# The Unusual Heroes Reborn



## Ziona (May 30, 2002)

*A New Beginning*


_Prologue_

The grey-haired halfling stood up from his spot by the fireplace to answer the door.  He did not move as slowly as one might expect from a halfling his age, and his mumblings were proof that he was rather spry as well.

“Damn Lumley…can’t let me relax…always ‘lookee here what I found’ and ‘lemmee see what that is…”

As he approached the door, he sighed, thinking of how lonely he’d been since the death of his wife.  Lox Lumley may be a mischievous young fellow, he thought, but he is also a distraction from the loneliness.  

“That you, Lumley?”

“Oh, boy, Nuttin!  Wait ‘till ya see who’s here!”

Nuttin opened the door to see his hairy-footed halfling friend with his eyes aglow and a smile on his face that showed all of his teeth.

“Nuttin! It’s Dent! Look, he’s back!”

Nuttin stepped out from the doorway to see their half-elven friend smirking.
“The months go by, yet Lox Lumley remains unchanged, eh, Nuttin?”  

“Isn’t it grand, Nuttin?  So what sorts of monsters and baddies did you see while you were away, Dent?  Was it like that one time when we went into those Dwarven mines?  Did you bring me anything sparkly or some sort of magical bauble?”

“Lumley!” bellowed Nuttin.  “Settle down. Let the ranger have a seat and a hot meal before you go driving him loony with your silliness.” 

“Okay, okay. I was just hoping for something interesting.  It’s been awful boring around here, Dent.  You must have an exciting story to tell us, right?”

Dent just shrugged and entered Nuttin’s abode with Lox following closely behind, chattering away.

***************************

After a few days, Dent Masterson decided he would venture off again.  He did not enjoy spending long periods of time in town, even one as small as this in Featherdale.  Just as he finished packing up his things, Lox burst through the door.

“Hey Dent!  Nuttin!  Guess what I found at the tavern?”

“It better not belong to the serving wench again, Lumley!  You’ll be tossed outta there for good if you keep up your shenanigans,” grumbled Nuttin.

“Naw, nuthin like that.  Besides, I just found her pretty brooch on floor next to the bar that one time.  I was just holding it for her so she wouldn’t lose it…”

“Lox, what did you find?”

Lox looked up at Dent. 
“Oh yeah!  I found this flyer on the wall.  Everybody was talking about it. I thought it would be a great adventure for the three of us!”

Lox held up the flyer, which read:
 “Make your dreams come true!  Brave Lord Korvish challenges you to conquer his maze for the reward of one True Wish!”  

The flyer looked as though it had been torn hastily from the wall, and was missing a portion at the bottom.  (Lox forgot to tell them it was the part about the “perils” and “dangers” of the maze.)

“Can you imagine?  What would you wish for, Dent?  I think I’d wish for ten bags of gold…or no, wait!  Ten bags of gems!  Or better yet…”

Lox’s excited, shrill voice trailed off in the ears of Dent Masterson, who was thinking that this “true wish” could make his own desire a reality.  He took the flyer from Lox and studied the script with serious eyes.

“What sort of nonsense is he spouting now?” asked Nuttin.

“A wish! A true wish! Imagine anything you want, Nuttin! Wouldn’t it be just wonderful,” Lox continued.

“Eh?  A wish?  Well, that’s a mighty interesting reward for conquering the maze,” Nuttin thought aloud, “but how do we know what the maze is like?  Where’s the rest of the flyer, Lox?”

“Oh, uh, I guess it must be stuck on the wall still. I had to jump up to reach it, you see,” he said with a sheepish grin.

Nuttin began to imagine what a wish could do to drive away the loneliness he felt in his heart.  What if it was really true?  A wish…

“When do we leave?” asked Lox.

“Well, do we even know where this maze is?  It’s probably the part you left hanging on the wall, you oaf.”

“It’s on the outskirts of Waterdeep,” interrupted Dent.  “I can take us there.”

“What?  Can we really take this seriously,” asked Nuttin.

“Lox, when was this flyer posted in the tavern?”

“Today.  I watched the bard put it up on the wall.”
Lox reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a plush bag.
“He dropped this pouch, but he left too quickly for me to give it back to him.  Wanna see what it has in it,” asked Lox excitedly.

“Lumley!!” shouted Nuttin, shaking his fist angrily.

“If we are to take this maze and the wishes seriously, we should depart in the morning,” began Dent.  “Who knows how many others have read the poster…or how many have already left to get to Korvish’s maze.  A wish is a hefty prize to be awarded. It’s sure to attract many adventurers.”

“Oooh…you mean we’ll get to meet other adventurers?  I bet they have plenty of stories to tell. I could tell them stories, too!  Like the time we went into the Dwarven mines to rescue Alfred, or when I helped the Paladin shine his armor, or that one time…”


_ The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (May 30, 2002)

* The Road To Waterdeep *

Dent and Nuttin quickly found that Lox Lumley did not tire easily.  The morning they left they had a hard time getting him out of bed, but he was a bundle of energy once he was on his feet.  Constantly telling stories, (“Did I ever tell you about that one time…”), and forever “finding” things that belong to Nuttin (“I was just holding it for you…”), it seemed that Lox was truly tireless.  The only time he was quiet for a short while was when Dent told him brief stories of living in the wilderness, or when he was asleep. (However, even while sleeping he managed to make enough noise by snoring to keep Nuttin annoyed).

If nothing else, Lox’s stories helped to pass the time on their somewhat long journey.  One story that interested both Dent and Nuttin was about the current leader of the Thieves’ Guild in Waterdeep.

“Rumor has it that he made it through the maze and got a wish,” cried Lox in awe.  “I wonder what he wished for…do you think that’s how he managed to become the leader?  I wonder if I could wish for the same wish that someone else already wished…Nuttin, do you think that could happen?  Or do you suppose it would just not work, or maybe there would be some sort of magical explosion…”

Nuttin just sighed and rolled his eyes, losing interest in Lox’s story.  Between reprimanding and keeping an eye on Lox, Nuttin felt as though he was still raising one of his younglings.  When Nuttin told stories, it was usually about his wife or kids, or the times he had when he was a young halfling.  These stories usually ended with “and if I ever tried to get away with the shenanigans you pull Lumley, my hide would be as tanned as leather!”  Nuttin considered his stories to have some worth, not like the chattering that Lox spewed.

Dent was quiet, almost somber, on the way to Waterdeep.  His eyes often showed that he was deep in thought, and something serious furrowed his brow.  Many times he would scout ahead and long moments would pass before the halfling duo saw their friend.  Dent would return with interesting berries to snack on, or a quick story about an animal he saw in the woods.

Several weeks had passed when Dent informed his halfling companions that they were nearing the area of Lord Korvish’s Keep.  The trio had gone South-West through Cormyr, traveled through the Western Heartlands, and then followed the coast North towards Waterdeep.  Finally, they had arrived.

“I don’t see a maze, Dent,” said Lox, looking about.

“I hate to agree with Lox on anything, Dent, but where is this maze supposed to be?” asked Nuttin.

“I believe Korvish’s Keep is South from here. When we locate the Keep, I’m sure they’ll give us the location of the maze,” Dent replied.

The halflings followed Dent, trusting their friend to get them to Korvish’s Keep.  Before long, they came upon a small traveler’s town that surrounded a large, lavish Keep.  

“Whoa, I bet that’s it!” exclaimed Lox.

“To be sure,” Nuttin smiled.

“But I don’t see a maze,” Dent noted. “They must give you the directions or the location once you agree to take the challenge.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s accept it,” cried Lox, running off into the town.

“Lumley, get back here,” bellowed Nuttin, trying to catch up with Lox.

Dent just smirked and shook his head.  Perhaps their wishes were about to come true.


_ The Adventure Continues…_


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## Dr Midnight (May 30, 2002)

Ziona-- NICE!
I forgot about what a writing style you have. Your dialogue here is pretty much as we tried to deliver it. Are you really going to try to recount the whole story of the maze, and bring things up to date? Quite a task...

Great to see my character Nuttin getting some respect in writing from the person whose PLAYER gave him the MOST CRAP. 

Again, great job. You keep that last sentence in mind next time you call me confrontational, "you g.d.m.f..."


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## Ziona (May 30, 2002)

*Lord Korvish’s Keep*

The traveler’s town was a busy spot, with common folk peddling their wares and walking about the streets.  It was obvious to Dent that there were more people in town than the peddlers were used to. The merchants hurried about, answering questions, showing off their items and trying extra hard to push their goods.  Dent thought he spotted a few adventurers here and there, noticeable by their armor or the weapons they carried.  It was a small town, but the busyness of it made him feel anxious, on edge.

“Hey Dent! Over here!”

He recognized Lox’s shrill pitch.  When he turned to look, Lox was holding a pint of ale.

“They have great ale in that tent over there,” he smiled.  

“Lox, where is Nuttin?”

“Uh, oh yeah. Where _is_ Nuttin? Shouldn’t he be here?”

“Lox, how many pints have you had?  Nuttin went running after you into the crowd,” Dent said, looking around.  “You must have seen him.”

Lox just looked around, trying to see what Dent was looking for, and spilled his ale all over himself.

“Lookee what happened, Dent…guess I need another,” he sloshed.

“I don’t think so, my friend.”  
Dent grabbed Lox by the scruff of the neck and lead him forward, keeping an eye out for Nuttin.  He caught bits and pieces of conversations going on around him, most of them pertaining to the maze.  

“Yeah, well, I heard that only eight people have ever made it outta there…”

“It’s supernatural magic, that’s what it is! He used supernatural magic to create it!”

“…the monsters are captured and put in there to scare people, or kill those who dare attack them…”

“…those adventurers have been in there for years trying to escape! The only thing that keeps them alive is a magical ring that Korvish gives ‘em to keep them from starving…”

Dent began to wonder where the maze actually was.  Could it be in Waterdeep?  Perhaps it has a spell on it to make it invisible, or maybe Korvish casts a spell on you and sends you into the maze.

“Crazy thoughts…these common folk and Lox are wearing off on me with their silly stories,” thought Dent.

“What do you think?”

Dent spun around to see Nuttin standing behind him dressed in cranberry colored robes.

“I hope they didn’t cost too much,” hiccupped Lox. 

“I was not addressing you, Lumley,” said Nuttin.  “You keep up wise mouthin’ and I’ll show you what a wizard can do.”

“Your robes are fine.  We should keep moving and get to the keep,” Dent advised.

“Fine robes, yes indeed,” Nuttin beamed. “These robes are the bees knees.”

“Bees knees?  Do bees have knees, Nuttin?  This one time, my Great Uncle Lumpkin Lumley got stung on the cheek and his face got swollen and he looked like a chipmunk…”

“Enough, Lox. We’re going to see Korvish about the maze,” said Dent flatly.

The guards at the gate asked if they intended on accepting the challenge of the maze, and allowed them to enter a reception hall.  Here they saw a few other adventurers who planned on entering the maze as well.  One, a red-haired male, had a scimitar strapped to his hip and a fiery, penetrating gaze.  Another was a female who had bare feet, no armor, and a head void of hair except for a braid that stemmed from the back of her head, and ran the length of her back.  Finally, there was a man who carried a spiked chain, dressed in black, and wore a silky black mask.  

“What an odd lot,” whispered Nuttin.

“An elf with two halflings are far from ordinary,” spat the man in black.  

“Half-elf, actually,” corrected Dent. “Your eyes must not be as keen as your ears, my friend.”

Lox looked up and saw the man in the mask and was instantly intrigued.  
“What an interesting mask you have!  I bet it’s made of the finest materials.  Why do you wear a mask?  Is there something wrong with your face?  Is it scarred and burned? Can I see it? I bet that’s an interesting story…”

“Lumley, quiet down. This is no time for your nonsense,” reprimanded Nuttin.

“Nonsense is all that can come from a halfling,” said the woman flatly.  

“Now you listen here, little miss,” began Nuttin.

Just then a middle aged man with graying hair and deep violet robes entered the room.  His stature was regal, and Lox’s eyes bulged when he saw how many golden trinkets the man wore.

“Greetings.  I am Lord Korvish.  Welcome to my Keep.”


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (May 30, 2002)

*WOOT!*



			
				Dr Midnight said:
			
		

> *Ziona-- NICE!
> I forgot about what a writing style you have. Your dialogue here is pretty much as we tried to deliver it. Are you really going to try to recount the whole story of the maze, and bring things up to date? Quite a task...
> 
> Great to see my character Nuttin getting some respect in writing from the person whose PLAYER gave him the MOST CRAP.
> ...




Thank you for the praise. I appreciate it.  
Of course my character gave you crap...but only in return for the crap she was given!! Did you really think you were going to get away with calling her "baldy?"  

Yes, I am going to bring the story up to date, which is going to be time consuming, but I'll get it done, "you g.d.m.f."


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## drexel (May 30, 2002)

I was just waiting for the halflings to die.  I didn't care enough about'm to make fun of them


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## Dr Midnight (May 31, 2002)

Fun game last night- GUESS WHO'S BACK?
The black fist of justice returns to the table with a new Roundie. Still bravely attacking things he doesn't have much of a chance of beating, and WINNING!


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## PaynAndispare (May 31, 2002)

Awesome ... cant wait to see what else you have coming out 

Keep it up


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## PaynAndispare (May 31, 2002)

Ack ... silly sig, thats better ... anyway, on with the show WOOOHOOOO


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## Horacio (May 31, 2002)

At last I've found the new thread!!!


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## Xaltar (Jun 1, 2002)

*Great Job!*

Ziona,

Great job telling the story so far!

For those of you who aren't part of the gaming group, this adventure is a heavily modified version of "Prisoner's of the Maze" from Sword & Sorcery.  

There are some pretty interesting encounters in that module that I'm sure will work into a very interesting story.  I have also used a few encounters/ resources from the "Forge of Fury" module.  

Once the party was at a compatible level, I allowed PC's who had characters from my Unusual Heroes campaign (which has been on a hiatus for a couple of months).

The party merger was successful as of last week and have teamed up to conquer Rappan Athuk, but that will all be revealed in time!!!

- Xaltar


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## Ziona (Jun 1, 2002)

*Lord Korvish & The Maze*

Lord Korvish smiled warmly after welcoming the adventurers.  He quickly glanced at around, as if he were taking mental notes about each one of them.  His smile never ceased.

The group looked about room.  It had beautiful and amazing artwork on every wall, and lavish décor from floor to ceiling.  It occurred to Lox that some of the tapestries and sculptures might be fetch a pretty penny, however, he hadn’t figured out a way to fit any of it in his pouches.  How he wished he had brought a larger pouch or sack!

“My Lord, we should make certain that each competitor understands the dangers of the maze,” said Korvish’s assistant.  

Korvish looked at the rotund man for a moment, then turned to the adventurers.

“You are here, so I assume that you are all willing to accept the dangers of the maze.  Since the reward is so great, I’m sure you understand the danger is equally as great.  Have you any questions before you are sent off?”

“Where is this maze,” asked the man with red hair.  

“Are we to be supplied with rations?” asked Nuttin.

“Can we keep whatever we find?” shouted Lox.

Lord Korvish cleared his throat to quiet down the bombardment of questions.  The furrow left his brow, and his warm smile returned.

“The maze is here, right beneath you,” he began.  “I will not be supplying you with rations, however, if you are savvy, you will not have to worry about food.  And as for keeping the items you find,” he said, looking at Lox, “there are many treasures to be found in the maze.  But what good are treasures if you don’t make it out?”

With that Korvish began to chuckle heartily.  
“Very amusing, my Lord,” chuckled his assistant, “very amusing indeed.”

Just then the woman with the bare feet strode quickly, yet gracefully, towards the laughing assistant.  

“At least one of us will leave here alive,” she snapped.  “Are we to be sent into the maze individually, or as one big happy family,” she growled.

Korvish stepped up to her, not feeling intimidated in the least.  His assistant however, had stopped laughing, his smile replaced with a grimace.

“Now calm yourself, mistress.  I’ve dealt with more violent, edgy competitors than the likes of you,” he began, “and have taken measures to protect myself, my assistants outside the maze, and my Keep from thugs such as yourself.  You will be sent in the same time as everyone else, insuring that the competition is fair,” he concluded.

“Lord Korvish,” asked Dent, hoping to break the awkwardness of the moment, “what if more than one of us defeats the maze?”

Korvish turned calmly from the woman, forgetting she was even present.  
“That is a good question, though _highly_ unlikely, I’m afraid.  Those who make it out of the maze are awarded a True Wish.  It does not matter if it is one or all of you.  A True Wish is granted for each competitor who defeats the maze.  Now, if that is all, you should really be on your way.”

With the wave of his hand, a bright portal opened next to Korvish.
“There you are.  Just walk through the portal and you will be instantly taken to the maze below the Keep.  Oh, and try to put on a good show…you will be watched, you know,” he said chuckling again.  His assistant managed a smirk, but glanced at the woman and decided not to join in the laughter.

“Wow, Nuttin! Look at that! It’s a real portal,” exclaimed Lox. “Me first! Me first!”
Lox ran headlong into the portal and disappeared.

 “Stupid Lumley,” groaned Nuttin. 

“Let’s be off before he gets into trouble,” said Dent.
The two friends walked side by side into the portal and disappeared.

“Ladies first,” said the red haired man.

The woman turned quickly, whipping her long braid about before walking into the portal.

The red haired man looked at the man in black.  
“After you, my friend,” he said.

“Thank you, but I prefer to let the smaller prey run ahead,” he said with a chuckle of his own.

“Very well,” replied the red haired man. “But any foul play, and you shall meet with my scimitar, sir.”  Grabbing the hilt of his blade, he entered the portal.

The man in black entered last, skulking through the portal and into the maze below the keep.

_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (Jun 1, 2002)

*Order in the Court!*

The group congregated at the other side of the portal.  They appeared in a corridor that had no beginning.  There was no door or opening, just a hall that lead into the maze.

“Hullo, everyone!”

Lox was standing at the other side of the corridor, blocking everyone from entering the maze.

“My name is Lox Lumley!  This is my friend Nuttin, and that’s my other friend, Dent Masterson.  Who are all of you?  We should get to know each other before we get going, don’t you think?”

