A New Old World

[Tetigustas shadowson]

Cleyette:
First meal would have been great, except for s few things. Clench was restless all night
and He claimed the smell of Orc was lingering every where, I spent the next few
moments trying to get him to settle down, but the night air filled with the foul stench of
Orc has made him somewhat agitated. I had returned to my meal when in the midst of
trying to finish, Timon and the others came bursting into the room, they where
conversing with the news of a subterranean passage below the tavern that may lead into
an Orcish hell, and a tail of humans repelling a trailside attack from strange creatures
with the same description as the leader of the kobolds had relayed to me. The thought
of traveling into the earth made me a bit uneasy, its one thing to chase off a few Orc in
the woods; it is another to invade their territory with fresh live flesh. I managed the last
few mouthfuls when we all left my room; Clench was filling his food bag as he stepped
into the hall, dropping a few crumbs on the floor at my feet. I started off down the stair
behind the rest when I realized I had left my cloak on the bed in my room, but when I
returned to the room the walls had began to resemble stone, they where fine wooden
panels when I left the room but now they have started to transform into a stony surface
with dripping water and all. I shouted to Clench but he didn’t hear me, grabbing my cloak

I ran from the room and caught up with them on the stair. The rest of the group had
stopped moving and were looking down into where the lower floor had been, where the
tavern used to be and now a dirty dark tunnel had manifested itself leading down into the
darkness. The stony transformation traveled upward and passed us by, as it rose into the
upper floor, then the stair turned into dirt on a long slope into a darkened nothingness. I
shuddered to think I may have been trapped in some kind of portal while I slept, the
feeling of dread filled my mind, as we walked deeper and deeper into the abyss of
darkness.As we stepped into a large cavern that lay at the end of the sloping tunnel,
Timon nearly stumbled upon a dead Orc; it was the same one he had told of killing
earlier. Yet it wasn’t in any cellar instead it lay dead on the dirt floor of the cavern,
Timon said this has to be about where he was when he was attacked by the Orc, and
there should be a small opening here some where, Clench gestured toward the
stalagmites that rose in the corner.

Clench:
The smell of death and Orc is everywhere he grumbled, the smell of the fey king is
there.(he points to a small darkened circular opening. He must have been here looking for
missing ones, something is different some thing is bad. His face grew stern as he looked
at me, then I noticed he was looking past me, his gaze was fixed upon something in the
darkness, a darkened form stood partially shielded by an outcropping that grew from the
passage we just came from. I spun on one foot and peered into the darkness.

A strange voice broke the silence………………


EDIT:
OTC:
previous and subsequent posts reformatted to fit paperback book format

[topaz]

Timon

I left the cellar in the darkness, and crawled up through the trapdoor in the stone floor of the kitchen. I wondered for a moment, for I thought I remembered the floor being wooden. Yet it was stone as sure as I was standing on it.

I walked into the Tavern's main hall and noticed the floor was stone there too. I knew that was not the case last night, yet I shrugged it off. I hadn't drunk anything major, for I don't prefer mead, yet I must be somehow mistaken about the floor.

I soon forgot about the floor as the discussion in Clyette's room became quite animated. Clench's mood was foul as he had remained awake at her door the night through. I could understand his fear, for the smell had kept me awake as well, yet I did not have a female dependent.

I began to lead the group to where I had fought the previous night, but I stopped as I did not recognise the place any longer. Wooden halls in a huge longhouse had turned to the solid stone of a cavern. The dimensions of the rooms remained nearly the same, yet it was now rough and jagged, as a cavern usualy is.

Where the kitchen had been, a small, roundish chamber remained roughly 15 feet across the middle. Several stalactites and stalagmites had joined to form huge columns that stretched to the ceiling 25 feet above.

A wide hole opened where the hatch had been, and the chamber felt as though someone had been there and left in a hurry. We fastened a rope someone had carried to a stalagmite and, holding a torch in my left hand, I led the way into the darkness...

[topaz]

Timon

As we assembled in the lower chamber, near where I had slain the orcs, I became a aware of movement beyond the glare of my torch. Then a growl of a voice shouted from the darkness, "INVADERS...You will all DIE!!"

