Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 743" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part VI)</strong></p><p></p><p>Wulf got about halfway down the stairs, took one look at the eerily dark and silent basement, and decided Halma could probably use his help upstairs. He grabbed the rest of the group on his way past the main floor.</p><p></p><p>The second floor of the creepy bookstore was the first place they found any bookstacks. A narrow passage down the right hand side of the building, with open windows to the street, gave way on the left to bookshelves that jutted out into the room, dividing it up into neat cubicles. Curtains were strung across adjacent bookshelves, thus hiding at least half the room from view. What little space was not packed with musty books was cramped. Wulf jostled Halma out of the way.</p><p></p><p>Wulf crept into the room, past another closet or wardrobe that had been built into the room. Leaving the unopened door at his back, he crept a little farther into the room, straining his eyes and ears for any sign of an enemy hiding in the bookstacks behind the curtains. He heard footsteps behind him, and assumed it was Halma, falling into fighting formation.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, it was the Roach. "Hey, what's wrong with checking out this door?" So saying, he flung wide the closet door. </p><p></p><p>Not unexpectedly-- to Wulf, at least-- another gibbering blob flopped out and began wailing. And feasting. </p><p></p><p>The creature latched on to the Roach, whose stocky dwarven frame blocked the doorway. Wulf and Halma could only watch and hope that the dwarf knew how to use the axe he drew from his side.</p><p></p><p>From across the room behind them, there was the unmistakable sound of breaking glass. Turning, Wulf found himself facing down a huge, otherworldly guardian. It towered over him-- indeed, over Halma-- and looked rather like an alien gorilla. A very large, very angry alien gorilla. </p><p></p><p>While Wulf pondered the abrupt appearance of this creature, and attempted to size it up, looking for strengths (enormous muscles and razor sharp claws and teeth) and weaknesses (ahh, none, really), Halma leapt past him to engage it, his greatsword hissing as he drew it out for battle. </p><p></p><p>The halfling had just entered the room through the narrow stairs, followed closely by Keldas, but there wasn't room for everyone to engage the enemy. Wulf thanked the gods for Halma, put his back to the gorilla, and turned his attention to the blob, who had drained the Roach near unto death. Wulf hurled javelins, past the weakened, flailing body of his fellow dwarf, but the creature seemed to care little. The halfling stepped nearer and pulled a flask of alchemist's fire out of his pack.</p><p></p><p>Normally, having been splashed and burned too often to count, Halma would protest such an action. So too would Wulf, who had realized long ago that the fire was just an excuse to keep the halfling out of real combat. But this time, before either of them could protest, it was Keldas who slapped the halfling hard from behind:</p><p></p><p>"We're in a <em>library</em>, you damned fool!"</p><p></p><p>The halfling groused and grumbled, but put away his fire and surveyed the room. What with Wulf and the Roach at the closet at the front, and Halma going toe-to-toe with a giant gorilla in the hallway, there was nothing he could do. </p><p></p><p>"Fine, I'll watch..."</p><p></p><p>"Like hell yer will!" Wulf drew another javelin and pointed it at the halfling. "Just tumble yer happy arse over there behind that gorilla and get crackin' with yer daggers."</p><p></p><p>As if in response, the gorilla slammed Halma hard, nearly pounding him flat. It was the first time the creature had hit him, and it had nearly killed him in one blow. One look at that, and the halfling balked again.</p><p></p><p>"At least get out of my way!" shouted Keldas, who had prepared a <iDisplacement</i> spell for Halma. The halfling smugly stepped back to let Keldas pass.</p><p></p><p>Keldas' intervention was not a moment too soon. Just as he laid the protective spell on Halma, another wild-eyed villain stepped out of the curtains at the far end of the room. A mental blast shot from his forehead and struck Halma, freezing him in his tracks. The gorilla struck at the paralyzed barbarian, but was foiled by the displacement.</p><p></p><p>Alliane stepped into the room and pulled the Roach free of the blob. Wulf took a quick step forward, drawing <em>Taranak</em> and slicing into the blob. His javelins must have had some effect, after all: the creature collapsed in one hit. Before it had hit the ground Wulf had turned, drawn a dagger, and hurled it at the sorceror at the end of the room.</p><p></p><p>Wulf jerked his thumb at the halfling. "Move it, peck. Yer got work to do..."