“That’s not a bad idea, little one,” said the man with red hair.  “I am Venus Xyzx of Calim.  My scimitar is here to aid in the effort to defeat the maze.”

“Calim? Isn’t that a desert?  So that’s why your skin is so red,” blurted Lox.

 “My heritage as a fire genasi is reflected in my hair and skin tones, if you must know,” Venus replied flatly.

“Wow, did you hear that, Nuttin? A genasi!”

“And you milady?” asked Dent, trying to shut Lox up.

“I am called Prynne,” she replied. “I have come to obtain the True Wish.  If that means assisting you with my skill in the short swords and shadows, so be it.  But do not expect my loyalty outside of the maze.”

“Very well,” said Dent, “Just as long as you are a trustworthy ally.  I don’t think we’ll be needing any more enemies down here in the maze.”

“You’ll not find an enemy in me,” Prynne added, “But I am not here to make pals,” she said eyeing Lox.

“Nor am I,” said the man in black. 
“I am Belasco Banre.  Shall we enter the maze, or should we sit and entertain the halflings some more?”

“Now, just a minute, youngster,” started Nuttin. “You show some respect! We’re all here together.”

“And if we plan on getting out of here, Grandpa, we better get started,” snapped Prynne.  With that, she strode forward and lead the group into the maze.
“Ha! She called you Grandpa, Nuttin! And you aren’t even a Grandpa yet.  This onetime, my Grandpa…”

”LOX! Not now,” said Dent, “Let’s get moving.”

Nuttin took up the rear, mumbling about “baldy” and “respect for elders.”

The group traveled in silence for a short time, when they came upon two doors.  Prynne turned to ask which door they would like to enter, when Lox came running to the front of the line.

“I say we open this one,” he said, already picking the lock.

Before anyone could protest, Lox had the door opened and was already stepping inside.  As the party followed Lox into the room, they saw a large sculpture that looked as though it had finger-like appendages sprouting all over it.  

“Whoa, look at this,” said Lox.

”It appears to be wearing rings,” said Prynne.

“Seven rings for seven competitors,” said Dent.  “Though since we don’t know what they do, I wouldn’t suggest putting them on.”

“Too, late, I’m afraid,” said Nuttin. “You lunkhead, Lumley!”

“Well, I feel fine, and I put a ring on. Can I put on another one? You know, this one time, my cousin Lorne put on a ring and his finger turned green and fell off, but that didn’t happen to me, see?”

Lox held up his hand for all to see, and nothing seemed to be happening.

“Perhaps they are merely silver rings,” said Nuttin, “just part of the treasure to be found.”

“Or, perhaps the commoners outside the Keep spoke the truth,” said Belasco.

“What do you mean,” asked Venus.

“I overheard people talking in the marketplace about magical rings.  Perhaps these are the ones they were referring to,” he replied.

“I heard that, too,” remembered Dent. “Something about rings that keep you from starving.  Do you feel hungry, Lox?”

“Not at all, actually.  Do you really think the rings are magical?”

Each adventurer took a silver ring and wore it.  None of them felt any different.

“We’ll see in a few hours if you youngsters are right,” said Nuttin.

They continued on to the next door, which Lox cheerfully opened.  Without hesitation, he entered just as cheerily.

“Oh, hullo,” he said to the balding human sitting behind a bench with a gavel.  “I’m Lox. What’s your name?”

“You are guilty of high treason against Lord Korvish,” he shouted, striking the gavel. “You are to be tried by a jury of your future peers!”

The man motioned to the jury box to his right, where eight fleshy skeletons sat.  They looked angrily at Lox through empty eye sockets.  Next to the jury box stood two jailers, who each held shackles.  They too, looked angrily upon the group.

“C’mon, guys! Look at this!”

“Order in the court! You are guilty of high treason against Lord Korvish! Be seated so that the trial may begin,” shouted the insane judge.

By this time the party was mostly inside the room, keeping their hands near their weapons.  Nuttin was the last of the group to enter, and once he crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him.

“BE SEATED!”

Lox quickly grabbed a seat at the left side of the judge’s bench.  
“This should be very interesting,” he said.

The rest of the group decided to go along with this madness for the moment, and sat in the seats near Lox. 

“How do you plead?” boomed the judge’s voice.

“Not Guilty!” shouted Lox.

The judge looked to the jury.  One skeletal figure rose out of it’s seat and hissed, “GUILTY!”

“This is a waste of time,” said Prynne, getting up from her seat and advancing towards the door.

“Order in the court! Order in the court,” cried the judge.

Just then, the jurors sprang to life, extending their undead hands towards the group.  The rest of the party leapt up from their seats, weapons drawn, while the judge continued to shout, “Order in the court! Order in the Court!”


_ The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (Jun 1, 2002)

*Consequences*

Weapons were drawn and the shouting from the judge continued.  Meanwhile, Lox had managed to work his way through the impending melee and was unlocking the door that they had entered through.  When his picking was complete, he shouted, “Let’s get outta here, this is no fun!”

The judge, angered by Lox’s maneuvers, began shouting “You may not exit the court! You have committed high treason against Lord Korvish!”

Lox turned on his heel and shouted back, “I haven’t done nuthin’ wrong! And you can tell Lord Korvish that his ‘magical’ rings don’t work!”  
With that, Lox took off his silver ring and threw it at the judge, hitting him square in the brow, causing him to shout “Order in the Court!” repeatedly.

The party had exited the room and Lox had pulled the door shut.  The group waited, weapons ready, for the door to burst open.  After a few tense moments, they realized they were not being pursued, and sheathed their weapons.

“Let’s try not to waste anymore time,” Prynne said, eyeing Lox again.

“Lox, you really shouldn’t have thrown your ring,” Nuttin said. “What if it really is a ring that sustains you?  You’ll be hungry before long.”

“Don’t worry about me, Nuttin. I’ll be fine.”

“Well, if you were my youngling, I’da tanned your hide a long time ago for those kinda shenanigans.”

The party continued down the hall.  There seemed to be many passageways that lead to dead-ends, which Lox insisted on searching each time.  Finally, when they came to a passageway that lead to a door, Dent called upon Lox to check it for traps.  Finding none, he unlocked the door and skipped inside.

“Oooh, levers! I wonder what they do?” pondered Lox aloud.

There were six levers lining the back wall of the room.  Each lever was made of a different metal; Brass, Iron, Tin, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

“Lox, don’t touch…” cried Dent, but it was too late.  Lox had grabbed the silver lever and tugged hard.  A moment later, a panel slid out along the wall, revealing a small wooden box.

“Wow! A little treasure chest,” Lox beamed.

“Don’t pull anything else, you fool,” reprimanded Belasco.  “Our goal is to survive the maze, after all.”

Lox opened the box which, surprisingly, was not locked.  Upon opening the chest, a faint glow began emanating from within.  

“Wow…it’s all glowy inside. I wonder what’s in there that makes it glow like that…”
Lox quickly reached his hand inside the box, and pulled out a spiked chain.

“Look at what I found in the box, Dent!”

Dent, surprised that Lox actually found something within the glowing box that didn’t harm him, snatched the chest away.

“You are far too careless, Lox. You need to think more before you react,” he said.

“Let me have a look at that weapon, halfling,” called Belasco.  “I believe I can put that to better use than you.”

Lox handed over the spiked chain and looked to Dent.
“I wanna pull something from the magic box,” he cried. 

“What do you think, Nuttin?” asked Dent.

“Well, I actually have never heard of such a thing, but it is still glowing, right?”

“I say we let the halfling give it another try,” smirked Belasco.

“Yeah! Lemme try it again, Dent, pleeeeeeze?”

Dent bent down, allowing Lox to reach into the wooden chest.  When Lox pulled his hand out this time, he possessed a potion.

“Hey look, it’s a potion that let’s you see in the dark,” Lox said.

“You jokester, Lumley. You can’t identify such things,” said Nuttin with a smirk.  “Let me see that.”

When Nuttin took hold of the potion, however, he instantly knew what the potion did.  Shocked by the knowledge, he just looked up at Dent.

“By my Granddaddy’s  pickle pot, he’s right!”

“What nonsense is this,” Prynne demanded. 

“It’s true,” Belasco said.  “I can tell you that this spiked chain is magical.  I can’t explain how I know it, but I knew as soon as I touched it.  It’s impressive magic.”

“Let me try,” Prynne insisted. 
She reached her hand into the box and pulled forth a chainmail gauntlet with solid metal knuckles.

“Amazing,” she said. “It was forged long ago by dwarves…it has amazing strength...”

Stunned that the box was still aglow, Dent decided to try, and pulled out what he described as a “Belt of Many Pockets.”

“Ooooh, Dent, please let me have it!  I’ll trade you the potion I pulled for the belt with pockets,” cried the excited Lox.

“It glows still,” noticed Venus. “Let us continue to pull from this treasure trove!”

“Wait my friends,” called Nuttin.  “We should consider the consequences of our actions.  Do you really think that Korvish would allow such items to appear without some sort of consequence?” 

“The halfling has a point,” said Venus.

“But what if this chest is here to provide us with items we need to complete our tasks or to help aid us, like the rings,” replied Dent. 

“I say we take all the items we can.  Sure we’re taking a chance, but we took a chance in entering this maze to begin with,” Prynne added.

The group just stood for a moment, pondering what Nuttin had said.  Then Nuttin spoke up.  “Dent has a point. Perhaps they are here to aid us…”

With that, the adventurers pulled one after the other until finally the glow from within the box dimmed and slowly died.

“Amazing,” commented Belasco.

By the time they had finished, the group collectively had a wide assortment of potions, rings, armor and weapons.  Everyone found something to fit their own personal adventuring style as they divvied up the treasure evenly.  Belasco had his Spiked Chain of Sweeping; Prynne had a Vampyric Short Sword; Venus had a Scimitar of Flying; Dent received The Silverman’s Axe; Lox clung closely to his Belt of Many Pockets and Nuttin was happy with The Staff of Evocation.  Aside from magical weapons, the group divvied up amulets, bracers, rings, and cloaks.  It had been a prosperous find, indeed.

“I wonder if we’ll get another box by pulling another lever,” wondered Lox.

Too preoccupied with their new items, the group didn’t notice Lox reaching for the Iron lever until it was too late.  Acid rain poured forth from tiny pin-like holes in the ceiling, causing the party to shriek in pain.

Lox, realizing his error, pulled the lever again hoping to end the spray of pain.  Unfortunately for the party, it only increased the precipitation of the rain.  

“Dammit, Lumley,” shouted Nuttin.  

The group began to scatter, with Nuttin and Prynne making their way out of the room and into the corridor.

Belasco decided to pull the Bronze lever, which seemed to have no effect.  Dent pulled the lever closest to him, which happened to be the Gold lever.  This produced a mist that sprayed him all over. Instantly he felt revived and made his way from the downpour.  Venus reached for the Brass lever, which caused a set of pillars to drop from the ceiling, narrowly missing Belasco and Dent, who were making their way out of the room.  Venus quickly followed behind.

“What is wrong with you!?  You could have killed us,” cried Venus angrily.  “Are you mad?  As Belasco pointed out earlier, the only way to get a True Wish is to make it out of this maze alive! If that is not your plan, perhaps you should venture out alone!”

“I just thought we could get more magical goodies,” said Lox sadly.

“I told you,” said Nuttin, “you can’t get that many treasures without consequences.”

“Halflings…”mumbled Prynne.

Dent sighed.  “Let’s move on.”


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Horacio (Jun 2, 2002)

I like a lot the story 

By now, what's the level of the characters?


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## Xaltar (Jun 2, 2002)

Well, 

Jettok, one of the old Knight's of the Silver Quill ran us through an adventure and a half.  This began the characters of Dent(Also Dent in Wrath of the Rebellion), Nuttin (Dr. Midnight), and Lox (Dartan/Varr).

They were about 3-4th level, so I allowed everyone to be 4th level for the start of this adventure.

As the story catches up to the Unusual Heroes I end up merging the two groups around 8th-9th level, although some of the heroes, such as Ziona are at 12th level.  Therefore, I'm assigning xp. on a curve to try to align the character levels a bit better.


- Xaltar


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## madriel (Jun 3, 2002)

Glad to see the Unusual Heroes coming back for more!

Great writing as ever, Ziona.


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## drexel (Jun 3, 2002)

Oh I can't wait till Belasco cuts out Lox's tongue for trying to ppek uder the mask.. oh wait  

Great story Ziona!


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## PaynAndispare (Jun 3, 2002)

I thought it was his hands that were in danger from his peeking ... fear the rogue with no hands /grimace


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## Ziona (Jun 4, 2002)

Thank you for your interest in the story & for your praise! 
Hopefully I will have the next installment of the story up tonight. 

As Stan "The Man" might say, Stay Tuned True Believers!


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## Horacio (Jun 5, 2002)

Ziona said:
			
		

> *Thank you for your interest in the story & for your praise!
> Hopefully I will have the next installment of the story up tonight.
> 
> As Stan "The Man" might say, Stay Tuned True Believers!  *




_Horacio stays tuned, waiting for the update_


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## denmstrsn (Jun 5, 2002)

*Kick @$$*

Ziona
Just wanted to give a two thumbs up in the writing.  It's as we're reliving the past.  Can't wait to see what happens next
Dent


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## PaynAndispare (Jun 5, 2002)

*Must ... write ... faster *gasp**

I am loving it ... but keeping your audience waiting is killing me.  Granted, I am in the campaign and know what happened but revisiting it like this is fun.

Venus


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## Ziona (Jun 6, 2002)

*Wandering The Maze*

As the party made their way down the corridor, a peculiar noise could be heard coming from around the corner.  Since Lox was unusually quiet, (after being rained on by acid and scolded by most of the party for his haste), everyone could hear it.

“Now what do you suppose that is,” asked Nuttin aloud.

Lox seemed to brighten at the question.
“There’s only one way to find out!”

Before he could get too far, Dent grabbed Lox by the scruff of the neck and halted his movement.

“Again, you are being hasty, my friend. You must learn to think before you act.”

The sad look returned to the halflings eyes.  “Yes, Dent.”

The party continued forward slowly, and Venus worked his way ahead of Lox and Dent, making his way around the corner.

“Dent is right,” began Venus. “You should allow a more experienced adventurer such as myself walk at the front of the line.  With my scimitar at my side, I shall be safer than you with your dexterous digits, little one.”

Just then, Lox’s mouth gaped open, and one of his ‘dexterous digits’ pointed forward.  

“Now don’t try to argue,” Venus started to say.

“Behind you!” cried Prynne.

Venus turned the corner to see a nine-foot-tall statue walking away from it’s three-foot-high pedestal in the middle of the room.  On it’s face was a look of utter disdain and contempt.

“You see!” called Venus excitedly as he ran up to the attacking statue.  As he attacked he cried out in an angry battle call.

“Whoa…” whispered the startled Lox.  He slowly backed against the wall to watch the show.

Meanwhile, Dent, Prynne, and Belasco entered the wide open room and began attacking the stone golem as well.  Belasco scored hit after hit with his spiked chain, while Venus, Dent and Prynne chopped and slashed away at the statue.

“Now I’ll be willing to bet,” said Nuttin to Lox, “that we set that statue loose when we were pulling on those levers. Take a look there,” he said, pointing to the pedestal.  “Looks like some sort of iron bands held it in place.”

“What should we do?” asked Lox.

“Ah, it looks like their handlin’ it just fine, lad.  Let em’ take down the beast if they’re so willing.”

Lox just shrugged and continued watching the stone golem in awe.  Finally, the four allies defeated the golem, and watched it tumble to the ground.  Nuttin walked forward, with Lox following behind.

“That was incredible,” started Lox.  “Belasco was swinging his chain and Prynne was kinda dancing around with her swords and Venus was shouting out and Dent was chopping it with his axe…”

“And I suppose the two of you just watched from afar,” mumbled Belasco.

“Well, you seemed to have the situation under control,” Nuttin replied, “and after the speech Venus had just given, I didn’t think the young halfling here needed to get in the way. Besides, someone needed to watch him.”

“Hey, that’s not what you said,” Lox said, spinning and looking at Nuttin.

“Shouldn’t we be moving along?” Nuttin said, smiling sheepishly.

Dent lead group away from the fallen statue and into an empty room.  It appeared to be very lived in, yet abandoned.  While searching around, Belasco found a vase that had a jelly-like substance inside.  Lox, at the other side of the room, found a cloven silver trumpet lying in the corner.  

“I don’t think there is anything more here,” said Prynne.  “We should continue on.”

The adventurers left the room and traveled down the corridor, when the hall opened into a room with four stone pillars.  The pillars were plain and unadorned, making the room rather bland.  There was a door to the left of where the group entered, and Lox happily skipped toward it.

“Lumley!” reprimanded Nuttin.

“I won’t open it. I’ll just check to make sure it’s not trapped or nothing.”

Lox inspected the door thoroughly, and concluded that there were no traps to be found.  In fact, there was no lock to unlock, which only left him with one thing to do…open the door.
“No traps, no lock…it’s can’t be all that dangerous,” he said with a smile.

With a twist of the wrist, the door was open and an awful, wretched stench came wafting out.  Lox turned, tongue sticking out and finger pinching his nose.

“Something smells worse than Nuttin’s feet in there!” he gagged.

The rest of the group wrinkled their noses as well, and when Dent’s lantern shone into the room, the party saw piles of dirt, an assortment of bones, rusty and shattered weapons, as well as tatters and sheds of clothing.  Then they saw it…an angry, voracious troll.  It came lumbering towards them at full speed, it’s hunger shining in it’s eyes while it’s drool dribbled down it’s chin.

Prynne tumbled effortlessly aside, while Venus leaned in for an attack.  The hungry troll moaned as it was struck, but seemed undaunted by the pain.  The party sprang into action and began attacking the new foe.  

Dent fired his arrow at the beast, and Belasco deftly maneuvered his spiked chain.  Prynne used her swords gracefully, while Venus stuck at it swiftly with his scimitar.  Lox decided his skills were better used to search around the rubbish in the room for goods, and Nuttin cast Magic Missile into the monster.  Before long, the party had felled another foe without being winded.

