Travels through the Wild West: Books V-VIII (Epilogue)

[wolff96]

Considering that I'm currently running an interplanar campaign that relies heavily on the Cage, I'll be very interested to see your descriptions of Sigil, LB.

Great story, as always... though I have to admit to being a tad disappointed that it's a Friday and we don't have a cliffhanger!

 

[Maldur]

wooohooo no cliffhanger

boooooo, no other updates

thx, LB

 

[Lazybones]

Book VIII, Part 2

The common room of The Wandering Fool was already a din of crowded activity, even though it was still a good two hours or so until the sun would complete its journey over the western horizon. Merchants and their guards, townsfolk, and a miscellany of assorted travelers filled almost every table in the long chamber, which was close and hot despite the hint of afternoon breeze that sifted in through the open windows.

Cal and Dana hesitated in the open doorway, looking around the place. In truth they had the coin for better lodgings, but with the pace that they had set in the last month, traveling from location to location swiftly both by magical and mundane means, they tended to select inns by expediency rather than comfort as their main criterion. This place had happened to be near the gate through which they had entered Berdusk late yesterday afternoon, and in any case they had not intended to remain here more than a day. At least their rooms—the best in the inn, their coin got them that at least—were comfortable and private, taking up the entire second story of the annex that had been built later and attached to the main building.

The innkeeper, a stout dwarven matron wearing a spotless wool apron across her ample frame, noticed them and caught their attention with a gesture from the bar. “Your friends are in the back room,” she said. “Would you like to take your supper there? The others haven’t eaten, yet.”

“Yes, thank you,” Cal said absently, already turning to join Dana as she walked deliberately toward the doorway to the back hall. Several of the patrons glanced at them as they passed by, but one look at their faces was enough to turn them back to their own concerns. There had been a lot of that, of late; although the companions did not realize it, they had all been transformed by what they had experienced, and now an aura surrounded them, a feeling that boded no casual interference in the quest that they had already tacitly accepted.

Lok looked up as the two entered the private room in the back of the inn, but Benzan, seated in the far corner with his booted feet up on the table, continued to stare down into his mug. A stray glimmer of light that reflected from the metal fittings on the windowframe caught for a moment at his throat, where the black gemstone amulet they’d taken from the dracolich’s hoard dangled. Cal had finally identified the item as bearing a potent ward against poison, and with Benzan’s role in their group as scout and lock-opener, they’d all agreed that he was the best person to have it.

Cal closed the door behind him and Dana and moved to the table, pulling himself up onto an oversized chair. There were a number of sacks tied with leather throngs atop the table, laid out in a long row.

“You were able to find what we need?” he asked.

“We got everything and more,” Benzan said. His voice was already a little slurred—clearly this wasn’t the first ale he’d had this afternoon—and his boots made a loud clop on the stone flagstones of the floor as he dropped them from the tabletop and leaned forward. “We were richer than I thought; Lok was holding out on us with some extra gemstones, it turns out.” The warrior did not respond, but Cal shook his head—the idea of Lok deceiving them was ludicrous, but he knew that the tiefling was not really trying to deride the genasi. He understood, as he too felt that tension that came frequently and tightened his insides, until he felt almost physically sick with it. Benzan’s behavior was only a reflection of what they’d all felt since that encounter within the fastness of the Sunset Mountains.

“The priests of Deneir sold us a dozen healing potions; mostly the low-powered ones, but we bought a few of the moderate-strength ones too. And another of your healing wands, like you asked for, Cal. Cost a bundle, but we can afford it, right? After all, we’re rich.” He drained his mug and put it down on the table. “Couldn’t find all the scrolls you wanted, but we got a couple, and two more quivers of magical arrows, and a case of bolts for you and Dana.”

“How did you fare?” Lok asked. “Did you see the Harper Lady?”

“Yes,” Cal said, “and while it looks like we’ll have to stay here another day, it seems like we have a new destination tomorrow.” With that, he briefly outlined their conversation with Cylyria, and her suggestions about the Oracle and the planar city of Sigil.

“So the Alliance is going to take out Darkhold,” Benzan said. “Can’t say as those blackhearts don’t deserve it.” He reached for the empty mug again, then remembered it was empty, and shifted as if to get up.

