meet…”
“Pathetic,” said Prynne. “What are we going to do with him? He obviously can’t be trusted.”
“Just tie the numbskull up,” said Nuttin. “He’s got the same ring on as the rest of us. He’ll be fine.”
“Aw, come on…” whined Oleck. He surrendered and allowed the party to bind him, knowing that some other adventurers (or his employer) would happen along and set him free. Besides, he knew this group just defeated Korvish’s owlbear, not to mention the displacer beast and hell hound. He didn’t want to upset them.
“Look here,” said Belasco. “Another hidden passageway.”
“Where does it lead,” said Dent, directing his question towards Oleck.
“…to an empty room…it’s dangerous, though…don’t do it…”
“What rubbish,” said Nuttin. “Of course he’s gonna lie. He doesn’t want us to go on and defeat the maze.”
“We’ve made it this far without clues from a whining coward,” said Prynne, “let’s just keep moving.”
Dent lead the party through the secret passage and down a corridor. The group turned left, but found a deep, dark chasm blocking their way.
“I suggest we throw something into it,” said Venus. “Maybe we can figure out how deep it is.”
“We have some extra torches,” said Dent. “Let’s light one and try to see what’s down there in the process.”
Venus and Dent lit the torch, and the party watched as it dropped. Nothing was illuminated, and the torch disappeared from sight. They listened, but never heard it hit the bottom.
“Well, that’s not a good sign,” said Nuttin.
“Let’s turn back and see where the corridor goes. Maybe there will be something to aid us in crossing this chasm,” said Dent.
The next room they came upon was in fact empty. It seemed as though Oleck had not been lying.
“I still see no danger here,” said Venus.
“Perhaps he means in the rooms beyond,” said Belasco.
“Let’s find out,” said Prynne, turning to the next door.
“Allow me, Miss Prynne,” said Lox. He checked the door at the other side of the room for traps, and was quick to unlock it once he found none.
From there, the party followed Lox and Prynne down another narrow hallway that ended in a door. Once the group was only a few feet from the door, however, a portcullis dropped behind them.
“You see,” said Belasco. “The danger lies ahead of us.”
“Perhaps it will be best for one of us to lead,” said Venus to Lox. Lox just frowned and toddled behind Venus and Dent.
The door at the end of the corridor was not locked. Venus allowed Lox to check it for traps before opening it, and then stepped through. As the companions entered, they were greeted by a thundering spray of rapidly running water. Rising out from the water’s surface were small islands of sediment and debris. At the far end of the steady stream was an island where a young black dragon was lurking.
“Omigod a dragon!” screeched Lox. He turned on his heels and began running back to the corridor. Belasco and Elmond were quick to follow him, having caught a taste of dragonfear. The three of them, with their hairy creature companion at their side, clawed at the portcullis trying to flee.
The rest of the party, although in awe at first, quickly regained their wits. They knew the portcullis fell behind them barring any hope for escape. The dragon seemed to smile evilly at them as it stood up from it’s treasure trove of gold and skulls. The remaining party members, Dent, Venus, Prynne, and Nuttin ran bravely into battle.
The Adventure Continues…