“So much for that smelly thing,” commented Nuttin.

“There isn’t anything here but bones and rubbish,” said Lox disappointedly. 

“Well, you can’t expect every room to have a treasure chest,” said Dent.  

“Let’s get out of here. The stench is horrific,” said Nuttin.

“Wait just a moment,” said Venus.  “I think this beast just moved.”

“Nonsense,” retorted Belasco. “It’s dead, there’s no way…”
His words trailed off as he turned to see one of the gashes on the creature’s arm mend itself before his eyes. 

“You see,” said Venus. “It’s healing somehow.  Quickly, what can we do?”

“I’ve heard tales about such a creature,” said Nuttin.  “If it’s a troll, then the stories say we should burn it. I’ve got just the thing.”

“I have oil for my lantern,” said Dent.

“No need, ranger,” said Nuttin.  After reciting a few spidery-sounding sentences, a Flaming Sphere sprang into life, and Nuttin used it to burn the life from the putrid troll.

“And we thought this thing was stinky when it was alive…”gagged Lox.

The party retreated from the room and pulled the door shut.  Weaving their way past the pillars, Belasco put a hand up to stop the party.

“Listen,” he breathed.

He quietly walked back through the pillars and down a dead end corridor.  He searched for a moment, but found nothing.  Still hearing the soft movement, he walked down another dead end corridor and felt along the wall.  

“Ah,” he smiled.  Finding a hidden door, he gave it a pull and it swung open sluggishly.  Huddled in the corner, of what seemed to be a small closet, was an odd goat-like humanoid.  

“Be you friend or foe?”

The trembling man did not respond.  He merely covered his head with his arms and huddled closer to the floor.

“Come, bring yourself out of there,” said Belasco.

“Let me try,” said Dent.  “What is your name, sir?  Are you hurt?”

The man looked up at Dent.  Horns protruded from his brow and his unusually hairy face showed worry and fatigue.

“Don’t…don’t hurt me…please don’t…”


_ The Adventure Continues…_


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## drexel (Jun 7, 2002)

Goat boy!


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## Horacio (Jun 7, 2002)

Great update!
I love halfling like Lox, but in my campaign they are called kenders


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## madriel (Jun 8, 2002)

Horacio said:
			
		

> *Great update!
> I love halfling like Lox, but in my campaign they are called kenders  *




In my campaign they're called Trouble.


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## Horacio (Jun 9, 2002)

madriel said:
			
		

> *
> 
> In my campaign they're called Trouble. *




Wasn't _kender_ the Krynn spelling for _trouble_?


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## Dartan (Jun 10, 2002)

Playing Lox is alot of fun, probably my favorite character so far that i've played...just hope we don't run into any bakers...


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## Mialee (Jun 10, 2002)

Dartan said:
			
		

> *Playing Lox is alot of fun, probably my favorite character so far that i've played...just hope we don't run into any bakers... *




...okay...?


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## Ziona (Jun 11, 2002)

Mialee said:
			
		

> *
> 
> ...okay...? *





You have to understand that the person who plays Lox is the same person who played Dartan in Doc Midnight's Knights of the Silver Quill campaign. (good reading! check it out if you haven't already)  In that campaign, Dartan was a Paladin, who became a Fallen Paladin, thus Dartan The Godless.  One incident that lead to Dartan's fall was the evil baker.  Sensing her evil, he hacked her down! However, there was no proof that she was evil, and therefore Dartan was in quite a bit of trouble...but that's another story...    

And speaking of trouble, Lox is a cool character, and certainly a lot of fun to write about! Now I know why Weis & Hickman kept their troublemaker in (practically) every book.


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## Ziona (Jun 11, 2002)

*Lessons of the Maze*

The man the party coerced from the tiny closet was called Elmond.  After a few tense moments, he began explaining to the group how he came to be in the maze.

Four years earlier, Elmond had been part of an adventuring group that tried to best the maze.  However, it seemed that the maze got the best of his party.  He was the only survivor of the entire group.  He also explained that if it was not for the ring he wore, (the ring his group found upon entering), he would have died of starvation long ago. 

“Four years,” repeated Dent.

“You musta seen some interesting monsters and adventurers here, huh, Elmond?” asked Lox.

“Certainly have,” he said, his eyes dark with memories.  “Of course, not all have been as welcoming as your group.”

“Well, you are kinda strange,” said Lox.

Venus glared at Lox.  “What the young fellow means is that you stand out in a crowd, dear Elmond. Nothing more. He does not think before he speaks about races he does not understand.”

“I take no offense,” said Elmond with a smirk.  “I am used to being stared at for my horns and my fur.  I just appreciate your lack of hostility towards me, especially in this place.”

“And what do you know of this place?” asked Belasco.

“Yes,” Prynne added, “if you have been here for four years, you must know some of it’s secrets. Perhaps they can be used to our advantage.”

Elmond sighed.  “I wish I knew more of this place.  If I did, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you…I’d be free of this dreaded maze.  But I can tell you that every month the maze shifts and the halls change.”

“Wow! Did you hear that, Nuttin?”

“That must be some kind of magic, there,” said Nuttin with wonder in his eye.

“Magics above my rank or yours, halfling,” said Elmond.

“You know nothing of my rank, tiefling,” snapped Nuttin. 

“Tell us more,” interrupted Lox.  “How do the walls change? Do the colors change or do they always look this drab?  Is the treasure replenished all the time? That would be wonderful!  We got the same rings as you, except there was this court, and this crazy man, and skeletons, and I got angry and I through my ring…”

“Enough, Lox. Let Elmond have some peace,” said Dent, looking suspiciously at Elmond.  “Come walk at the front of the line with me. You can help me scout and look for traps.”

“I’ll help you look for traps and doors and treasure,” shouted Lox with glee.

“Quiet yourself, fool,” snapped Prynne.  “You’ll have the entire maze crawling out of their rooms in search of us.  You must learn to calm yourself and stay out of the way like your old companion there.”

“Now listen here, baldy,” spat Nuttin. “I’ve had about all the lip I’m gonna take from a woman who walks around with hairless feet!”

“Hold your tongue, lest you lose it, old halfling,” hissed Prynne.

“Both of you back down.  There is no need for fighting amongst ourselves,” said Venus angrily. 

“We want to make it out of here,” said Dent. “_All_ of us.”

The party walked in silence for long moments.  Even Lox seemed to feel the tension in the air and kept quiet.  They retraced their steps and went back the way they had come, feeling confident that they had thoroughly searched the area they were leaving.  They came upon a door, which Lox checked and found safe.

“All set, Dent,” said Lox with a smile.

Dent opened the door, leading the party into the room.  The group stood on a platform that dropped off into clear, fast-moving water.  Dent asked everyone to be silent as he stood and listened.

“Sounds like it’s running below the ground,” he finally said.

“Look what I found!”

The box that Lox held had no lock, yet it could not be opened.

“This is tough,” frowned Lox.  “There doesn’t seem to be a way to open it.”

“Perhaps it’s a device to drive your kind insane,” smirked Prynne.

“Actually, it has words carved into it,” said Belasco.  “Lets have a closer look at that, Lox.”
Belasco reached down and took a peek at the box.  There was a dial of sorts carved onto the box with single letters circling seven words.







“Come, Human, Die By Sword Or Spear,” read Belasco aloud.

“Sounds like a riddle to me,” said Dent.

“Who has time for such foolishness? I say we move along,” said Venus anxiously.

“And how do you propose we get across the swift water?” asked Nuttin.

“Some of us are agile enough to make it,” said Prynne.  “Guess you’ll be left behind, Ol’ Timer!”

“I think not,” interrupted Dent.  “We need to work on this riddle.  It could have some effect on the maze, or maybe it can help us, give us a clue on the exit or something.”

“Or maybe treasure will pop out like last time,” said Lox excitedly.

And so they sat.  Long moments passed and all that could be heard were mumblings and mutterings about the letters or the words.  The party was becoming restless.  

“I think I have it,” said Dent finally.

“Let’s see,” said Venus.  

Most of the group had lost interest by now.  Prynne had her swords out and was flaunting her graceful agility with the blades, while Nuttin and Elmond exchanged heated glances and mumbled ugly comments about one another.  Lox was busy asking Belasco about his mask and whether or not he could touch it, or look under it, or have it.
Belasco was trying to help Venus and Dent, but with Lox buzzing about like a gnat, his concentration was shattered.

“Look here,” said Venus.  “What if we ignore some of the letters.”

“But which ones…” said Dent. “What if we ignore the letters that are in the words but not around the words like this…”  

Dent took one of his arrows and traced the dial in the dirt.  He began crossing out certain letters in the words that were not in the dial.

“Com~, ~~man, D~~ ~~  ~word Or ~p~ar,” he wrote in the dirt.

“Come…man…command word…command word orpar!” shouted Dent.

At the sound of the command word, the box popped open into a ten-foot row bow.
“Nice work,” commented Belasco. 

“We worked together and figured out the riddle,” said Venus.

“Just as we will work together and figure out this maze,” said Dent with a proud smile.

“Wow, a boat!” shouted Lox.  “I wanna get in first…”


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Horacio (Jun 11, 2002)

Fast thinking players! 

I like this adventure, a classical Dungeoncrawl. I miss ol' times...


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## Xaltar (Jun 12, 2002)

I'm hoping that the campaign will rise above that of a classic dungeon crawl as the party gains some levels and hopefully survives the next challenge... Rappan Athuk!

- Xaltar


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## Ziona (Jun 12, 2002)

*Hairy Situations*

After several trips across the water, the entire party had made it to the other side of the room without any trouble.  The door leading out was not locked, and opened into an “L” shaped corridor.  Lox dutifully checked the door at the end of the hall for traps, and found there were none.  He did, however, get the chance to put his shining lock picks to use again.

“This door shouldn’t be too much trouble,” grinned Lox.  It took him only a moment, and the door swung open.  

"Taa-Daa!” sang Lox.

The room ahead appeared to be sparsely furnished with various furs lining the walls and floor.  There was also a chain and collar hanging on pegs beside four keys.  Below these pegs was a rickety table.  

As Dent lead the party into the room, they noticed there were three sets of cages with different creatures contained inside.  There was also a bed to the left of the door the party had just entered.

“Oh, Hullo,” said Lox, waving his small hand excitedly.

The party turned to see a man standing six-and-a-half-feet tall rising from his hiding place at the side of the bed.  He was quite an ugly man, dressed in a heavy black fur suit with matching gloves.  He grimaced angrily at the group.






“Is this your room?  I would hate to sleep in a room with those creatures you have caged up. What if they got out and gobbled you up, or what if…”

“SILENCE!” bellowed the man.  In his grasp was a hand axe that he looked all too ready to use.  “How have you come to be here?”

“Well, we found a box, and Dent and Venus started scratching off letters, and…”

“How have _you_ come to be here,” said Belasco pushing Lox out of the way.

“I am Lord Korvish’s assistant.  I am the Keeper of The Caged,” he growled. “You should not be here.  I will take you back to the court and have you charged with High Treason against Lord Korvish!”

“Now settle down,” said Venus.  “We wish only to pass though.”

“I think you’ll find the way quite difficult,” grinned the man evilly.  “Quite difficult indeed!”

The man’s fur suit seemed to grow out towards the group!  The thick, black hair came at them in a ten-foot wave, entangling Dent, Lox, and Venus.  Prynne managed to tumble back towards the door where Nuttin and Elmond stood, while Belasco tumbled behind the Keeper of the Caged.

“Now that’s interesting armor,” remarked Nuttin. “Wonder what sorts of magics are on that suit?”

“Don’t just stand there scratching your chin,” shouted Prynne. “Do something you dimwitted halfling!”

“Well, why aren’t you doing anything, baldy?”

“I intend to, old man,” she snarled.

Elmond just listened to the two bicker until Prynne whipped herself into a somersault, trying her best to tumble through the hair.  In the process, she whipped Nuttin across the face with her long, thick braid.

“You sassy mouthed trollop!” shouted Nuttin.

But before Nuttin could curse Prynne any further, he saw that she, too was now entangled in the Keeper’s fur suit.

"Serves ya right, baldy,” he called.

“Is that anyway to help an ally,” remarked Elmond.

“Now this doesn’t concern you, so mind yer business,” argued Nuttin.  From there, the argument between Elmond and Nuttin seemed to escalate, but none of their allies seemed to notice.  They were far too busy trying to work their way out of the entanglement.

“You will be taken back to the court and be tried,” bellowed the man, “or I will execute you myself!”

Dent and Venus fired their bows repeatedly at the Hair-Armored man, but few found their mark.  The man was attempting to use his hairy gloves to strangle Venus.  Lox and Prynne continued to fight their way through the hair, while Nuttin and Elmond argued in the corridor.  

Meanwhile, behind the Keeper of the Caged, Belasco took one of the keys from the wall and unlocked a cage containing a dire wolf.  He believed that his years of handling such creatures would work to his advantage in the situation, but he found that the wolf was carnivorous and wanted only to feast on his flesh.  Acting quickly, Belasco pulled the door of the cage far enough open to pin himself against the wall, and thus was safe (for the moment) from the jaws of the hungry wolf.

Dent continued to fire his bow at his opponent, but Venus soon tired of his bow.  His anger got the best of him, and he forced his way forward, breaking free of the entangling hair and strangling hands. He bull rushed the Keeper into one of his own cages.  As luck would have it, the Keeper tumbled into the cage, taking the dire wolf with him.  Belasco quickly slammed the cage door shut and locked it without hesitation.  

The rest of the party was freed from the feisty fur and watched in horror as the dire wolf devoured the Keeper of the Caged.  

"I think I might be sick,” heaved Lox.

By that time, Nuttin and Elmond had realized that the threat was gone, and their argument was postponed for the time being.  Nuttin hastily went into the room, cutting off Elmond on his way.  Elmond shook his head in frustration, but held his tongue.

“Nice work,” said Prynne.  “The Keeper gets devoured by those he keeps caged.  How fitting.”

“It’s sick,” said Dent.  “Can you imagine how starved that animal must have been to devour a man that large?  The creature was mad.”

“Mad?  It was evil.  That was no ordinary creature, ranger,” said Belasco.  “It was a dire wolf, and it would have devoured any of us given the chance…just as the dire ape in the next cage could.”

“I know what _those_ animals are,” said Dent.  “But what of this other creature?  Have you ever seen anything like this?”

The creature in the middle cage stood seven-feet-tall and was completely covered in hair.  It did not appear to have any arms or legs, but it moved quite freely about it’s cage.  It’s shaggy hair was tan with the occasional purple-colored splotch, and it’s dark eyes were almost creepy to look at for too long.

“Wow! What in the world is that?  Can we take him with us?  Who are you? My name is Lox Lumley,” he called to the creature.

The fuzzy beast moved up to the door of the cage on unseen feet and murmured, “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”






“It’s obvious it doesn’t speak the common tongue,” commented Prynne.

“I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it,” said Dent in wonder.

“We should continue on,” said Belasco. “The only thing of value in this room appears to be the hand axe the Keeper was carrying.”

Dent turned to face Belasco with sudden interest in the weapon.  Belasco held the axe out to Dent, and if his face was not masked, Dent would have seen his smirk.

“I thought you might want to carry it,” he said. 

As the party moved forward, Lox fell to the back of the line, and quietly crept over to the shaggy-haired creature’s cage with his lock picks.  

What harm could it do… ?


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## madriel (Jun 12, 2002)

Lox is gonna die.  Only question is whether the monsters will get him or his own party.


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## Dartan (Jun 12, 2002)

Lox will not be dying anytime soon if i can help it, enjoy playing him to much....but remember he is a hafling and a rogue and very curious and doesn't have much patience and gets bored really easily...but these attributes don't make for certain death...it may lead close but Lox has a whole party to protect and heal him....Oh and as always nice job on the story Ziona!!!


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## Horacio (Jun 12, 2002)

I love Dungeoncrawls. I love this story for that, and I hope it will remain a good Dungeoncrawl for a while 

And Lox is the archetypical kender rogue, I like him a lot. 

This story has a true 1st edition feeling!


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## Ziona (Jun 12, 2002)

Thanks again for the praise Horacio.  I'm glad you're enjoying the story.  I think you'll find it's only going to get more interesting...

Besides that, Xaltar helped me add pictures to the last post, so now you can all see what the hair creature and the Keeper looked like.


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## Horacio (Jun 12, 2002)

The hair creature is really cute, I understand now why Lox free it


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## drexel (Jun 12, 2002)

Hey waitaminute... I don't want these people getting the idea I'm nice and helpful.  Don't get the idea he is a "good guy"... Belasco is just trying to make it out of the maze alive.  I repeatedly threaten to cut off Lox's fingers when he tries to touch my mask (Which only makes him more curious!  grrr)  and I try to to get the halfling to walk first to set off traps (Well thats just the way of... err nevermind) 

Great work Ziona!


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## Ziona (Jun 12, 2002)

drexel said:
			
		

> *Hey waitaminute... I don't want these people getting the idea I'm nice and helpful.  Don't get the idea he is a "good guy"... Belasco is just trying to make it out of the maze alive.  I repeatedly threaten to cut off Lox's fingers when he tries to touch my mask (Which only makes him more curious!  grrr)  and I try to to get the halfling to walk first to set off traps (Well thats just the way of... err nevermind)
> 
> Great work Ziona! *




I didn't think I had made Belasco out to be a "good guy" really. I mean, he was being bothered by Lox and shoved him outta the way. The only time he was even somewhat courteous in the last story was when he gave Dent the axe, which is a weapon he has seen Dent wield.  _Your_ kind aren't exactly known for being nice guys.  

I'll be sure to add more of your hostility to the mix when I update the story today.


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## PaynAndispare (Jun 13, 2002)

MORE ... or the kitten gets it!!!


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## Dartan (Jun 14, 2002)

Last night was a very long Epic Battle...some death and destruction...it was fun..thank god for Lox he pulled the party through...of course he had some help...can't wait to read the story Ziona!!


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## Dr Midnight (Jun 14, 2002)

Dr. Midnight wasn't much help at all. Only got to attack once. 