“They’re going to bring us supper in here,” Cal told him, and he sat back down for the moment.

“Something still bothers me about all this,” Lok said. “From what Targos told us, and what we learned from the Asbravners... something doesn’t quite add up about this alliance of evil organizations. There’s something that we’re missing...”

“Cylyria thinks much the same thing, I believe,” Cal said. “But in any case, it’s not something that we can do anything about...”

“Too many loose ends,” Benzan interjected. “Too many loose ends. I told you we should have killed that hobgoblin when we had the chance—fool to trust someone who wants you dead...”

“Look, we’ve been over this before,” Dana said. “I didn’t know he’d slip the charm when he did, but even if we did, he and the others were watched, but they still managed to get away. In any case, I don’t think that they are any threat to anyone, not anymore.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought that a lone adolescent hobgoblin would’ve been much of a threat, either,” Benzan barked back. “Especially after we killed all his kin in the Wood of Sharp—”

“Enough, Benzan,” Cal broke in. “Give it over. We’re all tired, and our nerves are frayed enough, without more bickering. You’re right—there’s a lot of loose ends, and a lot of questions that still need answers. But we have a more pressing mission now, a goal that we all agreed upon, all swore to.”

“Yeah, making a little visit to the Abyss, taking on a Demon Prince on his home turf,” Benzan shot back.

For a long moment there was only silence in the confines of the small room. Dana, Cal, and Lok exchanged glances, while Benzan only stared down at the surface of the table before him. Finally, Benzan stood, his chair sliding back noisily behind him.

“I need another drink,” he said, leaving the room.

This time, no one moved to stop him.

 

[Dungannon]

I think Benzan has finally discovered something he's truly afraid of, and he's not handling it well. I hope he manages to pull it together before it's too late.

 

[Lazybones]

Book VIII, Part 3


“Are we being fools?” Cal asked.

Lok turned his head, but did not respond. The two of them were riding alongside each other, their horses maintaining a gradual but steady pace across the trackless expanse of the plain. Benzan and Dana were a good hundred paces ahead of them, out of earshot, the two close together, although they did not appear to be engaged in conversation. There had been little conversation thus far on this journey, for a cloud hung over them that muted their desire for casual talk.

To the north, east, and west, the vast plain stretched out to the far horizon, quiet save for the wind that gusted over the open stretches of virgin land. When the winds died the plains baked in the hot sun, and when they blew they drove dust and grit into the faces of the riders. The plains only looked empty, and dangerous creatures made their homes there, but thus far the companions had not encountered anything that equaled a true threat to their combined abilities.

To the south, directly ahead, the land rose up in a jagged collection of craggy ridges that already looked to be a potent obstacle. They could get around those, if necessary, although it might mean abandoning yet another set of mounts. Behind the ridges rose the dark mounds of the Giant’s Run Mountains, within the fastness of which lay their current destination.

The companions had ridden hard the last tenday, since leaving the main east-west road that connected the city-states of the Western Heartlands with the prosperous and crowded lands that circled the Sea of Fallen Stars. They rode in silence, for the most part, going through the motions of caring for their animals and setting and breaking camp each day, matching the ominous quiet of the open plains in their mood as each dwelled within the deep expanse of their own thoughts. Those thoughts were grim, too, reflections of the hard questions each faced within themselves.

Questions like the one Cal had just asked.

Lok still had not answered. Cal finally went on, “Sometimes I think on what Cylyria told us. That were are among the truly powerful of Faerûn, now, and that there are evils here that need fighting. Evil is everywhere, I suppose...”

Lok said, “In my travels, I have heard many speak of heroes, and many tales about them. My people, who do not give such titles lightly, have called me a hero for the deeds we did in the Underdark. But what I think, is that a hero is just someone who does what has to be done.”

“There are always battles to be fought. Evil lurks everywhere, for it is born of the selfish desires of the mortal heart. We things of flesh and muscle and bone all have wants—it is in the nature of what we are. But we also have free will, and courage, and brotherhood, and love.”

Cal nodded, understanding what his friend was getting at.

“We do what we has to be done,” Lok added. “We cannot leave our friend to the fate that has befallen him.”

“Even if we ourselves must walk a road that leads to our own deaths in the process? I mean, we’ve gained power, and skill in our respective arts, but we’re not that powerful, when it comes down to it...”

