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<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 5006" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>DEEP HORIZON Part III</strong></p><p></p><p>Leaving Shorty behind, the party returned once again to Chael Rendaar. Here and there throughout the dark cavern, lights flickered, belying some foul activity on the part of the eye-kin and their allies. Three areas in particular seemed particularly well-lit, though they were far off in the huge cavern.</p><p></p><p>Wulf shrugged. "Head for the closest one?" </p><p></p><p>The group nodded. Wulf looked over at Viday. "Keep yer ears open and let me know if yer see anything."</p><p></p><p>The party spread out somewhat and moved cautiously towards the light. Wulf stopped a few hundred yards away. They still couldn't see what lay ahead. He dug at his belt, grabbed the <em>bag of tricks</em>, and tossed a leathery, prickly furball onto the ground. In moments it grew to full size: It was a wild boar. It grunted once and waited for Wulf's command. </p><p></p><p>"Run on up there, check it out, then come back and report." The boar squealed in protest, but trotted off into the darkness nevertheless. Wulf called after it and gave it the thumbs up. "No worries!" </p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, one brief squeal from far ahead was the only report they received. Keldas frowned at Wulf. "No surprise, there."</p><p></p><p>"Aye..." Wulf patted the <em>bag of tricks</em> and grinned. It was almost better than fireworks. "Wanna do another?"</p><p></p><p>"Time for you to scout ahead again, I think."</p><p></p><p>Wulf grabbed Viday and together they moved forward. As they approached, Viday stopped him with a warning. "Something just flew overhead... Something large."</p><p></p><p>"Pfft, they already knew we were here. Let's keep goin' an' press our luck."</p><p></p><p>Eventually they came into the light. A pair of desmodu were guarding a trio of trolls and a pair of kuo-toa. The weather-beaten slaves were chipping away at a mound of volcanic rock. The rest of the group fell in line behind Wulf and Viday, but as they approached, the desmodu spoke up. They spoke undercommon, but Wulf understood them without too much difficulty. "<em>Good timing. These the new slaves? Put them to work so these can rest, then send them over to the other excavation. The eyes are in a hurry.</em>"</p><p></p><p>With a bit of nodding, diplomacy, and skillful bluffing, the party found themselves alone at an excavation dig, with a group of slaves under their control. The trolls and kuo-toa stood around shuffling impatiently, clearly waiting for orders. Wulf could hear Karak whispering in the back of the group: "<em>... not working with evil creatures... put them out of their misery...</em>"</p><p></p><p>Wulf stepped in to take control. "All right yer lot, take a load off." He pointed to the wall and the slaves gladly slumped to the ground, their backs against the stone. "Whatcha diggin' for, hmm?"</p><p></p><p>The kuo-toa were either too tired to answer, or the trolls had taken charge of the slave group, which suited Wulf just fine. Kuo-toa could be wily; trolls, on the other hand, were too stupid to be clever. Sure enough, one of the trolls spoke up, "Black metal."</p><p></p><p>Wulf tried hard to hide his excitement, so he squatted down. He spoke to the troll in a more conspiratorial fashion. "That right? Inside that rock there?" His thumb jerked back over his shoulder and his hand shook nervously.</p><p></p><p>"Yah. Drow stuff."</p><p></p><p>Wulf called Dorn over. "Adamantine in the rock. Must be preserved in the lava flow from when the drow were livin' here."</p><p></p><p>Wulf stood and joined Keldas and Karak. The paladin was still blabbering away. "...see how it serves the greater good to sully ourselves with..."</p><p></p><p>"Shut up, assmar. Keldas, troll says there's adamantine in the rock. Any way yer can check it out?"</p><p></p><p>Keldas' eyebrow raised ever so slightly. Obviously, he was as excited as Wulf. "Absolutely." He cast a spell and assumed a wispy <em>ghost form</em>, then disappeared into the rock. </p><p></p><p>Moments later he appeared again.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yes. Several lumps of it, suspended in the lava. It is melted and deformed somewhat, but it looks like it might once have been longswords-- or at least something of similar size."</p><p></p><p>"Why didn't yer bring any out?"</p><p></p><p>"Well, I can't pick anything up in <em>ghost form</em>, of course. But I could always <em>polymorph</em> and bring out the umber hulk."</p><p></p><p>"Yer reckon an umber hulk can dig through volcanic rock?"</p><p></p><p>Keldas was already changing form, but it was not too late for him to answer smugly, "Pfft... I eat that sh*t for lunch."</p><p></p><p>For once, Wulf looked truly astounded with Keldas' abilities. "Yer eat sh*t for lunch?"</p><p></p><p>Keldas flexed his huge claws and dove into the mound of volcanic rock. From inside he could tell that the mound was a drow building of some sort-- although nothing was so well preserved that he could make any sense of what he was seeing. The lava had destroyed everything, but he was able to come up with several good-sized chunks of adamantine, melted lumps that might once have been weapons.</p><p></p><p>After an hour of searching, Keldas stopped. "How long do you intend me to keep looking?"</p><p></p><p>Wulf answered abrubtly. "Until you have it all."</p><p></p><p>"Or until we're found out," cautioned Alliane. Viday nodded. From time to time he gave a start, indicating that something had flown overhead.</p><p></p><p>Time ticked away, but Wulf was in no hurry. Even after two hours, Keldas kept digging, eventually moving on from one building to another nearby one.</p><p></p><p>The kuo-toa shifted nervously, muttering together. It didn't help that the paladin continued to glare murderously at them. Wulf stepped in to interecede. "Gogglers dryin' out?" He fished some holy water out of his pack and gave a flask to each. They quickly used the water to refresh their rubbery skin, but it seemed little consolation. </p><p></p><p>"Yer hungry?" The trolls nodded vigorously. Wulf pulled a furball out of his <em>bag of tricks</em> and tossed it at their feet. There wasn't even enough time to tell what it was before they had ripped it to shreds and devoured it.</p><p></p><p>After three hours Keldas had exhumed every scrap of adamantine he could find from two building-sized chunks of rock. All told Wulf reckoned they had enough to make about fifteen longswords-- or some other combination. Wulf caressed a single black chunk of the heavy meteoric stone. The market value of it all was probably close to 70,000 gold pieces.