Battle starts
Dr. Midnight is HELD
Ziona frees Doc
Doc attacks
Doc is critted for INSANE damage
Doc is HELD again
Doc goes down to -8 hp
Doc is stabilized
Doc is taken down to -36 hp... dead. 
Doc is raised

Ugh. I had such big plans for taking down the big bad guy, too...


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## Ziona (Jun 14, 2002)

Dartan said:
			
		

> *Last night was a very long Epic Battle...some death and destruction...it was fun..thank god for Lox he pulled the party through...of course he had some help...can't wait to read the story Ziona!! *




I know. I wish I were writing up last night right now! But, there are quite a few more parts to tell before we make it to last night. I'd like to take an entire day to write, but with my schedule right now, it's tough. But before long I'll be able to get us up to date. 

Meanwhile, stay tuned! Lots of interesting stuff to come!!


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## Horacio (Jun 16, 2002)

Ziona said:
			
		

> *Meanwhile, stay tuned! Lots of interesting stuff to come!!  *




_Horacio stays tuned waiting for that interesting stuff _


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## Ziona (Jun 18, 2002)

*Creatures of the Maze*

The group was exiting the room when Belasco called out for them to halt.

“I think there is a door here.”

Dent strode back into the room and examined the area with his masked companion.  Although he didn’t see it at first, he realized Belasco was right once he saw a vague outline of a footmark.  The print lead up to the wall.

“Where is the halfling?” asked Belasco.

“Lox, there’s a hidden door over here,” called Dent.  “Wouldn’t you like to open it?”

Before they turned around, they heard it. 

“Lumley, you twit!”

Nuttin was yelling at Lox again.  Belasco crossed his arms and Dent turned to see what the trouble was.  Standing before him was the hairy creature from the cage.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

The creature lumbered next to Lox, who smiled sheepishly at group.

“See? He’s stuck here, just like us. He’s not a bad guy, are you?”

“Lox, we don’t know what this creature is, or what it’s saying,” insisted Venus.  “We can’t be sure it’s safe to travel with.”

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh,” said the creature as it bumped up against Belasco.

“Stand aside,” said Belasco with a snarl. But the creature continued it’s strange string of words as it continued to nudge against Belasco.

“I think he likes you,” giggled Lox. 

Finally Belasco gave it a light push and it stopped in it’s tracks.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

“We aren’t actually considering traveling with this…thing,” said Elmond with a sigh.

“We’re travellin’ with you, aren’t we?” said Nuttin with a chuckle.

“Don’t start,” said Venus with a serious look.  

“Lox, you need to think more carefully before you go ahead and do crazy things like this,” lectured Dent.

“But, Dent! Lookathim! He’s so neat and fuzzy. There’s no way anything so cute could be mean,” said Lox with his usual childlike innocence.

“Looks can be deceiving,” said Prynne.  “This could be a hostile creature.  I don’t think we should allow it to follow us.”

“Aw, you’re just jealous that it has more hair than you,” laughed Nuttin.

Prynne turned and glared at the old halfling, but would not waste her breath to argue with him anymore.

“Are we going to have the halfling open the door or not,” hissed Belasco.  

“A door? Oh, yeah, I see that door,” said Lox.  He immediately went to work and before long, the door swung open.

“Listen,” whispered Dent.  The corridor ahead of them was dark and carried an odd scent in the air.  Now that they were silent, the party could hear the barking and growling that Dent heard.

“Send the halfling ahead of us,” said Belasco. 

Dent looked over at the masked man and shook his head.  
“I’ll lead the group.”

Dent stealthily crept down the corridor followed by Lox, Venus, Prynne, Belasco, Nuttin, Elmond, and the hair creature.  (Elmond kept glancing behind him to see if the creature had stayed behind, but it continued on with the party.)  As they turned the corner, the animal noises seemed to quiet down, and then suddenly stop.  The hall opened into a large, well lit room.  Torches and lanterns hung from the walls, interspersed with many large plaques bearing stuffed animal heads.  There was the head of a hyena, a hippo, jaguar, lion, and wild boar heads.

“Look at all these animals,” said Lox in awe. “I feel like they’re looking at me.”

Most of the group agreed with Lox, though no one spoke of the creepiness of the room.  Everyone was silent as they glanced about.  There were full-sized creatures standing around the room as well, and they, too, seemed to watch the party make their way across the room.  The full-sized animals glaring that the group included a spotted lion, a wild bull, titanothere, dire wolf, ceratosaurus, yeti, hell hound, and even a displacer beast.  Most of the creatures looked agitated, and it seemed to the group that if these creatures were alive, they would be agressive.
As the group made it half way through the room, the barking, growling, and baying began again.  Everyone was startled by the cacophony, and reached for their weapons.  As they did, the hell hound and displacer beast sprang to life and leapt from the bases they stood on.  The party stood their ground, however, attacking the animated creatures as a team.  Just as the hell hound fell, the door leading to the next room opened.  A piercing shriek could be heard as an owlbear entered the room.  







The owlbear stalked into the room looking for a morsel, and the first thing it saw was Lox.  With a shriek, it was upon him.  Lox planted his short sword into the owlbear’s leg and Dent was suddenly there to assist him.  Belasco, Venus, and Prynne were still taking on the displacer beast while Nuttin and Elmond fired Magic Missiles towards their foes. The hairy creature stood behind in the hall calling out, “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…” 
Before long, the vicious creatures fell to the might of the party.

“Wow, I thought that giant bird was gonna eat me up,” said Lox.  “What an adventure that would have been!”

“Perhaps next time…” said Belasco.

Dent heard the comment and winced.  “The more you encourage his behavior, the worse he’ll be.”

“I am encouraging nothing,” retorted Belasco. “Where I come from, we always sent the grunts first.”

“Well, I don’t know where you come from,” said Dent, “but in this maze we’re a team. We need to start looking out for one another instead of bickering, and then maybe we can make it out of here and get our damn wishes.”

“That was heartwarming,” said Belasco sarcastically. “Let’s move along.”

Venus entered the next room first with his trusty scimitar drawn.  He was not about to be surprised by another stuffed creature.

“Halt!”

Venus and Dent stood their ground with weapons drawn.

“Why have you come to disturb Lord Korvish’s Trophy Chamber?” 

“Come forward and fight,” yelled Venus, “or are you a coward?”

From behind a large, half-stuffed bear came a man wielding a longsword.  

“Do not think of stopping us,” cautioned Dent. “Move lest you be beaten.”

“I cannot allow you to go on,” said the man, moving to slice into Venus with his sword.  
But, the man had underestimated Venus’s abilities.  Venus had dodged the scrape and made a clean cut in the man’s arm.

The man leapt back, then came in again, this time it was Dent he was swiping at.  Dent did not hesitate to take a swing at the man with his axe, which connected with the man’s leg.

“Okay,” pleaded the man, “You may pass…good lord, I only work here…”

Venus and Dent just looked at each other in disbelief.  

“Do you surrender?” asked Venus.

“No, I told you, I just work here.  My name is Oleck and I was hired to stuff Korvish’s trophies…I heard you come in when the animals started screeching and I animated them to attack you and scare you off…”

“What do you mean ‘animated’ the creatures?” asked Dent. 

By this time the rest of the party had entered the room and were searching around for any doors or items.

“It’s an amulet. It makes the stuffed animals come to life.”

“An amulet? Can I see it? Does it have pretty jewels and bangles on it…” asked Lox excitedly.

“Hand over the amulet,” said Venus, “or prepare to face the consequences.”

“Here, take it,” said Oleck.  “I don’t want to get killed…I’m just here to make ends meet…”

“Pathetic,” said Prynne. “What are we going to do with him? He obviously can’t be trusted.”

“Just tie the numbskull up,” said Nuttin. “He’s got the same ring on as the rest of us. He’ll be fine.”

“Aw, come on…” whined Oleck. He surrendered and allowed the party to bind him, knowing that some other adventurers (or his employer) would happen along and set him free.  Besides, he knew this group just defeated Korvish’s owlbear, not to mention the displacer beast and hell hound.  He didn’t want to upset them.

“Look here,” said Belasco.  “Another hidden passageway.”

“Where does it lead,” said Dent, directing his question towards Oleck.

“…to an empty room…it’s dangerous, though…don’t do it…”

“What rubbish,” said Nuttin.  “Of course he’s gonna lie. He doesn’t want us to go on and defeat the maze.”

“We’ve made it this far without clues from a whining coward,” said Prynne, “let’s just keep moving.”

Dent lead the party through the secret passage and down a corridor.  The group turned left, but found a deep, dark chasm blocking their way.

“I suggest we throw something into it,” said Venus. “Maybe we can figure out how deep it is.”

“We have some extra torches,” said Dent.  “Let’s light one and try to see what’s down there in the process.”

Venus and Dent lit the torch, and the party watched as it dropped.  Nothing was illuminated, and the torch disappeared from sight.  They listened, but never heard it hit the bottom.

“Well, that’s not a good sign,” said Nuttin.

“Let’s turn back and see where the corridor goes.  Maybe there will be something to aid us in crossing this chasm,” said Dent.

The next room they came upon was in fact empty.   It seemed as though Oleck had not been lying.

“I still see no danger here,” said Venus.

“Perhaps he means in the rooms beyond,” said Belasco.

“Let’s find out,” said Prynne, turning to the next door.

“Allow me, Miss Prynne,” said Lox.  He checked the door at the other side of the room for traps, and was quick to unlock it once he found none.  

From there, the party followed Lox and Prynne down another narrow hallway that ended in a door.  Once the group was only a few feet from the door, however, a portcullis dropped behind them.

“You see,” said Belasco.  “The danger lies ahead of us.”

“Perhaps it will be best for one of us to lead,” said Venus to Lox.  Lox just frowned and toddled behind Venus and Dent.

The door at the end of the corridor was not locked.  Venus allowed Lox to check it for traps before opening it, and then stepped through.  As the companions entered, they were greeted by a thundering spray of rapidly running water.  Rising out from the water’s surface were small islands of sediment and debris.  At the far end of the steady stream was an island where a young black dragon was lurking.






“Omigod a dragon!” screeched Lox.  He turned on his heels and began running back to the corridor.  Belasco and Elmond were quick to follow him, having caught  a taste of dragonfear.  The three of them, with their hairy creature companion at their side, clawed at the portcullis trying to flee.

The rest of the party, although in awe at first, quickly regained their wits.  They knew the portcullis fell behind them barring any hope for escape.  The dragon seemed to smile evilly at them as it stood up from it’s treasure trove of gold and skulls.  The remaining party members, Dent, Venus, Prynne, and Nuttin ran bravely into battle.


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Horacio (Jun 18, 2002)

The party should listen to scared prisoners 

A young dragon! Wow! That means danger! Lox, be careful!


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## drexel (Jun 18, 2002)

Lox has more lives than a cat but not more lives than Doc Midnight  ;p


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## Ziona (Jun 20, 2002)

*Young Dragon, Old Adventurer*

Prynne leapt gracefully over the stepping stones of sediment that jutted out of the water, and tumbled effortlessly next to the young black dragon.  Venus was not far behind her, bellowing an angry battle cry on the way across.  Meanwhile, Dent knocked an arrow and took aim, while Nuttin recited the spidery words of a spell.  The battle was beginning, but the rest of their party was no where to be seen.

In the hallway leading away from the dragon’s lair, Belasco, Lox, Elmond and their hairy friend struggled and wailed to be free of the portcullis that blocked their path.  

“Out of the way, stupid halfling!”

“Lemmie go! I don’t wanna be eaten by the dragon!”

“Both of you keep moving! It must be right behind us! Run!”

“Ullgh! Wwlllrrghhh! Wwwuuullllhhhh!”

In the scuffle to get free, Elmond managed to grab at Belasco’s mask, nearly tearing it off of his face.  Belasco, frightened of the dragon and in a panic, shoved Elmond back against the wall with the brute force of fear and adrenaline and knocked him unconscious.  The mask dangled slightly from Belasco’s ear, and Lox thought he managed to see dark skin beneath the mask.  But how could a halfling be sure when he was terrified of becoming dragon food?

In the dragon’s damp lair the battle had begun.  Venus struck the black scales with his Scimitar of Flying, while Prynne attacked with her Vampiric Shortsword and Namarra, her Keen Longsword.   From the other island, Dent fired arrows mercilessly into the dragon, while Nuttin cast Magic Missile.  The dragon tired quickly of this unruly group, and decided it was time she rid herself of them.  She attempted to chomp down on Venus with her deadly bite, but was unsuccessful.  She turned angrily on Prynne and clawed at her with both limbs.  Prynne managed to tumble out of reach, and nearly landed herself into the rapidly moving water.  

Nuttin stood at Dent’s side, rubbing his chin and mumbling.  
“Got to be something stronger than a Magic Missile…let’s see…oh yes! Here we go!”

From his pack, Nuttin pulled out The Book of Blood, his treasured tome that he pulled from the magic chest back in the room that rained acid.  His eyes darted from page to page looking for just the right thing.  Holding the book in his left hand, and touching the page with his right hand, he summoned forth a yeth hound!  The evil hound appeared, red eyes aglow.  Without hesitation, Nuttin leapt onto the yeth hound’s dull black back and shouted in excitement and fear as it soared towards the dragon.

Dent nearly misfired when he saw the creature materialize, and gaped at Nuttin in awe.  He could not believe the old halfling was attempting such an outrageous feat!

Prynne tumbled back towards the dragon, and looked up to see her ally riding on the back of the fearsome creature.  Venus saw the yeth hound coming, and used the distraction to get closer to the dragon.  Now that he and Prynne were flanking the young black, perhaps they could do some real damage.

Dent just shook his head and smirked.
“Halflings never cease to surprise me,” he said to himself while knocking another arrow.

Nuttin was hanging on so tightly that his old knuckles burned.  He felt as though he was going to be sick as the yeth hound soared back and forth, biting at the dragon.  The young black was infuriated now, and began focusing it’s ire towards the halfling and it’s hound.   On the ground, Prynne slashed into the dragon’s scales with Venus, while Dent fired arrow after arrow at their foe.






Nuttin was getting thoroughly jostled, and was beginning to lose his grip on his yeth hound.  The hound began barking and howling again, and the sudden cacophony startled Nuttin, who lost his hold altogether and went spiraling down into the water.  Just as the old halfling went under, the dragon reared back and blasted the yeth hound with it’s acidic breath.  The fearsome yeth hound disappeared, and the dragon began focusing on the pesky humanoids again.

At the other side of the watery room, Dent watched as Nuttin plunged into the fast moving waters.  He quickly ran over and jumped onto one of the stacks of debris and clasped onto Nuttin’s flailing hand.  He dragged the halfling onto the small chunk of sediment and gave him a pat on the back.

“That was amazing, Nuttin. I expected such spontaneity from Lox,” laughed Dent, “but never from you!”

“Shut yer mouth, Ranger.  We still have a dragon to defeat,” said Nuttin turning red with embarrassment.

But it seemed that the dragon had had enough.  As the ranger and wizard turned to look, they saw Venus score the killing blow.  The underbelly of the dragon spewed outward as the steel of the Scimitar of Flying collided with the dragon’s scales.  With a piercing shriek, the dragon took it’s last breath and crumpled into a messy heap. Venus and Prynne took care to move away from the dragon’s falling form and ranted loudly in victory.

“Well done, lad,” called Nuttin.

“You had interesting tricks up your sleeve as well, old man,” said Venus with a smile.  

Prynne came up alongside the old halfling and patted him on the shoulder.
“Lucky you didn’t get yourself killed,” she said with a smirk.

“Luck had nothin’ to do with it, missy,” said Nuttin.

“Luck has everything to do with it,” said Prynne.  “Tymora was with you, whether you admit it or not, old one.”

“If it makes you happy to think so,” mumbled Nuttin. “Say where is Lox and the rest of the bunch?”

As they peered down the corridor, they saw Elmond rubbing his head groggily, while Belasco and Lox tried feverishly to squeeze through the gaps in the portcullis.  The hair creature turned to them and mumbled his usual incoherent blathering.  

“Worry not, friends,” bellowed Venus.  “The dragon is dead.  We have defeated the beast!  We may now plunder it’s treasures and take it’s booty as our own!”

“Treasure? Dragon treasure! How exciting,” exclaimed Lox.

Belasco folded his arms across his chest and exhaled with relief and disgust.  Then he thought he better start checking his pouches and bag since he’d spent the last few moments struggling next to a halfling.

As Belasco made sure he had all of his belongings, Lox ran from the corridor to haul off the dragon’s hoard.  

“Slow down, Lumley! You ran away like a youngling,” said Nuttin, “and you still expect to keep some of the loot?”

“I believe the agreement is that we split everything fairly,” said Belasco entering the dragon’s den.  “Or at least, that’s the agreement now.”

“Bah!” spat Nuttin.  

“Wow, what’s that over there?” said Lox, pointing toward an alcove.  “Looks like it’s glowing.”

The eager halfling ran headlong towards the alcove and stopped only when he saw all the funny yellow fuzz on the walls.  The cavern Lox stood in contained weird yellow puffballs and patches of fuzzy mold in varying colors.  As the curious halfling looked about, he shrieked in surprise when he noticed the Dwarven skeleton within the funny mold.  The dwarf held in it’s bony hand a shiny bastard sword with a gleaming gem in it’s hilt.  






“Lookee here, everyone,” called Lox.  “It’s a skeleton, and it’s holding a shiny sword!”
As the rest of the group made their way towards the cavern, Lox reached out for the bastard sword.  The mold and puffballs within the cavern made a puffing noise and Lox was enveloped within a spore cloud, and dropped to his knees.

“Aw…I don’t feel so good…”

“Lox!” called Dent.

“Dammit Lumley,” bellowed Nuttin shaking his fist.

As Dent approached the cavern, Lox crawled out on his hands and knees, coughing and gagging.

“You see? That’s why you should always send the halflings first,” said Belasco.

Dent ignored the remark, but Nuttin turned to glare in Belasco’s direction.
“That foolish halfling has more bravado and courage than ten of your kind…whatever your kind is, you shady slug!”

“You know nothing of my kind, halfling,” hissed Belasco.  With that he turned and headed toward the small island the dragon corpse rested on.  