</p><p></p><p>The halfling sighed and tumbled into the room: bouncing, springing, and cartwheeling past Wulf, past Halma, past the gorilla, to face the sorceror. It was an effective, if wholly unmanly, method of locomotion. He drew his little daggers and menaced the sorceror in a way that only half-crazed, knife-wielding circus acrobats can do. The surreality of the assault was lost on the mad sorceror, whose twisted mind was no doubt filled daily with scenes even more bizarre.</p><p></p><p>Keldas dragged Halma to safety so that Wulf could step up to flank the gorilla across from his fellow rogue. He struck hard, his twin axes seeking its vitals, but he was shocked to find that, being constructed of aether, the gorilla <em>had</em> no vitals.</p><p></p><p>"Uh oh." Though he had done considerable damage, the gorilla hardly seemed fazed.</p><p></p><p>"What? What?" The halfling looked worried, and Wulf couldn't have that. If the halfling found out that his daggers would be useless against the gorilla-- more useless than normal, that is-- then he'd bolt in a second.</p><p></p><p>"Never yer mind. Just keep stickin' that old geezer!"</p><p></p><p>And stick he did, turning his back just in time to miss the gorilla go trampling over Wulf to get to Halma. As he lay flat on his back, wincing at broken ribs, Wulf couldn't help but notice that he'd never heard of a gorilla <em>trampling</em> anyone before. But then, most gorillas were not nine-foot tall constructs of unadulterated aetherial muscle. Wulf slowly got to his feet and looked at Keldas from beneath the arch of the gorilla's legs.</p><p></p><p>"Another hit like that and I'm a dead man."</p><p></p><p>The halfling was doing his best against the madman-- though it must be noted, against an undistracted foe aware of his approach, the halfling's best was rather short of nothing much. He toyed again with his pack, no doubt looking for a flask of fire, but was once again shouted down by the group. He pulled his hand back like a kid caught reaching for the cookie jar. </p><p></p><p>Keldas stepped to a window at the back of the room and began to change shape again-- this time, a very small gold dragon. He darted out the window and disappeared into the sky. Wulf knew better than to think that Keldas had abandoned them (apart from his arrogant attitude, fragile constitution, fancy-boy clothes, unmanly choice of armaments and spells, and laughably androgynous features, he was rather atypical for an elf), but it was little consolation to Wulf when the gorilla turned to face him.</p><p></p><p>Wulf moved desperately to avoid the creature's blows, but he was not fast enough. Another crushing hit left him staggered and as near to death as he could ever recall. He half wished the blow had knocked him unconscious, so he wouldn't be alive when the next one splattered him across the non-fiction section.</p><p></p><p>Keldas the dragon entered the fray again from the opposite end of the room, hovering right behind the madman, his sinewy neck striking through the open window. Wulf saw the man stagger, and looked wistfully over. If he had to go, he'd at least like to take one of these bastards with him. Wulf desperately wanted to finish him off. Perhaps, if the sorceror fell, the gorilla creature would go, too.</p><p></p><p>As if reading his mind, Keldas warned him away. "Kill that gorilla, or more are going to die."</p><p></p><p>Well, to hell with that... There was another open window just to his left. He could dive out. Probably he wouldn't even break his neck doing it-- it was only the second floor. He could dive out. He could get away.</p><p></p><p><em>More are going to die.</em> Halma was still frozen motionless, just <em>staring</em> at Wulf.</p><p></p><p>"Ach, ferkit."</p><p></p><p>Wulf summoned all his strength to take out the gorilla creature. He'd seen Halma hit it several times, several good shots, and he hit it himself as well. Another couple of hits and it would drop. Surely, it would drop.</p><p></p><p>He dug into the deepest recesses of hidden dwarven strength. "For my dwarven ancestors!"</p><p></p><p>He called on the power of the One Father himself. "For Moradin!"</p><p></p><p>He hit it a couple more times. "For Halma! And Keldas!"</p><p></p><p>It didn't drop.</p><p></p><p>What <em>did</em> happen was that Halma finally managed to summon the will to throw off his mental paralysis. He slowly swung into action and slashed at the creature twice more himself, opening up huge gashes across its chest. <em>Still</em> it didn't drop. Wulf just laughed-- to think, he actually thought he could finish it off. He'd never seen any creature take so much punishment before-- and he'd fought a bloody <em>dragon</em>, right?</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the gorilla turned its attention back to Halma, despite the haze of <em>Displacement</em> that surrounded him, and its mighty fists found nothing but air. Between the two of them, Wulf and Halma <em>finally</em> managed to finish it off. The creature shattered into a thousand shards of light and disappeared. Its master didn't last much longer.