***** * The 8 player characters contained in these writings are copyright * 1992 by Thomas Miller. Any resemblance to persons or characters * either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. Copying and/or * distribution of these stories is permissible only under the one * condition that no part of them will be used or sold for profit. * In that case, I hope you enjoy them. ***** ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PARTY (temporarily split up; this is the "sea" group): Belphanior, 6th/6th/7th level high elf fighter/mage/thief (CN) Ged, 7th/7th level grey elf priest/mage of Boccob (NG) Mongo Thunderhead, 8th level dwarf fighter (CG) Rillen, 8th level human fighter (N) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 1/7/571 C.Y. (Common Year) Time: late afternoon Place: somewhere in the Suss Forest ------------------------------------------------------------------ LVII. The Five Hemispheres After following a skeleton that Belphanior took control of, the sea group had come upon an opening in the forest floor and descended, warding away some wraiths. Suddenly, as they reached the stone floor below, two more of the undead apparitions sailed toward them... Ged: Aaaa! (brandishes his holy symbol of Boccob and yells at the monsters) Begone, by Boccob! BEGONE! (charges the pair of wraiths) wraiths: ssss... (vanish) Mongo: Hey, good going there! Ged: Whew. Yea, my - err, Boccob's - holy power is waxing high today. Rillen: Let us hope it stays that way. Belphanior: Bah. Let the undead come. I am ready for them! They were in a circular chamber, almost totally overgrown with plants and vines. Rubble littered the place, and there was much dust about. A few puddles of stale black water were visible in the place too. The chamber was basically a hemisphere of thirty foot radius; the ceiling/roof was shattered at the top of the staircase the party used to enter. A single open corridor led away, to the northwest. There were three window-like openings spaced equally around the perimeter of the place, but these were blocked by rubble and vegetation. Mongo: Boy, this place is _old_. I've never seen architecture like it! Rillen: Me neither. Then again, I have never come down into a dungeon like this one, so I would not know. (bumps into a wall) Oof. I cannot see a thing here. Ged: We need light. Well, _you_ need light. Rillen: This is true. I cannot see in this place. Belphanior: (lights a lantern and hands it to the warrior) Here. Rillen: Thank you. Mongo: So, let's explore this place! Ged: Very well. (they move toward the exit) Mongo: Look here. (pokes at some debris with his boot) This used to be a wooden door, but now it's rotted into formless crap. Rillen: Hmm. Ged: Sort of like Peldor's sense of morality... Belphanior: (looking around) How long has this place been here? The corridor led into another room shaped just like the first. This new chamber had four exits, one of them leading to the entry room, thus: ____ ____ / \ N / \ | | W+E | | | | S | | \ ____ \ / ____ / \ \ / / \ \ / / \ \ ____ / / \ / | SECOND | | ROOM | / ____ \ / / \ \ / / \ \ ____ / / \ \ ____ / / \ \ | | | ENTRY | | | | ROOM | \ ____ / \ ____ / The second room was obviously the center of this complex of five chambers. There were more weeds and bits of rubble here, though not as many as in the last room. A small, spiraling staircase led downward from the center of this room; its steps were hewn from the very rock itself, but were cracked in many places, as if an earthquake had once rocked this place. Some of the steps were jutting at odd angles, and dusty chips of stone littered them all. The four exit corridors had rotted door remnants like the last room, too. The party elected to save the stairs for later, and instead check the other three chambers. They moved into the north- eastern one next. Mongo: (leading the way) Hey, this looks like a furniture graveyard! Rillen: Is there such a thing? Belphanior: Yeah. (pokes an old, rotted couch) We're here, all right. This room was full of rotted furniture, in a lesser state of decomposition than the doors to these five rooms. A couch was propped against a wall, but its cushions sagged deeply, and the legs were long since broken. Chairs were strewn about, mostly fallen over. A large, heavy table lay collapsed in the center of the room, its legs splayed out to all sides; it looked for all the world like a gigantic, squashed spider. Belphanior: (steps on one of the upright chairs' seats) Hmm? (the thing collapses with a brittle cracking sound) Hmm. Rillen: They were just not built to last, I