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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1018764" data-attributes="member: 1210">Guess What's Coming to DinnerThe castle's dining hall is not too ostentatious; indeed, the Queen prefers a somewhat subdued sort of arrangement for the decorations.  She's dressed in fine clothes, but wears little jewelry.  She and her King sit side by side, occasionally exchanging loving glances.  Around the table sit Drelvin, Lester, Orbius, Zonzor, Angelfire, Horbin the Holy, Thrush, Sybele and Jezebel.The meal consists of pheasant roasted with cashews, covered in a honey and clove glaze; steamed fruits and vegetables in an elven plum sauce; thin wafers of elven honeycake; a salad of tossed greens, carrots, tomatos, cucumbers, berries and rose petals with a thin dressing; a light broth with onions, water chestnuts and radishes; freshly blended juice of peaches and plums blended together; and delicious elven wine, strong dwarven beer, and several other pitchers of drink.  It's entirely fantastic, having been cooked up by a halfling chef (and everyone knows that, if you're gonna have a chef, have a halfling chef), and it seems that nothing can spoil a meal like this. Nothing, that is, short of an attack by a horrible monster that rises through the stones of the floor.Our heroes have seen it before- some sort of large beast with a slavering mouth, long tentacles, and a weird mix of crystals and stones apparently growing from its back.  It looks extremely unfriendly, as revealed by the fact that it immediately whips a tentacle at Orbius as it phases up through the floor.  The blow might have taken the divine oracle's head right off were it not for the contingency he bears, which triggers a mirror image as he's attacked; so only an image is destroyed, and our heroes burst into action.  There's a scramble as Drelvin cries, "Behind me!" to the Queen, and she scrambles out the door the monster isn't blocking and into the washroom, crying a warning.Malford isn't too fond of having dinner interrupted, so he casts a hold monster spell at the creature, but his eyes widen as his spell slides off its spell resistance.  Cursing under his breath, the gnome-King whips Memory from her sheath.  The rest of our heroes are responding as well.  Zonzor leaps up onto the table, sending bits of pheasant, soup and salad flying, pullijng his axe out.  He strikes a mighty blow at the thing, but growls in anger as it shrugs off the blow.  Horbin's casting something at it, but again it resists; and as Orbius tries to back away from it, the thing's tentacle grabs him- the real him- and holds tight!  With a quick word, he teleports free, vanishing and reappearing across the room near the Queen.The L tries a couple of spells, but neither gets through the monster's spell resistance.  "We saw this thing before!" he shouts.  "It's from Felenga!"Indeed, and though it's alone this time, it's deadly enough on its own to be a threat.  Thrush takes a stand, his blade slicing the creature's stony hide for horrendous damage, but it slams back, grabbing and constricting him.  "URGH!" he shouts inarticulately, even as Sybele stands up, towering over the rest of the group and pulling out her sword.  Jezebel scrambles under the table, yelping, while Angelfire tumbles in on the beast and Zonzor keeps hewing at it- to no effect.  Horbin and Orbius, keeping back, are throwing spell after useless spell at it.  None get through; clearly, the monster's able to resist almost anything they can produce.  Drelvin starts firing, his bow strung and unlimbered, arrows appearing and whizzing through the air with almost impossible speed, a few landing but most missing."To me, Jezebel!" the Queen cries, and Sybele's daughter scrambles across the floor to her.  They shut themselves into the washroom and Moira triggers a magic item, dimension dooring them to safety.Lester cries out, "Take this, you beast!" and casts a spell not on it, but on the ground it's still partially within.  The stone starts glowing red and turns instantly into molten magma.  The L laughs, seeing it clearly harm the monster, even as part of the wall supported by the now-liquid floor crumbles and collapses.  Thrush cries out, squinting against the glow and the heat of the lava, and manages to break free of the tentacle holding him in the air- falling into the magma!  He screams in pain, not happy at all about it.  His clothes and hair burst into flame!  He pulls himself free, but there's hot molten rock clinging to him all over."Stop, drop and roll!" Sybele cries to him.The monster drops down through the lava, vanishing into the rock, even as Zonzor grabs up a pitcher of beer and dumps it on the burning Thrush.  Horbin creates water on Thrush, as well, and steam rises from the cooling rock.  Gritting his teeth, the fighter lifts his greatsword in both hands, waiting for the enemy to return.Then it rises beneath the table, shattering the mahogany wood of the thing into dozens of pieces.  Zonzor lands shakily next to it, still holding his axe in one hand and an empty pitcher in another.  Before anyone can react, the monster grabs at Lester with one of its tentacles.  But now its in the middle of the warriors of the party, and Angelfire and Sybele hack at it brutally while Zonzor grabs the L and pulls him from its grasp, suffering a mighty blow as he does so.  Lester whips out Felix Optima Maxima and strikes, stabbing deeply into it, and Thrush steps up and finishes the job with a pair of awesome blows.  The thing shudders and dies.Malford turns to Lester.  "You're gonna fix that magma," he orders, shaking his finger at the elementalist.Drelvin and the King quickly set off to search for signs of other attacks, but- at least for now- there are none.  Orbius, meanwhile, performs a legend lore on the monster and grimly reports what he's got:Underdark dangerAberration of earthDestroyer of DrowBane of illithidEater of deep gnomesLord of the stonesMaulgoth.When the Eye reports this to Malford, the gnome smiles.  He's pleased to have slain a monster known for its gnome-eating ways."I gotta get moving," Lester says nervously.  "I've got this geas, you know...""Maybe I can help you with that," Malford offers.  "It's from the Galadorians," Lester answers.  "I don't think Galador would like it... and aren't you sort of one of them?"Malford smiles.  "I respect the Galadorian faith, and I certainly wouldn't just randomly oppose them; but I've been under a geas myself, imposed by Galador, to help break the geasa of others.  I don't think He'll mind if I do as He's bid me..."Soon, Malford's done it!  Using a limited wish he manages to lift Lester's geas, and the whole group sighs happily.  Having to rush, perhaps unprepared, into a confrontation with Felenga would clearly be suicidal.  They need the Deleter- whatever it is.That night our heroes get sick drunk, glad to be alive; Lester's even gladder to be able to act as he chooses again.  And Angelfire keeps studying the Book of Olaf, which keeps dripping weird red fluid.  Sybele keeps her eye out for Marius, knowing he's bound to come soon....Next Time:  Marius arrives asking for help!  Zonzor gets in trouble!  And Sybele gets her sword!</blockquote>

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