Prynne turned and followed their masked ally while Dent and Nuttin cared for Lox.  Venus and Elmond decided to work on finding a way to maneuver the portcullis, but the hairy creature began poking at Venus playfully.

”Make way, silly monster,” said Venus soberly, “before I make you take a swim.”

“Ullgh! Wwlllrrghhh…wwuuullllhhhh..”  

The hair creature, known as a spleckle to those who are familiar with them, became interested in the notion of swimming.  It moved on it’s hidden amphibian-like feet into the dragon’s lair and looked out upon the moving water.  

“Ullgh! Wwlllrrghhh! Wwwuuullllhhhh,” it sang excitedly.

Then, without warning, the spleckle bent it’s hairy body over and touched the tip of it’s head to the running water.  After absorbing nearly three gallons of liquid, it happily stood up and said cheerfully, “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwuuullllhhhh!” 

“He’s so…funny,” wheezed Lox.  

“How do you feel?” asked Dent.

“Weak,” said Lox.  “I feel so much weaker…”

“Take it easy, Lox.  Prynne and Belasco are grabbing what we can of the treasure,” said Dent.

“But, my Belt of Many Pouches…it can hold more than they can carry,” protested Lox.

“Then we’ll make a few trips,” said Nuttin. “Just settle down, Lumley.”

 A short while later, the group had collected the valuables they found amongst the dragon’s den and were ready to carry on.  Venus suggested combining their strength to lift the portcullis, which turned out to be successful.  

Dent lead the group from the watery lair, while Nuttin followed behind the slow moving Lox, telling him all about his exciting adventure with the dragon.

“You shoulda seen me, Lumley,” he smiled proudly.  “Me, an old adventuring wizard flying out to fight a young black dragon…”


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Horacio (Jun 20, 2002)

As Nemm as already said, tomorrow I go on vacation for four weeks, so maybe this is my last bump for a while. 

Your story is superb. A true dungeoncrawl, very funny to read, with colourful characters. I really love it. 

Please, go on writting, when I come back I will love to find lots of updates to read


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## PaynAndispare (Jun 20, 2002)

Enjoy your trip, I too am excited for the updates  ... after all, I am only half the man I am yet to become *maniacle laughter*

Venus ~


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## Dartan (Jun 21, 2002)

More Ziona More.........Stop reading the new Dragonlance and post!!!  Or Lox will have to "borrow" the book...hehehe


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## Ziona (Jun 22, 2002)

Dartan said:
			
		

> *More Ziona More.........Stop reading the new Dragonlance and post!!!  Or Lox will have to "borrow" the book...hehehe *




Hey, now, Lumely better keep his hands off my Dragonlance if he wishes to be blessed by the healing power of Eilistraee! 

But worry not, I'll be updating the story soon...


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## drexel (Jun 22, 2002)

encore encore!


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## Ziona (Jun 25, 2002)

Sorry about the delay...been very busy, but I promise I'll update by tomorrow.  (And no, Lox, I haven't had time to continue reading the new Dragonlance either...snarf snarf...)


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## denmstrsn (Jun 25, 2002)

Ziona
Read the book this weekend.  It kicks @$$.
Dent


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## Dartan (Jun 27, 2002)

Only three more books to go and i'll be caught up to Ziona and Dent.......can't wait....yeah we play tomorrow night......i wonder what interesting things Lox is going to get into??


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## sandman (Jun 27, 2002)

Gideon Xol grew up in the center of Faerun's wizard culture, Halruaa.  The young sandy haired boy was an orphan took in by a powerful war wizard by the name of Zamok.  For years the wizard kept the boy as a servant. In this time Gideon grew strong and quick both in body and mind.  He would sneak into Zamok's lectures to his apprentices.  At night he would quietly move to the dungeons to study "borrowed" spell books and mimic the wizards gestures in peace.  It was on such a night that Gideon met a most unexpected ally.

Gideon sat against the wall of his favorite empty dungeon cell with his spell book flopped open on his lap.  He finally mastered the first three cantrips: Dancing lights, Daze, and his favorite Magehand.  Suddenly, the hairs on his neck started to raise and Gideon had the suspicion he was being watched.  "I've always enjoyed watching you youngling." The words appeared in his mind but in a voice not his own. Gideon was terrified but his curiosity got the best of him and his fear melted away.  "Who are you?", he whispered out loud.  

Images came to him. Slowly at first then faster and with sound.  It seemed he was in another place with another body at another time.  He was one of the Githzerai and he knew what that was but he didn't know why he knew. Gideon's identity slipped away. His name became Phantasmek and he is in Halruaa searching for a mind flayer. The people here don't trust him.  They believe that the way of magic is the only path to walk and they attack him for his practice of psionics. After a long battle the wizards defeat Phantasmek.  Zamok orders the Githzerai's legs broken and has him imprisoned in the dungeons beneath his stronghold. Years passed like seconds until a young sandy haired boy entered his cell with an oversized spell book. Then all things that were melted and there was darkness.

Gideon opened his eyes to the sight of the crippled Githzerai who had watched him study all these years.  He felt sorry for the creature and a sudden dislike for Zamok.  He soon got assigned the duty of feeding the prisoners and was able to smuggle good healthy food into the psionic warrior.

Gideon wanted nothing to do with Halruaa any longer.  The day he met Phantasmek was the last time the boy ever touched a spell book but Gideon continued to sneak into the dungeon to visit his new friend and soon-to-be mentor.  Over the next few years Phantasmek taught Gideon about life in Faerun as well as how to defend himself, physically and mentally. Gideon constantly tried to talk his mentor into trying to escape from the stronghold but Phantasmek wasn't much of a warrior anymore and the time he spent teaching his young apprentice brought him happiness.

On his eighteenth birthday Gideon managed to manifest a tangible blade of pure psionic force much to the surprise of his Githzerai mentor.  Phantasmek knew he could teach the young man no longer and that his own time on this plane was short.  He pulled a small chest out of thin air and presented it to his pupil.  

"Whats this?", Gideon asked.  
"It's your graduation present, youngling.", replied the master.

Gideon opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver ring.  He looked up to thank his master but Phantasmek was gone.  The young psionic warrior gathered his belongings and left the castle just as his mentor would have wished.

Three years later he had become one of the most feared bounty hunters in the land.  Dubbed 'the Sandman' by those he hunted, Gideon's record spoke for itself.  There seemed no place he couldn't get into and no opponent he could not capture.  He often took jobs to bring down wizards who abused their power rendering his services without charge.  

It was one such wizard who managed to get a jump on the seasoned adventurer but that is a story for another time.


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## sandman (Jul 1, 2002)

Mommy, whats a bump?  ;p


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## Ziona (Jul 3, 2002)

I know, I know...haven't posted in awhile, but that's because I haven't had much time. However, I promise that I will update on Friday, which I have off from work.   I am going to try to devote the whole day to working on the story so I can get to what happened to our Unusual Heroes in the last few sessions.

And besides, you're too young to understand what a "bump" is anyhow, Sandman.


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 3, 2002)

Ziona, I really think you should just cut your losses and jump ahead to maybe two sessions behind where we are now. What you're trying to do is akin to trying to take in George Lucas' neck fat all at once... you'll never do it, but you can go mad trying. 

For every handful of story hour mud you shovel out, three more slide into the pit.


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## Ziona (Jul 7, 2002)

*The Chasm*

The party stood looking at the chasm that impeded their way, wondering how they were going to traverse such an obstacle.  Nuttin, who had finished telling Lox of his heroics with the young dragon for the third time, was scratching his chin.  Then a thoughtful look crossed his face and he snapped his fingers.

“That’s it!  I’ve got a plan, laddies,” he exclaimed. 

Venus, Dent, and Lox looked at Nuttin for his answer while Belasco chortled and Prynne smirked.  Elmond was trying to communicate with their hairy beast friend (without success).

“We can use the dragon to make our way across the gap,” began Nuttin.  “I’m sure I can conjure up something to hold the weight of the dragon wings long enough for us to cross.”

“You want us to remove the dragons wings to create a bridge?” asked Prynne.

“Precisely, missy,” said Nuttin.

“That could actually work,” replied Dent.  

“Not a bad idea, halfling,” said Venus. “Lets get to work on those wings!”

A laborious while later, the party had managed to remove the wings from the young dragon.  Venus, Dent, Prynne and Belasco were covered in dark, sticky dragon blood.  Lox helped them retrieve water from the dragon’s lair to rid themselves of the bloody mess while Nuttin looked over his spellbook.  Elmond readied the ropes they would use for support.

“Here we are,” smiled Nuttin.  He closed his spellbook and began reciting the spidery words to the spell.  A moment later, he had produced  enough webbing to cover the entire chasm.  

“Now lay the wings across the web,” instructed Nuttin.  

Venus and Dent carried one wing while Prynne and Belasco carried the other.  Once the wings were set, the party looped the rope around each other and began to cross the chasm.  

“Wow, Nuttin, that was a great idea! You really are a smart old halfling,” chirped Lox happily.

When the party reached the other side of the chasm, they began untying the ropes when they heard a familiar sound.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

“Oh no!” cried Lox. “We forgot the hair guy!”

They turned and looked and found that the Spleckle was standing near the edge of the chasm, mumbling the same string of words they found intelligible.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…"

“Leave him there,” grumbled Belasco. “He hasn’t done anything useful, and no one can understand what he’s saying anyhow.”

“We can’t just leave him there,” protested Lox. “What if someone catches him again and puts him in another cage? Or what if he falls in the chasm? Or what if…”

“Enough!” shouted Prynne.  “We’ll get the damn beast to come over the chasm just to shut you up.”

“How are we going to do that when we can’t communicate with it?” asked Dent.

“Simple,” replied Prynne. “We just drag it over. I’ll lasso it so even if the webbing breaks, it will still be safe.”

“This should be interesting,” commented Nuttin with a grin.

“Be careful with him,” sniffled Lox.

Prynne took the end of the rope that was wrapped around her waist and tied it into a loop, and began to swing the lasso in a wide circle.  She through the lasso out at the Spleckle and caught it in the loop on the first try.

“See? No problem,” she smiled proudly.  She gave a tug on the rope while Dent and Lox called their hairy friend over to their side of the chasm, but he wouldn’t budge.  Frowning slightly, Prynne gritted her teeth and gave the rope a hard jerk, pulling the Spleckle forward.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh!!!”

The Spleckle responded with a violent tug of his own that dragged Prynne out onto the dragon wings and webbing.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh!!!”

“Quickly! Grab the end of the rope,” shouted Dent, trying to grasp the remaining rope that hung from Prynne’s  waist.

The Spleckle continued to thrash about on the other side of the chasm, causing the webs beneath Prynne’s bare feet to tear.  She was going to fall!  She clasped her hands on to the rope that extended out to the Spleckle and gave another tug.  The Spleckle was yanked forward, making the rope less taught.  However, when the Spleckle yanked itself back up, the loop around it’s hairy body came loose, and sent Prynne plummeting through the webs.  The rope that Dent held tore through his hands, leaving them red and burning.

On the other side of the chasm the Spleckle still thrashed about until it ran into a wall, which seemed to calm it down.  It stood motionless again and mumbled the usual “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh.”

“Poor baldy,” said Nuttin sadly.  “She may not have been very nice, but she didn’t deserve to be dropped into a bottomless pit.”

“Oh, no,” frowned Lox.  “Prynne is gone and so is our hair creature.”

They looked up to see the Spleckle wander off alone back the way they had come.

“It’s not fair! Dent, can’t you do something? Maybe Nuttin can cast a spell,” said Lox.

“Quiet!  Listen,” said Belasco.  “I hear something…”

It sounded like a scraping or chiseling noise, and it seemed to come up from the darkness of the chasm.  As they neared the edge, it became louder.  

“I don’t believe it,” said Venus.  “It’s her.”

They looked over the edge and saw that Prynne had managed to cling to the side of the chasm wall and was now using her climbing kit to make her way back.

“Quickly! Lower a rope,” said Dent.  Venus pulled forth a rope, and both he and Dent held it securely as Prynne climbed her way back to the top of the chasm.

“Welcome back,” said Venus with a grin.

Prynne looked down at Lox, then turned to Venus.  “You didn’t think I’d let you be the only adventurers to defeat the maze did you?”

The group laughed and began investigating the area.  While Prynne was putting her climbing spikes back into her pack, she felt a tug on her cloak.  She turned to see Lox looking up at her.

“Miss Prynne?  I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry you almost fell into the bottomless hole.  I know you were just trying to get the hairy creature to come along so you wouldn’t have to hear me complain, so I think it’s kind of my fault that you fell into the chasm, but I didn’t know that the hairy guy was going to pull you like that…did you think he was going to be so strong? I wonder where he’s from to be so strong? Do you think that’s what he’s trying to tell us? I mean, how do we…”

“Lox,” interrupted Prynne.  “Thank you.”

She turned from him and began following the group away from the chasm.  Lox looked back one last time to see if his hairy friend had returned.  Seeing that he hadn’t, he just shrugged and followed the group into the next room.

_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (Jul 7, 2002)

*Shiny Objects*

The group followed Dent down a long corridor.  Dent called Lox forward when he found the first door.  

“It’s safe,” said Lox.  “It’s not even locked. See?”  

Lox swung the door open with a smile and pranced happily into the room.

“Hullo. My name is Lox. Who are you?”

Dent and Venus followed behind Lox and saw a very frail-looking man with dark skin sitting within a circle meditating.  Beneath him was a giant pentagram.  He opened one eye and looked at Lox.

“Leave this place,” he said loudly.  The sound of his deep voice bounced off the walls so the others who waited in the hallway could hear.

“Oooh, that’s a pretty gem you have,” said Lox with a look of wonder in his eyes.

Lox quickly approached the man with an outstretched arm, and grabbed the sparkling ruby.  The man’s eyes snapped open and he clutched Lox’s wrist.  

“What have you done?” shouted the man.

“It’s so pretty I had to touch it,” said Lox.

Venus and Dent moved forward with their weapons drawn.  Lox began to struggle to get away from the thin man, but did not loosen his grip on the ruby.

“Unhand my ruby, thief!”

“Leggo of me! Leggo!”

Lox struggled as fiercely as the Spleckle had struggled against Prynne, although he wouldn’t loosen his grip on the gem.  Suddenly, a loud cracking noise could be heard reverberating off the walls.  The meditating man shouted out in pain.

“What have you done? You fool…”

The man no longer had a hold on Lox.  In fact, the man’s arm seemed to be resting at a funny angle now.

“Lox! What are you doing? Get over here, now,” called Dent.  

“We don’t know what sort of magics this man has,” shouted Venus.  “When will you ever learn, silly halfling?!”

The man looked up at the intruders with an angry, painful scowl.  

“I am a pacifist, you fools…why have you come here to disturb me and steal from me?”

Dent looked shocked.  Venus was confused.  Lox just smiled and looked at the sparkling ruby.

“I am truly sorry,” said Dent, “but you are in a deadly maze.”

“Be gone!  Get out of here,” cried the dark-skinned man. 

“Can I keep this ruby?” asked Lox.

The man smirked at Lox, an evil look appearing in his eyes.

“Get out!” he shouted.  “A curse upon you and your retched halfling family! A curse!”

“Let’s be gone,” said Venus to Dent.  Dent grabbed Lox and they exited the room.  

“What happened in there?” asked Prynne, seeing the large ruby that Lox was holding.

“I got this pretty shiny ruby,” started Lox.  “But the man was so loud, and rude, too. You wouldn’t believe what he said about my family.”

“Let’s just move along,” sighed Dent, trying to keep his composure. 

The next door they found was unlocked as well.  As they approached the door, they could hear the jangling of bells.  When Lox tried to inspect the door for traps, it swung open and a jester smiled wildly at them.

“Greetings, adventurers!”

“Hullo! I’m Lox! Who are you?”

“Why I am Mar the Jester, young halfling,” he said, “and have I got a treat for you!”

The man who stood before them was dressed in what was once brightly colored apparel.  His clothing was faded and tattered, and the only thing that really stood out were the bright shiny bells on his shoes.

“Whoa, wait a minute,” said Dent pulling Lox away from Mar.  “What are you doing down here in the maze?”

“Well, if you truly must know,” Mar replied, “I was kicked out of Lord Korvish’s court, and he through me down here.  I am a prisoner of the maze, like yourselves.”  

“You’ve got to be kidding…” mumbled Prynne.
“Oh, but I’m not, my dear.  It’s awful living all your days down here, waiting for someone to show up…it’s so lonely…”

“Pull yourself together,” said Venus.  

“Pull?  Did you say pull?  Sure you can,” said Mar pulling a deck of cards out of thin air.

“Ooh, a game! Isn’t this grand? I wanna pull,” said Lox.

“No, Lox! No more of these shenanigans,” said Dent.  “Let’s move along.”

As the party turned to leave, Lox ran into the room with Mar and the door closed behind them.

“Great,” said Belasco.  “The halfling is at it again.  You do realize that we could make much better time if we just left the little nuisance behind, right?”

Dent glared at Belasco a moment, then moved back to the door and opened it wide.

“Lox, the party isn’t going to stand for your foolishness any longer,” he said sternly.

Lox looked up from the deck and smiled.  “It’s okay Dent.  You should try.  It’s a lot of fun.”

Mar held out the cards to each of them, explaining that good fortune could come their way if they pulled from the deck of cards.  He told tales of others who had pulled from the deck, and how they had received treasure and land, wishes and magical gifts.

“What did Lox get?” asked Prynne.

“A second chance,” said Mar with a smile. “Now it’s your turn, my bald, female friend.  Say, did anyone ever tell you that you have a shiny head?”

“Shiny things are nice,” said Lox, thinking of his ruby.

“Shut up and give me a card,” said Prynne.  

“Prynne,” said Dent, “are you sure you want to do this? We don’t know if we can trust this jester.”

Prynne didn’t take her eye from Mar. “Don’t worry about me, ranger,” she said.
She reached forward and pulled a card from the deck he held before her.  It turned to smoke and wisped away.  In her head she heard the jester laughing. “Lucky girl…you have a wish.  Looks like you didn’t have to finish the maze to get it after all, baldy.”

“What was that?” asked Venus.  “Are you okay?”

