Adventurers
| Character |
Class |
Description |
| Nesterin Sylpetor |
Elf level 2 |
An avid lover woods and jungles. |
| Gomm |
Thief level 6 |
Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice. |
| Ajar of the Plan |
Dwarf level 2 |
Unbelievably strong and dexterous dwarf. |
| Balarus |
Fighter level 1 |
An ex-woodsman, quite a crackshot with his bow. |
| Ambros |
Cleric level 5 |
Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Ignaeus |
Elf level 3 |
A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiselled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
| Dalkanarion |
Fighter level 2 |
A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
Goodgrove 19th, Fireday
Adventurers fell in love with Ah'sas, the terrible witch they've been warned about by denizens of Ketche. Well, most of them, but not all. Balarus, Beorg the Gravedigger, and Bakaru were completely enchanted by Ah'sas, doing her bidding at snap of her fingers.
Tarkus resisted the witch's charms, and so did Gomm, Ambros, Ajar, Ignaeus, and Nesterin. Hedwig, the only other female around, had different kind of problems with the witch. Owly elf was forbidden from sleeping in the treehouse and relegated to tasks most foul.
Ah'sas was delighted to have a company of such young and virile adventurers. She ordered them to build two additional treehouses, since her small hut was hardly sufficient for a dozen she is hosting now! That took a full month. Ambros used the opportunity to convince Ah'sas to teach Ignaeus new spells. He bribed her by gifting her a vial of black sludge retrieved from the sunken fort. She also demanded he teach her all about Aniu, the Lord of Time. The witch was particularly interested in sacred rituals, divine time magic, and secret of immortality.
Ignaeus brought Ah'sas wildflowers everyday. He realised her power and treated her as the lowly student that he is. The elf attempted to flirt at a polite, low level, but respectfully with a bit of unexaggerated flattery. Ah'sas welcome such attention from her pupil.
After a month of intense mentoring, Ignaeus had learned Read Magic, Read Languages, and Wizard Lock. He had written them with magical inks on a seven feet long scroll made from tanned goat hides sewn together. This scroll now serves as his spellbook; an important asset since his original spellbook is Ahyf.
Gomm spent a month putting together a plan. “It is time to backstab the witch.” he thought to himself. “She is just stringing me along!” Dragon poison she promised to Gomm was nowhere near done. And it's been nearly two months since she began “brewing” it!
One sunny day a muscular, well oiled, heavily armed and armoured man appeared beneath Ah'sas hut. It was Dalkanarion! He too, like few before him, went for a walk around Hara and somehow ended up lost in Eyestones Jungle several dozen of miles from the city.
The party agreed to head back to the sunken fort one last time. They'd get the shadow necklace for Ah'sas and leave her at once. Bakaru and Balarus were left with the witch—they were too much of a risk. What if they heard Gomm's treacherous plan and spilled the beans to Ah'sas?
Six brave adventurers hopped in their dugout pirogue and paddled to the dungeon. With Ajar's and Dalkanarion's mighty thews no doors stood a chance! The muscle-bound due was strong enough to open the great iron double doors on their own.
Gomm led the party to the steel doors he unlocked on his last visit. Much to his dismay he found the doors locked again—this time he failed to pick the lock. Ambros walked north, to the glass barrier with the angry ghost. Incorporeal figure threw itself on the ground, cowering in front of the cleric's divinity.
Adventurers moved east, through the chamber with gnome figurines, and then north, into a square chamber with an archways to the west, north, and east. A skeleton with a scroll case clutched in its hands rested beneath a glass panel in the center of the chamber.
Nesterin the Torchelf took a peek through the west archway. Another square chamber, some thirty by thirty feet. Three things immediately stood out. First, the chamber was actually a large pit. Second, a stone bridge connected east and west exits stood on a single pillar. Third, south exit was blocked by glass barrier with angry ghost, while north exit was blocked by chunky portcullis.
The elf was ready to jump on the bridge and explore further, but he was stopped by other adventurers.
“What if the bridge turns?!”
“Wouldn't it be silly if a bridge turned just because you step on it?”
“I suppose it would...”
Gomm remembered a stone wheel Hedwig found on their last expedition. They couldn't figure out what it was for... Perhaps this bridge? But it was a moot point now, given that the thief failed to pick the lock.
