Chapter 3: The Civilization That Time Forgot

[Inferno]

Chapter 3: The Civilization That Time Forgot

Secret Shrine of the Oracle of Osorus (3)
The Great Pyramid of the Lost City, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day One. Evening. 13th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





In the hidden shrine of the oracle, Attila accidentally steps on Biblo's invisible foot as they both try to listen at the southern door. They hear:

"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!"

The slithering thing of darkest nightmare yet lives. But none of the explorers feels pressure bearing down upon the southern door.

Roan the barbarian curses as Kiri extends his large head out the northern portal into a magnificently ornate hallway. The gentle giant sees a large yawning spiderhole nearby on the eastern wall; dark, still, and lined with glistening new webs.

In the other direction, he sees an incongruous Loche and Mako, treading in the footsteps of the aeons-old progenitors of the Hyborian Age. Above them, staggering murals depict an afterlife majestic, celestial and eternal.

ceiling.jpg (573.08 KiB) Viewed 7512 times

Below them, at their feet, sprawl stark reminders of earthly mortality; charred human bones freed by the flashfire that devoured their gossamer prison. Voices echo elusively from their direction that Kiri can neither decipher nor recognize.

Kiri and Mako exchange loud whispers, each Easterner imploring the other to join him. Loche holds his torch away from a corner as he peers around it.

Suddenly, up the northern hallway from Loche and Mako's vantage, the pair see motion! Vague shapes emerging from out of the timeless depths of the Great Pyramid.

Silhouettes of men...

Men with the heads of animals.

Just like those long-dead, animal-faced gods portrayed with kings kneeling at their feet in hieroglyphic carvings across the Lost City.



There are at least five unreal shadow shapes, each with a different visage. Stag? Toad? Hare? Jackal? It is hard to tell.
They stop conversing and look directly at Loche and Mako with bestial eyes that glow in the dark.

One steps forward, standing revealed in the reflected light of the Pict's torch.



"Whith'r hast the spid'r gone? Prithee, what fate hast befallen the chrysalis realm?" the stag-headed god says loud enough for Kiri to hear, without ever moving its lips.


Actions?


Map:

Pyramid Tier 2.18.jpg (450.96 KiB) Viewed 7512 times

One square = 10 feet.





PC Status:

• Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 2: AC 6, HP 7/12, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl
  Attila: Hyrkanean Nomad Barbarian 1: AC 1, HP 11/12
  Biblo Phyle: Zamoran Southman Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User 1/1/1: AC 3, HP 7/7, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: AC 5, HP 15/18, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Gronda: Zembabweian Savage Ranger/Thief 1/2: AC 7, HP 14/17
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: AC 4, HP 3/7, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: AC 5, HP 15/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 2: AC: 7, HP: 5/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
  Roan, Son of Rune: Vanir Northman Barbarian 2: AC 4, HP 22/23, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Invisibility (Biblo): Ingested one dose of potion. Duration: unknown.

PC Resources:

• An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)
  Men of the Hyborian Age (races of men)
  The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

"I'm Mako and this is Loche." Mako gestures to his companion. "We are trapped here after seeking shelter from the sun. Do you know the way out?" He then holds up the back of the right hand and shows them the symbol branded on it. "Do you know what this means? Have I've been cursed?" Mako waits curiously for a reply.

[Zhym]

Arthfael, an impassive expression on his painted face, looks back and forth between Roan and the door through which Mako and Lochte left. He steps forward to join the pair to the north.

[Grognardsw]

Biblo Phyle, unseen arcanist

Gronda...

Should we open it a crack and take a look? Or, leave the damn thing out there and follow the others?

"Aye, let it be for now," I answer, backing away from the door.

Roan... "Can we wedge the door from this side so that nothing can get through? Slime can't ooze under the door can it?"

"An iron spike may do the job. I don't have one myself. But that could prevent a quick retreat if there is greater danger in in that north hallway."

