A Light in the Darkness [closed]

[Dr._Bob]

Although no one is happy to let the drow escape without being punished, all seem to agree that survival should take precedence over revenge.

Once the party has had a chance to heal its wounds and re-equip the lizardman and gnoll, it chooses the upward sloping tunnel, leaving the drow commander and her mysterious packages to complete their journey to Undrek'Thoz.

[hr]
The gradual upward incline means that the surface is growing ever-closer, but the going is slow and your thighs burn with exertion after only a few hours.

You take frequent breaks, sharing your rations and water with each other.

Ginevra, Si'rene and Tiriel tend to keep to themselves, often whispering to each other in undertones that keep the others from hearing their words.

You take turns napping while the others keep watch.

The passage gradually narrows until you are all walking single file through the endless darkness.

Trinark, the gnoll and the lizardman generally move at the head of the line. The others tend to hang back closer to the single everburning torch that provides the only illumination.

Tiriel seems to be equally comfortable in the light or in the darkness, though she generally stays close to Ginevra and Si'rene. The pseudodragon flits back and forth from the front to the rear of the party as its mood suits.

"Days" pass with little to break the monotony excepts for occasional forks in the passage. In general, the party takes the upward of the two passages. If neither passage is obviously different from the other, a coin is tossed and the choice is made randomly.

[hr]
It is roughly the fourth or fifth day (as best you can reckon) when the lizardman (at the point) raises a clawed hand and crouches down. The torch is hastily doused. A whispered message is passed down the line. "There is a figure blocking the passage ahead. It looks human."

[Rei_Jin]

Tychus

Tychus moves through the party, eager to get back to the fresh air and warmth of the surface, an obvious frown on his face.

After everything else, what now?

He heads up to the "human" and raises his hand.

Hail and well met. We are weary travellers, glad to be near the surface and hoping to be out soon. Who might you be?

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid
On the journey

Ssathiya experienced the first of dreams he had had in a long time. In it he had been guiding the new strangers back to safer lands above. The dream zoomed into his feet. As he disturbed the dust, the dust resettled into its earlier position. A footprint remaining a moment after his feet lifted and then fading into nothingness.

As he woke up, the ley lines of his surroundings and auras of the sleeping companions lit up in a brighter haze then before and a wealth of insight dawned unto him. After praying in gratitude to Semuanya and affirming his connection to the Balance, the druid quietly prayed for his spells. The still darkness was punctuated by his low chanting.He finished before the first of the others arose and they continued on their journey towards sunlight..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now...
The impulsiveness of his new human packmate surprised him. Before he could react, Tychus had sprung past him.

Semuanya!...It must be the hot blood in them...

Tensing into a fighting posture, he leans against a wall and tries to remain hidden. A feat not easy for a 7ft reptilian with tail and hide armor.

[blackfox]

Ginevra

Ginevra flattens herself against the wall, not wanting to be seen until she knows the newcomer intends know harm ...if he intends no harm. Why would he be traveling in the Underdark? Seeing Tychus walk forward and greet the newcomer, Ginevra listens and tries to watch without giving away her position.

[Dark_Stalion]

Gnoll

Newly reunited with his armor, the gnoll is not too woried about his own safety. He is more interested in protecting those that have saved him from whatever dire fate the dark elves had in store for him. As a result he stands strong in the passageway infront of most of the rest of the party, his hand goes to his trident, while the other takes up his shield.

[Dr._Bob]

In the total darkness, Tychus slips forward until he has edged past the armored gnoll and the surprised lizardman. He calls out, hailing the lone figure.

"So much for the element of surprise," mutters Si'rene under her breath. The gnoll growls in annoyance.

There is no reply to Tychus' friendly words.

[hr]
Those of you with darkvision are able to make out a humanoid figure standing about 60 ft away.

The figure sways gently from side to side, but makes no attempts to approach. It has no weapons and wears only some tattered rags. Its jaw hangs open loosely and there seem to be only dark holes where its eyes should be ...

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix flies to the top of the cavern, trying to sneak its way by the humanoid shape. Yix will take care of this no problem.

((Hide:+22
Move SIlently:+22))

[runehawk]

Lizardkin

His senses prickle as he feels something abnormal... something not part of the Balance. He wrinkled his brow in puzzlement. Nothing was part of the Balance in the Deep Earth. His dim wit not aiding him in infering the solution. He intuitively reacts.

He drops to his knee and with palm on the ground attunes himself with his surroundings and casts a simple spell to see the auras of magic.

A trap...?....No being knows we come this way...

(OOC: Cast Detect Magic and Know(Nat): 9 +5 =14 I suspect undead)

[Dark_Stalion]

Gnoll

The Gnoll snarls. This is no natura creature. It readies the trident as though expecting the creature to charge.

