|
Post by Aileen on Dec 13, 2020 21:50:55 GMT -5
Vella is falling fast, and I realize too late my stupidity. The helmet, which I thought would protect me, disintegrates! S***, I forgot about it’s limitations- it only works in the castle, not plummeting 600ft to my death! Oh, how I miss being an angel, when I could just sprout wings whenever and-
Oh, f*** the ground is getting really close! This body is only a day and a half, I’m too young to-
“I’VE MADE A MISTAKE!!!!”
—-
“Alastrine, what in the hells were you thinking, young lady?!”
I lay on the floor looking up at a bedraggled Vella, looking about as good as I feel.
“Honestly? I wasn’t,” I sit up, groaning at the aches and pains of my shattered bones now mostly pulled back together. “I thought I could save you, and realized too late I couldn’t do s***.”
“You know I can turn into a bird!”
“Yah, well, I’m not used to not being able to sprout wings... and I was going to cushion your fall, but that stupid helmet!!!”
If it weren’t for Nikola trading his circlet of blasting for the dragon to give us a lift, Vella and I would have been eaten or beaten by giants.
“Don’t worry, Nikola, I’ll have Drexy buy you a new tiara!”
“I want that one, though. It’s special.”
Nikola wants revenge on the tricksy bastard of a dragon. The dragon wants us to kill the giant homunculus. The homunculus wants us to kill the dragon. The dragon apparently just wants to see us suffer. It’s a never ending circle of vengeance that’s not going to get us anywhere, but we hunt down the homunculus anyway.
It dies, we continue searching the castle. Nikola climbs on a statue, which turns into a horrible ropey monster and nearly kills him. Vella’s fairies turn it into a rat and she tosses it out an arrow slit. Close call.
We find the dragons room... being raided by the homunculus we killed. Great, just great! We kill it again, but then Otto finds us searching his room and then uses the fireballs against us.
“Sorry, Otto!” I try to make peace. “The homunculus was in your room, and we were just trying to make sure he didn’t... um, s*** in your room somewhere-“
“Lies!”
“I’ll make it up to you! You can gas me! Remember how fun that is?”
“Hmm. Okay.”
He blows his dragon smoke on me, and.... nothing happens.
“You were supposed to turn into a dog!” He growls. “Very well!”
We end up running. So, that’s both bridges in this place burned. We continue searching, until we come to a room with a scroll behind glass that immediately attracts our wizard’s attention. Two bats, roosting in the room, fly down and attack him. I take them out with my cool new blasting powers. Unfortunately, they turn into nycaloths.
The other two want to run, these things being totally out of our league, but I don’t run. I’ll kill these things or die trying!
And, I very nearly do. I pull out my sword and get to work, fighting side by side with my magical weapon. My new patron has given me some very interesting abilities, and I find I’m able to unleash a fury that scares even the nycaloth.
“Thanks magical sugar daddy!” I call out.
“What?! You have some explaining to do, missy!” Vella calls.
“It’s fine! He’s nice!”
“You can’t just make pacts with strange men!”
“Yes you can!”
I slay my nycaloth, and move to the one killing Vella and Nikola. It claws the ever living s*** out of me, but even as the last of my strength begins to fail, we finish it off.
“You look a little pale, dear. And I thought we got rid of those nasty fangs, why are you still trying to look like a vampire?” Vella says, using her sleeve to clean my cheek.
“What? I’m not wearing them!”
Nikola walks across the room, standing in front of the scroll under glass.
“Does this count as an emergency?” He asks.
“Yes?”
“Good.”
He smashes the glass, unleashing whatever horrible monstro- oh, it’s literally just a scroll.
🌖 Alastrine
|
|
|
Post by kynigoskerata on Dec 14, 2020 12:17:59 GMT -5
Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow OOWWWWW! That stubg, badly. I haven't felt this horrible since the party after my classes first successful cantrip formula creation. We became so inebriated that I woke up next to... nevermind, that is going back to the seventh level where is belongs. Having our arses kicked by two high level byproducts of evil does tend to make one's day go a lot slower.