The genasi shook his head. “We all understand the risks. We’re not just going to throw our lives away. We have our skills, and Dana the means to return us here if we find the task impossible. We seek to go where few mortals have dared to go, and may indeed fail at the very start of the undertaking. But to never try...”

Cal smiled. “Truly I am blessed to have such a wise friend.”

Lok laughed, a rough, gravelly sound. “Nay, friend, for wisdom, you should speak to Dana. As for me, just show me where I need to put my axe...”

Cal laughed himself, but did not have a chance to respond, for at that moment the two saw that Benzan and Dana had halted ahead. The tiefling had a hand raised in warning, though neither had dismounted, and so quickly Lok and Cal booted their mounts forward to join their friends.

“What is it?” Cal asked, as they rode up. Ahead of them the ground undulated as it met the first line of ridges, the hills meeting the plains in an abrupt transition like waves crashing on a beach. The keen-eyed gnome scanned the terrain ahead, but in the dips, rises, and crags there were a thousand places where a foe could hide.

They all looked at the tiefling, but he only stared ahead, his face cold despite the sweat beaded on his brow from the heat. “Benzan?” Cal finally prodded.

“There’s something there, already spotted us,” he replied.

The others exchanged a glance, but Benzan didn’t elaborate on his statement. “Should we go on, or wait here?” Dana asked.

“We’re just as exposed out here as in there,” Benzan responded harshly. He dismounted, and the others followed suit. Leading his horse by the reins, his other hand resting close by the hilt of his sword, he started toward a cleft in the ridge that looked passable for horses.

The others, wary, followed. They had taken up the practice of casting their long-lasting enhancement spells at the beginning of each day, on breaking camp. Cal and Dana had advanced in power to the point where these enchantments lasted nearly the entire day, and so each day the two spellcasters improved their agility with cat’s grace, Lok was infused with bull’s strength, and finally Benzan was granted endurance. Their other protections they reserved for direct confrontations, which they expected at any moment.

Their progress was slow in the hills, although they did not immediately encounter any obstacles that they and their mounts couldn’t navigate. Benzan chose a course that led them as directly as possible straight toward the mountains, which seemed to wait for them in a long line to the southeast. The afternoon deepened, but it was still several hours before nightfall when Benzan once more called a halt, this time in a broad gorge thick with knots of thorny, browned brush and massive half-buried boulders worn smooth by the action of wind and water.

This time they did not need to ask why he’d called the halt, for they could all hear it, a scrape on stone there, a faint clatter of rocks there. No threat was visible, but to the companions, veterans of untold dangers, it was as if a sudden tension had risen in the very air. Quickly they secured their horses to the nearest available location, and prepared themselves for a confrontation.

Benzan strung his bow and stepped forward, his eyes searching the crags and dips that surrounded them. He lifted his arms wide, and shouted, “Well? Let’s get on with it!”

All around them, along the steep rises that formed the edge of the gorge, the ground seemed to stir. They came out of cracks and rents in the terrain, forming a broad ring that drew quickly closer. The creatures had the look of lean, almost skeletal, hounds, although their faces were rent by overly huge jaws and their eyes gleamed with a feral, sinister intelligence that clearly belonged to no simple animal. As if that wasn’t clue enough, each sported a pair of twisting tentacles several paces in length that sprouted from their shoulders, culminating in a ridge of jagged bone that looked ready to ravage exposed flesh. Furthermore, the beasts seemed to shimmer and twist as the companions watched, and they periodically shifted in location a pace to the left or the right, their true locations masked by some sort of innate magic.

The only sound was the desperate whinny of their horses, who’d been whipped into a panic by the appearance of the creatures, and a huffing growl that came from them, a dark sound that sounded almost like a laugh. There were eight of them in all, and they moved in concert to block any retreat. Each was nearly the size of a horse themselves, and one specimen, clearly the leader of this pack, was a good ten feet in length, its lean frame all taut muscle and fell disposition.

“Displacer beasts,” Cal warned, as the things drew nearer. “Be careful, their magic masks their true location, makes them hard to hit.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Benzan said, holding his arrow half-drawn, ready to attack but unwilling to provoke the creatures until his companions were prepared.

