Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ziona" data-source="post: 248916" data-attributes="member: 484">A Second ChanceThe party walked the last corridor and found nothing but a dead end.  It seemed that they would have to backtrack and cross the chasm again.  The problem was that when Prynne fell through the webbing, the dragon’s wings fell with her.  There would be no makeshift bridge to cross this time. The group explained to the newcomers how they had crossed the chasm the first time.“What do we do now?” asked Nuttin.“Well, we can’t fly across the accursed thing,” grumbled Prynne.Just then Belasco took off his pack and began rummaging through his belongings. “I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before,” he remarked.“Thought of what?” asked Dent.Belasco pulled forth a vial with a cork in the top. “My potion of flying.”Nuttin smacked his hand to his forehead in disbelief.  Dent shook his head with a smirk.“You had a potion of flying all this time?” asked Prynne.“Yes,” said Belasco coolly.  “And you should be thankful.  Otherwise we’d be stuck here if we used it the first time around.”Belasco drank the potion and carried each person across.  His newly found strength aided him in the process.  Once everyone was at the other side, a familiar sound welcomed them.“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”“Omigosh!  He’s okay,” cried Lox.From around the corner came the Spleckle, muttering the unintelligible nonsense he always spoke.  Prynne rolled her eyes and avoided the hairy beast, while Lox ran up to it and told it all they had done without it.The group pressed on until they came upon an area that did not look familiar to them.  They traveled down the new corridor and saw a door at the end.  Lox dutifully checked for traps.  Finding one, he disarmed it, and then used his lockpicks to unlock the door.  He knew better than to open the door, although he really wanted to, and stepped aside so Venus or Dent could be the first in the room.Lox noticed that Venus was less interested in storming in the room than he used to be.  It seemed that he was more interested in staying at Veerdra’s side to protect her.  As a result, Dent was the first to enter the room.The room was circular and a man in full plate sat at a table with a mug of ale.  As Dent entered, the man reached for his glowing whip that sat on the table in front of him.  Behind the man was a roaring fire with a stewing pot full of gruel.  The man jumped up from his seat and strode forward, weapon in hand.“You have made a mistake entering my chambers,” he bellowed.  “A fatal mistake.”Dent dodged the man’s first attack as the rest of the party piled into the room.  “I am the Master Keeper of the Caged, and I shall see you dead!” he bellowed.  Using his whip, the Master attacked Dent again.  The whip struck the ranger in the chest and knocked him to the floor.  “Dent!” gasped Lox. Lox tumbled over to his friend to aid his injuries as best he could, while Prynne tumbled towards the Master with her swords drawn.  She swiped at their attacker twice, and managed to hit him once with her longsword. Venus ran into the fray, bellowing his battle cry and swung his sword at the Master, but missed.  The Master did not miss however.  He turned to Prynne and lashed at her with his Whip of Pain, knocking her to the ground alongside Dent.  Venus pressed on in his attack, but he too, was felled by the Master and his whip.  Lox, satisfied that he could still hear Dent’s heartbeat jumped up and tumbled behind the Master Keeper.  The Master caught the movement from the corner of his eye and whipped at the halfling.  To avoid being hit, Lox tumbled back, which landed him right in front of his foe.  The Master used his whip again and Lox was among his unconscious companions on the floor.Elmond pulled the women, the jester,  and the Spleckle back out of the room and kept them in the corridor, hoping his companions would take their enemy down.  Meanwhile, Nuttin began reciting the spidery words of a spell, while Belasco, knowing what Nuttin intended on casting, pulled their companions out of the room.  The Master, hearing the caster, reached for a lever on the wall.  After pulling the lever, the Master blew on a whistle that hung around his neck.The lever released a barrage of monsters who were under the command of the Master.  They were intent on killing anyone in their way.  