guess. Mongo: (poking through the furniture) Nothing of use here. Ged: (examining a sagging wine rack on one wall) What's this? Look, some of these bottles are intact! Belphanior: (wanders over to the elf) Let me see that. (grabs a wine bottle) Hey, no fair. This one's been opened. Nothing left inside. Mongo: (finds a metal key-ring under a rotted couch cushion) Look at this, guys! Keys! (jangles the ring) Rillen: We will not be needing them, if all the doors are gone. Ged: Good job, there. (shakes a wine jug) Something's rattling inside this... Belphanior: Pull the stopper off, then. Ged: (uncorks the bottle) There. (aims the open end at the floor) I wonder what's inside here? Belphanior: Watch it! (grabs something shiny that fell out of the jug) Gems! Turn that right side up before more come out and are shattered on the floor. Ged: Right. Here, I'll pour them out onto this empty sack. Belphanior: (holding a finely-cut garnet up to the lantern) Nice. (quickly pockets the gem) Let's have a look at those, now. Rillen: (overturning couch cushions with his staff) What is this? Mongo: Huh? Rillen: I found a sack. Mongo: Oh. (moves over and grabs the large sack) Rillen: No- Mongo: (the rotted sack quickly rips apart, and dull coins flow out onto the ground) Oops. Rillen: Who is going to pick all of those up now? Mongo: (examining a coin) What the hell...? Ged: (he and Belphanior have collected all the gems from the jug) What's that? (they walk over) Coins? Mongo: Look at these. They're dated wrong. "2074?" Ged: Hmm. Nah, couldn't be. Rillen: What? What are you thinking about? Ged: Well, it's like this. Certain old empires had...different dating schemes than the one commonly used now. I don't really know the specifics, that's more up Peyote's alley. He's the ancient history expert. Supposedly. Mongo: I wonder how he's doing? Him, and the rest. Including that worthless rat Peldor. Belphanior: Who knows? So, these coins may be older than our current civilization, is that what you're saying? Ged: Yep. Belphanior: Cool. Let's collect them and get on our way. Soon, they were headed into the northwest chamber, which used to be some kind of bedroom, apparently. A rotting stench met the adventurers at the doorway to the room. Mongo: Phew! That smells worse than Krug's feet used to! Ged: Yea. (clutches his holy symbol) Rillen: (shining the lantern over their heads, illuminating the room) Nice bed. Belphanior: (enters the room with Mongo) Dresser, table, bed, chairs. Junk - but who can tell what treasures it might hide? (begins searching through the dresser) Ged: Good guess. (also searching the dresser) Look here! I found something. Mongo: Where? Ged: Umm...looks like the sock drawer. (holds up a small cube) Rillen: That is not a sock... Belphanior: Hang on to that, we'll examine it later. Ged: Right. Mongo: Hey, I bet that bed would collapse if I jumped on it. Rillen: Why would you want to jump on it? Mongo: Ah, never mind. (examines the chairs) Rillen: (examining the bed) Ged: (casts detect evil on himself) Boccob will show us any of the unholy in this forsaken place. Belphanior: Come again? Rillen: Yaa!! (leaps back from the bed) Ged: Evil! Mongo: What the fuck?!? Rillen: There is something under the bed! There! The ancient bed creaked, and then was lifted into the air, as a large, pale form stood upright. The rotted canopy of the bed tore as the bed was overturned and fell on its side behind the creature. The thing was big, even taller than Rillen, and its thin form was swathed in grimy white tatters of cloth. Glowing eyes riveted on the four companions, the thing shambled forward. Rillen: Yaa! It is the bandage man! (he, and the others, make their saves vs. fear) Mongo: (grabs his hammer) Geez, his eyes are as bright as yours, Belphanior. Belphanior: Really? Ged: Mummy! (advances, holy symbol raised high) By the power of Boccob, get back, foul fiend! Back! mummy: Errrr? (continues onward) Snr! Ggh! Ged: Uh-oh! (backs up) Get him, guys! Mongo: Check! (hurls his hammer at the thing, bashing its rotten head; worms and dirt are scattered everywhere) Yah! Rillen: (strides forth and hits the monster with his staff) mummy: Yrr! Rrrrar! Mongo: I don't think he felt that...