The displacer beasts seemed content to slowly close their ring, savoring perhaps the fear that radiated out from the horses. But that was all they got; the companions were like steel themselves as they formed a defensive square, shielding each other’s backs. Cal and Dana cast spells, speaking silently as they moved their hands in subtle gestures, and while Benzan did not release his grip on his bow, he too spoke words in the arcane language of power, and a translucent blue plane of force appeared in front of him, a magical shield that he could use without sacrificing the effectiveness of his archery.

The monsters perhaps realized that delay was not serving them further, for abruptly the huge leader coughed, and the pack leapt to the attack, tentacles lashing out like whips ahead of their rush.

 

[Maldur]

Great stuff, LB!

thx for another great episode.

Are you posting their stat blocks in the other thread soon? Im very curious as to what being among the most powerful in the realms means.

 

[Lazybones]

Thanks for reminding me; I've upgraded their stats in the Rogues' Gallery (link in sig). Most of the party is now ECL 13 (Dana's still a bit behind experience-wise, but she'll catch up before too long).

 

[Maldur]

thx, lb. interesting chain!

 

[Lazybones]

Book VIII, Part 4

The onrushing displacer beasts did not close to melee, but rather leapt to within seven or eight paces of the waiting adventurers, close enough to rake them with the deadly ridges of jagged bone that tipped their long tentacles. Each of the four defenders faced one or two of the beasts, with the huge pack leader coming directly toward Lok, as if recognizing him as the greatest combat threat. One of the beasts broke off and sought easier prey by assaulting the panicked horses. One broke its tether and fled, but the other three were quick prey for the terrible attacks of the ferocious creature.

The companions could do nothing to save their mounts, hard-pressed as they were against the attack. Benzan fired his ready arrow at one of the two rushing at him, but the arrow went right through the displaced image of the creature. Its own attacks proved all too real as it lashed out at him with its tentacles, slapping him hard as he tried to defend. With bow in hand he did not have his magical steel shield up, but the spell he’d cast proved more than adequate, and one powerful slap intended for his face collided instead with the translucent blue plane of magical force. As a second creature joined the attack, however, he found himself pressed just to keep his ground, and he realized that firing more arrows was no longer an option. Even if he could find a true target through the creatures’ magical displacement.

Grimacing as a tentacle slap caught his side with a force like an ogre’s punch, he drew his sword.

Dana was also harried by a pair of the creatures, standing just an arm’s reach from her lover on an adjacent point of the square. In the initial advance she’d quickly called upon the divine power of Selûne, and thus bolstered had immediately cast out her mind across the planes to summon aid against these dire foes. The displacer beasts attacked too quickly, though, and before she could complete her spell, four tentacles raked at her exposed body. Her magical bracers offered some protection, but lost in the intricate patterns of her spell, she could not bring her agility into play to dodge the assault. A cry of pain was dragged from her as the spell and her concentration dissolved, and she staggered back with blood dripping from vicious cuts in her shoulders and torso.

“Dana!” Benzan shouted, unable to turn away from his own two adversaries.

“I’m all right!” she cried, clutching at her spear as the tentacles continued to dart and probe for a weakness.

Cal found himself facing a single foe, an ugly brute with a scar covering half its face and running across a vacant, putrescent eye socket. It closed to within three paces before launching its tentacles at his face. At that range the attack could hardly miss, but instead of ravaging defenseless flesh, they glanced off of the unyielding surface of stoneskin.

“Always underestimating the little guy,” Cal said, moving quickly as he launched into his next spell without hesitation. “Well, it’ll cost you.” His first casting had been haste, followed immediately by the stoneskin, and now he used his enhanced speed to good effect as he launched into the rest of his magical arsenal.

Lok did not wait for the enemy to reach him, recognizing that the superior reach of the displacer beasts’ tentacles would allow them to stay back and rake the ring of defenders. He leapt forward to meet the huge leader, ignoring the second creature that immediately moved to flank him.

So, not stupid, then, he thought to himself, knowing that he was going to take a beating as the creatures tore into him from both sides.