[Mant72]

Garrin Locke:

"Aye, it is best that we leave the door unobstructed." He glances over his shoulder to see where the rest of the group has gone. He thinks to himself, "Damn, these men have no sense of safety or formation. A stone alone makes no fortification..."

"It is best that we stay together. Let us join the others."

[OGRE MAGE]

Gronda

I agree. We should rejoin the others before we run into any other monstrosities in this place!

The lone female savage follows Arthfael towards the other doorway and out into the hall.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri regards Mako quizzically, suddenly wondering if he, like many of their profession, is somewhat unhinged. "Careful, friend. It sounds like that may be the spider owner you're talking to," he whispers loudly. He ducks back into the fountain room to let the others pass. "Mako is talking to someone in the hall. I have a bad feeling about it," he says as they pass. "Also, pardon me, I know we just met, please excuse my forwardness, but can any one of you heal me a bit? I ran out of salve many days ago - and I have a feeling we're not done with Mother Spider." He nods toward the open spider hole.

[Starbeard]

Attila the Hyrkanean loses interest in the slimy thing in the hallway and heads to the north door, where he eagerly awaits the return of Mako and Loche.

[Inferno]

Secret Shrine of the Oracle of Osorus (3)
The Great Pyramid of the Lost City, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day One. Evening. 13th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





The lost explorers in the hidden shrine edge north. The southern secret door, that serves as the only protection between them and the amoebic eldritch contradiction of Life, does not open.

Kiri of Kambuja humbly requests first aid from his new companions.

Arthfael, Garrin and Gronda look for Mako and Loche. They depart through the northern portal, pass the tarantula lair and a closed door, and walk west down the passageways of the ancients beneath peerless vaults painstakingly delineated with mad visions of Heaven.





They soon find Mako and Loche in a dim corridor. The pair are not alone.



The stag god's thin naked limbs glow with the hue of bleached bones. It moves aimlessly, like a man in a trance.

Mako answers its questions with more questions. The antlered creature returns the favor: "Whence has't thee cometh? Whith'r the spid'r?"
Stag's speech is archaic with a bizarre dialect, akin to Stygia of old but alien. Its lips remain motionless. Is its bizarre face real or an ornate mask?

"Whit th' bloody hell?!" curses the torchbearing Loche as he backs up, unintentionally darkening the northern tunnel.

From the thickening shadows of that tunnel emerge more pale, ghostly figures, furtive and lurking. It is as if the pictoglyphs of the animal-headed gods of the Great Pyramid have come to life. Like the deer deity, they are bestial in visage, alabaster in color, gaunt in aspect, capricious in movement, and clothed in little more than loincloths.

Except one.



Hare wears a red cape as it hops forward and proclaims, "But surely these strange creatures hath eight arms... between them!"

Fox, a woman, asks the strangers: "What sayeth thee, spid'rs?"

Monkey jumps about animatedly, hands over its head, and inquires with a droll, elegant voice: "Aye. Whence didst thee crawleth? Eek. Eek."

Toad perches on all fours and tilts its grotesque, oversized head. "Ribbit. Come, spid'rs! Shall thee spinneth us a pretty tale?"




Without moving their mouths, all of them are suddenly overcome with shrill riotous laughter, a merry hysteria that borders on madness.


Actions?


Map:

Pyramid Tier 2.19.jpg (457.73 KiB) Viewed 7440 times

One square = 10 feet. Monsters not currently in sight of a PC are depicted in their last known location.






PC Status:

• Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 2: AC 6, HP 7/12, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl
  Attila: Hyrkanean Nomad Barbarian 1: AC 1, HP 11/12
  Biblo Phyle: Zamoran Southman Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User 1/1/1: AC 3, HP 7/7, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: AC 5, HP 15/18, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Gronda: Zembabweian Savage Ranger/Thief 1/2: AC 7, HP 14/17
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: AC 4, HP 3/7, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: AC 5, HP 15/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 2: AC: 7, HP: 5/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
  Roan, Son of Rune: Vanir Northman Barbarian 2: AC 4, HP 22/23, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Invisibility (Biblo): Ingested one dose of potion. Duration: unknown.