Nesterin the Scout stepped back and checked north and east archways. The latter led to a t-shaped junction, while the former turned right. Going north the party entered a large rectangular chamber with eight bottomless pits.
The pits were not concealed and there were sufficient walking space between them to easily navigate the chamber. Shrieking and wailing filled the chamber just as the party had split to investigate north and south ends. Screaming, flaming skulls flew out from seven of the eight pits. Ambros flashed his holy symbol and all seven exploded.
“Nice.”
Nesterin the Explorer proceeded south, alone, to investigate the junction and corridor it leads to. Others remained in the pit chamber, attracted by the steel portcullis. Or rather, by alien sight behind it.
A vast chamber shrouded in darkness. Three onyx obelisks covered with indecipherable runes. A shallow pool of slowly swirling purple mass between them.
“Look!”
Gomm pointed at the shadows thrown by the steel bars. They did not match their light sources! The thief squinted, attempting to read the runes on the obelisk closest to him. Alas, such scripture was way beyond his understanding.
Ajar and Dalkanarion joined forced to lift the portcullis. Then Ignaeus and Gomm snuck into the chamber. The elf cast Read Magic and approached one of the onyx obelisks. Gomm held a lantern, following Ignaeus
Nesterin hugged the wall, creeping down the corridor. He held up the torch with one hand, whilst keeping the other on the grip of his weapon. He soon felt a familiar smell of flammable oil tickling his nostrils. Few steps forward. Few more. Few more, once again. Stop!
The corridor opened up into a room mostly filled metal scraps—pieces of armour, broken weapons, pots and pans, so on and so forth. Some of them looked a tad shiny, like they were coated with liquid reflecting his torchlight. Oil slicks were all over the floor. Squinting, the metal heap kind of looked like a large lizard. Nesterin quickly retreated.
Ignaeus observed the obelisk. Runes danced in front of him, rearranging themselves until he could finally read them. Understanding them, now that was a completely different matter. First, it was clear that this was some kind of portal to a place best left unvisited. Second, the longer he tried to comprehend true meaning of what he was reading, the weaker elf became. Third, Gomm observed Ignaeus's shadow becoming thinner and thinner. By the time the elf had reached third obelisk his shadow was merely a collecting of specks.
The thief grabbed the elf by the hand and led him out of this accursed place and back into the pit chamber. At the same time Nesterin returned. With perfect timing, another seven screaming skulls arrived, only to be exploded by Ambros once more.
“I think we should get out of this place.”
“But we haven't found anything yet.”
“What about that skeleton with scroll? Surely it must be the key to this!”
And so adventurers went back to the resting skeleton. One good soul passed the sledgehammer to beefy Dalkanarion who smashed the glass with great gusto. Suddenly a loud sound of metal scrapping against the stone floor could be heard rapidly approaching from the east. Ambros yanked the scroll case out of skeleton's disintegrating hands, and they party bravely fled through the gnome figurine chamber.
Nothing chased after them. After nearly half an hour of discussing where to next, they agreed to backtrack to the antechamber and then follow the route towards the courtyard. They decided to investigate the chamber just before the exit into the aforementioned yard.
“Huh?”
A chamber chock full of dust. A layer of dust so thick it acts as a fluffy lining for anything thrown into the chamber. Dalkanarion the Brave moved in, sweeping the floor with his spear. No danger, sans choking to death if one has an allergy.
“Look!”
The Grecian warrior spotted a broom in the south-east corner. It too was covered in dust. Dalkanarion went straight for it. He grabbed the broom with his muscular hand, placed it between his legs, squeezed hard with his mighty thighs, and then jumped around the chamber.
“Fly! Fly!”
Alas, the broom did not fly, but he did get a good chuckle out of other adventurers.
Ambros decided that was the good time to check the scroll they recovered earlier. It exploded straight into his face, singing all facial hair and scarring him for life. The flash blinded him, leaving him to the mercy of his friends.
The party retreated into the dust room, barred the doors, and spent half and hour treating Ambros and planning their next move. And a plan was forged indeed.
Corridor leading up to this room has two junctions. The one closer to them splits into a corridor that was yet unexplored, but they were confident it leads to the chamber with scrap pile. Adventurers will come to the junction, make some noise, and then defeat the metal lizard with fire and steel.