The worst part? I should have expected it. Like a wizard of this caliber would have bats guarding a spell scroll. I should have known. Foolish and shortsightedness. That is my folly. Frustrated with the homunculus and the damnable dragon, I walked into a fairly obvious trap. I really need to get Detect Magic. With Draelin... missing in action, I need to step up and begin performing the duties expected of me.
If we are to survive this choatic spawn ridden depth, I need to get my own head of mine own arse.
|
|
|
Post by Aileen on Dec 21, 2020 11:17:19 GMT -5
Home office sent us an intern, proofed her right into our midst and scared me half to death! Tiefling Druid, friendly and eager to get down to fighting and adventuring. As we are hanging around making introductions, I have the unmistakable feeling someone is behind me. Someone large and dragonlike.
“If you’re going to turn me into a dog, just do it and be done with it!”
There’s a puff of smoke, and nothing happens.
“Dammit!” The dragon grumbles. He’s gone a moment later.
“What was that?” The intern asks.
“A pain in the ass is what that was. Fairy dragon.”
We move on to the next room where we find an iron and stained glass throne with a huge rug emblazoned with a gaping mouth in front of it. Nikola sets the rug on fire- not a rug of smothering! We all approach the throne, and on my word all touch it at the same time- not a mimic! Vella takes a seat to rest her old bones, but finds the glass throne extremely uncomfortable. We proceed onward.
To the front door we go, ready to go find some giants, and Vella summons her fairy friends. Before they even cast fly, Nikola steps off the edge.
“Nikola, no!”
Oh, the foolish wizard! I’ve already fallen down there, and the height is misleading- this castle is tiny, and the cavern below is hundreds of feet. I jump off after him, flying this time, and we all controlled plummet to the basin. Luckily the fairies get him before he splatters. I hate to think what would have happened had I not been brought back- my death would have been ruled suicide, and poor Drexler would be alone in this world with no insurance money to keep him warm. Maybe I should get insurance?
The basin is filled with rocks and bones, evidence of giants. Ataraxy casts pass without a trace on us, and we fly up to a ledge to enter the system of caverns. Everything is great, the giants working on a wall carving don’t see us- oh, s***! They’re looking right at me! My broken armor is too loud!
“Hi!” I call out, gesturing and waving. “I’m Alastrine from Dragon Associates! How are you?”
They give me a blank look and then turn their attention back to the carving. I go hide with the others where we discuss our plan. Nikola starts casting a spell when there is a loud shout in giant language, and three giants now come running around the corner. They start throwing rocks.
“I thought I made peace!” I yell.
“No, you probably offended them!” Ataraxy dodges a rock.
One of them punches the intern, so I go up and casually summon the Mud Flap Ladies. The giants are confused, and then horrified when the dancing naked spirits begin tearing into them. Vella’s fairies made the giants even more confused, causing one to walk off the edge of the ledge, falling into the basin below. We all laugh, and get back to the fight.
I’m suddenly flanked in by the two giants still up here, and submitted to the beating of my life. I succumb to their blows, my world going black. But it’s not for long- Vella gets me up again, and I open my eyes just in time to inflict wounds on one of them and then I get pummeled again. Ataraxy gets me conscious next, and I step to the ledge where I see the last giant still hanging out. I eldritch blast him, and then the giant eagle takes him out.
Bruised, bloodied and beaten I angrily walk into the next cavern and start setting up my hut ritual while the others explore. Nikola sends Shingle ahead, and I glare at the wizard.
“If he triggers anything, I will kill you. You don’t come between me and my naps!”
Several minutes later, Nikola reports Shingle dead. Luckily the hut is up, and we all come in for a nap. When my wounds are mostly closed up, we decide to leave and go find the jewels that Shingle saw before being taken out. I stretch, feeling rested, and realize I have some of my power back.
“Thanks magical sugar daddy!” I whisper.
“What’s that, honey? Talking to the Colonel again?” Vella asks.
“He’s a Count! And no!”
Heading into the next cavern we do find jewels, a wooden chest full of stuff and a rhinestone bejeweled sack. Also, up on a ledge is a statue of someone painted blue, whom we soon recognize as Halaster.
As we are going through the treasure, there is a grinding/sliding sound, and we look up just in time to see the statue plummet over the edge. It shatters nearby, showering us with rocks and stone dust.
