Chapter #1176
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic VI +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast +
+ which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use. Any such +
+ property contained within these stories are not representative of +
+ Wizards of the Coast in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2024 by Thomas A. Miller. Any resemblance to any persons +
+ or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. +
+ Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under +
+ the sole condition that no money is made in the process. In that +
+ case, I hope you enjoy them! +
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+ THE CONSCIOUS +
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+ Otto 12th/14th level dwarven fighter/thief +
+ Adolphus 8th level half-ogre warrior +
+ Damien small, renegade imp +
+ Irina 14th/7th level female human priestess/warrior +
+ Paige 13th level human female warrior +
+ Poulos 8th level human warrior +
+ Rogar 8th level human priest of Olidammara +
+ Ys 14th level reptilian fighter +
+ iron dwarf insane, armored berserker +
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+ THE UNCONSCIOUS (or inert) +
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+ Alindyar 18th level dark elven wizard +
+ Lyra 14th level female drow wizard +
+ Belphanior 18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
+ Hope 16th level female human wizard +
+ Razor Charlie 12th level human fighter +
+ Skektek 14th level human wizard +
+ Dexitheseus 17th level human wizard, jack of all trades +
+ earth elemental +
+ Kronos ancient lich wizard +
+ Pallin 18th level grey elven wizard, teleporter +
+ Socrates large albino hound +
+ Parekh 18th level female human wizard, innovator +
+ Drak 15th level human barbarian +
+ Peyton 9th level gnome thief +
+ Sylus 7th/7th level dark elf warrior/thief +
+ Wembly 7th level human wizard +
+ Wu 18th level human wizard, transmuter +
+ 6 elite ogre magi +
+ the score or so stone warriors that made it to the final chamber +
+ the dozen or so skeletal warriors that made it to the final chamber +
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+ THE SLAIN +
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+ Cespedes 19th level human wizard, elementalist +
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+ Date: 7/20/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: midday +
+ Place: deep within the ruins of Utaa, in the Bright Desert +
+ Climate: cool and dry +
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+ "You do the best you can with what you know...and when you know +
+ better, you do better. That's the hardest lesson to learn being +
+ a leader." +
+ - from _SEAL Team_ episode _A Perfect Storm_ +
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MCLXXVI. Calm After the Storm
After a tremendous battle against the scorpion-king Shattados and his
minions, the party has triumphed - but not without cost.
Otto: (looking around) So we've got Ys, Irina, Paige, Poulos, Adolphus,
Rogar, Damien. (he eyes the iron dwarf, who is still sitting quietly
atop the carcass of an immense scorpion) And him.
Ys: How unusual, to see him like this, instead of his normal self.
Paige: From what little I saw in the battle just ended, he was a real
handful...a total berserker.
Otto: (nods) One with the strength of a giant and armor that makes him
damn near invulnerable.
Irina: We should count our blessings, then.
Otto: (frowns) We don't have many.
They had already closed the heavy doors that led into the massive
vaulted chamber - a feat that had required the combined efforts of Ys and
Adolphus, and even then had been a slow process - and finished off all of
the monsters here. Nevertheless, they were but eight (or nine, assuming
the iron dwarf could be considered an ally at this point) while many more
were still unconscious. Aside from the eight surviving members of the
Bright Alliance (seven incapacitated by a psionic blast, and Belphanior
felled by a poisonous stinger) nearly a dozen others had also been put
out of commission thanks to the potent psionic attack....the wizards Hope,
Skektek, and Wembly...the six ogre magi...and Peyton and Sylus. Further,
the warriors Drak and Razor Charlie were currently asleep, recovering from
wounds and poison after curative magic and potions had been employed. As
for the unliving troops of Kronos and Cespedes - the skeletal and stone
warriors, respectively - those few who had accompanied the wizards to this
final chamber were currently inert, presumably awaiting new commands from
their masters...commands that, in the case of the stone warriors, would
never come.
Paige: Too bad about that bald wizard with the skull-cap.
Irina: (not sure if the warrior-woman is serious)
Damien: So now what?
