# drnuncheon's Online Story Hour (now playing: Of Sound Mind)



## drnuncheon (Sep 21, 2002)

It is an old world, a tired world.  It is a world where the sun struggles to pull itself above the horizon and then hangs, limp and exhausted, its red gaze washing sullenly over the land.  It is a world where countless empires have risen and fallen and become nameless, forgotten dust.

It is a world where the once-great cities of Men stand in ruins on the sickly plains, charred timbers and blackened stone reaching skyward like a skeleton exposed.  It is a world where the once-mighty caverns of the dwarves ring not with the sound of forges, but the clash of weapons - or the gutteral tongues of orcish conquerors.  It is a world where even the elves have forgotten the arcane secrets that once they knew.  

It is a world where the gods themselves have wearied of their games, and sit listless and forgotten in their celestial homes.

It is an old world, a tired world...perhaps even a dying world.  

But even a dying world has stories to tell.

Listen.


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## drnuncheon (Sep 21, 2002)

*Ahoke's Tale*

_as written by Melanie Johnston_

It was time for the dwarven clan chieftain's daughter to undergo her rite of passage.  On that, the elders were agreed.  The entire tribe was worried though.  Would Ahoke pass the test?  So few had lately...so few were chosen by the spirits at all, and had been left to die in the freezing wilderness.

This did not stop them from stripping her naked and sending her out into the snow, weaponless and without food.  The clan did not tolerate weakness, most especially from the daughter of a chieftain.

For six days and six nights she wandered through the snow, knowing that she had to keep moving, or else she'd die.  But eventually, even Ahoke had to succumb to the inevitable.  She sunk to her knees in the snow, knowing that it would not be long until she joined her ancestors.  Her heart burned with the shame of it, for she would always have one of the lowest places at the table.  She had gained no honors in her life.

The snow had almost covered her frozen body when she felt something digging.  A warm nose snuffled against her face, and a tongue licked her cheek.  She had been chosen, but she knew not by what.  She was too weak to even open her eyes to see.  

The creature lay on top of her, warming her.  It scratched itself open, letting its warm blood trickle down her mouth.  "Drink," said the creature.  "Drink and live.  Take my blood, and take my spirit, into yours, and know that you have been chosen."

Knowing now whose child she was, Ahoke struggled to live.  She consumed as much of the blood as she could stand, and let the dying animal's body bring her warmth.  

It was not long after that the naked dwarven princess stood to her feet, and began to move back towards the camp.  She was chosen, and her destiny had been decided.  She felt the creature's rage boiling under the surface of her skin.  She would be a great warrior, feared by all.  Her road was to be a lonely one, without the company of husband or child.  Hers was the way of death, of killing.  

Hers was the way of Wolverine.


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## drnuncheon (Sep 21, 2002)

*The Harvester's Tale*

_as written by Scott Cagle_

To everything, there is a season. A cycle of nature that may be delayed, but can never be denied.

The world dangles at the precipice, clawing desperately to escape its fall into the darkness of Death. Death - the natural outcome for all Life, for without Death, there can be no Life. Without Winter, there can be no Spring.

It is to this philosophy that Harvester hews - a system of belief that is relatively new to him, and to the world.

Sal Penegro was born in the capital city of Morsashan, in the great human kingdom of Serablum, bordering The Shoulders of Samrahn, a vast mountain range that dwarfed all others. His family, the oldest of a merchant empire that spanned the known world, long since in decline like the city that once was home to the seat of humanity, now little more than a hive of scum and villainy - murderers, cutthroats and thieves preying on the weak and helpless. The land long since carved into fiefdoms, each constantly at war with its neighbors. 

Sal Penegro was a jaded, cynical young man who quickly grew to become the worst of the lot, and eventually slew the leader of a gang in a duel, and died himself, as a result, when the gang sought revenge with his demise.

As the godless man's soul hung in the balance, with nowhere to go but perdition, a presence slowly coalesced about him. A soundless voice filled his being. It judged him, and found him wanting. It judged him, and found him satisfactory. It judged him, and claimed him for its own.

And so, in Death, was Harvester reborn - servant of He Who Has Yet to Come.

Finally, did his life have purpose. Harvester was to travel the worldand prepare for the End. Prepare for the Beginning. Prepare for the coming of Death and Life.

Everything is part of a cycle. Life and Death are but a dance, and this world continues returning for an encore. It's time to draw the curtain on this musty old stage and allow a new act to open. 

It is with this thought in mind that Harvester travels from hamlet to town to city, seeking converts, persuading the people to accept the inevitability. It is time to let go. It is time for the New Age to be reborn, its seeds planted in the Old.

In this fashion he also 'harvests' knowledge, believing it to be the 'seed' of the world to come. This knowledge will be 'planted' in a vast repository, that it might be safeguarded for the coming Spring.


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## drnuncheon (Sep 21, 2002)

*Sen-Jyu's Big Empty Spot*

_to be written by Jared Leadbetter_

(reserved)

(renamed by request)


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## drnuncheon (Sep 21, 2002)

*Some Notes from the Dungeon Master*

drnuncheon's Online Story Hour is a bit different from the Freeport Story Hour - you will be seeing the actual game sessions in the words of the players, rather than through the eyes of the DM (filtered to remove OOC comments, needless virtual table banter, and for the sensibilities of Eric's Grandmother, of course).

The play takes place online at an undisclosed virtual location, allowing a group scattered across half a continent to play together - two in Pennsylvania, one in Maine, and one in Louisiana.

Characters were created using 28 point buy and will be posted to the Rogue's Gallery at some point.  

Finally, the story hour needs a better name - suggestions are gleefully accepted.

*Table of Contents*
New Races & Character Stats . . . . . . . . . . . Rogue's Gallery
Of Sound Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

J


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## drnuncheon (Sep 22, 2002)

*Session One, Part One*

_*DM's Note:* Since this is essentially a log of an online roleplaying session, the format might look a little strange - present tense, switching between second and third person...just think of it as 'listening in'.  To perhaps make it clearer to read, the Dungeon Master's narration will be in color._

The sun stains the afternoon sky the color of blood, spreading knife-edged shadows to pierce the land with ponderous grace. Every line, every crack, every flaw of the rocks that surrounds you stands out with surreal clarity. Everything is sharp here in the mountains: the shadows, the rocks, the bite of the wind that whistles shrilly down the path, tearing at your clothes and heralding the coming of winter.

It has been long weeks crossing the mountains, these Shoulders of Samrahn, hurrying ahead of the coming snows. But now, as you look below, the mountains give way to foothills, and the foothills to farms and you see far below you a road winding through them - a road that leads along the base of the mountains, and to your destination - the town of Bellhold.

But something troubles you. The clean, cold wind that has battled you this far now carries a different scent: the foul reek of rotted flesh.

The whistle that issues from deep beneath The Harvester's cowl, upbeat and happy as it sounds, abruptly ceases. "Hey. Anyone else smell... that?"

Walking as if he'd known the path all his life, Sen-Jyu's straw hat cants to the sight of the township, his lips parting to expose a smile of purest joy, cleansing as water to the haggard, travel-weary face. Sighing with appreciation and anticipation simultaneously, his legs fold under him, that he might kneel and press his forehead to the ground, after removing the hat that has shaded him from the venerable sun. "I give thanks to the journey, and the beginning anew," he whispers to the rock, face made somber for a distinct prayer of sincerity. Rising again, he addresses the Harvester with an owlish stare, until he, as well, draws breath. His answer lies as much in the downturning of his placid smile as much as his nod.

Ahoke's nose wrinkles as the wind blows her hair back. She sniffs the air, more like a feral animal than a dwarf. "Yes," she says slowly, in response. "That smells like death." She glances over at the others, shifting her Great Club from one shoulder to the other. "I hope that it isn't coming from Bellhold..."

Ahoke drops into a ready stance, nearly a crouch, looking into a direction. She hefts her weapon, tightening her grip on it. There is already a soft growling coming from the back of her throat.

Harvester, walking behind the dwarven lass, cannot but help notice her preparation for battle. His own hand instinctively tighten upon the scythe that he carries, and he looks around uncertainly. "Um... What?"

Likewise, the tall spirit-blood prepares himself, Ichido-sama summoned from its sheath. He says nothing, but moves to the side of the priest, gaze following the point of his katana as he takes a defensive stance.

Three pairs of eyes scan the surroundings. Three sets of ears strain.

Ahoke bares her teeth in the afternoon sunlight, and says softly, "A noise." And then she waits.

The point of Sen-Jyu's sword jabs at a couple traces of motion, for the benefit of his companions. "There," he whispers, "and there. Not human."

Ahoke's eyes narrow as she finally sees the foe, "_Korhorrag_," she says, not moving. Her eyes glint with anticipation of a battle to come, but she doesn't move just yet.

Harvester allows an exhalation of breath - evidence of his weariness after so long walking through such harsh conditions. As the wind whips his robes about, his left hand relinquishes its hold on the scythe to grasp the holy symbol that hangs from his neck. The tree-engraved skull is presented with authority, and from within the cowl of his robes issues a deep, commanding voice, counterpoint to the thunder that cracks above. "By the will of He Who Is To Come, I command thee to return to thy final rest! BEGONE, ABOMINATIONS!"

The skull's eyes flash malevolently as a force spreads forth towards the unliving creatures that lie in wait.

Cowed by the fury blazing forth from the Harvester's holy symbol, the rotted creatures shamble slowly backwards, almost staggering under the weight of the divine imperative. They are clearly visible now: half human, half reptile - all bearing the marks of the grave. Behind the travelers, a previously unseen third creature - the same as the others - slides down the rocky slopw in its haste to get away.

Harvester, through gritted teeth, speaks softly, "Mine hold 'pon these creatures is tenuous... I cannot force their retreat for long..."

The would-be samurai turns to face the cowled priest, nodding gratitude. "That was quite impressive -- the spirits have favored you well against the lifeless."

Ahoke's breathing slows, and she watches the creatures flee. "Ah. Do you think that we should pursue and destroy now, or should we just go down to the town?"

"If such things are about, perhaps our presence is best used in the town," offers Sen-Jyu to the berserker. "Or, equally likely, there are others down there...in which case our presence is still best used in the town."

Ahoke mmms, licking her lips. "Alright," she says, turning away with no small degree of reluctance. "Then we should get down there now. I want a good battle or something hot to eat, whatever comes first."

Harvester's hand trembles slightly under the strain. "These _things_ are an abomination unto mine lord's eyes..." He nods to Sen-Jyu as he walks slowly past, turning to maintain focus on the undead. "Where there is one... or three, there may be more. And we are weary from our journey. I've no desire to sleep under the stars while these shamble about."

The sword is put away, though not quite with the same reluctance as the dwarf shows. "Then we are agreed. If there is good drink to be had, let me be the first to reward us with it."

Ahoke resumes the walk down the slope, favoring Sen-Jyu with a smile. "I have not had something to drink for a long time," she says, with a disturbingly different feral gleam in her eyes.

Harvester continues down the mountain, backwards, for a moment more. Soon he allows the holy symbol to sink back to his chest and he faces the path once more. "That was.... effective."

Sen-Jyu turns also to the path that they tread, taking up his pace with a bit more vigor than before.

Ahoke nods to Harvester. "Yeah. They didn't like you much."

Harvester laughs. "Then it's mutual."

Haste is made down the mountain - leaving the rotted _korhorrag_ behind you. The road flattens out, but you are still several miles from the town - if you are lucky, you /might/ make it by nightfall - although the sinking of the sun makes that outcome look doubtful.

Harvester glances at his companions. "No way we're going to make nightfall..." The overly light pack is shifted on his shoulders. "Think we'd better doubletime it..."

"Let's see if we can't hasten ourselves to the town tonight," suggests Sen-Jyu, and further urges, "else I'll have to tell you the tale of the three serpent sisters and the silver chimes again."

Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu wordlessly for a moment, then quickens his step. "Run, Ahoke... Run..."

Ahoke picks up the pace as much as her stumpy legs can, sighing morosely.

Sen-Jyu grins and falls to the rear, beginning to narrate the story when it looks like one of them is falling behind.


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## Ruined (Sep 22, 2002)

Cool. More drnuncheon excellence!   And I really like this module, too. Good to see another take on it.  =)


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## drnuncheon (Sep 25, 2002)

The road winds its way among the foothills, plunging the travelers in and out of shadow as the sun creeps ever lower. The foothills give way to plains, and emerging from them, you are treated to the sight of the vast panorama of the Shoulders of Samrahn, which arcs behind the village of Bellhold - and towering above the town, the mightiest peak in the range - a mountain known as the Steeple.

Down the road a few hundred feet, a man stands - bent and stooped with age and weariness. A rope dangles limply from his hand, as he watches a pair of horses in the scraggly meadow, grazing with apparent unconcern. 

The man takes a hestitant step forward, then another - stepping up to one of the horses - but they both bolt - and then stop, just a few bodylengths away, and return to their grazing.

The man hurls his lead ropes to the ground, throwing his arms up in disgust.

Ahoke doesn't break her stride as she moves towards the man and the horses, although she eyes the beasts with a great deal of distrust.

Harvester watches the action for a few minutes as they near, then slows. Finally his steps turn aside, towards the old one. "Ah.. Perhaps we might gain ourselves transportation..." A hand lifts in greeting.

Sen-Jyu follows behind, his eyes shifting between the horses and the elder human, and is silent while the Harvester hails.

The old man's eyes fall upon the bizarre trio, taking in the barbaric, fur-clad dwarf...the subtly inhuman features and outlandish dress of her sword-wielding companion...and far from least, the skull-bearing, scythe-weilding figure who hailed him. "W-who are ye?" he stammers, taking a nervous step back.

"I am Ahoke, from the north," the barbarian states matter of factly. "Who are you?" She smiles at him, trying to put the man at ease.

Harvester sketches a faint bow, his deep voice low and slow. "I am The Harvester, servant to He Who is to Come. These are my companions," a sweeping gesture encompasses the two with him.

Nodding and smiling amiably enough from the rear, Sen-Jyu allows the Harvester's blanket introduction to cover for his, though he seems distracted by the horses.

Harvester looks to the horses now, then back to the man. "You seem to be having trouble with your horses."

The lack of instant attack seems to calm the old man - a bit - and he nods in a sort of shaky greeting, relieved that these outlandish visitors want to talk about sensible things. 

"I am Othic. And yes, my horses have been no end of trouble." Wearily, he collects the lead ropes again. "First they vanish for a week. Then they return to the farm. And then they somehow get out _again_...and now I can't get close enough to catch them."

"Vanished for a week, then returned? How odd." The black robed one looks around. "You live near, do you?"

Ahoke's brow furrows, as she turns to study this new problem, namely, the two grazing horses. "What good are they, then," she says. "Is that normal for them to go away for a week and then return?" She scowls at them. "They're big," she says, an accusation.

Othic nods to the Harvester. "My farm is nearby." He hesitates a moment, then seems to come to a decision. "I've got a bit of extra meat set by, and it's getting late. If we could get them back, I'd gladly feed you, and let you sleep in the barn for the night."

Ahoke shrugs. "That sounds fair enough." She turns, questioningly, to the others in the group. "I could go to the other side, and chase them towards you..."

Harvester nods once, almost immediately, and ships his scythe across his back. A hand reaches out for the ropes and he looks to his companions. "Sounds good to me."

The tall one in back seems to take this as an invitation, and starts to advance upon the horses, nonthreatening and calm. The grass hardly bends at his footstep, and rises back again as if he'd never passed.

"... or not," says the dwarf, shrugging.

The old man gladly turns over the ropes to the Harvester, and steps back to allow these strange people to do their work.

Harvester considers the horses and Ahoke's proposal. "That might make 'em skittish..." He falls quiet as Sen-Jyu walks forward.

Sen-Jyu whinnies, tossing his head to the larger of the two as he nears the horses. Both hands are at his sides, presenting a bamboo-thin facing to the pair.

Othic frowns. "What's he doing, there?"

Ahoke murmurs, quietly, to Harvester, "Have you ever ntoiced that our friend is a very strange person?"

The nearer of the horses turns to regard Sen-Jyu, nostrils flaring. It snorts, taking a single prancing step to the side.

Harvester replies simply to Othic. "Getting your horses, I guess." A look down to Ahoke. "Yah. At least once an hour."

Sen-Jyu closes in on the pair, though he does so with an odd gait... rather as if he were trotting.

The other horse looks up, clumps of torn grass dropping from its mouth as it chews, then paws the ground with a forehoof.

Ahoke grins up at the Harvester, and then turns back to watch Sen-Jyu work. "Any strange things going on in the area?" The question seems to be directed towards the old man.

Harvester leans on his scythe as he watches, and uses the tip of the curved blade to scratch the top of his head.

Othic nods. "Aye, quite a bit." For some reason, he looks at Sen-Jyu as he says it, then turns back to the others. Whatever the strange man is doing, the horses aren't running...yet.

Pawing one foot across a dusty patch of ground, Sen-Jyu rolls his head the other way as he snorts a puff of air, like a chuckle.

Ahoke's ears all but perk up. "Oh? Like what? We just came from over the mountain."

Harvester murmurs, "Maybe we ought to put a saddle on that boy..." He turns part of his attention to the conversation between ahoke and Othic.

Ahoke chokes, perhaps in an attempt to keep from laughing, but who can say?

"There's some children missing from the village," Othic says with a gesture towards the town. "And the Heroes of the Bell haven't returned from their search for them." He pauses a moment. "But you won't have heard of the Heroes if you're from across the mountains, I expect."

The first horse tosses its head in an almost human-seeming gesture - you could swear if it could, it would be laughing.

Ahoke umms, and nods. "No, we haven't. Well, _I_ haven't," she amends. She doesn't take her eyes off of Sen-Jyu and his equine companions. "He's getting _some_ kind of response from them," she says.

Harvester shakes his head as well. "Nor have I... who are they?"

Sen-Jyu pantomimes the motion, a mirthful whinny bursting from his throat. He responds with a sidestep and shake of his head.

"Well, they're...you know." The man waves his hand vaguely.  "Adventurers.  Quests, ruins, that sort of thing.  Runs in the family - a couple of them come from those that slew Copperdeath."

At Sen-Jyu's last outburst, the horses rear, and then bolt past him, one to either side, setting the slender man near to spinning.

Ahoke ahs, brushing some of the travel dust that has accumulated on her bone armor. "I've heard stories about adventurers," she says. "A strange group, they are."

Harvester says, "Copper..." he stops talking as the horses bolt. "Uh oh..."

Ahoke blinks at the horses. "I think they had a quarrel."

Harvester says, "Uhh... Sen? What'd you _say_ to them?"

Laughing aloud, the man shrugs his backpack from his shoulders and takes off in a striding bolt, stilt-like legs carrying him after the horses.

Ahoke grumbles, watching him go. "I hope that he doesn't think we're going to follow him," she says

Othic watches in concern as Sen-Jyu and the horses gambol about the field. "Is he catchin' them...or playin' with them?"

Harvester shakes his head. "Too tired to run.... Let's walk after him, instead..." He turns to follow, and asks of Othic, "Who the hells know with him? Probably both." A pause. "What's this about missing kiddles?"

In hot pursuit, Sen-Jyu leaves a loud whoop in his wake. He takes quite naturally to the chase, and seems to be herding one of them into a corner as best he can.

Ahoke mms, watching approvingly. "That's the method I was going to take," she said. "I thought that waving my club at them would frighten them into a corner somewhere."

Harvester shakes his head again, and looks at Ahoke. "Fool boy's going to break his skinny neck, you watch."

Othic says, "Aye, three of them. Caleb, Dorik, and Tana. Nobody knows as whether they were kidnapped, or run off by themselves, but they've been gone some days, and the town's sore worried."

Ahoke frowns. "I wonder if they were at the same place that your horses were..."

The old man nods. "Aye, well, nobody's wantin' to take they chance that they'll turn up after a week. Horses is one thing, children's another."

Ahoke nods. "Of course. Still..." she says, turning a thoughtful glance at her frolicking companion. "I wonder if he can find out where the horses were. We could go there."

Harvester says, "How long's it been, anyway? And did they disappear together?"

Slowly, eventually, an exhausted Sen-Jyu manages to 'corral' the horses into a corner of the field.

"Less than a week," Othic answers. "And nay, one after t'other"

"You should take the ropes over to him," Ahoke says to Harvester.

Sen-Jyu calls out, out of breath, "Someone... bring... the ropes..."

Harvester laughs at Ahoke, lifting the rope in his hand. "Oh, yeah... forgot I had 'em." He walks towards Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke looks to Othic. "How long ago since the adventurers went after them?"

Despite the exhaustion, Sen-Jyu looks quite pleased with himself, and even as Harvester nears, the man doesn't let either horse out of his sight.

Harvester extends a hand bearing one of the ropes to Sen-Jyu. "I can take one, if you want..."

"Thank you," Sen-Jyu says with a nod to the priest. "If that one escapes, _you're_ chasing him." The other one he collars handily enough, and it appears almost as if the horse _lets_ him, tail swishing with a private joke.

Othic frowns, thinking. "Three days, I'd say. And no sign of 'em since."

Ahoke nods. "Looks like your animals are captured," she says. "Now let's hope that they don't get out again tonight, hmm?"

Harvester spreads his arms wide, giving the horse nothing but a wall of black to see. He hums softly, a deep, sonorous tune intended to soothe. The rope is opened into a wide loop that he attempts to slip over the equine's head.

Othic sighs. "Aye, I've not the stamina to chase them down anymore."

The animal prances away from the Harvester.

Once the first one is caught, Sen-Jyu leads it over to where the Harvester is attempting his own capture. Sen-Jyu leans against the horse, patting it lightly, while he watches with good humor.

Harvester steps to one side, mirroring the horse's sidestep, to contain him in the corner as he approaches.

Ahoke grumbles, watching the horse shy away. "There's always _my_ method," she says, shifting her Great Club as if testing its weight.

Ahoke shouts, "Hey, Harv! If we lead the first one back, his friend will follow us."

Harvester doesn't even bother chasing the second horse as it prances away. He looks back at Ahoke. "Yeah? Yeah! Great idea! Lead on, Othic!" He walks back to the dwarf and old man.

Ahoke grins broadly. "Someone needs to add some common sense to this group," she says in an undertone to the old man. "Now... you were saying something about meat...:

Sen-Jyu sighs, leading the first horse over to wherever his backpack lay, hoisting it once more to his shoulders. As he rejoins the group, he mutters to Ahoke, "Shouldn't have told him that -- it would have been amusing to watch him try to catch the horse."

Ahoke snickers. "I'm hungry, though," she says. "So, did the horses tell you where they've been?" She seems to be only half-kidding.

"Didn't ask," replies Sen-Jyu, though he only seems to be half-kidding himself. "Maybe tomorrow."

Othic shakes his head slowly in mingled amusement and amazement, looking at the sinking sun. "It's a good thing you're staying with me tonight. You'd never make the town now." He turns and leads on, the shadows lengthening as the sun sinks ever slower. "Yes, indeed - I've some mutton put by, more than enough to last with the wife gone and the children grown."

Harvester snorts. "I'm not a..." He looks at Sen-Jyu, "... a whatever. I'm not going to chase after a horse without sense to go in before dark."

The horses follow Sen-Jyu docilely enough, although the unharnessed one occasionally gives him a shove with his broad head, now and again.

Harvester glances back to look and see if the second horse follows, and falls into step with the old man. A long time is spent studying him. The cloak is pulled close against the wind. "You say you're all alone, eh? Looks like you've been around awhile, too..."

"Aye," says Othic proudly. "I'm one of the few left who remembers working the mines under Copperdeath. I was but a lad, then, but I remember it well..."

Ahoke glances at Sen-Jyu, obviously expecting a response of some kind from him.

Harvester says, "Ah.... That's been a long time. You've led a long, fulfilling life then."

Sen-Jyu pets the muzzle of the one who keeps nudging him, grinning at him. He's not acting the part of a horse anymore, but he tries to assuage whatever the horse's concerns are.

Ahoke stays well away from the horses' hooves, listening to the others.

Othic nods. "Aye, one could say that. My only problem now is these horses." He chuckles. "And that's little enough, in the grand scheme of things. Here we are!"

The house is a ramshackle little stone affair, half-sunk into the ground, with a sod roof. Beside it, the barn dominates the farm: a stone building of ancient make, the secrets of its manufacture long since lost - almost certainly older than the town.

Ahoke stares at the stone barn. "That's quite a building," she says after a long pause.

Harvester whistles softly as he, too, sees the barn. "Absolutely... I don't recognize the style, though... unusual workmanship..."

Othic nods proudly. "That it is, that it is. Been here for ages, nobody willin' to settle this far from the town, but I figure something like that was meant t'be used, so use it I did. The wife always said we should have lived in there, but what would we need all that space for?"

Ahoke looks at the doorway with new wariness. "These the only two horses you have, or are there more in there?"

"Mmm," says Sen-Jyu, a little less excited about the whole prospect. He seems a bit skeptical.

Harvester pauses on the outside of the barn and runs his hands across the ancient stones. He speaks softly to himself, words of measurement and description. "Very few large buildings such as this weather so well... you've not had to make many repairs?"

"Oh, I've got near a dozen of them. That's how I make my living." Othic pulls the door open and reaches for the lead rope. "I'll just settle them in and then we'll have some dinner." Turning to the Harvester, he says, "Aye, some - patching the roof a bit, the doors, fixing the interior - but the stonework is solid." He pats the slick grey stone fondly. "Solid as...well, rock."

Harvester peers inside as Othic enters.

The inside of the building is dimly lit, almost sepulcheral. Shafts of light angle in from windows set high in the walls, mostly blocked by the wooden hayloft and the sides of the stalls. Whatever the building was, it is now a barn, to be certain. Footsteps are muffled by the thickly-strewn straw on the ground, and from inside you can hear the whicker of many horses.

Harvester comments to the pair nearby, "Well, at least it's nice and warm in there... a very welcome change."

Sen-Jyu seems a little unhappy about the prospect of having walls after so long without them, but reluctantly, he and the horses enter the tomb-like structure.

Ahoke enters as well, behind the others. She looks around at the stone, staying away from the animals as much as possible. She seems quiet, withdrawn.

The horses are installed without further ado, and Othic gestures towards the door. "Let's see about that mutton, hey?"

Harvester nods once in reply. "Hey."

Ahoke licks her lips, and moves out the door eagerly. "Mutton sounds good," she says happily.

Glowing coals warm the small hut - 'cozy', if you're feeling charitable - and the delicious smell of stewed mutton wafts throughout the room from a cookpot suspended over the embers. A rude wooden table, benches to either side, takes up much of the room, with Othic's bed tucked into an alcove behind it. The floor is strewn with straw, much as the stable is - but in contrast to the other building, the floor here is nothing more than packed dirt.

Othic produces a set of battered crockery - some of it looking as if it has been unused for some time - and looks apologetic. "I normally use a trencher," he says, gesturing to a loaf of hard bread that can be sawn in half and used as a bowl, "but I didn't plan on company. Still, there's more than enough stew - I keep it going for days...just add a bit of water now and then."

While you eat, Othic proves more than happy to talk to you about Bellhold, Copperdeath...just about anything, really.

Harvester sighs contendedly. "Heavenly, Othic. I haven't had a good meal in a long time..." He swallows another mouthful of mutton. "A cozy home you've got... though it appears rather lonely..."

Ahoke eats with a rapidity that suggests that she is afraid that the mutton is going to escape before she eats her fill. She lets the others do the talking until she soothes the savage beast that is her belly.

Eating sparingly, Sen-Jyu listens to the old man, occasioning the conversation with nods and prompting to tell more.

"I won't say I don't miss the wife," Othic says. "But there's me and the horses, and we're away from the town and the mines. I spent enough time there in my youth to never want to go back, I can tell you." He leans back and refills his leather mug with small beer from the earthenware pitcher. "Of course, I didn't mind it at the time, but that was more Copperdeath's doing than anything."

"Who is Cooperdeath... or who _was_ Copperdeath, by the sounds of it?" Sen-Jyu speaks just before scooping another portion of food into his mouth.

Ahoke slows down a little as she gets filled. "What do you mean by that? Copperdeaths' doing?"

Ahoke nods at Sen-Jyu. "that too."

Harvester looks curious, having pulled his hood back to reveal a pale, youthful face topped by his blinding red hair.

"They've not heard of him over the mountain?" Othic looks a bit surprised. "He used to boast his fame spread for miles in _all_ directions. Well...where to start." He takes a drink, and considers. "He was a dragon, you see - scales like azure glass - and he enslaved the people of Bellhold. Made us mine copper for him. But it wasn't slavery with iron chains and whips, no...he had powerful magic, and he chained our _minds_."

Harvester's dining has slowed, so that he chews each bite of mutton more slowly. "A dragon? I've never seen such a creature, though I understand them to be among the most powerful in the world... what need had he for copper?"

"So much of your life was spent in slavery to a dragon," says Sen-Jyu, reflecting sadly on the tale. "How did Copperdeath meet his own death?"

Harvester nods as Sen-Jyu asks another obvious question.

Ahoke scowls at the mention of dragons, and spears a piece of mutton savagely. "I don't like dragons," she mutters, as if she has dinner with them once a week.

Othic shakes his head. "He loved treasure, is all that I know. What use has a dragon for gold, or jewels? But I remember when we were freed." His face nearly transforms as he thinks back to that day, the lines relaxing as the memory of that joy spreads through him. "Five brave souls came to free us from the dragon. It's said they found a secret entrance to his lair through the mines, and slew him - but three of them died in the attempt.

Ahoke says, "So you were free once he was slain?"

Sen-Jyu removes a piece of gristle from his mouth, setting it off to one side with a passing grimace. "How long ago was this?"

"Aye, his magic died with him, and his hoard brought prosperity back to the town. It's been nigh on fifty years - in fact, Hob Waterman - he's the mayor - has already started planning for the harvest festival next year.  He wants to have a huge celebration to mark the anniversary."

Harvester nods slowly, bobbing his head. "Fifty years? I should wonder if the disappearances are somehow related..." He pushes his crockery bowl away, finished with his repast.

Othic chuckles. "That seems a strange idea. The old dragon's been dead that long, why should be bother us now? No, it's just a run of bad luck." He yawns, and stretches. "And it's been a long day." The old man cocks his head, listening to the wind howling outside, and considers a moment. "Why don't you stay here on the hearth, rather than out to the barn," he offers. "The floor's softer, and you'll like as not sleep better."

Ahoke hrmphs, scooting her chair back. "That sounds like a good idea to me," she says, looking cheered at the prospect. She pats her stomach, letting out a loud, polite belch. "That was excellent food," she says, then.

"Thank ye.  My wife always let me do the cooking, and it's rare enough I do it for those as appreciate it."  Othic chuckles. "The horses turn their nose up at anything buy grass, hay, or oats."

"If we -must-," says Sen-Jyu in a gently humorous fashion. "Though..." he pauses and looks at his companions. "Yes, it's a generous offer. Thank you, sir."

Ahoke sits down at the hearth, yawning. "Well, good night. I'll talk to all of you in the morning." She curls up then, careful to leave room for the others, and closes her eyes.

Harvester smiles. "If you like. I'm certain Ahoke would prefer it to sleeping with the horses... My gratitude, for your hospitality." He considers something. "And perhaps, if you find yourself unable to sleep, we might have a little chat..."

For some reason, Othic's eyes fall upon the Harvester's medallion, and a shudder passes through his slight frame. "I...think I shall have no trouble sleeping. It's them in the town who are having the trouble." He climbs into the alcove, pulling the threadbare blanket over himself. "Stoke up the fire if you get cold," he says softly.

Ahoke reaches out in her sleep, touching her great club as if to reassure herself. She makes a soft grunt of satisfaction, and then draws it to her, curling her body around it.

Taking a place away from the hearth, Sen-Jyu places his swords, facing separate directions, along where he has chosen to rest. He then finds what comfort he can.

Harvester shrugs and smiles. "If you change your mind, I'm a light sleeper." He moves to his belongings and extracts his own blanket and curls into a corner near the fire. He does not sleep, as yet, but waits until midnight before rising, quietly as he is able, and takes his scythe in hand. He moves towards the door and opens it, disappearing into the darkness before the wind can chill the hovel.


*Ahoke's Dream*

You are walking outside, the winter winds stabbing through even your dwarven resistance. The moon hangs overhead, a sliver like a bloody-axe blade casting ruddy light over the fields. And then you feel hot breath on your neck.

Ahoke whirls around, great club striking out at about her neck height.

The darkness recoils, then lunges forward, slamming into you like a charging ram.  You feel teeth tearing at your neck, and the blood spills hot and night-dark over your chest.  You can feel a tongue lovingly caress your neck, and you hear a voice. "_As you were fed...so shall you feed._"


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## Ruined (Sep 25, 2002)

Very cool.  My group just finished OSM tonight, so this is good to read. =)


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## drnuncheon (Sep 26, 2002)

Ahoke snarls, twitching violently, just before her eyes fly open. She leaps to her feet, gripping her club and looking around wildly.

Harvester, blinks once. Twice. His had reaches instinctively for his holy symbol. "Eh? Wazzit? Ahoke?" He blinks again and grabs his scythe, sitting up.

Sen-Jyu sleeps soundly.

Ahoke growls inarticulately some more, eyes darting to where the host had been lying earlier. "My throat hurts," she says accusingly, as if it's all the old man's fault.

The small house is deserted - Othic, apparently, rose early to tend his horses. The half-banked embers of the fire still warm the room, and wisps of steam drift from the kettle above it.

Harvester follows her gaze to where Othic was. "Really? Mine feels alright... I think. Lemme look." He stands and moves towards the dwarf.

Ahoke exposes her neck to him, pulling the furs down and away from her flesh. She pauses, calming down a bit, and frowning. "I wonder if it was Wolverine," she says. "I don't think that wolverine is made of of darkness, though."

Harvester peers at her throat for a moment, then tilts her head down. "Open your mouth and say, 'AH'..."

Ahoke does so, scowling some more.

Harvester peers down her throat now, after wrinkling his nose from the waft of dwarven barbarian breath. "Nope. Looks alright to me. Maybe you slept on it wrong." He turns towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hit the outhouse..."

The sounds about him finally rouse Sen-Jyu to his senses; he rises with his katana's scabbard in hand, looking at the two querulously. "... why," he asks, still groggy, "... are you looking down her throat?"

"She swallowed a bug or something," comes the comment as the Harvester pulls his warm cowl over his head.

Ahoke scowls some more at both of the men. "As you were fed, so you will feed. That's what it said to me. Right before it ripped into my throat and drank my blood."

Harvester stops. And looks at Ahoke. "What? Who said that? When?"

Ahoke harumphs, making clear what she thinks of that. She glances at Harvester. "The dark thing that drank my blood. I don't know.. I didn't get a good look at it. It /wasn't/ Wolverine, though, because that kind of thing has to be willingly given."

"Sounds as if you've displeased someone," Sen-Jyu comments past a smile, though quickly attempts to look more concerned before the barbarian does something rash to him. "... what did 'it' look like? ... oh. When did it say this? Last night?"

Ahoke looks suspiciously at the empty bed of the host. "Just a little while ago. And my throat hurts now that I'm awake, too," she says defensively.

Harvester follows her gaze again. "You think he was responsible somehow?"

Looking in the same direction as Ahoke, Sen-Jyu murmurs, "He's probably just out, milking the... horses."

Ahoke shrugs. "Well, it's not one of you guys, unless you've picked up a strange habit overnight. Who else would it be? Milking the..." she glances at Sen Jyu, cracking the tiniest hint of a smile. "Probably out in that tomb thing that he keeps the horses in."

Harvester snort and swallows a laugh. "Milking the horses?! Uh... yeah, that must be it..."

Harvester lifts a shoulder, and makes to open the door. "Well, let's go and ask, shall we?"

Sen-Jyu coughs, "I hope he has warm hands." He starts to wake himself up, getting up from his sitting position and stretching out his limbs.

Ahoke nods to Harvester. "Good idea," she says, pushing past him and out into the cold morning.

Ahoke takes her club with her.

Harvester still has his scythe in hand, and follows the dwarf.

Ahoke moves, quickly for a dwarf, towards the barn. Never much of a morning person, today she looks positively thunderous.

Sen-Jyu takes up both katana and wakizashi, looks at them, then sets them back down again and follows.

Harvester moves at a more sedate pace than Ahoke, the foot of his scythe thunking lightly into the earth with each step.

The day is dim but clear - the red sun crouches on the horizon, gathering its strength for the climb upward. In the morning light, you can see the extent of Othic's farm - the pastures spread for hundreds of yards, fenced in. Apparently he's been up and working for a bit, as all of the horses seem to have been turned out already, their flanks steaming in the chilly morn as they wander about, plucking at the grass.

The doors to the barn are ajar.

Ahoke pushes the doors open, or tries, anyway, and peers inside. The walk across the yard seems to have calmed her down somewhat, and she takes deep, even breaths as if trying to keep her temper under control.

Harvester steps into the barn behind Ahoke and pauses, to allow his eyes to adjust.

The barn, as before, is dim - but the light is sufficient to make out the form of Othic lying prone about fifteen feet inside the door. A pool of sticky crimson surrounds him, and he does not move.

Ahoke scowls again. "Alright, maybe it /wasn't/ Othic that fed from me."

Harvester sighs softly. "Ahhhh... the game is afoot." He looks back to Sen-Jyu and mimics the pulling of swords. "Let's make sure no one's still around...

Ahoke moves up to the body. "What killed him? Can we tell?"

Seeing the sight of their host oozing stuff that is really more healthy not to be sharing with the stone floor, Sen-Jyu rushes to the side of the old man, attempting to investigate the exact injury that has him leaking so badly.

Harvester moves into the barn after seeing that nothing is attacking his companions. He takes a lantern from the wall and lights it before moving closer.

A quick inspection of the corpse reveals that the cause of death is almost certainly due to the loss of blood, and the cause of the loss of blood is almost certainly due the enormous bites that have torn chunks out of his neck and shoulder - although, if he had survived, it is doubtful that he would have lived through being trampled. It looks as if the entire herd of horses went over him.

Harvester clears his throat. "He was dead before the horses were released... and was killed without knowing he was to be attacked... from behind..."

Ahoke frowns, looking at the hoofprints. "Why would two horses or so run over him... repeatedly? Going into the barn, and then back out?"

Harvester studies the bitemarks. Then looks at Ahoke. "Two horses only?"

Ahoke nods, slowly. "I'm not positive about that, but this isn't the work of a herd. See, the hoof prints are the same size... and the treads are only two horses. It would be more scattered if there were more than two involved. It looks like they ran over him going into the barn, and then ran over them again leaving, and kept doing it." She looks over her shoulder suspiciously. "I think that we have some evil horses on our hands. I /knew/ that there was something wrong with them."

"... and no other tracks." Sen-Jyu stands and looks out at the grazing horses.

Ahoke says, "The dream... I think that I was seeing things through Othic's eyes."

Harvester traces the bites without touching. "These bites... they appear similar to those reptilian abominations we encountered yestereve..."

Ahoke hmms. "Looks like we're going to have to start killing them, then," she says, without sounding very remorseful about it.

"Let's wait on that," Sen-Jyu said.  "Chances are, if they -did- do this, then they've got blood on their mouths, right?"

Harvester frowns, and looks at Ahoke. "Evil horses? Or perhaps they attacked whatever killed Othic. We can examine them." He nods, emphatically. "Agreed. As I should have done last yesterday."

Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu, "These bites are half a foot wide... larger than any normal equine..."

Ahoke mms. "I doubt that the horses drank his blood. But they /did/ stampede over him. Lets go reptile hunting, first. We can hope that the creatures were just under their power."

Sen-Jyu kneels beside Othic's body, examining his face, particularly his mouth. "Hmm."  He attempts to manipulate something on either side of Othic's jaw.  A bit bridle is worked free from Othic's mouth, something which Sen-Jyu holds up for inspection with some disgust.

Harvester blinks once as he looks at the bridle. "Uh... that doesn't belong there."

Ahoke frowns. "Maybe it /was/ the horses. They have been behaving strangely, he said last night. I think that we should try to follow them sometime. I don't know a lot about them, but that's strange behavior for any animal." She glances at Sen-Jyu for confirmation.

Harvester rises, and begins moving from stall to stall. "How long has it been? Certainly not long, as the blood has not yet thickened...?"

Sen-Jyu hands the piece of metal off to Ahoke, then starts to head out into the field with the horses, to get a closer look.

Harvester says, "Ke? You think you sensed the attack through your dreams? Has that happened before?"

Ahoke takes the metal with some distaste, and then drops it onto the torso of the corpse. "What the hell do /I/ want something like this for?" she grouses. "Yeah, I think I sensed it. I don't know what else it would be. But... no, it's never happened before. Something I'm grateful for."

Harvester walks over to Othic now, and speaks softly, sprinkling a little holy water over him. "Speed thine soul under His watchful gaze.... Return unto the land of thy creation and seek thyself rebirth..."

While threading his way among the horses, Sen-Jyu stops abruptly... and drops to his knees, staring forward.

Harvester concludes his little prayer and rises, moving outside to watch Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke looks self-conscious as the priest does his little prayer, and moves towards the door. She looks outside, trying to find Sen-Jyu.

As you step outside, you see that Sen-Jyu is kneeling between two of the horses - the very two you rescued last night. His entire form shudders, as if fighting some invisible force that holds him there.

As you watch, the mouth of one of the horses begins to stretch, splitting apart into a horrible, fanged maw. It opens with a sound like tearing meat, glistening trails of slime hanging between the teeth...


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## Caliber (Sep 26, 2002)

Mondo cool! Not only do I particularly like this module, but your writing style works very well (the Bite of the Wolf thing was just sickening to read. I could just picture it!)


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## drnuncheon (Sep 27, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Mondo cool! Not only do I particularly like this module, but your writing style works very well (the Bite of the Wolf thing was just sickening to read. I could just picture it!)
> *




Thank you.  Yes, I had a strong visual for that.

Just to make sure the credit goes where it was due, though - most of this is not me writing.  I'm the stuff in red (er, well, "tomato" anyway) and the NPCs - the rest are the actual poses of the players.  So anything cool from Sen-Jyu, Harvester and Ahoke is all them.

To be honest, I have a big advantage - I can work up my "set pieces" like the intro and the Bite of the Wolf thing ahead of time, while they have to be a lot quicker on their feet.

J


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## Caliber (Sep 27, 2002)

If you don't mind littering your thread a little, mind telling me how you run your game? Posts required per week or ... ? Who rolls? Things like that?


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## drnuncheon (Sep 27, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *If you don't mind littering your thread a little, mind telling me how you run your game? Posts required per week or ... ? Who rolls? Things like that? *




I don't mind at all.  It's run on a MUSH - a multi-user environment that is sort of like IRC crossed with Zork: a text-based game.  (Similar games called MUDs are like Zork crossed with Everquest or Neverwinter Nights, with coded combat and monsters and no DM required.)

The key capability of MUSHes and their kin is that they come with user-extendable programming capabilities, letting them be used (with a certain amount of work) for just about any game system.  The only requirement for the players is a Telnet program (although someplace must host the server - we were lucky enough to have access to one) although you can find specialized client programs as well.

So basically, we're all logged in at the same time, playing in realtime, and rolls are taken care of with a bit of code that I banged together 5 minutes before the first session. 

There are even a couple of MUSHes with areas set aside for "virtual tabletop" play like what we're doing - do a Google search for "Storyteller's Circle" or "Online Gaming Resource" and you should be able to find them.

Anyway...there will be one more update (sometime next week) and then we'll have to wait until we play again.  I'm off to Missouri for a few...

J


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## drnuncheon (Sep 30, 2002)

Harvester cries out, "SEN! BEWARE!" and charges forward, while grabbing for something at his throat. He speaks words of power, "Mine prayers fly unto He That Is, that He might grant unto us His divine favor!"

The horse with the blaze on it's head - the one without the dripping fanged maw, that is to say - keeps its gaze locked firmly on the kneeling figure before it.

Ahoke gives an inarticulate battle cry as she starts tearing across the field. Raising her great club, she smashes it down across the neck of the horse that is staring at her kneeling companion. The club crashes into its neck, but the creature still does not break its gaze from Sen-Jyu.

The equine monstrosity lunges, its teeth snapping in the air dangerously close to Ahoke's face - but the dwarven barbarian's reflexes are too fast for it. Hot breath heaves against her face.

Harvester charges in, the black robe flapping in his haste to overrun Sen's position. He bowls his companion over and swings the scythe in a wide circle, from the left, and brings a minor cut across the staring horse's chest.

Like a rope that has been stretched too much, the bonds that held Sen-Jyu motionless snap, his body quivering in sudden freedom.

Sen-Jyu leaps to his feet, rather than continue to stare the horse in the face. Cursing inwardly for his earlier optimism ('oh, I won't need these swords, we're just going to go talk to the old man'), he charges toward the house. His katana is hungry.

The horse squeals, dancing backwards, away from the scythe...and its eyes fall upon the Harvester. He stiffens, and the scythe cocks into position...

Ahoke starts to snarl and foam at the mouth. She swings her club at the fanged horse, but misses.

The creature rears back, letting the club pass harmlessly beneath its upraised forelegs - and then sends its full weight crashing onto Ahoke, the fangs tearing into her shoulder.

Harvester growls out a soft oath, and raises the scythe that was so recently frozen in place. The sudden release, however, causes him to swing wide, the blade missing this 'horse' by a country mile.

The horse spins, looking at the last of the trio...perhaps this one will be more susceptible...

Practically kicking the door in, Sen-Jyu enters the farmhouse; he strides to the resting place of his katana, lifting it to duty. His thumb traces over the characters of Ichido-sama, just before flicking the hilt out an inch, enough for him to draw the blade in a long arc. He looks over his shoulder, a single strand of hair dangling before his face caught in the breeze. Vengeance is in his eyes. He leaves the farmhouse at a run, silent as he approaches the star-emblazoned one from its flank.

Ahoke seems to, for whatever reason, change targets, not from one horse to another, but to Harvester. Her club slices through the air, and sails, fortunately for him, over his head.

Unlike the dwarf, the horse does not change targets. Again, a gobbet of flesh is torn from Ahoke - but the furious dwarf seems not to notice the blood staining her armor, running down her arm.

Harvester draws back in surprise, "Eh? No.. no..." His left hand frees itself of the cumbersome scythe and turns in a gesture, stroking the skull on his chest in passing. "By the divine favor of He Who Has Never Left, I summon his will to clothe me in prtective vestments!"

The determination of a true samurai rises in Sen-Jyu's visage; his is the righteousness to strike down his enemy. That enemy happens to be one that he had been traipsing about with just yesterday, but so be it. The katana sings, and he sings with it, a hum that perseveres against the horseflesh, spilling entrails over the bloodied ground.

Ahoke wrests herself away from the cleric, and charges back in to attack the fanged horse. Once again, she misses, though.

Again, the massive horse dances nimbly aside from the club. Perhaps the wounds are weakening the dwarf's arm. It moves in and bites at the other shoulder, tearing away - then screams as it sees its partner crumple.

Harvester's eyes narrow beneath his hood, and he surges forward, the large scythe trailing his cloak. A foot stomps on the ground as he stops, the curved blade swinging in a great arc across the horse-thing's neck, to release a great fount of blood.

Across the horse from Ahoke, Sen-Jyu advances on the other horse, and his swipe is not quite as righteous as before, and that makes all the difference.

Ahoke cries out in anger, and something else... pleasure? as the horse bites into her shoulder. She drops her club, which has proven to be a useless hunk of wood today, and takes out her ancient, hand crafted axe. She leaps up into the air, slamming its sharp head into the nose of the horse.

With a primeval shriek, the horse-creature whirls, no longer seeking combat - escape is the only thing on its mind now. It spins in a circle, building up speed as it charges Ahoke - and that is what leaves the opening. Sen-Jyu's katana slices its side, the wound spreading a handswidth apart. The Harvester's scythe swings low, catching the legs as if they were stalks of wheat. And as the massive form crashes to the ground, Ahoke's axe slams into its skull, the bone shattering under the force of the blow.

Frowning, Sen-Jyu looks about at his comrades, then back at the dead horse. Then, more intently. He kneels beside the remains of the horse's cranium, using the blade to scrape away some of the mess.

As Sen-Jyu kneels by the corpse, its fanged mouth slowly relaxes, shrinking back into a more normal equine configuration.

Harvester cannot help but notice Sen-Jyu's odd interest in the horse-thing, and moves closer, though he does look at the other 'horse' as he goes.

Ahoke looks around for more foes, with eyes that are completely animalistic. Drool runs out of the corners of her mouth as she visibly fights, hard, against the pull of her rage. Her shoulders and chest heave, and she slowly sags to the ground. "Sh-t," she says, stretching out slowly, stiffly. "That thing bites /hard./ I knew there was something wrong with them..."

Harvester moves closer to Ahoke once she has begun to calm down, and begins to inspect the severity of her wounds. "How bad, eh? Got a little ointment or something, I'm sure... Might sting alot..."

Wrinkling his nose, Sen-Jyu begins to reach into the permanently unwhole cranium of the horse; gingerly, he plucks out a small, blue... something.  The object in his hand is a thin, needle-sharp sliver of azure crystal - nearly black in the red sunlight, and glistening with blood.

_- End of Session 1 -_


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## Caliber (Sep 30, 2002)

Very cool update, and thanks for the info about the game.  

Sounds like the players had some trouble with the horses, what with Sen leaving his swords behind. Doesn't he know a proper adventurer never goes unarmed?


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## drnuncheon (Oct 8, 2002)

*Session Two, Part One*

LAST TIME, ON DRNUNCHEON'S ONLINE STORY HOUR...

(scenes fade in & out on the screen: the undead lizard-creatures in the mountains...Othic's horses, and Sen-Jyu capering with them...Othic's bloody body in the barn...Sen-Jyu falling to his knees as the horse's mouth splits and stretches into a horrible fanged maw...the horses getting treated to a righteous ass-whupping...)

Ahoke grunts, sitting up. "Thanks," she says, wiping her brow with a still-bloodied hand, leaving a messy red streak behind. "Sorry about trying to kill you and all." She glares at the corpse of the horse. "It took over." The look she gives Sen-Jyu is one of horrified curiousity. "What is /that/?"

The Harvester frowns as his curative powers heal the weakened dwarf, though not as well as he had hoped. A look to Sen-Jyu to compare the extent of their injuries. "How are you, Sen?"

The Harvester gestures to the other horse. "I wonder if that one has a shard buried in it's skull too?"

Ahoke's lip curls. "Probably." She labors to her feet, moving stiffly. "Anyone ever heard of anything like this before?"

Still inspecting the sliver of azure crystal, Sen-Jyu doesn't seem to hear the two speaking. The blood smears across thumb and forefinger as he rolls it between the two, disgust exhibited on his visage.

The Harvester looks back at Ahoke and laughs. "Oh, don't worry about that. let's just say you owe me one, hmm?" A sly grin as he speaks to himself. "Or I owe you..."  He  moves to stand behind Sen-Jyu now, whistling a merry enough little tune as he looks over the man's shoulder. "Any ideas? May I?" a hand reaches out, palm up.

Ahoke grunts, nodding, and then stumps over towards the well. "I'll be over here," she says, cleaning up. The ever-fastidious dwarf begins hauling up a bucket.

A reluctant nod later, Sen-Jyu places the crystal into Harvester's palm daintily, his reed-thin fingers wiped in the dust to at least cover the brackish blood from the horse's brainpan. Finally he looks to Ahoke, curiously. "You are... wounded," he comments, sadly humming to himself.

Ahoke is in the process of rubbing well water into those wounds that are left, and washing old blood off of herself. "Uh huh," she agrees, nodding. She doesn't seem overly upset about it, though her brows furrow. "I hope that nothing happens before I heal. No more evil horses."

The Harvester smiles to himself, his whistling interrupted only briefly with a thank you, and he lifts the shard to the sun, that he might look through it. After a moment he lowers it to his lips, and slides the tip of his tongue across the gem sliver. A grunt. "Fresh. Not undead. What sort of critter was this...." He looks at the other fallen horse, then walks to it, wiping the sliver as he moves.

Sword sheathed, Sen-Jyu stands and begins to walk away from the pair, back toward the farmhouse. He returns half a minute later with what appears to be a bamboo tube, and approaches Ahoke with it.

Ahoke has her head lowered into the bucket of water, and is scrubbing her scalp and hair vigorously. When she hears Sen-Jyu approaching, she looks up, and then flings her wet hair back over her shoulders, spraying water everywhere. She eyes him curiously.

The Harvester's whistle ceases abruptly, "Well, well well... Looks like this one has a hole in it's head to, folks." He calls out. "Anyone want to split a skull open?"  He looks around and realizes the others, bloodied as they are, are bathing.

"Where," asks Sen-Jyu, dropping to one knee while he produces a translucent, organic-appearing slime from the tube of bamboo. "Show me."

Ahoke is smart enough to know what translucent slime can be. She winces, peeling off her cloak, and the bone armor underneath. Finally, she pulls her tunic down just enough to reveal her wounded shoulder and neck.

The Harvester watches Sen-Jyu, obviously unknowing as to what he's about.

The organic matter is applied about the gravest of Ahoke's wounds, and he is liberal with the application, until the wounds weep with the surplus. Sen-Jyu is delicate with his touch, as if he did not wish to awaken the wolverine's fury even in kindness.

The Harvester rises, curious, and moves towards his companions. He studies the healing. 'What is it?"

Ahoke shows no signs of going into a furious rage. In fact, although she briefly tenses as if expecting pain, she relaxes when none comes. "Ahhh... that feels good." She looks at at Sen-Jyu for a moment, and then nods. "Thanks," she says. "That makes me almost whole again, when combined with what Harvester did earlier." She eyes the bamboo stick for a moment. "I haven't ever seen anything like that before."

Grinning a little, Sen-Jyu returns to both feet as Harvester nears. "A gift... from my mother," he explains, his voice whispering like wind through grass. He becomes still for a moment, like a prayer in form, then turns to face the Harvester. "You have found something?"

Now that she is clean and mostly healed, Ahoke turns her attention back to the horses, with a look of extreme distaste.

The Harvester looks on the bamboo stick a moment longer, then to Sen-Jyu. "Interesting woman, your mother." He then nods, jerking a thumb back to the second horse. "That one's got a little scab, same place where the crystal was in the first." He pokes the thumb into his forehead with his thumb for emphasis. "Y'all want to crack him open and get it?"

Sen-Jyu blinks, opening his mouth as if to ask a question, but is distracted by the revelation. "... no," he says after a moment of thought. "One can suppose that the cause is likely the same."

 The sound of indrawn breath gives all of you pause - a quick glance towards the house reveals a younger man standing next to the barn entrance, frozen in place, staring at you and the slaughtered pair of horses. The color drains from his face as he realizes you have noticed him, and he takes a shaky step backwards.

Ahoke glances over at the guy, and grimaces. "Oh, this can't look good to him," she mutters.

Seeing the man, Sen-Jyu cheerfully waves toward him. "Hello," he greets, loudly enough that the man is sure to hear, and a smile shows Sen-Jyu's warm and slightly blood-spattered face.

"W-who are you? What are you doing with Othic's horses?" The younger man takes another step backwards, bringing him in-line with the barn door. Reflexively, he looks to his right - and chokes back a cry. "Othic!" he says, in a strangled voice, and he turns to regard you in horror.

The Harvester calls out softly, soothingly, "We caused no harm... Othic gave us shelter in the night... and these are no mere 'horses'..." He approaches slowly, in a roundabout way.

Ahoke shakes her head. "We didn't do Othic in, boy," she says as kindly as her gruff dwarven nature will allow her. She stands to her feet, with a sigh.

Sen-Jyu decides against approaching the younger man, but keeps presence of mind enough to lay Ichido-sama at his own feet, a token gesture of peace.

The look of terror shifts ever-so-subtly to one of confusion. "Wh-what do you mean? They are horses, they are! I help Othic take care of them..." Another step back, but more slowly this time.

The Harvester holds up the crystal, that it might sparkle in the rising sunlight. "This was found within the skull of one of them... It changed the creature. Made it unwholesome... We found Othic dead within the barn, then these creatures attacked us. Examine him. You shall see their hoofprints." He continues speaking in the same deep, soothing tones one might for a frightened child or animal, as he maintains the slow approach.

Ahoke nods, looking back towards the horses unhappily, as if expecting to see them rise again. "We should probably put the poor beasts to the pyre," she says. "It would purify them, and release their spirits."

The man's eyes dart towards Othic's corpse again. "I...why would they do that?" And then he does a double-take, as he sees the enormous bite-marks on Othic's body. "Horses can't do that," he breathes softly...

Quite content to leave the human handling to the Harvester, Sen-Jyu finds a clean patch of ground and sits down, keeping one eye on the lad and another on the horses that still live.

Ahoke hehs. "Neither can dwarves. Or humans," she amends. "But strange reptilian creatures wearing the bodies of horses on the other hand.."

The Harvester remarks mildly. "As I said... there were not mere horses..." A gesture. "examine my companions' wounds. They, too, bear the marks of the beasts..." A thumb jerked to the house. "Examine the dwelling. See that we stayed the night in peace." A measured pace forward, still calmly speaking. "Othic spoke of his children. His wife's passing. His love for raising horses..."

The young man slowly crumples to his knees, and tears begin to run down his face. "Othic..." He can't take his eyes off of the ruined corpse laying on the floor of the barn.

The Harvester shakes his head at Ahoke, without turning his gaze from the man, "These were not undead creatures, 'Ke."

"Come," the priest holds out his hand. "Let us lay Othic to the rest that he deserves. A long, fulfilling life had he, so shed no tears. He shall be reborn into the next world." He continues to approach.

Ahoke mms, only looking slightly cheered by that. "If you say so," she says, and then starts to move closer to the barn, and towards the young man. She stops well away from him though, to lessen her chances of spooking him.

Sen-Jyu leans back on his elbows, face tilted upward to catch the morning sun like an open flower.

The young man's hand clutches at Harvester's cloak as the man approaches. "I am Tal. You are...a speaker to the gods?" Now that you're closer, you can get a better look at him. He would be a good-looking young man, but his visage is somewhat spoiled by the dark, puffy circles beneath his eyes - as if he had not been sleeping well lately - if at all.

The Harvester nods once. "I am The Harvester. I speak for He That Comes. You are troubled, son... by more than good Othic's demise."

Tal nods, struggling for the words. "Not just me. The whole town."

The Harvester nods sagely. "Ah... the missing children... and your overdue 'Heroes'..."

"...and the dreams..." Tal says softly.

Ahoke frowns sharply. "What dreams?"

The Harvester's looks curious, then nods as Ahoke asks the question he was thinking.