We proceed on, Nikola lit up with my light spell. I hope wherever Drexler is that I didn’t just plummet him into darkness. He should be back soon, he was only going to do some inventory, and take a dump. Then again, he’s a man.
We come to a huge cave with a big column of rock, and are greeted by the sound of eerie flute music. I don’t see anybody, just the rock columns lining the chamber, but as we enter the tune of the flute suddenly changes. Six giant bats fly down from the ceiling, coming straight towards us!
“Hey, Alastrine, babe- I got you a present!” A voice calls from behind.
“Drexy! Watch out, bats!”
🌖 Alastrine
|
|
|
Post by kynigoskerata on Dec 21, 2020 14:33:16 GMT -5
Well, Drexler's back. Thats nice. I wonder what he and Draelin had gotten up to in their absence. Better at least be a good story. And... Draelin still isn't back. He has taken up his rightful lordship in the ciry of Waterdeep apparently. Well good for him. Hopefully he can get a chance to study and enjoy himself now that he has so much responsibility. I don't doubt that we will see him again someday.
As it is, the new one, the druid, not the old druid but a different druid, was a welcome help against the giants. I have no idea what made them so cranky, but if it had just been the three of us, I'm not too sure we would have made it. It's always hard to get good help.
I also have finally translated the old spellbooks that we... found, in the mad castle. So much long lost knowledge. So little time to learn it all. Perhaps we can take a small step outside the dungeon soon, take a week to pay dues and sell the items we found down here. And if we had a bit of time to... say, learn some more spells, well, I would not say no to expanding my repertoire. After all, versatility and diversity are a wizard's best weapons.
|
|
|
Post by Aileen on Dec 27, 2020 14:42:10 GMT -5
We quickly slay the giant bats as the stone giant flautist attacks! I keep blasting away, missing attacking up close but my armor is... it’s sh**, completely broken and useless! We need to find some or get up to the surface. Even the goblin market, I don’t care if it costs way too much. I can only take so many injuries and don’t want to die again.
Drexy gets in the finishing blow on the giant, and turns to me with a sh**eating grin.
“I’ve killed the giant for you, Alastrine!” He says.
“Thank you, Drexler!”
I run to his arms and he kisses me over the giant corpse.
“I missed you! Where were you?!”
“Well, remember that big feast we had? Good food, huh?” He asks.
“Yes, and?”
“You remember my phobia... regarding, um...”
“Bowel movements?” I whisper.
“Yes. Well, it’s all taken care of now. I’m back.”
“That doesn’t answer anything, Drexy-“
He stops my questioning with a kiss, and I shut up. We search this room and find nothing but the big stone flute, which none of us can use. Moving on we come to a chamber that reeks of death and decay, which makes sense because there are piles of bodies stacked like firewood along the walls. Carvings of a very familiar wizards face are on the walls- these giants must have some thing for Halaster.
We go to the next chamber, which is humid and warm with a natural vent in the floor. On the walls is a carpeting of lush moss. Ataraxy speaks to it, and notifies us that the giants eat it.
“Hm.” I am kind of hungry, I’m tired of eating just good berries. I grab a handful, and start eating it. “Oh gods, this is good!”.
It tastes extremely good, and refreshing. I could eat it all day! So, I grab Drexler’s shield and start scraping off in large amounts, right into Drexy’s bag of holding. We start to proceed on, and I lick the wall once for good measure.
The next chamber is massive with a fancy ceiling decorated with whorls and spirals, arches and buttresses, and three big crystal formations in the middle. I lick a crystal, but it’s not tasty like the moss. Worth a try. Finding nothing exciting, we move on. We find a huge six legged lizard turned to stone. Clearly there must be some horrible thing going around that can turn things to stone, because we did encounter that entire stone adventuring party in the top levels.
Up ahead me hear a banging sound, and round a corner to find a giant chiseling another carving. He bellows something in giant, but there’s nobody left to save him. We kill him real quick. The carvings are of the stone giant god, and actually quite good. Maybe we should stop killing such talented artists. Speaking of art...
“Huh,” I say. “A pipe organ, made of giant bones!”
“What?!” Vella looks at me like I’ve grown three heads.
“Wouldn’t it be cool?”
