Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 139
Adventurers
| Character | Race | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ludd Nuck | Human | Fighter level 1 | A lad from the farm, still wet behind the ears and smelling of dung whom became an adventurer to impress a village lass who jilted him. |
| Drokh | Human | Monk level 1 | A tall, lean human monk with piercing eyes, weathered skin, and a warrior’s poise—calm and charismatic, he speaks with purpose and strikes with precision, wielding spear, bow, and blade. |
| Arete | Human | Cleric level 1 | Young cleric of Athena, seeking to establish himself and gain more knowledge. |
| Talik | Half-elf | Fighter level 1 / Magic-user level 1 | Young, impoverished and inexperienced fellow who took up adventuring for the money. |
| Dalkanarion | Human | Fighter level 5 | A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
| Sted Jalen | Human | Assassin level 1 | A mass of burnt scar tissue hidden by layers and layers of actors' slap. Rather taciturn. |
| Nandos | Dwarf | Fighter level 1 | Grew weary of clan politics and doing low level hired muscle work, so decided to become an adventurer instead. |
Sweetrain 5th, Spiritday
Smell of fresh blood permeated the air. Screams of fleeing enemies echoed down the dark corridors. Nuck, Drokh, Arete, and Talik scanned the chamber for any immediate threats.
One of the brigands had surrendered. He stood, utterly defeated, and thoroughly soiled. Five of the brigands slept like babies, courtesy of Talik's arcane prowess. Four were sent to eternal slumber, while the best armoured one was dragged to the large chamber up north.
Dalkanarion remained in the bloody sleeping quarters, while Drokh took the guard duty at the eastern corridor. There was an open pit trap with a fresh corpse inside. The trap was jammed open with several polearms and ten foot poles. There were one foot ledges on both sides. A vast, dark chamber waited ahead. Smell of old death was palpable.
Nuck, Arete, and Talik reconvened with Ambros, and Marlon. Heavy footmen were clearing the chamber and fortifying the complex entrance. Arete slapped the sleeping prisoner awake. Interrogation was about to proceed.
This was a middle-aged man in his thirties, possibly Thabrian or Ghinarian if one was to judge by his complexion. His teeth were yellow, his hair greasy and lice ridden. Puffy black rings adorned his eyes. He slumped in defeat, perfectly aware of what awaits him in presence of Hara's Justice Supreme. And yet, he couldn't control his tongue even if it meant quick death.
“My men? They are all right here!”
“To north? That's where our supplies are. I hope you chock on them!”
“West? Oh man, death, just death. I hope you go there!”
“East? Yes, you guessed right, more death!”
“Down the well? Flesheaters. You should give them a visit!”
“Nothing you can do to me is worse than what Klekless Racoba will do to me for this failure!”
“What do you want me to say? This is a fucked up place. It wasn't my choice to lair here.”
Adventurers learned that the fugitive Wizard they came here for has left several days ago. A small contingent of brigands were left behind to guard their “lair” in this abandoned underground complex. Apparently, rest of it was trapped and inhabited by creatures most inhospitable.
While the interrogation took place, Drokh heard loud booming sounds coming from beyond the dark chamber ahead. It was a deep, reverberating sound, and yet muffled, like it came from far, far away. First time he heard it there was a boom. Then three. Then five. Then none.
Nuck, Arete, and Talik reconvened with Drokh. They decided to explore the room up ahead. They carefully crossed the open pit trap, and approached the chamber mouth. They threw a torch up ahead. It did not extinguish.
It was a vast chamber, torchlight barely illuminating three walls, with more pressing darkness to the east. Skeletal remains littered the floor. Two seven foot tall stone statues were visible to the north. Each was in the alcove. Both were of a man, standing shoulder width apart, dressed in something similar to a bath robe, with exposed privates, arms upwards with elbows pointed forward and palms up.
Sharpshooter Talik shoot off the left statue's manhood. It did not animate to exact revenge. Arete picked up the torch and threw it forward. More of the chamber was illuminated, revealing an archway to the south and an open corridor to the north. Also, two female statues to the south-east.
Rotted cloak on which the torch fell caught fire. A pale arm rose from beneath, with skin so taut bones almost protruded from it. The undead with hateful beady eyes stood up, and patted the fire out. Adventurers charged it without delay.