(catches his hammer) Rillen: I guess I need to make a better point. (flips his staff's blade out, and points it at the mummy) Belphanior: (considering using his last potion of undead control) Gah! Do I, or not? Decisions, decisions... Ged: Bah! Boccob strikes in more ways than one! (fires a Burning Hands at the mummy) mummy: Rrrr? RARRR! (bursts into flame instantly) Mongo: Yeah! Ged: Boccob! Belphanior: (covering his eyes) Whew, that's hot! He sure burns well... Ged: It's still coming for us! Rillen: No, it is not. (runs forth and delivers the mummy a flying kick, sending its fiery form tumbling back - right into the old bed, which then promptly blazes up as well) Mongo: Cripes! The whole place'll be up in flames soon! Let's get the hell out of here! Ged: Good plan! (they retreat, as other things start to catch on fire) Just outside the chamber, in the corridor, they paused, and looked back, but foul smoke rolled their way, and they opted to keep going. Ged cast a spell and created a large puddle of water in a convenient depression in the floor outside the flaming room. Somewhat content, he rejoined the others in the central chamber. Belphanior: Enough of this shit. (casts Detect Undead on himself) No more undead sneaking up on _me_! Ged: I guess not. Let's check the last room. (they enter the corridor leading to the southwestern chamber) The last of the five chambers appeared to have once been a kitchen and dining area. A large brick oven was built into one wall, and rotted cabinets decorated other walls. A large table stood in the center of the room, looking as if it might collapse at any minute, and eight chairs circled it, some of them fallen. Belphanior: I wonder what's in _here_? (grabs a cabinet door and pulls it open, but the door comes off in his hand) Rillen: Hmm. (peers inside some exposed cabinets) Nothing is in these but a lot of dead bugs. Belphanior: (searching other cabinets, finds nothing) Damn. Mongo: Nice oven. I've never seen one like it. (opens the oven, hammer raised) Yaaa! (leaps back, as something inside lunges at him) Shit! (slams the oven door) Help! Ged: (rushes over to the dwarf, who is now holding the oven door closed as whatever is inside slams against it from within) I'll get a spell ready! Just hold it for a few more moments! Mongo: Hey, it stopped. Belphanior: (approaches, spell at the ready) Look! At the door's edges! A grayish, oozing mass was squirting through the door's edges on all sides. Mongo took one look at it and leaped back, even as the thing threatened to touch his hands. Mongo: Yah! It's coming out! (raises his hammer, ready to throw) The oven door opened slowly, and a pulsing mass of ooze flowed over the edge and onto the floor. Belphanior: I'll blast it! (launches a Flaming Sphere at the thing) Burn, blob, burn! ooze: (flows out of the burning sphere, apparently unaffected) Ged: Hah! It will take my mighty magics to prevail here! (casts a barrage of four magic missiles at the glob) ooze: (continues onward as the missiles hit it) Ged: Wha-? Belphanior: Heh heh. Rillen: (drops his staff and draws his longbow) Maybe weapons will hurt it. Belphanior: I'm not gonna charge at that thing! Fuck that! Rillen: Me neither. (fires an arrow at the ooze) ooze: (slows for a moment as the arrow hits it, but then moves forward again) Mongo: (thinking about the welfare of his hammer) Aaaa! What can stop the thing?!? (grabs a brick and hurls it at the ooze) ooze: (absorbs the brick) Rillen: (hits the ooze with another arrow) Stick around, slime. I have a lot more points to make. Belphanior: (sheaths his sword and hunts for his wand) Ged: (preparing another spell) Rillen: (fires a third arrow at the blob, hitting again) Mongo: (picks up a huge boulder, hefting it over his head with some difficulty) Hey, you! Globbo! (throws the rock onto the thing, causing a splattering sound) Rillen: No good. It is flowing around the rock. Belphanior: (pointing his wand at the ooze) Let's see how it reacts to lightning. (blasts the monster) ooze: (melted into a gray smear as ozone fills the room) Rillen: (coughing) Electrifying. Mongo: Hey, it worked! Ged: Good job there. Now I don't have to cast another spell. Belphanior: Let's search the place and split. They found nothing of interest in the chamber, and moved back to the central room. After resting for a bit, the foursome made ready to descend the spiral stone staircase. next time: The party moves deeper into the lost city... FTP SITE: tybalt.caltech.edu (in pub/adnd/fluff/adventurers) ******************************************************************** NOTES: I wish I could spare more time to write these, but I have three design projects and a final paper to do in the next 2.5 weeks and am keeping busy. About the second week of September, I'll be out of classes for three weeks - and you all know what that means. Okay, maybe not. That means 3-4 episodes per week... ********************************************************************