“That’s horrifying!” Says Drexler. “But yes, it would.”
Maybe I’ll have one commissioned for my new patron! He seems like the type of guy that appreciates macabre art! Of course I’ll never be able to repay his kind gifts to me.
Ahead we run into two cave bears, snarling and blocking our path. Instinctively I blast one, and then Ataraxy animal friendships them. The one I hit sits on his haunches and gazes at Ataraxy adoringly, while the other-
“Dodge, Alastrine- don’t hit it!” Vella orders.
“I don’t dodge! What do I look like, a coward paladin?!”
The other bear pounces on me, tearing and biting into me with sharp claws and teeth. My blood spurts everywhere as I scream.
“MAKE IT STOP!!!” I yell.
“Trying, dearie! Just... stop bleeding so much, it makes them want more!”
Drexler comes to my aid, but luckily Nikola turns it into a frog before it can kill me. I dramatically collapse into Drexler’s arms, panting. The frog is viciously trying to pounce on my boot.
“Damn hippy Druids!”
“Yup.” He puts me back on my feet.
The male bear comes back to us with his little cubs, which of course are adorable. There’s a lot of unintelligible growling going on between the druids and the bear, and suddenly the female bear is no longer a frog. I chug down healing potions and goodberries, still feeling awful. It’s been a rough day. Vella and Ataraxy notify us that the bears are our friends, for now, and we can stay and rest here. I make the hut without another word, and pull Drexy in with me.
“We need about 15 minutes, okay?” I announce.
“I can probably go 20!” Drexler says.
“What is going on here?” Ataraxy asks.
“Best to just let them have the hut for a bit.” Says Granny.
Drex and I break in the hut, and are interrupted by Nikola coming inside. Drexler hurriedly pulls his pants on, as Nikola takes a seat and pulls out his book.
“Oh, now my hut is good enough for you?! I said 15 minutes!” I snap.
“I wasn’t listening. Shut up and let me go through these spells.”
I groan, and get dressed as Drexler laughs. We fortunately get to rest, and by morning I feel much better. We gather in the cave and eat goodberries while the bears growl and groom themselves. Drexler takes an extra serving of berries for later.
“Eating for two?” Vella asks.
“Yes, I always do.” He says, pocketing the berry.
“Wait, you’re having a child?!” Ataraxy asks looking very confused.
“I’m gonna be a mother? Wait, what?” I sputter.
“My sword, you idiots! And that’s not how it works, Alastrine!”
“Oh, right.”
The bears nudge bones toward us, some kind of sign of goodwill. Not knowing what to do I pick up the femur and lick it. The bears start growl talking to Vella and giving me odd looks.
“What did I do this time?”
“No idea, blondie.” Says Nikola.
We head out, going down a corridor that seems to lead to a lower level. It’s getting hot and humid, which makes sense when we get further down and find that the sloping tunnel leads to a drop off and an indoor marsh twenty feet down below. The air is filled with the buzzing of insects, and I’m just about to cast water walk on us, but Drexy immediately goes down the ladder without waiting for me. Rolling my eyes I follow him down, feeling a strange shock like feeling as I descend. The feeling disappears when I get to the ground. Ataraxy follows, tenses up, and falls to the water below. She momentarily turns into a goldfish and then back to tiefling. Drexy helps her out of the water, and she is replaced by a falling Vella. She’s okay too. Some kind of paralytic slime.
As we are standing there I notice some frogmen badly trying to hide in the swamp, watching us. Everyone sees them, it’s like they’re not even trying.
“Bullywogs!” Vella hisses.
“Hi, we see you,” says Drexler. “We mean you no harm!”
They hop away.
“Well that solves that,” I say. “Now, can I cast waterwalk so we can walk wherever the f*** we want?”
The others agree to stand still for ten minutes. Drexler stands right up against me, leaning his stubbly cheek into mine.
“Am I distracting you?” He whispers.
“No.”
“What is going on here?” Ataraxy asks the group.
“Just let them do their thing,” Vella says. “Young love!”
I finish the spell after ten minutes, and we all immediately rise up out of the muck. We proceed on until we come to an archway with a carving of a female dwarf with her eyes closed. It looks like the other archways we have encountered.