Prynne turned to the group.  “I’m fine.”

“Miss Prynne, what did you get from the card?” asked Lox.  

“That is for me alone to know, Lox,” she said.

“Let me have a hand at that deck,” said Venus.  He reached forward and pulled a card.  It transformed before their eyes into a scroll.  Venus untied the bow, unrolled the scroll and read it.

“It’s a deed,” he said.  “I am now a landowner.”

“Land?  Let me try,” said Nuttin.  He pulled a card and it transformed into a rod.  In his mind, he heard Mar laughing, “It is a Rod of Wonder, halfling.  Should be useful since you’re too old to fight.”

Belasco reached forward and pulled a card, which, like Prynne’s, wisped away into smoke.  Immediately he felt invigorated, stronger.  He heard the jester say “How does it feel to be stronger?  I know you elves are so frail and weak.”

Belasco looked at Mar from behind his mask.

“You know nothing, Jester,” he spat.

“Oh, no. I’ve upset the masked elf,” laughed Mar.  “Whatever will he do?”

“Don’t push me, you worthless human,” he growled, turning away.

“It’s your turn, ranger,” giggled Mar. “Unless you’d like me to _leaf_ you alone.”

“That’s funny,” chortled Lox.

“I don’t need to pull from that deck,” said Dent and he turned away.

“Touchy fellow,” said Mar with a smirk.  “What about the horny fellow?  What are you, part goat?” 

Elmond looked insulted, and shoved his way past the jester and followed Dent. The rest of the party began to follow Dent away from Mar’s room as well, and before long, they noticed that Mar was following them.
“Whoa, wait a minute,” said Venus. “What mischief are you planning, jester?”

“No mischief,” said Mar. “But I don’t want to live the rest of my days in this maze, so I’d like to follow you to see if you actually find your way out.  Is that so bad?”

“I don’t trust this jester,” said Belasco.  “I say we tie him up and leave him in the room we found him in.”

“He hasn’t done anything wrong,” said Dent.  “It’s understandable that he would want to leave this wretched place.  We’ll just have to keep an eye on him.”

“Why thank you,” said Mar.  

“Just watch yourself,” said Belasco.  “All I need is one reason…”

“Ooh, so dark and mysterious,” said Mar.  “What’s behind your mask that you’re hiding, hmmmm?”

“Back off,” said Belasco, giving Mar a shove.  “Stay at the back with the halflings.”

“Hooray,” said Lox.  “I can tell you some stories if you like…”
Mar rolled his eyes and followed the group.

Further down the corridor the party came across two doors.  Again Lox was called to the front of the line to inspect the first one.  He found the first one was unlocked and not trapped.  The second one was locked, but not trapped, and he unlocked it.  Before he could make any hasty moves, though, Venus picked him up by the nap of his neck and moved him aside.

“I’ll open the door this time,” he said.  He swung open the door and burst inside with his sword ready.  But, instead of an insidious foe, he found three women lounging about the large room, which was dimly lit by candles.  The smell of incense hung in the air and a bed of satiny pillows sat in the center of the room.  Against the back wall was a long table presenting a feast of succulent meats, cheeses, fruits, breads and wine.  There were tapestries on the wall and decorative carpets on the floor.  The three women looked up in unison as Venus opened the door.  One was a voluptuous red head in a red gown.  The second wore light armor and had sandy blonde hair.  The third wore scale mail armor and had dark hair and eyes.

“Pardon the intrusion, miladies,” stuttered Venus.

“It’s quite alright,” said the red haired woman, standing up. “Come right in Sir…?”

“Venus…my name is Venus, milady.”

“Welcome, Venus.  I am Veerdra.  This is Cryenna,” she said pointing to the blonde, “and Hrolga,” she said motioning to the brunette.

Venus dropped to one knee and bowed before the women as the rest of the party entered.  Cryenna and Hrolga stood up from the bed at that point and Cryenna seemed to keep some distance between herself and the group.

“Is this your group of friends, Venus?” asked Veerdra seductively.  

“Yes, milady.  They are my allies in this hellish maze.”

“You are seeking a way out,  I see,” said Veerdra.  “Will you rescue us from the clutches of Lord Korvish?”

“Of course, milady,” said Venus, getting back to his feet.  “I will see to your protection personally, Veerdra.”

“Why thank you, Venus.”

“Wait a minute,” said Prynne.  “We don’t know if we can trust these women anymore than we know we can trust the damn jester.  I say we leave them here.  We aren’t here to rescue every stray we meet in this godforsaken pit!”

“Prynne, you are jumping to conclusions,” said Venus.  “Veerdra would never do anything to harm us.”

Prynne glanced at Venus.  His eyes seemed to shine with awe at Veerdra.  It was obvious he was smitten with her.  Prynne looked to Dent.  “What are your thoughts, ranger?”

“If they are prisoners as they say they are, I don’t see how we can possibly leave them here under Korvish’s thumb.”

“Fine,” said Prynne, looking at Veerdra. “But I’m watching you.”

“No need to be so suspicious,” said Veerdra coolly. “We just want to escape Lord Korvish.”

“We didn’t ask to be brought here,” said Hrolga.  “We want to leave, as you do.”

Belasco looked at Cryenna.  She stood silently behind the other two women and eyed the party suspiciously.  

“And what about you, Cryenna,” he asked. “Have you anything to add?”

“I want only to return to my people,” she said flatly.

“Then I say we take them with us,” said Belasco.  

“Do you three have any idea how to escape?” asked Nuttin.  “Korvish must have brought you here somehow.  Do you remember?”

“He used magic to bring us here,” said Hrolga.  

“Hey look!” cried Lox.  “There’s enough food here to feed an army!”

“Which is exactly what we’re shaping up to be,” grumbled Prynne.

“Eat your fill,” said Veerdra.  “This is a fine place to rest if you feel the need.”

The party agreed that they could use the rest and decided to stay in the room.  They split up their watches and their night was uneventful.  The jester kept Lox occupied while Venus’s attention was taken by Veerdra.  Prynne and Dent discussed strategies while Belasco talked with Cryenna.  Elmond and Nuttin bickered about their magical abilities as usual.  

In the morning the well rested (and well fed) group ventured back down the corridors and deeper into the maze.  


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## Ziona (Jul 8, 2002)

*A Second Chance*

The party walked the last corridor and found nothing but a dead end.  It seemed that they would have to backtrack and cross the chasm again.  The problem was that when Prynne fell through the webbing, the dragon’s wings fell with her.  There would be no makeshift bridge to cross this time. The group explained to the newcomers how they had crossed the chasm the first time.

“What do we do now?” asked Nuttin.

“Well, we can’t fly across the accursed thing,” grumbled Prynne.

Just then Belasco took off his pack and began rummaging through his belongings. 
“I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before,” he remarked.

“Thought of what?” asked Dent.

Belasco pulled forth a vial with a cork in the top. “My potion of flying.”

Nuttin smacked his hand to his forehead in disbelief.  Dent shook his head with a smirk.

“You had a potion of flying all this time?” asked Prynne.

“Yes,” said Belasco coolly.  “And you should be thankful.  Otherwise we’d be stuck here if we used it the first time around.”

Belasco drank the potion and carried each person across.  His newly found strength aided him in the process.  Once everyone was at the other side, a familiar sound welcomed them.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

“Omigosh!  He’s okay,” cried Lox.

From around the corner came the Spleckle, muttering the unintelligible nonsense he always spoke.  Prynne rolled her eyes and avoided the hairy beast, while Lox ran up to it and told it all they had done without it.

The group pressed on until they came upon an area that did not look familiar to them.  They traveled down the new corridor and saw a door at the end.  Lox dutifully checked for traps.  Finding one, he disarmed it, and then used his lockpicks to unlock the door.  He knew better than to open the door, although he really wanted to, and stepped aside so Venus or Dent could be the first in the room.

Lox noticed that Venus was less interested in storming in the room than he used to be.  It seemed that he was more interested in staying at Veerdra’s side to protect her.  As a result, Dent was the first to enter the room.

The room was circular and a man in full plate sat at a table with a mug of ale.  As Dent entered, the man reached for his glowing whip that sat on the table in front of him.  Behind the man was a roaring fire with a stewing pot full of gruel.  The man jumped up from his seat and strode forward, weapon in hand.

“You have made a mistake entering my chambers,” he bellowed.  “A fatal mistake.”

Dent dodged the man’s first attack as the rest of the party piled into the room.  

“I am the Master Keeper of the Caged, and I shall see you dead!” he bellowed.  Using his whip, the Master attacked Dent again.  The whip struck the ranger in the chest and knocked him to the floor.  

“Dent!” gasped Lox. 

Lox tumbled over to his friend to aid his injuries as best he could, while Prynne tumbled towards the Master with her swords drawn.  She swiped at their attacker twice, and managed to hit him once with her longsword. Venus ran into the fray, bellowing his battle cry and swung his sword at the Master, but missed.  

The Master did not miss however.  He turned to Prynne and lashed at her with his Whip of Pain, knocking her to the ground alongside Dent.  Venus pressed on in his attack, but he too, was felled by the Master and his whip.  

Lox, satisfied that he could still hear Dent’s heartbeat jumped up and tumbled behind the Master Keeper.  The Master caught the movement from the corner of his eye and whipped at the halfling.  To avoid being hit, Lox tumbled back, which landed him right in front of his foe.  The Master used his whip again and Lox was among his unconscious companions on the floor.

Elmond pulled the women, the jester,  and the Spleckle back out of the room and kept them in the corridor, hoping his companions would take their enemy down.  Meanwhile, Nuttin began reciting the spidery words of a spell, while Belasco, knowing what Nuttin intended on casting, pulled their companions out of the room.  The Master, hearing the caster, reached for a lever on the wall.  After pulling the lever, the Master blew on a whistle that hung around his neck.

The lever released a barrage of monsters who were under the command of the Master.  They were intent on killing anyone in their way.  From the cages in the adjacent room came two bugbears, a grimlock, a dire wolverine, and a monstrous poisonous toad.  Just as they approached, Nuttin’s spell was complete…a ball of fire burst in the room, roasting anything in it’s path.  Nuttin slapped his knee in satisfaction when he saw that the monsters had perished due to the fireball he had conjured.  

However, the Master was not so pleased with the death of Korvish’s monsters, and bellowed as he attacked the halfling wizard.  His Whip of Pain struck Nuttin and knocked him unconscious with the rest of the group.  

Belasco looked down at the halfling and realized he was practically the last one standing.  The smirk behind his mask did not show as he dropped his weapons and surrendered.  
The Master waltzed up to Belasco and kicked his weapon out of his reach.

“The Master Keeper of the Caged does not take prisoners,” he spat.  “You will die, just as your friends will die.  Any last words?”

“Yes…”  Belasco doubled up his fist, on which he wore his chainmail gauntlet, and slammed the Master in the face.  The blow crushed the Master’s nose and knocked him to the floor in a heap.  Belasco was quick to grab the Master’s glowing whip, and his own weapon as well.  He tied the Master up and locked him in one of the cages where he kept the monstrous animals.  

After a few hours, (which Belasco spent talking with Cryenna), the party began to awaken.  Before long, they were organized again, and continued on.  The next room they came upon was circular like the last room.  However, this room did not have a door leading out.  The ceiling of this room was very high, and the group noticed that there was a passageway leading out up near the ceiling. But, there were no stairs or ladders leading to the passageway.  Most of the group were thinking about this dilemma when Lox pointed out the chests he found.

“Look what I found! It’s a whole buncha coins!  This is great,” he continued as he opened the next box.  “Look. This one has potions in it.  I wonder what they do…”

“Let me see,” said Dent.  He picked up one of the vials from the chest and opened the cork.  “Smells kind of odd,” he said.

“Tastes kind of funny, too,” said Lox.

“Lox, you didn’t,” said Dent.

“Lumley!  What are you thinking, you nincompoop,” yelled Nuttin.  

“Well, I thought if it didn’t hrrt Dnt…eeh…mhhh..mmfff…ifffs sshhhttkk,” Lox mumbled.

“What’s wrong, Lox?”

Lox pointed frantically at his mouth.  He tried to tell him that he couldn’t open his mouth, but _he couldn’t open his mouth to tell them!_  It seemed like it sealed shut.  His throat felt as though it were sticky and clogged, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. He was starting to panic, which caused his face to turn red.  He clutched at his throat, and pointed at his mouth.  

“Lox! What’s happening?” shouted Dent.

“Give him some water,” suggested Nuttin.

“See the trouble his mischief can cause?” said Belasco to Cryenna.  “That’s why I suggest we let the halfling go first.  Where I come from the lesser races, like halflings, are sent ahead to scout out the enemy, that way the real forces are aware of what’s ahead…”

“I don’t think he can breathe,” said Prynne.

By this time, almost the entire party was huddled around Lox, making it even harder for him to breathe.  He knew he was suffocating, and he was afraid.  What could he do? What could any of them do?  He should have listened to Dent and been more careful, but it was too late for that now.  He looked at each of them, realizing he would never get the chance to adventure with any of them again.  He would miss Dent and Nuttin, and he was sad that he would never really get to know Elmond or Mar, or…

Mar The Jester…the cards…the deck!  That’s right…a second chance!
Lox realized he had a second chance, and he used his dying breath to speak the proper words…

“eeyyy wisss thsss dnnnt hppnnnnnnnn….”

Suddenly, Lox was not suffocating anymore.  Everyone was looking at the chest with the coins inside, and Lox was watching Dent trying to uncork the vial.

“Dent, don’t!” he shouted. “Don’t open it.”

“What’s wrong, Lox?”

“I uh…I don’t think we should mess with these, that’s all. Maybe we can figure out what they are later…or something,” he said nervously.

“For once the halfling is talking sensibly,” said Prynne.  

Lox just smiled sheepishly as the group looked up to the wall again.  Mar, however, smiled at Lox, and patted him on the shoulder.  

_The Adventure Continues…_


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## denmstrsn (Jul 10, 2002)

Stories are getting good.  Almost through the maze.  That was funny when Lox drank the glue.


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## madriel (Jul 12, 2002)

Wonderful!


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## Dartan (Jul 12, 2002)

You know i didn't realize how annoying Lox is till i read the story.....He's gonna get himself killed or a party member killed one of these days....he's so much fun to play...Nice updates Ziona can't wait to read more.


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## sandman (Jul 12, 2002)

If I don't kill Loxx first!   Almost had to this week  ;p


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## Dartan (Jul 12, 2002)

No....you can't kill Lox he doesn't mean any harm.....his priorties are just a little different from other members of the party.......No your right you should of taken one of those mind blades and done him in.....Poor Lox.


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## Ziona (Jul 12, 2002)

Oh, go easy on Lox.  He may be mischievous, but I'm not sure he knows any better. Still, I fear he may find himself behind bars, (or worse), if he continues on his hasty, roguish path.  He must learn to think before he acts or reacts, not only for his own sake, but for the sake of the party. 

His dream is to be in a famous adventuring party.  I pray to Eilistraee that he lives long enough to see that dream come true!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 12, 2002)

Nobody's killing Roundie!!

Lox is too cool.


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## Dartan (Jul 15, 2002)

Can't wait for another update Ziona...


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## sandman (Jul 16, 2002)

> Nobody's killing Roundie!!




Shut up fungus boy  ;p


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## Dartan (Jul 17, 2002)

Still waiting Ziona.......bump


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## Ziona (Jul 18, 2002)

The wait is over my friend... new update tonight!!


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## Ziona (Jul 18, 2002)

*Black Armor*

“How are we ever going to scale this wall?  We’re trapped,” said Veerdra helplessly to Venus.

“Fear not, Milady.  We will find a way out of this pit,” he reassured her.

“Well, anyone with a grappling hook can scale a wall,” said Prynne as she reached into her pack.

“Your rope isn’t nearly long enough,” said Dent. “It will take much more than that.”

Dent began collecting rope from each person, and then they tied the ropes end to end.  When they were finished, Prynne began swinging her grappling hook.  She let it glide through the air until it reached the top of the cliff.  However, when she gave it a tug, it came soaring back down.

“That’s odd,” said Dent.  “The wall seems slick…there is nothing for the grappling hook to catch on.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Prynne reaching back into her pack.  She pulled out a climbing kit and smirked as she attempted to scale the wall.  However, before she could even pull herself up from the ground entirely, she slid back down to the ground.

“Ridiculous!” she growled.

Suddenly, the party flinched as they heard glass shattering.  They turned to see a gooey substance splayed across the wall.

“Sorry to startle you,” said Lox.  “But maybe if we cover the walls in this sticky, glue stuff from these vials we can crawl up the wall.”

“Silly halfling,” laughed Belasco.  “Don’t you understand that if the glue were that strong you would be stuck?”

But suddenly Belasco was struck with an idea.  

“But if the glue would actually hold…” he mumbled.  “Prynne, give me your grappling hook.”

Prynne handed over her hook and watched as Belasco covered it with goo from one of the vials.  He then swung it as gracefully as Prynne had a moment ago, but this time the grappling hook found purchase at the top of the cliff.

“Go ahead,” gloated Belasco.  “Give it a tug.  It should hold and allow each of us to climb to the top.”
“What are we waiting for,” grumbled Nuttin.  “Let’s get goin’.”

One by one the group climbed the rope and reached the top.  However, wandering below them they could hear “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

Lox looked to Dent with sorrow in his eyes.

“We can’t just leave him here, Dent,” he protested.  “He needs to be freed, too!”

Dent just looked down at the Splekcle, then began climbing back down.

“Whoo-hoo!” cried Lox.

When Dent reached the bottom, he did his best to tie the rope around the creature without it thrashing about too much.  It was a rough climb back to the top, but he made it eventually, and Venus helped him pull the hairy Spleckle to the top.  All it said in return was “Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhhh.”

Once everyone was ready, the party moved forward into a short hallway.  Lox checked the door at the end of the hall for traps.  Once they were disarmed and the door was unlocked, Dent opened the door and the rest of the party followed closely behind.

The room they entered was very spacious, with a light gray carpet on the floor.  The paintings on the walls were visible because of a dull white light that permeated the room.  Each party member noticed the ceiling, from which hung a multifaceted crystal hanging on a long, sturdy chain.  There were eight pillars in the room, with a painting on every side.  The pictures almost seem to move at times, which was obviously a trick of the odd lighting in the room.  