</p><p></p><p>"Well…" he said, "We might as well head off and finish off the beholders. We'll be wantin' to come back down here with a crew o' dwarves and get the rest-- when it's safe."</p><p></p><p>He had barely finished his thought before the entire group felt that familiar sinking sensation-- their magic items were suddenly nullified. There was a beholder about.</p><p></p><p>From somewhere above them, a desmodu spoke. "Leave the slaves and the adamantine and you may leave."</p><p></p><p>Wulf thought fast. <em>Diplomacy.</em> "We'll pay yer for it!" He was really just stalling for time. The group kept moving, spreading out a little bit around a tall wedge of rock. Most of the group moved off to the left, leaving Keldas, Wulf, Viday, and two miserable kuo-toa to hold the right flank. Bala Saka advanced close behind the trolls, intending to use them as cover from any unpleasant death rays that might suddenly lance out of the darkness. Wulf did the same with the kuo-toa.</p><p></p><p>The desmodu shouted a terse reply. "Seventy-five thousand!"</p><p></p><p>"Wait a second… how do yer even know how much we're carryin'?" Wulf pressed his advantage. "Come on down and total it up, haggle a bit."</p><p></p><p>The desmodu seemed flustered. "Leave the slaves, the adamantine, and all your possessions-- and you can leave with your lives!"</p><p></p><p>"Ach, right. I gather yer new to this hagglin' business." He gripped <em>Taranak</em> and tried to ignite the flames, with no success. He was still inside the anti-magic cone. "Either way, yer want it, yer gonna have to come down and try to take it."</p><p></p><p>So try they did. Arrows rained out of the darkness, spurring the party to action. True to his duty, the paladin started sprinting straight ahead into the darkness. When he left the anti-magic cone, he'd correct his path and veer right back inside. The range of the beholder's central eye was quite long, but in just a couple of rounds the paladin should reach the terminus.</p><p></p><p>Bala Saka would have joined him, but he was busy with the three trolls. As Bala Saka staggered under several arrow wounds from the desmodu, the ungrateful slaves turned on him. Filthy claws ripped into him, rending apart armor and flesh with equal ease. Bala Saka staggered back, nearly dead.</p><p></p><p>"Bastards!" Dorn brandished <em>Syrius</em> and charged to Bala Saka's aid. "Hold fast, there!"</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Keldas took off at a flat-out run, trying to escape the anti-magic. Unlike the trolls, the kuo-toa sank to the ground in uncontrollable fear. Wulf wrote them off as harmless and sprinted after Keldas, bellowing, "Can't protect yer if yer outrun me, goddamit!"</p><p></p><p>Despite Dorn's aid, Bala Saka was fading fast. He drew his glaive and scored several powerful blows against the trolls, then stepped back to let Dorn protect him. The stout dwarf interposed himself between the trolls and Bala Saka, but the foul beasts merely stepped forward and reached over him to strike the human warrior. Fortunately, the dwarf provided some cover, preventing the trolls from getting another rending grip on Bala Saka.</p><p></p><p>Even so, Bala Saka once again staggered back several feet to escape the grasp of the trolls. Dropping his glaive, his hands moved back and forth over his shoulders in a blur of motion. Dorn realized that, like some sort of crazed circus juggler-- a crazed circus juggler of DEATH!-- Bala Saka had drawn and thrown five javelins in rapid succession. All five javelins struck the troll with frightening precision. The first of the trolls dropped to the ground. Dorn took two swings to hack the legs out from under another one. Two down, one to go.</p><p></p><p>Alliane had used the distraction of melee to be the first to escape the anti-magic. She'd run almost tangent to the rest of the party, and soon enough she felt the anti-magic fall away. Moving unnoticed from building to building, she sprinted off after the paladin, hoping to give what aid she could.</p><p></p><p>On the complete opposite side of the cone, Keldas and Wulf also sprinted towards the beholder, scouting out the fringes of the area of effect, shouting back and forth with the paladin and helping to steer everyone to the beholder. Eventually they found it, floating about twenty feet off the cavern floor. The paladin ran straight forward until he squeaked under the arc of the cone, the let fly with the first blast from his necklace of missiles. Alliane was right behind him, throwing caution to the wind to strike it with a <em>searing light</em>.</p><p></p><p>Bala Saka was about to learn a lesson on the tenacity of trolls. The first fallen troll had regenerated and, though Dorn still stood menacingly over it, the battle-torn troll ignored the dwarf to drag its shredded remains forward to <em>once again</em> claw feebly at the legs of Bala Saka! Cursing loudly, Bala Saka finally fell unconscious, though not before seeing the dwarf drop the last of the trolls. Dorn immediately started scrambling to douse the remains in burning oil.</p><p></p><p>A hundred feet ahead in the darkness, both Karak and Alliane found themselves unprotected, outside the anti-magic cone. Though she was the easier target, the beholder ignored the elf priestess and fired its three most deadly rays at the paladin. Quite predictably-- though only with a bit of divine luck-- he survived all three. It was folly to try to destroy the paladin with any magic that he could resist.</p><p></p><p>The beholder's strategy became clear, however, when a desmodu warrior charged out of the sky to strike Alliane solidly with his lance. Keldas and Wulf arrived just in time to see her bravely withstand the first attack. Keldas dropped the beholder with a spell, while Wulf dashed up directly behind the desmodu to flank it. </p><p></p><p>Seeing their anti-magic benefactor fall, and with an angry wizard and dwarven rogue at their flanks, the desmodu wisely retreated, wheeling off into the darkness to warn their fellows.</p><p></p><p>They regrouped to count heads and see if they’d lost anybody, but they’d come through unscathed, for the most part. Dorn touched Bala Saka with a <em>heal</em> spell and the rest of the party was restored quickly using their wands. Without further discussion they moved off towards the next beacon of light.