</p><p></p><p>Alliane spoke up from the back of the room. "Well, boys, let's call it a night, shall we?"</p><p></p><p>Her words were punctuated by the staccato stamp of booted feet retreating into the night. They were already way ahead of her.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 743, member: 94"] [b]THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part VI)[/b] Wulf got about halfway down the stairs, took one look at the eerily dark and silent basement, and decided Halma could probably use his help upstairs. He grabbed the rest of the group on his way past the main floor. The second floor of the creepy bookstore was the first place they found any bookstacks. A narrow passage down the right hand side of the building, with open windows to the street, gave way on the left to bookshelves that jutted out into the room, dividing it up into neat cubicles. Curtains were strung across adjacent bookshelves, thus hiding at least half the room from view. What little space was not packed with musty books was cramped. Wulf jostled Halma out of the way. Wulf crept into the room, past another closet or wardrobe that had been built into the room. Leaving the unopened door at his back, he crept a little farther into the room, straining his eyes and ears for any sign of an enemy hiding in the bookstacks behind the curtains. He heard footsteps behind him, and assumed it was Halma, falling into fighting formation. Unfortunately, it was the Roach. "Hey, what's wrong with checking out this door?" So saying, he flung wide the closet door. Not unexpectedly-- to Wulf, at least-- another gibbering blob flopped out and began wailing. And feasting. The creature latched on to the Roach, whose stocky dwarven frame blocked the doorway. Wulf and Halma could only watch and hope that the dwarf knew how to use the axe he drew from his side. From across the room behind them, there was the unmistakable sound of breaking glass. Turning, Wulf found himself facing down a huge, otherworldly guardian. It towered over him-- indeed, over Halma-- and looked rather like an alien gorilla. A very large, very angry alien gorilla. While Wulf pondered the abrupt appearance of this creature, and attempted to size it up, looking for strengths (enormous muscles and razor sharp claws and teeth) and weaknesses (ahh, none, really), Halma leapt past him to engage it, his greatsword hissing as he drew it out for battle. The halfling had just entered the room through the narrow stairs, followed closely by Keldas, but there wasn't room for everyone to engage the enemy. Wulf thanked the gods for Halma, put his back to the gorilla, and turned his attention to the blob, who had drained the Roach near unto death. Wulf hurled javelins, past the weakened, flailing body of his fellow dwarf, but the creature seemed to care little. The halfling stepped nearer and pulled a flask of alchemist's fire out of his pack. Normally, having been splashed and burned too often to count, Halma would protest such an action. So too would Wulf, who had realized long ago that the fire was just an excuse to keep the halfling out of real combat. But this time, before either of them could protest, it was Keldas who slapped the halfling hard from behind: "We're in a [i]library[/i], you damned fool!" The halfling groused and grumbled, but put away his fire and surveyed the room. What with Wulf and the Roach at the closet at the front, and Halma going toe-to-toe with a giant gorilla in the hallway, there was nothing he could do. "Fine, I'll watch..." "Like hell yer will!" Wulf drew another javelin and pointed it at the halfling. "Just tumble yer happy arse over there behind that gorilla and get crackin' with yer daggers." As if in response, the gorilla slammed Halma hard, nearly pounding him flat. It was the first time the creature had hit him, and it had nearly killed him in one blow. One look at that, and the halfling balked again. "At least get out of my way!" shouted Keldas, who had prepared a <iDisplacement</i> spell for Halma. The halfling smugly stepped back to let Keldas pass. Keldas' intervention was not a moment too soon. Just as he laid the protective spell on Halma, another wild-eyed villain stepped out of the curtains at the far end of the room. A mental blast shot from his forehead and struck Halma, freezing him in his tracks. The gorilla struck at the paralyzed barbarian, but was foiled by the displacement. Alliane stepped into the room and pulled the Roach free of the blob. Wulf took a quick step forward, drawing [i]Taranak[/i] and slicing into the blob. His javelins must have had some effect, after all: the creature collapsed in one hit. Before it had hit the ground Wulf had turned, drawn a dagger, and hurled it at the sorceror at the end of the room. Wulf jerked his thumb at the halfling. "Move it, peck. Yer got work to do..." The halfling sighed and tumbled into the room: bouncing, springing, and cartwheeling