Chapter #1148
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+ THE ADVENTURERS +
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+ Epic VI +
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+ Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other +
+ terms used in these stories are the property of Wizards of the Coast +
+ which has in no way endorsed or authorized their use. Any such +
+ property contained within these stories are not representative of +
+ Wizards of the Coast in any fashion. +
+ The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright +
+ 1991-2024 by Thomas A. Miller. Any resemblance to any persons +
+ or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. +
+ Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under +
+ the sole condition that no money is made in the process. In that +
+ case, I hope you enjoy them! +
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+ Adolphus 10th level half-ogre warrior +
+ Damien small, renegade imp +
+ Peyton 11th level gnome thief +
+ Rogar 10th level human priest of Olidammara +
+ Sylus 8th/10th level dark elf warrior/thief +
+ Wembly 10th level human wizard +
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+ Date: 6/17/586 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: late morning +
+ Place: the northwest reaches of the Abbor-Alz hills +
+ Climate: warm and dry, with cloudy skies +
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+ "You are insane." +
+ "Quite possibly. But insanity has its uses." +
+ - from _Pale Horse Coming_ by Stephen Hunter +
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MCXLVIII. Chasm of Chaos
After a successful foray into the outermost reaches of the mines (thanks
to good scouting and extreme violence of action) some minor wounds have
been patched or healed, Sylus has shared what he observed while sneaking
about previously, and a plan has been hatched. The party now approaches
a larger, rectangular room whose near and far sides are divided by a deep
chasm.
Damien: (flying ahead of the group, a bottle clutched in each tiny hand,
he looks back to the others)
Peyton: (nods to the small, winged demonoid)
In the chasm room, the dozen duergar guards were ready on the far side
of the gap and its bridge, their crossbows aimed at the only passage that
anyone could possibly use to enter this chamber. Behind them were another
dozen reinforcements from the central mine shaft, although these bore only
digging implements - picks, hammers, or shovels - as weapons. Still, with
a dozen crossbows ready and a total force of twice that, the gray dwarves
were confident in their ability to hold the bridge and defend the primary
mines that lay beyond. With their overlapping fields of fire and steady
trigger fingers, the guards were ready to make pincushions out of whatever
attacker(s) burst into this area - be it a horde of armored berserkers, a
spell-throwing wizard, a sneaky scout - whatever. They were ready...ready
for anything.
However, they certainly didn't expect what they eventually faced. By
the time the flapping wings and their own keen senses alerted them to the
presence of an invisible foe, Damien had already flown halfway across the
chasm.
duergar sergeant: Attackers up above! FIRE!
Damien was fast, and he was invisible, but he wasn't a miracle worker by
any means. The barrage of crossbow bolts, aimed and unleashed with a fair
degree of skill by the duergar guards, achieved thorough coverage of the
chamber's ceiling area.
Damien: (ceases to be invisible as several of the sharp bolts pierce his
small form) Aargh! Errgh! Uungh!
With a violent pinwheeling motion, the red-skinned demonoid flopped and
fell from the air, causing the duergar to step back and make room before
the winged foe smacked into the stone floor.
Damien: (lies there, face down and unmoving, several bolts sticking from
his body)
duergar sergeant: Good work, men.
duergar guard: (realizes that he's been splashed by numerous droplets of
liquid in the last few moments)
duergar guard #2: (realizes the same thing)
Damien: (stealthily opens one eye)
The gray dwarves had no way of knowing it, but the imp could not be hurt
by any weapon or missile that didn't bear an enchantment; several bolts
had pierced his crimson flesh, but caused him no pain, and the wounds
would close up and heal after the bolts were removed. Further, he had
allowed Peyton to convince him that the odds of any of the guards having
magical bolts were slim to none - or perhaps he had simply been eager for
the next part of the plan...
Damien: (sits up, pulling a crossbow bolt out of one leg and examining
it critically) Well, at least it's sharp. (he drops the missile)
duergar guard #6: (takes a step back) Huh?
duergar sergeant: You, hold it right there.
Damien: (holds out an empty bottle with his other hand) But I seem to
have lost all my oil. (he drops the flask next to the discarded bolt
and looks around, frowning) Or did I? (he snaps his fingers, causing
a tiny flame to spring to life at the tip of one slender finger)
...for the demonoid was also unharmed by fire. The same, unfortunately
for the, could not be said for the duergar who surrounded Damien - all of
whom had been splashed by the oil just a few moments before, as the imp
had flailed about while falling - spraying everyone present with oil from
the full bottles he'd held in each hand. In an instant, everyone on this
side of the chasm - two dozen foes, all conveniently packed together in a
small space and doused in highly flammable oil - was on fire. Not all of
them had received a sizable splash of oil, but the ones who had quickly
found their garments ablaze, and in these tight quarters, such fires
spread almost immediately.
duergar guard #2: YeeaaAAAARGH! (he tries to put his flaming clothes
out, but only succeeds in setting another guard on fire)
duergar guard #3: Argh! Damn it!
duergar guard #5: (clawing at his burning shirt sleeve) Aieeee!
duergar guard #8: (trying to put put his hair) Eeeargh!
duergar guard #11: (not yet aflame, and trying to stay that way, he ends
up tripping and falls to the floor) Oof!
duergar sergeant: (smacks another guard to put out his flaming shirt)
Order! Everyone calm- (he finds himself pushed over the edge and into
the chasm) WhaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa...