</p><p></p><p>All was quiet as they neared the light and a huge structure took shape from the darkness. It was the largest building they had seen yet, several stories tall, more like a tower, and from top to bottom large portions of it had been unearthed and restored. Judging from the spider sculptures that crawled across the surface of the partially-exposed dome, there was no doubt among any of them that they were looking at a former temple to Llolth. A wide set of stairs led up into the temple. </p><p></p><p>“This ought to be fun…” Wulf said. He liked his odds inside the limited confines of a building-- at least he wouldn’t have to worry about desmodu dive-bombing him from the darkness. “I’ll go up and check it out.”</p><p></p><p>Only one thing nagged at him: he wasn’t entirely sure that, even inside, the desmodu wouldn’t “see” him sneaking around. If they sensed things by echolocation, they might even be able to “ping” him around corners and such. “Ferkit… Tired of pussyin’ around. Let’s see what they got.”</p><p></p><p>Wulf approached the wide steps first, but he kept slightly off to the right hand side so as to avoid the dark gaze of the narrow windows and arrowslits that peppered the face of the edifice. He had no sense that anything was watching him, and the conspicuous absence of his normal paranoia made him, suddenly, all the more paranoid. It was fortunate that he approached from the side, for he was able to spy a low ramp that led into the mound of rock, off to the side of the unearthed steps. Wulf reckoned the side entrance was safer than waltzing up the front steps, so he moved in, taking great care to move slowly and press his body into whatever natural cracks and crevasses he could find. The rest of the party watched from a nearby building as Wulf disappeared into the rock, following the ramp as it sloped slightly upwards. </p><p></p><p>The ramp curled around and made a left turn, opening onto a wide flat platform that formed the first floor of the temple. Wulf surmised that he’d moved up about as far as the steps would have elevated him, and a quick glance back to his left confirmed his intuition. The great doors of the temple stood open and he could see the steps leading down. </p><p></p><p>Wulf skulked about at the head of the ramp, not quite ready to risk entering the temple proper. Off to his right, directly across from the steps, were two great double-doors, no doubt leading to the inner sanctum. Not far ahead of the doors, on the “north” end of the room, there was a hole in the ground where a circular staircase cork-screwed into the depths. There were stairs above the hole, too-- of a sort. They led up onto a second floor, but there was little left of them but the scaffolding. Certainly no way to climb them; if you wanted up there, you’d need to fly.</p><p></p><p>Farther south, moving towards the entry steps, Wulf could see three small, open holes in the floor, each about 5 feet across. Wulf listened carefully from his spot in the shadows, and the sound of running water lured him out to inspect the holes further. Sure enough, there was a short drop through the holes into running water-- about the last thing Wulf had expected to see. He knew well enough to stay away from underground streams-- they never led anywhere pleasant. </p><p></p><p>Wulf crossed the room and moved into the shadows on the other side. Several windows opened out onto the large first floor platform. Behind the windows Wulf could make out a large cavern-- presumably an unrecovered part of the temple that was only partially dug out of the rock. With the exception of a few small islands of rock, it was completely filled with water. Wulf could hear and feel the water flowing under his feet. <em>It must join up with the water under those holes; and then it’s off to who-knows-where.</em></p><p></p><p>Wulf moved to the head of the steps and down them, checking for traps as he descended. He beckoned the party to join him at the bottom of the steps and they entered the temple in force.</p><p></p><p>Just as they were about to cross the platform into the inner fane, the double doors opened and the welcoming party issued forth. Three mighty desmodu warriors moved around the staircase to intercept them. Behind them, a group of about a dozen kuo-toa, lizardmen, and three more desmodu spread out to guard the double doors. From a beholder as yet unseen, anti-magic washed over the party, and the head warrior spoke.</p><p></p><p>"Do you return to assault us?" It was clear the desmodu would prefer to parlay.</p><p></p><p>"Well, no..." Wulf started. "Not necessarily. What yer got in mind?"</p><p></p><p>"We wish only to retrieve the adamantine from the city."</p><p></p><p>"I got a better idea. How 'bout yer let my dwarves retrieve the ore? We'll gladly do all the smithin' yer need. Can't do better'n that!"</p><p></p><p>Keldas tapped Wulf on the shoulder and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "Wulf, they got friggin' <em>salamanders</em>." </p><p></p><p>Wulf ignored the insult and shooed away the intrusion. "Not now, I'm diplomattin'."</p><p></p><p>"We can handle it ourselves." The desmodu were calm, confident. Wulf decided to shake things up a bit.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I got a bit of a problem with yer taking adamantine offa <em>my</em> territory." He hooked one thumb in his belt and pounded the other proudly into his chest. "Not to mention the fact that yer picked yerself the wrong allies. Why yer want to ally yerself with evil trolls, evil beholders, an'..." </p><p></p><p>Wulf looked over at Keldas and whispered. "Salamanders evil or what?" Keldas shrugged. Dorn shrugged. Finally, Wulf shrugged.</p><p></p><p>"...an' evil salamanders? Can't trust 'em. But dwarves... Yer can count on dwarves to do yer right."</p><p></p><p>"The eye tyrants are powerful allies, and even more dangerous as foes, as you well know."</p><p></p><p>"Pfft. If yer say so..." Out of the corner of his eye, Wulf looked at Dorn and Keldas. They nodded. "Well... ach... right!"</p><p></p><p>The party sprang into action. Wulf and Keldas were the first to go, and together they dashed into the room, sure that they could escape to the nearby edges of the anti-magic cone. Sure enough, as soon as he cleared the doorway, he veered hard to the right and felt his magic return.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, their enemies were also ready for action. The beholder floated down from the shattered staircase, revealing itself at last. Once again, its three most dangerous rays lanced out. With <em>Haela's Blessing</em> he was able to resist the <em>finger of death</em>, and the <em>flesh to stone</em>, but suddenly all luck was extinguished: the <em>disintegrate</em> completely overpowered him. Motes of dust billowed out as his cloak suddenly collapsed to the ground. The faint tinkling of bells seemed to emanate from under the folded cloth as two rings hit the hard stone floor. That was it. All that had survived was his cloak, and two rings.