“Ooh, I think I know how to do this!” I announce.
I close my eyes, and walk forward into it. I walk directly into the stone wall, smashing my face into it.
“Ow! Did it work?!” I ask, stepping back.
“Nope,” Says Drexy. “I’ll try picking the lock.”
He gets it going, and the shimmery portal appears. We stand looking at it, and Nikola walks right in without a word to us. We all look at each other with confused expressions.
“Um... did he really just go in without saying anything?” Drexler asks.
“Yup. He’s probably a dead man.” Replies Vella.
Luckily he comes back a minute later with Shingle, and they seem relatively unharmed.
“You don’t want to know what I saw in there!” Says Nikola. “Horrible things!”
“You seem fine,” growls Drexler. “Don’t do that s*** next time!”
We head out to explore the swamp, and come to a ledge up above stained with a brownish red substance. Drexler spider climbs up the wall to check it out. He goes all the way up, and peers over the edge a moment later.
“It’s a body!” He announces. “Dwarf with his leg cut off! There’s a satchel, too- f***, look out!”
Before I even know what’s happening, three horrible mounds of earth and vegetation attack! One engulfs Ataraxy, the other Vella, and there’s one coming towards me! I immediately summon the dancing ladies, and watch as Vella escapes and turns into a giant eagle. As I’m getting ready to attack, I’m also engulfed.
Suffocation is all too familiar a feeling for me. This is how I died, smothered in a cloaker. It’s a bit different in here, but I can’t breathe. Holding my breath, hard after all these years of smoking the grass, I focus on keeping the Ladies going. I hear a blast, feel the air inside get warmer, and realize Nikola is fireballing. Swinging my sword inside, I hear the crunching of vegetation, but ultimately it’s Nikola that kills my shambling mound and frees me. I spill onto the ground, taking a lungful of blessed air, and get back to my feet.
“Thank you, wizard!”
Another one moves in on me, scratching me up pretty good, but fails to eat me. I grab it and inflict wounds, enjoying how the vegetation around my hand turns black. I never was a green thumb. Nikola does another blast, this time shards of ice, and both remaining mounds explode. Vella and Ataraxy spill out, but only Ataraxy gets to her feet. I run to granny’s side and find she’s not breathing, rapidly turning blue.
“Drexler! I need a gem from your sack!” I scream up to my boyfriend on the ledge, putting his whip away.
“These gems are staying right in my sack, honey!” He laughs.
“Not that sack! Not those gems! In need a diamond!”
“I’m working on it, they don’t sell rings down here! Plus I need your father’s permission!”
“VELLA IS DEAD THROW ME A F***ING DIAMOND!”
“Oh!”
He tosses me the diamond, and I hold it to Vella’s chest. I begin to speak in celestial, calling upon Selûne to bring back my friend. A tingling, warm feeling comes over me, and flows through my hands, making the diamond glow. Light covers Vella’s corpse, and then the diamond crumbles in my hand. The light fades, I feel myself grow incredibly weak, and she opens her eyes. She takes a huge, gasping breath, and sits up.
“You all left me to die!” She yells. “Some grandkids you are!”
I lay down, groaning.
“I literally just brought you back from the dead, granny, a little thanks would be nice!”
“Oh, thank you sweetie!”
I’ve never successfully brought anyone back to life before! It’s a strange feeling. I only wish I could have been brought back the same way. I just have to keep getting used to being a normal human. I don’t know if I ever will.
🌖 Alastrine
|
|
|
Post by kynigoskerata on Dec 28, 2020 16:35:32 GMT -5
It was only a matter of time before another of our number kicked the bucket. Thankfully with the power of magic, such a matter isn't permanent, only a temporary reprieve. Vella seemingly came back in good spirits, but who knows how dangerous and maddening dying in a place like this can be. I think we all have had a slight transformation since we came down the Mad Mages tunnel. I know my own knowledge lust wasn't this strong when I first joined the Dragon Association. It makes sense the others have changed as well.
I must have more control over myself. I must have more control over myself. I must, oh wait, they are calling me. Tata for now.
|
|
|
Post by Aileen on Jan 4, 2021 12:12:36 GMT -5
“Guys, let’s go shopping! Please?!”