[blackfox]

Ginevra

Being unable to see in the dark, and not wanting to give away her position, Ginevra tries to reach out with her mind. Yix? she thinks as clearly as she can, can you see what the creature ahead is? Hardly any of us can see in the dark, myself included.
Ginevra will continue to try to identify the creature by listening. Why would it not reply unless it wants to attack? Damn it, I wish I could see in the dark.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel puts a hand on Ginevra's shoulder saying quietly "I'll go check it out," before moving up the line. When she joins the gnoll and lizardman, she notices their unease which proliferates the air. Drawing her long sword, she motions to them to stay back and cautiously starts to walk towards the figure...

(ooc: Tiriel will move closer until she can get a better look at the man-thing. If it is undead (which I think we all suspect it is) she will close with it and try to...kill it? destroy it? well whatever the verb, she'll cut it, scorch it and generally beat the snot of it.)

[Dr._Bob]

Yix sends a mental image to those of you without darkvision. Through his eyes you perceive, in ghostly black and white, a living corpse blocking the passageway.

The zombie sways from side to side, its empty sockets staring straight ahead.

[hr]
The lizardman and gnoll both growl quietly, finding the scent of nearby undeath unpleasant.

Tiriel steps forward, unsheathing her sword. The flames illuminate the passageway as she advances on the zombie.

As Tiriel approaches, the zombie opens its jaws wider and a coarse rattle emanates from its throat. Tiriel dispatches the zombie with two swift slashes of her sword.

As quickly as that, it is all over. Tiriel nudges the rapidly disintegrating pieces of the zombie with the toe of her boot.

The narrow passageway stretches on beyond the zombie. There is no sign of any other creatures nearby.



OOC: The zombie's flatfooted AC is 11. Tiriel hits easily with a 16 (8 + 8) for 17 damage (8 + 4 + 5). The zombie is destroyed.

[blackfox]

Ginevra

Ginevra rolls her eyes, not for the first time and not for the last time thinking, I hate how she does that... I wish I could see in the dark. How does she do it, anyways?
Ginevra wrinkles her nose at the smell of the zombie, and waits till the party gets moving again, dropping near the back when they do.

[Rei_Jin]

Tychus

Tychus grins sheepishly at the party again as he moves towards the rear again. Both recent times he followed his eagerness for action it was misplaced.

By the gods, I should be more careful! One of these days I'm going to get myself stuck on the end of a sword!

[Dr._Bob]

The passage continues its ever so slight upward progression. Eventually your tunnel joins a second tunnel, then later a third tunnel.

You find another zombie. Tiriel cuts it down without breaking her stride.

[hr]
You note that the farther you climb, the more passages you encounter, all of which seem to be converging and enlarging as you go.

The passageway is now a bit wider and taller, perhaps 10 ft by 15 ft. The walls are dark with condensation. A damp breeze seems to be wafting down the passageway from somewhere up ahead.

[hr]
After another few hours, you encounter a pair of zombies, standing side by side. Both sway slowly side to side in some kind of asynchronous rhythm, as if neither is really aware of the other.

You don't even bother to darken the torch this time. Instead your party stands 60 ft away, just looking at the two zombies with curiosity.

"What does this all mean?" asks Andrea with a puzzled expression on his face.

[Spaz]

Yix

Yix doesn't seem himself now, he seems rather defeated. Knowing that even his great sting is almost useless against the living dead. He flies up higher to get a good vantage point, but other than that remains away from the zombies. He doesn't bother trying to sneak this time around, I wonder if the surface is so great, if it is filled with zombies...

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The druid had been silent throughout. Although he was on the lookout for something that he sensed was amiss and that they were not seeing.

It was more important that these unnatural abominations be destroyed than personally seeing to it. He was content to let the human female with the flaming sword destroy the things as long as she went throughly about it.

Ever since the first one, he had been expecting more. The imbalance in the natural order had only been getting greater. With an expression of distaste, he squatted by the remains of one and sifted through the remains.

There is always a source......corrupt arcane magic or something else
(OOC: Search= 17-1=16 Spot =6 :P. I'm guessing the Det Magic revealed nothing more than necromantic magic.)

(He will get up wash his hands with water from his skin after)

[Dark_Stalion]

Gnoll

The gnoll growls, his lip twisted into a snarl. "More carion walking! We must be nearing something if they are growing in number." He moves towards one, knowing that his armor will slow him down too much for a charge to be effective at this range. most likely that female would cut them down before he got there. For once he mentally cursed his heavy armor.

[Ooc: move 20ft forwards unless haulted by someone]

[Yoric_Steele]

Trinark, Drow Cleric

Trinark would like the opportunity to examine the zombies closer.

If someone approaches the zombies...do they attack? Or do they continue to just sway and moan?

If it is possible to get closer, Trinark would like to take a closer look and use his "Divine" knowledge to gain more information.

