Chapter #1208
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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 +
+ 1991-2026 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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+ Kronos 22nd level lich wizard +
+ 5 large, armored skeletons with shields and two-handed swords +
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+ Belphanior 18th/18th/18th level elven fighter/wizard/thief +
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+ Hope 16th level female human wizard +
+ Poulos 8th level human warrior +
+ Irina 14th/7th level female human priestess/warrior +
+ Otto 12th/14th level dwarven fighter/thief +
+ Paige 13th level human female warrior +
+ Razor Charlie 12th level human fighter +
+ Skektek 14th level human wizard +
+ Ys 14th level reptilian fighter +
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+ Date: 4/3/587 C.Y. (Common Year) +
+ Time: early afternoon +
+ Place: the Pits of Azak-Kil, within the Abbor-Alz hills +
+ Climate: hot and dry +
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+ "We're gonna get killed there for sure." +
+ "In or out?" +
+ "No, of course I'm in. I'm just saying." +
+ - from _Red_ +
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MCCVIII. Into Azak-Kil
After a fiery bombardment that annihilated every undead dwarven miner
in sight, the Bright Alliance group is heading into the mine within the
massive outdoor pit of Azak-Kil...
Belphanior: (looks around at the numerous shafts, situated at different
levels of the open pit, that provide access to the mines beyond) But
which one...?
Otto: That depends on our purpose here. Are we looking for precious
metals - ore, crude ingots, more refined coinage? Or are we finding
and destroying the rest of the undead?
Irina: (glances at Kronos)
Kronos: Do not concern yourself about my opinions on the undead of this
place. Those dwarven miners are - were - ghouls and ghasts, primitive
and aggressive creatures that consume the flesh of the living. I do
not share such inclinations, and I fully understand that they cannot
coexist with the people of these hills, or those of the desert to the
south.
Belphanior: That's for sure. Which is why we have to finish the job
now. (he exchanges glances with Kronos) I see this as a purging, of
all who inhabit this place.
Kronos: Agreed. We gave the high priest a chance to align with us and
ensure no...issues in the future. He refused. (he crosses his robed
arms) Consequently, we must eliminate the threat here - all those who
remain within these mines - then seek out and destroy that high priest
as well.
Belphanior: And the staff he wields, topped by the evil stone.
Kronos: Or contain it, if it cannot be destroyed.
Belphanior: (frowns, thinking back to the various evil or cursed magical
items that his group or allies have destroyed in the past...ranging from
the Heart of Darkness and the Sacred Shard of Nyxx which were dealt with
by others...to the dozen or so items neutralized by the strange totem...
to the recent destruction of the Scorpion Crown in the active volcano)
I'm sure we'll find a way.
Otto: (to the other members of the elf's team) Ready yourselves, make
whatever preparations you need for this exploration. I figure we'll be
dealing with plenty of undead, for sure.
Hope: (mentally reviewing her sizable stock of spells)
Poulos: (rests one massive hand on the pommel of his new scimitar)
The hulking warrior had a new weapon, namely the curved sword recently
found in the lair of the slain yellow dragon Witherhusk. Noting its aura
of powerful magic, Belphanior had offered it to Poulos, who had tested its
heft and balance before gratefully accepting the gift. The finely-wrought
scimitar wasn't quite as large and heavy as Poulos' old one - but it was
magical, its blade of gray steel glowing with faint blue runes whenever
unsheathed. It was actually a weapon from the ancient empire of Sulm, and
was known to Shemeya; together with Neera, the two had scried the scimitar
and shared its history and powers. Called Shazik, "Sword of the Sands",
the blade bore a strong enchantment to keep it sharp and ready for combat.
It also radiated a bright blue light when in darkness, allowed its wielder
to converse in the language of ancient Sulm, and would point the way to
the nearest viable source of water upon command. The scimitar's scabbard
was also magical, providing a slight boost to the wearer's reaction time
in battle.
Poulos: I am pleased with this new blade, and look forward to testing it
in battle.
Paige: It seems we are more ready than we were before.
Skektek: I heard that. (he regards the quintet of eight-foot-tall
skeletons that Kronos recently summoned, trying to figure out their
best use in combat)
giant skeleton #4: (just stands there, its empty eye-sockets revealing
nothing)
Kronos: We needed some shock troops...something strong and relatively
immovable, whose purpose is to keep foes at bay until we spellcasters
can deal with them. I have found ogres to be ideal for this, as they
are large and powerful but not too big to fit in standard hallways and
passages. (he frowns) Were this an outdoor situation, I would have
brought skeletal giants.
Skektek: (nods) Of course.
The choice of which passage to take was made by Kronos, using the Book
of the Dead to determine where the largest concentration of undead was.
