Day
29
The
companions awoke after an undisturbed yet fitful night's rest in the
gloomy depths of the cave system. After a meagre breakfast of smoked
fish and dried meats, the companions checked their gear and prepared
to descend into the pit.
“So...as
we agreed, I'll go first and have look,” said Makoa, voice low,
“And if it looks clear, I'll call you down.”
The
others nodded. Cullen drew his bow and stood at the edge of the pit,
aiming down into the darkness, as they watched Makoa cautiously climb
down the rungs. They could just make out the shadowy figure of the
half-Orc as he reached the bottom but as he did, they heard a gasp
and the lanky figure came rushing back up. On reaching the top, they
could see he was wincing in pain and clutching the side of his face.
“Something's
not right,” he hissed, through gritted teeth, “I got to the
bottom and then there was this pain...shooting through the side of my
face...”
Cullen
continued to cover the pit with his bow as the others looked to
Makoa.
“It's
easing off now,” whispered Makoa, rubbing the strange scar on the
side of his face.
“Let
me have a go,” said Ashrem, loosening his sword in its sheath.
Xin
dropped a torch down into the chamber below. Not much use at the
moment, as the pit dropped down thirty feet before opening up, but it
would illuminate the chamber for Ashrem once he reached the bottom
rung.
Ashrem
climbed down with the others standing around the top, aiming bow and
crossbows into the pit.
“There's
a statue,” said Ashrem, from the bottom rung, “And a strange sort
of slimy cube. It's quivering...” Ash let go of the bottom rung,
drawing his great-sword as he landed in the chamber below. “It's
moving...!”
Cullen
stowed his bow and began to climb down after his friend. “Hold on,”
he said, descending as quickly as he could, “I'll pull you back
out!”
Makoa
followed Cullen, wincing at the pain in his face. Xin began to climb
down after the half-Orc but halted about halfway down, grunting in
pain and rubbing at his leg.
The
slimy cube, meanwhile, had almost reached the lanky half-Elf warrior.
“Grab
my hand!” shouted Cullen, holding out his hand from the bottom
rung.
Ashrem,
ignoring his old friend, slashed at the strange creature and sloughed
off a large section of the quivering jelly-like substance. The
creature, seemingly unbothered, lurched towards the half-Elf.
Makoa,
several rungs above Cullen who was still holding out his hand, jumped
down into the chamber. Diving to the side of the gelatinous thing, he
rolled into a position behind it, pulling out his crossbow as he
stood.
“Aw...shit,”
muttered Cullen, letting himself drop just behind the half-Elf and
readying his sword and shield.
Xin,
meanwhile, descended to the bottom rung. Muttering a series of
mystical incantations, the half-Elf sorcerer lowered his hand and
pointed at the slimy cube, sending forth a burning hand that hissed
and sputtered as it made contact with the gelatinous creature.
Suddenly,
the creature lurched forward, completely engulfing the lanky half-Elf
warrior who was suspended in the centre of the gelatinous cube. The
sorcerer's hand, too, was caught by the quivering mass, causing the
half-Elf to also drop into its slimy middle.
Cullen,
fortunately, was able to dive to the side and avoid being engulfed,
instead joining Makoa at the far end of the room. The half-Orc shot a
crossbow bolt into the quivering cube as it began to move towards the
two remaining companions...but as it did so it suddenly collapsed
into a pool of slime, releasing the two half-Elves.
“That
hurt!” said Ashrem, wincing as he wiped slime from his face. Xin
nodded in agreement, rubbing his leg. The two bedraggled half-Elves
were also suffering from some sort of acid burn, their skin red and
raw. Makoa tended to them both as best he could, while Cullen looked
around.
The
chamber was made from worked stone, a far cry from the natural
caverns above, and the floor was polished marble. On one of the walls
several gems were embedded in a relief depicting numerous reptilian
forms gathered around a strange pyramid. There was also the statue,
some strange , beetle-like figure or god. Finally, there was a
collapsed corridor...the only exit from the chamber.
With
Xin and Ashrem mostly recovered from their ordeal, Makoa searched for
signs of Troglodytes.
“Odd,”
he muttered, rubbing his fingers along one of the walls, “This
place is completely clean. No tracks. Nothing.”
Makoa
began to feel along the walls, looking for signs of any hidden exits
or rooms. As he did so, Xin went up to the relief and began to prise
out the gemstones. Ashrem and Cullen, meanwhile, sifted amongst the
slime, picking out various undigested remains, including a
breastplate, a sword and gold holy symbol of Iomedae.
