November 17, 1372
November 17th dawns overcast but mild for this time of year. The clerics set about Niko and soon he is healed up.
"Hlarn, do you folks need to rest and prayer for spells again? Or can we head back today?"
Kadlian hands his shortsword flametongue to Niko. "Until we can replace the cutlass, use this."
Niko accepts the sword with a nod. "Thanks. Let's just hope we don't meet that dragon, yet."
"Hlarn, are you ready to go now?"
After getting no answer...
"Fine, we head back now."
You head back through the ruined city and into the dungeon under the
Tower. The entrance level seems to be deserted so you head downstairs
again.
Soon you are back in the cave where you killed the hydra, standing beside the pool where you encountered the grey ooze.
Lerelith keeps an eye out for danger and says, "I will require further training soon, the next time we exit here would be good."
"As will I," Galil adds.
"If we can couple that with others training, it would be good.
Otherwise, we will keep taking 2 to 3 week hits every other time we
come down here for just one person."
"I quite agree," Galil replies.
Malvis coughs, and says, "I finally need some training, also. I can wait till an appropriate time presents itself."
"When we return to the inn, we can see about getting you three trained. I do wish you three had spoken up earlier."
Galil smiles. "If wishes were fishes we would all be eating sushi."
Kadlian looks around at the rest of the party. "Any of you others need to train as well?"
"I do," Dor answers.
"I am able to train as well, Lord Kadlian."
"Umm... Anyone NOT need to train?"
Niko chuckles. "I don't need to, yet...but I feel that I am nearly ready."
"All part of my plan... hahahaha!!!"
Trinity whispers to Malvis in a loud stage whisper, "It seems the
scout's lost his mind. Shame when that happens. Do we put him out
to pasture, or shoot him? I always forget."
Malvis ponders for a moment, then says, "Pasture, in his case. He might still be good for stud fees."
"An excellent suggestion," says Trinity. "Don't need a mind for that, look at Dor."
"Would you all lighten up? He is Kadlian. He is not a lord," says Trinity.
"I am quite certain his title is, at the least, Ranger Knight, which is
but a breath away from the honorific Lord. In either event, the use of
his title would only be required in formal settings, or if he were
being addressed as a superior officer in an army, neither of which
applies here. I am but a humble Scout, however, and would not presume
to correct such subtle errors of decorum."
"Have you read the rules? There is a new edition, just came out," says Trinity, "And I'm only following the rules."
Galil raises a brow.
"Indeed, Trinity?" she asks. "What makes you say that Lord Kadlian is not a lord?"
"According to the rules, chapter 17, 'On the subjects of Lords', it
clearly states that a Lord must have a castle, a pet of some sort and
various and other sundry items of stature. We can't be going against
the rules."
Galil nods. "That is one way to define a Lord."
Galil turns to Lord Kadlian. "Have you a castle or stronghold?"
"Kad has a very strong hold," says Trinity. "Or he did, when we were
female. He has yet to show me his strong hold now that we are male."
A small smile tugs at Galil's lips as Trinity explains Lord Kadlian's strengths.
"Trinity, what does that mean?"
"What is so amusing, Galil?"
Niko chimes in. "And does it have a moat? It's not a proper castle without a moat."
Niko nods vigorously, as if it is so.
"Niko is correct, as the description of castles in Chapter 37 defines a
castle to include a moat, a dungeon and at least one really nasty
surprise trap."
"No, I do not have any lands whatsoever. I believe I am what is called
a Ranger Lord, but I have never been concerned with titles. As I have
said in the past to those of you who call me Lord Kadlian, that the
honorific is not necessary. Calling me Kadlian is sufficient. However,
I do dislike the nickname Kad."
"And so you should. A change of one letter would make it a most
unappealing and untrue adjective concerning your character," Galil
replies with a smile. "However, titles are important in particular
contexts, though I won't discuss the merits of this at the moment. It
is time for us to move on."
"Noted, Kad," says Trinity. "But I always called you stud-muffin," adds the mage, "But that mantle has passed to Dor."
"You have called me many things, Trinity. Kad is the most annoying one. Please call me Kadlian."