</p><p></p><p>Wulf quickly brought himself up short, having wisely decided that he was better off in the anti-magic after all. The beholder floated behind the desmodu, and Wulf-- having no desire to go toe to toe with the warriors-- resorted to the thick longbow that adorned his shoulder. Wulf strained hard at the bowstring without his <em>belt of strength</em>, and the bow moaned in protest at being called into service after so long at rest. Nevertheless, Wulf managed to plug three solid shots at point blank range, directly into the thick hide of the beholder.</p><p></p><p>Karak’s reaction to Keldas’ obliteration was the lesser part of valor: With an unsettling disregard for his own safety, he hauled his sword whistling out of its scabbard and dashed up toe to toe with the head desmodu warrior. His charge smote the hairy beast like the fist of Tyr himself— but it was not enough. The three desmodu scowled wickedly down at him and drew their hooked weapons.</p><p></p><p>The beholder was less sure of its position. It retreated to the back of the room, floating over the heads of its allies until it came to rest behind a veritable wall of slave-flesh. Almost instinctively the lizardmen near the back moved to protect the beholder as it focused its central eye onto the party once again. This time, the abberation turned nearly sideways, so that the unseen edge of its anti-magic cone neatly divided the party into two halves: Wulf and Bala Saka were outside the cone, while the rest of the party— the spellcasters— were still inside the suppression area.</p><p></p><p>Three tiny, sinous stalks focused themselves towards Wulf and Bala Saka. Wulf could not identify the beams that struck him. He closed one eye and winced as the effect washed over him and dissipated harmlessly— he felt sure that it was only his non-magical dwarven nature that had saved him.</p><p></p><p>Though he had spent many years among the dwarves, Bala Saka did not share their magical resistance. A beam struck him and the look of determination on his face turned to one of sheer horror. Before anyone could stop him or intercede, Bala Saka turned on his heels and dashed out of the room as fast as his feet could carry him. The last anyone saw of him, he was bounding down the temple steps and running off into the darkness alone.</p><p></p><p>It was a gamble on the beholder’s part that did not pay off. Dorn sidestepped into the clear and brought down a devastating <em>flame strike</em> that roasted the beholder— and blasted the lizardmen slaves around him to smoking splinders. Alliane followed suit, moving over near to where Keldas had stood moments before. A <em>searing light</em> jumped from the palm of her hand and the beholder fell to the ground like a bad haggis.</p><p></p><p>The group cheered, but the celebration was short-lived. The three desmodu sliced into the paladin with unerring fury. His defenses were overwhelmed and in mere seconds he lay bleeding on the ground— dying, though not quite dead.</p><p></p><p>Wulf took some consolation in the fact that with the beholder out of commission, they might be able to heal the paladin in time to save him, but he had to admit that the situation was pretty grim— and at any rate, Dorn had other plans. </p><p></p><p>The dwarven priest once again started casting. “Clear out, <em>blade barrier</em> on the way…”</p><p></p><p>Viday spoke up from the back of the group. “But you’ll catch the slaves! There are innocent desmodu back there!”</p><p></p><p>Dorn would hear none of it and shouted Viday down with uncharacteristic ire. “In case you didn’t <em>notice</em>, we’re down half the party and the mage is disintegrated, so f--- ‘em!” And with that, a host of great axes appeared, shredding the innocent and the evil alike. Dorn had placed the <em>barrier</em> so that the edge of its effect stopped with the desmodu warriors. The paladin’s body lay just outside the whirling maelstrom.</p><p></p><p>Everything near the back of the room was chopped to pieces, as the effect filled nearly the entire inner fane. The three desmodu warriors near the front simply stepped forward out of the area of effect. Two of the warriors moved up to engage Wulf and Dorn, but their leader hesitated for a moment. Stooping over the body of the dying paladin, he grabbed him by the ankle and nonchalantly tossed him over his shoulder. </p><p></p><p>Into the <em>blade barrier</em>.</p><p></p><p>Dorn moved closer to Alliane, carefully eyeing the three remaining desmodu warriors to see if you could line them all up underneath a single <em>flame strike</em>. Before he could even begin casting, however, Viday stepped up behind him and sliced his hook-staff across Dorn's back-- just once, but it was a deep cut.</p><p></p><p>Dorn spewed forth a stream of obscenities but it was Wulf, for a change, who kept a cool head. </p><p></p><p>"I don't want to kill yer, and yer don't wanna die." Wulf dropped his bow and drew his axe and dagger, stepping closer to Viday. "Help us finish off these warriors and we'll let Haela sort yer friends out afterwards." He'd lined himself up into flanking position, moving one of the warriors between himself and Dorn. To illustrate his point he hacked into the furry hide of the warrior, nearly killing him in a few short strokes.</p><p></p><p>Though Dorn wasn't laughing, Wulf actually found the whole thing a bit funny. Viday had stood idly, forgotten by everyone for most of the combat, only entering the fray to beat on the priest.</p><p></p><p>Dorn started casting his <em>flame strike</em> and put one hand out to move Alliane back. She resisted, pushing back at him to hold her ground. "Careful! You'll blow what's left of Kheldas to the four winds!" Alliane spread her skirts around the dusty pile of remains that was once her cousin. "Keep it well away!"</p><p></p><p>Dorn cursed his luck, but he knew the she-elf was right. Completing the spell, he blasted it down onto the two farthest desmodu. He'd hoped to catch the one that Wulf had wounded, to finish it off, but it was not to be.</p><p></p><p>Wulf watched Viday out of the corner of his eye and seemed satisfied that the desmodu's anger had passed, and that he was no more harm to the party. He stepped away from Viday, leaving the wounded warrior for him to finish off. With Dorn and Alliane helping to flank the two remaining warriors, it was easy for Wulf to slip past their defenses and take them down.</p><p></p><p>All their enemies were slain and the only noise in the room was the sound of the blade barrier, still whirling away.