For once, everyone agrees! I need armor, badly. This broken plate mail is just not cutting it. We head back up the way we came, heading toward the dragon and the forest. But then of course we get distracted by the tunnel with the skeleton.
We find a river and a boat, and decide it can’t hurt to check it out- a boat ride through a tunnel sounds not at all menacing! I step in the boat, and it immediately comes to life and tries to eat me.
“Mimic!” I holler as it sticks me to it’s surface.
Drexler jumps in, whacking it with his sword, but the sword gets stuck. I light it up with a guiding bolt, and look up in horror just as Nikola fills the air with a fireball. The boat falls to pieces below me, and I fall into the water. I try to swim, but my armor drags me down, water filling my lungs. Guess this body doesn’t just naturally know how to swim. F***.
I’m pushed to the surface, and see that Drexler is in manta ray form. This feels oddly familiar... the casino, when I also almost drowned. Maybe I should just avoid water?
In an abundance of caution, I cast waterwalk on all of us except Drexler, who wants to swim as a manta. We begin our trek up the river, Drexy swimming up ahead. Eventually he surfaces, pointing toward a beach and making garbling noises. There’s dead crabs and fish all over the shore.
“This must be where Yard Yardley’s gets their meat!” I announce. My stomach growls painfully.
Drexler tries climbing a cliff face we come to next, unable to due to what we think might be aboleth slime. Not good. Proceeding on up the river, I see two creatures jump into the water and swim to Drexler, babbling in a strange tongue. Suddenly twenty more join them, with nets and spears! They net my Drexler!
“Let my boyfriend go!!!!”
I run forward, standing over the creatures in the water below, and cast my dancing ladies. Below me the ladies have mermaid tails, and above the water they stamp the water with their stiletto heels. I scream as a giant killer whale dives into the water and swims toward us, but then realize it’s just Ataraxy. She eats one of the little Kuo Toa, and promptly vomits it up. Vella summons sharks that also join the fray.
Two columns of flame strike down on me, but I keep concentrating on my ladies. The kua toa haul Drexler’s lifeless manta ray body to shore and dump him netted on the beach. I charge the shore, killing one with my sword, and Nikola fireballs once again. They all die. All but the two in the water. They come on land, staying out of the reach of my ladies.
“Do you surrender?” I ask them, waving my hands around. “You’re clearly outnumbered!”
They stare blankly at me. Very well. I cut Drexler’s bonds, and then run down the beach to the kua toa in slow motion, my long blonde hair swooshing behind me, my chest bouncing with each footfall. At least that’s what Drexler said happened later. Ataraxy emerges from the water in tiefling form, but huge, and whacks one with her staff. Nikola turns one of the kua toa into a sheep as Drexler charges up and knocks out the other. The sheep comes back to normal as my ladies stomp their heels into him, and attacks Drexler. I whack it, Ataraxy bonfires it, and the air is filled with the unmistakable stench of Yard Yardley’s. The kuo toa is singing something, sounding like a drowned cat.
“He’s being dramatic!” Says our translator Nikola.
My ladies finish the pitiful creature off. We tie up the unconscious one in nets and I attempt to do the hut ritual. Nine minutes in to the ten minutes I need, seven more kua toa come charging in screaming. One of them bursts forth with a sphere of dancing fish ladies- he’s like me! Ataraxy casts erupting earth, taking out two of the fish men. The fish ladies disappear, Drexler drops a guy, and then the fish ladies are back. I cast moonbeam on the cleric, a column of light illuminating him. He moves and gets a whole lot of pain. The priest moves into Vella, who breathes fire on him and kills him. Nikola takes out the last guy.
At last I am able to make the hut, and we rest an hour. Heading out we explore some of the caves, having clearly destroyed the entire tribe. We find rotting, mutilated monster carcasses who’s parts have been used to add onto a statue of a male sea elf. A green gem glitters in a lantern, which Nikola uses mage hand to retrieve. I recast waterwalk as he identifies the gem. It’s a gem to control a green salad. Sorry, slaad.
Ahead we find a dead chuul and several rotting troglodytes. The stench has us all gagging, and we move quickly through. Another chamber has shells in the walls and huge mushrooms, and as we pass into it a menacing clicking noise fills the air. Seven creatures with weird hooks on their arms are clicking them together.