"If that is the most annoying thing, I'll have to work on that. Chapter
68, how to win friends and influence the party leader should have
something good to say about that. I will study it this evening to be
better prepared for tomorrow."
Kadlian rolls his eyes. "To what end? We are friends. Why would you want to annoy me?"
"It's in chapter 67, 'Concerning the proper position of a Mage in the Party Dynamics,'" replies Trinity.
"There is no castle. And if I was given lands in Aldacan to rule over
as a vassal to King Goldhime, it is unlikely I would have a castle.
Elves do not tend to build castles."
"And why is that, do you think?" asks the man.
Kadilan shrugs. "Castles tend to be confining places that separate
nature from the people. We prefer to live with nature. We do have
defensive structures and some are even made from rock, where the
terrain fits. But, we do not build castles and towers from stone on a
regular basis like humans or dwarves do. Although comparing a human and
dwarven construction is a bit of an insult to the dwarves."
"Interesting. I'll have to write that up for the committee."
"What committee?"
"The rules committee.
"And while we're on the topic, in chapter 19, 'On exploring mysterous
pools', there is a particular passage that states, 'if in doubt, send
the pirate in.' So we kept that rule."
Galil smiles. "Interesting rule. Is it you who are writing the rule book?"
"Alas, no," replies Trinity, "It's the league, and we mages are
supposed to be the zebra's of the league. It's a tough job, as we're
only part-timers."
"What is a zebra?"
Galil nods. "I see. Well then, keep working on it. I'm sure our
upcoming experiences as we explore this place will provide ample
opportunity to think about rules."
"Right. Hlarn, are you going to lower the water?"
Hlarn's eyes seem to have glazed over by this point, and he does not answer.
Kadlian rolls his eyes and sighs.
Niko grumbles, "I think we should test the next mysterious pool with the book..."
"No can do, sailor-boy," says the mage. "The book is... THE BOOK. One cannot mess with it."
Niko frowns. "BAH! CHAOS RULEZ...therefore, the rules of a book
do not apply! Unless, of course, you're a god...and you, my friend, are
no god...just ask Sir!"
"Surprisingly," says Trinity, "There is a section on the concept of
chaos ruling. Chapter 42, which indicates that this misguided
concept is useful for certain applications, such as searching pools in
dungeons. It goes on to discuss how the holder of such a concept should
be properly motivated to act upon the theory of chaos rulez for the
betterment of the party, thus providing a lawful means of expressing
chaos. Quite interesting, actually."
Niko points at Trinity. "HA! I bet there's no such book and that your
just making all of this up...to the betterment of CHAOS RULEZ!"
"Wounded I am." says Trinity, "That you would imply...nay, state outright that I might lie about THE BOOK.
"Clearly such an insult cannot go unanswered, and the only remedy is to prove the foolishness of Niko by showing him THE BOOK!
"OF course, Niko, when we get back to the inn, I will show you THE
BOOK. As you are part mage, it is permissible for you to read the book,
but be advised that 1 in 3 of those who read it go insane. The other 2
are usually already there," Trinity adds.
Kadlian laughs. "That is pretty funny."
"The Book is no laughing matter, Kad," says Trinity. "Not at all."
"Having never read it, I can only take your word. And since you are not
quite yourself right now, I am not sure I even want to do that, Trin."
"As you say, Sir."
"Kadlian is, of course, correct. I second the vote to use the book on the next strange pool we encounter."
"Trinity may object, although I do not. Never had much use for stuffy rules."
Malvis interjects. "But without rules, we wouldn't know when we are breaking them!"
"Indeed. I believe that topic is covered in the section I was
mentioning to Niko, Chapter 42. I will have to show that to you this
evening, Malvis," says Trinity.
Malvis smiles broadly, and, although still troubled by Trinity's sudden
sex change, answers quickly. "Oh, I love books. Before I begin
adventuring with you, I was a librarian. My mother always liked that.
But," and Malvis frowns a little, "she passed away, and i felt I hadn't
really lived too much. Know what I mean? You all should, since you
chose this life, too."
Suddenly brightening again, Malvis turns to Trinity, and says, "Yes, I would very much like to see that book tonight."