</p><p></p><p>"We're leavin', right?" Wulf didn't expect any opposition to the notion. Alliane had already scooped up Keldas' remains and Dorn had dispelled his <em>blade barrier</em> to retreive the paladin's belongings and a few gobbets of flesh. Wulf grabbed Viday and nodded towards his three fallen comrades-- the unfortunate explorers who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.</p><p></p><p>"Grab the bodies, let's go." Wulf, Dorn, and Viday each grabbed a mangled desmodu corpse and the group hustled for the exit. "Dorn, keep that <em>helm of teleportation</em> handy, and if things go south, get us out of here."</p><p></p><p>"An' if that happens..." He poked Viday in the gut, knowing full well the helm could not teleport someone so large. "Yer on yer own, big fella."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 5006, member: 94"] [b]DEEP HORIZON Part III[/b] Leaving Shorty behind, the party returned once again to Chael Rendaar. Here and there throughout the dark cavern, lights flickered, belying some foul activity on the part of the eye-kin and their allies. Three areas in particular seemed particularly well-lit, though they were far off in the huge cavern. Wulf shrugged. "Head for the closest one?" The group nodded. Wulf looked over at Viday. "Keep yer ears open and let me know if yer see anything." The party spread out somewhat and moved cautiously towards the light. Wulf stopped a few hundred yards away. They still couldn't see what lay ahead. He dug at his belt, grabbed the [i]bag of tricks[/i], and tossed a leathery, prickly furball onto the ground. In moments it grew to full size: It was a wild boar. It grunted once and waited for Wulf's command. "Run on up there, check it out, then come back and report." The boar squealed in protest, but trotted off into the darkness nevertheless. Wulf called after it and gave it the thumbs up. "No worries!" Unfortunately, one brief squeal from far ahead was the only report they received. Keldas frowned at Wulf. "No surprise, there." "Aye..." Wulf patted the [i]bag of tricks[/i] and grinned. It was almost better than fireworks. "Wanna do another?" "Time for you to scout ahead again, I think." Wulf grabbed Viday and together they moved forward. As they approached, Viday stopped him with a warning. "Something just flew overhead... Something large." "Pfft, they already knew we were here. Let's keep goin' an' press our luck." Eventually they came into the light. A pair of desmodu were guarding a trio of trolls and a pair of kuo-toa. The weather-beaten slaves were chipping away at a mound of volcanic rock. The rest of the group fell in line behind Wulf and Viday, but as they approached, the desmodu spoke up. They spoke undercommon, but Wulf understood them without too much difficulty. "[i]Good timing. These the new slaves? Put them to work so these can rest, then send them over to the other excavation. The eyes are in a hurry.[/i]" With a bit of nodding, diplomacy, and skillful bluffing, the party found themselves alone at an excavation dig, with a group of slaves under their control. The trolls and kuo-toa stood around shuffling impatiently, clearly waiting for orders. Wulf could hear Karak whispering in the back of the group: "[i]... not working with evil creatures... put them out of their misery...[/i]" Wulf stepped in to take control. "All right yer lot, take a load off." He pointed to the wall and the slaves gladly slumped to the ground, their backs against the stone. "Whatcha diggin' for, hmm?" The kuo-toa were either too tired to answer, or the trolls had taken charge of the slave group, which suited Wulf just fine. Kuo-toa could be wily; trolls, on the other hand, were too stupid to be clever. Sure enough, one of the trolls spoke up, "Black metal." Wulf tried hard to hide his excitement, so he squatted down. He spoke to the troll in a more conspiratorial fashion. "That right? Inside that rock there?" His thumb jerked back over his shoulder and his hand shook nervously. "Yah. Drow stuff." Wulf called Dorn over. "Adamantine in the rock. Must be preserved in the lava flow from when the drow were livin' here." Wulf stood and joined Keldas and Karak. The paladin was still blabbering away. "...see how it serves the greater good to sully ourselves with..." "Shut up, assmar. Keldas, troll says there's adamantine in the rock. Any way yer can check it out?" Keldas' eyebrow raised ever so slightly. Obviously, he was as excited as Wulf. "Absolutely." He cast a spell and assumed a wispy [i]ghost form[/i], then disappeared into the rock. Moments later he appeared again. "Oh, yes. Several lumps of it, suspended in the lava. It is melted and deformed somewhat, but it looks like it might once have been longswords-- or at least something of similar size." "Why didn't yer bring any out?" "Well, I can't pick anything up in [i]ghost form[/i], of course. But I could always [i]polymorph[/i] and bring out the umber hulk." "Yer reckon an umber hulk can dig through volcanic rock?" Keldas was already changing form, but it was not too late for him to answer smugly, "Pfft... I eat that sh*t for lunch." For once, Wulf looked truly astounded with Keldas' abilities. "Yer eat sh*t for lunch?" Keldas flexed his huge claws and dove into the mound of volcanic rock. From inside he could tell that the mound was a drow building of some sort-- although nothing was so well preserved that he could make any sense of what he was seeing. The lava had destroyed everything, but he was able to come up with several good-sized chunks of adamantine, melted lumps that might once have been weapons. After an hour of searching, Keldas stopped. "How long do you intend me to keep looking?" Wulf answered abrubtly. "Until you have it all." "Or until we're found out," cautioned Alliane. Viday nodded. From time to time he gave a start, indicating that something had flown overhead. Time ticked away, but Wulf was in no hurry. Even after two hours, Keldas kept digging, eventually moving on from one building to another nearby one. The kuo-toa shifted nervously, muttering together. It didn't help that the paladin continued to glare murderously at them. Wulf stepped in to interecede. "Gogglers dryin' out?" He fished some holy water out of his pack and gave a flask to each. They quickly used the water to refresh their rubbery skin, but it seemed little consolation. "Yer hungry?" The trolls nodded vigorously. Wulf pulled a furball out of his [I]bag of tricks[/I] and tossed it at their feet. There wasn't even enough time to tell what it was before they had ripped it to shreds and devoured it. After three hours Keldas had exhumed every scrap of adamantine he could find from two building-sized chunks of rock. All told Wulf reckoned they had enough to make about fifteen longswords-- or some other combination. Wulf caressed a single black chunk of the heavy meteoric stone. The market value of it all was probably close to 70,000 gold pieces. "Well…" he said, "We might as well head off and finish off the beholders. We'll be wantin' to come back down here with a crew o' dwarves and get the rest-- when it's safe." He had barely finished his thought before the entire group felt that familiar sinking sensation-- their magic items were suddenly nullified. There was a beholder about. From somewhere above them, a desmodu spoke. "Leave the slaves and the adamantine and you may leave." Wulf thought fast. [I]Diplomacy.