[OOC: DR, knowledge Religion roll perhaps?]

[blackfox]

Ginevra

"More zombies?" says Ginevra, wrinkling her nose at the smell. "Why so many? I'd expect to meet more of a variety of creatures in the Underdark, and likely fewer as well." Fingering the hilt of her sword, Ginevra advances toward the zombie.

[Dr._Bob]

With a flick of his tiny wings, the pseudodragon slips over the heads of the zombies and disappears into the darkness.

Meanwhile, the rest of you move forward to examine the zombies a little more closely.

Like the other two zombies that Tiriel destroyed, these two appear to have once been human. They are dressed in filthy rags, in which they were presumably buried originally.

You inch forward cautiously hands on weapons, but the zombies simply sway from side to side. One or the other occasionally moans, but otherwise, they make no hostile moves against you.

Neither the lizardman nor the drow note anything "unusual" about the zombies other than the aura of necromantic energy that animates them.

You stand and wait for the pseudodragon to return, while the zombies sway back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ...

[hr]
After what seems like an hour (but is probably much less), Yix returns.

He telepathically shares mental images of a maze of converging tunnels that all seem to be heading upwards toward a central location.

Zombies appear to be scattered about at irregular intervals. Usually they are found in small groups of one or two. Occasionally a larger group of five to eight might be seen slowly shuffling along the tunnels ...

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The druid moves forward with a grim look on his face. When Trinark grabs him by the shoulder to ask where he's going, he only says one word:
"Cleansing"


OOC:Ssathiya's intentions are to wipe out the individual zombies wandering abt the various tunnels. He's willing to accept help but just as willing to go it alone. He will then approach the central chamber cautiously.... as opposed to others who may want to find an alternative safer route.

[Dark_Stalion]

Gnoll

The gnoll starts at the images that suddenly invade it's mind, but recovers quickly. It looks puzled for a moment. "Watchers perhapse?"

[Dr._Bob]

Baring his teeth, the lizardman tears into the two zombies blocking the passageway.

The lizardman's claws shred the zombies' rotted flesh, leaving him coated in gore.

The zombies fight back, beating the lizardman with their forearms and fists, but they are no match for his armor and claws, and they are quickly dismembered and left in pieces on the ground.

The passage lies open ahead, continuing to slope gradually upward. There are alternate passages branching off, but they all seem to be heading back downward, in the direction from which you came.

After a short hike, you come to a larger intersection where two 15' passages join. Six zombies sway here, facing towards you blankly.





OOC: The lizardman attacks with a 11 (6 + 5) and a 22 (17 + 5), hitting twice for 9 damage. The zombies respond with a natural 20 and a 17 (15 + 2), hitting once for 5 damage.

The lizardman attacks again with a 20 (15 + 5) and 13 (8 + 5), hitting twice for 8 damage, destroying one zombie. The remaining zombie misses with an 8.

The lizardman attacks with a 15 and 14, hitting for 9 damage. The zombie misses with a 14.

The lizardman attacks with a 21 and 6, hitting once for 6 damage. The zombie misses with an 11.

The lizardman kills the zombie with an 18 for 4 damage.

[kuja.girl]

OOC: can we clarify the language Ssathiya's and Trinark's exchange was in. It sucks having only knowing common....

[scene24]

Thallios, elf wizard

The elf sized up this newest pack of undead sentries (monitors? canaries?). Curse me for not having a nice cleaving weapon...

Thallios turned to Ginevra and commented, "I tire of watching the others wade into these meat puppets. Part of me wants to be done with it and simply meet up with the animator. But the other part of me would prefer to bypass them all together and just get to the surface. Have you ever encountered their kind before?"

[Dark_Stalion]

[Ooc: Just a q... How far away are the zombies?]

[Soluna]

Si'rene

Si'rene looks to the elf, Thallios she believes his name is, and smirks to herself while changing her view to Tiriel and the lizardman they went through all that trouble to save make little to no work out of the zombies. Why they have wasted so much time here in the Underdark is a mystery to her. Ginerva's willingness to help these others is all she needs to continue onward, just so long as they reached the surface soon...

[Dr._Bob]

While the lizardman and drow murmur to each other in draconic, the others watch the zombies warily.

They stand only 40 ft away or so, certainly within charging distance but, like the other zombies, they make no moves towards you.

Ginevra shrugs noncomittally when Thallios asks her about the zombies.

[hr]
As you move forward slowly, the six zombies shuffle aside slowly, leaving the passageway clear for you to continue to move forward and upward.


OOC: Check out our new OOC thread The Golden Griffon!

[runehawk]

Lizardkin Druid

The reaction to their presence is not lost to the reptilian who swiftly dispatches them with a look of disgust on his face.

Spending time away from my people has made me rash and emotional as a pinkskin. I must remember what it means to be one of the people