"Excellent, you can become an initiate, a line judge in the parlance of
THE BOOK," says Trinity. "And you can help me with library science."
Niko ponders life as a fireman...ala Fahrenheit 451....
"I volunteer to enter the pool," Dor pipes in. "But not in armor."
He begins stripping.
"No! Dor, you are not going into the pool. It melted Niko's dagger. What do you think it would do to your skin!"
Dor shakes his head in disagreement. "The pool did not melt Niko's
dagger. The monster did. Kind of like a supercharged rust monster."
"Point of order," says Trinity, "The acid excreted by the monster
destroyed Niko's dagger, and was going to do a good job on Niko as
well. That pool could still be quite dangerous, and although you refuse
to return my feelings for you, I would be quite upset should something
happen to you."
Malvis frowns, then says, "You have a point, Dor, but what if there are
more monsters like that in the pool? Where there is one, there is bound
to be more. And, unlike a rust monster, that creature was eating flesh
as well as metal."
Dor, however, ignores your advice and steps into the water. It is less
than two feet deep, coming barely up to his knobby knees. He does not
dissolve, burn, or do anything interesting. Wading about, he comes
across nothing of interest under the water.
He climbs out and gets dressed again. Trinity looks depressed at this turn of events.
You continue your circuit of the cavern.
Leaving the alcove of the pool, the wall of the cave runs southwest for
10', west for 10' and then northwest for 25'. In the south portion you
encounter a passage of dressed stone...10' wide and running south for
40'. At the end is a flight of stairs going up.
"Let us finish the circuit of this cavern. We can always take the stairs later."
You wander off to the northwest, and look west, into another alcove
(about 15' deep and 25' long, oriented northwest - southeast). It does
not appear to be interesting.
As you turn away, though, there is a loud splat, as something green and
slimy lands on the cavern floor beside Hlarn. There is a second splat,
as more green slime drops beside Niko...who for once seems to be having
some luck.
"Slime. Green Slime. We on Nickelodeon or something? Is this slime time
live?" asks the mage, who looks up. "Can I fireball the place?"
"Niko, use the firebrand to protect yourself, everyone else get away. Hlarn, I hope you have a cure disease spell handy."
Kadlian draws his frostbrand, looks up and moves away from the slime infested area, making sure that everyone comes with him.
Lerelith looks around to see if there are any torches he can grab, such
as in sconces in the walls as he says, "I am thinking fire would be a
good idea here."
There are no torches...or sconces either.
"Sconces are so passe. I was reading in 'This Old Dungeon', with Bob
Villa, that pot lights are the newest rage. And something called,
e-lec-tricity. You have a mage cast lighting bolts into a special jar
and release the power slowly to light the castle. Very novel," says the
mage-home repair expert.
Galil represses a chuckle.
"Not very novel actually, we've used them for years." Galil continues
to follow the others away from the slime pit. "Let's keep moving then
and we can redecorate the dungeon some other time, after we've taken
the tower for our own."
"I would think a simple light spell would be better than any of those
alternatives", says Malvis. "As an Illusionist, I can even cast colored
light, to lend a mood to a room. Sconces, pots, and even this
new-fangled e-lec-tricity are really quite old-fashioned."
Dor raises his shield as a cover from the dropping globs. "Hey, I think
I can fit one or two of you magic users under my shield."
"Three if I snuggle close to you," says Trinity, who moves very close to Dor.
Ragnar puts his shield above his head and follows Kadlian out of the slime's area.
Lerelith falls into place to protect the mages as they withdraw. He
draws his sword, which is supposed to be magical but has never been
identified to him, and says "Okay, sword, now would be a good time to
burst into flames or something."
You move away from the contaminated area. Continuing north, you eventually end up at the lair of the now dead hydra.
You depart this cave the way you came, back through the kobold cave and to the "T" intersection.
This time you continue east, following the tunnel. It continues in that
direction for some 70', then then heads east-northeast for 40', then
south-southeast for 50', widening steadily in this last section until
it is about 25' wide when it terminates at a large cavern that opens up
to the south, southeast and west.