From the cages in the adjacent room came two bugbears, a grimlock, a dire wolverine, and a monstrous poisonous toad.  Just as they approached, Nuttin’s spell was complete…a ball of fire burst in the room, roasting anything in it’s path.  Nuttin slapped his knee in satisfaction when he saw that the monsters had perished due to the fireball he had conjured.  However, the Master was not so pleased with the death of Korvish’s monsters, and bellowed as he attacked the halfling wizard.  His Whip of Pain struck Nuttin and knocked him unconscious with the rest of the group.  Belasco looked down at the halfling and realized he was practically the last one standing.  The smirk behind his mask did not show as he dropped his weapons and surrendered.  The Master waltzed up to Belasco and kicked his weapon out of his reach.“The Master Keeper of the Caged does not take prisoners,” he spat.  “You will die, just as your friends will die.  Any last words?”“Yes…”  Belasco doubled up his fist, on which he wore his chainmail gauntlet, and slammed the Master in the face.  The blow crushed the Master’s nose and knocked him to the floor in a heap.  Belasco was quick to grab the Master’s glowing whip, and his own weapon as well.  He tied the Master up and locked him in one of the cages where he kept the monstrous animals.  After a few hours, (which Belasco spent talking with Cryenna), the party began to awaken.  Before long, they were organized again, and continued on.  The next room they came upon was circular like the last room.  However, this room did not have a door leading out.  The ceiling of this room was very high, and the group noticed that there was a passageway leading out up near the ceiling. But, there were no stairs or ladders leading to the passageway.  Most of the group were thinking about this dilemma when Lox pointed out the chests he found.“Look what I found! It’s a whole buncha coins!  This is great,” he continued as he opened the next box.  “Look. This one has potions in it.  I wonder what they do…”“Let me see,” said Dent.  He picked up one of the vials from the chest and opened the cork.  “Smells kind of odd,” he said.“Tastes kind of funny, too,” said Lox.“Lox, you didn’t,” said Dent.“Lumley!  What are you thinking, you nincompoop,” yelled Nuttin.  “Well, I thought if it didn’t hrrt Dnt…eeh…mhhh..mmfff…ifffs sshhhttkk,” Lox mumbled.“What’s wrong, Lox?”Lox pointed frantically at his mouth.  He tried to tell him that he couldn’t open his mouth, but he couldn’t open his mouth to tell them!  It seemed like it sealed shut.  His throat felt as though it were sticky and clogged, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. He was starting to panic, which caused his face to turn red.  He clutched at his throat, and pointed at his mouth.  “Lox! What’s happening?” shouted Dent.“Give him some water,” suggested Nuttin.“See the trouble his mischief can cause?” said Belasco to Cryenna.  “That’s why I suggest we let the halfling go first.  Where I come from the lesser races, like halflings, are sent ahead to scout out the enemy, that way the real forces are aware of what’s ahead…”“I don’t think he can breathe,” said Prynne.By this time, almost the entire party was huddled around Lox, making it even harder for him to breathe.  He knew he was suffocating, and he was afraid.  What could he do? What could any of them do?  He should have listened to Dent and been more careful, but it was too late for that now.  He looked at each of them, realizing he would never get the chance to adventure with any of them again.  He would miss Dent and Nuttin, and he was sad that he would never really get to know Elmond or Mar, or…Mar The Jester…the cards…the deck!  That’s right…a second chance!Lox realized he had a second chance, and he used his dying breath to speak the proper words…“eeyyy wisss thsss dnnnt hppnnnnnnnn….”Suddenly, Lox was not suffocating anymore.  Everyone was looking at the chest with the coins inside, and Lox was watching Dent trying to uncork the vial.“Dent, don’t!” he shouted. “Don’t open it.”“What’s wrong, Lox?”“I uh…I don’t think we should mess with these, that’s all. Maybe we can figure out what they are later…or something,” he said nervously.“For once the halfling is talking sensibly,” said Prynne.  Lox just smiled sheepishly as the group looked up to the wall again.  Mar, however, smiled at Lox, and patted him on the shoulder.  The Adventure Continues…</blockquote>

Verification