Quickly, I threw the torch in the direction of the voice. I had only lit a torch for the benefit of Kyson Mosby, the only human in the group, for elves, gnomes, dwarves, trolls, and ogres have no need of these devices. The torch revealed a large ogre who covered his blinded eyes and stumbled back into the darkness.

When he was gone, I extinguished the torch and cast a spell on Kyson that allowed him a temporary benefit of infravision.

"I always wondered what I was supposed to use that spell for," I joked when he thanked me.

We then continued on into what had been the cellar, but was now a steep tunnel that led into the bowels of the earth...

(Occ. I will again be gone for a week, so I will not be posting.)

[Tetigustas shadowson]

OCC:

We can go out the hole or we can battle on inside the tunnels

[Tetigustas shadowson]

With the dead Orc behind us, we began wandering deeper and deeper into the heart of the
earth. it wasn’t long before we found ourselves aimlessly lost, Kyson wanted to go down
a sloping tunnel that apparently turned in circles as it traveled downward, Xairn only
wished we had stayed in the forest and above ground.
While Clench wanted to eat a jelly.
‘What?’ a feminine voice broke the silence.
When Clêyette heard him utter the word Jelly, she stiffened up and slowly drew her
sword, the blade sung as it flits from the chain belt. Her cloak waved away exposing the
twin medallions; they twinkled in the dim light giving off a strange pulsing red glow.
Clench’s breathing changed into a long sniffing sound as he sampled the dank air, he
moved quickly leaping toward the opening of a small tunnel almost hidden by a large
rock, jabbing his battle axe into the opening. The scuffle made a sound that alerted
everyone to a problem in the small tunnel; it seemed Clench had smelt a large Ooze
hiding in the darkness. His demeanor grew furious as he jabbed into the dark; it wasn’t
long before the rest of the party noticed he wasn’t killing the thing. And realized the
semi-clear and sickly greenish colored creature, was sliming its way out of the hole it had
been hiding in and was growing larger and larger with each moment.

Clêyette moved away and stood at the opening we had just come through, poised she held
her sword aloft, the blade of her sword reflected the light coming through the new
opening as she stood in the ready ever so vigilant.

A few moments passed as the party battled the Ooze, one after another we fought
the gelatinous beastie. It seemed we were winning when suddenly; Clench’s battle axe
became stuck in the slimy Oozes goopy body. He shouted and burst at the creature
stomping it in two with his large boots, with one hand he removed his battle axe, before
the fabric and metallic components dissolved. Then the two Ooze parts became
re-animated and started to attack as separate creatures, one creature started
after Helm and Timon the other moved toward Clêyette and Xairn as they stood
guard in the opening the creature once occupied. A steady stream of light shone
through the tunnel, as we battled on, each one taking turns trying to defeat the creature.

Clêyette shouted:
'Daylight' I see the sun.




EDIT:
OTC:
previous and subsequent posts reformatted to fit paperback book format

[Gen. Volkov]

Place Holder.

[topaz]

Timon

I nearly froze when the ooze presented itself, for I knew they are not easy to fight or kill. after a few seconds of shock, I drew my sword and advanced with the others.

Knowing the effect oozes have on weapons, I tried to use the sword only defensively, with a quick thrust every once in a while. Thrust like these inflict minor damage without giving the creature a chance to get its slimy grip on your blade.

Once I saw Clench, in a fit of rage, swing his battle axe in a wide arc bury it in the gelatinous mass. I heard him shout something in his native tongue as he leaped at the creature. An instant later he had the axe in his hand, but was facing two creatures where one had been before.

One creature slid towards me and began to attack. Knowing now that this would be a fight to the death, I parried his blows as best as I could. My left hand drew a dagger from its sheath. As the creature slid foreward, I released the dagger and it floated away from my hand, circling my head, then circling the creature. the creature seemed to take little notice of this new menace.

I went on the offensive as the dagger flitted about. Suddenly, as the creature protruded a gelatinous arm in my direction, the dagger plunged into this limb (if you could call it that). The protruding limb froze in place, throwing the creature off balance.