You start another circuit, following the left wall. This wall runs
southeast for about 50', south for about 20', east-southeast for 15',
south for 20', south-southeast for 30', southwest for 30', west for
10', west-northwest for 20' and on.
In the southern section you see a large nest made out of a large heap
of coins. Sitting atop it are two enormous red dragons, which have been
observing the progress of your lights since you entered the cave. Now,
they step out of their nest and come trundling towards you, looking for
a nice tasty snack.
They are about 40' away.
Lerelith looks up at the two huge dragons and thinks, "Great. We just HAAADDD to ask for FIRE"
He holds his bow up in a proud salute to the dragons, and loudly
exclaims, "Greetings, oh magnificent lords... Um... your entertainment
will be along shortly."
He then bows and attempts to gracefully exit the room at roughly the same time.
Kadlian draws his fronstbrand and sinclair dagger. "Hlarn, you take the one on the left, I will take the one on the right.
"The rest of you, spread out. Mages, keep a lot of distance between
each of you and throw whatever you can at the dragons without
endangering the fighters. Fighters and clerics, make sure you keep a
lot of space between each of you so that their fire breath does
not hit a lot of us at once."
Kadlian charges the dragon on the right.
Hlarn, grinning inexplicably, heads after the other one.
"Holy Crap! These guys are actually trying to bum-rush not just
one, but two, dragons," thinks Lerelith as he slinks our of sight of
the dragons, trying to find a safe place from which to take pot-shots
with his bow.
Ragnar first casts resist fire
upon himself, then will spread out as Kadlian ordered. He tries to stay
within running range of Kadlian, so that he may do emergency healings.
As Kadlian comes within striking range the monster breathes on him...a
puff of flame which does no damage. He chops into the monster with his
frost brand as he dodges a claw attack. His Sinclair weapon strikes
next as he is scratched for 2 hit points, then bitten for 9 hit points.
Hlarn, meanwhile, is flamed as well, as he chops into the monster with
his battle axe. He jumps over a lashing claw as his blade bites again,
leaving the monster badly hurt. The rest of its attacks are ineffective.
By this time you are realising that these not red dragons at all, but
rather large lizards which bear a passing resemblance to wyrms.
"I've got a baddddd feeling about this," says the invisible Trinity who sees all the firepower being wasted on the lizards, she'll be busy looking for a real foe.
Dor downs the potion of speed he has in the pouch on his belt. He then charges.
Lerelith starts taking shots at the Lizards, who look plenty big to him,
and keeps an eye out for additional foes.
Galil shakes her head but does not comment, instead keeping right to the
middle so that she may engage both dragons at once.
She lets loose with a battle cry taught her by the infamous Riga of
Starr and waits to see which is the more vigorous of the dragons.
Kadlian calls over his shoulder as he continues to hack at his lizard. "Save the magic, but could some of you fighters start helping out?"
Niko shrugs. "I thought you and Hlarn wanted all the glory. Why else would you
tell us to hold back and defend the mages?"
"I never said that! I said keep a lot of distance between you and anyone else so that their fire could not get all of us at once. I told the mages to keep back."
Niko retorts, "Yeah, well...ummm...I am a mage, too!"
"So? Figure out which one you want to be today and act accordingly."
Niko goes hand-to-hand with the wyrm fighting Hlarn. Niko activates his shield belt and fights with flaming short sword and Sinclair dagger.
Hlarn, meanwhile, gets singed for 6 hit points. His axe bites deep, though, and kills the lizard...just as Niko arrives.
Close by, Kadlian is scorched for 2 hit points. As he lands a hit with each weapon, he is clawed for a further 4 hit points. His next swing makes the lizard grunt in pain...then he finishes the monster off with his Sinclair blade.
Dor and Galil arrive...an instant too late.
Searching their nest, you find 500cp, 1500gp, 13 gems (1000gp, 10gp, 10gp, 50gp, 1000gp, 200gp, 8gp, 65gp, 5gp, 500gp, 500gp, 50gp, 100gp), five potions and a scroll.
Niko curses, "I knew it! You guys just wanted all the glory for yourselves!"
Galil mutters an eloquent curse in Elvish before reverting back to Common.