He took the first lashing tentacle on his magical shield, and shrugged off the next even though it scored a glancing hit on his temple that would have ripped his head open had he not been wearing his helmet. Roaring a challenge, he rushed directly at the huge creature looming over him, ignoring more hits as he entered its reach. The displacer beast snapped at him with jaws that could have taken the head off a horse in a single bite, but Lok only caught the blow on his shield, lifting the creature’s head and slashing at its exposed neck with his axe. This time, steel connected with shifting flesh, and hot blood jutted from a wide gash as the creature hissed and twisted back, clearly feeling the pain.

But even though Lok had drawn first blood, the huge beast was clearly far from finished.

Dana narrowly dodged another pair of tentacle sweeps, falling back until she nearly jostled Cal. The gnome glanced up at her, and yelled, “Fly!”

The woman shook her head. “They’ll tear you and Ben to pieces!”

“You can’t help us if you can’t get your spells off!” he returned, already turning to cast another spell, another tentacle ripping through the air between them to punctuate his statement. Dana gritted her teeth and leapt back into the center of their ring, and opened her mind to the goddess.

Her attackers followed her in, closing as they continued to lash out, but their attacks caught only empty air as she lifted off into the sky.

Benzan drew his sword and darted nimbly into the reach of his two foes, trusting to his shield to at least deflect a few attacks from one as he lunged in toward the second. As they had with Lok, the two beasts adjusted their position quickly to flank him, forcing him to split his attention between attacks from two opposite directions.

Suddenly a shadow fell over the battlefield, although the sun still shone high in the sky above. Benzan started as the shadows gathered into a mass directly behind the nearest of the displacer beasts, coalescing into a solid form that became identifiable a moment later as a lion with a coat of purest black. The mystery of the strange newcomer’s origin was solved a moment later as the lion tore into the displacer beast from behind. Its claws failed to locate the true placement of the creature, tearing through a displaced image, but its sudden appearance certainly drew the beast’s attention.

“Thanks, Cal!” Benzan shouted. With flanker now suddenly flanked itself, Benzan wasted no time and darted forward, driving his blade with both hands on the hilt. This time he struck true, and the blade dove deeply into the chest of the creature, scoring a critical hit that dragged a wail of agony from the beast as it thrashed roughly backward free of the tiefling’s sword. While not enough to finish it, the attack had clearly done a lot of damage to the still-struggling monstrosity.

Cal ignored attacks that battered against his stoneskin and continued to fire off spells in rapid succession. He considered and discarded invisibility; he wanted the creatures to attack him, to waste their efforts against his defenses and give his companions time to do some damage. One of Dana’s foes, frustrated by her retreat, turned on him, and he knew that it was only a matter of moments before they battered through his stoneskin. And when that happened, he wouldn’t last long against those terrible tentacles.

He followed his shadow conjuration with displacement, appreciating the irony of using the creatures’ own tactic against them. The beasts apparently did not share the sentiment, hissing as several tentacle sweeps tore though empty space. The gnome then spun and quickly fired off another haste, this time helping Lok with the enhancement. Even as the spell took effect he was already considering his next choice, but one of the displacer beasts, clearly frustrated by the ineffectiveness of its attacks, leapt at him with its jaws snapping at his head—perhaps intending to grab him and carry him off.

The tactic might have worked, except that the jaws closed on an empty image, and Cal’s form shifted a few paces to the side as the displacement continued its work.

“You’re a persistent one,” Cal said to it, casting another spell. The displacer beast growled and darted toward him again, but suddenly its form shifted and twisted, and shrank down until it was flopping around on the sun-seared rocks in the form of a large trout.

“Enjoy your few moments of life as a fish,” he told it, already turning to face his next adversary. This one had clearly belatedly realized how dangerous this little enemy was, for it kept its distance even as its tentacles continued to try to bash a way through his defense.

Dana, meanwhile, having gained enough altitude to escape the tentacle attacks from the displacer beasts, now called upon the power of Selûne to destroy their foes. Realizing that their displacement was an effective foil against direct attacks, she first elected to call upon outside help. This conjuration went uninterrupted, and shortly a giant eagle appeared in the air, its eyes shining with intelligence as it regarded its summoner and the battlefield below. It nodded with understanding as it saw the displacer beasts, and even as Dana pointed it dove at the second beast that had attacked her earlier, and which was now moving to attack Benzan from behind. The noble eagle’s claws dove into the beast’s back from above, and it whirled to lash out at the new enemy, scoring one glancing hit before the eagle rose up and soared back into the sky.