[/I] "We'll pay yer for it!" He was really just stalling for time. The group kept moving, spreading out a little bit around a tall wedge of rock. Most of the group moved off to the left, leaving Keldas, Wulf, Viday, and two miserable kuo-toa to hold the right flank. Bala Saka advanced close behind the trolls, intending to use them as cover from any unpleasant death rays that might suddenly lance out of the darkness. Wulf did the same with the kuo-toa. The desmodu shouted a terse reply. "Seventy-five thousand!" "Wait a second… how do yer even know how much we're carryin'?" Wulf pressed his advantage. "Come on down and total it up, haggle a bit." The desmodu seemed flustered. "Leave the slaves, the adamantine, and all your possessions-- and you can leave with your lives!" "Ach, right. I gather yer new to this hagglin' business." He gripped [I]Taranak[/I] and tried to ignite the flames, with no success. He was still inside the anti-magic cone. "Either way, yer want it, yer gonna have to come down and try to take it." So try they did. Arrows rained out of the darkness, spurring the party to action. True to his duty, the paladin started sprinting straight ahead into the darkness. When he left the anti-magic cone, he'd correct his path and veer right back inside. The range of the beholder's central eye was quite long, but in just a couple of rounds the paladin should reach the terminus. Bala Saka would have joined him, but he was busy with the three trolls. As Bala Saka staggered under several arrow wounds from the desmodu, the ungrateful slaves turned on him. Filthy claws ripped into him, rending apart armor and flesh with equal ease. Bala Saka staggered back, nearly dead. "Bastards!" Dorn brandished [I]Syrius[/I] and charged to Bala Saka's aid. "Hold fast, there!" Meanwhile Keldas took off at a flat-out run, trying to escape the anti-magic. Unlike the trolls, the kuo-toa sank to the ground in uncontrollable fear. Wulf wrote them off as harmless and sprinted after Keldas, bellowing, "Can't protect yer if yer outrun me, goddamit!" Despite Dorn's aid, Bala Saka was fading fast. He drew his glaive and scored several powerful blows against the trolls, then stepped back to let Dorn protect him. The stout dwarf interposed himself between the trolls and Bala Saka, but the foul beasts merely stepped forward and reached over him to strike the human warrior. Fortunately, the dwarf provided some cover, preventing the trolls from getting another rending grip on Bala Saka. Even so, Bala Saka once again staggered back several feet to escape the grasp of the trolls. Dropping his glaive, his hands moved back and forth over his shoulders in a blur of motion. Dorn realized that, like some sort of crazed circus juggler-- a crazed circus juggler of DEATH!-- Bala Saka had drawn and thrown five javelins in rapid succession. All five javelins struck the troll with frightening precision. The first of the trolls dropped to the ground. Dorn took two swings to hack the legs out from under another one. Two down, one to go. Alliane had used the distraction of melee to be the first to escape the anti-magic. She'd run almost tangent to the rest of the party, and soon enough she felt the anti-magic fall away. Moving unnoticed from building to building, she sprinted off after the paladin, hoping to give what aid she could. On the complete opposite side of the cone, Keldas and Wulf also sprinted towards the beholder, scouting out the fringes of the area of effect, shouting back and forth with the paladin and helping to steer everyone to the beholder. Eventually they found it, floating about twenty feet off the cavern floor. The paladin ran straight forward until he squeaked under the arc of the cone, the let fly with the first blast from his necklace of missiles. Alliane was right behind him, throwing caution to the wind to strike it with a [I]searing light[/I]. Bala Saka was about to learn a lesson on the tenacity of trolls. The first fallen troll had regenerated and, though Dorn still stood menacingly over it, the battle-torn troll ignored the dwarf to drag its shredded remains forward to [I]once again[/I] claw feebly at the legs of Bala Saka! Cursing loudly, Bala Saka finally fell unconscious, though not before seeing the dwarf drop the last of the trolls. Dorn immediately started scrambling to douse the remains in burning oil. A hundred feet ahead in the darkness, both Karak and Alliane found themselves unprotected, outside the anti-magic cone. Though she was the easier target, the beholder ignored the elf priestess and fired its three most deadly rays at the paladin. Quite predictably-- though only with a bit of divine luck-- he survived all three. It was folly to try to destroy the paladin with any magic that he could resist. The beholder's strategy became clear, however, when a desmodu warrior charged out of the sky to strike Alliane solidly with his lance. Keldas and Wulf arrived just in time to see her bravely withstand the first attack. Keldas dropped the beholder with a spell, while Wulf dashed up directly behind the desmodu to flank it. Seeing their anti-magic benefactor fall, and with an angry wizard and dwarven rogue at their flanks, the desmodu wisely retreated, wheeling off into the darkness to warn their fellows. They regrouped to count heads and see if they’d lost anybody, but they’d come through unscathed, for the most part. Dorn touched Bala Saka with a [I]heal[/I] spell and the rest of the party was restored quickly using their wands. Without further discussion they moved off towards the next beacon of light. All was quiet as they neared the light and a huge structure took shape from the darkness. It was the largest building they had seen yet, several stories tall, more like a tower, and from top to bottom large portions of it had been unearthed and restored. Judging from the spider sculptures that crawled across the surface of the partially-exposed dome, there