PC Resources:

• An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)
  Men of the Hyborian Age (races of men)
  The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)

[hedgeknight]

Kiri regards Mako quizzically, suddenly wondering if he, like many of their profession, is somewhat unhinged. "Careful, friend. It sounds like that may be the spider owner you're talking to," he whispers loudly. He ducks back into the fountain room to let the others pass. "Mako is talking to someone in the hall. I have a bad feeling about it," he says as they pass. "Also, pardon me, I know we just met, please excuse my forwardness, but can any one of you heal me a bit? I ran out of salve many days ago - and I have a feeling we're not done with Mother Spider." He nods toward the open spider hole.

"Dammit to hell!" Roan growls as he hurries past Kiri, following the others who have entered the hall. He stomps up beside Locke, giving the Pict a withering glare. But...when seeing Locke's face, the barbarian's glare turns to confusion...and then to a frown as the hysterical laughter from the hallway catches his ear.
He takes a few steps toward the backs of his companions, peering over their heads...and his heart nearly stops when he sees the hideous creatures hooting and hollering in the flickering lights and shadow.
"Mitra save us!" he hisses...staring at the creatures, unable to look away.

[Grognardsw]

Biblo Phyle, arcanist

I heave a sigh of relief that the creature beyond the door is staying put.

"Kiri - that water has healing properties. Drink deep."

Hearing muffled voices north - is that laughter? - I move ahead following the others to investigate.

[Mant72]

Garrin Locke:

Drawn by the maddening laughter, Garrin moves cautiously forward and approaches the bizarre animal-headed beings. He presents his palms to show he is unarmed and states, "We are travelers lost. Who might you be?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Gronda has had enough of strange monsters for the time being. She takes a few steps back to the unchecked door as the others file into the hall.

She keeps a close eye and ear out towards the spider hole as she checks the door for traps or tricks.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako positions himself behind Loche and whisper into his ear. "I'm not sure I understand their dialect but I think they believe we are spiders. Humor me." Mako crouches down a little to shorten his height so his head is at Loche shoulder blade. He then extends his arm so they appear under Loche's arms, moving them up and down in swimming-like motion. "Loche do the same." he whispers.

[ChubbyPixie]

Biblo Phyle, arcanist

I heave a sigh of relief that the creature beyond the door is staying put.

"Kiri - that water has healing properties. Drink deep."

Hearing muffled voices north - is that laughter? - I move ahead following the others to investigate.

"Ah, yes, the fountain. Only one use of it may be of benefit. I know this from trying." says Kiri. "I'll make due. No doubt I'll heal over time. Unless eaten by a spider first, I suppose." He'll move in with the others so as not to be separated. Seeing what Mako is up to, pretending to be a spider, his suspicions of an unbalanced nature are confirmed. Still, the Easterner illusionist seems like a nice person. He is unvisibly alarmed by the animal people, but decides to see which direction this encounter goes before reacting. Perhaps they could be of help to the party.

[Inferno]

Outside the Secret Shrine of the Oracle of Osorus (3)
The Great Pyramid of the Lost City, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day One. Evening. 13th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





Beneath dizzying portrayals of paradise...



...savage Gronda retreats back into the shadowy, ancient halls. Furious Roan, wounded Kiri, jovial Attila and unseen Biblo advance past her. Soon she is alone, near the gaping maw of the giant spider’s den.

The distant torchlight reflects along the magnificent, embellished surfaces of the corridor that she may examine the closed door.



The Zimbabwean scout detects no booby traps, nor knob, nor keyhole.

Trying not to divide her attention, while thoroughly searching the door, she glances back at the huge spiderhole.