The shaft in question was about ten feet wide and almost as high, and a
marching order was soon determined:
(direction of movement)
^
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skeleton #1 skeleton #2
Belphanior Kronos Skektek
Irina Ys Otto
Paige Poulos Hope
Razor Charlie
skeleton #3 skeleton #4
skeleton #5
Magical illumination was employed to light the way, using a simple and
clever mechanism designed by Judhon many weeks ago and put to the test
here today. Small stones with spells of continual light cast upon them
had been mounted within small, reflective silver cones affixed to straps.
This allowed them to be affixed to anything or anyone - in this case the
fronts of the first two giant skeletons - and provide sizable arcs of
bright light to show the way ahead. Another of these devices was fixed
to the back of the giant skeleton bringing up the rear, just in case some
foe tried to sneak up on the party from behind.
They entered the mineshaft...and the next half-hour went as well as it
possibly could have. Throughout a series of passages and small chambers,
several groups of undead dwarves were encountered, engaged, and defeated;
the party's assorted spells and items kept them from being surprised and
helped them to fast, decisive victories. In some cases, Irina's clerical
power blasted foes out of existence, while in other cases it was magical
fire or missiles that downed foes, while in yet other cases blades and
bolts were employed. The first pocket of defenders consisted of a dozen
ghouls and ghasts...the next one was just a handful...and the third was
a larger cavern with two score undead, those all armed and organized.
In all of these cases, the Bright Alliance force won out due to their
various and potent abilities.
After that, it was a longer march until they reached the fourth enemy
force that awaited them. The chamber was massive - several hundred feet
long and almost that wide, with an uneven fifty-foot ceiling. A small
underground river flowed through part of this cavern, and several active
veins of gold and iron ore were exposed along one wall. The undead here
had made some effort to set up defenses: short walls of loose stones,
iron spikes placed randomly in the chamber's floor, strands of webbing
hanging from its roof...and some measure of greater organization among
the miners. They were spread out in four groups, each of which had a
couple of undead spellcasters protected by more than a dozen miners armed
with picks, hammers, and shovels.
This promised to be a bit more of a challenge than the previous knots
of undead had posed, but the adventurers quickly moved into the gigantic
cavern and engaged the foes. Within moments, bursts of flames and bolts
of magical energy and spiritual hammers were seen...along with Irina's
potent efforts to destroy enemies, and Kronos' use of his powerful dark
tome to control others among the undead foes...and the massive skeletal
ogres smashing into the front ranks of the miners. Meanwhile, Belphanior
and Hope and Skektek were all in the process of casting spells that would
certainly turn the tide of this conflict even further in their favor...
Belphanior: (hearing and feeling a rumbling in the entire cavern, he
looks around, alarmed) What-
A moment later, chunks of rock and plumes of dust rained down upon all
those in the great cavern, and the ground shook hard enough to knock most
of the combatants (from both sides) off their feet. And a few moments
after _that_, the entire underground chamber simply caved in, burying
everyone within under countless tons of rock and rubble.
Above and outside the mines, in the open air of the huge pit, Gunguti
and his personal guard stood on one ledge, across from the portion of
the complex that was now sunken in like a great dent in the huge, many-
tiered round mine. A great plume of dust rose from that area, evidence
of the now-collapsed section of the Pits of Azak-Kil.
Gunguti: So much for them. (he abruptly emits a series of hacking,
hollow coughs) Dead and buried.
The undead dwarven high priest was not overly concerned about the fact
that a large number of his miners and spellcasters had also been buried
by the small earthquake he'd just summoned. Although he did consider
them expendable, the simple fact was they they couldn't and wouldn't be
destroyed - or even harmed - by the intentional destruction of that part
of the underground mine complex. They had no need for food, water, or
air...and thus would be fine, until sooner or later they clawed their
way out, or were dug out by their fellow undead miners. As well, they
were not constrained by the passing of time in the same way that living
miners would have been; if it took months or years to excavate the area
and restore that part of the mine to a working state...they had months
and years to spare. Consideration of all these things had always been
part of Gunguti's plan after his earlier retreat; knowing that he could
not engage these foes effectively above-ground, he had counted on them
entering the mines and had known that his forces would confront them at
multiple points, which would simply draw them in deeper. He had vast
amounts of treasure down there, and whether they sought that or simply
wanted to explore the mine...their progress could only prove fatal once
they had gone in far enough to be easy victims for a magically-created
earthquake and a sudden, total collapse of that piece of the underground
complex.
All in all, the dwarven lich-priest was quite pleased with his quick
thinking and decisive action this day. The only thing that remained was
for the corpses of the buried foes to return to life - unlife - thanks
to the power of the otherworldly stone that topped his dark staff, and
join his ranks for the coming march on the surrounding lands.
next: trouble in the rubble
map: http://www.peldor.com/world/atlas/Bright-Desert_1203.jpg
www: http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage: http://www.peldor.com/
email: tmiller@peldor.com
released: 5/8/2026
notes: I know these last few have been shorter, but sometimes that's
how it has to be if I'm releasing one new episode a week. I'm trying to
keep the action going at a good pace, though.
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