was no doubt among any of them that they were looking at a former temple to Llolth. A wide set of stairs led up into the temple. “This ought to be fun…” Wulf said. He liked his odds inside the limited confines of a building-- at least he wouldn’t have to worry about desmodu dive-bombing him from the darkness. “I’ll go up and check it out.” Only one thing nagged at him: he wasn’t entirely sure that, even inside, the desmodu wouldn’t “see” him sneaking around. If they sensed things by echolocation, they might even be able to “ping” him around corners and such. “Ferkit… Tired of pussyin’ around. Let’s see what they got.” Wulf approached the wide steps first, but he kept slightly off to the right hand side so as to avoid the dark gaze of the narrow windows and arrowslits that peppered the face of the edifice. He had no sense that anything was watching him, and the conspicuous absence of his normal paranoia made him, suddenly, all the more paranoid. It was fortunate that he approached from the side, for he was able to spy a low ramp that led into the mound of rock, off to the side of the unearthed steps. Wulf reckoned the side entrance was safer than waltzing up the front steps, so he moved in, taking great care to move slowly and press his body into whatever natural cracks and crevasses he could find. The rest of the party watched from a nearby building as Wulf disappeared into the rock, following the ramp as it sloped slightly upwards. The ramp curled around and made a left turn, opening onto a wide flat platform that formed the first floor of the temple. Wulf surmised that he’d moved up about as far as the steps would have elevated him, and a quick glance back to his left confirmed his intuition. The great doors of the temple stood open and he could see the steps leading down. Wulf skulked about at the head of the ramp, not quite ready to risk entering the temple proper. Off to his right, directly across from the steps, were two great double-doors, no doubt leading to the inner sanctum. Not far ahead of the doors, on the “north” end of the room, there was a hole in the ground where a circular staircase cork-screwed into the depths. There were stairs above the hole, too-- of a sort. They led up onto a second floor, but there was little left of them but the scaffolding. Certainly no way to climb them; if you wanted up there, you’d need to fly. Farther south, moving towards the entry steps, Wulf could see three small, open holes in the floor, each about 5 feet across. Wulf listened carefully from his spot in the shadows, and the sound of running water lured him out to inspect the holes further. Sure enough, there was a short drop through the holes into running water-- about the last thing Wulf had expected to see. He knew well enough to stay away from underground streams-- they never led anywhere pleasant. Wulf crossed the room and moved into the shadows on the other side. Several windows opened out onto the large first floor platform. Behind the windows Wulf could make out a large cavern-- presumably an unrecovered part of the temple that was only partially dug out of the rock. With the exception of a few small islands of rock, it was completely filled with water. Wulf could hear and feel the water flowing under his feet. [I]It must join up with the water under those holes; and then it’s off to who-knows-where.[/I] Wulf moved to the head of the steps and down them, checking for traps as he descended. He beckoned the party to join him at the bottom of the steps and they entered the temple in force. Just as they were about to cross the platform into the inner fane, the double doors opened and the welcoming party issued forth. Three mighty desmodu warriors moved around the staircase to intercept them. Behind them, a group of about a dozen kuo-toa, lizardmen, and three more desmodu spread out to guard the double doors. From a beholder as yet unseen, anti-magic washed over the party, and the head warrior spoke. "Do you return to assault us?" It was clear the desmodu would prefer to parlay. "Well, no..." Wulf started. "Not necessarily. What yer got in mind?" "We wish only to retrieve the adamantine from the city." "I got a better idea. How 'bout yer let my dwarves retrieve the ore? We'll gladly do all the smithin' yer need. Can't do better'n that!" Keldas tapped Wulf on the shoulder and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "Wulf, they got friggin' [i]salamanders[/i]." Wulf ignored the insult and shooed away the intrusion. "Not now, I'm diplomattin'." "We can handle it ourselves." The desmodu were calm, confident. Wulf decided to shake things up a bit. "Well, I got a bit of a problem with yer taking adamantine offa [i]my[/i] territory." He hooked one thumb in his belt and pounded the other proudly into his chest. "Not to mention the fact that yer picked yerself the wrong allies. Why yer want to ally yerself with evil trolls, evil beholders, an'..." Wulf looked over at Keldas and whispered. "Salamanders evil or what?" Keldas shrugged. Dorn shrugged. Finally, Wulf shrugged. "...an' evil salamanders? Can't trust 'em. But dwarves... Yer can count on dwarves to do yer right." "The eye tyrants are powerful allies, and even more dangerous as foes, as you well know." "Pfft. If yer say so..." Out of the corner of his eye, Wulf looked at Dorn and Keldas. They nodded. "Well... ach... right!" The party sprang into action. Wulf and Keldas were the first to go, and together they dashed into the room, sure that they could escape to the nearby edges of the anti-magic cone. Sure enough, as soon as he cleared the doorway, he veered hard to the right and felt his magic return. Unfortunately, their enemies were also ready for action. The beholder floated down from the shattered staircase, revealing itself at last. Once again, its three most dangerous rays lanced out. With [i]Haela's Blessing[/i] he was able to resist the [i]finger of death[/i], and the [i]flesh to stone[/i], but suddenly all luck was extinguished: the [i]disintegrate[/i] completely overpowered him. Motes of dust billowed out as his cloak suddenly collapsed to the ground. The faint tinkling of bells seemed to emanate from under the folded cloth as two rings hit the hard stone floor. That was it. All that had survived was his cloak, and two rings. Wulf quickly brought himself up short, having wisely decided that he was better off in the anti-magic after all. The beholder floated behind the desmodu, and Wulf-- having no desire to go toe to toe with the warriors-- resorted to the thick longbow that adorned his shoulder. Wulf strained hard at the bowstring without his [I]belt of strength[/I], and the bow moaned in protest at being