Otto: (rubs his short beard)
The dwarf had considered the possibility that Belphanior (had he been
conscious) might have wanted him to use this opportunity to dispatch all
the other members of the Bright Alliance. In their current state, they
seemed vulnerable, and this was the best chance there would ever be to
enable Belphanior to seize power. However - aside from the still-unknown
capabilities of the mithril golem that guarded Parekh's unconscious form,
and the possibility that Kronos' skeletal warriors might well rally to
the lich's defense - Otto had instantly realized that such actions were
representative of the old Belphanior, perhaps a decade ago in his Helgate
days...but did not reflect (or support) the elf's current mentality and
goals. The dwarf knew damn well that Belphanior had a sweeping vision
for the future of the Bright Desert - a vision that required a great deal
more power and resources than he alone had or would ever have. Aside from
the unfortunate Cespedes, the others of the group were either friends,
allies, or both.
Damien: (snaps his tiny red fingers in front of Otto's face) Hello?
Otto: Eh?
Damien: I said, so now what?
Otto: Sorry, I was...thinking. The wizards and others hit by...whatever
the hell it was that the scorpion-king hit them with, they should wake
up eventually? (he glances at Irina questioningly)
Irina: (nods) Yes, I believe they will. Their skin is warm and dry to
the touch as it should be, and they are all breathing normally. (she
frowns) Except for Kronos, who does not appear to breathe.
Paige: The old one is actually snoring.
Otto: So until that happens...(he surveys the room) Reinforce the door
with spikes and anything else we have. Drag the monsters' bodies out
of the way. Move the wounded and unconscious to one side, in case there
is another battle.
Paige: Do you think more foes are coming?
Otto: Hard to say. Judging by the way all these scorpions reacted when
their king died, they may be moving aimlessly about, or they may have
just stopped moving altogether...or even died. But there are probably
still other things that aren't scorpions...like those undead, if they
ever come back.
Irina: (sets her jaw) If they do, I'll repel them again.
Otto: And we heard shriekers from somewhere, one of the passages that
didn't lead here and thus didn't get explored. No way to know if the
stone warriors sent that way defeated whatever was there. (he nods at
the heavy double door to this room) So we strengthen that as best as
we're able, and then we defend it if need be. When all the wizards are
back in action, they'll take over and bring a whole lot more power to
bear too.
With that, everyone went to work. Ys and Adolphus combined two tasks
into one, piling monster carcasses (and pieces of them in some cases) in
front of the doors; if something did show up and try to get into the big
room, the crude and gory barricade would buy the group precious time.
Most of the others tended to the wounded, getting them out of the way of
any potential battle.
Paige: (notices Otto walking around poking through the monsters' remains)
What in the hell...?
Otto: I'm helping Razor Charlie out. Every time we have a big fight, he
has to wander around and retrieve all of his knives from the bodies of
the slain foes. I've heard him complain that it's a lot of work - the
words he used last time were "fucking sucks" - so I figured I'd help
him out. Plus, it's entirely possible that he'll wake up and try to
join any new fight, he's that tough.
Paige: I see. (she gestures to the mass of webbing on the floor, which
covers the Scorpion Crown) And that thing?
Otto: It's secure for now. As best as I understand, one of the wizards
brought a special magical item to contain its power. (he shrugs) I
don't know how such things work, so we'll just wait. If you notice the
webbing starting to dry up, or someone making a move for the crown, then
sound an alarm.
Paige: Will do.
Irina: (nods) Same here. I'll see if I can get one of them awake a bit
faster. (she begins checking pouches and pockets) I have some potent
salts here somewhere.
Damien: (flies over to Otto) Yo.
Otto: What now?
Damien: Something's coming. I was over near the doors there and heard
it outside...a scraping sound.
Otto: Great.
Although it was had been theoretically possible that the stony warriors
diverted earlier to other sections of the buried palace had dispatched any
monsters they'd encountered while the main group sought Shattados...that
would have been too much good luck today.
Otto: Heads up, everyone! We're about to have company!
They did, but the encounter was anticlimactic: whoever or whatever now
stood outside the massive chamber and its heavy doors apparently lacked
the strength to open them and confront the adventurers.