"Apparently they were not worth my effort," she says in disappointment before adding, "I wonder if the creatures mistook these creatures for dragons as well."
Niko casts detect invisibility and looks around. All is clear, so he sheathes his weapons and turns off his shield belt.
Since you are here, you continue your circuit of the cave. After heading west-northwest, the cave wall runs west for 20', west-southwest for 25', northwest for 10', north for 10', north-northwest for 25', west-northwest for 20', northwest for 10', west for 25', northwest for 5', southwest for 10', south for 10', east-southeast for 50', south-southeast for 20', south-southwest for 25', west for 30' and northwest for 30'.
At this point, though, you stop and oggle at a large pile of coins and goodies lying near the south wall. You see copper, silvers, electrums, gold, a potion and a small statuette.
Kadlian puts his weapons away. "Hlarn, how about a little healing, please?"
"I could heal you some, Lord Kadlian."
"I would be honored."
Ragnar casts four cure light wounds on the Ranger Lord.
He is cured for 20 hit points.
"Thank you."
Ragnar nods.
Niko scans for invisibles and then looks to see the shape of the small statuette.
He sees nothing invisible.
The statuette is in the likeness of an owl. It is carved from a piece of serpentine.
Lerelith sits back and vigilantly keeps an eye out for trouble, giving the others time to play in the minefield.
Niko eyes the statuette appreciatively. "Hmmm...am I being paranoid or does anyone else think it's a bit too obvious that this pile of treasure is just lying here exposed?"
Galil nods in agreement. "Can any among you detect traps or detect creatures nearby?"
Lerelith replies, "Once I have gotten some additional training, sure."
"That's Niko's job. Niko, go detect a trap or a creature," says Trinity, waving his hands in front of him in an elaborate magical casting.
Niko counters with Dispel Trinity by pulling out his flame thrower.
"Hlarn should have a spell running. Or at least, he usually does."
"Paranoid is good," replies Trinity. "However, according to the rules, Chapter 91, this is a good time to let the chaos rule, and send one party member to scout the treasure. At the time of the prearranged signal, in this case, a scream, we will come to your rescue."
Kadlian draws his sword. "I will go. The rest of you, stay back."
Kadlian cautiously steps towards the pile of treasure.
Galil holds up her hand to stay anyone from touching the pile.
"Treasure so unguarded is surely a trap," she says softly.
"Chapter 28, Unguarded treasure states that it is either a trap or that the guardian has been killed. While I agree with your analysis, I would not be suspect if the guardian was killed," says the mage.
"No, Lord Kadlian, as per the rules, a lord should send a lackey to check an obvious trapped pile of treasure," adds Trinity. "And so you must choose a lackey, but I'd nominate Niko."
Niko puffs up his chest. "I ain't no one's lackey!"
Niko holds back Kadlian for a moment, as he tosses a non-magical dagger into the coins.
It clinks.
"And, as usual, I choose to defy the rules. We will let Hlarn tell us what he detect traps spell shows and then I will walk over and see if anything tries to attack."
Moving at lightning speed, Dor picks up the owl statuette.
"Ooh, pretty," he says.
Niko cringes, waiting for the worst to happen.
Lerelith rolls his eyes and says, "No wonder they keep losing people. They run through dungeons chatting and yelling, and pick up anything they happen to see and play with it."
"Hey greenhorn, it works for us. You don't like it, no one's keeping you here," says Trinity. "When you've got a bit more experience under your belt, then you can run yer trap, until then, do what Rangers do best and keep quiet."
Lerelith chuckles and replies, "Do I get some sort of trap-running license, or is there some other way for me to know when I am allowed to start making brilliant tactical observations?"
"Chapter 206 describes conditions were greenhorns can make suggestions, and that chapter is remarkably short. You are allowed to make observations when you have passed the TEST, as described in chapter 241. The details of which will be revealed when you apply, and pay for the TEST, to be administered by a member of the zebras," replies Trinity.
Malvis merely smiles, and says, "It's all part of the 'chaos rulz' philosophy, I suppose. It is entertaining, though."
"Chapter 82, Chaos rulz rules," says Trinity.
Lerelith smiles back and says, "I REALLY should read this book of yours, since my continued existence is apparently based on Chaos. Not entirely a comforting thought."