called into service after so long at rest. Nevertheless, Wulf managed to plug three solid shots at point blank range, directly into the thick hide of the beholder. Karak’s reaction to Keldas’ obliteration was the lesser part of valor: With an unsettling disregard for his own safety, he hauled his sword whistling out of its scabbard and dashed up toe to toe with the head desmodu warrior. His charge smote the hairy beast like the fist of Tyr himself— but it was not enough. The three desmodu scowled wickedly down at him and drew their hooked weapons. The beholder was less sure of its position. It retreated to the back of the room, floating over the heads of its allies until it came to rest behind a veritable wall of slave-flesh. Almost instinctively the lizardmen near the back moved to protect the beholder as it focused its central eye onto the party once again. This time, the abberation turned nearly sideways, so that the unseen edge of its anti-magic cone neatly divided the party into two halves: Wulf and Bala Saka were outside the cone, while the rest of the party— the spellcasters— were still inside the suppression area. Three tiny, sinous stalks focused themselves towards Wulf and Bala Saka. Wulf could not identify the beams that struck him. He closed one eye and winced as the effect washed over him and dissipated harmlessly— he felt sure that it was only his non-magical dwarven nature that had saved him. Though he had spent many years among the dwarves, Bala Saka did not share their magical resistance. A beam struck him and the look of determination on his face turned to one of sheer horror. Before anyone could stop him or intercede, Bala Saka turned on his heels and dashed out of the room as fast as his feet could carry him. The last anyone saw of him, he was bounding down the temple steps and running off into the darkness alone. It was a gamble on the beholder’s part that did not pay off. Dorn sidestepped into the clear and brought down a devastating [I]flame strike[/I] that roasted the beholder— and blasted the lizardmen slaves around him to smoking splinders. Alliane followed suit, moving over near to where Keldas had stood moments before. A [I]searing light[/I] jumped from the palm of her hand and the beholder fell to the ground like a bad haggis. The group cheered, but the celebration was short-lived. The three desmodu sliced into the paladin with unerring fury. His defenses were overwhelmed and in mere seconds he lay bleeding on the ground— dying, though not quite dead. Wulf took some consolation in the fact that with the beholder out of commission, they might be able to heal the paladin in time to save him, but he had to admit that the situation was pretty grim— and at any rate, Dorn had other plans. The dwarven priest once again started casting. “Clear out, [I]blade barrier[/I] on the way…” Viday spoke up from the back of the group. “But you’ll catch the slaves! There are innocent desmodu back there!” Dorn would hear none of it and shouted Viday down with uncharacteristic ire. “In case you didn’t [I]notice[/I], we’re down half the party and the mage is disintegrated, so f--- ‘em!” And with that, a host of great axes appeared, shredding the innocent and the evil alike. Dorn had placed the [I]barrier[/I] so that the edge of its effect stopped with the desmodu warriors. The paladin’s body lay just outside the whirling maelstrom. Everything near the back of the room was chopped to pieces, as the effect filled nearly the entire inner fane. The three desmodu warriors near the front simply stepped forward out of the area of effect. Two of the warriors moved up to engage Wulf and Dorn, but their leader hesitated for a moment. Stooping over the body of the dying paladin, he grabbed him by the ankle and nonchalantly tossed him over his shoulder. Into the [i]blade barrier[/i]. Dorn moved closer to Alliane, carefully eyeing the three remaining desmodu warriors to see if you could line them all up underneath a single [i]flame strike[/i]. Before he could even begin casting, however, Viday stepped up behind him and sliced his hook-staff across Dorn's back-- just once, but it was a deep cut. Dorn spewed forth a stream of obscenities but it was Wulf, for a change, who kept a cool head. "I don't want to kill yer, and yer don't wanna die." Wulf dropped his bow and drew his axe and dagger, stepping closer to Viday. "Help us finish off these warriors and we'll let Haela sort yer friends out afterwards." He'd lined himself up into flanking position, moving one of the warriors between himself and Dorn. To illustrate his point he hacked into the furry hide of the warrior, nearly killing him in a few short strokes. Though Dorn wasn't laughing, Wulf actually found the whole thing a bit funny. Viday had stood idly, forgotten by everyone for most of the combat, only entering the fray to beat on the priest. Dorn started casting his [i]flame strike[/i] and put one hand out to move Alliane back. She resisted, pushing back at him to hold her ground. "Careful! You'll blow what's left of Kheldas to the four winds!" Alliane spread her skirts around the dusty pile of remains that was once her cousin. "Keep it well away!" Dorn cursed his luck, but he knew the she-elf was right. Completing the spell, he blasted it down onto the two farthest desmodu. He'd hoped to catch the one that Wulf had wounded, to finish it off, but it was not to be. Wulf watched Viday out of the corner of his eye and seemed satisfied that the desmodu's anger had passed, and that he was no more harm to the party. He stepped away from Viday, leaving the wounded warrior for him to finish off. With Dorn and Alliane helping to flank the two remaining warriors, it was easy for Wulf to slip past their defenses and take them down. All their enemies were slain and the only noise in the room was the sound of the blade barrier, still whirling away. "We're leavin', right?" Wulf didn't expect any opposition to the notion. Alliane had already scooped up Keldas' remains and Dorn had dispelled his [i]blade barrier[/i] to retreive the paladin's belongings and a few gobbets of flesh. Wulf grabbed Viday and nodded towards his three fallen comrades-- the unfortunate explorers who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Grab the bodies, let's go." Wulf, Dorn, and Viday each grabbed a mangled desmodu corpse and the group hustled for the exit. "Dorn, keep that [i]helm of teleportation[/i] handy, and if things go south, get us out of here." "An' if that happens..." He poked Viday in the gut, knowing full well the helm could not teleport someone so large. "Yer on yer own, big fella." [/QUOTE]
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