Adolphus: (resting his giant battleaxe on the floor, he stares as the
doors intently) Can't get in. (he frowns) They not got an Adolphus.
Ys: (also positioned near the door, which isn't budging although they
can hear loud scratching sounds on the other side) No, they certainly
do not.
Adolphus: (turns to the big reptilian and grins) We done good work.
And you am good friend.
Ys: (nods quietly)
Paige: This is almost comical.
Damien: The deep insights of Adolphus? I know, he's always an endless
fount of wit and wisdom-
Paige: No, I meant the fact that there are wandering monsters in this
dungeon but they can't get in.
Otto: (nods in the direction of Ys and Adolphus) Let's hear it for raw,
brute strength.
Alindyar: Indeed.
Otto: Eh?
The dark elf was standing, albeit a bit shakily. Irina had chosen him
because - of the unconscious archmagi - he seemed to be one of those most
trusted by Belphanior: Besides, she hadn't known whether Parekh's golem
would allow smelling-salts to be used on its mistress...nor had she known
if such methods would work on Kronos at all.
Alindyar: (sniffs) Hmm. Most potent, for a non-magical measure.
Irina: That's why I use such things.
Alindyar: (blinks in alarm as his mind clears a bit more) Lyra - where
is she?
Irina: Your wife is fine, just unconscious like you were. (she points)
See, she's right there. I'll wake her up next.
Alindyar: Very well. (he rubs his temples, then looks around) What has
transpired?
Damien: We could tell you, but then we'd have to tell the next one who
woke up, and then the next, and...(he frowns) Well, that'd be a lot of
story-telling.
Alindyar: Tell me anyway.
Otto: I'll handle this. Damien, maybe you can listen at that door and
get a better idea of what's out there.
Damien: (shrugs) Sure thing. (he flies away)
Alindyar: Where did that one come from?
Otto: I...do not know. That's a question for Peyton. So this is what
happened...
The dwarf proceeded to relay the tale of the battle after the point
where the mighty psionic ultrablast had taken out the majority of the
invading force. Alindyar listened, frowning once and also nodding twice
as the events of the last hour or so were shared.
Alindyar: So Shattados blasted us all...and Belphanior laid him low...
and also Cespedes was obliterated.
Paige: That's the really short version.
Alindyar: And the Scorpion Crown was separated from Shattados and now
rests- (he turns to regard the mass of webbing that still secures the
cursed thing) Ah.
Otto had been partially correct about the plan to secure and transport
the crown, but had neither fully heard nor understood the details of that
plan. It was no item at all, but rather a pocket dimension of Alindyar's
own creation, that had been decided on as the means of keeping the item
safe and harmless. Before this expedition, the wizards had debated this
matter extensively - considering everything from a lead chest to one made
of magical force to attempting to use an anti-magic effect. In the end,
Alindyar had convinced the others that a temporary, unique extraplanar
space that was unreachable by conventional (or unconventional) means was
the strongest option.
The dark elf concentrated intensely for a few moments...and next to the
webbed crown, a small rift opened in the fabric of reality, drawing the
evil artifact in as the webs simply disintegrated. And then, just like
that, the space closed up and vanished.
Otto: Where the hell is it now?
Alindyar: Elsewhere. Where it shall remain until the entire group has
recovered and we can proceed with the next steps. (he looks around)
Which will require leaving this place. (to Otto) So we are barricaded
in here until...well, until now perhaps, since I am awake?
Otto: Yup. Without any spellcasters whatsoever, that was the best we
could do.
Alindyar: I see.
Paige: Looks like Lyra's coming around.
Alindyar: (moves over to her side as she sits up, helped by Irina)
Paige: (to Otto) Which means we'll soon be out of this damned place and
home in time for supper.
Otto: (thinking of all the work ahead, he nods grimly)
next: healing and planning
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/bright_desert_1156.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 11/15/2024
notes: I had some internal debate about whether or not to show the
work between the slaying of Shattados and the back-at-base-and-all-clear
point. I decided to do it...and then realized that none of the monsters
remaining in the dungeon as outlined would be able to open those heavy
doors and get at the party. I could have added monsters, but I thought
it was kind of humorous to have it play out as it did.
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