Arrows sunk into the cloaked figure.
It did not flinch.
Spear and sword cut into its emaciated body.
It did not flinch.
“Uh oh.”
Arete called on Athena.
But Athena did not hear him.
Arete parried and blocked, dodged and evaded. And then his face was caught by the undead. Those beady hateful eyes gazed into his own. The cleric could feel his very own life energy being drained out of him. He grew weaker by the second, until he too was nothing but a taut skin over bones.
Remaining adventurers watched in horror as Arete drop down to the ground, nothing but a lifeless husk. Dalkanarion barreled in, just in time to witness a fellow worshiper of Athena fall. Oathkeeper hummed as the Grecian warrior drove it straight through the creature.
The monster wailed and screamed. Realising he cannot contribute much, Nuck had disengaged and approached the southern archway. His intent was to watch guard in case anything might come from that direction. He was immediately dive bombed by three obese bat-mosquitoes with long. They brought him to the ground and sucked him dry.
Dalkanarion chopped the undead down just in time to be assaulted by five flying bloodsuckers. Now it was a wild melee, with Talik and Drokh involved too. Unarmoured monk dodged, until he hadn't. He too was sucked dry. Talik and Dalkanarion successfully slayed all the stirges.
Talik checked on three fallen adventurers. Arete was most certainly, chillingly, lifeless. Nuck and Drokh were properly messed up, but had some life left in them. Still, Talik and Dalkanarion dragged their three fallen allies back to the chamber with Ambros and the crew.
Ambros inspected the injuries. He confirmed that Arete is dead dead, while Drokh and Nuck are just nearly dead. The latter two will need several weeks of strict bed rest, but they should heal up fine.
Talik and Dalkanarion were eager to continue exploring the complex—they were still healthy and strong. They were joined by an assassin Sted Jalen, and a dwarf fighter Nandos. They returned to the statue chamber without delay.
The room was some fifty by ninety feet. Two male statues were in the north west corner, while two female statues were in the south east corner. An archway to the south led to stairs leading down, while a corridor to the north led to a four way junction.
Sted searched all the remains in the room. He recovered a total of five hundred and fifty electrum pieces and one hundred platinum pieces. Dalkanarion and Nandos investigated the female statues. These ones had their arms pointing downwards. Warrior noticed that one of them had a seam on its left arm, just beneath the elbow. It looked like the arm might turn or twist somehow.
Talik approached the statue he emasculated. He vanished.
“Uh, I better write that down!”
Nandos took out his chalk and wrote notes on the wall next to the statue. Then he returned to Dalkanarion, just in time to watch the warrior play with the statue's arm. It released a painful scream that echoed throughout.
“Better write that down too!”
The trio now approached the statue where Talik had vanished. They stepped forth, one by one.
⁂
Talik stepped forward. It all went black. The air changed. Now it was stale. Dusty. Moldy. He tapped around in the darkness. Floor was littered with something. Some things clanked. Some crunched.
He walked forward, slowly, until he reached a wall. The he turned right, placed his left palm on the wall, and extended his right arm to the side. He walked slowly. A turn! But at an angle. He followed. Another turn! Also at an angle.
His fingers came upon a groove. It was narrow and thin, but so were his fingers. Then he was blinded by the light.
Dalkanarion showed up first, followed by Sted and Nandos. The trio brought light with them, illuminating this curiously shaped chamber. It had seven walls in total, forming a rough diamond shape.
The chamber hosted a number of skeletal remains, some still in their rotting garments. There was some random trash too. Nandos joined Talik in investigating the groove—which was of a rectangular shape, like a door frame—while Dalkanarion checked other walls. Sted on the other hand, focused on the remains again.
He counted three broad swords, some sixty feet of rope that was still intact, two empty wineskins, a great helm, a suit of chain mail armour, two shields, one of them with pristine steel rim, a medallion, and a wand.
Nandos knocked on the groove-framed wall portion.
It sounded hollow.
⁂
Ambros, Marlon, and a squad of heavy footmen finished reinforcing the antechambers. They pooled valuables in the east end of the chamber. So far they collected a hundred copper pieces, eight hundred and twenty silver pieces, five hundred electrum pieces, twenty-three gold pieces, fifty platinum pieces, and a wrought gold necklace.
For how long will Ambros wait before Dalkanarion returns?
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