“I think I’m all set, they can live,” I say. “Now about that armor...”
We leave the chamber and go back to the river, continuing on our path. Further ahead we come to two cave entrances, and are hailed in a language none of us know. The second language sounds like elvish but of course none of us know that either. I try to put together some elvish I learned in primary school and speak back to them.
“The dog is sad! My duck is hungry!”
I certainly hope I said hello. In the shadows I spot four drow, two on either side. Drow! We are supposed to find a Drow! I quickly rifle through my pockets for a note of the people we are supposed to find. They shoot Drexler.
“Cal’al Claddani!” I say. “We are looking for Cal’al Claddani! Flagon and Dragon!”
They don’t seem to recognize the name. They fire at Drexler again. Nikola sends magic meteors in the left side, as they don’t seem to want to try further negotiations. I cast twilight sanctuary around myself and fly up to the right side where I heard the voice speak. There I find the two Drow I could see and one hiding in the shadows. He is extremely built and rather handsome.
“Ataraxy! I found you a man!” I call behind me.
The Drow try to fairie fire me, and fail miserably. Don’t they know I can do that too, I’m just not stupid? The big Drow waves at me and runs, clearly afraid. I take off after him just as Nikola arrives carried by giant eagle Vella. Down the twisty turny corridor I follow him, Drexler beating feet behind me. The Drow stops, and turns to me while drawing his sword. He charges, and slashes me across my exposed stomach. It’s a bad gash and I can tell by the sting he’s loaded me with poison. Damn Drow and their poison!
I reach out and grab one of his bulging biceps, inflicting wounds. He keeps trying to hit me with his sword but apparently it’s just too short. Size does matter when it comes to swords. Nikola dashes in front of me and webs the guy when he tries to run. I whack him while he’s down, but he’s still conscious and spitting and snarling what definitely sounds like profanities.
“How are you still conscious?!” I yell, hitting him again.
Drexy proceeds to knock him out, but not before whipping me from behind. Of course it doesn’t hurt, I don’t mind him using that whip on me. We tie the Drow up and steal his nice spidersilk rope which has a grappling hook. Vella is not with us, apparently having lagged behind in the tunnels hesitating as grannies do.
I heal the Drow awake, end Nikola casts comprehend languages. I keep my sword at his throat as Nikola speaks to him.
“Skullport.” Says Nikola.
“Shjdififkeldjbe!”
“Skullport.”
“Ehutoskshbd!” The Drow is weeping now.
“Skull. Port.”
In the end, we get directions to Skullport, and knock him back out. I go to pick him up, but the others stop me.
“I want to keep him!”
“No, Alastrine! That’s slavery!” Says Nikola.
I sigh. No humanoid pets for me it seems.
🌖 Alastrine
|
|
|
Post by kynigoskerata on Jan 4, 2021 17:12:11 GMT -5
I have to remind Alastrine that we are supposed to be the heroes, even as I threaten a man's life for the location of an underground criminal enterprise city composed entirely into a hive of scum and villainy.
Again, we are the good guys. At least so long as you stay away from what we desire. To tell the truth though, Drow are almost entirely fine with spavery both as a concept and in practice. They own many of their own kind, and many of the other races of our world as slaves, so I don't know if he would be against such a concept.
Even more important is the fact that this drow will almost definitely kill all of us at his first opportunity, and may continue to hunt us after we have released him. Hopefully he is not that foolish. Or that vengeful, though from what I know of the elves under black skies, that does seem unlikely.
Oh well... we tried diplomacy at least.
|
|
|
Post by kynigoskerata on Jan 11, 2021 17:02:51 GMT -5
As we step down into the dungeon's depths once more, I take a moment to apprecuate how powerful we have become, and how far we have yet to go. There is still so much to learn, and yet, as I look to the future, I can't help but feel that we are ready and capable of doing this. Searching, plundering, perhaps even setting things right. There is not one failure we cannot overcome, the five of us. Alastrine, Drexler, Vella, ... Intern. Together, there is no threat we will not face!
Oh... the green dragon seems very, very angry...
|
|