Tal turns a pleading look at the dwarven warrior. "Nightmares. I...I can't remember them, but I can't sleep. Nobody can."

Ahoke mmms. "I had a dream last night, but I remembered it... I dreamed that something tore my throat open and drank my blood." She looks back to Othic's corpse, and sighs. "I... think that it had something to do with that, but I don't know how."

The Harvester says, "I suspect it is related to your missing children."

Tal looks up at Ahoke and the Harvester. "Can you help us? Will you?"

The Harvester considers the possibilities of furthering his goals before answering, and looks to his friends. "I don't see why not. Y'all?"

Ahoke grunts.  "Show him the shard, see if he knows what it is... might be a clue. And yeah, why not? These people seem to be in a bind. Maybe we can get them out of it."

Sen-Jyu watches the three, though he strains to hear their conversation. He quite enjoys the sun, however, and basks in the red light it bestows.

The Harvester lifts the shard between two fingers once more, and allows it to shine in the light. "Know what this might be? Or know anyone who might?"

The stench from the slaughtered...horses...wafts across the meadow, setting the other equines to whickering - and making Sen-Jyu's basking all the more difficult.

Tal climbs to his feet, looking at the sliver of blue. "No...it looks like glass...or a crystal..."

The Harvester nods once. "Yep. That it does." A glance to Ahoke. "Mind splitting the other skull for me, Kay? Grab that crystal too, before we burn 'em?"

Sen-Jyu wrinkles his nose at the smell as it drifts to him. "Perhaps we should burn them," he mutters, getting up and collecting his sword before moving toward the trio. "Sir," he murmurs to Tal, "might you know Othic's spiritual beliefs? How we might best honor him in his after-life?"

Ahoke frowns. "I'm clean," she says grumpily, but stumps over to the horse corpse anyway. "Can someone draw me another bucket while I do this? And someone else should go find some tinder, so that we can at least burn the horses."

Tal licks his lips. "His wife is buried behind the barn," he whispers.

Sen-Jyu bows at the waist to Tal's statement, and begins to look about the barn's insides, presumably for a shovel.

Ahoke lets the axe crash down on the horse's skull with the practicality of a born huntress. She looks down at it for a long moment, and then extracts a shard identical to the first.

The Harvester nods once. "simple burial then? No deific appeasements for his soul?" He calls after Sen-Jyu, "There is a spade in my pack, Sen..." To Tal, "Go. Gather appropriate wrappings, Tal. I shall draw water and begin preparations."

Tal nods, and hurries off.

Sen-Jyu's head peeks out the barn doors, and he nods thanks to the Harvester, entering the house and eagerly pawing through the priest's stuff.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 10, 2002)

*Session Two, Part Two*

Tal bid you farewell at the edge of Othic's farm, staying behind to put things to rights. The town is only a few miles down the road - miles that still wear at your aching feet, but ones that are quickly behind you. Now, you stand on the edge of the little village of Bellhold, huddled in the shadow of the mountain known as the Steeple. The watch tower - taller than ten men standing on each other's shoulders, and housing the enormous bell known as the Wyrmcall - looms in the center of town, and you have directions from there to the settlement's only decent inn, a place called the Bell & Clapper.

The Harvester pauses to look on high, at the enormous bell, then nods to his friends. "Shall we secure rooms, meals and a hot bath, then seek out the elders?"

Ahoke moves easily down the road, walking with the two tallfolk. "So... Wyrmcall. Nice name. And yes, I agree with Harvester. It might be best to wait for a fresh day to do anything truly dangerous."

Sen-Jyu grins back at Harvester and Ahoke, taking the lead from his two companions. "Why bother talking about it, then? First one there earns the first drink -- I hope they have good rice wine."

The Harvester takes hold of his heavy scythe with both hands, and breaks into a run, without waiting for so much as a 'Go!' from Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke says, "Is rice wine good, then?" Ahoke perks up at the mention of alcohol of any kind. "Is it as good as ale?" She continues heading towards the village, but doesn't break into a run.

Sen-Jyu provides competition for Harvester in the sprint, only hoping that they don't overshoot the mark of their instructions.

Ahoke lets the boys race, and instead moves along at a sedate pace. "Guess I'll just have to find out for myself," she grunts. She takes the time to look around at any people as she walks.

As you approach the center of town - your directions lead from the watch tower, as it is the most prominent landmark of all - you hear a voice. A filthy man stands at the base of the bell tower, preaching to the crowd. His hair is unwashed and tangled, his clothing tattered and stained, with dirt and other, less identifiable pigments. His eyes latch onto the Harvester as the man leads the pack into the plaza, and he raises his voice and points. "And here we have new friends! Welcome, friends, welcome...he will gladly take you as well. I was just explaining to these fine people here..."

The fine people he speaks of are largely ignoring him, although a small knot of townsfolk stand, and watch. One or two joke amongst themselves, and the others...the others look on with no small amount of fear.

The Harvester's robes kick up as he runs, feet slapping ass as he goes. He hikes them up with one hand as Sen-Jyu begins to outpace him. Then he stops, realizing the spectacle he is making.  He moves, now, to the filthy doom-sayer. "Hello, friend." His holy symbol is featured prominently upon his chest. "Who's going to take me, hmm?"

Competition's not much fun when it's against oneself, and Sen-Jyu slows as he realizes the Harvester has thrown the race. He doesn't look at the preacher as at the 'flock', glancing intently among their faces with a childlike curiosity.

The man smiles, and leans down from where he stands on the tower's foundation. His voice drops low, almost to a whisper. "I was just explaining that we are all going to get swallowed." He shows a toothy grin, and straightens up, his voice getting louder. "Swallowed! Deep into the abyss! We will be kept for and cared for by the one who hates us." He nods to Harvester, as if that answered the man's question. "I can see him now...feel him..."

Ahoke catches up, now that her friends have stopped. "What's this? I thought that we were going to get drinks and baths..." she trails off, looking at the priest. "Who's this?" She stops, eyeing him suspiciously. It almost looks as if she sniffs the air.

 The people watching him bear the same signs as Tal...dark circles under the eyes, and expressions of weariness and fear. Even those souls who pass by the plaza shuffle listlessly as if they are sleepwalking.

The Harvester spins his scythe over lazily, and plants the butt onto the ground. He leans heavily against it, one hand atop the corsspieve holding the blade. Beneath his robes a foot crosses the other at the ankle. "Hmmm! Do tell!" He sounds both faintly amused, and curious. "Which dear fellow's taking such a dislike to us this day?"

Ahoke looks longingly towards the inn, but sighs, doing much the same thing with her great club as Harvester does with his scythe, without the spinning part. She leans her weight on it, surveying the ragged, wild-eyed human. "Why would the one who hates you take care of you? That seems kind of silly."

The man looks despairingly at Harvester, and stretches out his arms in a plea. "He will bury us," he says. "He will bury us all in the deepest pit." Tears begin to roll down his face. "He talks to me every day, and he tells me he misses me. But I don't miss his whispers." Silently, he mouths the words again: I don't.

Sen-Jyu wanders through the crowd, looking at the faces of the people. He's not all that discreet about his appraisals of their expressions, either -- mostly, he seems just sad for them.

"Uh-HUH. You don't say..." The priest considers, then tries a new tack, staring straight at the man's eyes. "When's the ol' boy coming? How long's he been chattin with you?"

Ahoke is starting to look a little disturbed, as she watches the townspeople. "...not natural," she mutters to herself. Still, she turns her attention to the local madman, curious as to his reply.

"Soon...soon...I won't go back to the mine, I won't..." The man's voice is a breathless whisper now. "The mine is where he'll find me, so I won't go. I'm in his belly and I can feel the flesh rotting around me." His eyes beg the Harvester to understand. "I can feel him at night against my skin!" he insists.

The Harvester's head tilts. "Back to the mine? This wouldn't be Copperdeath returned, would it?" 

As Harvester mentions the name, a church bell begins to peal out the hour of the morning, and the man crumples to the stone, curling into a ball and covering his ears. "Not the bells..." he sobs. "Not the bells."

But there was no disguising the look of utter fear that crossed his face...an instant _before_ the bells rang.

Ahoke directs a sidelong look at the person standing next to her. "Is this normal," she murmurs to him.

The man looks down at the muscular dwarf, surprised. "Cobble? He's been gettign worse lately," he says, rubbing at his forehead. He mumbles something about dreams, and now that the crazed man seems to have stopped his ranting, he shuffles off.

The Harvester glances to Ahoke. "Mmmm... Not really. But yes, too, these days. Lots of doomsayers about."

"Doomsayers aren't much fun," says Sen-Jyu as he nears the pair, frowning a little at the discoveries he's made of the crowd. "I wonder why people listen to despair."

The Harvester throws his hood back, his shock of red hair overshadowing his surprise at the madman's reaction. "Interesting... If he's come back," he speaks softly, to his companions, "he... no, he couldn't be undead.. could he?"

Ahoke mmphs. "I don't know. Let's discuss it over drinks, shall we? I'm thirsty." The dwarf then walks past the clump of people, and through the front door of the inn.

The Harvester says, "We'll talk later, Cobble. Stick around, will you?" He turns to follow his friends, remarking quietly, "Ten to one, these dreams started around the time the kids disappeared."

"The bells..."

"... she's thirsty," affirms Sen-Jyu to Harvester, as they walk toward the Bell and Clapper.

The Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu in surprise. "She's thirsty? Again?"

"I think she's leaking from her wounds, still," says Sen-Jyu speculatively. "She's made up mostly of ale."

Ahoke pointedly ignores the tallfolk, and then steps through the front door of the inn, when she gets there.

The Harvester says, "Oh my. I do hope they've got enough ale..." He steps in after the pair."

Sen-Jyu nods in agreement. "Maybe we should just rent a barrel of ale for her to sleep in, rather than a whole room."


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## drnuncheon (Oct 11, 2002)

*Session Two, Part Three*

The Bell and Clapper is one of the larger buildings in town, rivalling even the foundries you passed on the way in: three stories of ancient inn that has served travelers for decades. The common room is decorated with memoria of Copperdeath - a portrait of the heros that slew him, weapons hung out of reach on the walls...and behind the bar, a talon the length of a large man's arm.

A muscular half-elf stands behind the bar, listlessly polishing it - but he manages a grin as you enter. "Greetings! It's not the season for travelers, but welcome, welcome."

The Harvester realizes something. "I just realized.... Ahoke got here first... we owe her a drink... a small one, right?"

Ahoke grins over her shoulder at the two. "Small one will work," she says. "And besides, I don't drink all that much. My people didn't even /have/ ale." She turns greedy eyes upon the half elf. "Give me a tankard," she says. "My friends are paying for it."

"... small brewery?" Sen-Jyu hazards quietly to the Harvester, then manages a wan smile for the dwarf. Looking up at the bartend, he manages a light chuckle. "... please, no water in it. We have to -travel- with her."

"It's nice to have friends." The tankard is expertly filled, topped with a rich foam, and set down in front of the dwarf. "Welcome to the Bell and Clapper. My name's Tokket."

Ahoke mmms, climbing up onto a barstool. "Real good to have friends. And it's good to meet you. I'm Ahoke, from The North." She puts significant emphasis on those final words, as if that should mean something.

"Really? Across the mountains?" The bartender looks surprised. "You're lucky the weather held as long as it did."

Sen-Jyu is the second to step up to the counter and inquires, "Rice wine? Please?" The emphasis is on the imploration, as if an alternative would be tragic.

The Harvester nods his head, "Hello, Tokket. I'm The Harvester. I'll take a tankard of your finest, and three hot meals for all of us."

Ahoke nods in agreement with Tokket. "Yeah, we are. You've been there?" She takes a long, even lusty sip of her ale, sighing in satisfaction. She peers over at Harvester. "Hot meals. Yes, how could I have forgotten?"

Tokket looks to the other two - a glance at the scythe propped against his bar as the Harvester introduces himself, and a curious look at Sen-Jyu. "Reiss wine? Not familiar with it. Is it a red, or a white?"

The Harvester jerks a thumb at Sen-Jyu and says, with a grin and wink, "On his tab."

Sen-Jyu rubs his forehead as he murmurs, "... water, as cold as you can make it without my having to chip off pieces to drink."

Tokket clears his throat. "Now, I'm not sure if you've been in town long enough to have heard this," he says apologetically, "but folks have been getting bad headaches, and there are some who say as it's the water. I'm not sure, mind you, and I hope not, but I figure better safe then sorry." He waits a moment, to see if Sen-Jyu will change his mind, then shrugs. "But it's your head."

Ahoke drinks some more of her ale. "Something in the water? You think that might be what's causing the nightmares too?" She eyes Tokket carefully, over the rim of her tankard.

"Well..." Tokket sets the Harvester's drink before him, and leans down on the bar to talk to the dwarf. "/Personally/, I think someone in town has upset the gods, and this is our punishment. Omens, y'see."

Sen-Jyu shrugs, "Is the ale made with water drawn from local sources?"

Ahoke sets the tankard of ale down on the bartop, frowning. "I don't have much to do with gods," she says slowly, "Least, until I met him." She nods towards Harvester. "What could someone do to make one of these gods punish an entire town?"

The Harvester takes a long, slow sip of his ale. "I dunno... tastes fine to me.... The gods, eh?" He looks at Tokket thoughtfully. "Seems to me that most of the gods are sleepin on the job..."
The Harvester grins at Ahoke at that.

Tokket thinks about it. "Y'know...most of it is made from the well...but not the wine," he says firmly. "Grapes don't grow well here, we have to import it."

"One would think that if one had roused a god's ire, that god would want to date and sign his or her handiwork, not act in indirect ways. After all," Sen-Jyu says, tilting his head toward the Harvester, "they're not so shy about proving their powers through their servants."  He licks his lips. "I'll have some of your wine, then."

The Harvester chuckles at Sen-Jyu, "Most of 'em, yes... But most ain't concerning themselves with us much, these days." He shrugs, then gestures to Tokket to come closer.

Ahoke shrugs, and drinks more ale. "I had a nightmare last night, and I hadn't even drank any water from the town. Dreams don't get much worse, I imagine."

Tokket nods, and pulls forth a bottle from under the bar. "This here's a good vintage," he says, applying the corkscrew vigorously. "Ol' Branthon used to love it, 'fore he passed on, gods rest his soul." The cork pops free, and deep red pours into the glass. "Had a bottle of it with him the night he died."  He leans over to listen to the Harvester as he pours.

The Harvester sets his tankard down. "Know an old fellow, name of Othic? Raises horses outside of town?"  He speaks quietly enough, so as not to broadcast to the entire tavern.

Sen-Jyu's expression goes flat as the Harvester begins to speak.

Tokket nods, sliding the wine over to Sen-Jyu. "Othic? I do indeed."

Accepting the wine, Sen-Jyu waits to partake, watching the exchange between Harv and Tok.

The Harvester nods once. "He's dead." The statement is given matter-of-factly, as though death is just an everyday occurence - which it is - and not to be feared - which it isn't, to Harvester, anyway.

Tokket rubs at his forehead. "That's...that's awful. He wasn't that old..."

The Harvester says, "No? He appearedto've lived a long life..."

The thin swordsman takes up the wine, and rather than sip it slowly, he takes it whole, as one long, shallow breath. The glass is set back upright on the bar's face, but a sobriety hangs about the usually-cheerful Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke takes a drink, nodding. "Had to be at least 200 years old, guessing."

Tokket's eyes look back and forth. "I...well, he remembered the dragon, but still...he was so healthy..."

The Harvester says, "Welll..." A drawn out sound. "He didn't exactly die of illness... but at the tooth and hoof of a pair of animals...""

"His /horses/?" Tokket is incredulous. "But...how? Why?"

Sen-Jyu seems a bit troubled by the whole conversation, and traces his finger over the lip of his glass with some agitation.

Ahoke sighs, leaving the weirdness to Harvester since he seems to handle that sort of thing with ease, and glances at Sen-Jyu. "What's wrong?"

The Harvester's belly rumbles warning, and he drinks some more ale. "A pair of his horses ran away some time ago... we came across Othic yesterday, trying to catch them. We helped, he offered shelter." Another sip to silence his hunger. "We awoke this morning and found him dead in the barn." A shake of his head. "These tweren't his horses. They may've been once, but no longer. They could transfix you with their stare - make you do things, or nothing. But we slew them and discovered this in one of their skulls." He pulls out a scroll tube and draws out a piece of cloth, which, unwrapped, reveals a single crystalline blue sliver.

Tokket's jaw hangs open. "But...I don't understand."

The Harvester sets the now empty tankard down. "Nor do I. You know anyone who might?"

Sen-Jyu nods as Harvester begins to tell the tale, and listens carefully as if he hadn't been there for the playing out of these events. As if in explanation, he adds to the Harvester's words, "There's good reason to feel that something malicious is at work."

Ahoke exhales sharply, looking back at the half elf with some pity. "I don't understand it either," she informs him, drinking deeply of her ale.

Sen-Jyu appends, keeping his voice at a whisper, "We feel that there may be a connection with the omens you mentioned."

The Harvester looks at Tokket, expectantly awaiting reply as he lazily turns his tankard in a circle.

As you speak, your conversation is interrupted by the tolling of a great bell - so loud and pure of tone that you can feel it reverberating in your chest, even inside the inn. It seems to go on for quite some time, and as the sound dies away, you hear voices calling outside, rising and fading as the messengers move through the streets: "Town meeting in the Plaza at the twilight-bell! Town meeting in the plaza at the twilight-bell!"

Ahoke stops drinking, staring at the cloth. "That's not good," she says.

The Harvester looks away from Tokket, to Ahoke. "Something wrong, Kay?"

Ahoke nods towards the cloth with the shard lying on it. "Did you bump that, as the bell was tolling?"

The Harvester frowns and looks at the shard, "No.... Can't say as I did..."

Ahoke says, "It vibrated when the bell rang. I know it did.""

"You mentioned a 'Branthon'," says Sen-Jyu to Tokken. "Was he one of the heroes that destroyed Copperdeath?"  He frowns, tilting his head at what Ahoke noted.

The Harvester looks from the shard, to Ahoke, then back again. "Did it? How interesting... that might be a good thing..."

Tokket chuckles at Ahoke. "That's not surprising - the Wyrmcall is so loud...well, Branthon," he says with a nod to Sen-Jyu, "-godsresthissoul - he stumbled up the tower drunk one night with a bottle of that red. Well, they rang the bell the next morning, and it was so loud it shattered the bottle and killed the poor guy."

Ahoke mmphs, not looking entirely sure about that, but finally nods, finishing off her drink. "Why's the bell so loud?"

"Hmm. How long ago did this man die, may the spirits be kind to him in his passing, if I may ask?" Sen-Jyu seems quite attentive to Tokket's anecdotes.

"Pride of the city, the Wyrmcall is," Brandon says. "Used to be sounded when Copperdeath was coming, to warn the town and everyone around it. It was years ago," he tells the slender man. "Forty, fifty - I don't recall."

"Pride of the city, the Wyrmcall is," Tokket says. "Used to be sounded when Copperdeath was coming, to warn the town and everyone around it. It was years ago," he tells the slender man. "Four, five - I don't recall.  But no, he didn't fight Copperdeath.  M'mam did," he says, gesturing with pride towards the talon.

Ahoke blinks, looking towards Tokket with renewed interest. "Your mother fought a dragon?"

Tokket grins. "Fought him and slew him - with her friends, of course, not alone, although it was only her and Toren that survived, and Toren ran out on her."

Ahoke grins. "Sounds like a tough woman." Her tone suggests that she approves.

Sen-Jyu taps the rim of his empty glass insinuatively.  He leans over toward Ahoke, asking, "Did you say that you saw the crystal... vibrate?"

Tokket grins. "Oh she was, she was. I've actually got Thrommel's diary - he was a dwarf, a priest who fought by her side." As a reflex, he refills Sen-Jyu's glass, and then a look of horror crosses his face. "Oh! Your food! I got so wrapped up in talking that I forgot!"

The Harvester nods pleasantly, "Our food, yes. And more questions when you return, maybe? I wonder if we might see Thrommel's diary sometime?"

Ahoke grins at Tokket. "Ah well, no harm done. I'm not hungry enough yet that I want to have boiled half elf for lunch." She glances at Sen, then. "Yeah, the crystal vibrated. Which I thought kind of strange."

Sen-Jyu lowers his voice in speaking with Ahoke. "When I spoke with the horse in the field, he seemed... normal. Horse-like. Not as a hideous creature of pure maleficence. Some change occurred that night. Imagine having that crystal lodged in your brain, then having it vibrate at the twilight bell. Perhaps that is the change that occurred."

The Harvester speaks just as quietly, "Well... I was in the barn for n hour or so, at the break between days... I witnessed nothing untoward at that time..."

Ahoke thinks for a moment, looking at Sen-Jyu. "I don't know... those horses had taken off for days at a time. We didn't keep herd beasts, but that doesn't seem too normal to me. Are you /sure/ that they were being normal? What did it say to you?"

The Harvester gets a curious look on his face. "You _spoke_ with them?"

Sen-Jyu shrugs, "Perhaps your god protected you then as before. There is some sort of connection, however." To Ahoke, he nodded. "He had mentioned that he had not yet been chased enough by Othic. That's why they were being difficult -- they had wanted to play."

"Ah... perhaps, perhaps..." The priest takes his tankard in hand, while Tokket is away procuring their meals, and leans over the bar to fill his cup from the tap.

Ahoke looks extremely dubious. "Do horses disappear from home and wander around for days at a time? I thought that hooved animals were more... placid..."

"I cannot explain that, yet," admits Sen-Jyu. "But if you are right, about the crystal resonating with the Wyrmcall, then there's certain to be some connection."

The Harvester shrugs as he sits back and sips. "Horses are more spirited than cows and the like - though the timing of their disappearance and their return and attack on Othic are suspect, to my mind."

Ahoke nods. "I hope that there aren't /people/ in this town with those shards in their brains," she says in an undertone.

The Harvester looks up suddenly. "Cobble."

Tokket returns, carefully balancing three earthenware plates, on each of which rests a bulbous, unidentifiable mass covered in a thick brown sauce or gravy of some kind. Tucked under one arm is a loaf of fresh bread, and he grins as he sets the bounty down on the bar. "There we are, first of the lunches."

Ahoke looks vaguely ill at Harvester's words, but then shakes it off. "Food!" She beams at Tokket, as if he's the most stunning man alive, and then digs into her food, identifiable or not. She pushes her empty tankard to him, imploringly.

Tokket refills the tankard. Ahoke, at the least, is able to identify the outer casing of the mass as the stomach of some creature, but it's been stuffed with bits of meat, chopped vegetables and grain, and then boiled. Tokket beams as she tucks in.

Sen-Jyu looks at the food, then to Tokken. "What is it...?" he asks, doing the best he can to disguise the uncertainty in his voice as curiosity tempered well with appreciation.

The Harvester draws the odors in through his nose, and smiles appreciatively. "Excellent..." He takes a knife in hand and slices the casing open. He licks his lips and begins to eat. A piece of bread is torn away and he sops up gravy before adding that to what he chews.

Ahoke swallows her first bite, grinning. "It's delicious, is what it is. What kind of stomach is it? Sheep? And the stuffing... perfect." She washes it down with a swallow of ale, and then cuts into the meat again.

Tokket says, "Yes, sheep, indeed. It's my wife's specialty, that is."

The Harvester gestures with his utensil, to the talon. "What sort of dragon was this Copperdeath?"

"...Probably a big one," mutters Ahoke, frowning.

Tokket nods. "A big one, indeed," he says, needlessly indicating the talon. "Blue like a mountain lake, they say."

The Harvester looks at the blue shard and nods, thoughtfully. "I suspected... another connection, perhaps?"

Ahoke scowls. "How did your mother and her friends kill this dragon, anyway?"

Sen-Jyu digs in with less relish, handling the utensils given him in a woefully inadequate manner.

Tokket gestures towards an axe that hangs on the wall, its haft shattered - or, now that you look closer, perhaps it was bitten in half. "That was Dorek's axe. He was a brave man, and my mother said she'd never have slain it without him. They were the only ones left - well, them and Toren." He spits on the floor. "Copperdeath was about to bite her when Dorek charged, and hit the dragon so hard some of its scales cracked. Copperdeath bit him in half, but while he was doing that, mother struck him where the scales were gone, and that did him in." He smiles a bit. "Thrommel would have been proud, I think - he thought she was only good for a song."

The Harvester speaks around a mouthful, "Use your fingers if y'want, Sen. Nobody cares."

Ahoke considers. "What did they do with the body?"

The Harvester nods as he swallows, and drinks, content to allow Ahoke the questions for now.

Tokket looks a bit surprised. "Still up there, I should imagine. It was too big to move, so they left it."

Sen-Jyu disregards the Harvester's recommendations, prodding and attacking the lump of comestible as if it were an enemy, needing to be cut up and eaten for the greater good of all.

The Harvester says, "Thrommel was the dwarf priest, right? You said he had a diary? Could we see it sometime?"

Tokket nods.  "Of course!"

Ahoke hmms. "I wonder... a dragon has to be inhabited by a powerful spirit, I should think. What if he wasn't dead, but only sleeping? Maybe he's awakening." She takes another bite of food, chewing thoughtfully. "Tell your wife that she's a real good cook."

The Harvester smiles, setting his utensils on the empty plate with a clatter. "Yes, do tell her so!" He looks thoughtful. "And this Toren ran, like a coward? What became of him?"

"Hid during the fight, ran off afterward. Mother never chased him - she'd had enough of the adventuring life - so I don't rightly know after that."

Sen-Jyu has certainly mastered the art of hack and slash, and the innards of the mound spill out in gravy-rich streams of its lifeblood. Victorious, Sen-Jyu stabs one of the severed chunks with the pointy bit of his knife and deposits it into his mouth, chewing carefully.

The Harvester nods once, and finishes off his second tankard. "Well, he'll die soon enough, if he hasn't already. Maybe he'll do better next time 'round."

Ahoke hmmphs. "Maybe he'll be a badger next time around. At least badgers have fighting spirit," she says. "Still... I think that all of this crap is the dragon waking up." She shrugs. "I hope I'm wrong, though."

Tokket shakes his head. "No...mother was certain the thing died...she always said she saw the light go out of its eyes, and anything less would not have freed the town."

Ahoke hmms. "Well, that's good, anyway," she says, finishing off her meal.

The Harvester glances to the door. "What's up with the Cobble fellow, anyway? How long's he been like this?"

"Mmm," murmurs Sen-Jyu past a mouthful of food. "Mmm mmmm MMM mmmm mmmm mm mmmmm m mmm-mmm."

"Cobble's always been a bit strange, but since the dreams and the headaches..."

The Harvester nods, "Yes, do tell us about those - the dreams and headaches."

Sen-Jyu swallows his food, pointing the tined end of his fork at Ahoke. "I thought -you- would have liked to fight a dragon," he says.

Ahoke snorts. "I like a good fight. I'm not ready to be reborn just yet, though," she says.

The Harvester grins. "Being reborn ain't so bad... trust me." He looks as though he knows, personally, but doesn't seem to be elaborating.

Ahoke shrugs. "I'll take your word for it," she says. "But Wolverine and I have a few more adventures that we want to go through /this/ round."

Now that it's approaching noon, a few people have begun to trickle in, bringing with them the smell of hot metal - they must work at the foundry. An older woman - Tokket's wife, perhaps, showing her age more than her elf-blooded husband - emerges from the kitchen and begins to take orders. Following them in is a woman done in perfect miniature, half size from her head down to her hairy bare feet.

"There's not much to say, except that nobody's getting much sleep," Tokket admits. "But the old witch Utrish claims they'll be gone inside of a week. If you believe her. Hello Heather!" he calls to the tiny woman. "No word from Corum yet?" She shakes her head sadly.

Ahoke looks curiously over her shoulder at the new arrivals. Being the friendly sort, she moves her great club out of the way, in case someone would want to sit beside her.

Sen-Jyu seems to be full, after only a few bites, though it's as likely his frustration with the tools he's been given to do the work. A glance at his compatriots in inquiry, one hand palm up indicating the remnants of his meal.

Ahoke grins at Sen-Jyu, and reaches out to grab the plate. She does, out of belated politeness, glance questioningly at Harvester.

The Harvester shakes his head, patting his belly and giving a small belch.  He swivels on his stool to see the pint-sized female. A pleasant smile is given, then he notes her sad reply. "Corum?" he asks Tokket softly. "Is that one of the missing children? or likely one of the 'Heroes' gone in search of them?"

Tokket nods. "She's Corum Mosstoes' sister. Corum's one of the Heroes of the Bell. Stout lad."

Ahoke takes the plate, and begins eating the food with slightly less gusto than before.

The Harvester says, "Yeah... Othic told us about that last night... How long've the kids been gone? Did they all disappear at the same time, or singly?"

Sen-Jyu lifts his beltpouch to table-height, fingers sifting through the coins. "Mind if we settle our debt?" he asks after Tokket as a polite interruption.

Ahoke looks up from her meal. "Is it also possible to get rooms, and baths? We've been on the road for weeks."

"One at a time, over the last week," Tokket tells you - and nods to Sen-Jyu. "That'll be a silver each if y'please, and one for the drinks. As for rooms, we've got plenty - six silvers a day, and that pays for your food as well."

Ahoke gets out some of her money, to pay for her share of the costs, and then finishes off her second meal.

The Harvester ahs. "Of course..." he pulls out his own pouch and withdraws two silver pieces and places them on the bar. "Excellent.."  He looks to his companions, then motions them closer. "A moment please, Tokket..."

Sen-Jyu draws a gilded coin from his purse, placing it within Tokket's easy reach. "I think I'll be taking one of your rooms, if I might impose upon your hospitality."

The Harvester speaks in hushed tones with his friends. "Do we wish separate rooms? Perhaps it would be wisest, given the goings-on, to share a single large room?"

Ahoke thinks about that for a moment, and then nods. "But you can't watch when I'm taking a bath," she says, with a grin.


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## Piratecat (Oct 11, 2002)

Oh - so _very_ good.


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## Caliber (Oct 11, 2002)

I would say something but PCat summed up my sentiments exactly.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 11, 2002)

Woo! I finally got P'Cat into one of my Story Hours!

J
enthused


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## drnuncheon (Oct 11, 2002)

One of the beautiful things about online roleplaying like this is that you have a record of _everything_ that happens - from the actions to the rolls to the OOC banter.  I've trimmed all of that out from the story hour, but every once in a while I'll post some of the better tabletalk.

*

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "I'd like to remind everyone that you /are/ being recorded for posterity - so make yer poses good. "
<OOC> Harvester says, "Oh, well you didn't say anything about good poses..."

*

(Harvester turns the zombies)
"By the will of He Who Is To Come, I command thee to return to thy final rest! BEGONE, ABOMINATIONS!"

The skull's eyes flash malevolently as a force spreads forth towards the unliving creatures that lie in wait.

<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Say that again, with a Mr. Rogers voice." 

*

Sen-Jyu leans back on his elbows, face tilted upward to catch the morning sun like an open flower.

<OOC> Tal says, "The next pose like that needs to be in haiku form, Sen." 

*

<OOC> The Harvester says, "Hey.. none of the other horses have a forehead scab, do they?"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Harv does, but that's just the post-lobotomy healing."
<OOC> The Harvester drools. Huh? 

*

(burying Othic - the DM gets punchy)
"Sir," he murmurs to Tal, "might you know Othic's spiritual beliefs? How we might best honor him in his after-life?"

Tal licks his lips. "We...eat our dead here, sir."

<OOC> Tal says, "Just kidding."
<OOC> Ahoke peers
<OOC> Sen-Jyu puts on a bib.

*

The Harvester nods once. "He's dead." The statement is given matter-of-factly, as though death is just an everyday occurence - which it is - and not to be feared - which it isn't, to Harvester, anyway.

<OOC> The Harvester says, "Hi! Your friend's dead! Can I have another drink?" 

*

The Harvester wonders how long til the twilight bell.
<OOC> Tokket says, "It's midmorning, so...a while."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Great! In the meantime, let's go clean giant rats out of the basement of the busty woman's tavern!" 
(Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance joke)

*

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "If there's anything that folks want to do over the afternoon we can talk about that now."
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Bathe!"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Watch Ahoke bathe!"
<OOC> The Harvester says, "Watch Ahoke bathe!"
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Roll your Personal Hygeine skill."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Spot checks for the other two."
<DIE ROLLER> The Harvester rolls 1d20+3 and gets 10.
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Harv, you get something in your eye, and since the secret of Visine has been long lost, you miss the entire bathing scene trying to flush it out."


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## Harvester (Oct 12, 2002)

What a bunch of loser roleplayers these guys are.....

Heh. I'm having fun so far.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 14, 2002)

*The Town Meeting*

Our heros spend the afternoon in perusing the journal of Thrommel Redstone, failing to turn up information on the whereabouts of the missing Heroes of the Bell, and taking some long-needed baths. Sen-Jyu and Ahoke wait at Wyrmcall Plaza for the town meeting, while the Harvester tries to decide whether he wants to attend the meeting, or magically investigate Cobble when the bells ring. Eventually, he decides on the former course of action, and our freshly scrubbed heros assemble as the church bells ring out the twilight hour.

The plaza is packed with hundreds of people, all jostling and talking with one another, shouting out their own favored courses of action, even though the meeting hasn't begin.

Ahoke stands around, watching people with curiousity as the approach the Plaza. She tries to not stick out too much, although a strange female dwarf with bone armor and a great club doesn't blend too well.

The spirit-blooded man stands outside the thickening throng of people -- never one too comfortable without plenty of elbow room, he smiles at any who look his way and makes pleasantries with the passerbys.

As the great bell begins to peal, the Harvester moves his hands in a short gesture. "He Who Is To Come, lend me the openness of your vision, that I may see clearly..." He then looks at the crystal shard, then towards the bell and crowd. A shake of his head follows, with a wry smile. "Rather a disappointment..."

Ahoke glances at Harvester as he does his priestly mumbo jumbo. She raises one thick eyebrow. "What is?"

The Harvester laughs softly, replacing the shard within the case. "oh, I was hoping they'd ring Wyrmcall again... Wanted to test a theory."

"Which theory is that," asks Sen-Jyu conversationally, though his eyes wander the crowd, looking intently at the faces of the gathering people.

The Harvester raises the scrollcase containing the shards, and gestures towards the tower. "That these are somehow connected..."

Eventually, as the babble of the crowd rises in pitch, you see an older gentleman ascend a platform that's been set up just outside of the tower. This must be the mayor - Hob Waterman. Near him are three other people - a couple standing together, and a muscular man who exudes an aura of 'guardsman'.

Waterman takes up a mallet and begins banging on the podium. "Please! Good people! May I ave your attention! Please, some quiet!"

Grudgingly, the crowd begins to quiet down.

Sen-Jyu's ears perk up, and though he acknowledges the mayor with a glance, continues scouring the expressions worn by the crowd.
Ahoke quiets down, along with the rest of the crowd, and turns her gaze to this Hob Waterman fellow.

The Harvester's attention is now focused on the mayor, for the most part, though he also scans the crowd.

The crowd looks annoyed, upset - and of course, tired. The same signs of sleeplessness are etched on every face present - even the mayor's.

Waterman raises his hand. "Citizens of Bellhold, I have called this meeting at the request of Lucius Krekket," here, he gestures to the dapper, dark-haired man standing with a well-dressed woman, "who would like me to address the current concerns in the interest of maintaining mine production. As we all know, Bellhold could never survive without the mines and the foundries, so it's important that we keep them going. Now, I understand that many of you are concerned, but there's nothing to be worried about, and that's why we're here tonight."

Ahoke scowls a little bit at the mayor's pronouncement, and folds her muscular arms across her chest. She then favors the well dressed people with a scowl.

The Harvester snorts softly, so that his friends might hear. "lack of sleep, nightmares, missing children.... nah, nothing to be alarmed about..."

Ahoke murmurs, quietly, "Demon horses..."

The Harvester continues the litany, just as softly, "Missing heroes.."

A couple of people in the crowd erupt into angry shouts at the mayor's claims that nothing is wrong, but they are quickly shushed by their neighbors.

Waterman continues: "Now, we are all concerned about Caleb, Dorik, and Tana."

"You're damn right we're concerned!" someone shouts. "I want to know where my daughter is!"

"...but all of the children were old enough to have run away on their own - there's no reason to assume kidnappings. We've sent messages to nearby towns via the caravan companies, and both the town scouts /and/ our famous Heroes of the Bell are out looking for the children. I'm certain they wil be found soon."

Sen-Jyu adds, "Inquisitive do-gooders who might well pay the ultimate price for their benevolence..."

Sen-Jyu ahems, looking at his companions, "... sorry."

The Harvester snickers at Sen-Jyu, "No worries, Sen.... i'm not a do-gooder..."

Ahoke smirks at Sen-Jyu, and murmurs, "You're right. We should leave." 
Only the faintest glint in her eyes suggests that she might be joking.

A voice calls out from the crowd. "The Heroes of the Bell are missing too, Waterman!"

The mayor doesn't miss a beat. "Well, of /course/ they are," he says with a chuckle. "They're looking for the children! Surely you don't expect them to find the children lost in the common room of the Bell and Clapper?"

A few people in the crowd laugh, but it's a feeble sound in the face of the obvious stress hanging over the town.

The Harvester mutters, "Though I _am_ a bit inquisitive..."

Sen-Jyu frowns, hearing the communal despair being voiced by the crowd. Again, as in the inn, he starts to fidget, feet shuffling while his gaze fades away.

"Now," continues the mayor. "As for the headaches." An angry murmur starts up, and he raises his hand for silence. "I realize that they are irritating, but I can assure you that there is no known spell or curse that could be the cause of the pain. The town's priests have checked the water for poison and found nothing, but just to be sure, I've sent a messenger to the druidic order and requested that they send someone to ensure that our water supply is not contaminated."

The Harvester scratches beneath his hood, at the beard framing his face. Softly, "A shard in the brain might cause headaches, mightn't it?"

Ahoke does not look any more pleased with the mayor. She turns her gaze to the Harvester then, and says, dryly, "I would imagine that it'd be very painful, yes. But that's just imagining."

The Harvester gives a cursory inspection of the crowd, noting its growing discord. To his companions, "This town begins to fray.... Soon enough, it will break."

"What about the nightmares?" someone shouts.

"Yes, the bad dreams," Waterman replies. "Again, none of the priests have found any sign of a 'curse from the gods', so put that out of your minds. Phillipa Krekkit went to visit Utrish, the wise woman-"

"Witch!"

"-and she has prophecied that the dreams and headaches won't last more than another week. So if we can all be patient and wait it out, I'm sure that things will be back to normal in no time."

The Harvester, in all seriousness, says "Utrish, the witch... sounds like someone fun to meet..."

"In the meantime," says Sen-Jyu, speaking up that his voice might be heard, "are you accepting offers of aid for investigating this rash of occurrences?" His gaze is flatly directed toward the mayor.

Ahoke nods. "Yeah, she does." Said in just as much seriousness. She is still scowling at the mayor and the well dressed people when Sen-Jyu speaks out. "Sh*t," she mutters as all eyes turn towards them.

The Harvester grins as everyone turns at Sen-Jyu's voice, and allows the cowl to fall back to his shoulders. He gives a cheerful enough wave.

The mayor falters as Sen-Jyu interrupts, and then recovers himself. "Well, that's a mighty generous offer, sir, and we'd certainly appreciate it if you think there's anything you can do. Why don't you stop by my office tomorrow and we can discuss it."

The crowd buzzes with conversation about these strange newcomers: "What are those funny swords?" "Is that a dwarf? Why is she dressed like that?" "Isn't it a little late for harvest season?"

"If you don't mind," Sen-Jyu says, "I think it would be a consolation to everyone here if we spoke about it tonight. Sooner, rather than later." He smiles sheepishly, as if suddenly realizing that he is a shy person at heart. "Please?"

"Well...all right," says the mayor. "We can talk after the meeting, but there /are/ a few more things to be addressed, such as-"

"What about the animals?" interrupts a man clad in rough homespun. "Mah chickens won't lay and mah cows ain't givin' no milk."

Ahoke watches with amusement as the mayor has to deal with a not so docile crowd.

Sen-Jyu looks on the man who has spoken of his cows and chickens, committing the face to memory.

The Harvester relaxes slightly, his scythe at his back jutting out to either side. He rocks slightly, back and forth, on his heels. He studies each face turned towards him.

Mayor Waterman nods. "Yes, we're aware of the problem with the animals, and we believe that they are getting headaches, too. That's one of the things that we're going to ask the druids about when they finally get here in a few days. Now, as for the-"

"Taxes!" wheezes an old man. "I was overcharged by three silver last year!"

"-/mines/," says Waterman firmly.

Ahoke murmurs, just loud enough for those nearest her to hear, "Well, I can tell what is important to /him./"

The Harvester continues rocking, and says almost to himself in a singsong voice, "Copperdeath, Copperdeath, Copperdeath...." A look to Ahoke, "What, a little money and power that he fears losing when his neighbors revolt?"

One of the crowd chuckles at Ahoke's comment. "Old Druther's been on about those taxes for five years. Gone a bit senile, he has."

"There's no reason to be scared to go into the mines." The mayor waves his mallet to underscore the point. "Master Krekket here has guaranteed that the tunnels are safe, and what more assurances do you need? There is no reason to suspect that the mines are unsafe, and it's the town's job to make sure that we are able to produce as much copper this month as we did last month - headaches or no. Now, are there any /other/ concerns or matters that need to be dealt with?"

The old man's plaintive call of "taxes!" is all but drowned out by the shouts of the crowd.

Sen-Jyu looks at his companions, "Krekket -- does that name sound familiar?"

Ahoke glances sidelong at Harvester, starts to reply, but stops when the shouts of the crowd get to be too loud for conversation.

The Harvester says, "Yah... he's the gent up there with the lady."

"Then who is the lady...?" Sen-Jyu asks of the Harvester.

Ahoke says, "Phillippa Krekket. His wife."

The Harvester nods to Ahoke, "Yep. The lady standing with the gent."

Sen-Jyu nods once. "Must not have been paying attention," he murmurs to himself, and confirms it with a sharp nod before returning to listen to the mayor and the crowd.

Up on the podium, Waterman bravely attempts to deflect the minutia of small-town personal politics.

The Harvester continues to rock a bit, still listening and watching. A little smile on his face.

Ahoke scowls up at the mayor. "If he was one of the People," she says, "He would be out there leading the force to find the missing children, slaying anyone who stood in his way."  She does not say this overly loud.

Sen-Jyu agrees with a hum. "He is extremely deft with excuses."

The Harvester murmurs, "The fearful usually are, tis true."

Taking a moment of thought, Sen-Jyu adds, "Hopefully, his heart will be in the right place."

The Harvester turns to look at Sen-Jyu now, "How do you mean?"

Ahoke glances at Sen-Jyu then, and shakes her head. She doesn't believe that the mayor's heart is in the right place, that much is obvious.

"When we speak to him," answers Sen-Jyu. "We will find his heart to be aligned for the good of his people, or..." The alternative is an obvious one, and so goes unstated.

The Harvester grunts softly. "Well, we shall see what we see when we see, won't we?"

Ahoke's eyes widen at Sen-Jyu. "I didn't think that you, of all people, would suggest we do that."

Sen-Jyu blinks at Ahoke's comment, "Do what?" he says, shrinking somewhat from her as if her words were an accusation.

Ahoke smiles broadly, and then shakes her head. "Nothing."

The Harvester looks around, then coughs. "Excuse me," he says in a strangled voice, and disappears around the side of a nearby building.

Appearing rather nervous now, Sen-Jyu looks at Ahoke for a prolonged moment, then turns as the Harvester abruptly leaves the pair. He turns to face Ahoke, wondering if the Harvester knows something about their diminutive companion that he himself does not.

Ahoke grumbles, looking back at the mayor. "This is what they call a leader? Someone who puts profits before the welfare of his people? I think I'm going to be sick."

"One can only wonder if he was chosen by them, or for them," Sen-Jyu murmurs, though he keeps these spoken thoughts between himself and Ahoke.

The Harvester returns after a moment, looking slightly more composed. "Sorry." Ahem. "Had something in my throat..."

Sen-Jyu peers at Harvester. "Was it a crystal?"

Eventually, most of the complaints are dealt with, or more likely set aside until the proper time and place for dealing with them - including old Druther's. As the grumbling crowd begins to filter away, Waterman leans back on the bell tower and mops his face with a handkerchief. Lucius Krekket steps forward to shake his hand and offer his thanks, and then the Mayor of Bellhold climbs down from the platform, glancing in your direction.

The Harvester shakes his head, a little smile apparent, "No, no.... nothing like that." He looks directly at the mayor as the meeting adjourns.

Ahoke refrains from waving her great club at the mayor in greeting, and settles for watching him.

Sen-Jyu starts to walk forward, sifting through the dispersing people, smiling at those he passes by, until he reaches the mayor's proximity.

Ahoke mmphs, and follows her companion through the crowd.

The Harvester gives a careless little shrug and looks at Ahoke before following Sen-Jyu. His hands remain at his back holding the scythe.

The mayor - and the Krekkets - await your approach, and the round man smiles nervously, thrusting out a hand in greeting. "Welcome to Bellhold," he says. "I'm Hob Waterman, the mayor, and this is Lucius Krekket - owner of the Krekket Foundry and the mine - and his wife Phillippa."

The Harvester bobs his head to each, "Hello, and hello, and hello..."

Ahoke lets one nod to the group of them suffice. "I'm Ahoke," she informs them.

Accepting the hand of Hob and a nod given to each of the three as they are introduced, Sen-Jyu smiles to the small gathering. "Sen-Jyu, of over the mountains."

"Oh! Then you've come a long way," says Waterman. "I'm a native myself, but Phillippa is all the way from Tanzerille. Why don't we all go to my office, where we can sit down and have a talk."

"Mmmm," says Sen-Jyu, looking to the ground again, perhaps in the vain hope that cue cards for dialogue options might have fallen at his feet. When the mayor speaks up, Sen-Jyu looks up, relieved. "I think that would be best, yes."

The Harvester gives another nod and an accomodating smile, "Why certainly, certainly...." He follows when the mayor leads off.

Ahoke shrugs, and follows the group in silence.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 18, 2002)

The mayor's office is a few blocks away, and just outside, Lucius and Phillippa take their leave of you. The mayor leads you into the building - a combination city hall and courthouse, but largely deserted at this time of night - and sits down at his desk.

"First, I'd like to thank you for volunteering to help us," he says. "Few people would be so kind - most would just flee to a different town."

Ahoke shrugs, and says gruffly, "Oh, that's alright. I haven't been able to fight enemies for many weeks, ever since those orcs tried to ambush me... I look forward to the opportunity to do it again."

Mayor Waterman looks aghast. "Orcs? I'm sure we don't have those around here." He swallows. "I hope."

The Harvester laughs softly. "It's no matter, Mayor Waterman... Why run in fear, when the Master is ever near?" He shrugs. 'Besides, we've nowhere else to go at the moment, and I've got business to conduct later..."

For some reason, the Mayor looks faintly disturbed at the Harvester's words, his eyes falling on the holy symbol that rests around the cleric's neck. "I...I see. Well, if there is anything that I can do to, ah, to help speed you on your w...er, your search, please, tell me."

Ahoke grins at the mayor. "Even if there were, we would ensure that the streets would run red with their blood. Don't worry yourself about it." She changes the subject abruptly. "Where did the heroes go to look for the children?"

The Harvester notices the mayor's attention on his holy symbol and allows it to spin hypnotically, from grinning skull face to the engraved tree spreading its limbs across.

"I'm not certain," the mayor admits. "I imagine that they searched the area where the children went missing from - the woods, down by the river - but nobody knows where they went from there, and nobody else has found anything."

Bowing in response, Sen-Jyu replies after some thought, "If... if I may speak in earnest." His mind is already made up, however, so whatever the Mayor's hopes for tact, Sen-Jyu has overriden them.

"You are the mayor of a people plagued by a number of horrific events. Even one of these would be enough to question a malignance in your midst, but with so many, it seems a certainty. I spoke up because... I cannot abide despair, and it is a poison spreading through this town." Sen-Jyu's honest expression is enough to convey his sincerity.

"But to help your people, we will also need your help... your trust and your forthrightness."

The Harvester remains quiet, allowing Sen-Jyu to act as Voice for the trio.

Mayor Waterman looks a bit confused. "Well...of course you may have it."

Ahoke hmms. "So did the children frequently play together? The ones that disappeared?"

Mayor Waterman looks doubtful. "They were only a few years apart...but they didn't all disappear at the same time."

Sen-Jyu waits for the mayor to answer Ahoke's question before beginning his own.

The Harvester looks around the office, then helps himself to a chair. He sits casually while listening to his companions grill the mayor.

Sen-Jyu draws a deep breath, and inquires, "Let me ask these questions of you altogether, so maybe you can understand what it is that I seek: what could have caused the townsfolk to believe the mines to be dangerous or affiliated with the troubles that have been afflicting them, and what assurances and measures have the Krekkets made to disprove this belief?"

Mayor Waterman shakes his head. "The people are desperate. They're looking for something - anything - to explain what's going on. A few of them have heard Cobble's rantings, a few of them have had dreams with the mine in them, and, well..." He shrugs, and sighs. "The Krekkets are concerned because the mines aren't just their livelihood - they're the entire town's. Without the copper and the bells, we have nothing."

Ahoke frowns. "Are people worried enough that they aren't going to the mines every day?"

"Some of them," Waterman admits to the dwarf. "And all the missed sleep hasn't done anything for the production either." Looking to the Harvester, he sighs. "Yes, you're right - and it /is/ troubling. But," he brightens. "Utrish has never been wrong before, and she told Phillippa that all of that would stop within the week. So really, it's the children I'm most worried about."

The Harvester murmurs, his deep voice resonating throughout the small room, "And yet, the town is in ill health. Whatever the reason, it is highly unusual, improbable and unlikely that each and every person in the village would suffer from a plague of nightmares and headaches..."

Ahoke says, "Would it be possible for us to meet this Utrish?"

The Harvester laughs aloud, "The end of this may prove to be a VERY bad thing, mayor.... Depending on your views, of course."

Mayor Waterman looks concerned at the Harvester's words, but chooses to answer Ahoke instead. "I imagine so. She lives to the south of town, off of the foundry road."

Ahoke nods. "I imagine that we should pay her a visit in the morning."

"We may need more than that," says Sen-Jyu. "For example, if despite the assurances of the Krekkets our investigations should lead to the mines, I would like your pledge to help us gain the support of the Krekkets in exploring the mines freely."

"Well...I'm sure that they'd have no problem with that. But really, the children were nowhere near Krekket's mines when they vanished - and if they were in them now, they'd have been found," says Waterman.

Sen-Jyu nods in agreement, "But while your concerns for the children are appreciated, it still seems that there is much more at work here than simply their disappearance. I am asking only for utmost cooperation when it is necessary."

The Harvester uncrosses and recrosses his legs, slowly. "Never say never..." A shrug. "Where _were_ they when they disappeared?"

"The children were in the woods, down by the river - as I said," snaps Waterman. He appears to be a little testy at having to repeat himself, but his expression clears again. "I'm sorry," he says, sitting back. "/Everyone/ in town is having a hard time sleeping, including me."

"I think you," Sen-Jyu nods to the Harvester, "were interested in seeing Cobble, and I was interested in the bell-tower. Could we be given access to them? Accompanied, of course."

The Harvester allows his brows to rise with amusement. A nod, then, to Sen-Jyu.

Mayor Waterman nods. "I don't see why not..." He pulls a paper from his desk and scribbles a quick note, which he hands to the Harvester. "Give that to Capain Haldik, or whoever is on duty at the guardhouse." To Sen-Jyu, he says, "I could show you the tower now, if you like."

The Harvester accepts the paper and gives it a cursory glance before nodding once.

Ahoke nods once, and then stands up. "I'm going to head out now. I'll meet the two of you back at the inn later."

Sen-Jyu shakes his head with a smile, holding up one hand in polite deference. "No, that is fine -- I would rather make sure that you at least can make the attempt at sleep rather than follow our whims all night. I speak of the coming days, Mayor; my curiosity is sparked by a journal that we had been permitted to read at the Bell and Clapper. I think that the bell has something to do with some of the odd occurrences."

The Harvester rises, also, "See you at the inn later, Kay."

Ahoke waves, nods once to the Mayor, and then leaves.

Mayor Waterman looks relieved that the strange ones seem to be going, and he's left with the (relatively) normal Sen-Jyu.


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## Caliber (Oct 18, 2002)

Sounds like its going great Dr!

I'm always interested in what ways players will go in an adventure (seeing as mine never, EVER, go the way I expected them to.)

Is everything going as you had expected?


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## drnuncheon (Oct 18, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Sounds like its going great Dr!
> 
> I'm always interested in what ways players will go in an adventure (seeing as mine never, EVER, go the way I expected them to.)
> 
> Is everything going as you had expected? *




Ask me that again when we've finished OSM - there are a couple of things I could mention but they'd be spoilers, and I know my players read this too...

J


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## Harvester (Oct 18, 2002)

drnuncheon said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Ask me that again when we've finished OSM - there are a couple of things I could mention but they'd be spoilers, and I know my players read this too...
> 
> J *




No we don't!!!

H.


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## Caliber (Oct 19, 2002)

drnuncheon said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Ask me that again when we've finished OSM - there are a couple of things I could mention but they'd be spoilers, and I know my players read this too...*




I forgot you were still mid-module. I'll remember to ask when you're finished.  



> _Originally posted by Harvester_*
> 
> No we don't!!!*




Shhh ... I'm working on it okay?


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## drnuncheon (Oct 19, 2002)

As The Harvester and Ahoke depart on their separate errands, the Mayor slumps back in his chair for a moment - looking far more frail and exhausted than before. He shakes his head sadly, and says, almost to himself, "I hope I'm doing the right thing." Looking up to Sen-Jyu, he asks plaintively, "Your companions are reliable? They'll find the children?"

"They are," Sen-Jyu confirms without hesitation. "One cannot camp in dangerous territory with two others over the course of weeks without being quite certain of their reliability." He shrugs it off, and continues, "You should know -- our introduction to Bellhold was given by Othic, the farmer outside of town. We had captured two of his stray horses for him and discovered some of the oddities of the area through his stories. However, upon waking in the morning, we discovered him murdered. We found the killers..." He suspires rather heavily, eyes falling to the table.

"By gods," the mayor breathes. "Poor Othic - what happened to him? What did you do to the killers?"

Sen-Jyu says, "As strange as it must seem -- certainly, it did to us -- the killers were the horses that we had captured the day before. Only... changed. Horrifically." Sen-Jyu looks up and meets the Mayor's eyes. "They seemed to be as oni -- demons -- and their gaze had me hypnotized when I discovered the blood on their mouths and hooves from where they had bitten and trampled good Othic. If not for my companions, I would have met Othic's fate. Ahoke had revealed some insight to this: she had had a dream while she slept, describing what must have been the vision from Othic's eyes as the pair killed him. What is occurring in this town is obviously supernatural and malicious." He leans forward to make a stern point. "Such things will not go away with time. I do not expect you to tell your townsfolk all this information at once, but neither would I conceal it. If we should fail, then it is best that you are forewarned." Sen-Jyu smiles craftily, leaning back. "I have no intention of failing.""

Mayor Waterman's face is pale, as if the very thought had drained him of blood. "I...I see. But Utrish..." He shakes his head as if to clear it, clutching to his optimism. "She has never been wrong before..." His voice trails off and his eyes close as he gathers his strength. Then he opens them and abruptly stands. "Well, you wanted to see the bell, and the light is failing - I suppose we'd best get to it."

"Mmmm," agrees Sen-Jyu, as he rises from his chair. "What was it that Utrish said, exactly? What were her precise words?"

Mayor Waterman opens the door, and considers the question for a moment. "Well...Phillippa is the one who actually spoke with her. But she said that 'the bad dreams and the headaches would definitely stop within a week'."

Nodding as he prepares to follow, Sen-Jyu adds after a moment or two, "That could be an omen for ill as well." A hand lightly touches Waterman's shoulder, as Sen-Jyu murmurs, "Do not draw your strength, your optimism, from words or assurances. Draw them from deeds and actions. When you feel powerless, you are powerless, and it is worn like a mask, for all to see." Sen-Jyu's hand leaves the Mayor, but his eyes do not.

Mayor Waterman looks away, unable to meet Sen-Jyu's gaze. "I have to take hope somewhere," he says, quietly. "I've been mayor of this town for fifteen years, and nothing like this has ever happened before. It seems as if everything has gone wrong at once, and there is nothing I can do about it. Headaches, nightmares - I should be dealing with Druther's taxes, not that sort of thing." Ashamed, he steps out into the hall, and starts heading out of the building.

Sen-Jyu laughs a little at the Mayor's comment. "There is your strength," he says, following the mayor from the hall, allowing him to lock it before they begin walking for the bell tower. "Your humor, your compassion. Visit amongst your people. Reassure them. They chose you, yes? That was for a reason." His feet make little sound as he trails after the Mayor, and his thin frame trails Waterman's like a shadow.

The walk to the bell tower is silent, and nearly deserted - it seems that few people wish to be out and about at this time of night. Shadows of clouds pass over the bloody moon, and the chill of the onrushing winter bites at you through your clothing.

Waterman leads you to the door set in the base of the tower - it opens easily, revealing a walled staircase to your right, and ahead a small room that rises into darkness. Hanging down in the center of the room are a pair of hempen ropes, two inches thick. Enormous counterweights hang from their bases.

Scanning the inside and marvelling at the construction, Sen-Jyu steps into the tower, jaw lax as he stares up the long, open inside of the tower.

"Is it safe to climb to the belfry?" asks Sen-Jyu, looking up the dark staircase.

"Of course," says the Mayor. "There's no reason for anyone to ring the bell tonight." He turns to the right, and begins to ascend the wooden staircase. "It's quite a ways up, and you'll miss the view at this hour, but the Wyrmcall is still quite impressive."

Sen-Jyu catches the Mayor on the shoulder. "Just in case," he asks, "allow me?" One nod indicates the stairwell. "... I don't know if you've been here while the bell has been ringing, but how well does this passage echo its sound?"

"Oh, quite well - although the platform muffles it a bit. Nobody's died from /ringing/ the bell..." Waterman smiles, and lets Sen-Jyu go first.

"Mmm," says Sen-Jyu, "but they weren't in the stairwell at the time." Looking up the rounding corridor, Sen-Jyu scowls for a time, then sighs. "Do you have a candle around?"

Mayor Waterman disappears into the room with the ropes, and emerges a moment later with a lantern. Opening it, he fusses with flint and steel for a moment before the flame blossoms into light. Wordlessly, he passes it up to the swordsman.