There, something rustles deep in the darkness.





“The spider! Yes! The spider!” the strange denizens of the Lost Pyramid giggle and cry at Mako and Loche’s pantomime arachnid. Attila, Biblo, Kiri and Roan join them and are soon also glaring at the sight of the noisy spectacle.

His skin crawling with the horror that madness always instills in the sane, Garrin of Argos tentatively asks, "We are travelers lost. Who might you be?"

The bizarre beastmen stop their rollicking laughter with a sharp, sudden abruptness and stare unblinkingly at the strangers in this strange land. One advances to answer.



"Who might we be? Canst thee not tell?! I am a monkey.
"Verily, we has't traveled far on our desperate quest! Is there a healer 'mongst thee? P'rhaps thee can help our dearest lord and friend? He hast taken ill and anon hovers at death's door. Is there something thee can doeth to help? Prithee? I implore thee!"

Monkey holds out a lumpy, white gourd.

All the pale, gaunt beings fall silent and lower their fantastic heads in tragedy, sorrow and mourning. Between gulping sobs, the monkey introduces the gourd to the lost explorers. "His name… is Xuthalhotep."

All of them succumb once more to gleeful shrieks of maniacal, deranged laughter that echo down the timeless, hallowed corridors of the ancients.


Actions?


Map:

Pyramid Tier 2.20.jpg (457.75 KiB) Viewed 7391 times

One square = 10 feet. Monsters not currently in sight of a PC are depicted in their last known location.





PC Status:

• Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 2: AC 6, HP 7/12, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl
  Attila: Hyrkanean Nomad Barbarian 1: AC 1, HP 11/12
  Biblo Phyle: Zamoran Southman Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User 1/1/1: AC 3, HP 7/7, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: AC 5, HP 15/18, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Gronda: Zembabweian Savage Ranger/Thief 1/2: AC 7, HP 14/17
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: AC 4, HP 3/7, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: AC 5, HP 15/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 2: AC: 7, HP: 5/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
  Roan, Son of Rune: Vanir Northman Barbarian 2: AC 4, HP 22/23, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Invisibility (Biblo): Ingested one dose of potion. Duration: unknown.

PC Resources:

• An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)
  Men of the Hyborian Age (races of men)
  The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)

[Starbeard]

Attila has no idea what is going on ahead of him, but he hears someone talking about help or some other thing.

'Tell them we can help them in whatever way they fancy, as long as they provide us with ample food and drink first!'

[Mant72]

Garrin Locke:

Garrin silently muses, "It is best to be wary with these madmen, for they may take us as friends or foes. They obviously have food and water somewhere, and this could be our saving grace."

Garrin plays his role in the drama and looks down at the pale gourd with empathy, "Perhaps your invalid friend may benefit from the healing waters of the font in yonder shrine." Garrin points back in the direction whence they came.

[OGRE MAGE]

Gronda is uncertain about this knobless stone door. She is certain however, that she does not want to become the huge spiders next meal. She quickly slips back through the secret door across the hall and closes it behind her all but a tiny crack that she can still hear and see through.

She then quietly awaits the conclusion of the conversation that the others are having with the clearly insane creatures of this place.

[hedgeknight]

Roan, Son of Rune

The barbarian listens as the deranged animal-headed freaks blather on about their master. But when they produce a gourd and shriek and laugh maniacally about it, Roan can't take any more.

"Why are we treating with these crazy ass fuckers!" Roan shouts. Handing his torch to Kiri, he pulls a short spear from his back, pushing his way toward the front. "I've heard enough gibbering and fawning about and I don't plan on wasting my last few breaths in the company of these freaks! Arthfael! Attila! Let's take these dogs down!"

With a grunt, Roan hurls the spear directly at the chest of the Monkey-headed freak.
Spear: [1d20+4] = 15+4 = 19, [1d6+5] = 3+5 = 8