But it wasn’t finished, as it swooped around for another pass.

Dana continued her assault by calling a spiritual weapon, a glowing mace of energy that she sent to harry another of the displacer beasts threatening Benzan.

Lok and the pack leader continued to face off in a titanic head-on exchange of attacks. The huge beast tore at Lok, threatening to overbear him with sheer size and mass, but Lok planted his feet with the finality of a dwarven defender, choosing his ground and setting himself with the solidity of a heavy boulder. Against that redoubt the ferocious beast attacked in vain, and for each tentacle that scored through armor and shield it took a heavy stroke from the axe in return. The second, smaller creature continued to lash at the genasi from behind, but it may as well have been chipping at a stone wall for all the effect its blows seemed to have against the stalwart warrior. With Cal’s haste taking hold, it seemed as though each stroke came just an instant too late to penetrate the fighter’s incredible defenses. And while half of Lok’s attacks were foiled by the displacement effect of the creatures, the other half did incredible damage.

Finally the huge creature, realizing the inevitable outcome of this confrontation, drew back with a keening wail that echoed throughout the gorge. Lok did not hesitate, giving up his defensive stance and leaping at the creature even as it turned to run. The axe came down once more, crashing through skin and muscle and bone, and with a final note of pain the massive beast crumpled.

The second one didn’t even bother to try another attack before bolting and fleeing.

The other companions, now that their full powers were coming to bear, were having similar success. Despite having taken several hits, Benzan and his shadow-ally had defeated their flanked enemy, and even as Lok slew the leader the tiefling scored another serious injury to the one attacking from behind. Dana’s spiritual weapon continued to strike at it, distracting it enough for Benzan to score another devastating sneak attack, and soon it too was fleeing, limping as blood poured in a fountain from the deep puncture in its hip. Cal’s second foe joined the flight, unaware that only a single hit more would have broken the gnome’s stoneskin. It in turn was joined by the creature that had spent the melee destroying their horses, departing the battlefield with a huge chunk of bloody meat dangling from its powerful jaws.

The last surviving beast delayed a moment longer as it rose up to face another diving attack from the summoned giant eagle, a mistake that cost it dearly a moment later as Benzan and the shadow-lion came at it from two sides. The eagle faded as the beast’s tentacles tore asunder its physical form, driving it back to its otherplanar home, but the creature’s victory was of little use against the attacks that quickly had it bleeding and reeling. It managed one weak slap that impacted Benzan’s shield, and then it too was down bleeding its life upon the hot stones.

Dana floated gently back down to the ground and tended to the wounds they had suffered in the brief but violent battle. Their horses were dead, save for the one that had broken free and fled, but they had slain half of the displacer beasts, including the huge leader. The companions had taken some hurts, but nothing too serious, and even those injuries were quickly healed by Dana’s power.

“I guess we have gotten more powerful at that,” Benzan said, reviewing the carnage, as he recovered his bow and tested the string. “Thanks for the help.” He glanced at the shadow-lion, which was already dissolving back into wisps of black that quickly faded.

“Yes, a potent new spell,” Cal commented. “Good teamwork, all around; though we may want to talk more about coordinating our actions... perhaps at camp tonight.”

The four companions gathered back together, cleaning weapons and changing bloodstained clothes, and recovering what they could from the mess that was the remains of their mounts. Despite the loss of the horses and the grim death around them they seemed more energized, as if the brief battle had awakened something that had been lost in the grim mood that had hung over their journey thus far. When they turned to depart the battlefield, Benzan made a few wry comments, Dana retorted with a cutting observation at his expense, and Cal even plucked a few notes on his lyre as Lok led them forward.

Their determination restored by their victory, the four friends continued onward toward their destination.

The displacer beasts did not return to trouble them.

 

[wolff96]

A great fight, Lazybones... Advanced Displacer Beasts are NASTY, eh?

Something I've wondered about for a while now... Do you actually roll for the fights? Or do you just create them mentally?

Given the way the fight worked, it's easy to see the mechanics inherent in it -- the shield spell, the failed concentration check, Lok's use of a defensive stance -- but I'm still trying to figure out whether or not it's a real fight or just incredible imagination.