Sen-Jyu shakes his head, warding the offer of the lantern away. "Not a lamp. A candle. Something with wax. I can see perfectly well. Unfortunately, I can also _hear_ perfectly well."

"Oh." The mayor looks a bit disappointed, then shakes his head. "No, nothing here. I suppose we could go back to my office."

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother," Sen-Jyu says softly. "I think safety should come as a first practice. I'll wait here for your return."

Mayor Waterman looks rather unsure, but moves off to get the candle.

In the meantime, Sen-Jyu busies himself -- first, he investigates the storage room from where the Mayor had procured the lamp, blowing out the wick and replacing it. He looks about the storage room for anything unusual, especially hiding places. Next, he advances up the stairwell about half the height of the tower, taking the steps carefully and with some scrutiny as he goes. All this he does as silently and stealthily as possible.

The 'storage room' is merely a shelf on the wall of the otherwise bare room with the bell-ropes. Little else is there - a hammer, a few nails - and noplace to hide.

Creeping up the staircase, you are met with a second door - and this one, unlike its sibling at the base of the tower, is locked.

Disappointed with the results of his intended cleverness, Sen-Jyu sulks back down to the bottom of the staircase, sitting down and waiting.

A few minutes later, the mayor returns, puffing and bearing a wax candle. "Sorry it took so long," he said. "All I could find were tallow at first."

"... that's perfectly all right," replies Sen-Jyu. He acquires the lamp once more, lights it, then lights the candle from the lamp's wick. He waits for the candle's flame to become steady before tilting it, allowing the molten wax to dribble into his cupped palm. Once enough of it has been accumulated to form a small bead, he sets the candle right, waiting for the wax to cool and shaping it into a small earplug. He repeats, alternating his palms so he doesn't burn himself too badly.

Sen-Jyu hands two to the mayor. "Just in case, you understand. Not that it'll help much if we're in the tower should the bell be rung, but it should help while we move up and down the stairs." He places his share in.

Mayor Waterman chuckles a bit nervously. "Really, nobody's going to ring the bell - it hadn't been rung in...well, years, before today."  Nevertheless, he dons the earplugs.

Sen-Jyu tilts his head at the mayor's mouth moving, but shrugs and moves up to the doorway, stepping aside to allow the mayor to unlock it.

Mayor Waterman pushes past Sen-Jyu, one hand feeling around on the doorjamb. With a slightly sheepish look, he uses the key he finds there to unlock the door, then carefully replaces it.

Sen-Jyu sniffs once at the revelation of the key, and sighs, hoping that the Mayor doesn't catch the self-disparaging look that is drawn on his face. Opening the door, he walks up the stairway, eyes riveted to the steps ten feet before him as he goes.

The staircase winds around the inside of the tower - once, twice, thrice. Now, some forty feet above where you started, the staircase emerges onto the top of the belltower - little more than a roof supported by four pillars, and (of course) the framework for supporting the massive Wyrmcall. The bell-ropes pass down through a large hole on the floor, descending into the darkness below.

Tentatively, Sen-Jyu looks about the tower, holding the Mayor back with a gesture as he seeks out the nooks where danger could possibly lie. He also notes how large the hole through which the bell-ropes pass is, and how much clearance there is between the Wyrmcall and the floor.

The top of the tower is little more than a 5' wide platform that skirts the edge of the hole - a hole that is roughly 10' across. At the corners are the pillars for the roof - the 'walls' are great open spaces to let the tolling of the Wyrmcall sound out across the town loud (very loud) and clear.

The great bell is nearly as large as the hole it hangs above, and its bottom lip rests a foot or so above the wooden platform - enough space that a dedicated person could perhaps climb through, if they were somehow able to get up to it in the first place.

Sen-Jyu begins to investigate the bell itself, peering down the hole as best he can to see the base of the tower's inside. As he walks about the perimeter of the bell, looking over the town and surrounding countryside, he occasionally checks the hole again. Once he's walked the perimeter once, he begins to examine the bell.

The hole stubbornly refuses to reveal any secrets. The bell hangs above it, solid and silent - a masterpiece of polished brass. Its surface bears reliefs of the very thing it was cast to warn of: a fierce dragon, soaring through the sky, and below - carved in exquisite detail - the town of Bellhold. Looking from bell to countryside, you see that the bell was designed in such a way that it seems to reflect the town around it - although there are differences born of decades of change to the town, of course.

Sen-Jyu's perimiter walk is interrupted by the fact that the walkway does not go all the way around - it ends where the stairs come up from the lower floor.

One hand runs over the relief on the bell's surface, examining it for details, perhaps of buildings that once stood and stand no longer, or buildings that appear to have been of extraordinary import - but nothing stands out.

Sen-Jyu sits down near the inner hole, gesturing to the Mayor to come closer, and clamping both his hands on his own ankles, looking at the Mayor questioningly. He points at himself, then the lip of the bell.

Mayor Waterman, confused, kneels down and grasps Sen-Jyu's ankles.

Sen-Jyu lies back, taking hold of the lip of the bell, and pulling himself closer to the edge. He doesn't do so without a cautious look over his shoulder toward the ground below, his eyes following the lengths of the ropes.

The dim moonlight that filters down reveals nothing at the base of the tower - and even less inside the bell. Perhaps there are some cobwebs, some dust - it must be difficult to clean - but nothing else: just the great arc of the bell, and the clapper hanging in the center, the weight as large as your head.

A minute is spent in assuring himself that nothing lies on the inside of the bell before pulling himself back from the edge. He frowns as he stands once more, looking at the supports that hold the bell in place for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and pointing to the stairwell once more. He proceeds down it, less careful than before, and intermingled relief and disappointment reside in his eyes.

Mayor Waterman follows dutifully, locking the stairwell door behind you. At the base of the tower, he pulls the waxen plugs from his ears with a concerned look. "Do you think there is something wrong with the bell?" he asks, when Sen-Jyu has done the same.

"Hard to say," says Sen-Jyu, tucking the wax earplugs into his pocket. "I am no magician, but something that Ahoke had noticed earlier had me wondering. Perhaps it was nothing, but it didn't hurt to investigate." Grinning, Sen-Jyu cleans up what mess he's made with the candle and lantern, then turns to face the Mayor. "You've been a great help. When dawn comes, I'll go to the woods by the river and see what we can find there."

Mayor Waterman grabs your hand and pumps it vigorously. "Thank you."

Accepting the hand, Sen-Jyu nods his own thanks in return. "I will see that you hear of what we find as soon as we can."


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## drnuncheon (Oct 20, 2002)

The Harvester passes through the streets in the gathering gloom, nodding a greeting to those few people willing and able to look his way. A low whistle issues from beneath the hood as he walsk - something of a funeral dirge. He stops before a building and smiles to himself, and tries the door.

Outside, the icy wind claws at your cowl and cloak, whipping them against your back and legs as it pushes you onward. The last few leaves of the season dance down the street past you and vanish into the night.

The door opens, revealing a whitewashed space where an oil lamp does its best to banish the gathering gloom. It is not altogether successful. Sitting in a chair, behind a table, is a young man - presumably one of the guard - and in one of the cells that form the eastern part of the room, Cobble sits on a bunk, mumbling disconsolately to himself.

The Harvester stands within the doorway for a moment, framed by the darkness without, his scythe dully reflecting the light within. He pauses for dramatic effect, and intones, once he has the guards attention, "I have come...." A thin hand rises to point a finger towards the guard, "...for Cobble."

The legs of the chair slam forward into the floor of the room as the young guard scrambles to his feet. "I...uh...uh...I..." He takes a deep breath and reaches bravely for the club at his side, and you realize that he's about to scream for backup.

The Harvester lowers the hood quickly, his face a mix of laughter and concern, "Wait, wait, wait... Sorry, I honestly don't know what gets into me sometimes." He enters peaceably enough and closes the door with his foot. The scythe hangs loosely in his hand at his side. "Sorry about that, chum. lemme buy you a drink as a peace offering, eh?" He nudges a 'skin at his side.

The guard lets out a breath and calms down. "Oh...I thought - well, never mind. But I can't drink right now, I'm on duty."

The Harvester grins. "S'alright. After you get off then." He approaches the boy, pulling out the paper. "I've got permission from the mayor to have a chat with old Cobble there..."

Von Morris takes the note and looks at it. "Oh...I see. Well, that's certainly all right..." He pulls an extra chair over from the window and then sets it by the bars of the cell for you. The cell being as tiny as it is, this places you right next to the mumbling man.

The Harvester moves towards the chair after leaning his scythe against the table. He sits, looking at Cobble for a moment, then back to Von Morris. "He may speak more freely if we're alone..."

"...alone, yes that's right...alone in the dark...I can feel it all around me, the dark, that's where he is..."

The guard sighs, getting up again. "I'll be outside if you need me, then." The door opens, and he is gone.

The Harvester turns the chair so that it faces Cobble, his face obscured by shadow. "Hello, Cobble."

Cobble looks up from his intense scrutiny of the floor, his unwashed hair falling in front of his face. "He tells me he misses me," he whispers. "But I don't miss him..."

The Harvester watches Cobble's face intently, studying its every line and crevice, "Tell me about him, Cobble."

"He's going to bury us all and swallow us. He was swallowed too. I painted him...it was the only way I could show it so I painted him....but he's still looking for me and I won't go back to the mine, he'll find me there, I won't go back...I won't..."

The Harvester listens quietly, and speaks in low, soft, deep tones, "I will stop him, Cobble, if you can tell me of him.... All who have come fear my Lord... All gaze upon his countenance in the end... Have no fear, but tell me of this devourer..."

Cobble looks up at you, silent for the first time since you've seen him. His lips quiver, and almost noiselessly he speaks.

"...he's getting louder..."

The Harvester murmurs soothingly, taking another tack, "Is he the one who came fifty years ago, and enslaved the town?"

"Yes!" says Cobble, and then immediately contradicts himself: "No...no...nobody else can hear him but me but he's getting louder and soon everyone will be able to hear him." His eyes beg you to understand as he climbs off of the bunk and reaches through the bars to you. "Can you hear him? Have you heard him yet?"

The Harvester does not shy away from Cobble's grasp, but does not allow himself to be pulled forward, either. He doesn't answer the question yet, but asks another of his own, "Did he call the children? Is he responsible for their disappearances?"

Cobble's hands fold into the Harvester's cloak, gripping with the strength of a madman. His voice is a desperate hiss as he tells you, "Not the children. Not the children. Everyone! Me. You. Trapped in his belly as it rots." His eyes glow with intensity, as he pushes his face up to the bars, pressing through them. You can smell the stink of his breath as he studies your face. "You haven't heard him yet," he tells you.

"But you will."

Then, in an instant, he releases you, flinging himself backwards into a trembling ball on the bunk, clutching the pillow over his head and shivering.

The Harvester doesn't move for a long time now, and just sits watching Cobble. Finally he speaks a single word. Softly. "Copperdeath." And watches for a reaction.

Cobble freezes for an instant, even under his pillow, as the Harvester speaks that name - and then the pillow is flying at the bars, Cobble hurtling after it, slamming into the iron rods, his arms flailing and reaching through, clawing at whatever is in reach - all the while screaming: "CHOTH! CHOTH!"

The Harvester jerks back in his chair, away from the scrabbling hands. He goes over with a clatter and begins to rise, watching Cobble calmly all the while.

The door flings open and the young guardsman leaps into the room. "Here! What's going on?"

Cobble continues to batter himself against the bars, blood running down his face, as if he would beat through them by main force - still clawing the air, reaching for the Harvester. "CHOTH!" he screams, his voice already going hoars. "CHOTH!"

And then, it is as if a string is cut: abruptly he sinks, sliding down the smooth metal to kneel in a crumpled heap. A single sob racks his form. "I won't go back..." he says plaintively. "I won't."

The Harvester ignores Von Morris, giving him only a silencing wave as he slams his way into the building, and instead approaches Cobble once the crazed man calms. He kneels and speaks softly. "Then don't, Cobble.... Seek release, or not... The choice is yours, and yours alone..." The whispers continue but briefly, as he senses the young guardsman moving closer. "Or wait and help me defeat 'him'... Seek the salvation of my Lord as reward or promise... He greets you... He greets everyone, in the end... Even this thing that calls to you..."

Cobble looks up, his hair matted with the blood that flows from his forehead and cheekbone. His expression changes - no longer is there fear, or anger, but rather...pity. The filthy man shakes his head, slowly, sadly, tears mingling with the gore. He gently reaches a hand out, to stroke the Harvester's face, trailing down to touch the skull pendant.

"He has already met your Lord."


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## Caliber (Oct 21, 2002)

Very cool!

I've never considered using wax from a candle as ear plugs. Very ingenious of Sen-Jyu.

Very creepy with the Harvester and Cobble. Very creepy indeed.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 21, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Very cool!
> 
> I've never considered using wax from a candle as ear plugs. Very ingenious of Sen-Jyu.*




Yes, it was - I almost felt guilty that the bell didn't get rung...

J


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## Paka (Oct 23, 2002)

Hey Doctor,

After a long vacation from forums, it is nice to see a friendly familiar face still here.  Can't wait to go back and read your new Story Hours over.

Paka


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## drnuncheon (Oct 24, 2002)

The road to Utrish's cottage leaves the village far behind, and it would take a normal dwarf quite a long time to travel down the dust-caked path to her destination - but, then, Ahoke is no ordinary dwarf. While her legs may be short, her energy is boundless, and the combination eats up the mile-long walk in short order.

The cottage squats sullenly ahead, half hidden beneath sickly trees that cling feebly to their few remaining leaves. A grey streak of a cat dashes across the path, embarking upon some mission known only to its feline mind, and Ahoke can see the occasional glint of moonlight from other eyes in the gloom.

Coming closer, the cottage proves itself to be inhabited by a mighty worker of magic indeed: the outer walls are covered in strange sigils and charms unfamiliar to the dwarf: chalk runes on the walls, lumps of fur and feathers dangling before the windows, and paint daubed on in hex-marks above the door.

From somewhere there is a faint bang, as of a window shutter being blown shut.

Ahoke grumbles as she hikes out the mile. "The things that I do for people that I don't even know," she mutters to herself. After striding a few more yards, she adds, "The things that I do for Harvester and Sen-Jyu for that matter... and for nothing too." Her words, bitter though they are, lack any true anger.

Quickly enough, she comes upon the cottage. After pausing and looking at the strange runes for a moment, she shrugs, and then moves up to the cottage's front door. She draws back her fist, and knocks firmly on the door three times.

 The cottage sits impassively, unmoved by the impact of dwarven fist - as is its presumed occupant, apparently, for there is no answer.

Ahoke frowns at the door, and then tries to open it.

The door swings open easily, revealing the interior of the single-room cottage. Eyes flash in the gloom as their feline owners prowl about the place - easily a dozen or more. One arches its back at Ahoke's presence, hissing a warning, while another sits beside the back door and emits a piteous yowl.

The house is not quite ransacked, but mussed - as if someone had been rapidly searching, or perhaps packing. Whoever it was can't have been gone long: a cup of tea, still faintly steaming, sits on the table, and the embers of the fire continue to glow.

Ahoke frowns at the cats. "Oh, hush," she says to them. She steps back out of the cottage, closing the door behind her. And then starts searching around in the yard for traces of where the former occupant may have gone.

 The hard, caked ground surrounding the cottage does nothing to reveal the presence or passage of anyone - but as Ahoke's eyes flicker over the treeline, a movement in the shadows catches her attention. Too big to be one of the cats...

Ahoke swivels her head to look at the movement in the shadows, and then runs at the woods with a speed that one does not associate with a dwarf. She does approach, however, with the subtlety that one would associate with a dwarf. Although she is not brandishing either great club or stone axe, both are readily accessible.

There is a sound of indrawn breath, and the shape begins to hustle away at top speed - which, sadly for it, is only about half that of the approaching miniature juggernaut. Scrub brush and brittle brambles give way before Ahoke's charge, the thorns going unheeded by the barbaric dwarf as she bursts through directly behind the stooped form of an old woman, leaning heavily on a crooked staff, and with a sack slung over her shoulder as she hobbles away from the cottage.

The old woman turns as Ahoke breaks through the plant life, and her wizened features freeze in momentary panic before she raises her staff. "Halt, dwarf!" she quavers. "Or all manner of curses be visited upon ye!"

Ahoke does slow to a halt, and grins at the old woman. "I don't mean you harm," she says. "No need to run away from me. It's not as if I'm from the /South/," she says, as if this should be reassuring.

Ahoke can see the old woman's eyes widen a bit more as she interposes the staff between them. "From the North, across the Shoulders of Samrahn," she says, standing as if rooted to the ground by whatever oracular force flows through her. "With one who serves those who are gone, and one who does not understand what it is that he serves. You will not find what you seek in Bellhold, chieftain's daughter, nor will you find it in the Steeple. Turn east, to Blasingdell." She staggers, leaning heavily on the staff, and looks up at Ahoke fearfully. Apparently the dwarf's reassurances meant little to her.

Ahoke's eyes narrow to dangerous little slits, and she folds her arms across her chest. "Then why are you so frightened of me," she growls to the old woman. "And besides. I came to talk to you about something that /does/ affect the area. The people that live here."

Utrish looks away. "The dreams will end within the week," she mutters. "I can do nothing more, say nothing more. Already some begin to mutter that I caused them, and it will be my death if I remain here."

Ahoke stares at the old woman unflinchingly. "Why can't you say anything more? Because you don't know? Or because you don't want to? I don't think you caused them, but if you know what did and aren't doing anything, then you deserve that death."

"I did not cause them," the old woman says. "Nor do I know what does." She shudders, even though the biting wind has lapsed.

"But I fear it."

Ahoke sighs then, nodding. "As do I, wise woman. As do I. What was the prophecy that you gave concerning the headaches? I didn't hear about it until the mayor was telling the entire town."

The wizened woman's gaze turns to Ahoke once again. "The dreams will end within the week. There, I have said it three times now - first to Phillippa and twice to you - and what I speak three times is true." Slowly her head droops, to study the leaves at her feet. She shifts the sack on her shoulder, and a black cat detaches itself from the darkness to twine about her legs. "If I stay here I will die," she repeats wearily. "Do not make me ask again."

Ahoke hmmphs. "Asking you people to elaborate is like trying to milk a he-goat. If you fear death so much, then go. I do not plan on clubbing you to death, for your cowardice."

Utrish nods, and turns - but then slowly turns back. "Speaking the future is a dangerous business," she states. "For too much knowledge is as deadly as too little. I will not be back this way until the dreams are gone."

Ahoke nods. "Good travels. Hopefully the death that you seek to avoid is not waiting for you in the trees." She turns, then, and starts to tramp her way back through the brambles, towards the witch's cottage, and ultimately, to the road.


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## Caliber (Oct 25, 2002)

Really good descriptions of the cottage and the area.

I particularly liked the references to Dwarven Barbarian speed.


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## Piratecat (Oct 25, 2002)

One of the reasons I like reading this so much is that it reminds me how much a good DM and group can improve a module.  

Huzzah for you guys!


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## Piratecat (Oct 25, 2002)

drnuncheon said:
			
		

> *The Harvester wonders how long til the twilight bell.
> <OOC> Tokket says, "It's midmorning, so...a while."
> <OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Great! In the meantime, let's go clean giant rats out of the basement of the busty woman's tavern!"
> (Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance joke)
> *




In OSM 2, you'll meet an annoying ex-thief who will conveniently forget to tell you about the extremely handy secret entrance, just because... well, because he's a jerk.   Every female NPC will jiggle and do awkward gestures with their hands.  Oh, and I'm adding uneven cut scenes and a beholder too damn big to fit through any doors.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 25, 2002)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> *One of the reasons I like reading this so much is that it reminds me how much a good DM and group can improve a module.*




Hey, it didn't need much work, and I got to scour half a continent for my players, so that was kind of an advantage. 

Now, if I can just make it to BisbeeCon...

J


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## drnuncheon (Oct 25, 2002)

True night has fallen by the time the three of you have gathered once again at the Bell and Clapper, and with the dying of the light the bitter cold only increases. Even inside the inn's common room, the fire seems to do little to dispel the cold and the darkness that hangs over the town like a shroud.

Few of the town's citizens remain in the room: they have learned that even a drunken stupor cannot shield them from that which haunts them in the night. Behind the bar, Tokket wipes the mugs clean and carefully stacks them for the next day's trade.

Ahoke sits down at a table by the fire, making room for her companions. She puts an ale in front of her, and sighs. "Well, who wants to talk first?"

Harvester sits at a table now, a final mug or three of ale at hand while he awaits. He nods to Sen-Jyu, "You went first with the drinkin earlier. Let's let Sen go first this time."

Joining Ahoke with a pleasant smile of thanks to Tokken for providing him with a healthy dose of wine, Sen-Jyu looks at both faces, his expression one of concentration or consternation. "I'd rather... speak later," he replies to the Harvester's suggestion.

Harvester shrugs and settles himself into his seat, feet extended towards the fire as he slouches. "Arright. i'll go first, unless you want to, Kay?" He gestures at her with his mug before drinking from it.

Ahoke shakes her head. "Nah, I don't care. Go ahead." She sips at her ale, waiting quietly.

Sen-Jyu smiles softly as the focus is taken from him, settling his feet close to the fire and listening to the tale that the Harvester brings to tell.

Harvester nods and sets his mug down, and laces his fingers together over his chest as he scrunches down - almost reclining in the chair. "Alllll-righty then. Well, as you know, I went to visit the neighborhood psychotic, Cobble, in his lavish suite at the Iron-Bar Hotel..." A shuffle, "I think i found out a thing or three. You remember how he collapsed the first time we met him? When I mentioned Copperdeath?" An eye opens to regard his companions. "Well, he had a similar reaction tonight. Buuuuuut, I get ahead of myself." Another shift as he continues, lazily. "Seems ol' Cobble thinks this guy, whoever he is, is the one took the kids. Down to the mines, maybe. A place Cobble DEFINITELY don't want to go back to, by the way...." He pauses, to whet his whistle.

Ahoke frowns, and holds her hand up. "Wait. What guy? You mean Copperdeath? The dragon?"

Harvester burps quietly, resting the mug on his chest now, the table being just TOO far a stretch to make. He shrugs at Ahoke. "Be damned if I know, dearie. That's my working theory, anyway... Except he may not be calling himself Copperdeath right now. But I'll get to that in a sec..."

Sen-Jyu listens while he holds his glass up to the firelight, reddish hues faintly molten just as he takes a sip.

Ahoke nods, slowly, and waits for Harvester to continue. She takes another loud swallow of ale, staring at the liquid in her tankard as if it might hold answers.

Harvester laughs, both eyes opening. "Actually, I'll get to it now. When I said the name 'Copperdeath', Cobble got a little... crazed. Beat the crap outta himself on the bars, and kept screaming 'CHOTH! CHOTH!', whoever that is. Maybe the dragon, maybe something else. "Anyhoo.... Supposedly whoever it is has met m'Lord, once already." He takes another sip, then frowns unhappily, finding nothing inside. He clomps the mug onto the table carelessly. "And that's about it.... I think?"

Ahoke frowns, confused. "Who is m'Lord?"

Harvester lifts the chain that holds his holy symbol, and bobbles it once or twice. "Why, He Who Is To Come, of course.... My Lord...."

Sen-Jyu grins a little. "Oh... -him-. Of course."

Ahoke ahs, nodding. "/That/ lord. Copperdeath has met him, then? That's strange." She shrugs, taking another swallow of ale. "I went out of the village, to try to talk to the witch."

Harvester laces his fingers across his chest again and listens. "She have a wart on her nose? Witches are supposed to have warts on their noses...."

Ahoke sighs. "Well, when I got out there, she didn't answer her door so I went inside. The place was a mess, like she'd packed some stuff in a rush and then left. Her tea was still steaming, and there were hot embers in the fireplace. I figured that if the tea was still hot, she wasn't too far away, so I went out to look." She pauses, looking at Harvester. "Er, no. She had no wart."

Harvester peeks at Ahoke, "Strange," he mutters. About the tea or Utrish's sudden departure, it's uncertain.

Sen-Jyu turns his head upon Ahoke, half-liddedly watching her like a contented cat. "So you found her... I hope it wasn't under duress."

Ahoke mmphs, noncommitally. "I went outside. It was starting to get dark, so things were a bit hard to see, but I saw movement out in the woods. I knew it'd be her, it was too big to be one of her damned cats that kept getting in my way. So I ran at her."

Harvester takes his mug in hand and lifts it to wave at Tokket. "You catch her? I expect she was a bit scared of you...."

Ahoke nods. "She threatened to put a curse on me." The dwarf's shrug expresses that she had not been impressed with the threat. "But, she did stop trying to run when she saw that it wouldn't get her far. I /did/ tell her that I didn't plan on hurting her. Anyway... she was terrified. She doesn't seem to know why the headaches are going to stop in a week, but she's getting out of town. She's convinced that if she's still here at the end of the week, that she'll die."

Harvester nods, "Uh huh... Like I tried to tell Waterman. That just 'cause the headaches stop, doesn't mean it's for good reason. Headaches can stop when you're dead, too..."

Sniffing at the air, Sen-Jyu interrupts, "... strange. The Mayor took quite a deal of comfort from the witch's words."

"Which is what I reminded the Mayor of," says Sen-Jyu to the Harvester.
Ahoke nods. "I thought that too." Who she's agreeing with, Sen or Harv, she doesn't state. "Anyway... there's more, and this is the part that bothers me the most. She made a prophecy about us."

Harvester blinks once. Twice. Thrice, and sits up, his full attention on Ahoke. "Oh? What'd the witch have to say, hmm?"

Ahoke scowls, putting down her ale to give the recitation her full attention. "This might not be word for word," she prefaces, "But it's close. I don't think I can ever forget it. She said: "From the North, across the shoulders of Samrahn, with one who serves those who are gone, and one who does not know who he serves. You won't find what you're looking for here in Bellhold, Chieftain's daughter, or in the Steeple. You should turn east, to Blasingdell."

Harvester hrmphs. "Yeah, that sounds like us, alright.... Wonder what you'll find in Blasingdell..."

Ahoke shrugs. "I don't know. What I'm looking for is lost dwarven secrets," she says quietly. "But I don't know if she was talking about that, or about..." She gestures around at the tavern. "These people."

Turning away and looking back into the fire, Sen-Jyu says (with a hint of petulance in his voice), "I don't like prophecies." Twirling the glass' single leg between thumb and forefinger, he adds disdainfully, "They're all about predestination. I don't like them."

Harvester shrugs a shoulder at Sen-Jyu, "Sounds less like a prophecy to me, than what's goin on right now..."

Ahoke nods. "She seemed like she really wanted me to go to Blasingdell, but I'm not sure that I trust her anyway. I at least want to stay around here until we can find out what is going on."

Harvester nods to Ahoke, "Yah... Seems to me she was speaking to you on a more personal level, than what's troublin these folks..."

"Agreed," Sen-Jyu says to Ahoke, facing her once again as his feet, quite toasty by now, rest on the floor again. "There remains good to be done for this village, in this village."

Ahoke nods. "She acted like she thought I was going to club her into paste right there on the spot, too. Strange people." She frowns, and waves over at the bar tender. "Hey, Tokket! Can I get some more ale over here?"

The half-elf nods, and brings over another mug of ale. "There y'go." He hesitates by the table for a moment. "Jes' wanted t'say 'thank you' for offerin' t'help, too. Hob's a good man, but he's too much of an optimist."

Ahoke looks up at the half-elf, sighing. "I gathered that much. He seems to be a good enough man, though," she admits. "Right?"

Sensing that it's his turn, Sen-Jyu admits, "I found... nothing. Truly." He lifts his shoulders with a reluctant, self-admonishing weight to them before dropping them heavily again. "I spoke with the Mayor for some time after you both departed. I sense that... he is a good man, given a trial that he feels is beyond him."

A nod as Tokket's statement agrees with his own assessment. "Waterman let me into the tower. I inspected it, head to toe, and discovered nothing unusual. The stairway to the tower was enclosed all the way from top to bottom, with a single door some distance up to prevent any from wandering up. The bell is a great, copper beast, with a relief that mirrors what the surrounding town must have appeared like in the time of Copperdeath. I made wax earplugs," he reaches into a pocket, showing two small pellets of wax rolling about his palm, "in case something happened while we were up there. Nothing did." He looks back to his wine, and then to Tokket. "He draws his waning strength from what he feels he can. He neglects his deeper reserves. His own people."

Harvester spins his empty mug on the table and looks at tokket, 'Yeah, seems to care, Waterman does, but is in a hole he can't climb out of. Any word on the kiddles, or the heroes?"

Sen-Jyu murmurs, "I promised him I'd start looking for the children at dawn. See what can be found on the week-old trail."

Tokket opens his mouth to try to reply - but finally lapses into silence and just lets the adventurers talk.

Harvester muses, "I think we should have a look in the mines..."

Ahoke shrugs. "Well, let's look for the children first, starting from where they vanished. As I understand it, they disappeared quite a distance away from the mines. Right?" She looks up at Tokket for confirmation.

Tokket nods quickly before anyone can interrupt him.

"In good time. I think the first thing on many of the minds of the people here is the safety of their children," says Sen-Jyu softly. "Even if the mines have more potential for a solution, the townsfolk would be put more at ease if we searched the woods."

Ahoke muses, darkly. "I wonder if they children went wherever those horses did when they were missing that week and some."

Harvester happened to be glancing over, and caught Tokket's nod. "Alright... I won't argue that. But I'll bet we end up at the mine anyway. Hopefully before the week's up..."

Ahoke nods. "Yeah... I think you might be right. A gut feeling. Since that's where Coppertop is from."

Sen-Jyu nods a little. "I believe you're right." Though, to this point, he'd only taken perhaps a centimeter off of his glass of wine, he now finishes the rest in a few swallows, wiping his eyes from the brief tears that erupt from the stinging alcohol. "... I'm going to go sleep, that I'll be ready for the dawn."

Harvester grins. Coppertop. "Yah. And where Cobble seems so afraid to go... He keeps speaking of 'him' swallowing us all up. Well, what better place than deep within the earth, hmm?

Harvester shrugs, almost sliding out of the chair. He sits up and stands. "Yeah, might be a good idea..." He stretches, yawning widely. "Plenty of blankets in the room, eh Tokket?" He hardly waits for an answer before heading towards the stairs. "Let's lock it up tight tonight, hmm?" he says, to his companions.

Tokket starts to reply, then sighs, and just simply nods.

Ahoke gets up, moving with her companions. She pauses to pay Tokket for her drinks first, though.

Harvester stops then, and looks back, "Hey, what time do you drop the eggs, Tokket?"

"Thank you, Tokket," Sen-Jyu says as he rises and moves toward the stairwell. "Let us know if anything happens that you might need us for?" He leaves two silver coins on the table to compensate for Tokket's troubles, but does wait for an answer from the barkeep.

Tokket looks glumly at the Harvester and his companions, shaking his head slowly as if they just do not understand. "You won't sleep in," he informs you.


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## drnuncheon (Oct 26, 2002)

The room is small - barely big enough for the three straw mattresses that inhabit it - but clean and neat. The beds are hardly the height of comfort, but compared to the cold, hard ground of the past weeks of travel - or the slightly softer dirt of Othic's home - they are luxurious indeed. Thick blankets are piled on top of the bed, almost as good as dogs at warding off the winter chill.

Entering the room, Sen-Jyu takes the bed, reclining in its feathery softness. Piece by piece, he removes his armor, finishing with the scabbards at his sides.

Ahoke, too, removes her bone armor. "It's been a long day," she says wearily. "I wonder if it's going to be a long night, too?" She shrugs, stretching out on one of the straw mattresses, stone axe on the floor beside the bed, great club in bed beside her.

Keeping one sword on either side of his mattress, Sen-Jyu lies back, swaddling himself in blankets as he prepares for sleep.
Ahoke promptly starts snoring, something that her travelling companions have probably grown accustomed to.

Harvester takes the final bed and lays down to rest, after divesting himself of uncomfortable equipment. He tosses and turns, just as Tokket predicted. His eyes fly open, finally, with a sigh, and he rises, shortly before midnight and dresses. He moves to the door, sliding the bolt back, and exits, closing it as silently as is possible. He locks it from the outside and descends the stairs to the empty tavern.

There he remains in supplication, in the center of the floor, for an hour or so before rising, and returning to bed.

Ahoke sits up in her bed, rubbing at her neck. "Makes me wonder why these dreams hate my neck so much," she grumbles, looking over at her companions to see if they are asleep.

The white of Sen-Jyu's wide eyes is enough to inform the dwarf that he is not. He looks, in a word, terrified, though he has not so much as made a peep.

Ahoke strokes the side of her great club. "You too, Sen? I don't think that my heart is going to stop racing for a week."

Harvester rises with the dawn, appearing tired, having slept but fitfully. Despite the hard night, he smiles, as if he possesses a secret. His clothes are donned as his stomach rumbles. He looks at his companions thoughtfully. "Eh...? Your neck? What's with your ne...." A closer look at Sen-Jyu, "Sen? What's wrong? Look like you've seen a ghost..."

"... I had hoped," Sen-Jyu says, his voice cracked and parched, "... that Tokket was wrong, would be wrong." He doesn't close his eyes, his tone flat and bereft of the vitality that is always woven into it. He draws a careful breath, as if in such a movement, whatever remains seared into his eyes from the dream would come alive.

Ahoke draws a deep breath, and then says, "Did the nightmare take place in the mines?"

Harvester sits back on the edge of his mattress, elbows on knees so that his hands dangle. "My, my.... It looks to've been quite fearsome, your dreams have..." He doesn't appear to have been so terribly afflicted with nightmares, though there's no disguising his own weariness.

"Not in the mines, no. Home," Sen-Jyu says, and starts to peel off the sweat-saturated blankets like layers from an onion. "How close to dawn is it?" His eyes have not yet relaxed from their dinner-plate sized staring.

The window reveals a dim red line to the east, where the sun lurks somewhere below the horizon.

"Okay," says the dwarf. "I say that we start where the kid disappeared, just like we said we would. The kids disappeared from there, and so did the local heroes, so it seems like we'll probably disappear from the same area." She shrugs. "Let's get it done as soon as we can. I don't like this place."

Harvester peers at Sen-Jyu for a long moment before commenting, "Close to dawn, looks like.... Remember, Sen," a glance encompasses Ahoke as well, "that these nightmares are probably designed to frighten you, as they have... to weaken your resolve... That's my guess..." He appears almost perky as he hops up - at least, compared to his friends.

In resignation, Sen-Jyu stands, moving to the door and disappearing out of it, returning some few minutes later with a shallow basin of water.

Ahoke scowls at Harvester. "Did you not have a dream, then?" She starts putting on her armor, slowly and methodically.

Sen-Jyu sniffs at his clothing, wrinkling his nose. "I wish I hadn't inherited the human odor," he mutters to himself.

Harvester gives a secretive little smile, "Oh, i dreamed... I dreamed of _Him_...." He fondles his holy symbol absently.

Ahoke wrinkles her nose, and then finger combs out her hair. She starts attaching weapons to herself, and then looks at the others. "I'm ready when you are."

The spirit-blood taps the pane of ice on the basin a few times until it fractures, allowing him to pluck thin shards of it from the surface of the water. Once that's done, he splashes the water across his face, savoring the coolness as it runs down his chin and neck. A handful is poured directly onto his scalp and massaged into his hair, a couple more applied under his arms and along his sides. Gooseflesh rises at the chilly touch of the water, but he enjoys it, rejuvenating himself in the memory of life and living.

Harvester stamps his foot more firmly into his boot. "I'll go on down, see if breakfast's ready..."

Breakfast warm in your stomachs, the three of you head to the forest where the children vanished. White plumes hang in front of your faces as you breathe, and the icy air stabs at your brains when you inhale - doing nothing for the throbbing sensation in your temples. The sun has crept a fingersbreadth over the horizon, and your early morning shadows precede you like an escort of giants.

Harvester follows his companions through the town, towards the river. His scythe dangles carelessly over a shoulder. "Hope you know what you're doin in these woods, 'cause I sure don't..."

Ahoke tramps through the forest, seeming quite at home in the natural setting and, truth be told, seeming to be unfazed by the bitter cold.

Sen-Jyu is likewise content with the environment, and the further from town the group is, the more he seems to enjoy it. His eyes are kept low toward the ground, looking for evidence of tracks, especially ones made by little people.

The cold snap was recent - that much is clear. Even as short a time as a few days ago, the ground by the river was much softer - as evidenced by the wide variety of tracks that now exist, preserved in frost-rimed earth, along its banks. Deer, rabbits, foxes...the signs of all of their passage are here to see.

Ahoke hmms, frowning. "I see lots of tracks," she says, as she walks along the river. "Animal tracks."

Sen-Jyu slows down, taking to all fours as he peers close to the ground. Some portions he runs his fingers across as he squats over them, tracing shapes in intricate whorls. "... not these," he says, his voice not quite lost upon the wind.

"Yeah," agrees Harvester. "But none of the two-legged var...." He falls silent and approaches Sen-Jyu, to see what he's found.

Ahoke breathes out. "Oh, good. I was hoping that one of us would see _something_..."

Ahoke leans over to look at the tracks. She hisses suddenly, a vicious sound indeed coming from a dwarf. "Those are _not_ the tracks of children. We're going to have to hunt them down and kill them. All of them. They might even have the children. Little cannibalistic bastards."

Harvester blinks at Ahoke, "Eh? What is it? Who is it?"

Sen-Jyu blinks, "I'm... not sure," he replies to the Harvester, though he's clearly deferring to the dwarf, lest her rage find outlet on him.

Ahoke snarls in wordless rage, then takes in a couple of deep breaths, her fingers clenching and unclenching. "_Thanork_. I *hate* _thanork_. Many of my people have devoted their entire lives to destroying them. And it's a life well spent, one spent removing that menace. They stand about up to here," she says, holding a hand at chest level. Big pointy ears. Nothing is beneath them. They'll stoop to any evil."

Harvester pulls back as Ahoke explodes, "Er.... Who, or what is ' _thanork_'??"

Ahoke shakes her head rapidly. "They're a type of... creature. I guess you could say that they're sentient. We're constantly at war with them. They eat children. I wouldn't doubt that these dreams are their fault, somehow, if they're in the area."

Sen-Jyu looks up at Harvester, "... she just said," he mentions, though quietly. "I'll trust her opinion of them."

Harvester nods to Sen-Jyu, "As will I..." A look to Ahoke, "How fresh are these tracks? And can you follow them?"

Ahoke sighs, sounding disgusted. "I can't tell... they go that way and fade away, and these others go into the forest and fade away... I've never been good at following this sort of thing."

"I can follow them," Sen-Jyu says confidently. "This is something that I've done for quite a few... well, for a while." He smiles at his companions, "Now, just to determine which way."

Ahoke hmms. "Well, we can try to follow these on the river first, and then backtrack and follow the other set into the woods..."

Sen-Jyu nods in agreement. Losing no time, he returns to his crouch, eyeing the tracks that run with the river, carefully avoiding stepping upon them lest he mar some sort of evidence.

Harvester shrugs, leaving the woodsy decisions to those who know such things. While his companions study and trail the tracks, he looks off into the surrounding forest.

It's not long before the trail ends abruptly over a patch of rocks and stones. Sen-Jyu pauses, looking about the vicinity, but soon tosses his shoulders. "Crafty little _thanork_, aren't they," he mutters.

Harvester murmurs, "Try the other way, then?"

Ahoke mutters something about _thanork_ and deviousness, and then sighs. "Well, let's try the track into the woods." She nods in agreement to Harvester.

Sen-Jyu returns to the place where the tracks were originally discovered, seeking to follow the trail into the forest.

Sen-Jyu sighs, after having gone not too far. "... these creatures must have anticipated being tracked..." he says, no small amount of frustration heard under the tranquility.

"Wait a minute," says Ahoke, who has long since given up looking at tracks and has been looking straight ahead. "Right up ahead is a clearing. The tracks seem to end right before it... let's just go in and take a look around."

Looking up rather than down, Sen-Jyu shrugs. With a clearer goal in sight, he attempts to fade into the treeline, approaching with due caution and stealth.

Harvester just shakes his head, muttering, "Don't see how you guys can see the forest for all these trees... I don't see nothin..." A gesture, "Lead on, Kay...."

Ahoke walks into the clearing, brandishing her axe, just in case.

The clearing has obviously been the site of a struggle - even the Harvester's untutored eyes can see that. The leaves have been kicked up and disturbed, and in the once-soft ground underneath are yet more of the footprints of the crafty _thanork_.

Harvester holds up a hand to his friends, "Uh.... hang on a sec, guys... Look at that...." He points to a pile of red dirt that seems to be curiously shaped like the Steeple - the mountain overshadowing Bellhold.

Ahoke nods, grimly. "I was right. The little bastards have the children. Or had them, anyway." She walks to a spot in the clearing. "You can tell, here." She looks around, growling in frustration. She glances over at Harvester, and then to the mountain. "What..?"

Harvester walks towards the spire-shaped pile of dirt and goes to one knee beside it. His had traces its contours without quite touching. "See... here... and here... and here..." He points off towards the mountain in comparison.

Sen-Jyu nods at both of the points noticed by his companions, unsurprised, but frowning as he thinks about their implications. "So these _thanork_ have the children. Then we must follow them to their lair, and see what we can do to save the survivors, or avenge their deaths. Or both."

Ahoke nods to Sen-Jyu in agreement, and then crosses over to the mountain. "Do you think that one of the children made this, to try to show us where they were being taken? Or is that too wild of a guess?"

Harvester raises a hand in a gesture of 'I don't know'. "Beats hell outa me... Seems certain SOMEONE made it though.... And seems like alot of fight here for a few kids..."

"Perhaps the previous heroes made it this far..." Sen-Jyu breathes. "But no way to tell for certain."

Harvester gestures around the clearing, "Can you see any tracks leading from here?"

Sen-Jyu nods. "Yes. I believe I can follow the trail from here."

"Their trail begins..." Sen-Jyu follows, from the spot that Ahoke found to the edge of the clearing, "here. I'll begin on it; this may take a while if I'm to be absolutely certain."

The sun crawls across the sky as Sen-Jyu makes his painstaking way along the path. Nothing is left unexamined - the slightest disturbance of fallen leaf, the tiniest bend in a blade of grass, the slight looseness of a displaced pebble - all are noted and analyzed.

The hours crawl along as the strange warrior moves along the path at a snail's pace. Have you really only come a hundred yards? It seems like forever.

Gradually, though, one thing becomes apparent - as another set of tracks join the ones you follow (possibly the same ones you lost at the river?), it is clear that their destination lies somewhere on the Steeple.

It is late afternoon by the time you come to the Old Mine Road. Somewhere ahead, the old abandoned mine dives into the roots of the mountain - but the tracks merely cross the road, and continue on. An hour or so later, you stand at the foot of the mountain itself, where the footprints peter out on the rocks. The light is beginning to fail, and the mountainside ahead seems to lack a ready means of ascent.

Ahoke looks up the side of the mountain. "They... climbed it here? I don't see where one could climb this thing, especially with children."

"That's what it seems, though," says Sen-Jyu, and he stands resolute in the judgment he has made.

Ahoke steps closer to the mountain, reaching her hand out to touch the stone. "I'm good at climbing, and I don't think it's possible to scale this, even with the right equipment. If not impossible, close to it. I wonder... if there's a secret passage into the mountain somewhere?"
Harvester nods slowly, thoughtfully. "It appears as we suspected... the mines." He looks to Ahoke and Sen-Jyu, "Or perhaps we merely do not see the path they climbed, hidden among these rocks? Or perhaps there is an ascent within the mines..."

"I'm not much as far as it comes to mountains," admits Sen-Jyu, "so I believe you. Maybe we should spend the last hours of daylight seeking out a possible passage?" Hot on the trail, he doesn't want it to die quite so sudden a death at the hands of an insurmountable rock wall.

Harvester takes a seat on a handy boulder and sets his scythe at his feet. Elbows rest on knees, and fingers tent into a steeple. Softly he speaks, a frown creasing his forehead, "There is something... that I cannot quite recall...."

Ahoke ers, looking at Harvester. "Something about the mountain?" She starts poking around the rock at the base of the mountain, not inconvenienced by the fading light in the least.

Sen-Jyu also gets to work, exploring the base of the mountain in the whereabouts of the ending of the tracks.

Harvester's glares at the mountain thoughtfully and nods to Ahoke, "Yes... I think so... Have we learned anything regarding passages within the mines? Perhaps where the dragon resided?" He rises, and begins looking across the landscape.

Ahoke shudders. "I know that I chose the wrong passage in my dream last night. Something ate my leg and tried to twist my head off."

Harvester blinks and stops, to look at Ahoke. "Ate your leg and tried to twist your head off? Errr... that sounds rather unpleasant..."

Ahoke nods. "You're telling me. It makes one wonder why I'm poking around the very mountain that I had such an awful dream about."

Sen-Jyu looks at Ahoke in the same manner that Harvester does: abruptly and quizzically, borderline surprised. He whispers something to himself before he continues searching.

Harvester's voice trails off as his eyes center on something, and he points, hand drawing down to the base, "There.... is that..." He walks some yards away, "Yes... a trail. Sort of.... it will still prove difficult, I think..."

Ahoke walks over, peering at the trail.

Sen-Jyu pauses in his searching, moving to examine what it is that Harvester has found. One hand rests on the hilt of Ichido-sama, finding reassurance in its presence.

The trail is...well...not much. The difficulty which you had in finding it is proof of that. It winds its way up the steep side of the mountain, a narrow space barely wide enough for a single foot, a space that is not so much flat as only slightly less steep than the rest of the mountainside.

Harvester looks back to where he was sitting moments ago and sighs. He walks back, towards the scythe laying on the ground.

Ahoke considers for a moment. "Did either of you bring torches? Lanterns of some kind? I can see in pitch black, and am not worried about myself... but you guys might have trouble."

Sen-Jyu says, "Actually," Sen-Jyu says, brightening a bit, then frowns. "No."

Harvester removes his pack and sets it upon the rock. "I have both... I think I'll use a torch for now, though... or I'll drop the lamp on one of your heads and set you afire." He removes a torch from within, and reaches into his pouch for flint and steel. He sets to lighting the wood.

Ahoke nods, waiting for Harvester to prepare.

Harvester hears Sen-Jyu's words, and once he has the first torch lit, draws another and sets it alight before handing it to the spirit-kin. The pack is slung and scythe taken up to be placed across his back.

Sen-Jyu shakes his head, deterring the offer of the torch. "It'd be better to have two weapons and one light than two lights and one weapon, yes?"

Harvester shrugs, "Alright. Then douse it and keep it. Never know when we might be spearated and you left in the dark." He smiles.

Ahoke smiles grimly. "You could always hit one with your torch. It's fun to set them on fire."

Sen-Jyu accepts the torch, lowering it to the ground and snuffing it with his foot. "I lack flint -- somehow I doubt that the comfort of a torch in my hands would be of any help." The torch is handed back.

Harvester shakes his head and takes the snuffed torch. After a few moments of letting it cool, it is stowed in his pack. "We need to get you some basic supplies, Sen..." He grins.

"I live off the land. I don't often find myself under it." Sen-Jyu grins back at the Harvester, then turns his focus back to the bleak stone pinnacle rising before them. "Any thoughts on whether there's a passage here or not?"

Harvester looks up at the arduous climb ahead. "Should we climb with ropes tied to each other, or...?" He looks to Ahoke, the most experienced climber for guidance.

Ahoke grimaces. "I don't know, guys. I don't think that you can make it up in the dark, carrying a torch... we /might/ be able to do it in the morning light, but even then, it's going to be an interesting climb."

Harvester grunts. "Back to town, then? I'm not to sure about sleeping out here, with your friends lurking about..."

Ahoke sighs, looking back to the general direction of the village. "Seems like such a long walk...granted we came the long way around. We could do that, if you want. We could also sleep here, and have one of us watching at all times throughout the night."

Harvester heaves a large sigh, "Arright, well.. least I still have my blankets... No fire, I'm betting... or can we?" He looks hopeful.

Ahoke makes a face. "Well... I suppose it might draw them out into the open, if we lit a fire. We might get the opportunity to kill some of them."

Harvester frowns after a moment and removes his pack again. He holds the lit torch out to the others, "Someone... hold this a moment please?" He extracts his journal with one hand.

Ahoke holds the torch aloft so that the human has light to look at the little scribbles by.

Harvester begins to sift through his journal - an odd collection of notes and passable pictures. Towards the end he slows, glancing at each page. "Ahh...." he murmurs. "Here... I made a note of something from Thrommel's diary... It seems he was contemplating confrontation of Copperdeath either through the mines, or up the mountainside..."

Ahoke hmms. "Did he say anything else?"

Harvester shakes his head at Ahoke, "Merely that the mountain seemed more dangerous and open... It was his last entry."

"There was more," states Sen-Jyu flatly, looking up to meet the priest's eyes. "Something else. May I?" One hand extends toward the journal.

Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu for a long moment, then at his journal. He hands it over thoughtfully. Perhaps nearly reluctantly. A nod.

Ahoke looks from Harvester to Sen-Jyu and back, shrugging a bit, waiting for them to reach some sort of consensus.

Sen-Jyu glances over the pages, then shakes his head. "I need to see the actual journal again," he says while handing Harvester's back.

Ahoke thinks a moment. "Do you think it important enough for us to walk back to the village tonight, and look at it? Because we can... it'll just mean more walking."

Harvester accepts the journal, then hikes his thumb over his shoulder, towards town. "Then we'll need to see Tokket again..."

Ahoke nods, once. "Let's go back to the village then... actually, the more I think about it, the more I think that I don't want to sleep out here with those murderous little bastards crawling around the mountain."

Harvester nods, apparently a little pleased with the prospect of not sleeping out here. "Very well. Maybe we shouldn't tell anyone what we've found, little that it is... In case someone's not exactly on our side..." He glances at his companions as he stows the journal and wears the pack. "How old're these tracks, anyway?"

"It wouldn't be right not to tell them," Sen-Jyu says gently. "These people have given us their hopes. They are waiting for us to bring them results."

Ahoke hesitates for a moment. "I don't know, Sen," she says. "Maybe we can tell them that we think we're on to something, but that we want to be sure before telling them. Telling these people that their children have fallen into the hands of monsters might be the last thing they need to hear right now...

Harvester shakes his head as he blows out a plume of white air. "Fine. Then let's just tell Tokket. He can tell the others if we disappear. I don't trust everyone to have our best interests at heart."

Sen-Jyu murmurs to Ahoke, "We don't know one way or another about the fate of the children. I'm not suggesting that we tell them that there's no hope. I would rather be honest and forthright to their questions than evasive -- it is easy to sense when someone is avoiding the truth."

Ahoke shrugs. "Alright, do what you want. Since it's late, and we'll probably be leaving right after we wake up from our nightmares, we might not see any of them anyway. Shall we?" She gestures towards the village.
Harvester says, "Then don't lie, Sen. Just say we don't want to say just yet." He laughs softly. "Or say nothing and let us.... I won't lie, but won't jeopardize our pursuit, either."

Ahoke says, "Let's discuss it as we walk."

Harvester nods to Ahoke and begins walking. "Good idea. Besides... i'm HUNGRY..."

Ahoke nods, rapidly. "And thirsty..." she mutters.

Sen-Jyu frowns, looking back up the slope of the Steeple. Already, his hands have started to fidget with a tear in his clothing from the long trip over the mountains. "If I am asked a question, I will answer it in my own way. Please do not ask me to do otherwise."

The walk back to the village takes far less time than the tracking did - it is perhaps half an hour before you see the outskirts, and ten minutes more before you are safely ensconced in the Bell and Clapper. As before, the streets are all but deserted after dark, as is the inn. A yawning Tokket - perhaps a bit surprised to see you - turns the diary over into to Sen-Jyu's possession for the evening, and taps a small keg of beer which he leaves for you to use as you wish, as he staggers off to attempt to sleep. The days of restlessness are taking their toll on him.


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## drnuncheon (Nov 17, 2002)

Ahoke sits up in her bed, drawing her knees up to her chest. "/Who?/" she demands of the air. "Who should speak for me?" She snarls then, and swivels, her feet hitting the floor with twin thumps.

Harvester bolts upright in his bed with a low gasp, "NO....!!!" His eyes are wide, the tears streaming down his face...

Underneath his cocoon of blankets, Sen-Jyu shifts about, soundless but undoubtedly disturbed by whatever visions have visited him in the night. With the sounds about him, he snaps to a wide-eyed alertness, but says not a word.

Ahoke starts attaching her bone armor to her body. "I'm ready to go when you two are," she informs them, "Although we should probably stop and get some food to take with us, along with some kind of light source for you. Oh, and we should get Tokket to lend us the journal again."

With almost as much horror as he'd experienced in the dream, Sen-Jyu twists about to look at Ahoke, as if she's gone mad. "... what?" he asks, in a gentle whisper.

Harvester whispers softly, over and over for several moments, not really hearing the others as his tearing eyes stare into the distance. They slowly dry, filling with wearied resolve. "The children will be spared, that His plans may come to fruition... I shall not betray His faith in me..."

Ahoke turns to look at Sen-Jyu, and then to Harvester, clearing her throat gruffly. "I want to get all of this stuff done so that we can leave the village. Save the children, stop the headaches and all that. I can't take much more of this."

Harvester's head swivels to look, without sight, upon Ahoke. His vision clears as he rises and dresses. He nods slowly, a new mantra softly crossing his lips, "For the children... For the Rebirth... For He Who Is To Come..."

Ahoke looks oddly at Harvester, picking up her club and putting it over her shoulder. "I thought..." She stops, shuffling her feet a bit. "Oh, never mind." She straps her stone ax to her hip then, and looks over at Sen-Jyu to see how he's holding up.

"You're tired of waiting," says Sen-Jyu, but with unusually quirky inflection, directed more inwardly than outwardly. It takes him a while to gather enough impetus to pull himself from the blankets that have imprisoned him during his restless sleep, but in time, he begins to follow suit, though he's unusually quiet all the while.

Harvester concludes the gathering of clothing and equipment, and turns his gaze back to Ahoke. His deep voice spills from the hood with a plume of white air, "You thought what, Kay?"

Ahoke shakes her head. "I thought that your god wanted us all to die. Not all at once, I guess, though." She furrows her brow. "But what you said about saving the children, it sounds like he wants them alive."

Sen-Jyu prepares his armor, attaching it with some haste, while the others converse. With what time remains to him, he takes his whetstone to his blades, cleaning and oiling them as he whispers prayers to them in the tongue of his mother's people.

Sen-Jyu looks up, once he is prepared. "I will ask Tokket to look at the journal," he murmurs, unwilling to disturb the conversation at hand. He slips out the door, fully garbed but looking rather weighted down by the evening's lack of respite.

Harvester lowers his cowl, and smiles softly. A hand lifts the wooden holy symbol that dangles on a fine chain and it slowly begins to rotate. The grinning skull gives way to a massive, ancient tree whose boughs appear laden with fruit. Low words come now, intoned with a joy rarely heard. "My Lord is charged with preparing the Way... All souls are but ripening fruits, traveling down roads, eventually to be welcomed by His embrace... He is the gardener, plucking the weeds, preparing the land... I am but His tool, His servant... It is my privilege to serve Him in preparing the soil of Sh'Kilat for the future... the seeds of the Tree of Life that shall be our future..."

Ahoke hmms, and then nods, starting to follow Sen-Jyu. She says, to Harvester, "I see. Well, let's hope that he doesn't decide that I am a weed." She turns and bares her teeth at him in her usual manner of grinning.

Harvester takes up his scythe, looking at it for a long silent moment before following the others. "There are few, I believe, that are irredeemable, Kay..." he answers, in all seriousness, "and those few who are 'lacking' will be reborn to try again... So shall we all, as that is but a facet of the cycle of life..." He looks down at the dwarf as they emerge from the stairway, "Once we have progressed sufficiently, we shall move on to the next stage, reborn, our chrysalis transforming us into something new, greater, until we have learned what is required of us to learn..."

Downstairs, a bleary Tokket looks over at you with sunken eyes. "I would ask how you slept," he begins, "but it would not be a pleasantry. Breakfast will be ready soon." With that, he returns to the kitchen. The journal rests in its place of honor near the bar, open to the last page you perused.

Ahoke sits down on a barstool, peering over at Harv, seeming to agree with that facet of his philosophy anyway. She watches Tokket go back to the kitchen then, sighing. "I don't know how much longer these villagers are going to be able to withstand this. They've been suffering it longer than we have."

Sen-Jyu sits near the journal, reading over the two pages that were once Thrommel's diary. "Let me ask this," he says to his companions, "why is it that most people describe Copperdeath as having been a blue dragon, while this journal seems to describe it as being copper?" His words are somewhat slurred from his slow rise to wakefulness.

Harvester plops himself into a chair without ceremony, then grunts after a moment. He rises and moves to the bar and grabs a pair of tankards, then fills them with the warm ale. He sets one before Ahoke, then sits on an adjacent barstool. "You don't want one, do you, Sen?" He blinks, "The journal says he's copper?"

Harvester laughs softly at Ahoke. "How much longer can they withstand it? About five or six days, at most..."

Ahoke sips at the ale, nodding to the Harvester in silent thanks. She smirks a bit at his response, and then looks blankly over at the journal. "Maybe the dragon changed colors sometimes? Like a lizard?"

Sen-Jyu gestures to the top paragraph on the second page with a waggling finger. "Here... but this is prior to Thrommel's having met the dragon. Still, it seems a bit odd. Oh, and... I remember that Othic had mentioned the rumor of a secret entrance to the dragon's lair in the mines, and this journal seems to confirm that -- in the statue of the dragon."

Harvester peers over Sen-Jyu's shoulder, sipping at the ale. "What? Where it says copper dragons are good?"

"So... rather than make that atrocious climb," Sen-Jyu says, "why not go through the mines, assuming that the secret entrance is still in existence? It would save us the trouble of getting climbing equipment."
He clears his throat, peering at the page. "Good -riddlers-, it says."

Ahoke stares blankly at Sen-Jyu and Harvester, starting to look a little frustrated.

Harvester shrugs a shoulder at Ahoke. "Maybe. To fool people, maybe, into thinking it was good while it worked its wiles?" A look to Sen-Jyu comes next as he seats himself again, "Yeah... that's the one I was thinking of last night. You might be right, unless..."

Sen-Jyu, oblivious, looks back at Harvester. "I'm half inclined to think that perhaps Copperdeath truly died as the journal states, and someone else is attempting to revive an old terror, using the legend of Copperdeath as a facade."