past Wulf, past Halma, past the gorilla, to face the sorceror. It was an effective, if wholly unmanly, method of locomotion. He drew his little daggers and menaced the sorceror in a way that only half-crazed, knife-wielding circus acrobats can do. The surreality of the assault was lost on the mad sorceror, whose twisted mind was no doubt filled daily with scenes even more bizarre. Keldas dragged Halma to safety so that Wulf could step up to flank the gorilla across from his fellow rogue. He struck hard, his twin axes seeking its vitals, but he was shocked to find that, being constructed of aether, the gorilla [i]had[/i] no vitals. "Uh oh." Though he had done considerable damage, the gorilla hardly seemed fazed. "What? What?" The halfling looked worried, and Wulf couldn't have that. If the halfling found out that his daggers would be useless against the gorilla-- more useless than normal, that is-- then he'd bolt in a second. "Never yer mind. Just keep stickin' that old geezer!" And stick he did, turning his back just in time to miss the gorilla go trampling over Wulf to get to Halma. As he lay flat on his back, wincing at broken ribs, Wulf couldn't help but notice that he'd never heard of a gorilla [i]trampling[/i] anyone before. But then, most gorillas were not nine-foot tall constructs of unadulterated aetherial muscle. Wulf slowly got to his feet and looked at Keldas from beneath the arch of the gorilla's legs. "Another hit like that and I'm a dead man." The halfling was doing his best against the madman-- though it must be noted, against an undistracted foe aware of his approach, the halfling's best was rather short of nothing much. He toyed again with his pack, no doubt looking for a flask of fire, but was once again shouted down by the group. He pulled his hand back like a kid caught reaching for the cookie jar. Keldas stepped to a window at the back of the room and began to change shape again-- this time, a very small gold dragon. He darted out the window and disappeared into the sky. Wulf knew better than to think that Keldas had abandoned them (apart from his arrogant attitude, fragile constitution, fancy-boy clothes, unmanly choice of armaments and spells, and laughably androgynous features, he was rather atypical for an elf), but it was little consolation to Wulf when the gorilla turned to face him. Wulf moved desperately to avoid the creature's blows, but he was not fast enough. Another crushing hit left him staggered and as near to death as he could ever recall. He half wished the blow had knocked him unconscious, so he wouldn't be alive when the next one splattered him across the non-fiction section. Keldas the dragon entered the fray again from the opposite end of the room, hovering right behind the madman, his sinewy neck striking through the open window. Wulf saw the man stagger, and looked wistfully over. If he had to go, he'd at least like to take one of these bastards with him. Wulf desperately wanted to finish him off. Perhaps, if the sorceror fell, the gorilla creature would go, too. As if reading his mind, Keldas warned him away. "Kill that gorilla, or more are going to die." Well, to hell with that... There was another open window just to his left. He could dive out. Probably he wouldn't even break his neck doing it-- it was only the second floor. He could dive out. He could get away. [i]More are going to die.[/i] Halma was still frozen motionless, just [i]staring[/i] at Wulf. "Ach, ferkit." Wulf summoned all his strength to take out the gorilla creature. He'd seen Halma hit it several times, several good shots, and he hit it himself as well. Another couple of hits and it would drop. Surely, it would drop. He dug into the deepest recesses of hidden dwarven strength. "For my dwarven ancestors!" He called on the power of the One Father himself. "For Moradin!" He hit it a couple more times. "For Halma! And Keldas!" It didn't drop. What [i]did[/i] happen was that Halma finally managed to summon the will to throw off his mental paralysis. He slowly swung into action and slashed at the creature twice more himself, opening up huge gashes across its chest. [i]Still[/i] it didn't drop. Wulf just laughed-- to think, he actually thought he could finish it off. He'd never seen any creature take so much punishment before-- and he'd fought a bloody [i]dragon[/i], right? Fortunately, the gorilla turned its attention back to Halma, despite the haze of [i]Displacement[/i] that surrounded him, and its mighty fists found nothing but air. Between the two of them, Wulf and Halma [i]finally[/i] managed to finish it off. The creature shattered into a thousand shards of light and disappeared. Its master didn't last much longer. Alliane spoke up from the back of the room. "Well, boys, let's call it a night, shall we?" Her words were punctuated by the staccato stamp of booted feet retreating into the night. They were already way ahead of her. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
Top