Before it could recover, the dagger was free and attacking again. It quickly stabbed twice from behind, creating two more heavy, solid chunks of in the oozing goop...

[topaz]

Dryn

I unlimbered my crossbow as soon as I heard and smelt the great blob in the passageway. While the others kept the creature busy, I kept a fairly constant volly of arrows piercing its slimy hide. My few magic arrows seemed to have the most effect on the glob.

Xairn

I am ashamed to say my attacks weren't very effective in this case, so I stayed mostly on the defensive. My dagger required my getting too close to the creature for comfort, and Clyette had a much better weapon for this kind of fight.

As she kept the creature busy, I thought of trying to throw one of my fire potions, but I thought it too risky in such a small tunnel.

Kyson

I could see! I had never seen the contents of a cavern in their true light before. True, the color seemed to be slightly off, yet I did not know for I had never seen these sights under natural light.

Yet things seemed to grow dark as we followed the winding passages and tunnels. Some seemed to be natural, yet some seemed almost like mineshafts. By the time we reached the Ooze, I could see little. Yet I said nothing, for Timon was kind of busy as were the rest of us. Clyette's sword glowed with the light of a hundred firebrands, so the cavern we stood in was as light as day.

OCC
Note to readers...Anyone who is interested in joining this thread can take control of one of these three characters. You can also introduce your own character which I can throw into the story.

If you are interested in one of the existing characters, review the previous posts on this thread to find the character statistics and introductions. You may let me know of your interest by posting to "Character Stats and Discussion," a thread that is usually located right next to this one. We try to keep discussion out of the story as much as possible.

[topaz]

D'argash

As the other party members fought on, I scanned the situation to find where I could best help. Timon had badly disabled the creature he and Helm were fighting, so I was not needed there. The Light and magical power of Clyette's sword seemed to discourage the creature she was now attacking. It had furiously oozed toward her until she met it with a steady rythm of parries and thrusts. Now it was actively retreating toward the mouth of the lighted tunnel.

I quickly stepped into this tunnel to block its progress, and noticed that the tunnel widened considerabely some ways down.

I kept an eye behind me as I awaited the creature's fresh assult, not desiring a surprise from that quarter. As it neared my position, I focused on a dark spot in its middle. Assuming this was the brain, I aimed a sweeping blow to sever or shatter it. As my sword connected, I nearly lost hold of it. It was blocked so hard that its motion reversed, and it took all my strentgh to keep from hitting myself. stunned, I fell back slightly before renewing my attack...

[Tetigustas shadowson]

A flit, a spin, and a jab, more jabs, a spin, and flit, flit, flit,
pieces of jelly fell like rain as I cut at the thing, its clear
blood flowed out from the many wounds inflicted by our attacks.
D'argash posted it from behind with his sword, jabbing profusely
at its center he struck a darkened object that seemed to jab back,
stunning him slightly he recoiled and launched a ferocious
assault against the critter, it slid from side to side trying to
avoid him I used the distraction to cut larger pieces from
its gelatinous body until my arms felt like rubber from
all the swishing of my sword.

[topaz]

OCC: It seems we have lost interest in our never-ending fight with a blob of jelly. I will end this fight now, but you still may elaborate by editing your place-holders. Now for something more interesting...

Timon

As the Ooze seemed to slow its attacks, I suddenly went on the offensive. I hit it with several agressive thrusts that seemed to solidify its mass of jelly even more than before. suddenly I stepped in, slaming my shield into the glob and connecting a long sweeping blow to the largest of the dark frozen masses that had formed within.

A second after the blow connected, the blob shattered into several small peices of two feet or less. most of the peices were solidly frozen, but a few slithered away to hide in the surrounding caverns. We then concentrated our efforts on the final blob which had retreated into the lighted cavern...

[topaz]

D'argash

The giant Ooze, not so giant anymore, was on the run. It tried to evade me and continue down the tunnel toward the light, but I quickly stepped to cut it off. A few more blows from my sword and Clyette's glowing blade reduced the heap of goop to a puddle of jelly-like fluid.