Tokket returns with an enormous platter covered with a wide selection of fried pig parts, along with a tall stack of potato-and-onion pancakes. He sets it in front of the three, along with some trenchers, and wipes off his hands. "No luck yesterday, hmm," he says - not really a question. "Not that I'm surprised."

Sen-Jyu smiles wanly up at Tokket. "Actually, I think we've had quite good luck, though it took most of the day to make good on what we'd found."

Ahoke takes her plate and starts eating ferociously. Apparently her dream hasn't affected her appetite any.

Harvester shakes his head, "I don't know... could be." He sets the mug down and begins to eat with gusto. His sleep may be affected, but his appetite is not. He mumbles around a mouthful of food, then swallows and tries again. "'s good, Tokket. Sen, y'might be right, but if something's down there like we suspect, then it may be in the tunnel too..."

Tokket pauses, as the conversation runs on, and then prompts: "So you found something, then?"

Sen-Jyu nods, "Once we're done with breakfast, we're going to go to the mines," he reports with a grin. "We've followed some suspicious tracks that far. It's too early to say about the fate of the children, unfortunately." Sen-Jyu lifts a fork, severing small chunks from the edge of the pancakes and eating them slowly.

"The mines?" Tokket seems confused. "But they'd have been found if they were in Krekkit's..." Then it seems to dawn on his sleep-deprived mind that there is another possibility. "The /old/ mines?" It seems this is even more improbable than the last. "They're unsafe - they've been sealed off. I can't believe anybody could have gotten in."

Harvester nods once, "Up on the Steeple, we think...

Ahoke nods, looking worried. "I'm afraid that's exactly what happened, though," she admits. "But... I'm reluctant to worry people with the news, since we still /might/ be wrong."

Sen-Jyu looks at Ahoke. "I -know- the tracks went there. There's no other way that they could have gone." He grins, looking away as he mumbles, "Just because someone loses the tracks -once-..."

Ahoke smirks at Sen-Jyu. "Yeah. I'm not doubting you, just concerned that not everything is as it seems."

Sen-Jyu nods in agreement, then pauses as a thought infiltrates upon his good mood. "Tokket... Copperdeath's old lair -was- in the Steeple, correct?"

Harvester belches quietly, fist to his chest, then pushes the empty plate aside. "I didn't realize there was more than one set of mines... You know anything about the old mines? Is that where Copperdeath was?" He nods as Sen-Jyu asks the question.

Ahoke, who was not in a good mood to start with, positively glowers now. "I don't like Copperdeath."

The muscular half-elf nods. "That's right...about a quarter mile up, although there's not really a path anymore. Copperdeath near tore off half the mountainside to make it harder to get up there from the outside - unless y'can fly, that is."

"Dwarves can't fly," Ahoke informs the half-elf, in case he didn't already know this. "And you said that the normal entrance was sealed up?"

"Then it's far more likely that Alissa and the others went through the mines when they sought to slay Copperdeath." He taps one finger against his lips while he returns to reading the journal.

Tokket nods again. "Blocked it off with slabs of copper after it was declared unsafe - and you're right, that's exactly what they did."
Ahoke hmms. "And there's absolutely no way in through that entrance? No cracks or crevices?"

Sen-Jyu wonders aloud, though his eyes focus on Tokket, "How long ago were the mines sealed off?"

Tokket gives the matter some thought. "I suppose if you were patient enough you could dig around...or maybe heat up the edge and bend it back...it's mostly to stop people from getting in there by accident, really." Then he answers Sen-Jyu: "Not long after the dragon was slain."

Sen-Jyu smiles at the half-elf and nods. "Thank you."

Ahoke nods. "I see..." she glances at her friends. "We'll need to look into that." She looks back at Tokket. "Is it okay if we take some food with us? We're going to need sustenance while we're down there getting caved in on."

After finishing half of his plate of pancakes, Sen-Jyu tilts his head at the trencher, hefting it and asking, "Might you have a small sack or something that I could carry this in? For the road."

Ahoke grins at Tokket. "We'd pay you for both, of course."

Harvester finishes off his ale and sets the mug down.

"I suppose I can make something up for you," Tokket admits, and moves off to do just that.

Ahoke harrumphs, clearing her throat, and slides down off of the barstool. "What are we going to need? You two are going to need a light source, something easy to carry and light. Food is taken care of. Rope?"

When Tokket returns, Sen-Jyu greets him with another question: "What race was Toren, may I ask? Human or demihuman?"

Harvester shrgs at Ahoke, and swivels on his stool. "I've got a lamp, some torches, and a minor bit of light my Lord shall grant me with, should I need it... I also possess a quantity of rope."

Ahoke peers at Sen-Jyu, sniffing loudly. "Demi my ass," she says, not without humor.

"Hmm? Toren? Toren was a human," Tokket says, bringing a sack. "I've put some bread and cheese in there, and a chunk of smoked ham, and some onions too. A sort of a ploughman's lunch."

Harvester nods to Tokket, "What's we owe you, Tokket?"

Harvester thinks about it a minute, "Actually, we might ought to take a couple days worth of food, just in case..."

"I'll get some more ham." The half-elf vanishes into the back.

Ahoke mmms, looking pleased all of a sudden. "We'll get to kill some Thanark today, if we're lucky."

Sen-Jyu smiles at Ahoke, "Then why are we worried about carrying so much food? I hear Thanark dry well."

Ahoke looks vaguely ill at the prospect. "But they've eaten dwarven children," she says. "So it's almost cannibalism."

Tokket returns with more food. "Call it...three gold for the lot. There's enough there to last you three days." Glancing at the carnage left over from breakfast, he amends: "Maybe two and a half."

Ahoke laughs, putting one gold out on the counter. "We'll have to eat more responsibly while we're down there."

Sen-Jyu proffers a single coin, his share for the cornucopia.

Harvester digs into a pouch that appears rather empty, and pulls out a yellow coin. He flips it into the air, and it lands atop the bar, spinning towards Tokket, "Thanks, bub. You're a prince."

Harvester shakes his head at Ahoke and Sen-Jyu, "Just what the hells is a Thanork, anyway? A goblin? Kobold? Flying purple people eater?

Tokket scoops up the gold, and sighs. "Good luck," he offers wearily.  He looks at Harvester, and frowns. "Than...oh. /Thanork/. It's a dwarven word for goblin, although you've got a funny accent when you say it." He eyes Ahoke as he says it.

Harvester laughs at Tokket, and slides off the stool. "Course I've got a funny accent when I say it.... I ain't a dwarf."

Ahoke says, "Goblin? It sounds almost kind and gentle. Thanork is much better."

Harvester snorts. "Think of 'goblin' as, 'GOBbLe anythIN'...." He stresses certain syllables."

Ahoke chuckles, and then starts heading towards the door, saying, "I don't have rope, so if you could get yours, Harvester... and those light sources would probably be a good idea. I can see in the dark, but I don't want you guys stepping on my feet or over a cliff, all because you're blind."

Sen-Jyu waves one hand over his shoulder as he leaves the inn. "Thanks again, Tokket."

Tokket nods, and waves you on your way.

Harvester shoulders his pack and hefts his scythe, "Later, Tokket."


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## Caliber (Nov 17, 2002)

Looks like some good 'ole fashioned Goblin-bashin is coming up soon. Excellent.


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## drnuncheon (Nov 18, 2002)

The old trade road that led to the mine was once lined with crushed red stone, but now it is nearly invisible after fifty years without upkeep: weeds, grass, and in some cases even small trees have sprouted up through it, scattering and obscuring the rocks. As you crest the hill that the road leads up, you can look down and see its destination. No entrance is immediately obvious: instead, the rotting remains of winches and dwarven machinery squat in the valley below, surrounded by more piles of the red rock.

"Well, this looks like the place," says Ahoke grimly, looking down the hill at the scene below. "Where thanorks, dragons, and most likely rock slides and cave ins await us. And things that try to eat us in the dark, let's not forget that. Are you guys ready?"

Harvester marches down the road in relative silence, less the occasional bout of whistling. He grows quiet as they near the abandoned mine, however. "Nope. Let's go."

Bow in hand, Sen-Jyu follows the others into the valley, but has become somewhat more subdued again, eyes pecking about the terrain features, looking for crumbs of movement or evidence of Thanork infestation.

Ahoke marches down the hill, looking almost cheerful.

Harvester stops walking and stares at something in the distance. He speaks softly, "Seems we may not need a rope after all, friends..." He points. "I think I've found the mine. Looks like someone's beat us to it."

Ahoke looks in the direction that the Harvester is peering in. "Huh?"

Sen-Jyu glances in the direction that the Harvester indicates, but doesn't rest his eyes there for long. An arrow is tugged from his quiver with that knowledge, however.

Now that Harvester mentions it, the rest of you can see: a knotted rope tied around a boulder, trailing into the earth through an opening where the edge of a verdigrised copper plate has been pried or bent up to allow ingress into the mine.

Harvester moves towards the place he pointed to, slowly, his eyes scanning the area thoughtfully.

Ahoke squints, and then nods. "I'll bet that the heroes of the bell went up there. Which means that we're probably going into certain death, since they haven't returned." She sounds resigned, though, and changes direction. "I'm assuming that we'll want to go down that way, or do you think it's too risky?"

Harvester pauses to look back at Ahoke, "Or the rope belongs to someone else..." He shrugs. "We can go down, or up the mountainside. And I'm not overly impressed with my rock-climbing ability..."

Ahoke grins at Harvester. "I think going down sounds like a good idea to me. I was concerned about the rock climbing part, to be honest."

"I'm in agreement with the Harvester -- the thanorks likely have a very defensible position on the mountainside. At least, in these mines, we aren't at such a disadvantage." Sen-Jyu chuckles a little. "Sounds like we're all on the same page."

Ahoke starts heading towards the rope, then, grinning. "Or at least thinking alike, anyway," she says, "Since one of us doesn't read."

Harvester laughs softly, and begins to examine the rope before catiously peering into the hole.

Sen-Jyu blinks at Ahoke, "Harvester seems to read just f... oh. Oh."

Harvester peers at Sen-Jyu, "Uh huh... read between the lines, Sen..." He grins, holding up the first three fingers of a hand towards Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke grins at Sen-Jyu. "We don't communicate with scratchings on paper," she said, "though it's interesting to see you guys do it." She too peers down into the hole, eager to see what is waiting for them. Perhaps a dragon, maw open wide. Or hundreds of assembled thanorks.

The copper sheet is blackened along the crease - it appears as if a fire was built upon it to heat it to the point where it could be bent back to allow entry. The opening is large enough to fit even the Harvester...barely. Below, the shaft - ten feet across - descends into darkness. The rope dangles down next to the corroded remains of a metal ladder attached to the shaft's wall.

Sen-Jyu laughs a little. "Oh, right. I thought that the Harvester was simply a good actor. Of course."

Ahoke picks up the top part of the rope, tugging on the knot around the boulder, checking for sturdiness.

Harvester returns the laugh with a chuckle, then extracts a torch from his pack. He begins to light it as Ahoke tests the rope. "I'm gonna drop this in when I start going down, I think. Unless I can hold it in my teeth." He looks at the thickness of the torch. "Think I'll drop it..."

Sen-Jyu kicks a small stone into the aperture between rock and metal, to gauge the depth of the shaft.

Ahoke drops the rope, grunting in satisfaction. "It'll hold," she says. "If you drop it, don't get it so close to the rope that it will burn it. That would make the day be so much more exciting than it needs to be.

The stone falls for a second...not quite two, before a dim impact is heard. Not of rock on rock, but maybe wood.

Ahoke erks. "Don't drop the torch. If there's wood down there... it could be bad."

Sen-Jyu clears his throat before counseling Ahoke, "Don't fall."

Ahoke looks at Sen-Jyu through her bangs, which are starting to get shaggy. "Thanks for the advice," she says dryly. "Am I to go first, then?"

"Great!" says Sen-Jyu to Ahoke, smiling. "Thanks for volunteering."

Harvester thinks for a second, then nods to Ahoke. "Arright... Scratch Plan A... go to Plan 2." He instead begins to cast a spell. "May He Who Is To Come hear my words, and grant His servant light within this cavernous maw within the earth..." Before long the head of the torch begins to glow. "Want me to drop the torch first?" He nods. "You going first is great... can catch us if we fall."

Ahoke takes the rope in hand again, nodding. "Sure," she says. And then, after making sure that her weapons and equipment are securely fastened to her, drops over the side, gripping the rope with two tight fists.

Harvester nods again, "Good luck."

Ahoke hangs there for a moment, spinning. "Ack. Hold this thing steady so that I can get started."

Harvester says, "Want us to tie a rope around your waist, in case?"

Ahoke grimaces. "Just hold the rope steady," she insists. "I'll be fine if I can just get started."

Harvester takes the rope in both hands, though he seems uncertain. "Uh.... I might not be the best one to do this, but I'll try..."

Sen-Jyu keeps looking about the area around the mine, as a 'just in case we missed something or someone' activity while Ahoke rappels down the shaft.

Ahoke starts climbing down, finally getting herself straightened out. Once she gets started she does do well, true to her word. Soon, she climbs out of sight, down into the darkness. Not even a full minute later, she tugs on the rope, signalling that she's reached bottom and that nothing has eaten her.

Harvester waves the torch across the opening, then lets it drop. "You wanna go next, or shall I?"

Sen-Jyu waves one hand dismissively, "You... can go ahead. Really." He looks squeamishly over the lip of the shaft, then smiles comfortingly at the Harvester. "I'll stand guard up here."

The cold-glowing torch plummets toward the bottom of the shaft, its light eventually all but swallowed by the darkness. It narrowly misses Ahoke as she stands waiting for the others.

Harvester extracts his rope from his pack, and sets to tying the scythe to bag. These he lowers into the hole and quickly begins to lower.

Harvester takes the knotted rope in hand now and begins to walk backward to the edge of the shaft. He attempts to walk himself down without turning upside down. Or falling.

Ahoke gets her ax ready in preparation to kill her companions, now that she has lured them toward her underground lair.

Harvester shimmies down the rope quickly, hand over hand as his feet run along the wall, backwards. He reaches the ground in record time, grinning all the while. "Oh... that was exhilirating. I've never done that before!" He gives the rope a couple of yanks before moving far aside to gather his things.

Ahoke looks up the shaft. "Alright, one more to go."

Once it appears that Harvester has safely made it to the bottom intact, Sen-Jyu goes about securing his bow and other accoutrements and taking the knotted rope. With a final look about and a pained sigh, he lowers himself into the darkness and the stagnant air of the underground mines.

The rope flies past under Sen-Jyu's hands as he lowers himself. His companions wait below, all standing on a wooden platform that spans the shaft. The air is clammy and moist, and somewhere below, he can hear the thunderous roar of rushing water.

Soon he has descended the eighty feet to the platform below. As he places his weight on the floor, it creaks again...louder than before.

Harvester moves with alacrity, OFF the platform and into the tunnel.

Ahoke looks to the floor, worried. "I think we should get off of this platform," she says. "It doesn't sound like it's holding up under our weight." In fact, she backs her words up with actions, moving away.

Keeping the rope in hand, Sen-Jyu also moves to the tunnel, and looks for a place to secure the rope should they need to return this way again.

Relieved of the weight of the companions, the complaints of the platform subside. The rope is easily hooked around the corroded remains of the ladder for easy access should egress be needed.


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## Caliber (Nov 18, 2002)

This



			
				drnuncheon said:
			
		

> *Ahoke starts climbing down, finally getting herself straightened out. Once she gets started she does do well, true to her word. Soon, she climbs out of sight, down into the darkness. Not even a full minute later, she tugs on the rope, signalling that she's reached bottom and that nothing has eaten her.*





and this



> *Ahoke gets her ax ready in preparation to kill her companions, now that she has lured them toward her underground lair.*





actually made me laugh out loud. Its lucky they figured out that the wooden platform was at the end of the hole. Burning that down could have created all kinds of problems.


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## drnuncheon (Nov 18, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *actually made me laugh out loud.*




Whoops. Looks like the DM forgot and left an OOC comment in. (Not the first time...)   I'll be putting another post of OOC banter up eventually with more from my weirdo players.  Consider that a preview.

J


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## Tear44 (Dec 11, 2002)

been eagerly awaiting the next installment


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## Harvester (Dec 11, 2002)

Tear44 said:
			
		

> *been eagerly awaiting the next installment *




Me, too!!!

I want to see what happened to us next!!!  

The Harvester


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## drnuncheon (Dec 11, 2002)

Ahoke stands, just off off the wooden platform, glaring into the dark balefully. "Well, we're here," she says quietly. "Now what do we do?"

Harvester studies the tunnel, and the darkness beyond, raising his torch to spread the light farther. "I guess we start spelunking? Try to find our way up?"

"Mmmm," Sen-Jyu says, eyes narrowed in the same direction as Ahoke looks. He shrugs his shoulders and says helpfully, "Good question." Though, just to be on the safe side, Ichido-sama is relieved of the scabbard it has rested in, and is pointed forward as he starts to advance.

The corridor is short - about ten feet long - and then opens into a wider room, the other side of which is lost in shadow to all but Ahoke. The stone here is reddish, although bits of bluish-green slime drip from the moist ceiling to puddles on the floor. At the edge of the shadowy light you can just see piles of equipment - broken picks, rotted wheelbarrows and the like.

Ahoke shrugs, and starts walking towards the tunnel. "Well, we may as well get started." She begins to head down the corridor, treading carefully, and pulling her stone axe, just in case. "It's not natural," she mutters, very non-dwarven-like.

Harvester allows the other to precede him and he gives furtive glances behind him. He sighs softly, and berates himself nearly without sound. "Maps. Next time, get a map of where you're going. Dammit."

Sen-Jyu busies himself as the three advance with a tedious searching of the walls, floor and ceiling. At Ahoke's advance, Sen-Jyu whispers, "Do you think it's wise to just walk in? Could these creatures be capable of setting traps for us?"

Ahoke shrugs as she walks. "I would not put anything past them." She pauses, looking around for traps, but if none immediately present themselves, will continue walking, stopping before entering the larger room.

The dwarf walks past Sen-jyu, whose progress is slowed to a snail's pace as he inspects walls and ceiling. No trap snuffs out her life, or even attempts to do so.

Harvester turns to look behind for a moment, and the haft of his scythe cracks into a wall. He continues to follow his companions, "I do so hate dank and dark..."

Ahoke peers into the room, now that she's close enough to possibly see things that she missed from further back. "Yeah, me too," she says in agreement with the death cleric.

Sen-Jyu grins and shrugs as he falls in line five feet behind Ahoke. "If you're willing to stake your life on it, I'll follow you," he says with a dry tone.

The room at the end of the hall proves to be about fifty feet across, and about the same in widht - large enough that the Harvester's magic light cannot penetrate to its corners. A few beetles scuttle away from the unusual glow, their backs glistening emerald in the unaccustomed light.

Ahoke peers into the room. "Ah. There's a doorway that leads into a cave on the other side," she says, starting to stump through the room without seeming very concerned for life or limb. "Here _thanork_, come and get us..." She peers at the beetles, but then ignores them upon determining that they are not _thanork_.

Sen-Jyu glances back at the Harvester. "Would it be wiser to simply wait here and let her clear the mines?"

Harvester glances at Sen-Jyu as Ahoke boldly goes where no dwarf has gone since years before. "She's... certainly brave..." A laugh. "Well, I think we could follow at a distance..."

"I -hope- that it's bravery," Sen-Jyu adds with a whisper.

Ahoke grins over her shoulder at the other two. "If we die, we die in glory. And I'll be able to get some rest," she adds, in a mutter. Turning back around, she once again begins to approach the opening into the cavern.

Sen-Jyu sniffs. "I'm not sure that dying anywhere under the earth is very glorious," he opines, though mostly to himself.

Harvester shrugs and steps fully into the room, some short distance behind the dwarf. "I don't mind dying," he remarks back to Sen-Jyu, "so much as dying needlessly or foolishly." Another soft laugh. "I've done that before."

Harvester gives a low whistle, "Hold up a sec, guys...." He kneels, fingers tracing just about the dust.

Sen-Jyu pauses, mid-step. He stares at something just at his feet, then withdraws his foot so he can crouch close to the ground.

Ahoke, too, seems to have paused. "Looks like someone's been through here recently," she says, glancing at the other two for confirmation.

Harvester almost seems to croon softly, "Well, welll... What have we here... Yeah... two sets of somebodies, at that..." He points at some unobscured prints, "Lots of little people, and later.... maybe half a dozen people our size... no more than that, probably less." He rises. "I think we're on the right track..."

Ahoke nods. "Whether little people are _thanork_ or children, we're on the right track." She looks vaguely disappointed, like she'd been hoping for something a little more innocent. "Well, right. Let's go then."

"Nnnnn," Sen-Jyu says softly. "Allow me, please, to check these. For a minute." He takes to his knees, so much the better to search about the floor. "The Harvester, may I ask you to bring that light a bit closer?"

Harvester nods, and moves closer to Sen-Jyu, holding the torch outwards.

Ahoke shrugs, and waits nearby, quietly, so as to not distrub Sen-Jyu's inspection.

Sen-Jyu says, "Hmmm."

Harvester says, "What hmmm?"

Sen-Jyu points at some of the tracks. "These are _thanork_. About ten, maybe as many as fifteen. However, they both enter... and leave." His finger jabs at another set of tracks accusingly. "The larger ones... they check in, but they don't check out."

Harvester murmurs, nodding in agreement. "And the larger ones are the 'Heroes of Bellhold', no doubt..."

Ahoke studies the prints for a moment, over Sen-Jyu's shoulder, and then nods. "You're right..." her eyes narrow. "It sounds like the _thanork_ won that little skirmish. Now, did they just kill them, or did they eat them too..."

"More importantly, where are the children?" asks Sen-Jyu of his two companions, though it's not really a rhetorical comment. "I don't think that they fought -- the _thanork_ were here several weeks ago."

Sen-Jyu hazards, "They could have been carried, I suppose..."

Ahoke shrugs. "Let's go find out then," she says, beginning to walk towards the cavern again. "I'll bet that the answers lie somewhere down here."

Harvester points down the tunnel, "I suggest we'll find our answers in the beyond..."

Harvester gestures back the way they've come, "In any case, I thought the tracks with the children led up the mountain?"

Sen-Jyu frowns, drawing his legs under him until he sits akimbo, Ichido-sama placed across his lap. "Might we pause to assemble some of our thoughts, here?"

Ahoke stops, looking over her shoulder with a trace of impatience, but then sighs heavily, drawing her great club to prop herself up on. "Seems to me like the course of action is an obvious one. We take the only path through here, and kill anything that opposes us..."

"I believe that killing anything to oppose us may also relieve us of any possibility for the answers we need," Sen-Jyu says softly, looking at Ahoke in earnest. "Which is why we should consider what we know and what we -need- to know."

Harvester murmurs thoughtfully, "I also have concerns about this place's stability. The mines have been closed for half a century, have they not?"

Ahoke scowls. "I'm not going to sit down and have tea with the _thanork_, and ask them why they've taken the children."

Harvester laughs, "Not 'why', Kay, but '_where_'..."

Ahoke amends, "Alright, I'm not going to sit down here and have tea with the _thanork_ asking them where they've taken the children. They're murderous little bastards, is why. They're barely sentient. Although I suppose I could beat the answer out of one of them..." She eyes her club speculatively.

Harvester shakes his head. "We won't stop you from killing them... we just think we should keep some alive long enough to...extract answers."

"If they were the sort to have tea, I might. That seems to be an option that their nature has removed from possibility." Sen-Jyu places two fingers at the indent of his lip, lost momentarily in thought. "The _thanork_ went through these caves several weeks ago... why? Were they the ones to open up the copper seal? They also left the same way. The newer set of tracks implies the Heroes of Bellhold also came this way, after having likely found the same clues that we have to this point. The children, however, were lost in between the time of these two groups in this cave."

Harvester considers. "When did the headaches and nightmares begin?"

Ahoke frowns. "Are the human sized prints just as old as the _thanork_ prints? They've been down here for several weeks?"

Sen-Jyu says, "... and the tracks that we -think- were of the _thanork_ kidnappers led up the mountainside, presumably to the same area -- the old dragon aerie -- which we hope to discover a way into through these mines. Correct?" He shakes his head at Ahoke's question. "No, they are not. They are far more recent. I believe the beginnings of the troubles all coincided... and have worsened since."

Ahoke nods. "Yes, it would be ideal to find a way up in here. That path going up the mountain... would be insane for anything besides a _thanork_ to try to climb."

Harvester nods slowly as he thumbs through his journal. "It is my wondering that these '_thanork_' may have released something... something that began affecting the town..." He looks at the tracks, then Sen-Jyu. "How quickly did they leave?"

Sen-Jyu grins at Harvester. "I already thought of that -- they didn't appear to be in any rush to leave."

Ahoke sighs. "And here I was hoping that some of them had been eaten by demons." She grins quickly, to show that she was (mostly) joking. "We see _thanork_ prints in here. We see _thanork_ prints on top of the mountain. It makes sense that it'll all come together somehow."

Harvester grunts as he finds what he seeks in his journal, then snaps it shut and puts it away. "Yeah," says he, looking to Sen-Jyu. "The dreams and headaches started a few weeks ago too. I don't think it's coincidence. They released something here, I'm willing to wager."

"All right," says Sen-Jyu in mock-deference. "We'll keep moving." Slowly, like an aged man, he lifts himself to his feet. "I think we're going to find out what happened once we reach the aerie. If we reach the aerie."

Harvester laughs at Ahoke. "Eaten by demons? What, and rob you of your fun?"  He snorts. "Well, I, for one, intend to live long enough.. or enough times... to complete my tasks for Him."

Ahoke grins. "Well, demons aren't known for being nice, so if they could rob me of my fun..." She looks at Sen-Jyu then. "We have to reach the aerie. I want to find out what's in that other town, so we have to survive all of this."

Sen-Jyu shrugs, "It might not even be a question of living long enough -- it might be a question of the shaft or shafts leading there still being intact."

Ahoke sighs. "True. Let's hope that it isn't that bad... because if it is, we're in trouble. It's not like I'm an Old One that has knowledge of this kind of place..." She moves towards the cavern again, putting her great club over her back and drawing her axe again.

Beyond the doorway, a huge, irregular cavern stretches out. The Harvester's light shines dimly into it, but is quickly swallowed up by the gloom, showing only wooden pillars bracing the rough-hewn rock of the ceiling. Even Ahoke's dwarven darkvision cannot see the far end. Beetles scuttle off into the darkness yet again as you approach.

Harvester laughs softly, "Y'know, my grandpappy always said, 'Don't borrow trouble.'... let's wait and see when we get there."

Ahoke whistles low. "This is a big cavern," she says. "There might be _thanork_ just out of vision range, waiting to kill us," she says, moving forward eagerly.

Harvester whispers to Sen-Jyu, "She hopes..."

"Oh, lovely," says Sen-Jyu, his eagerness inclined in the opposite direction, but he persists in moving forward nevertheless. He slants his hat back still further on his head, allowing him greater peripheral vision.

The cavern broadens to the right, deeply enough that the light does not reach, and continues on in front of you.

Ahoke steps towards the right, and then stops. "No, that one's a dead end. We should go straight... looks like a shaft. Let's get it done."

"Get -what- done?" asks Sen-Jyu of Harvester, hoping that the priest might shed some light on this dwarf's death wi -- er, sudden enthusiasm.

Harvester says, "Er... Get the dyin' done?"

Sen-Jyu says, "... oh.""

The cavern narrows into a shaft about ten feet across, the floor bearing the marks of the many heavy wagonloads of ore that have been carried through it. The keystone of the door's arch has been carved with the head of a smiling, kindly dragon - although the effect is somewhat marred by an old chisel-mark across the dragon's nose.

Ahoke snorts. "Well, if that's what we're going to get accomplished, then yeah. But preferrably save the human children, kill whatever is causing the headaches, and then go on with life."

"Just the human children? Were there any others?" The Harvester asks, with a soft laugh. "Okay, save human children, no one else... Got it."

Ahoke freezes into place, staring up ahead into the darkness. 'Oh..." she says softly. "That doesn't look good at all." She proceeds, with a bit more caution. "Severed heads..."

Harvester's voice falls as well, "Of...?

Ahoke hmms. "Two _thanork_ and an elf, looks like." She grips the axe tightly. "Which is a strange combination, come to think of it."

"Perhaps that's what the recipe called for -- two parts _thanork_ body, one part elf body. The heads are just the leftovers." Sen-Jyu's quip rather dies on his lips as he advances with the others.

Ahoke gives Sen-Jyu a strange look, and then chuckles rather weakly. "Umm, right." She continues advancing, yet more slowly, finally showing some caution.

Harvester does laugh softly, with humor at Sen-Jyu's jest, and shoves the torch into his belt, freeing both hands to grip the scythe. "Well, if I've got to hold the target...er, torch, I'll do it up there."

As the other two approach with the light, they can see what Ahoke speaks of. About ten feet down the corridor, three severed heads - two _thanork_ and a female elf - are stacked into a rough pyramid. The _thanork_ heads have been severely gnawed by beetles - the elven one seems rather fresher. The ubiquitous beetles flee for the safety of the darkness as you approach.

Ahoke frowns as the group approaches. "Was one of the village's heroes an elf?"

"That would be my guess," Sen-Jyu answers. "I don't know if one can import elf heads."

Harvester nods, then shrugs. "I think so, yes."

Ahoke mms. "Well, she may have come here on her own... or been captured like the children. How were the heads severed?" She leans over to look.

Sen-Jyu looks a bit sick at seeing the woman's head, despite his joking.

Harvester approaches the heads and sits on his heels beside them. He examines the remains thoughtfully, poking and prodding as necessary.

You take a single step into the mineshaft.

Three pairs of sightless eyes snap open, and swivel to see who approaches. The lips part, as if drawing air into nonexistent lungs...and then the heads begin to scream.

It echoes down the corridors, raising the hackles on your necks - a shrill, unearthly keening that speaks of the terrors of the grave and what lies beyond.

Harvester says, "Well, sh-t."


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## Caliber (Dec 12, 2002)

Hehe, I thought that was a beautiful little trap.

Although, like Ahoke, I am wanting to smash some heads here. Wheres the killing?!?


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## drnuncheon (Dec 12, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Although, like Ahoke, I am wanting to smash some heads here. Wheres the killing?!?  *




Putcher feet up and get comfortable, it may take a while.

J


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## drnuncheon (Dec 15, 2002)

Ahoke leaps backward like a scalded cat, her axe coming up in front of her defensively. "What?!? That is /not/ supposed to happen."

Sen-Jyu turns several shades of pale at seeing this abominable choir, and takes several steps back, katana held in between two shaking hands. Panicked, he looks at his companions, though he looks as if he might bolt.

Harvester speaks succinctly, his feelings apparent as he shifts his scythe into readiness.

The screams continue: rasping, bubbling, shrill - setting your teeth on edge and no doubt warning whatever lurks in the darkness beyond.

Sen-Jyu lunges forward with a frenzied look in his eyes, striking at the heads with several quick slashes of his katana.

Harvester raises his scythe on high, and begins to slice the heads apart.

Ahoke grabs her great club and begins to smash one of the _thanork_ heads.

Ahoke's club comes down on the _thanork_ head, crushing it beneath the heavy wood. Ichida-sama licks out beside it like a silver flame, silencing the other _thanork_, but the twin blows have knocked the elven head from its precarious perch atop the pile. It rolls a few feet further down the corridor, the scream continuing unabated.

Harvester's startlement is so severe that the wickedly curved blade of the scythe swings wildly, snapping the hairs atop the short dwarf's head in the back-swing, and brushing Sen-Jyu's cheek as it comes around.

Sen-Jyu turns on his companion and the blade that came close to cutting his head from his shoulders. The katana is positioned at the ready as he attempts to assess whether or not the Harvester has gone mad.

Ahoke chases after the rolling head, and crushes it brutally. "Shut /up!/" she screams at it. And it obeys.

Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu and Ahoke apologetically. "Erm... Sorry. My hand slipped.... yeah, that's it."

Ahoke turns back around. "We had best take up strategic positions. Our element of surprise is gone."

Sen-Jyu lowers his katana ever-so-slowly, keeping an eye on the Harvester all the while. "As thankful as I am to your god's support of our endeavors, I don't want to shake His hand."

Silence once more reigns over the mine - except for the constant drip of water. Three corridors continue from the intersection - ahead, left, and right. The light reveals that the corridor ahead continues past the range of the spell, while the others both open into larger spaces at the very edge of the glow.

Harvester shrugs a shoulder. "Today or tomorrow, Sen, He does not care..." The priest walks towards the elven head and lifts it by the long hair as he moves back. He mumbles to himself.

Ahoke looks at the other two. "Do we hide in the darkness and hope to ambush them, or do we proceed down the corridor and hope they ambush us?" She doesn't sound like she really cares, either way.

Sen-Jyu sighs heavily as his nerves painfully uncoil from being tauntly wound. "I'm busy both days," he rasps as he returns to facing forward, Ichido-sama agreeing silently as its edge winks in the light.

Ahoke steps to one side of the cavern so that she's at least not run over by a herd of _thanork_ while the others make up their minds.

Harvester plucks something from the elven head before casting the head aside. "In darkness, I cannot see. 'They' might well slit my throat before I knew they were there." He bends down to inspect the _thanork_ heads.

"At this point," Sen-Jyu says with deadly earnest, "I would rather resolve this. They can outwait us."

Ahoke shrugs. "There's three choices, then. Whch direction shall we go in?"

Sen-Jyu nods in the left direction. "No harm in starting there and doubling back if we're wrong."

Ahoke starts sniffing the air, suspiciously. She glances to the right, narrowing her eyes. "Something's over here..."

Sen-Jyu turns to the right and, presumably, toward what Ahoke's referring to. "Something moving?" he asks in a breath that could scarcely be discerned from a passing breeze.

Ahoke sniffs the air again, frowning. "Korhorrag. In the same place as _thanork_?" She sounds puzzled. Glancing at Sen-Jyu, she blinks. "Huh? Oh, no. I smell them."

Harvester's attention is diverted towards Ahoke, "Eh? What's that?" He winces as a hand reaches up to his left ear for a moment. "Ow. Damn."

Ahoke grumbles. "Remember those undead lizard things that we saw? That's a korhorrag. Except that they're not usually undead."

Sen-Jyu murmurs matter-of-factly, "I find the undead to be extremely irritating."

Harvester gives a cursory scan across the ground, "Korhorrag? And is that what you noticed here?" He moves nearer the dwarf, and says to Sen-Jyu, "Irritating? Nah. Just abominable, is all."

Ahoke nods, seeming to agree with his assessment. "Yes. So do we try a different corridor that doesn't have korhorrag, or do we make the assumption that it's all related somehow? I'll bet that it is, in some way..."

Sen-Jyu shakes his head at Harvester. "Yes, they're blemishes on all that is hale and benign in the world. But they -irritate- me."

Harvester gestures Ahoke forward. "You've done good leading us through this maze so far. Keep a-goin."

Sen-Jyu pauses. "Could it be that the _thanork_ tracks that we found -leaving- were those of undead _thanork_?"

Harvester considers, "Mmmmmmmmaybe. We can ask when we see them?"

Ahoke makes a noncommital grunt, but says, "I want to see what the races are doing living together." She veers off towards the right hand tunnel. "Anything's possible. Undead _thanork_. What /is/ this world coming to?" She sighs heavily, as if the weight of it is all on her shoulders. "Well, let's go find out."

"Mmmmm," agrees Sen-Jyu, unusually happy with this idea. Maybe it's just the 'moving forward' bit.

Harvester murmurs, answering Ahoke's question softly, "The world is coming to it's end... and a new beginning..."

Ahoke mmphs in response. "Yeah, alright," she says. "You're the god person." She sighs. "I just kill when wolverine tells me to."

Harvester follows his companions into the darkness, and attempts to calm his nerves.

The tunnel is short - about twenty feet - and opens up into a large room. The stench of korhorrag is strong here, almost overpowering, a foul odor reminiscent of dead skunk, that twists your stomach into knots. But the korhorrag who exude the foul odor seem not to be present - unless they are the source of the piles of rotting flesh that are almost invisible beneath a carpet of emerald carapaces. As you move closer, the sound of thousands of tiny jaws chewing can be heard. It stops, to be replaced by the scuttling of feet as your presence frightens the beetles away from their feast.

Scattered about the room are the damp-rotted remains of cots and beds, and on the far wall a masterful carving that seems somehow out of place in this abbatoir.

Ahoke looks shocked. "This is... a surprise." She also looks repulsed. "Do you think that these things get up and move around sometimes, or are they really dead?"

Harvester enters slowly, raising the torch on high as he turns to take in the entirety of the scene. He breathes carefully, through his mouth. "Rather.... unpleasant, this..."

Harvester blinks once, and turns again, more quickly. He raises a hand and lowers the torch, head tilted as he listens.

Ahoke nods, sighing. "We're not going to be fighting any of these creatures... unless they /do/ get up again," she adds, looking at them suspiciously. "Are they? Surely not, if they're being eaten..."

Harvester hisses, "Did you hear that?"

The piles are no longer even recognizable as creatures.

Ahoke looks back at Harvester, shaking her head. "What is it?" she whispers.

"Being eaten never stopped anyone from getting up again. I've seen more than one meal come up once mo..." Sen-Jyu stops at Harvester's hiss, falling silent and alert.

Harvester moves nearer to his companions. "I heard my name," speaks the cleric, softly. "And then I thought I heard Waterman saying I was 'strange'... his voice trailed away..."

"Visions... er, listens, from your god?" asks Sen-Jyu gently.

Harvester looks slowly about, attempting to divine where the voices came from - or if they were only imagined.

Ahoke blinks, and whispers, "Do you think that Waterman is down here?"

Harvester shakes his head slowly. "I do not know... I don't think it was from my Lord, though.... let's look about. Maybe Waterman's near and neck deep in the sh-t." He glances back. "If he is, I intend to see he drowns."

There are two "exits" from the room besides the one you came in through: a well along the southern wall, and a tiny vertical crevice on the east - too narrow for even a _thanork_ to fit down. Taking a closer look, it seems as if the rock directly above the crevice has been carved into a crude seat, making for a stone garderobe.

Ahoke smirks at the garderobe. "Do you want to see if he's neck deep in sh-t?"

Aside from that, the only feature of note are the piles of flesh and the carving on the back wall.

Sen-Jyu begins to move toward the carving on the back wall, though he doesn't go out of the range of the light. "Come with me, please?" he asks of the Harvester, gesturing to the carving.

Harvester snorts at Ahoke, then moves to inspect the carving briefly. "Doubt he is, but I'll look in a sec." He turns, to Sen-Jyu and grins, having had the same thought.  He continues to speak softly, to Ahoke, "Can you see where that goes?" He gestures south.

Ahoke looks at Harvester as if he's crazy. "It's a well... it goes down."

The carving is a triptych: three panels on the wall. From left to right, it portrays: a graceful dragon gazing beneficiently over dozens of man working happily in the mine; men working in a forge, smelting ore and forming goods from the copper - including bells; and last, the men presenting these offerings to the dragon by placing them in an enormous fiery bowl, while the creature looks on in pleasure.

Ahoke walks over to the well, looking it over carefully, to make sure that there aren't any undead _thanork_ crawling out of it.

Harvester murmurs to Sen-Jyu, grinning as Ahoke checks the well, "See anything here, Sen?"

Ahoke adds, "Yeah, it's a well. There's rushing water underneath it." She moves away, walking back to the center of the room. "You know, it smells bad in here. Let's get out."

Sen-Jyu runs his fingers over the carving's topology, caressing its curves adoringly. "This means something..." he whispers to himself, then looks back at the Harvester. "No."

Ahoke frowns. "I've killed these creatures before. Every one that I've ever encountered has had bones." She gestures at her bone armor. Some of this is crafted from such a creature.."

Harvester whispers softly, "Skeletons... animated?"  He glances at Ahoke and begins to move towards the rotting flesh, then pauses. "Finished, Sen? or shall I wait?"

Looking a bit glassy-eyed, Sen-Jyu says, "I'm... finished, thank you." He turns to smile at his two companions, then looks quizzical at their frowning faces. "Something wrong?"

Ahoke gestures at the pile of flesh. "Yes. These things generally have bones."

"... and they don't?" comes Sen-Jyu's next question.

Harvester nods once, then moves to the rotten meat, and pokes with the haft of his scythe. "These all lizard and _thanork_, or...."

Ahoke shrugs. "Let's go see if there's anything elsewhere. And no, these don't."

Harvester nods in agreement with Ahoke, "Yeah, they do. I wonder if they've been made walking skeletons..." He moves to the garderobe, briefly, and shines his torch in.

"Hmm. Sounds like something is bone-collecting and these are the discarded piles. Either that, or the beetles are able to chew through bone." Sen-Jyu shrugs, oddly calm to the revelation.

Harvester shrugs, and turns to walk out with the dwarf. "He ain't there," he remarks softly. He pauses to look back in.

Ahoke nods, leaving the way that she came.

Sen-Jyu follows behind the other two, gazing one more time at the triptych.


----------



## Caliber (Dec 15, 2002)

Cool doc.  Does Ahoke have scent? Or is that just a well roleplayed spot/listen check?


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## drnuncheon (Dec 15, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Cool doc.  Does Ahoke have scent? Or is that just a well roleplayed spot/listen check? *




I think I used either spot or a Wis check, I can't recall which.  No scent, although it would certainly seem to be appropriate for her...

J


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## drnuncheon (Dec 23, 2002)

Returning to the intersection...to the left, the cavern and exit. Ahead, the shaft opens to another cavern at the edge of Harvester's light...to the right, it disappears into blackness.

"The other cavern," suggests Sen-Jyu from the back, his voice distant and faded.

Ahoke shrugs, moving towards the right hand cavern. "Alright," she says, "Let's go see what wonders there are to be seen."  She moves in whichever direction that Sen-Jyu seemed to be talking about.

The cave here must have been a copper mine - the wide open expanse of rough-hewn walls is testament to that. Rotted wooden pillars hold the roof up - at least, in some places. In others, the ceiling has partially collapsed, leaving piles of rubble on the floor. Patches of slime glisten on the ground, and a pool of an unnaturally bright azure hue glimmers at the edge of the light.

The cavern is large enough that the light does not illuminate it all.  You cannot see the far wall, nor the left.

Harvester murmurs softly, "I do not care for cavernous pools..." He approaches slowly, cautiously.

"... of an unnaturally bright azure hue," adds Sen-Jyu warily.

Ahoke pauses, looking at the blue glimmering. "What...?" She pauses, looking around and getting her bearings. "Slime never means anything good," she states authoritatively.

The pool is large - thirty feet wide at least at the end that the light illuminates.

Ahoke picks up a piece of rock. "Step back." She then tosses the rock and tosses it underhand to the center of the pool. "Let's see what happens."

*plorp* - the rock vanishes into the depths.

Ahoke hmms. "Well, that was disappointing. Harv, you should go up and dip your toe in, see what happens."

Sen-Jyu grins. "I agree. It will probably find you the most delectable of the three of us."

Ahoke scowls over at the bright blue thing. "Is that what the brain shards were made out of? And if so... what do we do about it?"

Harvester grunts at Ahoke. "No thanks... I _like_ having ten toes..." Instead he looks around for a suitable piece of wood to poke the pool with. A moment's seach turns up a piece of wood - rather rotted and slightly slimy - from one of the collapsed pillars.

"At the moment? Nothing." Sen-Jyu says decidedly. "I wouldn't even begin to know what to do with it if it -were- some sort of oni-spawning liquid. I think the safest course of action is still to find who's behind the brain-slivers and bring justice to them."

Harvester hefts the length of wood after stowing the torch in his belt once more, and pokes the end of it into the edge of the pool, then begins to reach further outward with it.

It gets wet.

Ahoke nods. "Or kill them," she says agreeably. She falls silent, watching Harvester.

The cleric's body blocks the divine glow emanating from the torch, casting weird shadows over the room - shadows that bother Ahoke's vision not at all, but Sen-Jyu's slightly more.

"I think it's just filled with some sort of underground algae," offers Sen-Jyu thoughtfully. "Very pretty, don't you think?"

Harvester drops the piece of wood with a shrug. "Okay. it appears to just be your everyday, normal, bright blue pool of water..." He turns away to look about the rest of the cavern, torch once more in hand.

Ahoke hrrms, looking dubiously at the bright blue crap. "Alright. Let's go back into the darkness, and see what's waiting to eat us there."

Harvester nods to himself and approaches the nearest wall, and begins to traverse the perimeter of the cavern.

"Maybe we should finish looking through this room? Or have you already seen everything in it?" Sen-Jyu cocks his head to one side as he looks at Ahoke.

Ahoke gestures off into the darkness. "there's another door over there anyway. I'm sure that we'll want to look into it."

Harvester ears Ahoke's statement and turns. "Oh? Is that all? Well then, let's check it out..."

Ahoke nods, and starts moving in that direction. "Yeah. I just noticed it," she admits. "But it bears looking at."

Sen-Jyu falls to the rear again, keeping an eye out as the three approach the door.

The doorway leads down a short corridor to another room - one that seems to have been an office, or a prison, or both: a rotted desk lies up against the back wall, while copper chains and manacles dangle from the right. In the center of the room, on the floor, lies a copper statue of a man with a dragon's head, covered in verdigris and limestone that has apparently dripped from the ceiling overhead, making tiny stalagmites on the statue's surface.

Ahoke frowns as they move into the room. "It doesn't appear to have been disturbed for a long time," she says, "But this seems to be a bit strange of a place to have furniture... should we try to open some of the drawers?"

Sen-Jyu moves to take place close to the statue, preparing to examine it more closely.

Harvester nods to Ahoke. "Sure. Go for it." He moves to help at the desk, pausisng to look over the chains and manacle first.

Ahoke walks over to the desk, peering at it. She then reaches down to try to remove one of the drawers. "It's locked," she grunts. "The wood is rotted.. maybe I should just smash it open with my club."

Harvester looks over after a moment and muses, "Wonder why they had a 'prison' down here... unless it was one of Copperdeath's doings for those he couldn't control..." He nods to Ahoke, "Or just rip it open." He steps back.

The wood of the desk crumbles away in front of Ahoke's club, spilling the contents out onto the floor: the rotted remnants of papers, blurred and illegible; a small jar; a wooden box; and a tiny copper figure of a soldier.

Ahoke grunts triumphantly, and kneels to look at the jar, the box, and the soldier.

Harvester stops the items from bouncing too far, with his foot. He, too, examines them, looking at the box first.

Ahoke opens the jar, cautiously sniffing it. "Well, it used to be a liquid, or paste," she said. "But I don't know what it is now. I think it's pretty useless." She glances over to Harvester. "What's the box?"

Sen-Jyu looks over the fallen statue, using what light he can to seek out details on it.

Harvester murmurs to Ahoke, eyes twinkling as he looks in the box, "A box is normally a container that holds things, with six sides..." His mirth turns to surprise as it is opened, however. "Oh, my... I wonder what these might be... Five crystalline shards, though they differ from the pair we've already found. Larger, duller, and clear..." He reaches in a gloved hand to extract one.

Frowning in concentration, Sen-Jyu sheathes Ichido-sama, placing both hands firmly on the statue's forearm. He then attempts to shift it in some manner, as if bending the arm at its elbow.  The arm moves with a squeal of protest, leaving a streak of bright copper where the corrosion has been rubbed away by the motion.

Ahoke scowls at the shards. "Oh... so what did they do? Shove them into the brains of prisoners?" She looks over at Sen-Jyu then, when he starts making noise.

Harvester shrugs at Ahoke while he nearly drops the crystal as Sen-Jyu's new friend shrieks. He looks over and replaces the shard in the box before stowing it, and reaches out to pick up the toy soldier. "Whatcha got there, Sen?"

"I'm not sure, but this statue may have once been... articulate. And is still, possibly, hollow." Sen-Jyu seeks further, searching as much with his hands as with his eyes.

Harvester looks at Ahoke and clarifies, "Your guess is good as mine... That's my thinking, though." he agrees.

Ahoke blinks. "An articulate statue? That's bizarre...." She looks back to Harvester. "Either that or the person that sat at this desk used them on himself. Or herself."

Harvester shudders at the thought and raises the soldier to study it. "That'd be... ow. That'd definitely be 'ow'."

Harvester whistles softly, then rises to face Sen-Jyu and the statue. "Uh... Sen? Can you step back a sec? Want to try something..."

Sen-Jyu rises, stepping one pace back from the statue while he waits for what the Harvester intends to do.

Ahoke takes a step back as well, as if expecting exposive action, for some reason. Maybe she knows Harvester too well. Maybe she's paranoid.

Harvester holds up the toy soldier, "Completely untarnished... and complete with tiny joints... Maybe..." He slowly raises the right arm of the toy.

Harvester grunts as he meets resistance. "I don't want to force it... maybe the statue's too corroded? He looks over the statue's current positioning and compares it to the toy. "I'm thinking this," he raises the figure, "controls that." He pushes the arm a bit harder.

Eyeing the Harvester, Sen-Jyu says, "I think, if you're assuming that that is some sort of puppet to manipulate the statue, that the eyes -- or whatever -- of the statue need to be returned to it. Right now, its eyesockets are hollow." Shrugging, he adds, "That is, if I knew anything about magic."

There is a bit more resistance, and then something inside the figurine gives way, and the arm flops freely. The larger statue does not move.

Harvester says, "Oh, *&%#. That was so wrong..."

Ahoke frowns, and starts looking around the room for statue eyes. "I don't /see/ any eyes. Maybe the crystal shards would make it work?"

Sen-Jyu grins. "As I said, if I knew anything about magic... perhaps the Harvester can see whether or not either toy or statue are magical."

Harvester sighs and nods at Sen-Jyu. "Should've tried that first." He sets the figure down and begins to cast.

As Harvester sets the figure down, it stirs, and begins to march back and forth, the broken arm hanging sadly at its side as the other swings back and forth. Occasionally the right arm twitches a bit, but that is all.

Ahoke blinks as the soldier starts marching around. "Umm... that isn't normal. Is it?" She looks up at the other two, truly bewildered. "My tribe /never/ had anything like this."

Sen-Jyu clears his throat, then nods knowingly to Ahoke's question. "Magic," he states.

Harvester blinks and looks at the marching figure. "Wha...." He grunts in displeasure at his barbaric heavy-handedness, then reaches up to his ear and removes something. He holds a little 'hearing trumpet' in his hand. A nod, the it is replaced. He reaches down to pick up the figure again for closer study. "This is magical, yes. As is the earring taken from the elven woman's ear."  As he picks up the figurine, it stops moving.

Sen-Jyu kneels by the statue again, 'massaging' the joints to limberness as he did with the first. The echoes of squalling metal bounce off of the walls.

Harvester sighs and gently rotates the loose arm, hoping that something inside catches it back into place. The arm swings merrily 'round and 'round.

Ahoke scowls at the Harvester. "You were planning on revealing this earring to the rest of us at some point?"

Harvester shakes his head to himself, then blinks at Ahoke. "Eh? Uh.... sorry. I found an earring, guys?"

Sen-Jyu grins at Ahoke. "We all keep secrets. He just reveals his in time."

Ahoke glares at Sen-Jyu, but keeps her own counsel. She turns her gaze back to Harvester, and waits.

Sen-Jyu returns merrily to the statue and his cacophonic metal-on-metal screeching.

Harvester shrugs a shoulder. "It just appeared to be an interesting earring. And I _did_ tell you the moment I learned its value, didn't I? So chill..." He carries his torch towards Sen-Jyu and the statue to look more closely.

Sen-Jyu asks, "Do we have something that we'd care to place in this statue's eyesockets? Anything? If either one of you found some eyes that might fit this, you should speak up now."

The magical glow from the torch appears to be dimming as the spell approaches its end.

Ahoke continues scowling, and then turns to walk to the doorway leading outward. "No, I have found no eyes," she says stiffly.

Harvester examines the eyesockets, then frowns at his light. He sets the torch down and quickly extracts flint and steel, attempting to set the torch alight with proper fire.

No more storing it in his belt...the pitchy head of the torch catches a pair of sparks that the cleric is able to blow into actual flames.

"Hmmm," Sen-Jyu says, standing and prodding the statue with his foot. "No eyes for you. Sorry, friend." He looks about the rest of the room for possible niches for eyes.

"Maybe you're supposed to use your own eyes," muses Ahoke, looking around.

Harvester glances towards Ahoke as she leaves, then searches.

Ahoke does not, in fact, leave, but stands in the doorway.

Ahoke sighs, looking over at the desk for a moment, and then clumps into the room. "There's something shiny, anyway," she says, approaching the desk. She reaches behind it, feeling around.

Harvester turns to watch Ahoke, "Yeah?"

Ahoke scowls, looking at the item. "It's not eyes, though." She holds up a beautifully made mirror - copper of course, covered with corrosion. She peers into the surface, trying to get a view of herself through said corrosion.

Ahoke hmmphs. "Must've been an elf or something staying here." She brushes some of the crud off of the mirror. "It's going to have to be polished to be used properly.

Harvester's head tilts as he regards the mirror. "Heh. Should be worth something, though..." He holds out the oty soldier. "You want to hang onto this, or shall I?"

Ahoke glances from the mirror to the soldier. "You can, I don't want it crawling around inside my clothes." She looks down at the mirror, and then pockets it. "Hopefully this isn't an /evil/ mirror," she says, as if every other mirror she's run into has been.

Sen-Jyu thinks about Ahoke's comment seriously for a moment. "I'm not sure that it would matter -- mirrors are notoriously inanimate."

Harvester places the soldier into a pouch with a laugh. "I don't know about evil, but can say it ain't magic..." He looks at the empty eyesockets again. "Y'all wanted to put the crystals in this thing?"

Ahoke looks over at the bigger statue. "It can't hurt to try, I guess? At the worst, we'll feel really silly. Or it will become animate, and kill us all."

Harvester shakes his head. "Won't work. Maybe we'll find something somewhere else, that'll fit." He jerks a thumb outwards. "Want to push on?"

Sen-Jyu smirks faintly. "Which would be much more interesting than it's been already."

Ahoke mmms, and nods, moving to the door. "Onward. I guess we should explore the rest of the cavern, and then go on out to that shaft that we haven't looked at yet."

Harvester follows the dwarf, once more.

Ahoke moves back out into the cavern, and starts prowling around the outer perimeter.

Harvester skirts around the edge of the large cavern as they pass through, his eyes picking fruitlessly through the flickering gloom.

Ahoke ummms. "Guys? Stay away from the slime..."

Harvester's foot was about to step in a patch, and he pauses, leg poised in midair. He steps back. "Why?" He moves further still. "What's with the slime?"

Ahoke umms again. "I just kicked some wood into it... and the slime dissolved the wood. Really fast."

Harvester blinks and regards the slime curiously now. "Really? How very interesting..." He takes a piece of wood and tosses it into a patch.

The other patch - a bluish-green color - merely splatters a bit, leaving the wood unharmed.

Ahoke scowls. "It did! I swear." She tosses a piece of wood into "her" patch to prove it.

Harvester frowns, then picks up another piece of wood and moves - carefully - to Ahoke. "Which patch did it?

Ahoke points at the offending algae patch. "that one," she said accusingly, as if it had just dissolved her foot."  "Ahoke's" patch does indeed melt the wood, the slime growing as the wood is transformed.

Ahoke hmms. "Good thing I didn't decide to take a swim, get cleaned up. I was considering it, since one doesn't ever want to go into battle already dirty."

Harvester peers at the patch thoughtfully, and murmurs, "What distinguishes this patch, from that, aside from its disolving ability..."

"Well. Wood-dissolving slime. I wonder what other purposes that could solve?" Sen-Jyu grins at the other two as he observes their scientific experiments.

Harvester hmms to himself, then pulls out his pack. A bolt is extracted and the metal head is touched to the patch of algae.

Harvester glances to Sen-Jyu, "Well, if it doesn't dissolve metal or glass, I intent to take some... I'm betting it'll hurt flesh..."

Ahoke hmms. "Maybe that's what was in the jar, back in the other room."
Harvester glances to Ahoke, "How's that?"

The metal, too, slumps away as the slime begins to dissolve the bolt, working its way up towards Harvester's fingers.

Harvester releases the bolt after trying to gauge the swiftness of the action.

Ahoke shakes her head. "No, the stuff in the jar wasn't green. It was probably some kind of salve or something. I left it behind. But..." she says, "I guess that means that we won't be taking the slime with us?"

Harvester remains thoughtful, then extracts and empty glass flask. He lowers it carefully, so that the edge of its lip touches the 'slime'.  The glass seems to be unharmed by the stuff.  He ponders aloud. "The trick will be to get this into the flask... Any thoughts? He examines his belongings.

"And... why are we getting this into the flask? Am I missing something?" The spirit blood pipes up with this rather innocent question.

Ahoke shakes her head, not appearing to want to get near it. She looks over at Sen-Jyu, nodding her agreement. "I can see where it would be good to melt your enemies, but I'm not sure it's worth the risk of a leak."

Harvester laughs softly in response to Sen-Jyu's query. "Imagine the efficacy of this stuff on flesh..." He nods to Ahoke, "I intend to be very, very careful..."

Sen-Jyu flicks one hand in indication of Ichido-sama. "I think I can imagine the efficacy of many things on flesh. Thing is, one can be trained to use a sword. A little harder not to cut yourself with a glob of slime."

Ahoke waits for Harvester to do his collecting, and starts prowling around again, looking at the cavern in all of its dank glory.

Harvester sets the flask on dry ground, and finds some wood. He attempts to scoop and drip some slime into the flask, throwing the wood back into the patch - carefully - if it makes it way towards his fingers too swiftly.  A dollop of the slime is shoved inside the flask, along with the piece of wood, which melts happily into greenish sludge.

Harvester sighs, in satisfaction, an exhalation of breath a sign of his relaxation through the process. He stoppers the flask carefully, then pulls out a ball of sealing wax to close the flask up tightly. He studies the container carefully, for signs of decay, then decides to coat the entirety with rapidly cooling wax.

Harvester says, "I think I'll only do the one..." says the priest, as he opens an empty pouch and wraps the flask in cloth to place it inside. 

Sen-Jyu shakes his head a little. "Why you're even doing the one is beyond me. You mentioned something earlier about 'borrowing trouble', and now seem to be quite cheerfully ignoring those very words. Far be it for me to point these things out, however." Grinning, he looks at Ahoke. "So, fearless leader, back to the shaft?"

Harvester laughs softly as he gently pats the pouch and follows, "It may cause trouble, yes, or it may avert some..."

Ahoke nods. "Yeah," she says. "I haven't been able to find anything else." She does take the long way around the cavern though, giving everything a once-over.