Damien: You're welcome. (he turns to another guard who's near the brink
and kicks him, knocking him into the abyss as well)
duergar guard #23: (not on fire, not near the chasm, and determined to
avoid either fate, he finds himself near this side of the narrow stone
bridge...and facing a very serious-looking dark elf)
Sylus: Greetings.
In all of the sudden and fiery excitement, the gray dwarf guards had
(understandably) completely failed to notice the other five attackers
enter the chamber's far side and begin to make their way across the rocky
walkway.
Sylus: (in a blur, he flicks his sword out, nearly beheading the guard,
who staggers forward and then falls into the chasm)
Peyton: (follows Sylus across the bridge and into the battle)
Sylus: Be vigilant. We cannot fly like the demon. It would be far too
easy to be pushed over the edge. (he backstabs a random guard, then
pushes him toward the chasm)
Peyton: (trips the duergar, causing him to topple over and fall) Yeah,
really.
Adolphus: (carefully and gingerly crosses the stone bridge, looking
straight ahead and focusing on the battle, not the dark depths of the
chasm below) Adolphus not like heights.
Peyton: Once you're across, you won't have to worry about that. Just
fight the enemies and keep away from the edge.
Adolphus: (exists the bridge, and grins) Me can do it. (his next move
is to grab the nearest gray dwarf, who is still on fire, and hurl him
into the chasm) Bye bye!
Rogar: (follows the half-ogre across, and greets Damien) Here you go.
(he hands the imp his tiny pitchfork)
Damien: (takes the weapon gleefully) Thanks for holding on to that for
me! (he whirls and stabs a nearby duergar in the neck, downing him in
a messy spurt of blood) Fire's always fun, but I prefer the fork!
Rogar: Clearly.
The burly priest had held onto the miniature pitchfork so that Damien
could have both hands free for his part of the plan. That wasn't all he
was carrying, though; in addition to a sizable stash of wine and spirits,
he also had the bulk of the party's considerable supply of oil. In other
(non-combat) situations, they'd have loaded up Adolphus with such (since
he seemed not to notice no matter how much he was carrying) but with him
always out in the front of any attack, it seemed unwise to give him all
the oil. In any case, Rogar was as happy in battle as he was eating or
drinking...and there was certainly plenty of battle here.
Rogar: (hefts his war-club, then bashes a duergar guard, crushing his
shoulder and sending him to the chamber floor, screaming in pain)
Damien: (kicks the foe over the edge of the chasm) Boy, this sure is
convenient. Beats having a pile of bodies to have to climb over. Not
that I'd have to do that, since I can fly.
Rogar: Aye. (he charges another of the duergar guards)
The scene was chaotic, but less so with every passing moment and slain
foe. When things were a bit more under control (mostly to foes both dead
and alive being pitched into the chasm) Peyton sent Damien into the sole
exit passage to the north; if more reinforcements were headed their way,
the imp would be able to see them coming, and warn the party.
Damien: (flying along the curving tunnel, he silently whistles a tune
to himself)
The passage led about thirty feet and then opened into a much larger
shaft, which Sylus had already informed them was the actual mine. This
was where the real work happened, and the precious metals were found and
taken from the surrounding rock. The shaft was thirty feet wide and high
and was braced with thick timbers. A number of torches provided light
(although it was dim at best) and filled the air here with a strong smoky
smell.
Damien: (inhales deeply) Ahhh.
To the left, the main shaft extended for perhaps a hundred feet before
ending abruptly in a rough, unworked wall; picks, shovels, wheeled bins,
and other mining tools were everywhere.
Damien: Hmm. (he looks to the right)
To the right, the main shaft continued for almost a hundred feet, then
angled away to the right and out of sight. This section also showed signs
of recent work, including some buckets filled with ragged chunks of silver
and iron.
Damien: Hmmmmm. (he looks left again, and then right again) Where the
fuck is everybody?
next: where, indeed?
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/bright_desert.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 5/3/2024
notes: I hope I never run out of strange and (hopefully) clever
ways for these guys to attack foes. I've said it before, but that was
the spirit with which my two brothers played the characters back in the
late 1980s. While those were lower-level adventures with much lesser
challenges than these mines, they were quite fun and often surprising,
which is what I'm trying to channel now.
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