Near the center of the puddle was a large helm. It must have been the dark spot that struck me back when my blade struck it. I tested the puddle with a small piece of parchment, and when I saw there was no harm, I stepped in and took it up. A mystic aura surrounded it like a haze, and it had not been consumed by the ooze in all the years it was entrapped, so I ventured a guess that it had some kind of magical power. Yet I could not venture what it was...

[Tetigustas shadowson]

Clench began to pick up seemingly solid pieces
of Ooze and stuffed them into a small brown bag
he pulled from his hairy cloak.

He tossed a small piece into the air and catching
it onto his mouth, he gobbled it up like a piece of
sweetened goat meat, moaning as he chewed.
Timon made an almost burping sound as he
witnessed the large man snaking on such a disgusting creature.............

The look upon his face was priceless...........................

[topaz]

Timon

UGGHHH!!! My poor stomach!!

OCC

Wheee!! We finally killed the jelly. I will move us a little and introduce some interesting data. More fights will be forthcoming soon, so be ready.

D'argash

I placed the helm on my head and noticed it was slightly too large for me, but not enough to worry about. I made mental notes to purchace a mail cowl when I next reached civilization, and to ask Timon to identify the helm's powers when he got a chance.

We worked down the lighted passageway, hoping to see an opening to the outside world. Alas, the cavern continued and the light seemed to come from the walls and ceiling as well as the floor we walked upon.

A hundred yards later, we noticed a figure approaching us. Prepared for an attack, Timon and Kyson, who were in the lead, drew their swords. At this move, the figure slowed its progress, then stopped completely. A second later, he threw up his hands and beckoned enthusiastically.

"You made it!! Well of course you did, the creatures in this cavern are not a challenge for warriors of your mettle. I am Gareth Tourves, master weaponsmith, at your service. I was captured at my home in the forest nearly a year ago and these foul beasts have been forcing me to make magic weapons for them ever since. Of course, I have never given them anything truely superior, for as long as the weapons I make are shiny, these orcs are impressed. I am taking my usual constitutional, but If you will follow me back to my shop, I will present you with some of the weapons I have made for myself. I was planning to use them whenever I had the opportunity to escape, but that will not be necessary anymore, since you are here."

Timon nodded, as he was unable to get a word in edgwise, and we began to follow the prattling gnome further down the wide, lighted passage. After a few hundred paces, the passageway enlarged into a cavern, a hundred feet across and several times that in length.

As soon as we entered, a gastly scream echoed off the walls, followed by the sound of several weapons being drawn simultaneously. Gareth reached into his robe and produced a shortsword. In the few seconds it took to pass through my field of vision, I saw that a stone on the sword's hilt seemed to glow with an unearthly light, while its blade seemed to flicker. Whenever he moved it, the tip left a trail of smoke faintly visible in the dense air.

In a flash, they were upon us and my blade defended against an onslaught of several dozen blades. I could not see all of our opponents, but I noticed over two dozen orcs and many goblins and kobalds following. By themselves, the creatures posed little threat, but with their advantage of numbers, we could not hope to escape unscathed...

[topaz]

Kyson Mosby

I had scarce enough time to bare my sword before the horrid creatures of the underworld were upon us. We had no time for fancy fighting, so cut-'n-slash was order of the day.

With a tremendous sideward sweep, I severed two of the orc's chincy blades (not to mention a couple of their chincy heads). Swinging my two-handed sword in wide arcs, I forced the enemies to keep their distance. My sword's tip drew blood each time the creatures drew too close.

Suddenly a larger-than-usual orc stepped in behind my blade as I swept past him. His thrust was high and quick as I hurried to recover as best I could, yet he struck me in the right shoulder before my blade came back to a helpful position I was not able to handle my usual blade with my left hand, so I threw it for his head, simultaneously giving him one of my boots in his chest. As he sprawled onto the stones behind him, I drew a longtooth dagger (which I could easily handle left-handed) from my boot and fell on guard, awaiting the next assault.