"Hold," Sen-Jyu says suddenly, pausing by one of the other pools of slime.

Harvester stops, and looks at Sen-Jyu. "What is it, Sen?"

Sen-Jyu points to a flat rock next to the pool. Upon observation, some lettering is written there.

Ahoke mmms. "What's it say?"

Harvester shakes his head and reads it aloud, to Ahoke:

Here lies Corum Mosstoes, dissolved before we could save
him. He was a friend and a hero. We know the child was
taken to the tunnels above us; we continue on as 
Corum would have wanted.

                              Deke Forgeman
                              Caliandra Stormhold
                              Petros Bellson

Sen-Jyu sighs a little. "The halfling woman is going to be very unhappy."

Harvester nods in agreement. "At least we're on the right track, though..."

Ahoke nods, sighing. "Yeah. Maybe the heroes will continue to leave us clues, assuming that the rest of them don't fall into algae pits..." She looks at the marker with something akin to pity, and then turns. "To the shaft?"

Sen-Jyu ponders, "Child? Not children? Which child could they mean?"

Ahoke shrugs. "I guess there's only one way to find out," she says, moving towards the way back to the juncture.

Harvester glances over. "Which was the last child taken?"

Harvester nods as Ahoke moves off. "Right. Let's go and ask."

Sen-Jyu ponders this. "Not sure. It probably was the first child taken -- assuming they mounted their expedition immediately after."

Sen-Jyu follows Ahoke, too.

Harvester pauses before moving away from the marker, "Hey, Corum... Say hello to the Lord for me..."


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## drnuncheon (Dec 25, 2002)

A few paces down the corridor, and you are at the intersection. Caverns ahead, behind and to the right...to the left the dark shaft of the mine continues.

Ahoke looks dourly into the dark mineshaft. "Well, here we are," she says flatly. "As far away from normal blue sky as I've ever been, and going in deeper. I'm ready if you are," she says, moving into the shaft cautiously.

Harvester says, "Down? Thought we wanted 'up'?"

The tunnel stretches on as far as the eye (human or dwarven) can see.

Ahoke pauses. "Well, do you see any stairs?"

Harvester nods, "Sure. Deep into the bowels of the earth..."

Ahoke points down the corridor as she walks. "There's a side passage up ahead. It veer off to the right."

Harvester says, "Let's check the side passage then, I think. Hmm?"

Sen-Jyu grins at Harvester. "Was that a question? I -believe- you think, but there's evidence to the contrary."

As you approach the first side passage, another becomes visible about twenty feet down the corridor - this one to the left.

Ahoke says, "Yeah, I agree. We can always backtrack and take the main corridor again when we explore it all." She stops, looking up ahead. "Well, a few more passages. We could be at this for awhile.""

Harvester laughs softly at Sen-Jyu, but doesn't reply.

Harvester says, "Long as we finish before the week does, Ahoke, that's probably alright..."

"A while it is," says Sen-Jyu. Then, to Harvester, "Please don't dump the slime on me while I'm sleeping."

Ahoke squints down the first side passage. "A dead end," she comments. "Do we want to waste our time with it?"

Sen-Jyu nods. "Just in case. If there's nothing, it won't take much time."

Harvester murmurs to Sen-Jyu, "Hope I'm not too dumb to remember that, sen..."

Harvester nods in agreement and moves into the side passage with the others, and gives it a quick once-over. He's distracted, however, and examines the acidic slime flask.

Harvester gestures back out as he carefully stows the flask, all swaddled in cloth it is. "Well, onward and inward?"

Ahoke hmmphs, and then heads back out to the main shaft again, walking forward until she reaches the next side corridor. Peering down it, she squints. "Let's see.."

Sen-Jyu asks hopefully, "Another dead end?"

Harvester laughs softly.

Ahoke hehs. "Yeah, it's a dead-end. There's a couple of korhorrag, though. They're looking at us." Her tone is casual, but she draws her great club.

"Mmmm," Sen-Jyu says in conversational tone. "How friendly do they look, or is there only green malice in their eyes?"


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## drnuncheon (Dec 25, 2002)

*More Table Banter & Out-Takes!*

As a special Christmas present, I bring you more of the banter, the blather, the OOC goings-on that occured during the last few posted sessions.  Less this time, because I accidentally cleaned up a few of the logs without saving the original version...

*

After finishing half of his plate of pancakes, Sen-Jyu tilts his head at the truncheon, hefting it and asking, "Might you have a small sack or something that I could carry this in? For the road."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Trencher - a truncheon is a club."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "'Dur, right."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu eats Ahoke's club.
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Get your mits off!"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu eyes the haft of Harv's scythe.

*

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Anyone want to make a Spot check?"
<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 1d20+3 and gets 20.
<DIE ROLLER> Ahoke rolls 1d20 and gets 8.
<DIE ROLLER> Sen-Jyu rolls 1d20+3 and gets 7.
<OOC> Harvester snickers. S'okay. That's my high roll for the evening. Now I'm just a blade magnet.
<OOC> Sen-Jyu's katana is found protruding from Harv's back! "Now, how did -that- get there?" 

*

(Ahoke descends into the mineshaft)
Not even a full minute later, she tugs on the rope, signalling that she's reached bottom and that nothing has eaten her.
<OOC> Sen-Jyu bets that's a grue tugging on the rope, asking for more room service.
<OOC> Harvester agrees. Bye, Ke. Nice knowing you...
<OOC> Ahoke nodsnods. "He wants some bamboo shoots with the meat course." 

*

Sen-Jyu points to a flat rock next to the pool. Upon observation, some lettering is written there.
<OOC> Harvester says, "Beware acid slime" 
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Actually, yes. "


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## Caliber (Dec 26, 2002)

The outakes are great!

Finally looks like the party is going to find some skull bashing. 

The scene with the water was great, the slime better.


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## drnuncheon (Dec 30, 2002)

Ahoke growls deep in her throat, sounding more like an animal than a dwarf. Hefting the great club, she gives a loud battle cry, and runs charging down the corridor towards the korhorrag. Drawing back her heavily muscled arms, she brings the club around, connecting solidly with the ribcage of one of the korhorrags, caving it in with a violent splintering.

Harvester raises the symbol of the grinning skull on high, and speaks loudly, "Turn! Begone, foul creatures, return to your graves in the name of He who Is To Come!" The sounds of the enchantment and Ahoke's battlecries have stirred a half century of dust, however, that has risen up about the priest, causing him to cough in the darkness. The kohrkorrag ignore him.

Once Harvester has advanced enough to illuminate the korhorrag, Sen-Jyu cries out a kiai to waken the dead, and hopefully, to put them to rest as well. Ichido-sama raised high, the spirit-blood devours the distance between him and the unliving, the paper-thin edge sliding downward across the shoulder and chest of Sen-Jyu's chosen opponent. The blow is true, cutting deep, yet it reacts with only disdain, the sort that the undead show by simply existing.

The rotting stench of the korhorrag increases as they shift and flail about with their powerful fists - but their reactions are slow, and both dwarf and samurai easily evade their swings.

Ahoke shouts aloud again, jubilation and... something akin to joy in her tone. Her great club is drawn back once again, massive muscles rippling, and then comes down atop the creature's skull, crushing it. With nary a cry, it falls to the ground, and moves no more.

The sword twists in Sen-Jyu's hands as he needles his katana forward, both hands seeking to drive it through the korhorrag. The creature, slow as it is, isn't quite dead, and sidesteps his pathetic swordplay dismissively.

Harvester, seeing that he can advance no farther with his companions blocking the path before him, drops the torch to the ground and yanks out his crossbow. He raises it slowly, and aims as carefully as he might. A SNEEZE! as dust roiled up from the combat fills his nostrils, and the errant bolt whisks past Sen-Jyu's ear and thunks into the ceiling! "Oh dear..."

The korhorrag grunts, as if to mock Sen-Jyu's pathetic attack - but its own clumsy counterattack does no more than ruffle the hair on the spirit-blood's head.

Ahoke whirls around, her eyes agleam with the insane joy that a berserker feels in battle, and targets the second korhorrag. Her great club thuds into the creature's shoulder with a crunch, and its arm falls to the ground.

With savage grunts and growls, two shapes detach themselves from the darkness, lumbering down the corridor towards the unsuspecting Harvester's back! Somehow, more of the creatures have appeared behind you! Their putrid fists upraised, they charge the servant of the Unborn God...but although he staggers under the impact of undead fists, he is as yet unharmed.

Sen-Jyu's expression sours. Stepping to one side, his blade is first seen to glint above the wounded korhorrag, then below and behind it, the distance being crossed through the creature. Sen-Jyu doesn't wait for it to fall before charging the two that accost the priest.

Harvester whirls with a great shout! his crossbow hurled towards his new assailants. The devout priest raises the grinning skull once more, and intones in his sepulchral voice, "By He Who Is To Come, I command you to return to the pit that spawned you!" The pair of zombie korhorrags reel away from him with low moans, and begin to shamble away.

The korhorrag stumble back from the flying crossbow and strongly presented skull, claws upraised as if to block an unseen glare. They peel off and turn the corner, one fleeing (slowly) to either side.

Ahoke whirls around, eyes blazing. "Get theeeeeeeeem!" She laughs wildly, thrusting herself past her companions, and starts to run down the corridor after the fleeing undead.

Turning the corner and pursuing the one that Ahoke did not claim as her own, Sen-Jyu's humming begins as he takes a similar relish in returning the korhorrag to their natural state of being. The gash that opens in Ichido-sama's silvery wake would have been quick and lethal for a human... not nearly so inconveniencing for this thing.

Harvester is very nearly run down by the crazed dwarf, then the samurai wannabe. He releases the holy symbol to drop against his chest and stoops to retrieve his scythe and torch and follow after Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke whirls around the corner, swinging her club through the air. It whistles past the head of one of the creatures, but doesn't make contact with its leathery hide. Ahoke looks disappointed, but starts preparing for her next strike.

Splinters of stone and wood pelt the undead korhorrag as it flees Ahoke's wrath as best it can, lurching down the corridor towards the blessed sanctity of darkness.

The second korhorrag pulls away from Ichida-sama with a disgusting sucking sound, lurching back towards the entryway and vanishing in the shadows.

Ichido-sama is seemingly repulsed by the disgusting nature of the flesh it had just tasted, and refuses to connect with the korhorrag a second time, not through Sen-Jyu's lack of trying, however.

Harvester charges down the mineshaft, towards the sounds of Sen-Jyu and his little friend. The torch is flung forward as he moves, the scythe swinging in a wide circle towards the undead critter. The blow is wild, and nearly decapitates Sen-Jyu once again!

Sen-Jyu ducks the incoming scythe, nimble little minx that he is.

Ahoke, not inconvenienced at all by the darkness, runs forward, the sound of her battlecry echoing throughout the corridor up ahead somewhere. There's a thud of club on flesh, a wild, deranged laugh from Ahoke, and then a louder, splintering sound as a body's bones are pulverized. Ahoke's laughter only gets louder, so one can guess that she was not the one that got crushed.

Harvester's approach seems to break the hold of holy energy over the zombie, and it rallies and swings - a swing nearly as wild as the scythe that missed it. Flecks of rot spatter Sen-Jyu's face as the hand goes past.

Sen-Jyu passes his sleeve over his face to remove the bit of yuck lodged there, then changes his humming to a minor key, something of a dirge for the korhorrag. However, the true sorrow lies in his inability to strike the thing.

Harvester's sweeps the scythe down low this time, narrowly missing the rotting creature. The blade skittes across the roof of the shaft as it comes across, this time nowhere near Sen-Jyu.

It must be something about this corridor...some hallucinogenic, refractive property that affects mortal and undead alike...or perhaps a curiously magnetic quality to the air, for it is the air that has been hit the most often in this affray. Such as now, as the rotting corpse cleaves it with a stinking fist.

Another kiai bursts from Sen-Jyu's throat, and the sword lashes out on a horizontal plane, biting deep into the skull of the korhorrag, a sickening shower of bone and a variety of tissue spattered. However, it does not cleave through fully, and in withdrawing Ichido-sama from the braincase, Sen-Jyu is horrified to see the thing still... animate.
'Clearly not 'Night of the Living Dead' zombies.

Even as Ichido-sama slices deeply into the skull of the undead abomination, so does the Harvester's scythe follow, completing the cut neatly, brain and goo flying with the top of its head now rolling across the ground. It crumples in place. Harvester mutters to himself as he stoops to retrieve his torch yet again. "Where's Ahoke??" he demands of Sen-Jyu.

As if in answer of that question, Ahoke's laughter can still be heard floating out of the darkness of the corridor that she chased one of the korhorrag into.

The humming softens to a single note, and Sen-Jyu smiles wanly at his companion, the scythe-wielding maniac. "... one guess, and one guess only," he murmurs.

Harvester frowns slightly, "She's dead and her ghost haunts these halls like an insane, very loud, happy apparition?"

Ahoke stops laughing, and there is a brief moment of silence, before she says, "What do you mean, finish the job?"

Sen-Jyu shrugs, "Close enough." He begins to walk in the direction of the dwarf's voice, though he stays within thirty feet of the light.

Harvester blinks once as he hears Ahoke speak, then turns to follow after Sen-Jyu. "Who the hells is she talking to?"

Ahoke starts laughing again. "Glad to do it, korhorrag scum! If you didn't smell so damned bad, I'd have your haunch for supper."

Sen-Jyu clears his throat discreetly, "I think she's hungry," he hazards.

Harvester continues moving forward with Sen-Jyu, albeit cautiously. He calls out in a singsong voice, "Ahooooke.... we're coming, Ahokeeee... please don't eeeeeeat ussssssss.... We have foooooood...."

As you approach the sound of Ahoke's voice, the first thing you notice is a sickening stench wafting around. It's unlike any smell in the entire world... the smell of huge amounts of decay and rotting flesh and vomit and excrement all mixed together, and left down here in one of the mineshafts for months. Ahoke is standing there in the center of the corridor, clenching her great club. She is staring at a door that is made of copper, that has a crushed corpse of a korhorrag dripping off of it in big chunks and gobbets. She is laughing, and seemingly fighting off the wave of her berserker rage. "Not yet, wolverine... not yet time to come out and play," she croons to herself, "But soon." She seems oblivious to the stench, which is, to say the least, overpowering.

Sen-Jyu slows that he might swipe his blade's length across a patch of fabric... something he'll need to have cleaned when they leave the caves.

The overwhelming stench slams into the priest like a ton of bricks from a condemned outhouse. His eyes water, knees grown weak as he sags downward, ever downward, his head swimming, spinning, hands clenching across his mouth as torch and scythe slip unheeded to the ground. The cleric swiftly follows, ending on hands and knees, his stomach roiling, surging, his last meal flinging up and out in a violent spray.

Harvester has become quite sick.

Sen-Jyu sniffs, humming dourly at this general unpleasantness. "... I feel like I need a bath," he confides.

"Vengeance? Your kind doesn't deserve vengeance," Ahoke says, chidingly, to the copper door. "So shut your yap..." she turns, confused at this latest sound. "Huh? What's wrong with him?" she asks Sen-Jyu accusingly.

Sen-Jyu looks past Ahoke to the copper door bestrewn with mashed korhorrag. "Your taste in interior decor," he answers, nose wrinkled faintly.

The stench seems to recede - is what caused it going away, or is it merely battering your nasal passages into submission? It is difficult to tell.

Ahoke laughs again, almost dancing with her joy. "You should have seen it, as the club mashed it up against the door. Now /that/ was a satisfying feeling. But I don't think the korhorrag on the other side of the door are happy with us. Or at least, the one that keeps /yapping/ at me isn't," she says, turning to stare back at the door with her more customary scowl.

"-Other- side?" asks Sen-Jyu, looking at Ahoke with something which could be skepticism or inquiry. "I don't hear anything."

Ahoke points at the door, nodding. "Yes. Generally, doors lead through to the other side. And it stopped yapping when you two got here. It was blathering on about us being tools for its vengeance, or something like that. /I/ say we go kill him for his impudence. Korhorrag scum."

Harvester's stomach still pumps and quivers, but has (alas!) emptied itself fully. The back of his hand wipes across his mouth and he flings the droplets away with a flick of his wirst. A hand reaches out blindly, for the scythe and wall, and both are used to crawl upwards, to his feet. His face is pale, ashen, tracks of tears in the dust quickly drying into a thin crust. Knees nearly buckle as he takes in hand the torch. "Sh-t." comes the ragged, weak word.

Sen-Jyu digs something out of his clothing, and as he approaches the Harvester to help the priest to his feet, he offers two beads of wax out with his other hand. "Noseplugs?" he asks helpfully.

Ahoke coughs, turning to Harvester. "They're smelly bastards, aren't they?" she says, getting a grip on her emotions enough to be sympathetic. "I can't think of how many times that they made me sick when I was growing up and learning to fight them... and we weren't trapped underground with them then."

Harvester waves a weak hand at Sen-Jyu as he whispers. "Can't smell diddly now.... just gimme a minute or ten..."

Sen-Jyu nods and shrugs a bit, then tugs his waterskin free from its knotted strap, offering it out to the Harvester. "To clean the taste away," he says, then adds, "but please. No backwash."

Ahoke moves away from the door, approaching the other two. Lowering her 
voice so that it doesn't carry, she says, "They're waiting for us on the other side of the door, or at least, one is. Do you go through, possibly into a trap, or do we take our chances with another corridor somewhere?"

Harvester's head snaps up and he looks around, "Wha...." He does not appear to hear Sen-Jyu. A hand rises to silence his companions and he speaks softly, "Now _I'm_ hearing someone I've not heard in a rat's age..."

Ahoke raises her eyebrows at Harvester. "Huh?"

Harvester sticks his pinky in his ear and jiggles it, then listens once more.

Ahoke pats Harvester on the shoulder, shooting a worried look at Sen-Jyu. "Well, there's nothing for it but to slog through. Are you two prepared for battle?"  She ohs, and moves up, looking at the korhorrag's crushed skull.

Harvester says simply, "No." Indeed, it appears difficult for him to lift his scythe easily, thought his strength appears to slowly return.

Ahoke starts picking through the rotted flesh of the creature's crushed skull and brain, getting chunks of its gore all over her stubby fingers. "Hmm," she says, casually, "There isn't a shard in /this/ one. Apparently not every freak of nature around here has a shard in its brain, then."

"Shall we rest a little further back, or..." Sen-Jyu watches the Harvester for a few seconds, then asks, "... would you rather go back topside, let Ahoke and I continue?"

Harvester shakes his head, then grabs his own waterskin. A measure is squirted into his mouth and he swishes, then spits to one side. "GAHk! That's a horrible taste. Let's go in just a sec..."

Before his waterskin is returned, Sen-Jyu takes a swallow of water from it as well. "Mmm. All right, if you feel well enough."

Ahoke curls her upper lip in disgust, and wipes the gore from her hand onto the wall. "I don't know how these things have the courage to live," she mutters. "If /I/ had to wake up smelling like that every day, I think I'd have someone club me to death."

Harvester says, "Their souls are trapped, Ahoke, within the dead flesh. There is no choice for them. The path was chosen by another - one with no respect for the Cycle.""

Ahoke glances at Harvester. "The live ones smell worse than the dead ones, Harv. Just to prepare you. They're just naturally disgusting."

Harvester looks at Ahoke, then at Sen-Jyu. "Mebbe you better give me the damn noseplugs after all..."

Ahoke points to the door. "There's some live ones on the other side. That's what made you vomit... unless you're pregnant," she says, with her usual dry sense of humor. She grins, then. "And I'm just guessing that it's not that."  

Ahoke walks up to the door, cocking her head to listen.  She shrugs. "Hmmph," she mutters. She turns, to watch the other two.

Sen-Jyu steps behind Ahoke, listening as well. After a few seconds, he asks, "Is the voice still speaking?"

Harvester grunts and takes the waxen plugs, and shoves them into his nose. His voice sounds high and nasal. "Yoo said there's some on the other side?"

Ahoke shakes her head. "No. It was happy to taunt me for a couple of minutes, no doubt to shake my confidence. But it's quiet now. Are we ready to go in and probably get killed by an entire flock of them?"

"You seem gleeful about this suggestion," Sen-Jyu says to the dwarf, one brow raised ever-so-slightly.

Harvester rubs his nose and looks at Sen-Jyu suspiciously. "Where'd you have these things?!" Then, he drops the torch, extinguishing it before putting it away. He begins to incant.

Ahoke bares her teeth in a grin. "Eh, I'd prefer to kill a flock of /them/ instead." She peers at Harvester then, hand poised to open the door.

Harvester says, "Let's go. Come on. I'm on a schedule here..."

"Are we ready?" Ahoke's whisper does nothing to conceal her eagerness and bloodlust.

Ahoke puts her shoulder into the door, but it is solid, and doesn't budge. She scowls at it, twisting her stocky dwarven body so that she can batter it from a different positino.

Harvester says, "Maybe it's a 'pull', Ahoke, and not a 'push'?"

Sen-Jyu readies his sword, as if the door itself would lash out at him. Tip of the tongue placed just behind his front teeth, he tastes the vibration of his hum and finds it to his liking.

Ahoke bounces off the door again, though this time she seems to hit it more solidly.

Doing what he can to find a 'clean spot' where he can apply pressure, Sen-Jyu helps the dwarf to force the door.

The dwarf slams her shoulder once more into the door, a fraction of a second before the other two - and with a rotted splintering of wood, whatever held the door shut gives way, sending the other two stumbling as the door is not where they expect it to be.

Beyond, the scythe feebly lights part of a large, rectangular room - seemingly empty, even to Ahoke and Sen-Jyu's keener vision.

The walls of the room are carved - the ones near the door show a dragon/lizard god arriving, seemingly emerging from the stone itself.

Harvester grabs his companions arms as he draws back, "Hold on..." he whispers, pointing at a large piece of wood, that's nowhere near the door. "That shoulda been on the door... but there's only a splinter..." His hands clench on the scythe as he looks about.

Ahoke glances at the piece of wood. "What?"

Sen-Jyu looks at the wood, then at the cleric. "-What-?" he whispers.

Indeed, there is a heavy piece of wood - one that might be used to bar a door such as the one you have just entered - yet curiously, it was not used to do so. A tiny splinter of wood, no more than a foot long before its sundering, was used for the job instead.

Harvester points at the heavy piece of wood. "That," he now points at the door. "Should have been there. But it is miles away...." And now he points at a rotten sliver of wood. "That was, instead..."

Ahoke smiles grimly at them. "I /told/ you that someone was on the other side. He wants us to come so that he can use us as tools for his vengeance. /I/ say that we spatter his brains against the wall, what do you say?"

"-Must- your sense of hostility be directed at spattering brains on walls?" Sen-Jyu wonders aloud, though as his eyes return to the scene before them, it's improbable that he would care to hear an answer.

Harvester shrugs, very uneasy now, and still pale as he stomach gurgles a reminder of events recently passed. "Brains splattering on the walls is alright, so long as they're not _my_ brains being splattered.... feel free to lead the way..."

Ahoke laughs again, although she doesn't sound as crazed as she had earlier. "Spattered brains on walls are brains not being used to try to kill me. And sure, I'll lead the way," she says, walking into the center of the room and peering around. "Looks like we have three choices. Left passage, right passage, and middle passage, over there on the other side.

Harvester mutters, "Will it be the Lady, or the tiger, or the Tarrasque..."

Sen-Jyu steps in after Ahoke, peering left, right and up as he does so before he steps into the center of the room.

Ahoke veers towards the left, shrugging. "It may as well be this direction as any," she says, "Because I'm sure we'll have to hit all three. Unless you hate going left?"

Harvester waves her on, "Flip a freakin coin, I don't care. Any direction but right or forward..."

Ahoke scowls at the walls. "I'm starting to hate this coppertop dragon. Seems like he's a bit powermad." She continues moving into the darkness, approaching the left passage that she had spotted from further back.

Sen-Jyu starts to move up to some of the carvings, examining them for a few moments before he returns to party order, nearing the left passage.

The passage from the left side of the room continues for about sixty feet, turns abrupty to the right, and dead-ends twenty feet further on.

Ahoke peers down the dead end. "Er, that was disappointing. Shall we go back?"

Sen-Jyu looks about for tracks in the passage, hopefully not ones left by a dwarf, a human, and a spirit-blood.

Ahoke moves around Sen-Jyu, and walks back out into the main room. "I'll wait out here," she tells them.

"Looks unused," confirms Sen-Jyu. "Let's move on."

Ahoke starts tramping towards the middle passage then, stroking the grip of her great club. "Soon," she whispers.

Harvester shrugs and turns to follow the others. "Last one we try'll be the right one."

Two passages remain - one to your left as you emerge from the dead end, and one straight ahead.

The passage stretches on into the rock, narrowing a bit, sloping upward - then turns to the left.

Ahoke pauses, letting the other two get closer to her. She says, in a low voice, "It's starting to slope upward up ahead... I think I see another room about 50 feet up there. Get ready to kill something."

Harvester looks at Ahoke, then laughs softly. "okay..."

Sen-Jyu hums his understanding, and Ichido-sama stands at attention.

Ahoke moves onward.

Harvester waves his light-bearing scythe slightly. "Yeah, let's sneak up on 'em," says he, softly...

Indeed, fifty feet further on is a large gallery hewn from the stone - too wide and long for Harvester's scythe to illuminate fully, even for Sen-Jyu's eyes. The far end is lost to even Ahoke's darkvision.

Harvester breathes, "Whooooo-eee.... could fit a whole _mess_ o'smelly lizard things in here...."

Ahoke sighs, looking disappointed. "They must be waiting to ambush us further back," she murmurs. "Maybe they wait just beyond the darkness?" Her inflection rises, a hopeful sound, and she squints to try to see better. Resolutely, she moves forward some more.

Sen-Jyu hisses once, sharp and quick and low. He also stops, reaching out with one snake-like arm to tap Ahoke alarmingly on the shoulder.

Ahoke pauses, looking over her shoulder at Sen-Jyu. "Hmm?"

Harvester stops just short of running into Sen-Jyu, and looks at him questioningly before looking around, and up.

Sen-Jyu crouches, his voice low as wind trickling through grass, "Ahead. Sound of stonework shifting."

Ahoke nods, peering through the darkness, and moving up a few more feet. "Yes..." she says, slowly. "THe other side of the room is completely caved in. Umm... let's go?"

Harvester moves forward, slowly, a hand reaching up to clasp a bead on his necklace.

Ahoke, actually, is starting to back off. "I don't like this," she mutters. "Nothing ever caves in on you up top, where /normal/ people live. Let's leave, before we're crushed under tons of rubble.."

"I never thought I'd hear a dwarf say those words..." Sen-Jyu comments wryly.

Harvester snorts, mimicking Ahoke, "I wanna splatter brains on walls..." Then, in his normal voice, "You okay, Kay?"

Ahoke shoots Sen-Jyu an odd look, but replies to Harvester instead, "I did not intend to have my brains splattered on walls by rocks, though."

Harvester laughs softly, and turns to follow yet again.

Ahoke moves back to the relative safety of the original chamber, and then approaches the third passage.

The trio troops back, away from the seemingly unstable rock...and Ahoke leads the way down the third corridor. Water glistens on the rough walls. After fifty feet, another turn, to the left this time.

Ahoke pauses partway down the passage. "Well, looks like we have three choices again," she murmurs. "Right, left, or straight. Start out right this time?"

Harvester waves, "Take the first one on the right, then." he offers, helpfully.

Ahoke mmphs, and nods, doing so.

You must be deep in the bowels of the mountain now - the passage continues for what must be sixty feet, before turning to the right.

Sen-Jyu agreeably follows the party.

Ahoke stops, grumbling. "I think that a bunch of rabbits made this place. Why do there have to be so many damned passages? There's a side passage up ahead that we should probably nose into, before following this one to its conclusion." She marches on, unless someone stops her, getting ready to take the side passage.

Harvester nods, "Yup. Sounds like a plan to me..."

Sen-Jyu doesn't argue with the rabid dwarven barbarian.

Ahoke sighs, peering down the side passage. "Yup. A four-way intersection, damned rabbits. I'll bet that we're going to get lost, at this rate. Luckily... we have food." She heads towards the four-way, stopping in the center of it.

Harvester scrapes his scythe along the wall that they've come, an arrow pointing back.

Glowing bits of scytheblade adhere momentarily to the wall, giving the arrow an eerie phosphorescence before it fades.

Ahoke peers around. "Dead end to the right, four way ahead, side passage over there." She sighs, turning to the other two. "Well, we can eliminate the right side, anyway."

Harvester says, "Let's keep to the right passages each time there's a choice."

Ahoke peers at Harvester. "But that's a dead end.."

Harvester nods, "Then assume we went in, came out and that," he points ahead, "would now be right."

Ahoke chuckles, and moves forward. "To the four-way it is, then."

Ahoke moves up, reciting as her keen dwarven vision helps her see, "Right dead ends, straight dead ends, but if we go left, there's another four-way. I guess we're going to have to go left," she says.

Harvester nods, "Right."

Ahoke peers at Harvester. "No, left." She marches to the left, and to the next four-way. "I think I know why people had to tithe to the dragon. Without his help, they'd be wandering around down here, completely lost, starving to death, and slowly going mad..." She stops. "To the left there's a t-intersection... but... straight ahead I can see light." She glances over at the other two. "It's firelight."

Harvester rolls his eyes at Ahoke, then nudges Sen-Jyu, whispering with a gesture at the dwarf, "Going mad...?"

Sen-Jyu narrows his eyes at the mention of firelight. "That it appears to be," he confirms for the not-so-visually-enhanced members of the party.

Harvester nods, "Then I'm guessing that's where we wanna go. Can you sneak closer, get a look without them getting a look or hear of you?" He asks quietly, of course.

Ahoke hehs. "I'm not so good at stealth... maybe one of you should do the sneaking."

Sen-Jyu grins at the suggestion. "Okay," he says, starting to move forward.

Harvester almost strangles as he stifles the laugh, and waves the others down. "Sssh..." He waits for Sen-Jyu to return or scream like a girl.

Popping out of the shadow near the group, Sen-Jyu smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "Hmm... well, if I were to judge correctly, we've found what we're looking for." He inhales, then continues, a bit gleeful for his discovery.

"It's a bowl, an offering bowl. The fire's bluish-red, and the bowl must be about twice as high as Ahoke. Above it is the verdigrised statue of a dragon, with big, sapphire eyes, looking into the bowl. I couldn't see the entirety of the room with that light alone, though. Oh, and it smelled rather like korhorrag... but an old stench."

Harvester says, "The bowl.... it holds the fire?"

Sen-Jyu nods sharply. "Yes, indeed."

Harvester exhales softly, "Well then, what're we waiting for? An engraved invitation?"

Ahoke frowns, but continues towards the light. "Well, let's get it done, then," she grumbles. "It's not natural to have fire in bowls," she says. "It smells too much like... supernatural sh-t. I don't suppose the children were tied up nearby, were they?"

"... not that I could see, no," laments Sen-Jyu. "However, there must be a door to the aerie in there."

Harvester nods slowly, moving forward. "Behind the statue, according to Thrommel's journal."

Red-blue light spills from the doorway to the room, drawing your eyes to the enormous stone dragon statue against the right-hand wall. It squats, wings outstretched, staring down at all in the room with sapphire eyes - eyes the size of a baby's head. They reflect the flickering flames into blue arcs that dance about the room.

In front of the statue is a copper bowl, ten feet across, filled with a leaping flame. it is raised five feet off the ground on a pedestal of red stone, and is eight feet high itself - untarnished, beautifully constructed, engraved with scenes of wise and enlightened draconic rule.

The far wall and the left wall of the room are lost in shadows.

Ahoke sticks her tongue out at the statue in what is a universal display of contempt. "Should we," she said, "Check out the corners of the room, or just go behind the statue?"

Sen-Jyu gestures up to the head of the dragon. "Not that greed has ever been one of my motivating factors, but it seems a shame that those sapphires should go to waste. If nothing else, the money could revitalize the town, perhaps allow for them to rely less upon the mines."

Harvester spreads his hands, "Clear the room first, so we don't get whacked from behind.... again." He moves to examine bowl ad statue though.

Ahoke smiles grimly. "I think if we gave the town something besides the mine to draw its wealth from, the mine owners would try to kill us in our sleep. I don't trust them."

Harvester points at the sapphires. "They closed and abandoned this mine. So the stones are free for the taking.

Ahoke nods. "Oh, I don't mind /us/ taking them."

Harvester grins. "Good. I've got expenses."

Sen-Jyu smiles to the enthusiasm of his companions. "So, what are our ideas for getting them down? After we scour this room first, of course."

Ahoke hmms. "Well... maybe we should come back for them /after/ we kill everything and save the children. They're awfully big to be toting around in a combat situation." She starts moving slowly and carefully forward, so that she can see deeper into the darkness.

Harvester's head jerks around at some unnoticed sound - and then /something/ bursts into the eerie firelight.

Bare ivory gleams as it scuttles across the floor at you, a twisted mess of bones entangled together in a deathly embrace. Three skulls peer from its shoulders, arms wave in the air as it lopes on six legs towards you.

You no longer wonder where the missing korhorrag bones were - now you know, and they are come to find you.


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## Caliber (Dec 30, 2002)

Wow. You and your players are pretty good at describing combat. A few times I thought I had detected what would have been a critical hit if it weren't for the undead.

Do you think having only 3 party memebers has seriously weakened your group's fighting ability? How about their lack of any kind of arcanist?


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## drnuncheon (Dec 30, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Wow. You and your players are pretty good at describing combat. A few times I thought I had detected what would have been a critical hit if it weren't for the undead.*




We've all been playing online at various places for years, which does tend to develop your descriptive abilities.  The slightly slower pace of the game helps out, too - although you're not seeing it in these logs, usually I'm handling one or two people ahead of the poses.



			
				Caliber said:
			
		

> *Do you think having only 3 party memebers has seriously weakened your group's fighting ability? How about their lack of any kind of arcanist? *




Fighting ability? Not especially - I think their rolls do more to weaken their fighting ability than the lack of a fourth person.  I _did_ start them at 2nd level because of the smaller party, which seems to have worked out fairly well.

As for an arcane caster - at low levels I think they're less crucial to a party.  In fact, I'd venture to say that this group wouldn't have done nearly as well if they had swapped out either Sen-Jyu or Ahoke for a sorcerer or wizard - considering the amount of wounds they've all taken at various times, they'd probably be dragging a corpse along with them.

J


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## drnuncheon (Dec 31, 2002)

The spirit-blood does not cringe at the sight of the bony construct, but instead charges, his passage marked by his growing hum. The blade is drawn across the air, but it is not where the monster is.

The mass of bones clatters to a halt as Sen-Jyu swipes at it, then reaches out with a bony arm, dragging the hapless samurai into the midst of the tangle. Ivory spurs - ribs, fingerbones - thrust forward, digging into his flesh and holding him securely.

Harvester sees Sen-Jyu charge forward and get slammed by the bones, and follows after with a wicked swipe of his scythe. The low crosscut is handily deflected by its hard skeleton.

Ahoke watches the creature pull in Sen-Jyu, and scowls. "No walking jumble of korhorrag bones eats /my/ friend!" she states emphatically, and rushes at it, raising her great club over her head. The sound of swishing through air, and then the crunch of connection, as the club strikes on bone. Several of the creature's bones crumble, falling to the ground. Not that it seems all that inconvenienced, alas.

Sen-Jyu struggles against the clutches of the abomination, but merely thrashes about in its tight grasp.  

More gashes open on Sen-Jyu's flesh as the flexing of the bones tears into him. One of the flailing bone arms strikes Ahoke across the chest, carving parallel furrows in her flesh. Blood stains the bones of her armor and the creature alike.

One of the Harvester's hands releases its hold on the scythe and begins to wave in a series of gestures. Words are spoken in a tone that calls out above the din of the battle. "I call upon the divine favor of He Who Is To Come to bear the fruit of Life unto my companion... Let his wounds be healed!" The thin hand reaches out to touch Sen-Jyu on the shoulder.

Ahoke growls low in her throat, appearing to fight off the rising rage. "You..." she says, voice more animal than dwarven. "...dare." She slams her club into the creature's body, such as it is, once more, and huge chunks of bones go flying.

Released in a moment of distraction, Sen-Jyu recoils, but only slightly, his shallow breath eased by the touch of the unborn divinity that the Harvester has awakened, if briefly. Ichido-sama is raised on a pedestal of rage, and brought tumbling down like a thunderbolt, severing bone as it cries for vengeance.

The bone creature, shedding ossified pieces of itself, breaks away from the combat, clattering towards the other side of the hall.

Harvester growls softly to himself as the boneyard releases Sen-Jyu and skitters away. The scythe is released to clatter to the floor as he moves, heavy mace being brought up from his belt, and into an overhand smash. The priest ducks below the flailing arms that seek him, and delivers a massive, spine crushing blow that sends the bones into a crumpled pile.

Ahoke's head whips so that she can look into the darkness, and then she starts laughing, a throaty chuckle. "Upset that we're superior to your pile of bones?" She bares her teeth in what /might/ be a smile, but is probably more a display of dominance than anything.

Harvester, chest rising heavily, turns to reapproach Sen-Jyu, "let me aid you once more, Sen... you're still badly injured, as if you didn't know..." Hands move as he speaks the words of curative power once more, and reaches out to touch Sen-Jyu on the shoulder.

Taking advantage of the creature's retreat, Sen-Jyu shakily sheathes Ichido-sama, then turns at the priest's words and bows his head humbly, wincing at the cold touch of the priest of the void beyond all things. Still, this void can bring light and life, and Sen-Jyu is astonished to see his previously unhealthy gashes and scrapes mend and vanish. "My... thanks, holy one, for healing this unworthy one."

Despite Ahoke's taunts, the darkness on the other side of the hall remains impenetrable...and silent but for your ragged, adrenalin-fueled breathing. Even the eerie flames in the bowl make no noise.

Harvester bends down to lift the scythe once more. A grin. "Don't thank me, Sen, but rather He who Is to Come... were you 'unworthy', he would not have allowed your healing..."

Ahoke says, without taking her eyes off of the darkness, "We're going to have to go kill whatever lurks within, if we want to be able to move on without it taking potshots at us from behind. Are you ready?"

Sen-Jyu tugs his bow free of its place on his shoulder, and an arrow with it. "Need we enter the darkness, or can we allow outrageous fortune to come to it?"

Ahoke shrugs. "If you can attack it from here, I'm happy with that. Maybe it will come out if we continue to taunt it? Or else we can go gouge the dragon's eyes out. Maybe that will goad it into doing what we want."

Harvester waves a hand, "let us first conduct a thorough examination of this room...." True to his word, he begins to move about the area, first going to examine the pile of bones.

Sen-Jyu glances first at the Harvester, then to Ahoke. "I see we are of two minds here -- kill the thing, or search the rest of the room?"

Ahoke shrugs. "Dead foes are the best kind to have, but I guess we can search. Maybe /that/ will draw the little bastard out." She walks towards the dragon statue, looking distrustfully into the darkness frequently.

Harvester examines the bones for a time, using his scythe to pick through them. He next begins to walk the periphery of the room, to conclude at the rear of the statue.

Returning the arrow and bow to their places, Sen-Jyu extracts his katana once more, letting it sway by his side as he searches the statue near where Harvester stands.

Sen-Jyu examines the statue, "It's not copper after all."

Harvester grunts to himself as his hand traces several wall carvings. "Rather poorly done... boring, really..."

Ahoke walks up, looking up at the dragon's eyes. "Those are big ass stones," she comments idly. She peers around the base of the statue, and then shrugs, with a snort. "I don't think I can climb this thing, not easily," she says.

Sen-Jyu holds his hand close to the bowl, perhaps trying to use the heat to reinvigorate the flow of blood through his extremities.

Harvester speaks softly, 'The dragon, in Thrommel's diary, was said to come from behind the statue... would this be that statue, I wonder?"

Ahoke yawns. "Can we go kill that thing now?" She glances towards the darkness, shuffling her feet nervously.

Sen-Jyu frowns as he sheathes his sword, then attempts to climb up to the bowl.

Ahoke mutters, "I guess not," when she notices that Sen is climbing the bowl.

Sen-Jyu reaches the top of the pedestal, then leaps up to catch the edge of the bowl. With silent exertion, he pulls himself up to the edge of the bowl, perching there, as flames lick him. He appears a bit mystified, holding his hand out to the flame. He hasn't started to smoke or scream in writhing agony yet, either.

Harvester gives a start and begins to move forward, hand reaching out, "Sen...!" He pauses as the man does not apear to burn.

Ahoke scowls, and then turns back to watch the darkness. "Walking bones, heatless fire. Screaming skulls. I want out of this place. Come out, you little freak of nature!" She yells this into the darkness, pumping her fist into the air. "If you dare!"

"Hmmm," murmurs Sen-Jyu from the bowl. "There's a lot of... detritus in here. Crude weapons, rocks, bones... and a few other things..." Doing what he can to remain perfectly balanced, he removes his wakizashi from its sheath and stabs into the bowl gently.

Harvester steps back now, to watch Sen-Jyu, bowl of flames and dragon statue, all at once.

"The Harvester, could you come to the pedestal for a moment?" echoes a voice from the bowl as Sen-Jyu slips down in.

Harvester frowns slightly, then proceeds forward, "You want me to climb up like you did, Sen?"

"Er, no, just... I want you to look at something."

Ahoke lets out a loud exhalation of disgust when she sees people climbing into bowls and completely ignoring the threat in the darkness. "I'll go scout it out," she informs anyone who might be listening, and then moves in that direction, keeping her great club poised and ready to smash.

Harvester nods, an action unseen by the other. "Alright.... I'm looking.... I see a bowl, and a statue, and a.... or is there something in particular yo want me to look at?"

A hand juts over the edge of the bowl, holding a necklace of pretty stones out. "Take this, and..."

Harvester glances back to see the headstrong dwarf stalking away.  He stretches up to take hold of the necklace, and anything else the warrior hands out to him.

A moment later, a sword is carefully held out over the edge. Sen-Jyu's head peeks out over. "Looks new. Maybe later, you'll want to come up here, see if there's anything else interesting."

Harvester gingerly takes the sword in hand and lowers it, and laughs softly. "Sure... if I don't break my neck trying to get up there. I ain't exactly used to monkeyshines..."

There is the sound of loud and repetitive splintering, sounding suspiciously like bones, coupled with the sound of heavy wood strikign stone, off in the direction that Ahoke disappeared into.

Harvester says, "Maybe just toss everything out, all at once?"

Sen-Jyu shakes his head, his eyes flattening to indicate how not good of an idea that is. "It really is... a lot."

Harvester looks around, "Uh... I think Ahoke might've found something..."

Sen-Jyu points upward, toward the head of the dragon. "Me too. Do we have any climbing gear, maybe?"

Harvester shrugs, as she hasn't screamed yet. Probably just working off that wonky barbarian frustration. "Got rope."

Ahoke laughs aloud. "How about, your vengeance doesn't please me, you little sh*t-eater?" The smashing sound continues.

Harvester's head whips around. "Eh? Damn.... hearing voices again... Tokket, either shaddap or speak up...." he mutters.

"Hand me the rope, please?" Sen-Jyu asks, one arm bending over the lip of the bowl. "I'm going to try and climb it."

*SMASH* *CRUNCH* "And your people are...?" Ahoke asks.

Harvester extracts the rope from his pack after a moment, then stretches up to hand the coil to Sen-Jyu. After, his pinky goes into his left ear, brushing the earring held there. The finger jiggles a bit.

Ahoke laughs aloud, the sound nearly drowned out by splintering bone. When the noise dies down, she can be heard growling, "Or you'll do what? Call the dragon up to eat us?"

A few minutes are spent in knotting the rope in increments, and Sen-Jyu is happily humming all the while, despite the background noise. Once that's done, he swings the rope up over the snout of the dragon-statue, tugging on it a couple times to make sure it's secure.

Harvester calls up to Sen-Jyu, "Want me to climb up into the bowl and look now, or later?"

Ahoke's voice breaks that silence, quieter than usual, and wary. "Where are the goblins?"

"Later. I need you to catch these if I can pry them loose," Sen-Jyu replies.

Harvester calls out to Ahoke, "Don'tcha mean 'Thanork'??" He mangles the word yet again.

There is silence again, and then Ahoke says, ignoring Harvester, "The god's lair? You mean Copper Death? And how are they desecrating his corpse..?"

Sen-Jyu grunts, then holds out two more swords with sheaths over the edge: his daisho. "I can think of nothing more humiliating than falling and breaking my swords upon landing. Please, hold them for me," he asks of Harvester.

Harvester laughs softly, and nods. 'Yeah... I'd guess it'd be a tad bit upsetting..." He accepts these weapons as well, and sets them aside.

Ahoke's voice lowers into a whisper, though the acoustics of the large room make the words echo. "...how... help?"

Once Sen-Jyu has divested himself of bow, quiver and backpack (all of which he leaves in the bowl, off to one side), he gathers a couple of the more suitable prying devices from the bowl, and starts the climb.

Ahoke says, in a more normal voice. "I see no problem with killing your enemies for you, since they are also enemies of mine. Though be warned, if it is you that has the human children, I /will/ find you. And I will kill you."

Making it successfully to the top of the rope, Sen-Jyu loops his arm into the rope twice, finding a place to grab hold with that arm while the other seeks a way to pry one of the sapphires free.

Ahoke turns around. "What?" She squints to see across the room, and shouts, "Sen, stop!"

Sen-Jyu holds the freed sapphire in one hand. "Uh...?" he asks of the darkness.

"...sh*t," mutters Ahoke.

Ahoke stalks out of the darkness, staring at Sen-Jyu in absolute horror.

Sen-Jyu stares right back at Ahoke, not so much horrified as mystified.

Harvester looks between Sen-Jyu and Ahoke in confusion, "What's the problem, Kay?"

With a hideous grinding noise, rock showers from the walls as the statue begins to move. It snaps its head to one side like a whip, flinging Sen-Jyu from the rope and sending him flying into the wall. The idol takes a step forward.


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## Caliber (Dec 31, 2002)

Hehe! They failed to warn him just in the nick of time! Perfect timing!


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## drnuncheon (Dec 31, 2002)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Hehe! They failed to warn him just in the nick of time! Perfect timing!  *




I was wondering how it was going to turn out.  One of the advantages of playing online is that I can be holding a conversaiton with, say Ahoke, and Sen-Jyu and Harvester will be completely unaware.  (In this case, they could hear Ahoke's side but not the other, just as the readers could.)

The timing was all the players, although I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.  Here's how that scene looked unedited:

Ahoke says, in a more normal voice. "I see no problem with killing your enemies for you, since they are also enemies of mine. Though be warned, if it is you that has the human children, I /will/ find you. And I will kill you."

Sen-Jyu pages: In a good position to try and pry a sapphire free?

You paged Ahoke with 'I have no children...but you mussst sstop your companion, or it will be too late for bargainssss.'.

You paged Sen-Jyu with 'Yes.'.

Making it successfully to the top of the rope, Sen-Jyu loops his arm into the rope twice, finding a place to grab hold with that arm while the other seeks a way to pry one of the sapphires free.

You paged Sen-Jyu with 'Strength check.'.

<DIE ROLLER> Sen-Jyu rolls 1d20+2 and gets 22.

<OOC> Sen-Jyu flexes.

<OOC> Harvester says, "rock."

Ahoke turns around. "What?" She squints to see across the room, and shouts, "Sen, stop!"

<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "A little LATE for THAT!"

You paged Sen-Jyu with 'The stone pops free.'.

<OOC> Harvester laughs, waits for the explosion.

Sen-Jyu holds the freed sapphire in one hand. "Uh...?" he asks of the darkness.


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## drnuncheon (Jan 6, 2003)

Ahoke closes her eyes. "There goes the alliance. Didn't I /tell/ you guys to hold off on the looting until we saved the children?!" Her voice raises several octaves, probably more out of fear than anger.  She ummms, staring at the thing, knowing when she just /can't/ win. "Into the darkness! There's a tunnel on the other side!" After glancing at Sen-Jyu, and assuring herself that he is able to move, she starts to jog into said darkness.

Faintly from the tunnel you hear, "Go back! Do not bring it here!"

Harvester hears Ahoke's words and sees her running towards the tunnel. A quick glance towards Sen-Jyu confirms that the man is unharmed, relatively. The warrior's blades are scooped up as the priest beats feets into the darkness behind the dwarf.

Sen-Jyu follows Harv upon confirming that his daisho are accounted for. In that moment's hesitation, it's clear that had the Harvester not taken them with him, Sen-Jyu would have killed or died for his blades.

The dragon statue lumbers forward, around the bowl, leaving a tunnel open behind it leading into darkness. It is slow, and could be easily outrun - if it weren't blocking the entrance to the tunnel you are in.

Harvester breathes hard after running down the tunnel for a distance, then slows, and stops. He looks at his companions and holds out Sen-Jyu's Daisho. "I think... these... are yours?"

Ahoke runs into the tunnel, glancing over her shoulder as she does so. "Sorry," she says, still talking aloud to no one in the group, "But we don't have much choice." Noting that the tunnel was large enough to accomodate the dragon statue, she says, "Come on, keep going. Maybe we can find a smaller corridor!"

Nodding and holding his side from where he collided with the wall, Sen-Jyu looks generally unhappy with the state of things. Accepting the daisho, he ties them onto his belt once more and follows Ahoke.

Eerie words echo out of the tunnel in a serpentine hiss...as if quoting a scripture..."'Touch him only with thine thoughtssss, for he ssshall not be sssullied with thy earthly hand'...you ssshould have heeded the warningssss..."

Harvester calls out to the voices, "What friggin warnings?? Nobody told us jack-diddly-squat!"  He too, follows after Sen-Jyu, and asks more quietly, "You need more healing, Sen? I'm almost out..."

Ahoke barks out a grim laugh. "Ha! Now /you/ hear it too! I am /not/ insane. She keeps running.

Behind you, the statue folds its wings slightly to enter the tunnel, crawling on its belly, its stone jaws open in a soundless roar. The wings brush the walls and send dirt and stone scattering. One hits a support pillar, and the sound of splintering wood is heard.

"Actually, you are..." Sen-Jyu rasps, wincing at the effort of keeping up, "but... now we're just becoming insane ourselves."

Ahoke laughs wildly, continuing to run. "Well, at least if we bring the entire place down, we can stop the thanork from eating the children."

Harvester slows down a bit, "Hang on, Sen... I'll try and give you one last bit of healin..."

Sen-Jyu waves away Harvester's hand. "Save your faith, priest. I'll survive." He coughs up a bit of blood, on cue.

Harvester casts a furtive glance over his shoulder, then shrugs at Sen-Jyu's dismissal, "A'ight... let's get the hells outta here then..." He continues to move faster, adjusting the pack and crossbow at his back and shoulder.

"Foollssss...it wil dessstroy uss all!" The voice is barely audible above the scraping of stone on stone.

Ahoke, for one, hasn't slowed down a bit. "Let's lead it to the thanork, then! It can tear through them for awhile, and save us the effort."

"And," rasps Sen-Jyu, "you know where to find the thanork?"

Harvester continues to trot after Ahoke, and calls out to her, ignoring the voices cursing them, "Go easier, Ahoke... save our strength... we're gonna need it."

Ahoke slows, but only a little. "I have strength to spare... and yes, I do. They're up in the lair."

CRASH! The stone dragon continues its ponderous way down the tunnel, splintering support beams as it goes.

The tunnel begins to narrow, and side tunnels branch off of it.

"All right," says Sen-Jyu, amiably enough. "So you have an idea as to how to get us past the dragon into the lair."

Harvester mutters, 'Why don't you talk to your friends... tell 'em they shoulda told us about the damned statue..."

Ahoke tosses her head, glaring at Sen-Jyu and Harvester impartially. "Well, /my/ idea didn't involve wrenching out the thing's eyes while there were still children to be saved, and you can talk to them yourself."

The tunnel abruptly ends.

Harvester says, "Sh*t!"

The stone colossus approaches, rocks clattering to the tunnel floor.


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## Caliber (Jan 6, 2003)

Uh-oh. Not looking too good for the group. The Dragon Statue thing is nasty. At least they were smart enough to run. Most players I know would have fought the thing.


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## Tellerve (Jan 7, 2003)

I have a quick question seeing as I'll be starting up an online group and possibly even this module as I hear it is great.  But more importantly I was trying to decide how mechanically to run it on the net.   I read your earlier post about the software you use to run it and I might use that but mainly I wanted to know if that software or others you have use a battlemap or something to figure out distances and whatnot.  If not how do you figure out AoOs, range, and all that good map related junk?

Thanks,

Tellerve


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## drnuncheon (Jan 7, 2003)

Tellerve said:
			
		

> *I have a quick question seeing as I'll be starting up an online group and possibly even this module as I hear it is great.  But more importantly I was trying to decide how mechanically to run it on the net.   I read your earlier post about the software you use to run it and I might use that but mainly I wanted to know if that software or others you have use a battlemap or something to figure out distances and whatnot.  If not how do you figure out AoOs, range, and all that good map related junk?*




MUSH doesn't have anything like that by default, although I've seen some truly dedicated souls make battlemaps in softcode.  They usually tend to be more trouble than their worth, for my money.

For this game, I've been using the maps given in the module for distances, and just using a healthy dose of common sense with regards to AoOs - obviously, action-triggered AoOs work the same, and movement-based ones I can usually make a good guess at based on the relative positions of the characters and opponents.

For particularly complex maps, we've been known to draw them up & post them on a website with index numbers to mark the squares (A-1, B-7, etc).  Then everyone can keep track on their own if they so desire.

J


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## drnuncheon (Feb 5, 2003)

Ahoke darts forward, at top speed. "To the closest side tunnel! If we hurry, we can beat it there!"

Sen-Jyu follows behind, cradling both eye and side.

Harvester stops, then backpedals, turning to follow the dwarf, "Then go! Go already!"

Ahoke had never hesitated.

The three of you dive into the side tunnel, Harvester's scythe glowing faintly to illuminate your path. Behind you, the dragon turns, its head thrusting into the tunnel behind you, trying vainly to reach you. The remaining eye reflects the light of the scythe, a baleful blue.

Ahoke stops running once the group is inside of the side tunnel, breathing heavily. She continues to move, crouched over protectively, ever backwards, away from the thing.

Harvester mutters about dragons and rocks, but doesn't stop, though does slow, in attempt to place as much distance between himself and the colossal statue.

Sen-Jyu eyes the dragon. "I hope," he says, sounding quite sincere, "that this isn't a dead end."

The head weaves back and forth, then thrusts forward violently, as if by savage motion it could widen the tunnel sufficient to pass. A few rocks drop from the ceiling.

Ahoke watches the statue, her eyes narrowing worriedly. "Maybe," she says after a moment's hesitation, "It would go away if you gave it its eye back."

Sen-Jyu hands Ahoke the eye. "Be my guest," says Sen-Jyu with a smile.


Ahoke takes the gem from Sen-Jyu, and rolls it, underhanded, down the corridor. "It can't hurt to try," she mutters.

Sen-Jyu shrugs.

The dragon hesitates, its one eye watching the other. Then, gingerly, it reaches down with its mouth and picks the gem up, backing away down the corridor.

Harvester stops long enough to watch the success or failure of the endeavor, all the while muttering under his breath about darkness and Grues.

Ahoke uses her great club to scratch her back, and watches the dragon statue.

The sounds of stone on stone recede down the tunnel.

Ahoke exhales loudly. "Oh, good." She squints into the darkness suspiciously. "Are you still there?"

There is no answer from the darkness.

Harvester slowly, cautiously begins to move back towards the main tunnel, his ears pricked to hear any noise.

Ahoke wipes some of the sweat from her brow, and then follows Harvester without a word.

Sen-Jyu takes up the rear, peeking around the corner curiously just in case Harvester got eaten by an extra stealthy dragon statue.

The lone and level tunnel stretches far away before your eyes. Well, for twenty to sixty feet at least, depending on who you are.

Harvester stops, and just waits for several long moments, then begins to proceed, just as cautiously, back down the tunnel. "So... how do we find 'em?"

Ahoke mmphs, and then sighs, rubbing her temples. "I don't know, now. The owner of that voice knew where to find them, and was going to equip us and help us find it, so that we could kill the thanork for it."

Harvester says, "so? Where is he? She? It? Ain't it gonna tell us now?""

"Foolsss...you have disssturbed the ssstatue...dessstroyed my home...dessssecrated the ssshrine with your ssstupidity. I do not trussst your ability to wipe your own assssesss, let alone dessstroy the goblinssss!"

Ahoke hmms. "Well, we did just deface the statue of its god. So I don't know if it still wants to help us or not." She ers. "What it said."

Harvester yells out, "Then you should've told us about the damn statue and shrine! We ain't psychic!!!"

The voice hisses: "You ssshould have ssstudied the sccripturess rather than dissmisssing them..."

Ahoke says, "Can't read. I have to depend on these guys to decipher things for me." She sighs. "But... if you think that you can defeat the thanork completely on your own, then I suppose you're probably right. Even though they have overwhelming numbers, and are feasting and doing gods know what else to the corpse of your god."

Harvester mutters about disembodied voices. "Fine! Don't help us! Then everyone dies and you get left alone with the goblins! Forever!"

Sen-Jyu sniffs. "What a vulgar little disembodied voice."

The voice comes from farther down the tunnel. "sssurfasse dwellerrsss..." it mutters. "Ssssunlight makess them ssstupid." A noise, as if the owner of the voice was moving off. "If the god wantsss hisss vengeanssse he will need to sssend me competent aid..."

A familiar, nauseating stench wafts through the tunnel.

Harvester shakes his head and speaks softly, to himself, "And darkness has done the same for you..."

Ahoke stares at Harvester, and then Sen-Jyu, and then sets her jaw, turning away with a sigh. "I smell our enemy."

Harvester's hands tighten on his scythe.

"Come then!" the voice callssss, er, calls. "If you are not ssscared. I will work with inferior toolssss if I musst. You have dessstroyed my vengeanssse, ssso you are my only chanssse."

Ahoke grins, and heads in the direction of the voice. "The undead are never a good vengeance. Much better to make use of the flawed living."

Harvester mutters to himself yet again, "My Lord... I ask that you give me strength... and patience with supercilious, disembodied voices..." He then laughs quietly, "Remember.... these 'inferior tools' defeated your vengeance, and so prove ourselves superior..." He follows after Ahoke.

Ahoke whispers, in a stage whisper, to the Harvester, "Maybe we should not taunt the only ally that we have here."