"Can't, 'less you are a mage. Only mages have minds strong enough and flexible enough to understand and memorize the rules. Other training tends to dull the mental processes, and as you get more and more trained in your chosen profession, you mind begins to slow down even more. A similar effect happens in royalty," says Trinity, "As described in chapter 102, 'Concerning the effects of training on mental acuity'."
Lerelith considers this a moment and asks, "Is their some sort of abridged version, or a class I can take on these rules?"
Trinity's eyes lose focus for a moment, and in a deep voice, he speaks.
"ARE YOU A GOD?" he asks.
Lerelith ponders on this question for a moment, vaguely remembering some sort of similar problem someone else had many years ago, and knowing that saying "no" turned out to be a bad idea, decides to reply, "Sure, why not, aren't you?"
"You should not jest in blasphemy. Some gods are less than kind to those who overstep their station."
Trinity refocuses his eyes.
"Good, I was just checking. Had you answered no, I would have had to turn you into the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man," the mage says. "And if you are a god, you should go play cards with Kailar's cat."
Niko scowls, looks carefully left and then right, before saying in a low voice, "Just watch out, I hear he cheats."
Meanwhile, the worst proceeds to happen, as something large drops on Dor out of the shadows above.
"Lurker above!" cries Vastelle. "Well, it's not above anymore."
"Doh," Dor utters, caught off guard. The monster wraps itself around him. The warrior takes 6 hit points of damage.
Niko casts two magic missile spells at the lurker. Dor takes 5 more hit points as the first spell hits the monster...plus 16 more from the missiles.
Dor takes another 21 hit points from the smothering and Niko's second magic missile.
"Dor, you putz," says Trinity, "Even though I love you, you go do stupid things."
The mage casts a magic missile at the lurker.
Dor takes an additional 25 hit points in all. The lurker unwraps itself from the warrior and drops to the floor in a huge leathery heap, dead.
"Check to see if there are more," calls Trinity.
Kadlian looks up, trying to spot any other lurkers.
He sees no more up there.
Going through the treasure, you find 12,000cp, 3000sp, 2000ep, a potion, the serpentine owl and 4000gp.
Niko cannot help but chuckle after finding out Dor will survive. He offers the barely conscious Dor some brandy and says, "Next time, leave it the professionals!"
"Ow," Dor replies. "What hit me?"
"The ceiling."
"Wait, I didn't," says Trinity, "Nor any nibbles, or anything fun."
Niko chuckles. "I think we all got a few licks in there."
"Medic!" calls Trinity. "Heal this numbskull, so I can beat him up.
"Dor, Dor, Dor. How many times do I have to tell you to not go rushing into danger like that? Send one of the new kids, or Niko. He's good at it. You're supposed to be the strong, silent type."
Lerelith walks up to Dor, and casts a cure light wounds on him.
He is healed for 8 hit points.
"Hlarn, can you provide some healing for Dor?"
The dwarf continues to snore.
Kadlian casts a cure light wounds on Dor as well, for 5 more hit points.
"Okay, shall we keep exploring, then?"
You complete your circuit of this cavern and find nothing else of interest or value.
Per Kadlian's previous directions, which the DM had blithely ignored, you return to the cave where you fought the hydra and the grey ooze, and head south down that passage.
After 40' it ends at a flight of stairs going up.
You go up.
After a bit you reach the top, where the passage continues south for another 20' or so, where it ends at a door.
You open the door, and find yourselves looking outside.
You are at the base of the cliff upon which the Tower rests. This door is concealed from obvious view by a clump of bushes. To your right, about 30' away is the concealed door through which you first gained entrance to this dungeon. To the left, perhaps 160' away, is the main entrance to this complex.
"Let us call it a day. Maybe we can get Hlarn to heal Dor when we get back to the Inn. We will return when everyone is fully healed and all spells are memorized."
Ragnar thinks for a moment. "I think it is a good time for us to train. I will have access to 3rd order spells once I have passed the tests."
"Let's head back to the inn and gather anyone who wishes to return to Sandas."
You make an early exit and return to the inn in New Golgar, in time for tea.