As the party entered, they began spreading out to inspect the paintings and the room.  Mar and Elmond stayed at the entrance with their hairy ally, while Hrolga and Cryenna followed Belasco.  Veerdra followed closely at Venus’s side, while Prynne, Nuttin, and Lox spread out. 

Dent approached the pillar in the front left-hand corner and began looking at one of the paintings.  It was set in a gold and platinum frame, and depicted a lovely birch tree with silver, amber, and violet colored crystals intermixed with it’s leaves.  In front of the tree sat a copper bottle with a large, yellow gem for a stopper.

“Looks so real,” he muttered as he reached toward the bottle.  His fingers actually felt the cool copper bottle, and as he pulled his hand away, the bottle fell from the painting and clattered on the floor.  

“Look here,” he called out to the group.  “I touched the bottle in the painting, and it became real.”

“Amazing,” said Belasco.  The painting he was peering at was set in a silver frame and depicted a great black armored fighter with a huge metallic mace.  He heard Dent’s words and reached out to touch the mace.  As he did, the fighter in black armor jolted to life and sprang from the painting.  Cryenna gave a short cry as she leapt out of the fighter’s way, leaving Belasco to battle the warrior on his own.

Meanwhile, Nuttin stood looking at a painting framed in black iron.  The painting showed many amorphous black, inky blobs that seemed to wriggle and move about.  As he walked closer, the word “GREVLYN” appeared on the painting.

“Grevlyn?  Hmmm…”

He reached out and felt the painting, and the top part of the frame dislodged, revealing a hidden compartment.  When he reached into the compartment, he pulled forth a cold iron ring.  

Once he took the ring, he moved to the other side of the pillar where he saw a picture framed by silver serpents.  The canvas showed five different eyes.  The first was off-white with an olive pupil and red veins.  Next to it was a black eye with a mauve center.  Below that was a dull yellow colored eye, which oozed a purple substance from it’s brown pupil.  To the left of the oozing eye was a pink eyeball with no pupil. However, it had porcupine quills for lashes.  The final eye was bulbous and tan with a black center. 

“Don’t wanna touch the drippy eye…that’s just gross….” mumbled Nuttin to himself.  “Don’t wanna get poked by the porcupine eye…hmmm…what about the big one…”

Nuttin reached out and poked at the bulbous tan and black eye, and into his hand dropped a smooth tiger’s eye gem.

“Very nice,” he smiled.

“I could use some assistance here,” boomed Belasco’s voice around the large room.

From around the corner came Hrolga with a longsword in hand.  In a moment she was at Belasco’s side, fighting the black armored warrior.

At the other side of the room stood Prynne.  She looked at several paintings, but decided she had not seen any that looked interesting enough to touch.  Then she saw the painting of the insane, yet regal looking man.  The man sat on a throne and wore a silver and gold crown, which was set with rubies, emeralds and sapphires.  In his left hand he possessed a silver scepter, while in his right hand he held a black orb.  

On further inspection of the ebony frame, Prynne found three buttons.  Deciding she wanted the crown on the man’s head, she took a chance and pushed the middle button, but nothing happened.  She decided to push the first button, but again nothing happened.  

“One more,” she muttered.  She reached up and pressed the third button, which made a twangy sort of sound.  Alarmed by what sounded like a trap, she tumbled away from the painting and stood up safely a few feet away.  She did not see a crown lying on the floor, but she did notice that the tile she had been standing on was spouting water.  As she slowly approached the painting again, she saw a large pin embedded into the wall.  Then suddenly, a rumbling could be heard coming from the wall the painting hung on, and a bright spark of light sprang forth from the wall.  

“Oh my,” she stammered.  “That would have been quite a shock.”

Back near the entrance, Dent had pulled the yellow gem out of the copper bottle.  By this time, Lox was eager to see what Dent had found, and had managed to pocket the yellow gem.

Dent leapt back as smoke began to billow from the bottle and formed into a djinni.  
“Greetings, my master.  How may I serve you?”

“Wow! A djinni,” cried Lox.  “Can you grant me any wish I want?”

“I have a limited service, my Master.  I am the only being capable of entering the painting.”

“That’s it?  I thought you could grant wishes and stuff,” said Lox disappointedly. 

“Yeah, I thought djinni’s had many different powers,” said Dent.

“I am the only being capable of entering the painting,” said the djinni gruffly.

“What good is that?”

“Well, Dent there are shiny leaves on that tree,” said Lox.

“Okay, djinni.  Enter the painting and bring out the gems in the tree,” said Dent.

“Very well, my Master.”

The djinni entered the painting and plucked the gems from the branches of the tree.  Once he collected them all, he came back and handed the armful to Dent.

“They’re shiny, Dent,” said Lox, “but I don’t think they’re real gems.”

“You’re right, Lox,” Dent huffed.  “These aren’t worth anything.  Djinni, create an animal to fight at my side.  Better yet, help me get to Belasco and help me fight with him.”

“I cannot create animals,” said the djinni insulted. “I can enter the painting if you wish, but I cannot fight for you.  Besides, you are the one with the axe!”

“This djinni is no fun,” said Lox. “I thought djinni’s could fly and make you fly and grant wishes and give you treasure.  He’s boring!”

“You are of no use to us, djinni,” said Dent. “You are free to go.”

“Free to go?  I am quite useful, actually.  You are just too much of a buffoon to understand!” 

“Be gone,” growled Dent.  “You cannot be of service to us.”

“I cannot leave unless you place the stopper back in my copper bottle,” said the djinni.

Dent looked around for the stopper, and eyed Lox suspiciously.

“Lox, do you have the yellow gem?”

“Yellow gem? You have a yellow gem? Can I see it?”

“Oh, this is unbelievable,” muttered the djinni.  “First you are too ignorant to put my services to use, now you insipid creatures have lost my stopper.”

“Enough!” yelled Dent.  The ranger threw the copper bottle across the room where it split in two against the far wall.

“Now look what you’ve done,” shouted the djinni.  “Silly creatures…”

Dent began looking about the room for Belasco when he noticed another painting.  The painting was surrounded by a frame of bronze and depicted three husky warriors in bronze.  The first held a sword, the second held a javelin, and the third had a green bow.  Dent reached for the short sword, and pulled it from the painting easily.  Next, he grabbed the bow, followed by the javelin.  Since nothing else seemed to happen with the painting he continued across the room looking for Belasco.

Hrolga was still fighting at Belasco’s side, but was injured.  Belasco was using his spiked chain to keep the warrior at a distance, but he was closing in on them fast.  The armored warrior lunged forward and bashed Hrolga against the wall, knocking her unconscious.  Belasco tried to tumble away from the warrior, but was not able to get out of his reach fast enough.  The mace connected with Belasco’s shoulder and knocked him to the floor.  He vaguely remembered hearing Dent’s voice calling out to him when he lost consciousness.

During this time, Venus and Veerdra had been inspecting paintings on their own.  They had looked at several that did not seem to move, or had no effect when touched.  They came upon the painting of seven hands around the time Prynne had.

“Odd painting,” said Prynne.
The painting was surrounded by a frame of malachite, and showed seven distinct hands.  The first hand was clawed and embroiled in flames, while the second was a mummified hand.  The third was a black hand, the fourth was a skeletal hand, and the fifth was a hand in a bronze gauntlet.  The sixth was a wooden hand banded with iron.  Finally, the seventh was a nasty hand dripping with greenish ichor.

“We have had no luck with any of the paintings we’ve encountered,” said Venus.

“I have only seen one spring into action,” said Prynne, “and it was only a trap.”

“Let’s move on then,” said Venus.  “This one does not look as though it has anything  of value, anyway.”

As the three began to walk by the painting, the arms reached out for them!  The black hand grabbed Prynne’s  long brown braid and violently tugged her backward.  Venus reacted quickly, however, and used his scimitar to slash at the black hand.  The hand let go of the thick braid and retreated into the painting again.

“Hideous,” murmured Veerdra, casting a dark look at Prynne.  “We should continue moving along.”

“Yes, Milady,” said Venus obediently.

Prynne flicked her braid over her shoulder and followed behind them.  The three heard a wail and began to run towards the ruckus.  When they arrived, they found Belasco and Hrolga on the ground, Dent firing arrows and Lox shuffling though Belasco’s pack.

Venus shouted his battle cry and ran forward with his scimitar in hand.  Veerdra simply backed up and checked on Hrolga.  Prynne took out her swords and tumbled into the fray.

Lox was busy looking through Belasco’s pack, searching for something to help his fallen friend.  He found a potion and took off the stopper.  It made him think of the yellow gem stopper he had found on the floor, which made him giddy.  He was about to reach into his pouch to check up on his yellow gem, when he remembered Belasco bleeding on the floor.

“I’ll see to my gem later,” he thought.

He looked at Belasco, and a sudden excitement came over him.  He would finally get to touch Belasco’s interesting black mask!  Better yet, he would get to see Belasco’s hideous scars that he hides behind the interesting black mask!  What fun!

Lox reached out for the mask and slowly pulled it aside to see what horrible battle scars his mysterious friend might have.  But, it turned out Belasco had no scars…Belasco was hiding his face for a different reason altogether…

“Omigod…” breathed Lox.

He looked into Belasco’s face and was both intrigued and scared.  His little halfling hands began to shake, and he realized that he still hadn’t given Belasco the healing potion.  He looked over his shoulder and saw the rest of the group still fighting the black armored warrior.  Looking back at Belasco, he shrugged and began administering the potion.

“I don’t care if you are a drow, Belasco,” he muttered nervously.  “I’ll still give ya the healing potion…after all, it is your potion…who am I to say that all drow are evil, even though all drow _are_ evil…I mean, some people say that halflings are awful creatures, too, but I know we’re not…”

“Quiet yourself, halfling…”

It seemed the healing potion was working, and the drow had regained consciousness.  Belasco sat up slowly, and grabbed hold of Lox’s wrist.  Lox swallowed nervously, but did not move in Belasco’s grasp.  He simply looked into the eerie green eyes of the drow and remembered the threats of getting his digits removed if he ever touched Belasco’s mask.  He wondered what was going to happen now.

“I am thankful that you were smart enough to administer the potion, halfling,” said Belasco wickedly, “but if you breathe a word of my secret to anyone, I will see to it that it is your last breath.”

Lox just nodded and wordlessly stumbled away from Belasco, who had fixed the mask back into place over his face.  Behind him, Lox could hear Venus cheer as they defeated the fighter in the black armor.


_The Adventure Continues…_


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## PaynAndispare (Jul 19, 2002)

Yay, finally an update  ... good to see the story back in action


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## Ziona (Jul 19, 2002)

Everyone say Happy Birthday to Dartan!
It's it's one-hundred-and-eleventieth birthday on Sunday!  
(Ah, Doc says that best when he's using his Bilbo voice)
We're having festivities tomorrow, (which will probably be worthy enough for it's own story hour knowing Dartan.)

Anyhow, Happy Bday Dartan! May Eilistraee grant you many more!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 19, 2002)

It's my one hundred and elevenedetienth birthday!

Rock on, Dartan. If you like, I'll do the anime girl voice for you tomorrow. *wink*


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## Ziona (Jul 19, 2002)

_Ziona blushes with embarrassment..._

Unless those girls are hunting in the woods under the moonlight, they best be clothed!!


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## denmstrsn (Jul 20, 2002)

Those girls look more like they are hunting for *explitive deleted*.

Anyways, happy Birthday Dartan.  

Oh, by the way I'm going to kill you.

Dent


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## Ziona (Jul 22, 2002)

Dartan's birthday party was a drunken success! (I'll be sure to post a pic of Dartan the Godless Vs. His Bday Cake...)

As for the story, the conclusion draws near....stay tuned true believers!


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 22, 2002)

Dartan vs. The Cake was hilarious!
My windpipe was sore from laughing, and I couldn't take any time at all to enjoy my ice cream. I was cracking the hell up. 

Dartan the Godless got REALLY drunk and just had a hell of a time doing... well... things you'll see in pictures. Soooo funny.


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## denmstrsn (Jul 22, 2002)

Randy, show mommy how the piggies eat.


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## Dartan (Jul 22, 2002)

Thanks guys......None of which is true of course i was nothing but a gentlemen.......Whom i kidding....I kicked that cakes ass.......Can't wait for more story Ziona..


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## Ziona (Jul 23, 2002)

More story is on the way, Lox!  And with it, a final secret is revealed...


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## sandman (Jul 23, 2002)

> My windpipe was sore from laughing,




And other things!      

Ziona, get your half-breed butt of these boards and back to writing!


The story is great so far


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## Xaltar (Jul 24, 2002)

*Here comes the pain*

Here comes the pain!  Are you all ready for it?

Guess which character has betrayed the party and their player doesn't even now it yet?

Oh, these are exciting times indeed!


- Xaltar


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 24, 2002)

> Guess which character has betrayed the party and their player doesn't even now it yet?




WHUH- oh... 

Uh... Dr.M is happily communing with the fungus folk, right? No malice there!


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## Horacio (Jul 24, 2002)

Ziona said:
			
		

> *More story is on the way, Lox!  And with it, a final secret is revealed...   *




What are you waiting for? Write it! Write it!
please...


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## sandman (Jul 24, 2002)

> Guess which character has betrayed the party and their player doesn't even now it yet?




I bet it's Lox but I always blame stuff on that lil' runt!


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## denmstrsn (Jul 24, 2002)

It's that damn ring that Lox got in the maze.


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## Dartan (Jul 24, 2002)

Stop.......Lox would never do anything bad on purpose......but i think it was Lox too...that stupid halfling always finding some kind of trouble..


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## Xaltar (Jul 24, 2002)

Hmm, could be...  But I think that Lox is a separate issue altogether.

I'm going to bring in some "unwritten" character histories this week that should fit the characters, but not necessarily in the manner that their players expect.


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## Ziona (Jul 25, 2002)

*Exiting the Maze*

After the warrior in black armor had been defeated, the party decided to examine each painting as a group to avoid being attacked or taken by surprise.  Due to a recent discovery, Belasco took the lead next to Lox to keep an eye on the halfling.  He didn’t need any hindrances when they were this close to completing the maze. 

The first painting they looked at was an empty canvas surrounded by an oak frame.  Set before the canvas was an artist’s table with a paintbrush and a jar of multicolored paint.  

“That’s peculiar,” said Nuttin.

“Indeed,” agreed Belasco.  “Perhaps if we paint something on the canvas…”

Belasco reached down and took the paintbrush.  Dipping it into the paint, he began painting a picture of an elf.  The colors swirled magically and glimmered like gems.  Once finished, the party saw that the painting was of a drow with snow white hair and green eyes.  

“I thought drow were supposed to have red eyes,” said Cryenna.

“Not this one,” said Belasco.

Lox swallowed hard and stuck his hands into his pockets.  Before anyone could comment further, the drow in the painting smiled and began to move!  He turned and walked further into the picture, leaving deep footsteps starting at the painting’s bottom center.  As they watched, they saw the drow walk up to an ivory throne encrusted with minerals and gems.  The drow sat in the throne and disappeared, but his footsteps remained.

“Interesting,” said Prynne.

“Yes, but what is the point?” asked Venus.

Belasco walked in the direction of the painting and disappeared.  The party watched as he reappeared in the painting and followed the footprints to the throne.  He sat down and waited.  A voice bellowed _“I WILL ANSWER ONE QUESTION.”_

“Wow…” beamed Lox, forgetting his nervousness.

“Which are the beneficial paintings left in the room?” asked Belasco.

_”LOOK UPON THEM AND YOU SHALL SEE THE LIGHT.”_

Belasco stood up from the ivory throne and followed his footsteps back out to the group.

“That’s great,” said Nuttin, “but I woulda asked for the way out.”
“Maybe one of the paintings is the way out,” said Prynne.

“What do you see, Belasco?” asked Venus.

Belasco looked slowly around the room.  Many of the paintings seemed to radiate a dark shadow, while others seemed to glow with a pale white light.

“This way…”

One by one, the party activated the paintings with treasure or useful information.  Most of them were easily activated with a simple touch or movement.  One however, appeared to be somewhat of a puzzle.  The rosewood frame was thick and sturdy and surrounded a painting of a silver fox, a lynx, puma, lion, panther and tiger.  

Dent reached forward and touched it, but nothing seemed to happen.  Each party member suggested a different tactic, but none of them worked.

“Let’s go to the next one,” said Lox growing bored.

“This is the last of them,” said Belasco.

“Are you sure it’s even glowing?  Maybe it’s not beneficial, maybe it’s just not harmful,” said Prynne.

“It glows,” said Belasco. “We must find some sort of trigger to set it off.”

“It looks like the striped cat’s eye is bleeding,” said Lox.

“He’s right,” said Dent.  “The tiger’s eye is oozing something.”

“Eh?  Did you say Tiger’s Eye?” chimed Nuttin.  “It just so happens that I found a Tiger’s Eye stone in another painting.  You don’t suppose…”

“Try it,” said Venus.  “It can’t hurt.”

Nuttin reached into his belt pouch and pulled forth the Tiger’s Eye stone.  It glimmered prettily in the magical glow of the room.  

“Oooh, can I see? Can I see?”

“Not now, Lox.  Let’s have a look at that,” said Dent.  He took the stone from Nuttin and reached up to the painting.  He placed the stone into the spot where the tiger’s eye bled and a golden light began to emanate from the painting.  The party stepped back when they saw the tiger was beginning to move.

“You’re sure this is beneficial…” said Nuttin nervously.
The tiger gracefully leapt from the picture and strode over to Dent.  It sat down in front of the ranger and nudged his hand with it’s head.  The party looked at Dent in amazement.  Dent scratched the tiger behind the ears and patted it’s head.  She made a grunting noise and rolled over onto her back as playful as a kitten.

“Wow, Dent!  You’ve got a pet tiger!  That’s great,” cried Lox.  “I wonder if it’s  a girl or a boy?  I think it’s a girl…what are you going to name her? Can I help you name her, Dent?”