"Ssstupid sssky-watching priesst. Sssshould know better than to rob a ssshrine." A figure is momentarily silhouetted by the flames of the bowl as you near the room: korhorrag - stooped and withered, but korhorrag nonetheless. It limps towards one of the carvings, across the room from the statue - the very one Harvester had ignored before. "The ssstoneborn one isss the only one with sssense among you."

Sen-Jyu hums quietly behind the pair as he follows, oblivious to the conversation behind held.

Ahoke's posture stiffens when she sees the korhorrag standing there, but she restrains herself from reacting beyond that. "How long have the goblins been here?"

Harvester shakes his head with a sigh, "Then I apologize for not recognizing this as a shrine, and make an offering of peace..." He pulls out a small pouch, and dumps half a dozen gold - his entire content, into the bowl. "From my Lord, to yours..."

Sen-Jyu moves to reclaim his backpack, bow and quiver from the bowl's edge.

The dragon stands once again where it was before, both eyes back in their rightful place. They glitter as the gold is offered to it.

"Weekssss. Three of them. Can you read, sssurfasse-priesst?"
Harvester nods slowly, "I can, if the language is one I know..."

"Then come, read. My eyesss are not what they usssed to be."

Ahoke paces, back and forth, watching the korhorrag cautiously. She doesn't say anything for the time being, though, choosing to keep her own counsel.

Harvester approaches the Korhorrag and studies the appointed scripture.

Assuming no interference with large animate objects, Sen-Jyu secures his backpack, bow and quiver after checking them to ascertain that they are intact.

_Worship and praise him, for he is a just and true God. Touch him only with thine thoughts, for he shall not be sullied by thy earthly hand. View him only with thine eyes, if ye wish not to face him in judgement alone. His wrath is mighty, and while he descends from the mountaintop to praise, also does he punish the lazy and untrue._

The creature stabs accusingly at the graven lines with one withered claw. "Do you know what that /meansss/?" hisses the korhorrag. "It meansss...Do. Not. Touch!" Flecks of spittle fly from its maw as it enunciates the words, and the noxious odor - lessened perhaps by age - billows around him.

Ahoke pauses in her pacing. "What's the deal with the shards in the horses' brains? Was that your doing? And the nightmares?"

Harvester bows his head to the Korhorrag priest, "My apologies, priest.... for not realizing the sanctity of your god's shrine..." He recoils slightly as the odor wafts about him.

The korhorrag shakes his head. "I know nothing of ssshardsss or nightmaresss."

Ahoke nods, breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, good. We were getting along so well. I'd hate to see that end."

Harvester's hand reaches out to touch a spot on the wall, and then he crouches, lifting something for closer study.

Harvester glances up to the priest, as he gathers the glassy shards, "Was there a mirror or something here?"


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## Caliber (Feb 5, 2003)

I'm glad to see you have some smart players. I'd hate to have had them all die.

I know my players would have kept the gem at all costs (greedy little things)


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## Drusilia Nailo (Feb 6, 2003)

I know that Ahoke was _extremely_ irritated with her adventuring companions for taking the gem at all.


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## drnuncheon (Feb 6, 2003)

Harvester's hand reaches out to touch a spot on the wall, and then he crouches, lifting something for closer study. He glances up to the priest, as he gathers the glassy shards, "Was there a mirror or something here?"

Sen-Jyu nods, "I think so. I found the broken remains of a mirror frame, up in the bowl. Why do you ask?"

The korhorrag shakes its reptilian head. "I know nothing about mirrorsss being here." its eyes narrow as it studies you. "All I know iss that the humanssss dissapeared from thisss chamber after ssslaughtering my people."

Ahoke coughs. "What humans? When did this happen?"

Harvester lifts a shoulder, then traces the outline of the oddly placed bare spot on the wall, aomng the carvings, then gestures to the remnants of a mirror on the floor.

"Three of them...they entered our cavernssss sseveral dayss ago.  One we ssslew, and her head guarded the entranssse, warned me of your presssenssse."

Coming closer to the place that the Harvester has indicated, Sen-Jyu studies the outlines and carvings. At the korhorrag's admission, his nose wrinkles in distaste, but he says nothing.

Ahoke frowns. "Why were they here? I just assumed that they were here to rescue the children, same as us." She glared suspiciously at Tanalruk. "Of course, if you'd sent undead after them, they had no reason to /not/ assume that you were an enemy."

Harvester speaks softly, "The Heroes of Bellhold.... Where did the other two go?"

"They ssslew my people sstoneborn. if they had not done ssso, there would /be/ no undead."

Ahoke hmmms, studying the korhorrag. "I see, kind of. With a sigh, she says, "Tell us of the goblins."

Tamalruk turns away, throwing his withered arms up in frustration. "Ssso many quessstions, anssswered already. How your kind conquersss the ssssurface iss beyond me. I sssaw not where they went," he tells Harvester, then turns back to Ahoke. "The goblinsss came weeksss ago, through the ssssealed gate, sssseeking ssssomething. They too fought my people, then ssslunk away."

Sen-Jyu examines some of the remaining shards from the mirror, head tilted to one side, eyes dimmed as if he were daydreaming.

Harvester speaks in a low tone, "We ask questions to learn, and ask the same questions to learn new information or to clarify poorly worded answers." He looks at the korhorrag, "If you desire our assistance, priest, please at least _pretend_ to be civil..."

Ahoke turns, glancing at the other two. "Well, I suppose we should probably go kill the thanork. I have a feeling that these dreams and sleeplessness are all their fault, and it sounds like they have the children too, since it doesn't appear to be the korhorrag."

Harvester nods to Ahoke, though he still looks at the Tamalruk. "Agreed. I is unlikely to be the korhorrag."

"Ssssivility? To a rassse of essscaped ssslavesss?" The korhorrag spits. "/We/ were the chosssen of the dragon, not you." He limps towards the bowl. "I will find sssuitable payment for your...ssservisssesss."

Harvester murmurs, "Slaves? When were we your... slaves?"

Ahoke mmphs. "Probably when the people of Bellhold worked the mines here, under Copperdeath's 'protection.'"

Tamalruk does not hear, or perhaps pretends not to, as he climbs the stairs towards the great fiery bowl.

Harvester glances towards Ahoke with a knowing nod at her words. "Possibly. And you know what that means..." He speaks very softly.

Sen-Jyu watches the Korhorrag mount the stairs, stepping away from the carvings he had been examining with such a hypnotized look. With as neutral an expression as a statue, he waits, supposing the korhorrag is attempting something.

Ahoke looks back to Harvester, nodding slowly. "I can think of a few things... but I'm hoping that I'm wrong. But... first things first, I suppose. I think, and hope," she said, her voice taking on a new note of fervency, "That more will be revealed when we find the thanork."


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## drnuncheon (Feb 7, 2003)

Harvester crosses his arms as he watches and waits, the scythe held in one hand and resting in the crook of the opposite elbow.

The korhorrag priest looks back to Harvester, as if to say 'what?', then heaves himself, slowly and painfully, into the flaming bowl, muttering all the time as he starts to dig.

Ahoke sucks in a deep breath, and then exhales slowly. "How do we get ourselves in these messes?"

Harvester says, "I blame Ollie."

Ahoke glances at Harvester, blinking a few times in wordless question.

Tamalruk's head emerges over the side, and he gestures towards Sen-Jyu. "Come clossser."

Sen-Jyu simply shakes his head. "No."

Harvester catches Ahoke's glance, then grins at her. "Yeah... Ollie used to always get me into fine messes... I think it kinda stuck on me."

Tamalruk shrugs. "You sssurfassse dwellersss. You wantsss no payment, no help, that isss fine." He begins to heave himself back out of the bowl.

Harvester clears his throat.

Sen-Jyu grins at the Harvester and shrugs, not appearing to regret his decision.

Ahoke frowns, walking up to the edge of the bowl and looks up at Tamalruk. "I'll take any help that I can get, if you're willing to give it," she says, wary now that she sees her companions' distrust.

Harvester moves with a chuckle, to stand behind Ahoke. "My mama didn't raise no fool..."

Tamalruk's jaws creak open in a horrible grin. "Ssstoneborn hasss sssenssse onssse again." It pulls its leg back over the rim of the bowl. "Only two handsss, thisss fallsss, they breaksss." He stretches out, holding a handful of tiny vials.

Ahoke stretches upward, taking the the handful of vials gingerly. "What do they do?"

Harvester looks over Ahoke's shoulder to study the vials thoughtfully as she takes them.

"Humansss had them, drank them, woundsss healed." Tamalruk goes back down. "More there wasss. No revenge if you diesss," he mutters to himself. Again the clawed hand emerges, this time with a handful of stone necklaces. "Protective runesss. Very powerful."

Keeping his eye on the korhorrag, Sen-Jyu is suddenly mirthless, as if knowing how wasted any sort of benevolence would be on this creature.

Ahoke ahs. "Potions are good," she says thoughtfully. "Harv, can you grab the necklaces, and pass them out? My hands are a little full here."

Tamalruk shakes the necklaces impatiently.

Harvester nods to Ahoke at her inquiry, and reaches up the short distance to take the necklaces. "Patience, priest.... you'll give yourself a heart attack..."

Ahoke holds her hands open, cupped, with the four vials resting in them. "Take what you want, just leave me one of them," she says, "In case that one of you can't get over to feed it to me quick enough."

The clawed hand drops the necklaces on Harvester, and vanishes again into the eerie flames of the bowl. A moment later, the head emerges again, and gives you all an appraising look. "Perhapsss...they did ssslay the vengeanssse..." It seems to come to a decision, and pulls out three stone-tipped spears. "Weaponsss of great warriorsss, thessse. Sssoulsss cry out for vengeanssse, for goblin blood. You feed them, yesss?"

Harvester examines the stone necklaces carefully, then replies to Ahoke. "We should each take one, yes..."

Holding up one hand, Sen-Jyu refuses the offer of potion, necklace or spear.

Harvester laughs softly, "I've little knowledge in the ways of using a spear, though if they will help..." He sees Sen-Jyu's refusal and grins knowingly. "Ahoke?"

Ahoke mmms. "I don't like your people very much, priest, but I'm more than happy to kill goblins for you." When Sen-Jyu refuses the potions, she shrugs, and drops two of them down behind her armor, to rest between her breasts. "Harvester?" She takes one of the necklaces from him, draping it over her neck, and then reaches for a spear with a shrug. "Sure."

Harvester accepts the pair of vials and places them into a pouch. He does not reach for a spear.

Harvester, after a moment, extracts his vials and studies them carefully.

The first bit of humor comes from the priest at Ahoke's words. "Likewissse." It dips down one final time, placing something in its mouth, and then clambers painfully out of the heatless flames. Removing the crystalline object, he holds it up. "Thisss, very old magic." it appears to be a whistle of some sort.

Ahoke reaches up, taking the whistle. "What does it do? Besides, I'm assuming, make noise?"

Tamalruk shrugs. "I know not. Now, I gather bonesss, and you ssslay goblinsss, yes?"

Harvester nods to himself on determining what he desired of the potions, and replaces them in his pouch.

Ahoke hrms, and then shrugs. "Harvester, if you're not taking a spear, you should take the magic whistle. It's only fair. And yes, korhorrag, I'd love to kill goblinssss, er, goblins, er thanork, dammit. Which direction?"

Harvester says, "Where were the other surface dwellers slain, priest? Particularly the one whose head you used for warning?" He nods to Ahoke and holds out a hand to her, palm up.

Tamalruk says, "Here in the tunnells. Only one ssslain. The othersss, gone. From thisss room, sssomehow."

Producing a second bamboo reed from his backpack, Sen-Jyu loosens the armor about his chest, that he can apply the goop to the buckler-sized bruise that's trying to form on his side.

Harvester points to his left ear, "Did you find a piece of 'decoration' similar to this on her?"

Ahoke carefully places the whistle in Harv's hand, glancing back to Tamalruk. "I'm very curious about how they did that, myself. If we aren't eaten by thanork, maybe we'll find out," she adds, with a sigh.

Harvester studies the whistle, now, then places it into the same pouch as the pair of curatives, unless it is on some sort of chain.

Ahoke tests the weight of the spear, hefting it experimentally. A low growl starts from the back of her throat, not from any immediate rage, as those who know her already know, but at the thought of future battle.

Harvester taps his foot, impatiently, as he awaits Tamalruk's reply to his query.

Tamalruk peers carefully. "No," is all he says.

Harvester grunts. "alright. Which way to the Great Egress and the Goblins?"

Sen-Jyu points at the dragon -- well, through the dragon.

Tamalruk says, "The dragonsss path isss behind the sssstatue, but I cannot open it."

Ahoke turns, staring at Tamalruk. "You... can't? Er... do you know how /we/ could do it?"

Tamalruk begins to limp off. "No. But pleassse wait for me to get far away if you intend to ssssteal an eye again. I have no desssire to be ssstomped flat."

Harvester mutters an invective under his voice. "Well, Sen? You feeling adventuresome again?"

Tamalruk looks back, as if he can't believe you're going to try that again, then starts to shuffle off faster.

Ahoke turns back to regard the dragon statue for a moment, narrowing her eyes. "It might be wrong... but if it is, easily righted." She reaches up, taking off a necklace that she's always worn, a small wooden rune, lovingly, if not expertly, carved. And then climbs up towards the bowl, dropping it in. "Dragon, I make a sacrifice. The symbol of my status of the tribe, I give to you for passage."

 The dragon's eyes glitter in the firelight, but nothing else seems to occur.

Ahoke grunts. "Well, there goes the placating route. I'm going in to get my damned symbol back. Don't do anything until I get out."  Her head pops up over the bowl. "I know that this kind of thing isn't valuable anywhere else but with my tribe. Do you think it wants something more valuable?"

Harvester calls up to Ahoke, "Not until you extricate yourself, 'Kay."

Ahoke slides over the edge, and then walks back down the stairs. "There's got to be an easier way to do this than to piss it off at us again."

Sen-Jyu watches the two, grinning a bit at the comical nature of the situation. He starts to wander over to the carvings around the room, reading their meaning as best he can.

Harvester, too, appears to have the same idea as Ahoke, and he tosses in another golden disk. His eyes close momentarily as he frowns in concentration. 'You are the mighty dragon... all fear and tremble at your passage.... We seek to travel beyond, in the place you protect...'.

 The stone dragon sits impassively, unmoved by the Harvester's words and thoughts.

Ahoke grunts. "Bribery doesn't work, flattery doesn't work... I wonder if it prefers copper?"

Harvester mutters, "So much for speaking praise and having the dragon come down from his mountain..."

Sen-Jyu takes his sweet ol' time in looking at those carvings.

Ahoke muses, "I wonder if intimidation would work..."

"Um..." says Sen-Jyu after a while, when standing near the carving that the Harvester had found. "This is interesting."

Ahoke says, "What is?"

Harvester moves to stand beside Sen-Jyu, "And that is...?"

Sen-Jyu gestures to a panel, where two dragons sit and accept sacrifice. "This." He asks, "You had mentioned something about a mirror. I wonder, was there a mirror back in the room with the toy soldier?" Sen-Jyu licks his lips. "Rather, wasn't there?"

Harvester examines the panel indicated, "We've tried that already... giving sacrifices. Haven't we?" He looks at Sen-Jyu, perplexed, "Yes, there was... I meant to ask Ahoke about that, given what I found here..."

"Aren't dragons rather vain creatures? Especially those that make statues of themselves?" Sen-Jyu shrugs a bit.

Harvester frowns thoughtfully, "You think to reflect the dragon's image, from here..." He gestures to the blank spot on the wall, above the broken mirror shards, "and perhaps cause the statue to attack the 'intruder'?

Ahoke shrugs, pulling out the grime-covered mirror. "What, this one?" She carefully keeps it from reflecting directly at the dragon, just in case.

Harvester hmmms, 'I also possess a smaller mirror, made of steel, though that one might prove better..."

Sen-Jyu peers at the Harvester. "Uh... no, I wasn't supposing that. I was simply thinking to offer a mirror as a sacrifice." He nods to Ahoke's producing the mirror he was referring to. "Something like that, yes...though I'm not discounting any thoughts about reflections and the like. I know very little about magic, and am somewhat deficient in thinking like a dragon." Sen-Jyu smiles sheepishly.

Harvester pats the wall, then points down to the broken shards. "I thought to affix it here.... and so there would be 'two' dragons, as indicated in the panel you discovered...perhaps place the mirror here, then offer a sacrifice, to cause its eyes to shine as they have each other time."

Sen-Jyu grins a little. "Be my guest." He steps out of the way of the dragon-statue, however.

Ahoke hmms. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out." She walks over to the spot on the wall that a mirror had formerly been hanging on. She props hers up against the wall, shrugging. "Well, there. Mirror." She steps back, looking at the statue cautiously.

Harvester grins back at Sen-Jyu, "Isn't this exciting?!" He moves to stand somewhat 'behind' the statue, just in case.

The mirror seems to glow faintly blue, as if trying to reflect the light of the room, but the accumulated tarnish effectively prevents that from happening.

"... I could just pee," Sen-Jyu comments flatly to the Harvester.

Harvester nods to himself, "Try cleaning it first?"

Harvester laughs back at Sen-Jyu, "Well, try to control yourself, bub..." Then he frowns at the mirror.

Ahoke hmmphs, glancing up at the others. "Well, something happened, anyway. Maybe that better mirror of yours will work."

Harvester nods to Ahoke, then bends to drop his pack and carefully extract his own mirror. He slips the pack back on and polishes the reflective surface, as he moves towards the bare spot. He keeps his back to the statue as he places the mirror in a position to reflect dragon to dragon before moving quickly to one side and around. Just in case.

Ahoke takes the copper mirror back.

The mirror sparkles and begins to glow blue as light reflected from the dragon's eyes hits it. It seems to bounce back, towards the dragon's gaze, there to be magnified and re-reflected. Gradually the light travelling between eyes and mirror shines visibly blue.

Harvester stands a short distance from the statue, along the wall it 'guards'. He waits.

Ahoke huhs. "Well, interesting. So now what?"

The light grows in intensity and hue, until it is almost painful to look at - even looking away your vision bears afterimages of the line of purest azure.

Harvester tosses a golden coin into the bowl, "The sacrifice... and praise...."

There is a sound from the mirror.

Ahoke squints at the mirror, forcing herself to look at it.

Harvester attempts to shield his eyes as he looks toward the mirror.

Sen-Jyu watches the dragon instead, possibly for movement.

The steel of the mirror has begun to warp, softening under the blue beam - and as Ahoke and Harvester watch, it bursts into flames! Molten steel splashes the area around it. The blue beam dies away, leaving the area shrouded in darkness.

And then, with a grinding of stone, the statue begins to move.

Ahoke turns back towards the statue, poised for flight if that becomes necessary.

The statue steps forward, then to the right...revealing a darkened tunnel.

Harvester begins to sidle towards the tunnel that lies behind the now-moving statue, and enters as quickly as he may.

Ahoke follows, directly on the Harvester's heels.

Sen-Jyu, too.

Harvester tries to move faster as the barbarian dwarf and spirit warrior clip his heels, "Hey now.. no shovin.... Plenty of room for everyone!" He continues moving forward, "Need to change your drawers yet, Sen?" he laughs.

The floor of the room beyond is made of tarnished copper sheets, but it is largely empty. A copper bathtub is pushed against one wall. The walls here do not bear the marks of pick and stone - rather, they seem to have been gouged by claw and rubbed smooth by scale.

Across the room, a tunnel leads deeper into the mountain.

Sen-Jyu clears his throat, "Who's wearing drawers?"

One part of the flooring is stained differently than the others, as if it had already been corroded before the rest of it became tarnished. Whatever lay on it was enormous - thirty feet long, at least.

Ahoke whistles low, looking around the room. "I've never seen this much metal before in my life," she says softly. She walks over to the more corroded spot, scowling at it thoughtfully.

Behind you, the dragon statue begins to move again.

Harvester looks towards the place Ahoke speaks on, "Yeah... maybe that's where Copperdeath rested while he waited...." He casts a glance back towards the statue. "Guess we'll have to get out down the mountain...." He moves to inspect the bathtub.

Moving over to the tub, Sen-Jyu grins. "Well. He was a thirsty beast." A finger points out the scars along the bottome, as if an immense tongue had been licking it.

Harvester says, "Ah... I _thought_ he was a bit big to fit in there....""

Ahoke is quiet, looking down the tunnel leading deeper into the mountain. She sighs, then.

The statue settles back in place, cutting off the room's known exit. Only the unknown remains...

Harvester moves to peer into the tunnel after looking about.

Ahoke draws herself up to her full height (which, while not very tall, seems to bolster her courage.) "We have children to save," she says resolutely. "And thanork to kill."

Harvester laughs softly at Ahoke, "Well.... just waitin on y'all..." comes the drawl and wink.

Ahoke nods, unsmiling, and starts to walk down the corridor. "Alright."

The tunnel proceeds into the depths of the mountain, curving slightly up. About sixty feet in, it takes a sharp turn - directly upward, into a wide 'chimney'. Higher up, you can see another tunnel, round and smooth.

It seems as though the Heroes of the Bell have been here before you, though - a stout rope hangs down from that tunnel, almost to the floor.

Sen-Jyu takes up the rear, Ichido-sama joining him in preparation.

Harvester sighs on finding the rope. "Coming down was lots easier than this is gonna be....

Ahoke looks up, and up. "Yeah, I think you're right. Shall we give it a try, though?"

Harvester pulls his rope from the pack again, and begins to consider. "Who's gonna go first? Take this, or am I elected?" He holds out the rope.

Ahoke takes the rope from Harvester, offering him a tiny smile. "I can try," she says. "We'll see how it works for me this time." She seems to be having some difficulty getting a good grip on said rope.

Harvester sighs. "I'd try, but can't see squat up there...."

Ahoke wipes the palms of her hands off on her clothes, and then scrambles up with the ease of someone who was born to climb ropes out of misbegotten caverns. Odd, that. Her squat form can be barely seen up at the top, but eventually, she calls out, tentatively, "I'm up. Nothing's tried to eat me yet."

Harvester calls up softly, "Lower the rope!"

Ahoke lowers a second rope, wth threats of what she'll do if you pull her over the edge.

Harvester takes the end of the rope and ties it to his pack and scythe and crossbow as carefully as he can and tugs on the rope. When it is lowered again he ties it to his waist with one more tug and begins his ascent, with Ahoke's aid, hopefully.

Sen-Jyu, sheathing his sword, takes the original rope and gives it a try.

Harvester begins his climb with all the grace of a hippo climbing stairs, feet scrabbling for purchase.

Ahoke grunts, bracing herself, and then just starts to pull Harvester upward, using brute strength.

Harvester wipes off his own hands, "Dammit." before trying again. And then again. And then finds himself being jerked upwards. "ERk! Slip...knot.... stupid... me...." Finally he reaches the upper tunnel and scrabbles over the edge, panting. "Uhm.... thanks..." The priest offers a weak smile.

Sen-Jyu climbs up after Harv, without help.

Ahoke gives the Harvester a grin, and wipes the beads of sweat off of her forehead. "Put your equipment back on. We're going to need it."

Harvester waves a hand as he does as Ahoke says, "I'm gonna... I'm gonna..." A moment later, after stowing the rope. "Okay, let's go...." He looks back at Sen-Jyu, "I _told_ you down was easier..."

Ahoke looks around at the surroundings.

The tunnel continues on into darkness. The walls are rough-hewn, as if clawed from the red rock of the mountain, while the floor is polished almost smooth.

Sen-Jyu draws his katana once more.

Ahoke starts walking into the darkness.

Harvester follows Ahoke into the darkness, which becomes lit by the light on his scythe.

Guano stains the floor of the tunnel, and somewhere above you bats squeal and chirrup in protest at the sudden glow. As you proceed, you can hear something...a low rumbling...and feel a vibration through the rock.

Ahoke scowls at the rumbling, but doesn't slow her pace. She also scowls upward towards the bat sounds.

Gradually, the air becomes...damp...misty, even. The rumbling grows louder, like a long, continuous roll of thunder.

Ahoke hmms. "I wonder if that's a waterfall," she murmurs, without breaking stride.

"Mmm, sounds like one," Sen-Jyu admits, looking behind the group on occasion as they advance down the passage.

Ahoke says, "Yes, either it's that, or the dragon is warning us away..."

The tunnel twists, and you see the truth in Ahoke's guess: it opens into a grotto, in the center of which pours a column of luminescent water, shifting slowly through the spectrum as it falls in breathtaking splendor. A stone barrier channels the water away from the tunnel you stand in, but the clouds of mist that rise from the water drift down towards you.

Ahoke stops short, staring at the water.

Sen-Jyu strains to listen to something, his face knotted in concentration.

Harvester murmurs, "I thought I heard something... but the waterfall drowns it out..."

Sen-Jyu scowls. "Someone's... singing. Down there. I wish I could hear it -- it sounds beautiful."

Ahoke turns, looking at the other two in consternation. "Singing?" She moves into the grotto, looking around. "I don't hear any singing..."

Harvester cups his hand behind his ear, the one with the 'hearing-trumpet' earring, in better attempt to focus his hearing.

Ahoke mmms,nodding. "Yeah...now I hearit..."

Sen-Jyu takes a tentative step or two toward the waterfall. "... hello?" he calls out, as if addressing someone there.

Ahoke peers at Sen, then at the waterfall, alarmed.

Harvester follows behind Sen-jyu, and to one side as he rubs the mist gathering in his eyes.

The song grows, swelling to a crescendo, as the movement in the waterfall grows closer.

You can see a shape, now, in the glowing waters, approaching the edge of the pool. It...no, she, very definitely she...emerges from the water: long, red hair falling across her bark-brown skin, clad only in the mist of the pool. Her face is a poet's dream and a lover's broken heart, and she moves with a grace that no earthly form could match. It is she who is singing, she whose melody blends with the falling water, calling to you...

Harvester begins to move... slowly, at first, then with quickened step towards the woman. A wide grin splits his features as he hurries towards her.  He sighs, "I'm coming... Wait for me..."

Sen-Jyu's jaw drops at seeing femininity incarnate approaching, but he does not take the same approach as the Harvester. Rather, he seems a bit shocked that the priest would simply charge into the water, and attempts to catch the robe of the Harvester in one hand.

Harvester slaps away the hands that grab for him, "leggo, dammit... she wants me..."

The last notes of the song die out, and a smile spreads across her face. "Yes, come to me," she says, her voice barely audible over the water. One hand beckons to the Harvester. "It has been so long..."

Ahoke stares at the woman for a few seconds, and then shakes her head rapidly. 'I don't even like the way that human women look," she says to herself. "I don't even like women ..." She casts a longing eye back towards the would be enchantress, though. "Harv... that waterfall will probably hurt you if you step inside..."

Sen-Jyu knots his fingers in the robe of the priest. "Mmmmno," Sen-Jyu says, curling his arm backward at the same time. "The Harvester, aren't you sworn to chastity or something?"

Harvester fights to free himself of Sen-Jyu's grasp, going so far as to slice his scythe towards the man in warning, ""Back off! She ain't gonna let me get hurt!"

Ahoke says, softly, "The children, Harvester. You're doing it for your god, remember? He /wants/ the children to live."

The woman's laugh echos in the cavern like the bells of the town at the mountain's base. "Of course not. I merely desire...company. It has been so many years..."

Harvester shakes his head rapidly, once, as Sen-Jyu calls out to him, then begins to try and force the other away, trying as he might to continue towards her.

"The Harvester!" Sen-Jyu shouts into the priest's face, probably the loudest that his companions have ever heard him be. "You're acting like a desperate pubescent boy! Never mind your pimples, get a hold of yourself!"

Harvester shakes his head yet again, as his name is called, and then he pulls free, skittering back, towards his new love. He shouts to the woman, "I'm coming!"

The woman steps out of the waterfall, holding her arms towards Harvester in welcome.

Sen-Jyu sheathes Ichido-sama, shaking his head. "This is -not- happening," he breathes. And chases the Harvester.

There is the sound of clattering from behind as Ahoke does something, but nothing comes of it.

Harvester runs as swiftly as he is able, swinging his scythe wildly behind himself as he goes.

The woman steps closer. "You do not understand...I am so very lonely here..."

The spirit-blood catches up to the love-stricken cleric and throws himself onto the other. A flurry of appendages later, Sen-Jyu seems to have wrestled the cleric to a standstill. "Listen, the Harvester. Listen. She's not -normal-. You don't just go copulate with any woman you see... normally... well, you haven't since I've known you, at least."

Sen-Jyu clears his throat and murmurs, "Granted, you've been with me and Ahoke, and... I can understand why you'd repress yourself. But show some self-control, man."

Harvester snarls, "LET! ME! GO!!!" a sickle is drawn from his belt, and slashed across Sen-Jyu's chest, without harm, fortunately, as it does not penetrate his attacker's armor.

Ahoke sucks in her breath, looking around the grotto, seductress momentarily forgotten. "Who are you? What is it with disembodied voices in this place?" Her voice is ragged, and she sounds like Wolverine is bubbling to the surface, ready to lash out at the first person or creature that tries to harm her.

"What manner of friend are you, that would deny your companion what he wishes? And how cruel, to keep me from my love." The woman is at the edge of the pool now, one arm reaching out to Harvester. "Why have you come here? I have been so long imprisoned..."

Harvester snarls again, "I said, GEDOFFAME, B---H!" Another violent slash of the sickle finds blood - hot, red, sticky blood that courses across The Harvester's body. Sen-Jyu's flesh is torn, ripped away in a great fount as the priest seeks his escape. Again, he screams out, "I'VE COME FOR YOU!!" to the woman.

Ahoke snarls viciously, leaping towards the grappling pair on the ground. "Stop /it/, damn you, Harvester!" She raises her great club high in the air, and lets it scream through the air, closer and closer to Harvester's head. It veers away at the last second, though, knocking the sickle so hard that it skitters across the grotto floor.

From somewhere behind Ahoke, a small form springs from a ledge: a rat-thing, wet with mist, and with a strange, almost human expression of rage in its eyes. The dwarf manages to twist out of the way of the rat-creature, and it hisses defiance at her from beneath its misshapen brow.

Sen-Jyu fumbles his attempt at pinning the priest. Likely his spurting chest wound has something to do with it.

Water courses down the woman's body as she pulls herself, seal-like, from the pool. Her eyes show nothing but concern as she reaches - no longer for Harvester, but for Sen-Jyu. "You are wounded..." she says, rather unnecessarily. She licks her lips as if to moisten them. "It should be tended. My love, you will heal him, will you not?"

Harvester blinks once then his eyes narrow in anger as the woman reaches towards Sen-Jyu, his hand straying towards his..... dagger. "Of course, my love..." he says, without hesitation, in reply, voice tinged with joy at her acknowledgement. "I shall do anything you ask of me....." He attempts to push Sen-Jyu off of him, "If he lets go...."

"Skring!" the woman's voice calls, and the rat backs away from Ahoke, still staring at her with narrowed eyes.

Ahoke snarls back at the rat, the rage on her face, unlike the rat's, is totally inhuman. When it backs off, she turns to look at the woman, scowling.


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## drnuncheon (Feb 10, 2003)

Harvester gives Sen-Jyu another shove, to displace the man from atop him. "My lady has asked me to heal you, Sen-Jyu. So geddoffa me! and I will..."

Sen-Jyu scowls at the Harvester, then sighs as the effort for continuing to grapple with him exacerbates the gaping wound left by the sickle. "Fine. Go to her. But first," Sen-Jyu's arm relinquishes the priest, to point toward a corner of the pool. "Please, look."

Harvester casts a moon-eyed glance towards the bathing beauty.

Harvester sighs, "I'm looking.... I'm looking..." He rises to his feet.

Ahoke glances over in the direction that Sen-Jyu points in, and then laughs. "And what is your explanation for that pile of bones, /Lady/," she says, a savage note creeping into her voice. She hefts her club, and takes a step towards the water creature.

With a shriek of rage, the woman's face contorts. A dagger appears in her hand as she lashes forward at Sen-Jyu. Only the spirit-blood's quick reflexes save him from the knife.

Meanwhile, furry bodies launch themselves through the air at Ahoke, their teeth slashing deep into her legs. Blood stains the stone floor of the cavern.

The attack from the woman does little more than draw the hint of a smile from the lips of the spirit-blood; it's as if he had intended her to be provoked, baiting the line, as it were. His sidestep is elegant, the water almost parting to allow him passage, while Ichido-sama is drawn, a languid salute of metal and a promise of death. It is without sadness that the sword-blow is struck, and no hint of resistance is felt from the oni's neck as the blade passes cleanly from one side to the other. The body seems reluctant to acknowledge this, trembling for a moment before collapsing, the head floating momentarily as the water churns a lustrous red.

Ahoke, who had been moving towards the singing water woman is so startled by her change in visage that she halts, staring. Belatedly, she tries to smash one of the rats that's biting at her, but misses, unsurprisingly.

Harvester's surprise is evident as the combat breaks out anew, and his hands begin to move in intricate patterns. He speaks soft words and reaches out to slap Sen-Jyu on the back. The spirit-blood's move during his attack pull him aside at the last moment.

Ahoke's surprise is short-lived, and her club wards away one of the rodents - but the other sinks teeth deep again, and blood wells to the surface of fresh wounds.

The blade, after performing its duty, is returned to its home at Sen-Jyu's side; the young samurai seems reluctant to harm the cleric. Both hands, with fingers like the legs of spiders, reach forward and gnarl themselves in the robes of the Harvester, and Sen-Jyu begins to pull the other into the water. However...

Harvester finds himself thrown to the ground once more as Sen-Jyu leaps upon him once more. The charmed priest's face narrows into one of focus as a hand slowly struggles free to fully clasp the Spirit-blood by the face. A final word is uttered, and golden flecks of light fly from between splayed fingers as Sen-Jyu finds the worst of his wounds closing, sealing, the flow of blood slowing...

Ahoke laughs aloud as the rodent bites her leg, and brings down the club hard onto its skull, crushing it into red globby paste on the stone floor of the grotto. "Nice try, rat. Better luck in the next life." She turns her gaze to the other one, baring her teeth in a dominance display.

Harvester gives a violent shove to Sen-Jyu and frees himself, and stumbles back into the shallow pool. Hands rise, whether in benediction, defense or anger, it is difficult to say.

The remaining rat lunges at Ahoke, its teeth snapping on air near her shin.

Sen-Jyu steps back from the Harvester, accidentally bumping into the floating newly-made corpse. He jumps at that, but doesn't remove his eyes from the Harvester. "I sincerely hope you don't have lascivious thoughts toward her -now-," he says. "That's not romantic, that's... necromantic."

Ahoke, perhaps offended that the rat didn't submit to her dominance, smacks it, hard, with her club. There is the sound of splintering bone, and then a rat corpse goes flying through the air, landing in the water between Sen-Jyu and the Harvester with a splash.

The woman's severed head lolls in the water, bobbing up and down. It rolls over in the current, and her eyes open, staring sightlessly past you. Her mouth forms a word - is it 'Free'? - and then, as if head and body were ice in a furnace, the woman is gone, melted into the water. The only trace of her presence that remains is the golden cuff that once adorned her ankle.

Harvester watches Sen-Jyu carefully, his eyes flicking now and then towards the corpse of his beloved. Eyes fill with tears, as one by one the salty droplets fall into the pool. He kneels in the water beside the body, pulling it into his arms as he whispers, "How could you? How could you slay her so? She did nothing to you!" He glares balefully at his companions, then to her face as both body and head disappear, "No! Come back..." he breathes. "COME BACK, BELOVED!!"

Sen-Jyu steps -away- from the Harvester. "Um, Ahoke, let's give him some time to, ah, mourn his one-minute stand."

Ahoke wipes her club on the ground, and nods, scowling at the Harvester. "I hope that this isn't going to be a big drama scene. We have children to rescue." She glances over at the pile of bones, and says, "Mmm. Sparkly stuff?" She walks over, peering down without touching.

Harvester spies a golden cuff in the water, where he ankle once rested, and he fairly lunges for it, splashing Ahoke and Sen-Jyu liberally. The priest hears Sen-Jyu's words and rises, angrily speaking. "You... How dare you speak so cavalierly of a love so true...." He takes but a single step forward.

Ahoke says, harshly, "Her time had come and gone /long/ ago. Surely you of all people should be able to accept that, oh priest of the god of death." She stirs some of the bones up with the tip of her great club.

Harvester turns his head to look at Ahoke and snarls silently, lips pulled back to expose white teeth. "What would you know of 'drama' or 'love', savage?"

"Tch." Sen-Jyu raises one finger toward the Harvester. "Remember thyself, priest. Remember your purpose for being in the underbelly of this mountain. If you wish to stay and bemoan the melted one, that is your choice. That will leave two of us to rescue the children."

*Where is she? What has happened to my songbird? Who has opened her cage?*

Sen-Jyu asks, aloud, "... songbird?"

*I know you are coming...*

Sen-Jyu looks querulously at the other two, "Do you hear that voice?"

Ahoke looks at the priest, the hurt evident in her brown eyes for two seconds, until she goes completely stiff. "I see what it is that you think of me now. At least I don't try to kill my companions over lust." She lifts some armor up.

Harvester only turns his head to look at Sen-Jyu, slowly deflating. "I remember why i am here... Just you remember not to belittle our love..." He looks around at those words, then clasps the cuff about his own ankle, "I am claiming this as the remnant of our love... a memory..." He doesn't bother to answer Ahoke. "Yeah, I hear it, Sen-Jyu. Where's it coming from?

Snorting a bit, Sen-Jyu murmurs, "Ahoke, he speaks from the song that was woven over him, not from his heart."  He listens, stepping back from the waterfall, that he might better see and hear from whence the voice or voices speak.

Ahoke shakes her head, clearly disbelieving.

The voice seems to come from everywhere, and nowhere. With the stone walls echoing and the roar of the waterfall, it's impossible to pinpoint.

"We need to keep going," says Sen-Jyu warily. "We likely don't have much time, and if those voices are correct, we're only giving them more time to prepare."

Harvester sighs softly, then nods. "Our time grows short, yes.... and I have little of my Lord's glory left within me this day...."

Ahoke lays a set of chain mail off to the side, and then a set of half plate beside it. "I'm all for it. Let me change armor. If a priest can lay claim to something, I suppose an ignorant savage can too." She reaches for the chain mail. "This can be made to fit me. There's more stuff over here too. Maybe it can help us." HEr words are clipped and brisk.

Sen-Jyu looks at Ahoke, then back at the Harvester. "You should apologize," he says softly to the priest. "She holds you in good esteem, despite the gruff exterior she wears."

Ahoke snorts, starting to peel out of her bone armor. "No, I'm glad to know how he truly feels about me. At least I won't be bound to him by any illusion of friendship."

Harvester looks at the armor Ahoke has discovered, and moves nearer to look them over. He squates to examine the half-plate. A look to Sen-Jyu, "Fine. If she... and you will apologize for belittling the passions of my heart. Something I thought _she_, if no one else would appreciate."

Harvester nods, with an apology to Ahoke, then begins to lift the heavy plate armor for a closer look. "Y'all mind if I take this, then?"

Ahoke glares at Harvester, but doesn't apologize. She starts strapping on the chainmail. "Take whatever you want. I don't care." She pokes through the bones of Harvester's love's last victim, looking for more goodies.

Moving the armor did reveal a few more things...a sack, some rope, a pair of vials, a sodden quiver and a longbow.

Ahoke starts pulling things out of the bones, and lays them up on the shore, next to the others. "I dunno what this stuff is, some of it," she says.

Harvester sets the armor down. "I guess I can't wear this til it's sized right, huh." He looks through the items as Ahoke tosses them onto the shore. First he starts to take the sack, then glances to Ahoke, "you mind?" he asks, while _trying_ to be nice.

Ahoke shrugs, not meeting the Harvester's eyes, and moves away from the skeleton. "I'm ready to move when you two are. Maybe the vials, since you didn't take anything from the korhorrag, Sen?"

Sen-Jyu steps back, watching the two, and shakes his head. He looks quite resolved to keep his mouth shut, but then words start to spill out as he paces back and forth frantically, like a cat. "Listen." His eyes dart between the two, and his voice is raised, just enough to counter the dampening of the vaulted cave and the waterfall. "If I learned anything, anything at all from my father, it was... to make your peace before you die. I, for one, don't want to see the three of us hiding these wounds. Because, unlike the physical wounds that we've all taken." he gestures toward the scabbed-over mark left by the sickle, "they can't be healed so easily. Since we're headed directly into the possibility of death, I want us all to be... friends." He sighs heavily after that, pausing in his pacing for a moment.

Harvester shrugs a shoulder at Sen-Jyu, and takes the sack to look inside. "Hey. I _tried_. But she doesn't give a sh*t."

Ahoke laughs, stepping away. "You're right. I don't give a sh*t. Just because we had to rescue you from becoming a skeleton in the bottom of a pool and we don't get any gratitude from it, and I don't instantly accept your half-assed apology like some dumb savage, I don't give a sh*t. Whatever. I'm ready to go when you guys are."

Harvester shrugs a shoulder, "Some money... and a... copper armband." That item he extracts and carefully looks over.

"How can you say that? How long were we together, crossing the mountains, before this? We watched each other's backs that entire time." Sen-Jyu scowls at the both of them. "I think we all deserve more respect than we're giving one another."

Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu again. "And you _heard_ me apologize to Ahoke. And you witnessed her rejection." He flicks a glance towards Ahoke. "And my love wouldn't've harmed me. I know this."

Sen-Jyu nods. "I heard it, but I don't know that she did."

Harvester slips the armband back into the sack and rises, "Fine. Then I'll repeat myself. Ahoke, I apologize for calling you a savage. It was an ill-considered response to your belittling of my love for _her_." He points to where the woman dissolved.

"And it's not true," Sen-Jyu adds thoughtfully.

Harvester turns to remove his robe, and then his armor. A backwards glance to Sen-Jyu, quizzically, then he stoops to don the half-plate. A long, laborious process, when conducted alone.

Sen-Jyu watches the priest. "Do you even know how to -wear- that, the Harvester?"

"I do," comes the reply. "It is difficult, however, to properly adjust alone. And I have not done so, in quite a long time."

Sen-Jyu grins. "You might ask for some help, then?"

Harvester nods once. "if you would, then?"

Shaking his head, Sen-Jyu says, "I'd likely tighten something a bit too much -- cut off circulation."

Harvester laughs softly. "I'll tell you if it's not right..."

Ahoke nods, stiffly, though it's hard to tell if the apology has been accepted or not. "Perhaps I am," she says finally, wearily. "The spirits should know that 'civilized' society is confusing for those of us who weren't born to it." She folds her arms across her chest, watching, looking towards the path spiraling upward, resolutely.

"Civilization," Sen-Jyu replies to Ahoke, "isn't where you're born. It's where you choose to be, here." He points to his chest and, presumably, some organ contained therein. Maybe a lung.

Harvester finally concludes the donning of his new armor and kneels, to place his old armor into his pack. He scoops up the remaining items that still lie unattended on the shore and examines them carefully, before stowing them as well. He gives particular care to the vials.

Ahoke glances at Sen-Jyu. "I'm a berserker, Sen. Always on the outside of what is civilized. That's wolverine's call on my life." She shrugs, and then snaps into the air, "Oh shut /up/ you stupid lizard."

Sen-Jyu shrugs, "I stand by what I have said."

Harvester hefts the longbow and gives it an experimental pull.  He murmurs, "This longbow... it is quite well crafted.... and has apparently suffered no ill-effects from being submerged so long..." And a gesture, "And these potatives... they appear to be curatives, created by the same being as concocted those others we got..."

"Probably members of the previous crew, though how sh... er, how their flesh became stripped from their bones is... beyond me." Sen-Jyu carefully looks away from the Harvester.

Ahoke hmms, glancing at the bow. "I'm not so good with a bow as I am my club or my axe... but the curing potions might be helpful. Do either of you want the bow?" Ahoke glances at the Harvester, and then Sen-Jyu, pursing her lips together in an attempt to stay silent.

"Hmmm." Sen-Jyu steps forward to examine the bow.

Harvester rises to hand the vials to Sen-Jyu. "Take these, as we possess several already."

Harvester hands Sen-Jyu the bow, as well.

Sen-Jyu accepts it. "This is a finely made bow, yes it is."

Harvester looks to Ahoke. "You've got some already, don'tcha?"  He holds out the sodden quiver to Sen-Jyu, too. "May as well complete the set, bub."

"Yeah, I took two of them," the dwarf agrees. "I think you took the other two."

Accepting the quiver as well, Sen-Jyu looks over the assortment of arrows, assuming there is any variety to them at all, and starts to tuck them into his own quiver.

Ahoke sighs, looking upward at the path. "Guys... far be it from me to back away from our quest, but my legs are bleeding. Those rats might have made the wounds get feverish. Can we rest for just awhile? I'm sure that the wounds won't seem as bad, when I've slept for a few hours."

Harvester shrugs, "Yeag... we're all whipped, i think. Can do a little bit o'healing, if you want..."

"I'm ready to g..." Sen-Jyu looks at his other companions, then ducks his head. "Camp, right."

Ahoke grins at the Harvester. "I'd never turn that down... should probably save the potions for an emergency. But let's go somewhere dry. She glares at the waterfall, "I'm not going to dry out for a couple of moon cycles."


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## drnuncheon (Feb 10, 2003)

*More Quotes from the Virtual Table!*

The crunching and thudding that was going on in the darkness ceases.
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Ahoke, are you eating your kill?"

<OOC> Sen-Jyu is gonna cast an Empowered Ball Lightnin... er, wrong sheet. Damnit.

<DIE ROLLER> Ahoke rolls 1d20+4 and gets 24.
<OOC> Ahoke says, "F***ing undead."

One of the Harvester's hands releases its hold on the scythe and begins to wave in a series of gestures. Words are spoken in a tone that calls out above the din of the battle. "I call upon the divine favor of He Who Is To Come to bear the fruit of Life unto my companion... Let his wounds be healed!" The thin hand reaches out to touch Sen-Jyu on the shoulder.
<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 1d8+2 and gets 3.
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Apparently it was the Grape of Life only."

<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "'Bringing statues to life is a time-honored tradition of low-level characters."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "As is getting stomped flat by them?"

Harvester calls back, over his shoulder, 'You wanna be the one to hand it to it?" He continues moving forward.
You paged Harvester with 'You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.'.

(Sen-Jyu uses the healing salve his mother gave him)
Producing a second bamboo reed from his backpack, Sen-Jyu loosens the armor about his chest, that he can apply the goop to the buckler-sized bruise that's trying to form on his side.
<DIE ROLLER> Sen-Jyu rolls 1d8+1 and gets 2.
<OOC> Tamalruk says, "Mom didn't like you very much did she?"

(Sen-Jyu is severely wounded by the charmed Harvester.)
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Please, remember to describe the chunks of flesh that you gouge out."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Don't leave any of the sloppy bits out."
<OOC> Muse, in the front row, wants to get hit with sloppy bits!
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "People in the first five rows, you WILL get wet."

(The dananshee sees that Sen-Jyu is wounded)
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "No offense, lady, but licking your lips while talking about my wounded state does -not- make me feel more comfortable."

(we resume play as Sen & Harvester grapple)
<OOC> Harvester says, "Sen finally quit hugging me then?"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "We just got into frenching, actually."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "What's the DC to cop a feel?"

(They search the waterfall pool)
Long distance to (Sen-Jyu, Ahoke): Dungeon Master feels he should mention that there's other stuff in the pile of bones - looks like maybe whatever the unlucky owners were carrying.
To (Ahoke, Dungeon Master), Sen-Jyu pages: Like, perhaps, a scrollcase that'll start drifting with the fast current once we disturb them?

(XP is awarded for the past coupole of sessions)
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "So, curiosity compels me to ask: we're getting this buttload of xp... why?"
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Because the DM wants us to be third level. "
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Which doesn't bode well, come to think of it."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "That was my guess."


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## Caliber (Feb 10, 2003)

Long time no post. 

That encounter at the waterfall always seemed pretty deadly to me. I'm suprised Harvester failed it though (Clerics normally have good Will saves and all ...)

Do you award XP when they level, or have you been keeping it for some special purpose?


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## drnuncheon (Feb 10, 2003)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *Long time no post.
> 
> That encounter at the waterfall always seemed pretty deadly to me. I'm suprised Harvester failed it though (Clerics normally have good Will saves and all ...)
> 
> Do you award XP when they level, or have you been keeping it for some special purpose? *




Harv has proven that he can only roll well when he's attacking his companions.

Normally I reward XP after every session, but the past couple of times, we had been in the middle of an encounter when we broke for the night (first the statue I think, then Harv vs. Sen-Jyu) so I didn't.

Speaking of Story Hours...we *have* finished OSM, so now that I'm back on the posting track expect super-fast updates.

After OSM is done, I hope everyone will join us for something a little different (and a rare chance for me to be a player!) as drnuncheon's Online Story Hour leaves the Prime behind and takes a trip to the City of Doors...

Fans of the current characters need not fear, though - they'll be back for OSM2 if nothing else!

J


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## drnuncheon (Feb 11, 2003)

Retreating to the 'bathtub room', the trio makes camp. There, on the cold metal floor, their dreams are no less disturbing than they were in the town...

With a vicious snarl, Ahoke sits up, clawing at the air. "Traitor," she growls, before looking around the room, surprised that she is still here. "Er, or not," she says, leaning against the wall in a vain attempt to stop trembling.

Harvester awakens and sits bolt-upright, with a loud, ragged gasp! "No...." he whispers. "No.... my mind is strong... My Lord shall not forsake me, nor I Him...."

And again, Sen-Jyu's troubled dreams are only revealed in the fear-streaked gloss to his wide-open eyes, nary a whimper having escaped him while he dreamt. He does not move, scarcely breathes, and one might question whether he had died in his sleep and gone rigid already.

Ahoke gets into her pack roughly, pulling out a loaf of bread that Tokket had supplied. She bits into it, tearing away at it with her teeth viciously. "My father would not drop me off of a cliff," she says resolutely. "Something is trying to make us lose heart with these dreams, to defeat us before we even begin." She pauses to chew some more, and then says, "Let's go kill it."

Harvester rises as well, and tears into a piece of ham Tokket had supplied. He nods to Ahoke, in wordless agreement, and moves to Sen-Jyu's side. "Sen? You gonna live, bub? Buck up... don't let the demons getcha down..." He attempts to be encouraging.

Sen-Jyu rises, a motion surprising to the eye considering the immobility that his limbs had held a moment before. "It wants our worship," he says in a whisper. "It wants us to bow to it. It probably wants the same of the townspeople. If the children are not dead already... I hate to think what damage has been wrought to their minds."

Ahoke grimaces, rising the rest of the way to her feet, and starting to don her armor. "Let's hope... that they recover. Children," she says, and then pauses, uncertainly, "At least dwarven children, are able to recover from things that adults wouldn't."

Harvester stands as well, swallowing the last of his ham. A ragged grin greets Sen-Jyu, "Yeah, well.... He Who Is To Come already got that. This thing, whoever he is, threatens to break my mind if I don't serve 'im."

Ahoke hmmphs, looking at Harvester. "He threatened to break my body. Interesting, I think, that he seems to threaten what he thinks is most important to us. We won't let him. What is a puny god impersonator to us, anyway?"

To calm his nerves, Sen-Jyu begins to practice swordplay with an ethereal opponent. Strike, parry, spin and strike again... but this time, he slows in his dance, head flopping to one side as he considers for a moment. His free hand extracts his other blade, the smaller of the two, and he begins the dance anew. Strike, thrust, parry, spin, turn, double-strike... Sen-Jyu seems mildly surprised and even a bit reassured.

Harvester laughs in reply, "He's puny...."

Ahoke nods. "Yeah. Now let's go back to the waterfall room, and start making our way up to the lair. We've goblins and a would-be god to hack apart."

Harvester muses quietly, as he slips into his pack. "This thing... threatens to break my mind, even as my Lord bolsters me with the gift of His greater power... greater than I have known in this lifetime.... We are truly blessed..."

Ahoke stretches her limbs out, cracking her knuckles, and then walks to the doorway of the bathtub room. "Sen, are you ready, or do you want to practice a little more?"

Sen-Jyu sheathes both of his swords, the flatness of his eyes indicating his introspective mood.

Ahoke takes that as assent to the former, and after one last look at her companions, starts walking the sixty feet or so to the rope leading upward.

Harvester turns, with a final glance to Sen-Jyu, and follows Ahoke.

Sen-Jyu follows, much quieter than he had been the day previous. Maybe all of his loquaciousness was exhausted in the brief spiel of philosophy.

Ahoke gets up to the rope, and tugs on it with a scowl. "I don't know how long it's going to take me with the armor, but I feel strange going up there without it. Have some patience with me," she says. "Unless someone else wants to go first?"

Harvester almost strangles on his laughter. "I'll take about three weeks on my own..."

Sen-Jyu advances on the rope, looking at Ahoke questioningly.

Ahoke holds it out to him. "We'll make sure that you land on one of us instead of the rocks, if you fall."

Sen-Jyu takes up the rope, and begins the ascent. Maybe.

Sen-Jyu checks around the tunnel a bit to make sure that the thanork didn't plant any surprises up there while they slept, before returning to the lip and preparing to help the next in line with their ascent.

Harvester sighs as he looks up at the impossibly long climb ahead. "Um. Mebbe you better go first, and help pull me up again..."

Ahoke, despite her pessimistic words, is able to shimmy up the rope much like a monkey. She grins at Harvester as she ascends, taking the extra rope with her. "I'll throw it down to you," she says, calling down.

Ahoke tosses the rope over the edge. Well, she keeps ahold of one end.

Harvester sweiftly knots the rope about his waist and attempts to begin his climb. And makes it up about three inches. He spits on his hands and rubs them together. He calls up, "You pull, while I climb..."

Ahoke sees that the priest is struggling, and starts backing up, holding the rope. With much grunting and growling, she pulls him up, rather quickly, and only bounces him off the rock wall a couple of times.

Sen-Jyu keeps an eye out behind the group while Ahoke helps the priest over the edge. Literally, not figuratively.

Ahoke wipes her brow. "That metal armor made you heavier than usual," she comments. "Alright. Are we ready to go wack some thanork?"

Harvester snorts. "Tell me about it. Thanks..." He readies his scythe. "Ready."

It is the journey of only a few moments to come to the waterfall cave, where everything seems to be as you left it (but you can make Spot checks to be certain). The spiraling path that skirts the falling water climbs high into the mist above you.

Ahoke peers into the cave. "I don't see anything amiss," she says after a moment, and then tromps over to where the path begins to spiral up. She glances back at the others, to see if they followed her, or if they've fallen into the clutches of water nymphs.

Sen-Jyu ahems quietly, then points to a splotch of dampness on the dry ground, somewhat distant from the pool.

Ahoke looks to where Sen points. "Hmm?"

Harvester looks around slowly, but sees naught amiss. He walks to the pool and pauses a moment, head bowed in silent prayer. Soon, he walks after the others, and spies Sen-Jyu's gesture.

Harvester whispers hopefully, "Wha.... does she live?!"

Crouching next to the ground, Sen-Jyu traces his finger around the shape of a footprint. Similar to the ones found in the mud back toward the river.

Ahoke scowls, walking back to where Sen-Jyu crouches, and seeing the tracing. "Well, there's confirmation that they're here. I wonder if they came looking for /us/."

Harvester stands behind Sen-Jyu and speaks softly, "Looks like they're waitin for us... where's it go?"

Sen-Jyu shrugs a bit, then points up, nebulously.

Harvester grunts. "Then that's where _we_ go."

Ahoke nods at Harvester "Right. Well, I guess that's where we want to be, then." She moves back over to the path, and begins climbing.
Harvester follows Ahoke.

Sen-Jyu nods to Ahoke, taking up the rear, scrutinizing the cavern as they progress.

The ramp is wide - ten feet wide - but the stone is worn smooth, and slick with mist and the algae growing upon it. Your feet threaten to slide from under you at your current pace, sending you tumbling down the ramp - or over the edge into the glowing waterfall.

Ahoke slows her pace accordingly, to keep herself from slipping, if at all possible.

Harvester uses his scythe in attempt to steady his upward movement.

Sen-Jyu keeps both his swords sheathed, crouching down on all fours to help him climb the passage and, if one of his leading companions stsrts to slip, to brace against their slipping or even catch them before they fall.

Harvester gets bowled over by a barbarian dwarf steamroller as she tumbles down. only a quick arc of his scythe to wedge into a crack in the path manages to avert his tumultuous plunge into the luminescent water below.

Seeing these events unfold in that horrible slow-motion effect that usually only occurs when the inevitable finally hits you, Sen-Jyu lunges past the Harvester in order to catch Ahoke prior to her fall. He is spidery in his motion and covers the distance easily, but is just not equipped to handle a metal-laden dwarf with downward inertia in her favor. She is tugged from his grasp, and he catches hold of an edge before he joins her in her plummet.

Ahoke falls below, after frantically grabbing at Sen's hand, but slipping off. There is a steady stream of words in the dwarven tongue, which, though no one speaks it, are fairly obviously swear words of some kind. The words are only cut off by a very loud splash. And then there is silence.

Somewhat panicked, Sen-Jyu looks at the Harvester, then back to the pool where the dark spot in the water indicates the aquatic dwarf. He watches for a few seconds to see if she is making any progress in the buoyancy department.

"Oh. Crap." are the only words from the priest as he lies spread-eagled on the path. He slowly, carefully skitters to the side and peers over. "Dwarves sink..." he remarks. "We gotta go fishin... quick..."'

After a moment of silence, there is the sound of water rushing off of a body as that body stands to its feet. There is a stream of more dwarven curse words, and then, finally, in common, "That hurt."

Ahoke wades out of the chest height water, peering up the thirty feet or so to where she assumes her companions still are. "I'm going to try /again/," she says.

Harvester nods to himself, seeing that Ahoke is relatively unharmed. He begins to inch his way up the path now, inch by painstaking inch. On his belly. Crawling like a baby fearful of heights and baths...

There is quiet again for a couple of seconds, and then Ahoke calls out, "I have an idea. Can you wait until I get to you? The rope is going to really come in handy.."

Sen-Jyu grins down at Ahoke, then finds a place where he can comfortably recline until Ahoke returns.

Harvester stops scraping his armor along the stone and waits as well.

Ahoke moves up to where the two men are, walking cautiously. There are bruises and cuts and scrapes on her, and her clothing (not the armor, though) is torn in places. "Never fall off of a cliff," she tells them. "It's much less fun than people say it is." She gestures with the rope. "Now, if we tied ourselves together, if I were to fall like that, you two could stop me. Or if any of us were to fall, the other two could stop it."

Sen-Jyu listens, then nods his agreement, one hand outstretched to receive one end of the rope, assuming that Ahoke is going to offer it.