Once Ambros had recovered, the party proceeded to execute the plan.
Dalkanarion and Ambros took the front rank.
Ajar and Nesterin were in the second rank.
Gomm and Ignaeus were in the back rank.
Dalkanarion banged his shield and roared like a lion.
Sounds of metal falling all over, followed by familiar sounds of scrapping, was exactly what the party had wished for.
Scrap metal lizard appeared at the edge of their torchlight.
Gomm swung clay pot full of flammable oil. It struck the lizard and set it alight, as well as the whole area around it. Metal lizard sucked in the flames and then vomited them straight back at the party, burning everyone in the corridor.
Still roaring, Dalkanarion charged the metal beast. Ambros followed. Gomm most certainly did not follow.
Steel blades clanged against iron and steel junk that formed the lizard's body. Monster sucked in the flames burning around it and breathed fire once more. Ambros and Dalkanarion endured and pushed on selflessly, bashing and slashing pieces of metal junk off the beast.
The lizard retreated backwards, leaking through all orifices.
“Run it down! Chase it!” Ajar of the Plan yelled, as everyone pursued the monster. Dalkanarion the Mighty skewered his sword straight into the beast's gullet, twisted it between the metallic plates, and then jerked upwards. Metal junk flew all over, as the lizard fell apart into nothing more than a pile of inanimate scrap.
The party stood singed but victorious.
“What if it comes back alive? Remember all those plated guards we fought? All of them had some ooze inside of them.”
The party stood singed and paranoid but victorious.
“Let's get out of here!”
“Come on, just one more doors! Just one more! Look, those over there! If it is something dangerous we just run!”
“But what if we can't run?”
“We just slam the doors shut and we run!”
“OK, fine...”
The party entered into a chapel-like chamber with tall stained glass windows looking into the courtyard. The windows were painted, depicting a scene of an man screaming fire into the sky while a witch on the broom flies high above. The witch in the image held a crossbow in each hand, pelting crying peasants and their chickens in the fields below.
Dalkanarion once again took the broom and tried the “Fly! Fly!” trick. While the warrior was jumping around with a stick between his legs, Gomm scaled the window with the witch. Then he took out a dagger and tried to pry out the part with the witch herself. Alas, he applied a bit too much force and cracked the glass. Diabolic laughter could be heard.
Dalkanarion abruptly rose off the ground, the broom lifting him. He grabbed onto it, intent on mastering the stick. But the broom had different ideas. It turned towards the window and flied straight through, shattering it backwards into the courtyard. The sky darkened and heinous laughter boomed all around. The warrior jumped off the broom, just in time.
“Well, well, well. I must congratulate you, young warrior.”
A blue dragon stared down at Dalkanarion from the tower in the courtyard.
“Do let me know your name, brave warrior!”
“Dalkanarion!”
“You just set free a witch that has been trapped in that glass for a century or two. I will endeavour to tell everyone I meet it was you who bravely set her free! Bravo!”
“Mighty dragon, would you be able to aid me in defeating that evil! I could use magical weapons and armour!”
“I might be able to, yes. But that largely depends on your tribute.”
“I swear my life and my honour, two most valuable things I posses!”
“My dear boy, I readily admit I am more of gems and jewellery gal myself.”
“Oh majestic dragon, my life and honour are all I can offer!”
“Oh” Sor'Ves repeated in mocking tone “in that case strip yourself of all belonging. You can remain in your clothes, I am not interested in soiled goods, thank you. Leave everything here and then leave me be.”
Other adventurers have been bravely hiding in the chapel, giggling softly.
“At least I keep my life...” Dalkanarion muttered to himself as he stripped. Then he jumped through the window where others consoled him.
“Hey, we went through the same thing. Don't feel bad about it.”
“I just wanted a flying broom...”
“Don't we all. Don't we all.”
Grecian warrior equipped himself with some scrap armour and weapons. Then the adventurers hauled lizard junk into one of the non-screaming pits. And then they finally left the dungeon.
Ah'sas did not welcome them, for they returned few hours after the nightfall. She was soundly sleeping, surrounded by her thralls.
Gomm plotted.
“It is time to act.”
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