“Well, Lox, she is a girl,” said Dent.  “But I think I know what we should call her already.”

“Really? Is it something nice? I think we should call her fluffy,” said Lox.

“We’ll call her Haley,” said Dent patting her belly.

The party was relieved that Haley wasn’t aggressive towards them, but they were also disappointed that none of the paintings seemed to lead them out of the maze.  They decided that it was a good time to rest and they set up watches.

On first watch were Prynne, Hrolga, Mar, and Elmond.  Those responsible on second watch were Belasco, Cryenna, Lox, and Nuttin.  (Belasco made sure to keep a close eye on Lox.)  Venus and Veerdra spent third watch alone together, (and no one in the group felt they should be so bold as to suggest otherwise).  Finally,  Dent shared fourth watch with his new companion Haley, the Spleckle, and the djinni.  

The night passed uneventfully, and the next day the group began searching about the enormous room in hopes of finding a way out.  Nearly half the day had passed when the party heard Lox’s voice ring out.  Somehow, at that moment, the group managed not to flinch and were happy to hear the shrill sound of the halfling’s excited voice. 

“I found a door! A secret, one, too!  Lemme see…which pick to use on the lock…”

The party emerged behind Lox, waiting for the halfling to open the door that they still didn’t quite see.

“Ah-ha! Here we are,” he said proudly.  “Stand aside please.”

Lox used his lockpicks and the door swung open silently.  As the party exited the room, they felt a brief falling sensation, then appeared in a lavishly decorated room.  

“Ah, I see you made it,” said Lord Korvish.

Then, as all thirteen survivors appeared in the room, Lord Korvish wrinkled his nose.

“Well, I hadn’t expected so many of you,” he said sourly.
Lord Korvish was wearing the same lavish robes and jewelry as he had when last they had seen him.  His rotund assistant was by his side.

“We did it! Hooray!” cried Lox.  “Can I tell you what my wish is now?”

“Patience, my halfling guest, patience,” said Lord Korvish.

“My Lord,” began the assistant. “Are you actually going to give all thirteen of them wishes?”

Korvish shot his assistant a cold glance, and the portly man shrank away without another word.

“I am Lord Korvish and I will keep my word to these worthy adventurers,” he began.  “You must, however, return the Rings of Sustenance you were given at the start of the maze.  After the return of the rings, you may make your wish and you will be free to leave.”

“Oh, no,” began Lox. “I threw my ring at that crazy judge in that creepy court! But I didn’t keep it, honest!”

“Not to worry,” said Lord Korvish.  “I have been watching you throughout your adventure in the maze.  I saw that you lost the ring early on.  Lucky for you your ranger friend was willing to share his with you, or you may not have made it this far.”

“Whoopee! I still get my wish! Can I wish first, please?” begged Lox.

“If there are no objections from the others,” said Korvish.

“Let him make his damn wish first, or the rest of us will be rushed and driven mad by his impatience,” said Elmond.

No one in the group disagreed with the tiefling’s logic.

“Okay,” said Lox.  “I wish that I will become part of the most famous adventuring party ever!”

Lox’s eyes twinkled with excitement as he waited for Korvish to grant his wish. 

“It shall be done,” said Lord Korvish with a smile and a nod.

Lox stood for a moment in silence, then said “Funny, I don’t feel any more famous than I did.”

At this Lord Korvish laughed.  “Lox Lumley, you have made a thoughtful wish, one that will require some effort to come into being.”

“But, I thought when you made a wish, POOF! It just came true,” said Lox in frustration. “What do you mean I have to make an effort? It’s a wish.”

“A wish that will most certainly come true with a little effort,” said Korvish.  He smiled at the halfling and went to the next adventurer.

“And what is your wish?” asked Lord Korvish as Prynne handed him her ring.

“I wish for the blessings of Our Smiling Lady, Tymora,” she said clearly.

“Hold out your hand, Shadowdancer,” said Korvish.  

As she held out her hand, Prynne saw a small silver coin attached to a silver chain appear in her palm.  It was cool to the touch.  The coin had the face of Tymora surrounded by shamrocks on it.  

“This coin will give you the Luck of Tymora,” said Lord Korvish.  “The Lady Luck shall smile upon you once per day.  Use the item wisely.”

Prynne clasped the coin tightly, then put the chain around her neck, pleased with the outcome of her wish.

“What is your wish, sorcerer?” Korvish asked Nuttin.

“Well, I…I wish I could spend one last day with my wife,” Nuttin said with glossy eyes.

The room fell silent and stood motionless when they heard the halfling’s request.  They all knew that Nuttin’s wife had passed away and how much he missed her, but no one expected his wish to be so heartfelt.

Lord Korvish nodded his head and leaned down to face Nuttin.  

“Your wish will be granted, my friend.  Tomorrow you will spend the whole day with your wife, just the way you remembered her before her passing.”

Nuttin just smiled in silence.  He took out a handkerchief and blotted his eyes.  Lord Korvish quickly walked away to avoid embarrassing the halfling.

“And what of you, dark elf?” 

“Dark elf?” said Dent.

Lox just looked over towards Belasco nervously. 

Belasco stood facing Lord Korvish while the rest of the group looked on.  He reached for the black, velvety mask that hid his face and slowly pulled it away.

“That’s right,” said Belasco bitterly.  “I’m a Drow.”

Lox gulped loudly, worried that Belasco might think he told Lord Korvish his secret.

“I don’t see why you felt the need to reveal my race,” Belasco went on, “but since you have, there is no point in keeping the mask on at the moment.”

“Your wish?” asked Korvish.

“I wish that every living creature you keep in the maze was set free,” Belasco said defiantly.  “I have lived through the hell of slavery and commands.  I do not wish it on anyone.”

“Very well,” said Lord Korvish turning red.  “Your wish shall be granted.”

“But my Lord,” said his oversized assistant.

“Silence,” snapped Korvish.  He looked at Belasco a moment then moved on to the next adventurer.  Belasco slipped the black mask back over his ebony face and white hair.

“Hrolga, what is your wish?”

“I wish for an army to help defend my homeland from the Zhentarim army,” she said proudly.

“An army you shall have, warrior.”

“And you tiefling?”

“I wish to be a more powerful wizard,” said Elmond.

“Very well.”

“And you, Creyenna?”

“I wish to be returned to my tribe,” she said in a whisper.

“Ah, your tribe of Weretigers…yes, it shall be done.”

The group just looked around at each other, wondering what other secrets may have been hidden from them.  There seemed to be so much they did not know about each other.

“Mar the Jester,” laughed Lord Korvish.  “What is it you’d like to wish for?”

“I wish to be the most popular Jester in Waterdeep!” he shouted excitedly.  “It’ll be just like the good old days.”
“Popular you shall be,” said Korvish.

“The Djinni?  You have quite a diverse group here,” Korvish laughed.  “What wish can I grant for you, Djinni?”

“I wish to be a real djinni with all powerful wishes,” he sighed.  

“An all powerful djinni, complete with a new lamp,” said Lord Korvish.  “Your wish shall be granted.  I see we are nearly through with the wishes.  What do you wish for, Dent Masterson?”

Dent’s eyes seem to darken and his expression seemed grave.  It was obvious that he had thought long and hard about his wish, and here he was about to make it.

“I wish that I am able to avenge my parent’s death and reclaim the axe of my fallen mentor,” he said, nearly growling.

“A very serious wish, indeed,” said Korvish.  “I can give you information to put you on the right path, ranger, but like your halfling friend, your effort is required in completing your wish.”

“So be it,” Dent hissed.

Clearing his throat, Lord Korvish looked at the Spleckle.  As always, the Spleckle was meandering about, making the same odd noise.  Korvish just shrugged and went on to Venus and Veerdra.

“And what is your wish to be, Vampress?”

Venus turned and looked at Veerdra.  He suddenly felt nervous about being with her, as though something was very wrong.  “Vampress…?” he stammered.

The group just looked on in shock, wondering what she could possibly wish for, and wondering what this could mean for Venus.

“I wish to be by my beloved’s side for all eternity,” she smiled.  And when she did, her sharp white fangs glimmered in the light of the room.

Venus jumped back a step.  Here he was, thinking about how he would wish for a grand and lavish keep with acres of wondrous land, not knowing what sort of creature was standing at his side.  He thought about the previous night spent with Veerdra…he reached for his neck and felt two sore, puffy bumps raised from his skin.

“This can’t be…” he stammered.  “What have you done?  You have damned me!  I am from the desert!  A creature of the sun!  A being who is happy within the sun’s warm rays! What have you done?”
Veerdra’s smile disappeared and she ran her tongue over her teeth.

“I have given you the gift of eternal life, foolish man,” she hissed.  “You are mine now, and shall forever be with me.”

“No,” said Venus.  “It cannot be…it will not be…”

Venus looked at Lord Korvish and shouted, “I wish to be able to live in the sun, in the daylight, free of this vampirism!”

It was Veerdra’s turn to look shocked.  “You cannot wish for such a thing,” she moaned. “I have given you eternal life! I have made you my own! You shall not wish that away!”

Lord Korvish had retreated a few steps, then cleared his throat.  

“Venus, your wish shall be granted,” he began.

Veerdra looked angrily upon Korvish.

“You shall not be consumed by your newly contracted vampirism.  However, the damage has been done.  I cannot reverse what the Vampress has done to you, but I have stopped it from progressing.”

“What are you saying?” cried Venus.

“You are part vampire and shall forever be part vampire,” said Korvish with a sigh.  “However, you have not lost your soul to darkness…you will not perish in the rays of the sun as another vampire would.  You are a hybrid, I’m afraid.”

“What in the Abyss does that mean?” shouted Venus.

“It means you have retained some of your humanity, while still being cursed partially with vampirism.  I cannot say for sure what this means for you,  I only know that the wish has granted you the ability to remain safe in the sun, and you will never fully transform into a vampire.”

“I’ll tear your throat out!” screeched Veerdra as she lunged at Lord Korvish.

Before her deadly bite could find purchase, however, Korvish’s portly assistant was at his Lord’s side.  He grabbed a dagger from his belt and plowed it into her back.  When Veerdra spun around to find her attacker, the assistant began backing away like a frightened child.  This gave Venus the opportunity to lash out at the Vampress with his scimitar.  In just a moment it was all over.  The scimitar was like a conductor for the anger and betrayal Venus felt, and it flowed like a raging river as he cleaved into Veerdra’s neck and lobbed her head off her shoulders.

Lord Korvish had turned as white as a sheet and his assistant had fainted.  The rest of the party was just beginning to react when Venus had made his killing blow.  The only sound that could be heard in the room came from the Spleckle who still wandered about aimlessly spouting the same string of unintelligible words over and over and over…


_Epilogue to Follow…_


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## denmstrsn (Jul 25, 2002)

Great job Z.  Can't wait to read on.


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## Hammerhead (Jul 25, 2002)

When does Dr. Midnight enter? He rules!


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## Hammerhead (Jul 25, 2002)

And doesn't the hairy beast thing get a wish? That would be unfair...


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## Horacio (Jul 25, 2002)

Wow! I had suspected Veerdra beign an evil Sorceress with Charm Person, but not a vampire  

I want to read the epilogue!


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## Ziona (Jul 25, 2002)

Hammerhead said:
			
		

> *When does Dr. Midnight enter? He rules! *




Doc will be arriving very soon, along with a few other familiar faces.  The party is about to enter the dreaded Rappan Athuk!  
But, since tonight is game night, I won't be able to write the epilogue, so give me a day or so to work on that, then you'll see Doc & the gang emerge.   

BTW, I thought the spleckle should have gotten a wish as well, but he didn't seem to want anything.  In game, Korvish didn't know what the spleckle was saying, and the Spleckle didn't pay attention to what was happening, so he didn't get a wish.  (I wonder what a spleckle would wish for...?)


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## denmstrsn (Jul 25, 2002)

He would most likely want a pond to drink since every time he goes near water he justs absorbs it.


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## PaynAndispare (Jul 25, 2002)

If I may be so bold as to add my 2 copper.  As a personal background on myself, I am a fairly new D&D player.  Venus is my third character ever and was by far the favorite that I had played.

Once I met up with Veerdra, I too knew that something was bad, though my character of course knew nothing (Horacio, I too thought I was under some sort of charm spell).  But, I really didn’t think to much of it.  My thoughts on my wish had changed several times from the beginning of the adventure.  A powerful weapon, some magical armor, a great feat, these were several things that I had thought about.  Then I received a deed of land, and that helped me decide what my wish, when and if we got out of the maze, would be; A Keep.

When I found out I had been bitten with a vampire it really threw a monkey wrench in a lot of things I had been thinking about.  *poof* there goes my keep.  The only choice I really had was to have the vampirism removed as my wish … but I got to thinking.  The diety I chose to worship upon creation was Kassuth.  After thinking very carefully about what I wanted my wish to be I talked to the DM about it.

Roughly, this was my wish.

_I would like to be blessed by Lathander.  He is a sun god, and as a vampire, I have lost my abilities to not only continue my adventure with the party, but I am doomed to darkness.  With Lathander’s blessing, I will vow to become an undead hunter.  With Lathander’s blessing, I will turn from Kassuth and worship Lathander instead._

So, from that day forward, I was a day walker.


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## sandman (Jul 25, 2002)

Good Stuff Z!  ;p


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 25, 2002)

Showin' off the snappy new banner...


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## Hammerhead (Jul 25, 2002)

Is this the famous Half-Orc bard? Cool.


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## Horacio (Jul 26, 2002)

A Half-Orc Bard? 
And good looking? ²


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## sandman (Jul 26, 2002)

well.. He's nothing to.. lose your head over!

WHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHa....

(Ask me later why that's funny)  ;-p


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## Dr Midnight (Jul 26, 2002)

Hey, Sandman, don't go giving anything away now, you wouldn't want to BETRAY any secrets, would you?

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHHHHHHHH!!!!

I think I need a new banner...


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## Ziona (Jul 26, 2002)

Betrayal? Among the party? Why doesn't Ziona know about this?
...oh yeah...


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## Dartan (Jul 26, 2002)

Never trust a merchant........
-Lox


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## madriel (Jul 26, 2002)

Who did the banners for you guys?  They're great, especially Lox's.

The only time I've ever had a _wish_ I used it to resurrect two party members who died in the final fight against the bad guys.  I would've dithered over it if I could've used it just for myself.


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## Dartan (Jul 26, 2002)

Big thanks to sandman for creating all the banners...


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## Horacio (Jul 27, 2002)

Superb banners, truely!


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## sandman (Jul 27, 2002)

Thanks fot the banner props guys!  

Hopefully Venus will put his up someday and well.. Doc   ;p


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## Xaltar (Jul 27, 2002)

Where is the DM's banner?

What kind of tagline would I have?

"Now is your time...to DIE!"


The DM.


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## Dartan (Jul 29, 2002)

More story.........please.


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## Ziona (Jul 29, 2002)

My apologies...I had a very busy weekend, but I will work on the epilogue tonight.  Thank you for your devotion & patience.


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## Xaltar (Jul 30, 2002)

Ahh, now that is much better!


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## Ziona (Jul 30, 2002)

*Epilogue*

Lord Korvish’s maze had been completed and the group that defeated it as a team had gone their separate ways.  It was known from the start that some, more than others, had hidden agendas that would lead them in a different direction after they made it through the maze and received their wish.

The Drow known as Belasco Banrae departed on his own, ready to explore more of the surface world, while the aspiring Shadow Dancer Prynne rejoined her “sisters” in the rogue’s guild, The Sisters of Shadow.  

The others, like Elmond, Hrolga and Mar who were all prisoners of the maze, thanked the adventurers who were bold enough to brave the maze and went their separate ways.

Before departing, Lord Korvish supplied Dent with the information he needed about the murder of his parents.  He was given a map of the dreaded Rappan Athuk, which is where he would find the villains responsible for the death of his parents.  During this time, Nuttin was given a private chamber where he could activate his wish to spend the day with his beloved wife.  Lox and Dent were well fed and entertained while waiting for their friend to complete his wish.

Venus also spent an extra day contemplating what to do about his new abilities and powers.  He thought of Belasco and thought of how he himself reacted when he found out Belasco was a drow.  He was shocked and uneasy, and thought of all the evil things he had been taught about the drow.  Would people react the same to him since he was part vampire?  He thought long and hard on how to prove he was not the same as the evil Vampress that changed his life forever.  His thoughts kept going back to the ways he was different from Veerdra…she was cursed to stay in the shadow of night, never to walk in the rays of the sun, while he was considered a “day walker,” who was blessed enough to remain unharmed by the warmth and light he loved.  

“Thank Lathander,” he thought to himself. 

It was then that he came to his decision.  He would devote himself to The Morninglord, the great god Lathander.  He would strive to aid and foster new hope, ideas and prosperity as the clerics of Lathander taught.  He had to have hope, and he must support new ideas if he was to survive and be accepted as the creature he now was.  

Before Dent and the halflings departed, Venus approached them with his new found hope and explained to them what he had decided to do.  The trio was happy to see the valiant warrior beaming and exuberant, and offered him to travel with them to smite evil.  He gladly accepted Dent’s offer, (which delighted Lox, “Oh, wow! We’ll have a vampire in the party, and we’ll be the most famous adventuring party in all the world!”).

Before the group departed however, they heard an all too familiar sound.

“Ullgh…wwlllrrghhh…wwwuuullllhhhh…”

Again Lox was delighted, and as Dent and the group came to realize, they couldn’t have gotten rid of the Spleckle if they tried.  He just seemed to follow them where ever they traveled, even to the hellish dungeon of graves known as Rappan Athuk.


_NEXT: ENTER RAPPAN ATHUK!_


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## denmstrsn (Jul 30, 2002)

Great ending Ziona.  Can't wait to see the adventures that await this varying group of warriors.


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## Ziona (Jul 30, 2002)

New adventure, new thread. We thought this would be best since Rappan Athuk is such a lengthy adventure.  Here is the link to the new thread:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19185

Enjoy! And thanks for reading!


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## madriel (Jul 30, 2002)

Thanks Ziona for taking all that time and effort to post the story!


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## PaynAndispare (Jul 30, 2002)

*bravo*

And now the real fun begins !!


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