Ahoke does, in fact, offer the rope.

Knotting it about his waist, Sen-Jyu takes up about ten feet of the slack before letting whoever's next tie themselves in.

Harvester shrugs from where he lies, "Sure. Whatever. Okay..." he looks doubtful, but willing to try.

Ahoke does so, and then looks upward with a sigh. "I hate it down here."

Harvester accepts the rope now, and ties himself lets himself into the loop. "Buck up, 'Kay. We're ging 'up' now..."

Ahoke brightens. "True," she says, beginning to move again, slowly and carefully.

Sen-Jyu waits for Ahoke to get tied in to this crazy train before starting his climb.

The mist soaks you to the skin as the knots are tied, and upward progress is resumed. You climb slowly, alert for the slippery rock, patches of algae...As you climb, the glow of the water pouring down next to you changes colors, moving through the spectrum.

Climbing higher, you see an enormous spiderweb stretched across the falling water. It does not block the path - merely acting as a fishing-net for whatever falls through.

Sen-Jyu points out the spiderweb with a great deal of consternation in his expression.

Harvester nearly slips numerous times. With the balance of his scythe, however, and the aid of his agile and/or stolid companions, he does not pitch forward to his doom on the jagged rocks below.

Ahoke frowns at the spiderweb. "I do not want to think about what made that. Let's just keep climbing for now," she mutters.

Harvester sees the spiderweb as well, and breathes. "Aw. Crap."

Careful placement of feet takes you higher...past another web, and another. You circle the waterfall again and again, rising to dizzying heights.

Sen-Jyu keeps alert as he continues up the slick slope, hand testing the position of the hilts of his swords as he looks about.

Harvester stops.

Once the slack tightens, Sen-Jyu stops as well.

Ahoke does too, grunting. "What is it?"

Harvester's head tilts as he listens to something. A frown creases his features, then he shakes his head uncertainly, as he mumbles indistinctly, "Thought I heard somethin..."

Ahoke hehs. "Oh, I know how /that/ is. Lots of voices here. Makes me mad. You going to be okay to climb on?"

Harvester speaks softly, almost inaudibly. "You do not speak for Him... you seek your own deification... your own glory..." He begins walking forward again, carefully, slowly.

More than once, Ahoke's feet threaten to slip out from under her - but eventually, the top is in sight. In the light of the glowing water, you can see the top of the ramp in front of you. It ends at a long, open window, five feet off the level of the ramp and fifteen feet tall. The room behind it looks dark and empty.

Ahoke breathes deeply when she sees the top of the ramp. "I'm so... glad. I hope there's another way down, though I guess we can just slide down on our bellies and make it faster..."

Sen-Jyu hoists himself the five feet once he reaches the top of the ramp, quickly collecting the slack so as to help the Harvester make some progress.

Harvester follows after, as quickly as is safe, looking up for a moment and pausing long enough to bow his head. "I shall remember, my Lord..." He clambers up next to Sen-Jyu.

Sen-Jyu offers an arm down to Ahoke upon her arrival at the top of the ramp.

Ahoke scrambles up behind the other two, grabbing ahold of Sen-Jyu's arm for extra support. Pulling herself up and over, she rolls over onto her back, and then gets to her feet. "Thanks," she says to Sen. She pulls out one of the vial things, and uncorks it. "Now... that fall hurt me enough that I should drink one of these.."

Climbing through the window...your mouth is a desert. Your clothing, your armor, everything...bone dry.

Harvester utters a word. "Wow..." He experimentally wrings out his robe, to find no water. "Wow."

Ahoke, who had been soaked, blinks, as she realizes what just happened. "Hmm. I want one of those," she says, eyeing the window speculatively.

Perplexed, Sen-Jyu looks back at the scenery now behind and below them, both skeptical and confused.

Harvester snorts at Ahoke, "That mean you wanna keep jumping into water from thirty feet?"

Ahoke walks up to the window, looking at it with tilted head. "Interesting. Very much so. But. We have work to do." She turns her back on the curiousity, and looks around the room exploratively.

The room is lit only by Harvester's scythe and the glow of the water - but no water seems able to pass through the 'window' you climbed through. Strange shapes huddle in one corner of the room - statues of some kind? A tarnished bell in another corner. A shadowy alcove with something in it sits across the room from the window, and next to it, on the right-hand wall, is a passage lined with more statuary - copper, naturally.

Ahoke walks over to the alcove, peering inside.

Harvester moves slowly, cautiously towards the middle of the room. Just so far as to illuminate the shapes in the corner.

Sen-Jyu unties himself from the group, leaving the slack to trail behind the Harvester.

Ahoke also untied herself, incidentally. She mmphs at the alcove, and then prods at it with her great club.

Harvester stops, remembering after growing the 'tail', to untie and stow the rope.  He murmurs, "Anyone for a game of chess?" and approaches the giant set warily.

Sen-Jyu enters further, taking care to search the walls carefully.

As Ahoke wipes away the cobwebs, a draconic face is revealed, sculpted in verdigrised copper. The eyes open as she touches it, and a voice issues forth:

_     This garden is a lonely place     
     where many come, and yet remain
     the plants grow strong on fertile ground
     watered with legacies of pain.
     And should I plow, my plow would break
     on cast-off husks of iron grain
     now buried where they fell like wheat.
     What am I? Speak! Or face the bane._

Harvester turns to face the face. "You are a battlefield."


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## drnuncheon (Feb 14, 2003)

The dragon's face grins, and the back wall of the room sinks slowly into the floor. Behind it, a room - possibly twenty feet square, and lit by flickering torches. The floor of the room is covered in piles of coin, and in the back corner, you can see some chests. A pair of copper statues stand watch over the horde.

Ahoke whews. "I'm glad that was the right answer," she says, turning to look at Harvester. "Though it is the only one that made sense..." She looks back towards the "new" room, and takes a step in.

Harvester marches towards the new room, his scythe held ready. He frowns, then nods as he nears Ahoke. "As am I..."

Coins clink and slide under Ahoke's foot as she enters the room.

Harvester moves to one of the statues and studies it thoughtfully.

Ahoke mmms to herself, licking her lips greedily. "There's lots of money in here." She stoops, letting some of the coins run through her stubby fingers. "Although," she admits reluctantly, "We'd probably better not weight ourselves down too much with this stuff. It'll keep us from saving the kids.'

Sen-Jyu grins at the pair, though he appears poised to dive out of the way. "Glad that we're all agreed on the answer," he murmurs to himself.

The coins gleam red-gold in the ruddy torchlight, but it is clear that they are made from the metal the town is famous for. They bear the head of a dragon - presumably Copperdeath - on their obverse, and some sort of sigil on the reverse.

Ahoke hmms. "I might be remembering this wrong," she says, "But copper isn't worth as much as say, gold. Right?" She too moves over to statues, eyeing them suspiciously.

Harvester murmurs aloud, as he reads a plaque, "Arkady Bellwright... this chamber may have been here for centuries.... at least, so it would appear from these dates..." He bends over to lift a coin and look at the sigil on its reverse.

"I think you're remembering accurately," Sen-Jyu replies, kneeling to scoop up one of the coins and look at the sigil on one of its sides.

Ahoke peers around the room, and then starts to walk around its perimeter, looking for ways out.

Harvester pockets the coin - a souvenir of sorts - and proceeds to one of the chests to examine it, now.

Sen-Jyu shrugs, pocketing the one coin. "So, shall we continue? Or is there something here that I'm not seeing?"

Harvester says, "Just some chests, Sen..."

Ahoke hmms, moving over to a chest, and nudges it experimentally with her toe. "I wonder if it has something in it besides copper..."

Harvester glances to his companions, "Can you determine if they are trapped in some manner?

Ahoke looks at Harvester, askance. "What did you just call me?" She blinks then, and looks around the room. "Wait... that didn't sound like you."

Harvester looks back at Ahoke, brow furrowed, "That damn lizard again?"

Sen-Jyu advances toward the chest, but pauses at Ahoke's question. "Er... I could search for any... incongruencies on the chest?" he offers, slightly on the hesitant side.

Harvester, knowing his weaknesses, is more than willing to allow the others to open the chests, and moves to the second statue to examine it.

Ahoke's brow furrows in a fierce scowl. "It called me a little morsel. No one calls a dwarf a morsel," she says indignantly. She then steps aside for Sen-Jyu. "Er, go ahead."

Harvester laughs softly, "Indigestion, maybe.... if it swallows you whole..."

Sen-Jyu stoops by the chest that Ahoke had prodded, fingers exploring its surface for unusual devices, like things that are meant to kill suspicious rogues.

Ahoke smirks at Harvester, and then watches Sen-Jyu, with her arms folded across her chest.

Harvester's head tilts a bit, as he points out to Ahoke, "Here's a dwarven town founder, Kay... Thruin Deepdelve. Old guy."

"This chest seems fine," says Sen-Jyu after a couple minutes of examination. "I can't say I'm all that qualified to open locked chests, however." He meanders over to the second chest, conducting a similar investigation.

Sen-Jyu shrugs, his eyes raising from the second chest, nodding his approval. "This one appears fine, too."

Ahoke smashes in the top of the first chest with her club, with the sound of splintering wood. And then suddenly, she drops to the ground, gripping, of all things, her leg, face screwed up in what can only be agony.

Harvester moves towards Ahoke as qickly as he is able, and grabs her leg for a quick inspection, "Hold still, Kay!"

Sen-Jyu scowls at the urgency of Ahoke's agony, but stands back and lets the Harvester do his work. "... must've missed something," he breathes.

Ahoke eventually stops writhing, and then coughs. "Wolverine's balls! I didn't think I'd ever feel pain like that again..." She scowls at the leg. "That's impossible! The wounds that I got from a bear trap came back."

Harvester begins moving his hands in a rapid pattern, and speaks his words of healing. "I do not know what caused the wounds, but shall, with the blessing of He Who Is To Come, heal them...."

Ahoke grimaces at Harvester. "Thanks." She turns, looking back at the chest. "I don't think I want to get into it anymore."

The shattered top lies loosely on the contents - the wood easily plucked forth to reveal what is within...

"... what, exactly, happened?" This, from Sen-Jyu, who's worriedly appraising the others for signs of exactly what it was that caused Ahoke to break out in open wounds.

Ahoke bites her lower lip. "I don't know." She turns, fastening a ferocious glare at the chest. "Once, when I was a little one, I accidentally stepped into a bear trap. It was like I relived that. I guess I should be grateful that I hadn't been half eaten by a mountain lion."

Harvester murmurs as he plucks wood from the chest, "A mystical trap on the chest, I'm guessin..."  Harvester, ever speaking the obvious.

Ahoke hmmphs. "I hate mystical crap. At least, I do now. What's in the chest?"

Sen-Jyu shakes his head. "Magic. Hmmph. Strange magic, and quite impolite." Moving to open the second chest, he sighs, "Though I suppose it's impolite to procure the possessions of others, even if they are evil..."

Harvester lifts items out, one at a time. Some scrolls. A crystal. A sword. He examines the crystal first.

Ahoke moves over towards the sword, interested.

Sen-Jyu opens the other chest, exposing a mixed heaping of gold and silver coins.

Harvester pauses, then turns the crystal about in his hands, "Innerestin.. I almost didn't see the crystal, despite it being iridescent... seemed to camoflage itself or something..."

Ahoke coughs. "A copper sword with a rabbit's foot on it. Do you think it's magical?" She turns, glancing at Sen-Jyu. "Oooooooo," she says, her mouth forming a perfect "o."

Harvester glances over as he takes the scrolls in hand to examine now. "Anything buried inside?

Sen-Jyu takes out his wakizashi, using its point to part the coins and discover what else might be in the second chest.

Harvester looks at Ahoke, and the sword she carries. "A rabbit's foot? Mayhaps it's lucky?

Ahoke shrugs, and adds the sword to her ever growing collection of weapons, strapping it onto her belt. "I don't know what's so lucky about a rabbit that managed to get caught long enough to have its foot chopped off," she says, uncertainly. "Maybe it's unlucky."

Harvester shakes his head, "Wrong or not, humans have believed for a long time that rabbit feet were lucky. And four-leaf clovers, and..."

Sen-Jyu sheathes his wakizashi, face contorting a little with discomfort. He gets down on his knees to continue sorting through the coins.

Ahoke turns back to look at Sen-Jyu. "Is it causing you pain too?"

Harvester looks up from the scrolls. "Well. _Someone_ knows where we are, and hopes we've got dinner set..."

Ahoke ers. "What do you mean, Harvester?" She looks up, hand going for the axe handle.

Harvester murmurs as he peruses the scrolls, "Heard a voice. Says it knows where we are. Hopes we're ready for company."

Sen-Jyu doesn't look up, but instead starts to empty the chest of its coins, pouring them into his backpack.

Ahoke draws her axe, and half crouches in a ready position, listening.

Ahoke whispers, "You're right. I hear footsteps." And then she waits.

Sen-Jyu leaves his backpack propped up against the chest, standing straight and withdrawing both swords from their sheathes.

Harvester sticks a pair of scrolls into one tube, and the third into a separate container and stows it all. He rises, pocketing the crystal and scooping up his glowing scythe. He, too, turns and steps away from the others. "Nothing else, Sen?"

Sen-Jyu shakes his head at the Harvester, but says nothing, straining to hear what Ahoke has heard.

Harsh voices twist your heads towards the statue-lined corridor - the language of thanork, and a large number of them to boot. They come scuttling out of the darkness, their narrowed eyes shining in the reflected light of the torches and Harvester's scythe, clutching their javelins and morningstars, ears folded flat against their heads.

You count a half-score of the creatures within sight...and who knows how many more of them lurk unseen in the shadows?

The goblins hesitate at the mouth of the hall, and a flight of javelins flies towards our heros - clattering from armor or poorly aimed, only one finds it's mark - a red line drawn in blood across Sen-Jyu's cheek.

Harvester reaches up to a glittering necklace at his throat and speaks in a loud, commanding tone, "By He Who Is To Come, I call down His blessing upon us!"

Moments after completing his incantation, there is the -thump- of a crossbow, and Harvester looks down to see a wooden shaft protruding from just under his ribcage...

A second flight of javelins arcs through the air, and again Sen-Jyu is the sole person to play victim.

Seeing the ranks of thanork approach, Sen-Jyu leaps forward, swords glinting with curved smiles. His own smile is rather dampened at seeing the hail of javelins in the torchlight, and two of them strike him, leaving him bleeding and unhappy, but still fighting.

Sen-Jyu's hum is high-pitched and buzzes with anger as he throws himself toward the ranks of thanork. Dancing into their front line, he gestures with a sharp, quick motion, and Ichido-sama greets the first of them with death.

Ahoke charges in at one of the thanork, swinging with her axe, and misses. Dwarven curses fill the room as she readies herself for another attack.

One last desultory javelin flies through the air to clatter from the steel plates shielding the Harvester's body. Meanwhile, the front ranks of the goblins hurriedly drop their javelins, pulling morningstars from their belts. They swing the spiked clubs with more enthusiasm than skill - Sen-Jyu is able to dodge their blows easily, while Ahoke's stockier form is dealt a glancing blow that tears a bloody furrow in her scalp.

Harvester again intones the words of power granted him by his deity, and a shining, translucent scythe appears in the air and slashes forward, in aid of his beleagured companions. A gobling falls, shrieking.

The crossbow-weilding goblin hangs back from the combat, reloading his weapon. Heedless of his companions, he fires it into the melee...
...missing cleanly.

The goblins now move to surround Ahoke and Sen-Jyu, and one of them slips past the samurai's defense to land a well-aimed blow on the spirit-folks knee. Only his fast footwork turns it from a shattering blow to a mere scratch.

Sen-Jyu's anticipation of the attack is his saving grace; the thanork do not find him an easy target, with his blades working not only as his fangs, but his scales as well.

The one to wound Sen-Jyu also is deserving of his wrath, and Ichido-sama is not to be denied. Leaping back two feet, he gives himself enough room for his katana to be slashed forward, catching another thanork across the chest. His stroke is strong and merciless, and leaves the goblin falling backward in two separate pieces. The wakizashi also lashes out, but against a foe who has not yet earned his anger, it only gives a welt across the goblin's flesh.

Ahoke snarls at one of her mortal enemies, and sends the stone head of her axe splintering through its skull, and into its brain. A spray of hot, rust colored blood splashes out in all directions.

Taken aback by this unexpected show of force, the remaining goblins shriek in their gutteral tongue. "Bree-yark!" is the sound of their cry, as they break ranks and run, some dropping to all fours for more speed as they lope back down the corridor.

The Harvester's scythe floats ephemerally after them, slicing one across its back as it runs.

Ahoke chases after the fleeing thanork, raising her axe. As she disappears into the darkness, the sickening thud of stone into bone is heard once again.  The shrill screams of the thanork echo eerily down the dark corridor, mingling with Ahoke's laughter.

After noting the complete darkness that the thanork have retreated to, Sen-Jyu chooses the intelligent thing -- stay close to the light.

Harvester begins to pant, with the heavy exertion given to his running. The shimmering scythe winks out.

Ahoke comes to a halt, looking behind her, when the light goes out of Harvester's scythe. She grumbles, not pursuing. "We'd probably better do something about that," she says, looking back to the corner to make sure that the thanork aren't trying to sneak up on them. "So that you can see."


----------



## drnuncheon (Feb 16, 2003)

Harvester utters a curse and the sounds of his running suddenly stops within the darkness. Words are spoken, deific prayer given and answered. The scythe blazes once more and running resumes.

"Guys? Weren't there torches... back that way?" Sen-Jyu points behind them, and starts to move back toward the treasure room.

Harvester blinks, then nods. "And they have burned for quite a long time, I believe..."

Ahoke stops, when the others seem to change goals. "Alright," she says. "I suppose they know we're here anyway."

Sen-Jyu returns to the treasure room, seeking out a torch that he can remove from its resting place.

Ahoke more or less follows along.

The torches are set in cressets on the wall - copper, of course. As are the torches, come to think of it. The corrosion has welded them together, but perhaps a strong tug could free them.

Ahoke grimaces. "I wonder if those things are mystical bear traps as well."

Sen-Jyu exerts a strong tug.

With a squeal of metal, Sen-jyu discovers that the cresset is in fact an integral part of the torch. However, the bolts that fastened it to the wall are not, and he staggers back from the wall as they suddenly tear free, dropping to the pile of copper coins on the floor. The torch is his.

Harvester watches as he yanks the bolt from his belly. "Does the flame burn, Sen?"

Sen-Jyu places his hand near the flame, feeling for heat.

Ahoke frowns at the copper, but doesn't say anything.

"No," Sen-Jyu says curiously, then offers the Harvester a torch while he looks to secure one of his own.

Harvester takes the torch from Sen-Jyu, "Thanks.... i seen these sorts of things before.... very nice." He slips it into his belt, for now. "Let's get backups, just in case?"

Harvester moves up behind Sen-Jyu as the spirit-blood wrenches at the torch. "What say I heal y'all a bnit..?"

Ahoke looks at Harvester, smiling in the light of the heatless torches. "I'm barely scratched, but I guess I wouldn't turn it down, unless you want to save it for when the dragon tries to eat us."

Harvester beseeches his deity for divine aid, to cleanse the worst of Sen-Jyu's wounds.

The spirit-blood's open wounds seal under the Harvester's meditative blessing, one which Sen-Jyu is grateful for. "My thanks for your prayers, the Harvester," he says softly, head bowed.

Harvester reaches up to a torch on the wall and gives a mighty pull.... something snaps. Inside his shoulder. He almost sinks to his knees.

Harvester mutters to himself, "Leave the grunt work to the grunts.... ow."

Ahoke glances at Harvester. "You okay? That looked like it hurt."

Harvester looks up, around, "I'll not serve you, unworthy one.... Seek out my Lord, as is proper for one soon to be departed... save me the aggravation of giving you the invitation..."

Sen-Jyu tugs at the torch, but is unable to remove it.

Harvester shakes his head, rising, "Only thing hurt's m'pride. Ow."

Ahoke grimaces up at it, and stretches so that she can wrap her fingers around the base. "I can try," she says, "Though I'm a bit off balance."

Ahoke tugs, but can't get good enough leverage.

Harvester nods, "It's a verry varrrry strong torch-holder." He examines the torches, seeking one loosened by the ravages of age.

Ahoke grumbles, and tugs again. "If I was two inches higher..."

Ahoke yanks the stupid torch holder out of the wall, and then goes flying, torch, stocky dwarven body and all, back into a pile of copper coins. "I got you one, Harvester," the dwarf mumbles.

Sen-Jyu moves back to his backpack and continues to fill it the rest of the way with coins. While his swords are sheathed, he keeps the backpack shouldered, but clearly does not appreciate the additional burden, whatever its worth.

Harvester gives a long, low whistle, "Well, I will be damned...." He begins rummaging carefully through something.

Ahoke tosses the torch so that it lands beside Harvster. "What?" She too starts shoveling coins into her bag, taking a lead from Sen

Harvester says, "Um. Guys? Found somethin here. Lotsa books...""

Ahoke shrugs, shovels some more money into the bag. "Can't read em' anyway," she mumbles. "You two can have fun, though."

Harvester murmurs, "Oh, my... all first edition prints, too...." He takes one or two of the choicest tomes and crams them - carefully - into his pack.

Ahoke looks at Harvester blankly, and then shrugs. She puts her pack back on, and gets her weapons ready. "We should probably stop lootin and start killing soon," she says.

Harvester realizes the four by two foot books _won't_quite_fit into his pack, and replaces them on the shelf.

"I agree... wonder if we'll be coming back this way?" Sen-Jyu looks to his other party members for confirmation.

Harvester shrugs. "I plan to."

Sen-Jyu leaves the backpack behind, by the chest.

Harvester slips one heatless torch into his pack, where it is easily accessible, and places the other in his belt in front.

Ahoke shrugs. "I don't know. I hope not, to tell the truth. That slope by the falls is going to be rough going..."

Harvester says, "Not really. We'll have ropes to work our way down."

"Is it better than the mountain route down?" asks Sen-Jyu of Ahoke.

Ahoke sighs. "Probably," she mutters. "But I won't know until we see it. Remember that we'll be bringing a bunch of kids with us if our plans go well. Speaking of..."

Harvester nods soberly, "Yeah?"

Ahoke clears her throat. "Speaking of, we should get going again." And then she puts action to her words, starting to march out of the room.

Harvester shrugs a shoulder and follows after Ahoke. "Just waitin for you guys..." He laughs softly, with a last look at the bookcase. "You don't think there was a passage back there, do you?"

Sen-Jyu follows dutifully behind the dwarf, contented that the Harvester is in possession of a light source.

Ahoke hmmphs. "I don't know." She follows the path that the fleeing thanork took, stopping once in awhile to listen carefully.

Harvester shuffles along, gladly pausing for the rest when Ahoke stops to listen. The armor weighs heavy on his frame and the priest mutters to himself. And then his clomping resounds in the tunnels once more.

Now that you're not charging recklessly down it, you can take stock of the hallway. The statues that line it are made of the red stone that is so common in this place. Those on the left depict solders, and the right miners and blacksmiths. Many of them are chipped or broken.

Sen-Jyu looks back at the Harvester, asking, "Are you weighed down too much? Should you remove some of your armor?"

You pass the corpse of the thanork Ahoke dropped.

Harvester shakes his head. "Nah... just ain't used... to... it..." He looks at the caved in skull as they pass, "Nice hit, Kay..."

Ahoke pauses as they pass the corpse tht she dropped, and scowls. "Wait a second." She kneels beside it. "Its head is too big for a thanork. In fact... they all were. You think we might find a shard or something in its skull?"

Harvester stops as Ahoke does. "It's possible, yeah.... wanna crack it open and see?"

Sen-Jyu kneels by the body, searching the ruined cranium for evidence of a blue shard.

Sen-Jyu looks up at the Harvester. "No shard that I can find here."  He wipes his soiled hands on the wall.

Harvester nods, then looks at Ahoke, "Sure the heads are bigger?"

Ahoke nods. "Yeah, quite a bit, actually. I wonder what happened to them." She kicks the corpse gently with the toe of her boot. "Hmmph. Well, maybe we'll find out," she says, straightening. "Shall we?"

Harvester shrugs. "Maybe it was absorbed. We'll find out..."

Ahoke nods, and continues walking with a sigh, glancing at the statues as she passes them.

"We shall," Sen-Jyu agrees, straightening once more and returning his swords to his hands.

Harvester, too, studies the statues. "Gotta watch out for ambush..." He looks up warily.

Ahoke nods. "I was thinking just that," she says, quickening her pace again.

The corridor, still lined with the defaced statues, turns to the right. A channel of water crosses the passage, about four feet wide, probably diverted from the waterfall you saw earlier. Past the channel the corridor opens into an enormous chamber, its ceiling lost in the darkness.

"Looks like we're getting close to the aerie," Sen-Jyu says in a mix of awe and timidity. "If this isn't it..."

Ahoke marches resolutely onward, pausing in front of the stream. "I wonder how deep it is," she says.

Harvester speaks softly. "This is gonna hurt...." He lowers himself into the icy water carefully, and crouches, wading across. "Gotta go, guys.. time's a-wastin..."

Ahoke nods, and then wades into the stream, bracing her stocky body against the current.

Sen-Jyu waits for one of them to reach the other side before taking a few steps back, in preparation of hopping the stream.

The frigid mountain water, made even colder by the first touch of winter, soaks you to your skin, making you long for the magical window you passed through earlier. You clamber out on the other side with some difficulty - Harvester due to his numbness and burdensome armor, Ahoke due only to her height.

Both swords secured, Sen-Jyu goes for the leap.

Harvester gasps quietly, seeking the breath robbed from him, and tries to shake the chill out while pressing himself against the wall and looking into the cavern.

Ahoke grunts. "Arrgh. Alright. Everyone alive? Let's keep going..." And she does so.

Harvester gives a soft moan, "Damn, that was cold... Ain't a polar bear..." He nods and follows a short distance behind, and to one side of Ahoke.

Sen-Jyu follows after Ahoke, smiling like a cat who just avoided getting wet.

The walls of the room are coveredin in scintillating mosaics - gold, copper, and glass reflecting and refracting the light of the torch. They depict in painstaking detail a dragon, its scales of purest cobalt hue, lying upon a bed of copper nad golden coins. In front of it, not part of the mosaic, are a handful of corroded copper statues.

There appears to be a building built into the wall of this cavern - ten feet high, and with a curious overhanging roof. Oddly, the roof appears to have something on top of it...a handle?

Ahoke looks around in weary curiousity, mingled with frustration. "How long is this going to take us?"

Harvester points. "A device for the dragon to close his nest to the outside, perhaps?"

Harvester gestures to the building. "Inside there, y'think?"

Ahoke shrugs, walking over towards the building.

Skeptical of the room's darkness and unknown contents, Sen-Jyu walks heel-toe into the room, both Ichido-sama and its little brother pointing forward in his tense grip.

The building is stone - ten feet high, forty long and thirty wide. There are no entrances or exits. Looking at the southern edge, you see another structure, taller than the building. It takes a moment for you to recognize it, but it is a table - a workbench, sized for a dragon.

Ahoke gestures at the dragon-sized workbench. "What /is/ all of this?"

Harvester says, "Dragon home... The building a ...cage, for its captives, pets?""

Ahoke shivers. "How distressing," she comments. She starts prowling around the room, looking for obvious exits.

Harvester walks around the 'little' building, looking for an 'entrance'.

Sen-Jyu stays more or less toward the center of the room, navigating in an ever-growing spiral outward.

Harvester walks slowly towards the south, following the giant table from beneath.

Ahoke grumbles. "I looks like there's a dead end over here."

Sen-Jyu nears the table in good time as well, investigating it from his diminutive stature.

The table towers above you - fifteen feet high. You cannot see the top of it.

Harvester backs up, holding the torch as high as he can, and tries to see over the tables edge.

Ahoke looks around in dismay, backtracking to be near her friends.

_Meanwhile, in another cavern..._

Akratt glares at the form of the dwarf walking back and forth behind the illusory wall.  "Shoot her, idiot," he orders Prukk, who fumbles with his crossbow.  "Hurry, before she gets away!"

Prukk gives a final heave, cocking the weapon, and then begins searching for a bolt.

"Idiot!  Fool! Moron! She's gotten away!" Akratt shoves the crown back on top of his head.  "You stay here and wait for them to come back.  I'm going to go get the rest of those cowards."

Behind him, Prukk caresses the crossbow and glares at Akratt's retreating back. _It won't be the dwarf I'll be shooting, pretender..._

Harvester sighs. "arright. Let's walk the edges of this place. If we don't find anything, we'll try to go up.

Ahoke nods, starting to circle the other direction.

Sen-Jyu examines the side, looking for a way of climbing. "This doesn't look promising," he mutters.

The chamber is enormous - perhaps seventy feet wide (not counting the building) and a hundred and twenty long. The water flows in a channel along the western edge, then the northern edge. The northernmost portion of the cavern extends even farther, where a ramp leads down to a blank stone wall. Beside the ramp, the stream turns to follow the eastern wall for a ways, then vanishes into the same blank stone wall.

Ahoke passes by the statues arrayed in front of the mosaic, and notes that they depict people writhing in terrible pain, in lifelike detail. She snaps into the air, "Oh shut the f-ck up. I don't want to hear your prattle, you ridiculous piece of sh-t. If you want for me to come to you, then tell me how the hell I can do it."

Harvester walks slowly down the ramp and touches the wall, searching it.

Below, Prukk snarls.  _If Akratt comes back and sees I haven't fired...damn it, stupid humans!_ He raises his crossbow.

Sen-Jyu glances over at Ahoke. "I think he likes you the best."

Ahoke scowls. "I'd prefer that he liked someone else better. He just wants to taunt, though, not give out useful information. Probably because he's stupid as well as insufferable.

There is a clang of metal on metal.

Harvester pauses, then withdraws. He walks up the ramp and then runs, "INCOOOOOMING!!"

Sen-Jyu looks for the sound, then moves in the direction of the Harvester, defending his retreat.

_In the goblins' cavern..._

"What was that?" Akratt demands, returning trailed by warriors.

"One of them was there. A human.  I shot him," replies Prukk.  "He ran."

"Pathetic! You call yourself a sniper?  Fumblehands!" Akratt turns to the rest of the warriors. "Spread yourselves out.  When they reappear, they will taste our javelins!"

Harvester jerks his thumb back, "Wall... at ramp... is illusion...." He draws in breath. "Got shot at."

Ahoke looks at the ramp. "Oh. Well then, let's go for it," she says, starting to run at the wall like the dwarven juggernaut that she is.

"Ooooh, illusion," says Sen-Jyu with childlike curiosity. He nears the wall.

Harvester is careful to place himself behind Sen-Jyu and Ahoke as they move towards the wall.

Ahoke vanishes into the wall.

Sen-Jyu follows behind, though waits for the Harvester to be nearby for the darkness beyond the illusion.

Harvester follows through on Sen-Jyu's heels.

Too late, the pair following Ahoke realize that her footsteps have stopped - but their momentum carries them out into the same thin air that their dwarven companion found awaiting her. Sen-Jyu's foot grasps desperately at the edge of the cliff, but to no avail. Harvester merely plummets like a large metal meteor.

Twenty feet below, you land in heaps.

Some few seconds later, Sen-Jyu murmurs, "... ow."

Out in the darkness, you can see thanork...a bunch of them.  They are holding weapons ready to throw, but are standing in goggle-eyed surprise at your mad and ill-fated charge, mouths open in astonishment.


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## Vurt (Feb 18, 2003)

Erm, if the group doesn't have a name for itself yet, might I suggest "Kay's Lemmings"? 

Vurt starts running for cover...

Hey, did I mention I'm really looking forward to what happens next?


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## drnuncheon (Mar 21, 2003)

Some few seconds later, Sen-Jyu murmurs, "... ow."

Harvester mumbles through what's left of his teeth. "Watch that first step... it's a doozy..."

Ahoke grunts, "Thanork." She rolls to her feet, pulling her great club. "Glad I'm not fragile."

For a moment, there is stunned silence from the darkness. Then, a single wondering voice speaks the harsh tones of the thanork language: "Cho do /nath/ mok toth?!"

Ahoke leaps to her feet, grunting with the effort, and grabs on to the dangerous looking great club that she always uses. She snarls into the darkness, grinning at the shocked thanork. Suddenly, something catches her attention in the corner of her vision, and she swivels her head to look at Harvester. "Sh*t," she says, "You've got slime growing on you!"

Harvester sees the slime that Ahoke spoke of, and utters an oath as he hurriedly strips his robe away. He drops the ball nearby, and alternately watches it and the direction the voices have come from.

Standing, Sen-Jyu plants himself squarely between where Ahoke's eyes are directed and the Harvester's sitting form -- he clearly means to provide himself as a target rather than the cleric.

"Huzzuk gorosh!" shouts a voice, and javelins arc out of the darkness towards the two standing members of the party. One glances from the chain links that sheath Ahoke's torso, and the others go wide, clattering against the red stone floor.

There is a low growling coming from the barbarian, one that you, as her companions, know well by now. Her sharp little teeth bare into a grimace, her great club gets raised into the air, and she starts to foam at the mouth. The look in her eyes becomes more savage than sentient and she lunges forward, racing towards the darkness at top speed.

After she disappears from view, you can hear her bellow triumphantly, the shriek of fear mingled with anger from the thanork, which is sharply cut off with the sound of splintering bone, and the howl of vicious laughter from the dwarf.

Harvester's hands turn and spin, his timbrous voice calling to the heavens, or below. "I beseech He Who is to Come, grant this faithful servant the fruit of life to heal his companion in this battle against an evil foe!" His hand reaches out to touch Sen-Jyu's ankle.

Shrieks and squawks from the darkness confirm that Ahoke hasn't slain /all/ the thanork.

Yet.

The sound of metal on metal rings from the darkness.

Ahoke bellows with rage, her great shout echoing throughout the cavern. Apparently something's happened to displease her, even lost to her rage as she is. There is the sound of more splintering bone, and more maniacal laughter.

Harvester again calls upon the divine favor of his deity, "Lord, your servant asks that your illumination show my companion his path through the darkness!" He stretches his hand forth to touch the blade of Ichido-Sama. "Go, Sen, and send the Goblins to my Lord on swift wings..." Then he ducks back down, attempting to make himself as small a target as possible. He pulls out a small vial.

Seeing his blade taking on heavenly light, Sen-Jyu nods once to the Harvester in thanks, his hum building as he throws himself toward the fray, ears grasping for the center of the source of metal upon metal. Crouching as he runs, both blades held outward as silvered wings, waiting to enfold a thanork in their deadly aegis.

* * * * *

As Ahoke pulps her target, she realizes that there's a group of goblins that has apparently fallen back after throwing their javelins. One is holding a crown on top of his head as he flees.

A javelin thuds into her shoulder...from above? Grrrr. Sneaky thanork, clinging to the ceiling...

The two remaining thanork who haven't yet fled drop their javelins, pulling spiked morningstars from their belts. One misses, the other doesn't.

Another thanork, weilding a longsword nearly as big as he is, charges from the darkness towards Ahoke.  Foam flecks the corners of his mouth.  Is he rabid?  The blade bites deep into Ahoke's side.

Ahoke's club rips down the goblins face, leaving it a mask of blood. He staggers back, then raises the sword defiantly and resumes fighting.

* * * * *

The battle is now illuminated by Ichido-sama's newfound light; Sen-Jyu falls upon one of the ones already introduced to Ahoke's wrath and mercifully ends its torment.

The other shrieks at the glowing apparition. It's morningstar changes targets in mid-swing - a clumsy strike, but one that still manages to slam into the spirit-blood's chest.

_Ribs creak under strain
Spikes puncture soft tender flesh
Blood flows from the wound_

The bloody-faced thanork screams with the rage that boils through his veins, swinging his battle-blade through the air, biting into Ahoke's shoulder. A stand-down between two titanic (if rather short) warriors, trading blow for blow. Blood soaks the cavern floor.

Ahoke's eyes blaze with inhuman (indwarven?) rage, as she launches herself at the thanork beserker. With much snarling, she slams her great club into him crushing through skin, bones, and armor. Leaving some of the creature's broken, jagged bones exposed and jutting out from the skin, Ahoke howls, beginning to look around for another target. The thanork beserker stares at her in incomprehension as he starts to sag to the floor.

A javelin falls...falls?...downward towards the Harvester. Straight down? There's a thanork on the ceiling! Fortunately for the beleaguered cleric, it misses its mark.

Harvester gives a shout as the javelin just misses him, and drinks the curative potive. He feels minorly invigorated, and pulls out his crossbow, and aims upwards.

_This poor thanork's fate
To be gutted and filleted
Like so much sushi_

A cursive stroke through the air, and Ichido-sama is his pen, writing death for the last standing thanork. Sen-Jyu turns to Ahoke to see if she is relatively intact, then gestures her back toward the Harvester for maintenance and repairs.

A volley of poorly-aimed javelins comes wavering out of the darkness, clattering from stone and copper floor. One finds its mark, more from luck than from any skill on the part of its weilder, and sinks into Sen-Jyu's leg.

Sen-Jyu's hum begins again, an irritated buzz as he spins -- or attempts to -- in the direction from whence the wasps were thrown.

Ahoke visibly fights the influence of Wolverine over her consciousness, and then, through extreme force of will, but without leaving the rage, she grabs a vial, and drinks it, already moving towards the darkness that was spitting out javelins.

Seeing the crossbow being prepared for use, the thanork on the ceiling scuttles back, out of the circle of the Harvester's light.

Harvester sees the goblin on the ceiling scuttle away and he grabs for the magic torch in his belt. Slung underhanded some ten feet away, it rolls wildly, and the priest fires the deadly crossbow bolt into the ceiling.

Seeing the Harvester fire his crossbow into the air, Sen-Jyu's eyes dart toward the ceiling. Carefully, both his swords are replaced, and the longbow now rests in his hands. One arrow pulled from his quiver rests on the string, nocked but not yet fired, while Sen-Jyu waits for a better opportunity.


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## drnuncheon (Apr 12, 2003)

Ahoke suddenly slows, shaking her head rapidly, as if to clear it. She stares into the darkness wistfully, and then turns back. "Got to rest," she grunts, with some effort. "I'll be tired out before I even catch up with the thanork..." She sits down on the ground.

The creature on the ceiling scuttles back towards the darkness that has swallowed the other thanork.

Harvester watches the spider-goblin scuttle away now, warily, and begins to weave his hands in the intricate patterns of the divine, "I call upon He Who Is To Come for soothe the wounds of His faithful servant, that I might continue His tasks!" The lanky priest's wounds close, the flow of blood now nearly halted.

The point of the arrow nocked in Sen-Jyu's bow points sharply upward, toward the escaping thanork. His fingers tug it back, straining against the feel of the unfamiliar string... and let it loose prematurely, falling widely short of the mark.

Ahoke keeps sitting on the ground, trying to catch her breath. "I'm a dwarf, I'm a dwarf," she keeps repeating to herself.

Sen-Jyu nears the priest, wondering aloud, "How badly are you wounded, The Harvester?" A look of questioning is aimed squarely at the sitting dwarf, but idiosyncrasies aren't his concern at the moment.

Harvester, having been watching the fleeing Thanork, finds himself distracted in his casting, and only just hears the whizzing of the arrow as it zings by his ear, "Heeee-EY!"

Ahoke puts her head into her hands for a moment, and then straightens up, pulling out another vial. "I'm too old for this sh*t," she grumbles, uncorking it and tossing the liquid back like one would a shot of whiskey.

Some of the barbarian's wounds knit themselves closed, but there are a number of lacerations and wounds left. She looks up, to assess the damage done to her companions.

The barking tongue of the thanork echos from the darkness - the words indistinguishable, but the meaning clear: advance and destroy.

Harvester shakes his head at Sen-Jyu, "I already apologized for almost killing you. Didn't gotta try and shoot me. I am relatively unharmed now, Sen. You? Kay?" He moves to scoop up his torch and looks about while he awaits their replies.

Harvester says, "They're coming back. And I'm nearly spent."

Ahoke turns to look at the sound, and sighs heavily, lumbering to her feet. "Looks like the thanork aren't going to give us a chance to rest. Makes you wonder why they fled to begin with, the little cowardly sheep turds." She glances around the room, looking for ways out.

Sen-Jyu shoulders his bow again, drawing both swords as he hears the thanork organizing. The space between himself and Ahoke is brought to none by a sprint, as he nudges her with his knee. "What are you talking about? Are you okay?"

The stream runs along one side of the great chamber, and on the other - a door. If your sense of direction is correct, it should lead into - or under - the strange windowless building you saw earlier.

Ahoke grunts, and nods. "Yeah. Just real tired from my rage. And I've got some flesh wounds." Her eyes narrow at the door. "Maybe we can barricade ourselves in there, until we're a little more capable of facing on a horde of thanork..?"

"You need to rest?" the spirit-blood asks, surprised at this notion from the usually tireless dwarf. "If you think that's best... certainly. There's no guarantee that that's less dangerous than where we already are, however."

Ahoke nods, and resolutely moves to the door. "Maybe luck will be with me," she says, not sounding entirely convinced of that. "Just a little while," she says. "When a rage takes me, it eats all of my strength. When I'm done, there's nothing left."

Looking over his shoulder at The Harvester, Sen-Jyu keeps a middle distance between the two -- waiting for the priest to catch up, but not so much that Ahoke is left alone. "All right, then. Do you want me to enter first?"

There is little time for discussion - out of the darkness, a wave of javelins flies!

Harvester says, "Go go go go go go go!"

Three of the javelins find their marks - one in each of the companions - and the thanork howl in savage glee.

Ahoke's lips curl back into a snarl, and for a moment, it appears that she is going to reverse her direction to go rip apart those that are laughing at her pain. With effort, she reaches down, to open the door, leaping inside if it isn't locked.

Accepting the tip of a javelin in his forearm, Sen-Jyu makes haste to follow Ahoke into the building, being wary in case the door is locked or is merely an illusion leading to a precipice.

Harvester keeps looking over his shoulder and the javelins come, "Go go go g- ow! Damn you!" he whirls, and fires his crossbow into the darkness, "You shall all meet The Harvester's scythe, and be reaped like the grain for the Master's threshing!"  Harvester shouts that in the thanork's own tongue as he urges his companions to greater speed.

The door opens, admitting the trio into a single large room. It may have been fine once, judging from the furnishings, but the goblins have apparently turned it into their barracks - their filth is everywhere. Fortunately, they seem not to be in occupation at the moment.

Harvester, being the last through the door, slams it shut and presses his shoulders against it, "Find something to bar it with, then make sure there're no other entrances!"

Ahoke starts dragging furniture over to the door.

Sen-Jyu assists Ahoke in the dragging of furniture bit.

Most of the furniture has been ruined - not just ruined to the point of looking bad, but ruined to the point of destruction. A quick glance around reveals some reasonably hefty splinters that might be usde to wedge the door.

Harvester places his back to the door and spreads his feet to hold the line as the others jam the door closed.

Blows thud into the door from the other side as the thanork finally arrive. The Harvester can feel their impact through the thin wood that he presses against.

Ahoke uses those reasonably hefty splinters to try to wedge the door.

"Stand away," says Sen-Jyu. "Never know when they'll try and put a spear through the wood." Sheathing his wakizashi, Sen-Jyu extracts the vial he'd been given from the bounty previously discovered. A wince as he unstoppers it, places it to his lips, and swallows the contents.

Harvester says, "I... don't know... how long... the door... will hold.. them out..." He speaks between thumpings.

Harvester nods to Sen-Jyu, more than willing to move away once Ahoke has secured the door. He moves about the room now, torch held high as he searches for other exits or forgotten valuables to aid in their fight.
Some of his lesser wounds closing at the potion's curative effects, Sen-Jyu once more prepares for combat. "Ahoke -- rest while you can. I can hold the door for a ... time."

The pile of rags springs up and leaps away from Harvester. "No kill! No kill!"

Ahoke sighs. "Maybe I should have just charged at them out there." She drops to the floor back in a corner, closing her eyes. "Alright," she says. "Thanks..." she trails off, staring at the suddenly animate pile of rags.

Pile of rags - or thanork, really. It's clutching an unloaded crossbow to its chest, and its ears have flattened back against its head. "No kill," it repeats.

Harvester's scythe whips down and around, the wickedly blade curving towards the thing. His heart beats loudly, "Hold still, you, and you'll live... for now." He speaks this in common, or thanorki, whichever it speaks.

Turning on the pile of rags, Sen-Jyu's eyes narrow, specifically at the crossbow it holds. "... don't," Sen-Jyu says. "I think it tried to help... earlier."

The creature gabbles rapidly in thanork.  "Yes! Yes! Prukk help! Prukk leave message, tell where children go! Prukk no work for Akratt!"

Ahoke watches from her corner, through narrowed eyes. She doesn't say anything or do anything aggressive, for the moment, testament to how tired she really is.

Harvester drops the point, slightly, and continues speaking with the goblin. "Prukk." he repeats.

"Prukk! Prukk!" The creature indicates itself. "Prukk kill Akratt, you kill Akratt?"

Sen-Jyu faces the door once more, listening for the thanork outside, in an attempt to count the numbers that they may soon face, if the thanork are successful in battering down the doors.

Ahoke scowls at the thanork. "Who the hell is Akratt?"

Harvester says, "We will, yes. Akratt will soon meet the gardener. We need to get out, Prukk, and hide, and rest.  Akratt is apparently the Thanork leader, kay."

The door shudders.

Prukk shakes his head, speaking in thanork. "No way out, only one door."

Harvester sighs as he translates, "?There's no way out, folks. Any way to bolster the door?"

Ahoke gets to her feet, a grim expression on her face. "It looks like we're going to have to face them down, if we like it or not." She moves so that she'll be standing to one side of the door when they come in. "I don't feel so tired anymore anyway."

Harvester looks back to Prukk and speaks.  "How many Thanorks..goblins follow Akratt?"

Sen-Jyu stands to the unhinged side of the door, Sen-Jyu's jaw rigid as he calms his breath, gathering his shreds of honor to himself in the rather likely case that he, too, will join his ancestors in death.

Harvester translates again, "We've killed many. Including Guzzum, Akratt's protector."

Ahoke hmms. "Who was the other berserker?"  Her eyes narrow even more. "And why are you turning on your own kind, thanork?"

The door opens an inch, and the thanork howl with victory. It's not going to hold for more than a few seconds.

Ahoke falls silent, waiting to smack some goblins with her great club.

Prukk looks wildly at the door and yanks on his crossbow to  it.

Harvester calls upon his deity's favor once more, "Master, salve my companion's wounds in this battle that we undertake, that we might continue Your work..." He touches Sen-Jyu on the shoulder.

The splinters finally give way and the door flies open.

Sen-Jyu's attempt at leaping through the thanork becomes, instead, a blustering through their ranks. Really not at all graceful or elegant, but at least he's made it through their ranks to flank them.

Sen-Jyu coughs out as he makes it past the thanork, wheezing from the swing from the one unsurprised one, "... excuse me..."

Ahoke gives a full-throated battle cry in dwarven, clearly designed to unnerve the enemy. Her great club moves through the air with surprising grace for a big hunk of wood, and smashes one of the surprised thanork into bloody gobbets.

Outside the room, the thanork have gathered - four that Sen-Jyu tumbled past, now reduced to three thanks to Ahoke's club. Behind them, a trio of others - including one with a battered and dented crown upon his bulbous head.

One of the trio - a strange goblin whose skin is tainted blue - raises his hand to indicate Ahoke. A blue-white arc of electricity sizzles out through the air, striking the dwarf - and then leaping from her to the Harvester, crackling between them with the scent of ozone. It continues to play over their bodies, linking them in blue-white lightning.

The goblins rejoin the melee, plying their spiked morningstars with vigor if not skill - Sen-jyu, still off-balance from his disastrous method of breaking through the thanork line, is clipped on the back of the knee.  This particular thanork seems to have a particular taste for causing Sen-Jyu pain, and takes the morningstar to Sen-Jyu's terribly displeased flesh.

The crowned goblin yanks the third of the trio - another blue-skinned goblin - in front of him, shouting orders in his foul tongue.

Harvester finds his body briefly siezed by the surge of electrical energies, and snaps free, shouting out to Sen-Jyu while pointing, "Sen! Kill Akratt! The one with the crown!" His wicked scythe slides around in a graceful arc, low and up, as The Harvester begins to reap the grain before him, "For the glory of He Who Is To Come!" is the Goblinoid cry.

Ah, sweetest vengeance is Sen-Jyu's, as he draws Ichido-sama across the neck of his tormentor, and while the thanork is not decapitated, the spray of brackish blood is savored by the spirit-blood, even as his thrust toward the other standing thanork by the door is unsuccessful.

The electrified dwarf delivers a blow that bounces off of the thanork's armor. She scowls, and and prepares to strike again.

The electricity continues to arc and rebound between Harvester and Ahoke, bringing the scent of cooking flesh to the cavern.

The blue goblin continues to concentrate, eyes blazing oddly as he stares at his pair of victims.

The one remaining goblin at the door - surrounded, outnumbered, blessed perhaps with a luck that is about to run out - that goblin decides that he knows the better part of valor. He turns and flees from the combat.

A haphazard slash at the retreating thanork, a sigh from a disappointed Sen-Jyu. That is all.

With a foul thanork curse, the crowned goblin follows, abandoning the blue-skinned ones, one hand holding the crown on its precarious perch. Behind you, Prukk curses. "Akratt getting away!"

Harvester shouts, "Akratt flees! We must stop him for the children!"

The smaller of the blue-skinned goblins steps in front of the other, raising his weapon in a brave attempt to defend the other creature.

A growing shout spills from The Harvester's throat as he suddenly surges forward, in the tongue of the Thanork, "Death comes for you!!" The scythe leads the charge and the shaman's erstwhile protector is handily bounced away, without harm to the priest, and the blade comes across, a whisker's distance from the spellcaster's nose.

Taking the opposite side of the spellcasting thanork, Sen-Jyu sneaks in a surreptitious blow, but fails to overcome the mysterious magic armor that the thing wears.

Normally, Ahoke might have seen the wisdom of pursuing the thanork "king," but this blue-skinned creature is hurting her /now./ She runs across the room towards him, yelling, "Diiiiiieeeeeee!" She smashes its right shoulder, making it squeal in pain, and then drop to the floor in a bleeding, dying heap. The electricity that was plaguing Ahoke and Harvester winks out.

The other blue-skinned goblin does its best to crawl away without attracting the notice of the biggers.

Harvester shouts out, "PRUKK!! Get out here!" And in the language of 'commoners', to his friends, "Don't let that one go!"

Sen-Jyu steps on the weapon-wielding hand of the escaping thanork. "Mmmm, no," he murmurs gently to it.

Prukk does not respond - perhaps he slipped away during the battle?

Harvester starts moving in the direction Akratt fled, and haolds out a potion to Sen-Jyu as he begins to drink one of his own. "Bring him Sen... he'll show us the way."

Sen-Jyu accepts the potion from Harvester with no small amount of gratitude. "I think... you should speak to him, first. Let him know what he's to do, and not to do." He quaffs the fluid and tucks the empty vial into a pocket.

Ahoke glances at the would-be escapee, and shrugs, seeing that her companions are dealing with him. She begins to pursue the would-be king down the hall, death in her eyes. "No one burns me and gets away with it," she says, casting one last contemptuous glance at her most recently fallen foe.

Harvester pauses after drinking enough of the potion to work effectively, and grabs the thanork by the neck, lifting it. "Where did Akratt go? Take us. Try nothing and I'll let you live."

The pitiful creature points down the hall where Akratt vanished.

Sen-Jyu leaves his wakizashi sheathed, the better to disarm the thanork and discard its weapon far out of reach. His katana's point encourages the thanork's cooperation by its presence, though it does not bite the captive yet.

Harvester whips out a rope and ties it around the goblin's neck and shoves it forward hurriedly. "Go!" He moves quickly after Ahoke.

Ahoke disappears into the darkness. She shouts out, obviously startled by something that she sees.

Harvester growls and says to Sen-Jyu, "Run!" he follows his own urging and moves more quickly.

Sen-Jyu urges the thanork forward at hearing Ahoke's shout, looking uneasily at the Harvester. At the Harvester's command, he leaves the two and moves forward toward where Ahoke was last seen.


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## Caliber (Apr 12, 2003)

I always thought that last combat was a killer. All of those thankork ... err ... goblins and some with spell potential to boot!

Sounds like your players handled it pretty well though.


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## drnuncheon (Apr 22, 2003)

The enormous hall continues, the soft magical light of Sen-Jyu's katana barely able to illuminate it even for the spirit-blood. But ahead, some light - the mouth of the lair? - and what it illuminates is an awe-inspiring sight:

The dragon, Copperdeath - or, at the least, its mortal shell. Enormous even in death, it is sprawled across the room as if still trying to get away from those that slew it. Scorched walls give testament to the battle that was fought here, as does the copper that has remained untarnished ever since the dragon's blood was spilled upon it. An iron slab lies tilted against one wall.

The dragon's mouth is open, and Ahoke peers down its throat.

The dwarf whispers, "At what price, dead one?"

Sen-Jyu advances upon Ahoke, footsteps as silent as he can make them, the better to listen to her talking to the voices again.

Harvester speaks to the goblin again, with a tug on the rope. "Akratt? Where? Human children? Where?"

The creature tugs at the rope itself, shaking its head. It points past the corpse.

Harvester speaks to the air as he follows the goblin, "**** you, worm. He Who Is To Come will soon enough reap your soul as well."

Sen-Jyu sniffs a bit from two paces behind Ahoke, "The voices don't like me, it seems."

Ahoke's face, suddenly showing how careworn the past several days has made her, sags. "There is always a price," she says, slowly, reluctantly turning away from whatever promises the voice has made to her. "Do we know where the human brats are? Let's get this done."

Harvester appears to be going somewhere, past the corpse.

Ahoke follows Harvester and his goblin on a rope, since he seems to know where he's going.

Sen-Jyu blinks. "I stand corrected," he says curiously.

"They here." The voice is harsh, unused to the Common tongue. One of the children is shoved forward by the goblin king, who holds a knife to the back of the child's neck. "Let me go, I let child go."

Ahoke studies the goblin king and the child. "Why did you take them in the first place, you miserable little wretch?"

Harvester folds his arms across his chest and replies in Goblinoid. "Where are the others?"

Sen-Jyu stands behind the two, silent.

"Hah! I not take them. Thimdrul take them! Others in cage." He begins to pull the boy backwards. "You stay here now. I go down mountain."

Harvester says, "Release the boy and I will not harm you. Release him now!"

Ahoke glares at the goblin. "If you harm so much as a hair on the other childrens' heads, there will be no hope for you in this world. Because I will track you down, and I will kill you, and I will have your heart for my lunch." She does not step forward, yet, more willing to have him leave peacefully than for there to be another battle.

The goblin - no, not the prince, the other one - sees his chance. He slips his head free of Harvester's crude knot and sprints towards the dragon.

Harvester allows the little blue-skin to go, and focuses on the one-time 'king'. "Releases the boy now, and I will not kill you. Otherwise, his soul will be greeted as joyfully by my Master as yours."

Harvester takes one step forward, his skull-pendant glittering in the light.

At seeing the goblin escaping, Sen-Jyu moves to intercept, and Ichido-sama's long reach cuts the thanork down well before it reaches its goal, whatever that may have been.

Akratt sees the motion. Sees Sen-jyu spin with blades ready.

There is no other word: he panics.

Blood arcs from the surprised child's throat as the goblin's convulsive movement draws the knife across it.

The boy crumples to the floor, followed by the clatter of Akratt's knife as he drops it in utter surprise at what he's done.

A crossbow bolt launches out of the darkness behind the corpse, and Akratt looks down at it stupidly where it projects from his chest.

Harvester moves to the boy without concern for Akratt's nearness, and looks for life. if it still exists, he will conduct what little healing he might.

Ahoke charges Akratt, needlessly, since he's already become a goblinoid pincushion, and smashes him, repeatedly, into the ground. "You... stupid... little... ."

It's too late. The cut - shallow as it might be - still was deep enough to sever the jugular vein, spilling the child's blood across the corroded copper floor. Maybe a healthy child would have lasted those one or two seconds longer, but the days of imprisonment had taken their toll on this one. The only thing for the Harvester to do is commend the child's soul to his Lord.

Sen-Jyu stares at the sudden swell of chaos, moving to join the melee against the goblin king. He looks... angry, if complete dispassion coupled with an agitated hum says anything about the spirit-blood.

Ahoke turns and starts pulverizing the dented crown when she sees that her work with its wearer is complete, attacking the symbol of the creature's greed.

Harvester does so, with a mix of faint regret and joy, "I commend thy spirit to speedy travels, that the Gardener may plant you within the Garden..."

Ahoke straightens up, slightly winded, after smashing the crown. She glances over at the dead child, scowls, and then stalks over to the dragon. "This is all /your/ doing," she informs it, smashing with her club at one of the spears that is propping its mouth open.

The spear splinters under Ahoke's assault, causing that side of the mouth to sag dangerously.

Ahoke jumps back so that she is not speared by one of the still very sharp teeth as the mouth sags, instead of breaking the other spear, and then says, "Where are the other children? Outside, or in the dragon?"

Sen-Jyu sheathes both of his swords and sits akimbo by the dead child, a mournful look in his expression. His hum lowers and drifts to a quiet, almost lullaby-ish melody, as if he were singing the boy to sleep.

Harvester shouts out, "PRUKK! Come out now!"

There is no answer.

Sen-Jyu stays by the boy a while longer, Ichido-sama poking out of the sheath just enough to give a candle's glow about the two.

Ahoke pants, her eyes still blazing her rage, which is only refueled every time she glances at the dead child and thanork. She strides across the room to where Harvester is, looking ready to kill anything that steps out of the shadows.

In the far corner of the cave, Harvester finds a cage, scarcely large enough for the children inside it. The girl is curled in a tiny ball, seemingly catatonic. The boy merely stares at him, watching without speaking.

Both children are filthy, their hair matted, their clothing torn.

Ahoke stops when she sees the children, and backs off, leaving comforting to those that have more honeyed tongues than she.

Harvester breaks apart the bonds holding the cage closed, "Come children!" he speaks softly, mustering all the charm and soothing tones he is able. "Let us take you home now..."

"Where's Dorik?" demands the boy.

Harvester says, "What did he look like, child?"

The boy says, "The king man came and took him just now."

Sen-Jyu scoops up the dead boy in his arms, cradling him close while he continues to hum. His eyes are moist as he stands, swaying slightly in place.