“Here!”
exclaimed Makoa, suddenly. His fingers traced the outline of a hidden
door. Putting his ear to it, he frowned. “Listen...a tapping
noise.”
The
others joined the half-Orc at the wall, listening to the persistent
clanking.
“Before
we try and open it, I'm going to check the rest of the walls,” said
Makoa. “Don't want any nasty surprises.”
Several
moments later, he called to the others again. “Look! Another door,”
he said, pointing at another faint outline. “This one's quiet,
though”
“Which
one first?” asked Cullen, readying his sword and shield.
“Best
deal with the one that almost certainly has something behind it,”
said Xin, the others nodding in agreement.
Cullen
pulled a sun-rod from his belt, tapping its tip to light it, and
pushed the secret door open. Inside, the chamber was partially
collapsed and covered in rubble. Three small skeletal figures stopped
their hammering on the long-dead forge and turned to look at the
burly warrior in the doorway.
As
Cullen began to move forward, he realised there was something wrong
with the air...it was heavy and hard to breathe, though not enough to
stop him. “Something wrong with the air...” he called, just as
one of the skeletons threw a strange sort of club on a length of
cord. Hitting Cullen, the skeletal figure tugged on the cord, pulling
the club back.
From
behind him, Cullen could hear Xin muttering arcane incantations.
Suddenly, two of the skeletal figures slipped to the ground. Cullen
reached the one that remained standing and slashed at it with his
sword, the blade skittering over the old bones and doing little
damage.
Ashrem
joined Cullen, unusually swinging a war-hammer rather than his usual
great-sword. “Much better for this sort of work,” said Ashrem,
grinning, as one of the prone skeletons exploded into fragments of
bone and dust.
From
behind them came the twang of Makoa's crossbow. “Bugger!” grunted
the half-Orc, as the bolt skittered off the bones of the standing
skeleton.
Suddenly
Xin, who had now entered the chamber, began to cough and splutter and
the torch he was holding began to fizzle and spark. “Sorry...” he
gasped, beginning to back away towards the door.
Cullen,
meanwhile, cursed as his blade stabbed through the diminutive
skeleton's ribcage, again doing little in the way of damage.
Fortunately, Ashrem obliterated the other prone skeleton with his
warhammer, leaving only the one standing. Another bolt passed through
the creature as it tried to claw at Ashrem.
“That's
more like it!” shouted Cullen, as his blade smashed through the
thing's skull, reducing it to a pile of bones.
Keen
to escape the tainted air, the three companions gave the chamber only
the most cursory of looks before getting out, gasping for a cleaner
breath.
“Maybe
we can burn off the bad air,” mused Xin, recovered after a little
while.
“Worth
a try,” replied Makoa, shrugging.
As
the others stood back from the door, Xin flicked a spark from his
fingertip into the partially collapsed chamber. A moment later, there
was a terrific boom and the room was engulfed in flames, more rocks
falling from the ceiling.
After
retrieving a few of the least fire-damaged items from the chamber,
the companions turned their attention to the other hidden door.
Cullen again stood ready, shield held high and sword drawn. Pushing
this door open revealed another partially collapsed chamber, though
in much better shape than the previous one. Here the walls were
covered in intricately carved writings in an ancient language. Beyond
a tunnel led steeply downwards.
Unable
to decipher the ancient writings, the companions followed the tunnel
down. Moments later, they came upon a corridor veering off to the
south, blocked by a barricade. From down this tunnel came a low,
ethereal moan.
“Best
leave this one for the moment,” whispered Cullen. “Unlikely
anything can get past this barricade and I don't like the sound of
whatever is down there.”
The
others agreed, though Ashrem did so reluctantly. They continued along
the tunnel as it wound its way around until they finally came to a
circular chamber, a low blue mist rising off the floor up to their
knees. Carvings of reptilian faces adorned the walls.
Suddenly
a small dog-sized creature skittered out of the shadows.
Scorpion-like, the creature seemed to be made entirely of crystals or
gems. It immediately made for Xin and began to nuzzle into one of his
pockets, pulling out one of the gems he had prised loose from the
first chamber. Remaining calm, Xin pulled out the rest of the gems.
One by one, he dropped them on the floor, leading the creature out of
the circular chamber and back into the previous one.
“What
was that?” hissed Cullen, lowering his sword and shield.
Makoa
shrugged, turning his attention to the chamber. There was little of
interest other than the carvings and a set of double doors. With Xin
returned from leading the crystal scorpion away, they readied
themselves to open the doors. With Cullen and Ashrem in front,
weapons ready, and Makoa and Xin behind, crossbows in hand, Cullen
slowly pushed open the door....
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