Harvester reaches into the cage for the girl, and scoops her up. He sings a little lullaby to her as he speaks with the boy. He speaks loudly enough for Sen-Jyu to hear, "The other boy is dead... I'm sorry. Those responsible journey now to my Lord's hands, and Dorik has been welcomed with joy..."

"Oh." The boy's voice is strangely calm.

Harvester says, "What did they want with you, boy?"  Then to Ahoke. "Is there an easier way out, the way Akratt was fleeing?"

The boy seems to consider that for a moment. "I don't know," he says. "They put us in a cage. And we heard voices. I think they were going to eat us."

"The nightmares aren't over," says Sen-Jyu, mirroring the boy's own calm. "Whoever or whatever was causing them still exists." He looks to his companions, eyes like polished glass. "We are not finished here."

Harvester nods to Sen-Jyu. "I know." He glances to the corpse. "Perhaps if we burn it?"

Sen-Jyu shrugs. "Or enter it," he says flatly.

Harvester lays the girl down, away from the blood and gore. "Remain here, children. I shall return for you." He nods to Sen-Jyu and walks to the dragon's mouth and steps in to peer down its throat, after propping it up with another spear.

Ahoke moves over to stand next to the children. "Do what you have to do," she tells Harvester. "I'll make sure that no further harm comes to these."

Harvester begins to remove his armor. "I cannot fit with this. Give me a moment."

Sen-Jyu lays the third beside Ahoke as one might place a flower into a still pool of water. Then, both swords drawn, he moves to the mouth of the dragon. "Let me go in," he says.

Harvester pauses, and continues removing armor. "Lead, Sen. I'll follow."

Ahoke eyes the little boy (the living one.) "Has anyone else tried to rescue you?"

The boy looks at his dead friend for a long while as Sen-jyu walks away.
"No."

Ahoke nods to the boy. "What's your name? What's the girl's name?"

"Caleb. And Tana. Why did Dorik die?"

Ahoke sighs, suddenly wishing that she was the one climbing down the dragon's throat, not answering difficult questions of children. "Because the thanork king killed him," she said, gesturing towards the blood paste several feet away, as if it should comfort the boy. "He paid for his crime, though."

Sen-Jyu slowly vanishes down the dragon's gullet, in the manner of a meal being swallowed by a snake.

"Why did you let him kill Dorik?" asks the boy.

More armor clatters to the ground as the Harvester strips off the heavy half-plate.

Ahoke scowls. "We couldn't move fast enough," she says, not sounding pleased about it. "I wish we had been able to, though. How long has Tana been like this?"

"She's been real sick for a while."

Ahoke looks down at the little girl. "How so?"

The child looks up at her with the disdain reserved for particularly slow adults. "She doesn't move. She just lays there."

"Almost done, Sen! This buckle got bent in the fight," Harvester calls.

Ahoke frowns. "I'm sure that's not a good sign," she murmurs to herself, and crouches in front of the little girl. "You've had a real rough time of it, I know," she says, "And a lot of bad things have happened to you. I want you to try to think of what exactly happened right before she started acting like this."

The boy shrugs. "She just started."

Harvester dives into the mouth of the great dead beast as the last greave clatters to the ground. He leaves the unwieldy scythe behind and uses dagger and sickle to help pull himself through its gullet.

* * * * *

_You force your way into the dragon's throat, feeling its greasy flesh, cold beneath your skin. You crawl on your belly, pushing yourself ever deeper. The air stinks of dust, of reptile, of death. You can feel your head pounding, as if a very angry Ahoke were hammering on it with a very large blunt instrument.

Your blade scarcely illuminates the passage ahead, and it becomes more and more difficult to breathe as you block the only source of fresh air. You pray that somewhere up ahead this gullet widens._

Sen-Jyu leads with Ichido-sama, not certain what he's to find down this once-living tunnel, but certain that he desires to end it. He keeps his breathing measured, and his progress steady.

_...your prayers are answered. The blessed feeling of space around you as the gullet widens into the stomach - and you realize that the space is not lit only by your blade.

A jagged, glowing crystal, sapphire blue, the size of a melon, sits atop a lump of congealed flesh._

"You," states Sen-Jyu to the crystal. "You are the thing that has been speaking to the people of the town in nightmare and hate. You. All this death, yours to answer for." Sen-Jyu stalks toward the crystal, swords and teeth bared. "Yours, the visions of oni and failure."

The crystal flares blue as if in response. *And if I am? What will you do? What /can/ you do?* Its laughter echos in your mind. *Wouldn't it be better to keep me safe from your friends? I'm sure they wouldn't understand.*

Its words make sense. Lots of sense. For a moment, you feel yourself agreeing, ready to turn and crawl out, to tell the others that there was nothing here but dead dragon.

But you do not.

Steeling himself, Sen-Jyu whispers, "I have felt your touch before. Your words are poison. Save you? You fear us. Perhaps you fear... this." The wakizashi is put away, and Ichido-sama put to the task. Gathering his will, Sen-Jyu prepares an iaijutsu strike against this thing of evil, his focus concentrated in the edge of his ancestors' blade.

* * * * *

Ahoke hehs, glancing up at the boy. "You don't lie very well, Caleb. Does it have anything to do with a crystal shard?"

Caleb's eyes dart right and left. "I don't know anything about the shards!" he protests.

Ahoke nods, seeming to accept his answer as confirmation to whatever suspicions that she has. "Who put the shard in? Do you know why?"

"I dunno! I dunno why they put it in her skull!"

"Calm down, I don't want to hurt either one of you, I want to help you. Ahoke rises to her feet, looking towards the dragon's mouth worriedly. "I wish they'd hurry up in there," she says. "What have the voices been saying to you?

"They want me to serve the dragon."

* * * * *

Ichido-sama rings in your hands, numbing them as it connects with the crystal. The laughter of the stone rings in your mind as it stands unharmed. A quick inspection reveals that the blade is unharmed as well, but you suspect such treatment may not be good for it.

Sen-Jyu sheathes Ichido-sama. "Even so. You fear us. You fear your own destruction at our hands. It is within our power."

Harvester says, "Sen-Jyu... I have come..."

Sen-Jyu turns to face the Harvester as the cleric enters the chamber of the dragon's belly. "The Harvester -- do not listen to its voice. We must destroy it. It was unharmed by my strike, but I am certain that it can be ended." He watches the Harvester carefully, even a little suspiciously.

Harvester speaks softly, an almost feral grin on his face. "Wyrmcall's melodious tones may likely prove more than sufficient to destroy this... Recall, Sen, the vibrations within the shard i witnessed, when last it rang..."

*Destroy me?* The voice speaks to both of you now. *You cannot slay me, for what is death to one who has conquered it?*

Sen-Jyu grins at the priest, ignoring the voice. "Ah... yes. Your wisdom shows itself once again... I wonder how we can best transport it to the Wyrmcall?"

*You will never succeed.*

Harvester laughs aloud, delighted to answer. 'What know you of _Death_? My Lord awaits you... and you shall soon feel His welcoming touch..." He produces several small sacks and attempts to place one over the crystal globe. "Let us try these..."

The crystal seems fused to the flesh beneath it.

Sen-Jyu frowns. "Need some assistance, The Harvester?"

Harvester murmurs, "If this works, Sen, you and Ahoke may need to keep the children away..." He frowns. "Can Ichido-sama slice the flesh below, to free it?"

Sen-Jyu draws Ichido-sama to this new task, preparing yet another of his concentrated strikes against the portion of flesh to which the crystal is rooted.

The crystal pulls slowly free, trailing meat like a shattered tooth. The stench of decay fills the belly even more strongly.

"Lead the way, The Harvester," says Sen-Jyu, indicating the throat of the beast.

Harvester smiles toothily, and begins closing the sack about the orb, then placing it within two more, that it might not slice free. "I do not hear your taunts any longer...." He nods to Sen-Jyu, and leads the way out when able.

* * * * *

Ahoke nods. "Me too."

"Do you?"

From afar, Ahoke looks at the boy for a long moment, and then answers, "No. I serve Wolverine, who is jealous of me. Do you?" She tenses.

"No. He's a dumb ol' dragon and he got himself killed," the boy says confidently.

Ahoke smiles. "That's right. Keep that in mind. You're going to have to be strong. Can you do that?"

"Okay. Why are we waiting here? I want to go home."

Ahoke nods. "Home might not be...safe. Not just yet. We're trying to find out what we have to do to silence the dragon's voice once and for all. Everyone back where you live is being affected by it right now."

"Oh."

"We'll beat it, Caleb. Your people beat it once, and we'll do it again. Just wait a little while longer."

Wriggling on their bellies through the throat of the corpse like maggots, Harvester and Sen-Jyu emerge from the dragon's mouth. The Harvester carries a sack.

*You may take me anywhere you wish, but you will not destroy me.*

Ahoke looks relieved when she sees the terrible two once more. "The little girl has a crystal shard in her skull," she says, by way of greeting. "Did you find anything in the stomach?"

"Just the origin of the voices," says Sen-Jyu to Ahoke. "Shall we be going, or do we wish to search the cavern further?"

Harvester sets the sack down for but a moment, and gathers his armor. "We have found the source of the shards..and the voice. Guard the children, Ahoke, and keep them safe. Wyrmcall may cause them harm when we take this to Bellhold."


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## Caliber (Apr 22, 2003)

Cool update. 

Who would think crawling through a dead corpse would be so disgusting?


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## drnuncheon (May 31, 2003)

Ahoke raises her thick eyebrows. "I think it best that we all at least get out of this mountain. I am not staying a moment longer than is necessary, and I would imagine that Caleb doesn't want to stay either.

"Back the way we came?" inquires Sen-Jyu, rather hopefully. "We know that that way is clear... at least now. Except for that korhorrag."

Ahoke frowns. "Clear, I suppose. Except for whatever made those gigantic spiderwebs, getting down that slick ramp with two children, one of them catatonic, and then the korhorrag and his undead friends."

Sen-Jyu shrugs. "Familiar, then. As compared to an unpleasant drop down a mountainside from a large height."

Ahoke shrugs. "If that's what you want to do. I'm not going to stand here and argue." She starts moving towards the doorway out.

"Who's arguing?" Sen-Jyu asks as he lifts up Doric from the floor, heading back the way the three had come.

The first obstable to be overcome, then, is the twenty-foot drop - or, rather, rise, from this side.

"That's just a wall," Caleb objects when he sees where you're heading.

Ahoke looks up at the wall. "Oh yes, and I forgot to mention this obstacle," she says tiredly, rubbing her eyes with bloody fists. "It's a fake wall, Caleb, if we can figure out how to get up there."

Eyeing the base of it, Sen-Jyu walks under the precipice slowly, from one end to the other. "The thanork did it -- there's a method here, somewhere."

Harvester clears his throat quietly, "Just a sec, guys. I'd like to check something out first..." He kneels and produces a couple of small pouches which contain a pair of blue shards and a box of 5 clear shards. He studies them for a time and frowns slightly.

Ahoke pauses, looking over at Harvester, and then quickly eyes Caleb to see how he reacts to the shards.

Caleb's eyes fix on the shards. "What are you going to do with those?"

"... but I can't find their method. Maybe the boy would know." He nods to the living one, to clarify for anyone's confusion.

Caleb blinks, shrugs. "The goblins just took us up the mountain."

Ahoke considers. "How did they go about it?" She turns back to watch Harvester, with some confusion.

Harvester lifts the box, "These appear thoroughly unrelated to this lump in the sack, by appearance..." He glances up at Caleb. "Destroy them," he remarks quietly. "You have seen these before?" He packs it all away. "Allow me to examine them, friends..."

"Well," the boy begins. "They climbed the ropes." Turning back to Harvester, he says, "That's what they put in Tana's head."

Harvester moves towards the girl, first, and examines her thoroughly, finally focusing on her head. "How many were you, boy, before we arrived?" He nods as the boy speaks. "We must keep her far from town, then, when we attempt to ring Wyrmcall..." He considers again.

Sen-Jyu ahs, "The ropes. Of -course-. So... where are 'the ropes'?" To help answer his own question, he looks about for anything vaguely ropy and perhaps attached to something sturdy over the lip of the precipice above.

Caleb's brow furrows. "How many /what/ was I?"

Harvester says, "Children. There were more than you three, I thought..." The priest gestures to the iron slab, "Perhaps out there, Sen?""

Caleb rolls his eyes. "The ropes aren't /there/," he tells Sen-Jyu. "It'd be pretty silly for the ropes to be there when the goblins used 'em to get up the outside of the mountain."

Ahoke says, thoughtfully, "What if Wyrmcall is the only way to save her from the shard's influence? I can't imagine that leaving it in her head is going to do any good.

"What are you going to do with the Wyrmcall?" Caleb asks.

Harvester speaks softly, after pulling his partners to one side. "I would not care to have the bell's resonance shatter the crystal within her skull... it can always be rung once more, after..." He answers Caleb. "Ring it."

"What's /that/ s'psed to do?"

Sen-Jyu sets the corpse in his arms down, the better to search the wall with his hands. "Probably an illusion, somewhere here."

Harvester speaks more quietly again, that his companions alone might hear, "We must be wary that those within Bellhold are not under this thing's influence, as well..." Once more, loudly, "Hopefully shatter the crystal entity we possess."

Caleb looks at Ahoke. "Is he simple?" he whispers, pointing towards Sen-Jyu.

Ahoke sighs, looking from one man to the other to Caleb. "No..," she says doubtfully. She moves over to stand nearer to Caleb, and watches.

"Do we still have rope?" asks the spirit-blood, looking at his companions.

Ahoke nods, gesturing with her coil. "Yeah," she says. "Do you want it?"

Sen-Jyu nods, extending one hand. "Please. And if we have anything to secure it with, all the better."

Harvester moves to examine Doric's corpse now, to see if there is a corresponding scab. finally, he checks Caleb. "Remember... we'll also need to climb several other places... once down, some fifty feet, then up to the surface...

Doric, too, bears the scab. Caleb swats at your hands as you reach for him. "Hey! Get off! Let go!"

Harvester grabs hold of Caleb's head and growls, "Hold yourself still, boy. This'll be over quick enough."

_Caleb looks up, his eyes strangely burning...

...you are alone, surrounded by ice, but you do not feel cold as the snow covers you for the last time...

...you are surrounded by your flock, all of whom smile as they pass to the other side...

...you are dyying forgotten in an alley, stabbed by an angry drunk...

...you sit on an iron throne amid a thousand thousand books...

...you set down the scythe and return to your former life...

...you take up the sword and die on the point of a spear...

...you...

...you...

...you...

...you stumble back, letting go of the child._

Harvester gasps! his hands releasing Caleb as he stumbles back, "Hold him! He is possessed!"

Caleb dashes for the entryway, pausing only to grab the sack containing the stone.

Ahoke grunts, seeing the child and the sack running away, and starts running after them. "Stop, kid! You don't know what you're doing, you idiot!" She punctuates her words by slamming into his back, and bearing him down to the floor under her solid dwarven weight. The sack, containing the globe, goes flying out of his hands, landing several feet away from him.

Caleb struggles in Ahoke's grasp, screaming and punching, but he is unable to free himself.

Ahoke sighs. "Maybe the two of you should go ahead and go. I'll stay here and watch kid. Maybe if he's not with you, Copperdeath will stop being an *SSH*LE and picking on a child."

Sen-Jyu stands, jaw a bit slackened, as everyone bursts into motion except him. "... rope?" he asks in a dry whisper.

Harvester turns his head briefly to make certain the unconcious girl isn't just playing possum, then moves to scoop up the sack containing the melon-sized crystal. Little concern is given the boy following the flying dwarf's tackle. "sen, tie up the girl, just in case!"

Ahoke says into the child's ear, "Are you going to be good, or am I going to have to unleash Wolverine on you?" If he knows what Wolverine is or not, the threat is still clear.

Sen-Jyu moves over to the girl, though hasn't yet done anything to immobilize her. Just waiting.

Harvester calls out, "Gotta tie him up, Kay... he ain't himself right now, just like those horses that tried to eat you when we came to this 'burg..."

Caleb continues to fail in his attempts to free himself.

Harvester mutters to himself as he stalks over to Ahoke and Caleb, "Put him _down_ Ahoke... And out..." He swings his fist down, piston-like, for a glancing blow across the boy's chin.

Sen-Jyu steps over the girl and approaches the group. "I don't know if that's really necessary," says Sen-Jyu, doing what he can to help restrain the kid without violent motions.

Ahoke grunts, shifting her weight so that the kid will be doing all that he can to dislodge her, and says, "The rope would probably hold him good, and wouldn't leave any damage." She gestures at Sen-Jyu with her head. "You want to do the honors, while I hold him down?"

Sen-Jyu considers. "I'm not very good with rope, per se. Maybe you could, and I'll hold him down?"

Sensing his impending utter helplessness, Caleb tries to lock eyes with Ahoke and focus his mind...but the grapple makes such a feat impossible.

Ahoke struggles to keep the boy held down, and mutters to herself. "Hand me the rope", she says.
Sen-Jyu, seeing that Ahoke's in no position to just trade places, takes the rope and starts on the boy. "Listen, child. I understand that you're possessed by an entity of malevolence. But struggling will only get you a paddling."

Sen-Jyu ties a rather poor knot around the boy's hands and arms. "There. Now don't we feel better?"

Ahoke looks dubiously at the knot, but doesn't say anything. "I wonder if he's going to try that mind control thing that the horses did? Stupid-ass dragon," she mutters, looking over at the sack. "Deserved the fate that he got. I think that we should blindfold him too," she adds, after some thought.

Caleb glares at Sen-Jyu. "There are a million branchings of fate and I see your death at the end of all of them."

Ahoke snorts. "Shut up. We're mortal, you nit. Of course he'll die."

Sen-Jyu smiles at the boy, ruffling his hair affectionately. "You're very sweet to say so," says the spirit-blood, "but I'm a little older than I look."

Ahoke rips a strip of cloth off of her clothing, and starts to tie it around the boy's eyes. "This is to keep you from trying anything truly foolish," she tells him. "I don't want to kill you, but if you tried to control my mind, I would have to."

Harvester says, "Don't look into his eyes, or you will suffer the despair of the dreams... And restrain yourselves from becoming overly friendly - that is _not_ the boy he was...""

"He's just got a shard of crystal in his brain -- that would make anyone grumpy," Sen-Jyu says to the Harvester. "So... where were we? Ah yes. Climbing."

"Fool." The boy's voice is hollow. "This is all there is now."
Harvester moves now, to stand over the girl, and watches her closely. He holds tight to the sack.

The girl lies, curled in a ball, unmoving, unresponding.

Harvester says, "Restrain her as well, Ahoke..." He secures the sack to his belt as he walks towards the iron slab and peers behind it. "Might be easier going this way...""

Sen-Jyu looks between the two, shrugging. "So... please, which way?"

Behind the slab there is only shattered rock, and some trash from the goblins. Dust is visible in the haze of the late afternoon sun that slants in from the passage to the cave mouth.

Harvester gestures, "This leads outside..."

"Does... anyone know if there was a way to get the dragon to cooperate and open the way out again?"  That, from Sen-Jyu, with a minor synaptic epiphany.

Ahoke laughs.

Harvester laughs softly, "The mountain it is, then...

Sen-Jyu murmurs, "No, really... does anyone know?"

Ahoke hmms. "Well, let's see. We took the item containing its soul, informed it that we were going to destroy it, and have been generally uncooperative with it. I would say that we aren't going to get it to be helpful. So... I guess it's outside and down."

Harvester shakes his head, "Not from the rear, unless we ask very nicely... The korhorrag did not even know how to cause it to move in the first place, or so it claimed..."

Harvester says, "Kay, I think Sen speaks of the dragon _statue_...""

Ahoke mmms. "Well, there's that, too." She moves to the opening leading outside, dragging Caleb behind her. "If you make a single misstep, you'll fall off the mountain," she tells him. "You'll have to trust me, and stay on my good side."

Harvester moves aside as Ahoke pushes past, then turns to pick up the girl, if Sen-Jyu doesn't.

The passage leads to an enormous stone ledge - a sort of balcony, large enough for a dragon to spread his wings and launch himself into the air. Piled haphazardly by the cave mouth is a tangle of ropes and other items - crudely made pitons, mallets, and the like that the goblins evidently used to make their climb easier.

Harvester murmurs to Ahoke, "There is no point in trying to reason with him, Kay... Copperdeath controls him, not the boy known as Caleb..."

Ahoke replies, "Well, if Copperdeath enjoys controlling the boy, he won't have him do anything stupid." She eyes the child then. "Maybe we /should/ knock him out," she said. "He'd definitely be compliant then." She turns, looking at the pitons. "Well, these will be helpful," she says. "Better than the sheer rock."

Sen-Jyu looks at the body of the boy, sighing a little. "Likely no way to bring you, friend, without having us join you." Picking up the body again, he walks to the iron doorway, sighing a bit.

Harvester says, "Copperdeath has shown his disregard already... he will likely use the boy to cause the death of us all..." He nods to Sen-Jyu, "Doric has sped his way to my Lord, Sen.... The husk can be retrieved later...""

Ahoke nods. "Right, then." She brings down a dwarven fist on top of the boy's skull, and then catches him as he sags into an unconscious heap. "Let's go."

Sen-Jyu leaves the body just inside the doorway and moves to join his companions in their climb downward.

Harvester peers over the edge at the mountainside, and examines the climbing gear. "Either of you know much about climbing? How best to do this?" He shrugs, "I can go first, being less burdened..."

Sen-Jyu goes back to get the girl, then rejoins his companions.

_*They are fools. Do not join yourself with them. You cheat yourself and your clan. You have power in you, Ahoke Wolverines-daughter. Let me unlock it for you.*_

Ahoke considers. "Well, we're going to be carrying two dead weight children with us. Should probably either lower them down, or lash them to our-" she stops, and then puts both hands on her head, one on either side. "Stop it stop it stop it! I don't want to hear it."

Sen-Jyu asks, "Do we have enough rope to secure her to me? There's no way that I'll be able to hold her all the way down, and if she wakes and gets it into her head... well, a bit late for that but you can see what I'm getting at."

Harvester swings the sack containing the large shard against the stone, "Quiet, you."

Ahoke says, "If we cut pieces of rope, that should be enough, I think..."

Harvester nods, "Perhaps we can fashion some sort of slings."

"That should be fine." Sen-Jyu takes what's left of Ahoke's rope and begins to fashion some sort of sling or the like.

_*Why do you defend them so? What have they done for you? They could not stand in your way if you so chose.*_

Ahoke grits her teeth, and carefully, gently lays the child down on the ground.

Harvester takes some rope and attempts to help Sen-Jyu create some makeshift slings. "Damn! Rope burn!"

Sen-Jyu fashions, all by his lonesome, a fair to middling securing net.

_*The human is blinded by his false visions. The spirit-blood is blinded by his naievete. Open your eyes, child of stone. Only I can help you reclaim your heritage. Only I know the secrets that will let you survive...and conquer.*_

Ahoke growls, throwing down her end of the rope in frustration, and leaps to her feet, brandishing her club. "And what promises are you making them? Do not flatter me, you pathetic spikey crystal thing."

Sen-Jyu grins at Ahoke. "Oh, it mumbled something to me about becoming Emperor. Silly crystal."

_*Do not misdirect your anger. I know your frustrations come from their foolishness. Look inside yourself. You see that I speak truth.* _

Harvester laughs softly, "It has not attempted to talk to me again, Ahoke... Perhaps it believes me unyielding.. or merely has not yet found my weakness..."

_*I think him useless.*_

Sen-Jyu says, "... so. Who's first?" asks Sen-Jyu, tugging on the ropes that secures the girl to his chest."

Harvester shrugs, "I'll go." He attempts to tie a rope about his waist and carefully climb down, after making certain the other end is secured. "How high are we, anyhoo?"

Ahoke snorts, a sound that may well be laughter, quickly covered up. "Alright. Let's get out of here." She moves over with the boy. "We need to get this one tied to me as well," she says. "I guess I can try."

Ahoke messes around with the rope a little.

Sen-Jyu helps tie Caleb to Ahoke. Or vice versa, depending on size difference.

Harvester, as an afterthought, grabs pitons and other bits of climbing equipment.

Ahoke watches Sen-Jyu mess around with the rope too. "No, it should be like you did it the first time," she says.

Sen-Jyu takes up the ravellings of Harvester's work, eyeing them, eyeing Ahoke. "Um."

Ahoke grunts in satisfaction as Harvester helps out. "Okay," she says. "Feels secure."

Harvester calls out, "Here's the so-called path I found way back when, folks... Gonna check it out..." He goes.

Harvester goes crashing following a misstep, "Ah, shi-!" Rocks clatter as he suddenly is brought up short. "Gods-be-damned goblins and their mountains!" he shouts from out of sight. He slowly climbs his way back to the 'path'.

Ahoke frowns. "What happened?"

Harvester mutters an oath, "I fell!"

Ahoke says, "Are there pitons?"

Harvester says, "Only damn thing that saved my happy *ss!"

Ahoke hmms. "Too bad it's the only way down. We're going to have to keep trying." She sighs.

Sen-Jyu calls over the edge, "Look, if you really wanted to see your Master, you could've saved yourself a lot of trouble and let the slime eat you."

Harvester grunts as he gets back to where he should be. "Watch that first step... it's a doozy..." He slowly tries to make his way down again, seeking new pitons and continuing.

Ahoke waits, somewhat anxiously, eager to be off this mountain, but not wanting to fall to her death.

_*Finding the climbing difficult? Perhaps I will sit, nestled among your bleaching bones until somebody comes to see what has become of you...*_

Harvester mutters to nothing in particular, "I'd give you heartburn, twit."

Sen-Jyu follows after the Harvester in short order.

Ahoke sees Sen almost go toppling, and reaches out, grabbing the rope at the last second.
Harvester finally makes it to a new, fairly level area some two hundred feet down the side of the mountain, "Ahoke and Sen, C'MON DOWN! You're the next contestants on 'Let's Risk Your Life!'" He cannot find any pitons, and so begins to hammer one in at a likely place.

"... goodness," says Sen-Jyu, getting quite a view of the first half-second of free fall. He didn't want to experience the remainder of the free-fall, so grins thankfully at Ahoke. "Um... let me try that again."

Ahoke nods, grimacing.

Sen-Jyu tries again.

Harvester hears the shout and turns to watch Sen-Jyu's interrupted tumble. "God is waitin for you, Sen, whenever you're ready!" he calls up.

Ahoke starts climbing down slowly, shakily. She's used to climbing, but not with a knocked out child tied to her.

After a long and arduous climb, full of slips, mis-steps, and near-death experiences, our heros arrive at the bottom of the mountain, more or less intact. They are battered, their fingers bloodied from the rock, burned from the rope - but at last they are on level ground.

Ahoke breathes a heavy sigh of relief, and then checks on the condition of her charge. "Awake yet?"

Harvester bends down and kisses the ground, then spits.

Caleb scowls in sullen silence.

Sen-Jyu drops to his knees in prayerful bliss once ground is met. "Remind me to plant something here, later," he murmurs.

Ahoke nods. "I'll take that for a yes. So what's the battle plan now? We all going to town, or does one of us stay with the children?"

Harvester says, "Alright, we probably should keep the kids some ways out of town when we ring the bell... if Dead-boy dragon's influence is destroyed, Caleb may come back."

Sen-Jyu blinks. "What if it lives on through Caleb, though?"

Harvester speaks succinctly, "Then we ring the bell again. If it kills the body..." He shrugs.

Sen-Jyu hmms. "Yes, but it knows how to -pretend-."

Harvester shrugs, "Then bring 'em both. I suspect, however, that the ringing of Wyrmcall will shatter the shard within their brains. It may be the only way. or, the controlling mass within this sack may be destroyed, and free them. I don't know."

_*Destroy them now, dwarf.  They cannot stand before you.  I controlled the others because they were weak, but you...you are strong.  We could be partners...masters together over the lesser beings.  You saw the worship I was given...that could be yours as well...*_

Ahoke grimaces. "Do you honestly expect for me to believe that?" She does not seem to be addressing the party. "Yeah, but better they be dead than under that thing's thrall. Come on, I want to get well away from the mountain."

Sen-Jyu shrugs. "I'll stay, if you think it will kill them to hear the Wyrmcall." One hand brushes over the catatonic girl's face. "I would rather we had something to show for our promises and heroics."

Harvester shrugs, and unslings the scythe from his back. "I'm gonna get dressed first... Mind helping?" He begins to don his armor. "I half expect resistance from some of the townsfolk..."

Ahoke helps out. "I don't know if it will kill them or not, Sen. But I do know that it's going to take all of us to do this."

Sen-Jyu nods a little. "Very well. Wyrmcall's loud enough to cover this distance anyway, I suppose."

Ahoke nods. "True. So they'd be exposed to it one way or the other." After seeing Harvester's armor is on correctly, she starts marching towards the village. "I want ale," she moans. "And a hot-blooded dwarven lover."

Harvester remarks, "Witness how it has attempted to sway us three so far.. y'think the townsfolk'll resist easy?" He nods. "We should gag 'em both, at least. Cover their heads."
He nods and follows after Ahoke and Sen-Jyu, torch raised high in one hand if the darkness grows.

Ahoke gags the already blind-folded Caleb. "Sorry kid," she says gruffly. "But we can't trust you until we destroy Coppertop."

"Let's just be done with it. We could sneak in to town, ring the Wyrmcall, and if that's successful, well, great. I doubt anyone's sleeping, anyway." Sen-Jyu starts on the trail back to town.

Harvester adds as an afterthought, "The townsfolk and parents ain't gonna be thrilled having their kids trussed up like this... so watch it... We should try to sneak in." He nods with a laugh as Sen-Jyu speaks his own words.

Ahoke nods. "Well, it'll be full nightfall before we get to the town, probably. We /might/ be able to pull it off." She looks over the fivesome doubtfully.

Harvester makes certain of the bonds and gags on both girl and boy as they walk along.

The trek begins. The forms of the children seem to get heavier with every step - they are no babes to be carried easily in arms, and their presence slows you. The night gathers around you as you hike onward.
Ahoke stubbornly keeps ahold of her burden, slow as it might make her.

Sen-Jyu hums to the little girl as he goes, less a lullaby and more a cheery tune, which gets quieter the closer they get to town.

_*Reconsider your course of action, priest.  You seek to preserve this world's lore for the next one - I have seen it in your dreams.  Think of the lore a dragon could teach.  I know secrets that would be lost.  Secrets of the earth, secrets of the mind...no, do not speak!  Consider my words, instead.*_

Harvester instead begins to recite a little prayer to He Who Is To Come, then, speaking softly to himself, "You have passed beyond the veil, wyrmling, but maintain your fearsome grasp upon this world.... Let go your fear... embrace my Master's welcoming arms... prepare for your rebirth in the world to come... imagine your potential, if you were so great a being in this time and place?"

Ahead, you see the river, and across it, the town of Bellhold. Lights still burn in the windows - candles and cookfires.

Ahoke sighs heavily, looking at Bellhold. "Well, they're still up."

Sen-Jyu, unsurprised, says "They're probably out of the habit of sleeping."

Ahoke nods. "Either that or they're sharpening their cooking knives, getting ready to cut out our livers."

_*Fools. Did you think I had stopped merely because you had entered my home? I-*_

Ahoke looks confused. "Did you guys hear it that time?

Sen-Jyu sniffs. "Do you really have a compulsion to call us 'fools' all the time? It just seems a bit uncalled for."

Ahoke hmms. "I wonder why it stopped."

Harvester speaks softly, "Shall I go ahead, and attempt entry into the tower?" He nods to Ahoke, "I did. And he appears to have interrupted himself. Let us make haste..."

Ahoke nods, heading towards the bridge, with some caution. She pauses, checking to see if it is lined by peasants with pitchforks.

Harvester says, "Because it's issuing new commands, I should think. Let us go more swiftly..." He begins to walk faster."

Sen-Jyu checks to see if he still has the earplugs.

It is not, as yet, lined with peasants bearing torches, pitchforks, and Frankenstein-rake-things.

Ahoke runs across the bridge.

"The Harvester, do you still have those earp... er, noseplugs?" Sen-Jyu asks softly.

Ahoke runs across the bridge, and continues trotting towards the town, with all of the subtlety in her dwarven body.

Harvester frowns for a moment, then reaches into a pocket, "Here y'go." He pauses, "Do we know how to get into the tower?"

Ahoke does slow down a little when she sees that her companions are still chatting.

Harvester continues his forward movement, not slowing the speedy little dwarf.

Ahoke says, jogging, "We bash down the door?"

Sen-Jyu chases after, calling ahead, "It's open."

Ahoke ohs. "Well, that certainly makes things easier."

Sen-Jyu tucks the wax plugs into a pocket.

Ahoke grunts, shifting Caleb's weight a little. "Don't make eye contact with anybody."

Harvester moves ahead of his slower companions, towards the belltower.

You cross the bridge and into town. Heading down the street, you suddenly realize that doors are beginning to open in the buildings around you. From the doorways, voices speak in eerie, pefect unison:

"It is already too late."

The figures that emerge stare at you with sapphire eyes.


----------



## Caliber (May 31, 2003)

I always thought this part of the adventure (the villagers) was an extremely hard one. Maybe its different in play though ...


----------



## Capellan (May 31, 2003)

Caliber said:
			
		

> *I always thought this part of the adventure (the villagers) was an extremely hard one. Maybe its different in play though ... *




Nah.  All you need is a spider-climbing, potion of jump-drinking Kobold Monk on the team. and you'll be fine*.

Uh ... these guys do have one of those, right?  Stored in their packs somewhere, maybe?


* arwink's 'Seldarn Empire - Copperheads' story hour


----------



## drnuncheon (Jul 4, 2003)

_*DM's Note:* many thanks to Sen-Jyu's player, who bugged me
about this, and finally volunteered to edit the log himself._

Harvester runs.

Ahoke sneers at the figures. "That's what you've been trying to tell us
since the beginning, you pathetic skinless lizard.

Ahoke, too, breaks into a run, for the belltower.

Harvester says, "Drop the kids! They're no danger now!"

The citizens of Bellhold begin to flood into the streets from their
homes and businesses. "GIVE US THE STONE," they say, the voices echoing
throughout the streets.

Ahoke drops Caleb onto the ground, leaps over him, and keeps going.

Sen-Jyu, with a little girl tied to him, does nothing of the sort, but
carries her as fast as his legs can manage.

You round a corner, only to see it blocked by a mob of twenty citizens,
moving up the street towards you.

"SURRENDER YOUR WILL. GIVE US THE STONE."

Ahoke surges forward, preparing to break through their ranks, raising
her fists to try to drop one.

Ahoke runs into one of them, unfortunately, one of the bigger ones, and
bounces back about half a foot. She refuses to meet his eyes, and braces
herself to run him down again.

Harvester says, "Sen-Jyu! Drop the girl and ring the bell! I'll try and
keep the rock away!"

Hands reach out greedily for Ahoke as the dwarf charges them. Then, the
crowd hesitates, and surges forward around the dwarf. Their eyes are
fixed on one thing: The Harvester.

Ahoke growls, and says, "No, Harvester, /you/ go ring the damned bell!
I'll try to pick them off."

Harvester attempts to do some broken-field running, staying away from
the crowd. He shouts at Ahoke, "They want _this_!" But he does try to
make his way towards the tower.

"Can't. Drop. Girl." Sen-Jyu enunciates to the Harvester, then takes up
position in front of the priest. "Go to the tower. Ring the bell. Key's
hidden in the frame, on the left hand side." Sen-Jyu, running
interception.

Harvester nods once. "Clear me a path..." He begins to move.

Ahoke beats at people.

Harvester uses the blunt end of his scythe to knock hands away. If
necessary, he slices at those hands...

Sen-Jyu does what he can to clear a path, short of crushing the girl in
a body slam.

Ahoke knocks one of them out.

More citizens begin moving down a side street towards you. Only one
street remains clear.

Harvester points, "That way!"

Ahoke yells, "Hit that empty street, and fast!" She breaks into a
sprint, now that everyone isn't paying attention to her, and moves as
fast as she can towards Wyrmcall Plaza.

Sen-Jyu follows, glancing down at the little girl as he goes, hoping
that she's still alive despite all this excitement.

Another group of people appears at the end of the street. "THE STONE,"
they demand. There is an alley to escape down...but it leads away from
the Plaza!

Harvester utters an invective, and glances to the alley to be certain it
isn't a dead-end.

Ahoke bursts around the corner, into the plaza.

The bell tower is ringed with a cordon of townspeople one rank deep -
hardly an obstacle for a charging dwarf. Tokket stands before her, his
eyes as azure as the rest.

Harvester spins on a heel, and charges down the alley, to the next
street, "Sen!"

Ahoke bounces off of the half elf, landing on the ground. She growls,
pulling out her club. "Enough of this being nice sh*t," she says.

Sen-Jyu follows down the alley after the Harvester, but if opportunity
presents itself, will delay the pursuers, the better to allow the
Harvester a lead.

The next street out is clear in both directions...for now.

Harvester turns again, and begins running back towards the plaza.

Ahoke leaps to her feet, still growling, and clubs Tokket to the ground.

Two men move in to grab Ahoke's arms, one on either side of her. She
smacks one with the butt end of her club in the gut, knocking him down.
The second one grabs ahold of her, but the dwarf bulls her way past him,
breaking free of his grip. It appears, for this millisecond, that she is
free to move towards the tower again.

The sound of feet comes towards you - and as it goes, they begin to fall
into step, marching in eerie unison down the street. You think you can
*barely* make it across the intersection before they reach it.

Ahoke charges into the open doorway of the tower, heading for the bell
pull.

Harvester's eyes narrow, and he attempts to put on that _little_ bit of
extra speed to cross the intersection before the unruly - or, in this
case, ruly - mob arrives.

Sen-Jyu darts after the Harvester, preparing to plow over anyone who
intercepts him.

You dart across the intersection, just paces ahead of the dominated
townsfolk. The next street up should lead you to Wyrmcall plaza...

Ahoke grabs onto the rope, and starts pulling, and the gigantic bell
begins to peal, loudly. Vibrations can be felt in everyone's chests as
the noise begins to fill the streets.

Harvester turns in the proper direction, though he just knows he's being
herded. And so he readies his scythe, to cause some necessary hurting...

Harvester pulls the sack from his belt quickly, and holds it out a bit
as he rushes through.

On Sen-jyu's back, the girl whimpers.

The mob pauses, as if confused for a moment by the tolling of the bell.

Sen-Jyu whispers soothing words to the girl as he flees the possessed
townsfolk. "Please don't die. Please."

Ahoke keeps tolling it, enthusiastically.

And then, from two thousand throats, there comes one horrible laugh. The
crowd begins to move forward again.

"WE WILL HAVE THE STONE."

Harvester takes advantage of the crowd's hesitation and charges the
plaza towards the tower.

Ahoke puts her entire weight into pulling the rope, in case that makes
it louder.

Harvester becomes the star runningback of the Bellhold Brass Dragon
football team, and continues twisting and turning, through the plaza.

You reach the plaza seconds ahead of the mob at your heels, and see the
ring of townsfolk surrounding the tower, thirty feet out. Their heads
swivel as one to look at you, and they begin to move so that they no
longer encircle the tower...so that they encircle you.

"YOU WILL NOT PASS," they inform you in a voice a hundred strong. You
may not have a second chance to break through...

Harvester readies his scythe to cut the one directly in front of him
down if necessary, "Sen! Break open that line!!"

Ahoke is inside the belltower, literally being pulled up off of the
ground by several feet every time the bell rings. Still, she keeps
trying. "Damn it, this has to work..."

Sen-Jyu moves ahead of the Harvester, leaping into the line, both arms
spread wide, hoping that the girl on his back isn't damaged in the
process.

Sen-Jyu puts his shoulder into the sternum of a townsfolk, pushing him
back and off his feet. Sen-Jyu continues to move, hopefully having
cleared a path for the Harvester.

Harvester charges forward, hard on Sen-Jyu's heels now, as the
spirit-blood clears a partial path for him, scythe at the ready. As
questing hands snatch and claw, the heavy blade slices upward, and
neatly removes a hand. The priest easily shrugs away another villager
who leaps at him, and he finds himself free, for now, and charging the
tower.

Ahoke continues ringing the bell, vigorously. "Work, damn you!" she
shouts, her words barely audible over the pealing of the bell.

Harvester rushes towards the door, shouting at Sen, "Hold the line! Hold
the line!"

Sen-Jyu, unable to hear the Harvester's words, continues to charge
forward toward the bell tower.

On Sen-Jyu's back, the girl whimpers more as the tolling grows louder.
She tries to curl up but her bonds prevent her.

Sen-Jyu, feeling the shifting girl on his back, grins broadly. "She's
alive! Aliiiive!" he crows, stopping in the doorway and slamming the
door once the Harvester has entered.

Ahoke, deaf to all but the bell's noises, continues ringing it, looking
over her shoulder frantically as the others enter the tower.

Harvester continues his way up the winding stairs, now thoroughly
deafened. He meets the locked door halfway up and seeks the key atop the
jamb, as Sen-Jyu stated it would be.

Harvester finally finds the key and unlocks the door, and grabs up his
scythe once more before bursting through. Onwards and upwards he flies!

Sen-Jyu unsheathes his wakizashi, cutting the ropes that bind the girl
to his chest. He unslings her and cradles her close, pressing one of her
ears to his chest and using his free hand to cup the other.

Ahoke shoots another desperate look over her shoulder, as her hands
stain the rope red with her own blood. She shouts something, probably
along the lines of 'Hurry!' but keeps at her task doggedly.

Harvester's mouth moves, "I pray that He Who Is To Come protects me,
that I might see His will done!"

The sound of the bell batters at the Harvester like a sledgehammer. He
does not so much hear it anymore as feel it through his entire body. The
stairs vibrate under his feet as he climbs.

Outside, Sen-jyu can feel the citizens of Bellhold beginning to pound on
the door.

Harvester climbs the final mile, now beginning to use the scythe to prop
and propel himself upwards.

Sen-Jyu presses his back more firmly into the door, wishing himself a
bit more built for the task. A couple more arms, perhaps.

Harvester staggers from the physical presence of the bell's peals, and
he lifts the sack and speaks soundlessly, "Prepare to meet the Gardener,
Copperdeath... May your next life prove more fruitful!"

The door slams open, sending Sen-Jyu staggering forward. Behind it, the
citizens of Bellhold muster, ready to charge the tower and protect their
crystalline master.

Ahoke continues ringing the bell, though her eyes widen when the
townsfolk prepare to swarm in. She braces herself.

Sen-Jyu backs away from the door, and moves to protect Ahoke, in case
they should strive to stop her. Mind you, with both arms occupied, he
doesn't have much in the way of good ideas for how he might stop them.

Harvester goes briefly to one knee once he reaches the apex, and drops
the sack onto the floor. He qickly slices through the fabric and exposes
the crystalline stone, and rises, scythe swing above his head in a
sweeping arc, "May He Who Is To Come welcome you unto the Garden!"

The crystal spills out of the sack, rolling a couple of times on the
wooden floor. Already cracks have appeared on its surface from the
terrible vibrations. From below, you hear the voices of the townsfolk
screaming in wordless rage.

The Harvester's scythe pings from the crystalline surface without
leaving a mark.

Ahoke is starting to look tired, frustrated, and worst of all, hopeless.
Still, she keeps ringing the bell, her eyes listless and dull.

The mob begins to pour into the door - half dividing to climb the
stairs, the other half towards Sen-Jyu and Ahoke. Hands reach for the
spirit-blood, trying to drag him out of the way.

Sen-Jyu kicks at them, hoping to incapacitate at least a couple of them.
 He  slashes low with his wakizashi, praying not to cut too deeply.

Ahoke tightens her grip on the rope, so that even if she is swarmed,
it'll take them a few moments to pry her dead fingers from the rope.

The flat of his lesser blade whistles through the air, striking one of
the townspeople upside the braincase, sending her into shivering
unconsciousness.

Ahoke looks unhappy at the advance of the townspeople, and then does the
only thing that she can think of: she starts climbing the rope. The bell
has gotten enough momentum that it doesn't slow down in its ringing,
yet. She climbs it swiftly and efficiently, leaving the angry
townspeople below her, and approaches the top.

Harvester staggers down the stairs, cursing and praying to HWITC for
strength, and then he reaches the mid-door.

You can see the townsfolk shouting at you, but their words make no
noise: there is only the constant deep tolling of the bell.

Ahoke scrambles the rest of the way to the top, hand over hand, as fast
as she can go. The bell keeps tolling.

Sen-Jyu spins and thwacks another with the hilt of his wakizashi.
Fortunately, they're still prone to this bump on the head plan, and
though his ancestors might be displeased to see his daisho used in this
fashion, he's not feeling particularly bloodthirsty for possessed
villager.

Sen-Jyu is able to slip away from a grasping hand.

Harvester has reached the door, and grabs the key before slamming it
shut. The key is inserted and tumblers turned, securing the door to
entry. He readies himself now... None shall pass...

If any are looking straight up to see just what the dwarf is doing, they
would see her face twist in rage, any semblance of sanity completely
gone. She grips the rope from near the top, flips upside down, and
plants her feet solidly to the wooden platform beneath the bell, to one
side. She renews her ringing with new ferocity, lips curled back to
reveal her canines.

From below, the villagers reach the doorway. They begin to slam into the
wood again and again.

...but the crude doorway holds.

Three! Three unconscious townspeople! Ahahahahah! Sen-Jyu doesn't
particularly relish this portion of his job, but sometimes hard love is
what counts.

Ahoke continues ringing for all that she's worth, keeping her feet
planted, hanging upside down.

The sound batters at Ahoke even more where she 'stands', slamming into
her as if she was the bell and it, the clapper.

Harvester continues to pray, "My Lord, if You can hear me above this
din, I pray you take Copperdeath's soul.... swiftly.... Grant me the
strength to hold the line, and serve You..."

The door shudders in its frame as the townspeople pound on it.

Ahoke keeps clinging upside down, desperately ringing the damned bell.
It looks like, for all of her determination, that the bell is about to
get the best of her. She starts to slip from her position. It won't be
long before it's raining dwarves.

The townspeople surge forward towards Sen-Jyu en masse, their hands
grasping for him.

On the staircase, the door shatters, flinging back towards Harvester as
the mob ascends: in the forefront, Cobble, his eyes wild and staring.

The bloody rope slips through Ahoke's hands as it slides back from her
last pull.

And then, the heads of all the townspeople look upwards, and a hideous
cry escapes their throats, reverberating with the pealing of the bell.

As one, they fall.

Harvester takes two steps back as the townspeople fall, and sits
heavily, wearily, his prayer answered, "I thank You, Lord, for hearing
the plea of Your faithful servant..."

Ahoke looks over her shoulder, and sees the people fall. With a heavy
sigh, she stops ringing the blasted bell, and starts to slide down the
rope, no doubt giving herself rope burn. Her descent is shaky, and slow,
as the dwarf clearly is fighting to maintain consciousness. She does
make it however, and slides into a trembling heap on the ground.

Harvester, after a moment, casts a simple spell. "Lord, I pray You grant
Your servant the gift of sight, that I might see that which is touched
by mysticism..."

Sen-Jyu, arm raised to smiteth another villager, yea verily, halts
mid-smite as they seem to willingly be smote themselves. Stunned, he
puts away the sword, checking the girl's breath to see that she yet
lives, and looks around to see if the others might still be alive.

Ahoke lies on top of the townspeople in exhaustion. She slips into
unconsciousness, completely uncaring about how rude it is to pass out on
top of people.

The stone is shattered. No, more than that: it is pulverized. A fine
dust coats the wooden floor, and that is all.

Harvester satisfies himself that the crystalline entity is no more - or
at least that particular vessel - and slowly makes his way down once
more. He pauses to check Cobble for signs of life, and another, then
another - randomly until he reaches the ground.

Kneeling, Sen-Jyu also checks some of the other villagers for signs of
life.

Ahoke is laying in a bloody heap, looking far worse off than the
villagers when it comes to vital signs.

The townspeople live: their pulses beat, their lungs fill with air. But
their eyes are vacant and empty when checked.

Harvester leaves the people for now, and does a bit of healing on Ahoke
before picking her up - or rather, dragging her towards the tavern.

Then, slowly, one stirs - limbs twitching, eyes fluttering open. Normal
eyes, not the crystal-blue of the dragon's servants.

Harvester pauses and lets Ahoke go as someone stirs. He watches, and
waits.

Ahoke sleeps.

_Some time later..._

"We cannot express our gratitude enough," says Hob Waterman, taking your
hands. (The Harvester can only assume that is what he said, his hearing
being what it is at the moment.) "You have stopped the nightmares and
restored peace to our village, as well as rescuing the missing children.
I don't think we'll ever understand what happened tonight, but you have
our thanks."

Some eyes in the crowd give the lie to his pretty words, though: the
parents of a young boy, and a miner missing a hand.

Harvester asks Sen-Jyu and Ahoke for a curative, if they have one left,
so that he might hear and speak without shouting.

Ahoke nods to the mayor, still tired from the entire venture. "I'm glad
that we could have helped, though I wish that it had gone better for all
involved." She looks out into the crowd, seeking out the dead boy's
parents with her gaze. She shakes her head to Harvester, making a
gesture that shows that she has nothing left. Ahoke rubs at her ears as
well. "Everything sounds like it's underwater," she grumbles.

Sen-Jyu stands at the back, silent but smiling, as is his way.

"Please accept the hospitality of the town for as long as you care to
stay," Waterman continues. "I'm sure Tokket will agree...once he wakes
up."

Harvester rises before the crowd now, and begins, "My friends....! Much
tragedy has befallen the town of Bellhold of recent days! But not all is
lost!" He continues, "Do not give in to despair! Have no fear for the
souls of the departed! He Who Is To Come welcomes all into the Garden!
All men come before Him, and all men will be reborn in the next world!"

Ahoke nods to Waterman. "Thank you," she says, more loudly than she
intends to. She turns, and walks away from the crowd, to the inviting
doorway of the tavern. "I hope there's still someone to serve me ale,"
she mutters.

The one-handed miner, bloody bandages wrapping his stump, spits on the
ground, and turns to push his way out of the crowd. The rest hesitate,
expecting a heroic speech, not a sermon.

Harvester points to the one-handed miner, "Your hand can be restored in
time, brother, if you but have Faith!"

There is scattered polite, if perhaps confused, applause.

Harvester speaks now, his words ringing as loudly and clearly as
Wyrmcall, each intonation a perfect pitch of word and tone, "The
Darkness spreads across the world, my friends.... Sh'Kilat grows weary
from her burden... My Lord - He Who Is To Come - has bid us create a
repository of knowledge.. Seeds for the future, once the long night has
passed..." His arms spread wide, "You have witnessed the darkness,
brothers and sisters! You have seen it within your own hearts, and those
of your neighbors! You have seen the Darkness in the one known as
Copperdeath!"

Sen-Jyu waits behind, watching the crowd disperse, nodding as they meet
his gaze. His backpack reclaimed from the caves, he listens to the
sermon/speech placidly.


"We have!" shouts an encouraging voice from the crowd, and murmurs of
assent begin to flow.

Harvester's voice lowers, to draw the people in, "Copperdeath now rests
with my Lord, in the Garden.... Others shall come, though, in the coming
years, in the times when our children seek to rebuild the world.... when
the gods return.... we must plant the Seeds of that world... that our
children will awaken to a new garden, fresh, full of life!"

"Tell us how!"

Harvester fairly glows as he exhorts the crowd, "Open your hearts to He
Who Is To Come! prepare the repository within the old caves, that the
seed might have a vessel to carry it into the next World! Join me,
brothers and sisters, that the world will know the touch of the Gardener
and be Reborn!"

The masses of villagers swarm the two remaining heros with a roar of
approval, enveloping them in a press of bodies: hugging, pounding on
backs, general uproar.

_Meanwhile, in the Bell & Clapper..._

A dwarf stands in Tokket's usual place behind the bar - a crate enabling
him to see over the top of the wooden surface. He sees Ahoke coming and
slides a tankard across from her. "Er, hello there." He grins. "We, ah,
met at the tower. I'm Durgin Redstone. You, er, fell unconscious on me."
His beard spreads in an enormous grin.

Ahoke eyes Redstone appraisingly, with a matching grin, minus the beard
of course. Apparently liking what she sees, she sits down at the bar,
and takes the tankard, tipping it back and draining its contents. She
slams the tankard back down on the bar. "I've been wanting to do that
for a long time now," she says, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "Are you
Tokket's replacement?"

"Er...yes, I usually help him out when he needs it," the dwarf says,
suddenly uncertain of himself.

Ahoke mmms, and nods. She studies the empty tankard for a moment, almost
sadly, and then leans over the bar, grabbing on to Redstone's tunic, and
pulls him towards her, still grinning. "I think that you should find a
replacement for Tokket's replacement. Because you're going to be busy
tonight."


_Far away, in the mountains known as the Shoulders of Samrahn:_

A blue-skinned goblin, scarred and battered, makes his painful way up a
rocky trail. He stops to rest, opening a carefully wrapped cloth package
to gaze once again at its contents: three needle-like crystalline
shards. "Do not worry, my master. You will live again. Thrimdrul
promises this."

FIN


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## Caliber (Jul 4, 2003)

Ooooh an ending! Great story! Like I said, the ending is rough. 

When Of Sound Mind 2 comes out (or maybe it already is?  ) are you going to play it as well?


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## drnuncheon (Jul 4, 2003)

OSM2 is sadly not yet out - a certain three-legged feline has been too busy moderating to finish it! 

We had thought about continuing the campaign -heading on to Forge of Fury and then maybe some other FDP stuff - but we decided instead to revive some older characters.

You can read about _them_ here, in The Unity of Rings: drnuncheon's Planescape Story Hour.  (banner coming soon)

J


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## Piratecat (Jul 4, 2003)

I loooove how the final scene played out. Thank you; I'm one very happy guy right now.


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## drnuncheon (Jul 5, 2003)

*Still More Outtakes*

Sen-Jyu sheathes both of his swords, the flatness of his eyes indicating his introspective mood.
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "And the inability to focus his vision...Sen's blind!"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Eh, didn't need that thumb anyway."
<OOC> Harvester says, "no wonder he's fighting invisible peeps..."

(Ahoke leads the charge through the invisible wall, and everyone plummets.)
Ahoke says, "That was an unbelievably bad place to have a door. "

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Because of your...er...charge, the goblins are surprised. Sen, you're first!"

<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 2d8+3 and gets 7.
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "That looks vaguely like a horrid Cure Moderate Wounds result."

<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Pain, like a flower,
Blooms from the newborn chest wound
Aie, no me gusta."

Sen-Jyu extracts the vial he'd been given from the bounty previously discovered. A wince as he unstoppers it, places it to his lips, and swallows the contents.
droll 1d8+1
<DIE ROLLER> Dungeon Master rolls 1d8+1 and gets 4.
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Oooh, it was an inflict light wounds potion."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Yup, you're at 2!"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "WOO!"

Sen-Jyu pages: Diff 25 Tumble check?
You paged Sen-Jyu with 'yes'.
<DIE ROLLER> Sen-Jyu rolls 1d20+6 and gets 7 (natural 1).
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Er."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Ah well."
<OOC> Harvester takes the spell back.

Ahoke gives a full-throated battle cry in dwarven, clearly designed to unnerve the enemy. Her great club moves through the air with surprising grace for a big hunk of wood, and smashes one of the surprised thanork into bloody gobbets.
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Really, I just wanted to use the word gobbets in a pose."

<OOC> Harvester says, "It's time to bring in the harvest. Reaping a goblin with my scythe."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "OK, get a +2 from Sen's flanking."
<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 1d20+5 and gets 23 (natural 18).
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Like you needed it. "
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "That's a hit."
<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 2d4 and gets 6.
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "That's a kill."
<OOC> Harvester wanted a crit. 
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "You need the 'Cleave' feat to go through the goblin and hit me, I'm afraid."

Sen-Jyu grins at the priest, ignoring the voice. "Ah... yes. Your wisdom shows itself once again... I wonder how we can best transport it to the Wyrmcall?"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "I vote we roll it down the mountain and pick it up when we get outside."

Harvester grabs hold of Caleb's head and growls, "Hold yourself still, boy. This'll be over quick enough."
<OOC> Harvester says, "Basically putting hands on either side of his head and holding."
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Give him the Kiss of Death!"
<OOC> Harvester chucks his fingers under his chin. 'Why have you shown me such disrespect?" he asks, in a low, gruff voice, reminiscent of Brando.

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Inits."
<DIE ROLLER> Sen-Jyu rolls 1d20+2 and gets 3 (natural 1).
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "I can see how tonight's going to go."

(the group tries to make slings to carry the children down in)
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Okay. So... 1d20+... 4, if Ahoke succeeds at helping me?"
<OOC> Caleb says, "Yes, let Ahoke roll first."
<DIE ROLLER> Ahoke rolls 1d20+1 and gets 3 (natural 2).
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Doh."
<OOC> Harvester says, "Darn dice."
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Maybe Harvester should help. "
<DIE ROLLER> Harvester rolls 1d20 and gets 1 (natural 1).
<OOC> Harvester laughs!
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Or not."
<OOC> Harvester says, "That's an impossible task."
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Right, so we throw the children over the cliff."

<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "So, the girl is being carried by who? And the boy is...walking or carried?"
<OOC> Sen-Jyu has Ahoke slung over his shoulder, Harvester under his arm, and the children balanced on top.
<OOC> Harvester says, "Dang, dude... get some medieval deodorant or something!"

Sen-Jyu checks to see if he still has the earplugs.
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "Last you saw they were up Harv's nose."
<OOC> Harvester says, "They're still in my nose?"
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "It's been days, I doubt it."
<OOC> Harvester frowns for a moment, then sneezes. Here y'go.

Ahoke surges forward, preparing to break through their ranks, raising her fists to try to drop one.
<DIE ROLLER> Ahoke rolls 1d20+5 and gets 6 (natural 1).
<OOC> Sen-Jyu says, "Okay, Ahoke's been eaten by the crowd. All you, Harv."

(Sen-Jyu is swarmed by the villagers in the bell tower)
<OOC> Ahoke says, "Use the child as a weapon! She's not serving any useful purpose!" 

Harvester has reached the door, and grabs the key before slamming it shut. The key is inserted and tumblers turned, securing the door to entry. He readies himself now... None shall pass...
<OOC> Harvester says, "NONE shall pass..."
<OOC> Harvester says, "None shall PASS...."
<OOC> Dungeon Master says, "The last guy that said that wound up minus four limbs ya know."
<OOC> Harvester says, "Bah! tis but a flesh wound!"


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## Caliber (Jul 5, 2003)

Heh. I love it. I think my favorite is Ahoke's explanation of the need for the word gobbets.


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