Chapter 14: Things From Another World

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Heck if I know, Doc. He studies his boots, checking for any sign of infestation.

I'm gonna wait here for now. No sense in getting myself in a dangerous situation.

[jemmus]

Mungo says, rather cheerfully, By the way, my divine mentors have prepared me with another spell like the one already cast. I mention it, just in case the worst happens with that slime. He seems a little self-satisfied with himself for the choices he made for the day's spells.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-nan spits in disgust as the others make for the slime filth. "Bah!" he belches as he backs up into the main cavern to cover the rear of those foolish enough to pursue the path of slime.

[Inferno]

Caveman Dwelling near the Starfall, Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Morning. Saturday, April 14th, 912 CY








Maskelyn cries out his discovery and the adventurers follow him to the edge of the path of slime.

The gnome conjurer still shows no sign of infestation from the thin layer of green ooze that coats the floor, walls and ceilings of the vast, luminous slime cavern.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter area is visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 22/24
Draupadi: Human Cleric 5: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 41/41, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 29/29
Finver Karstlander: Dwarven Fighter 4: Move 6", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/35
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 45/51, Torch
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 18/18, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Mungo: Mole-Man Cleric 5: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 39/39, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Lantern

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo stares after Maskelyn for a moment, then says, "I wonder what would happen if you cast your spell on the slime itself. Or the river. How does magic work, anyway?"

[Rex]

Draupadi

"A very philosophical question Fiefo. The real question is do we risk walking in the slime?"

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan stares back with a steady gaze at the idea, "You'll have to kill me and drag my lifeless corpse across that slime before I choose to walk on it..."

[jemmus]

Mungo
I'm with Ko-nan. I think we must apply some scientific reasoning here. Apparently Maskelyn is immune to slime infestation, whereas Finver and Draupadi weren't. What is different about Maskelyn than them? Well, a) obviously he's gnome, and illusionist, and they aren't. And b), he and Fiefo had messages about slime immunity from the Goddess With a Thousand Faces. Therefore, it seems probably that Maskelyn and Fiefo are protected from the slime, but Draupadi and Finver aren't. Thus, it stands to reason that none of the rest of us are either.

Perhaps we could return to the tribe's cave of worship with the paintings and ask the Goddess With a Thousand Faces for slime protection for ourselves too.
Otherwise, I think we have to built a boat, or a raft with a platform rising above the slime. Or otherwise travel without touching the slime.

The strain of all of that logical thinking leaves the old moleman cleric visibly tired. He munches some Altrusian food to restore his energy.

[Rex]

Draupadi

"I am not sure we have the time to build a boat. Did this goddess of a thousand faces give any clue how to destroy the slime? Fire perhaps?"

[redwarrior]

Connak continues to watch anxiously, Saber in hand and NO intention of entering the slime water whatsoever. Regular water is bad enough...

[ChubbyPixie]

Draupadi

"I am not sure we have the time to build a boat. Did this goddess of a thousand faces give any clue how to destroy the slime? Fire perhaps?"

Fiefo shrugs.

"I thought it was all a dream. I wasn't paying too much attention," he says.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
She didn't say anything about destroying it- but she said it's not the real enemy. Not sure what she meant by that...

[Rex]

Draupadi

"If this came from the sky, maybe the real enemy is how it got here?"

[Inferno]

Caveman Dwelling near the Starfall, Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Morning. Saturday, April 14th, 912 CY





Connak and Ko-Nan refuse to enter the great cavern of slime.

The adventurers discuss their next move.

Then Maskelyn remembers what the cosmic shaman-goddess said during his phantasmagorical vision-quest:

Fiefo and Maskelyn bathe in the star pool as the reflection of the Goddess With a Thousand Faces says, "This will protect you from the evil spirit of the Void Slime... even as we know that it is not the true enemy that makes war upon us.

"The author of all calamities on this island is Xygax the Wizard. We thought we could hide from him, but we were wrong. None are safe from his mad game as long as he lives."

Still believing that fantasy is reality, the trickster dream-weaver shares his delirious memory with his companions.

Connak, Fiefo, Ko-Nan and Maskelyn remember similar words uttered by another...

The Kirk desperately rasps, "Wait... I have to tell you something. None of this is real..."
The demigod struggles to explain, "We're trapped by some powerful entity. He created all of this. Even... us. We're puppets. For his... entertainment. He implanted us with memories from some ancient play. I think we're less than two years old... Please. Tell me. Are you... creations of Xygax... the "Dungeon Master"... like us?"

...But the angel's gratitude to them, for answering his prayers and saving his crew from a fate worse than death, is no less real.




"But if you ever get the chance to face Xygax... Avenge us."

And all the adventurers remember...

"Wait! Wait! Uh... Can we talk this over?" the craven, unmasked doppelgangers wheedle.

...Finver the dwarf urges, "Fight your enslavers, not us! We will help you free yourselves!"

Shown the truth, the Sleestaks believe their large, bulbous eyes. Outnumbered, the repulsive doppelgangers surrender.

In the hours that follow, the corrupt, fleshless creatures reveal their insidious plot, "Look, your enemies are our enemies! We were building an army to overthrow Xygax the wizard! (There's only room for one puppet-master on this island!) "

Finally, Fiefo, Ko-Nan and Maskelyn cannot help but recall their "deaths" at the hands of Xygax, the evil wizard who plays deadly games with those unfortunate enough to enter his sinister web!...

Dead. All dead. Or so they thought.

Momentarily linked with the Cyborg Abomination's electrical subconscious, the adventurers see a strange flash of clairvoyant visions in their minds:




High atop the lightning-tossed skyscraper, in its uppermost chamber, sits the wizard Xygax.





The self-proclaimed "Dungeon Master" impassively watches the adventurers' grim fate on a series of crystal screens that surround him.




...Arrayed before the sorcerer-historian are a series of ancient illuminated manuscripts, timeless memory tapes, arcane ephemera, esoteric trivia and sundry from the long lost epoch of 'Earth That Was.'

Lurid garish depictions of sorcerers, automatons, monsters, masked men and other mysterious subjects grace their age-worn covers. One such antique curio is an amusement entitled "Dungeons and Dragons."



It purports to be an "adventure module" whose substantial contents hold many empty spaces for its owner to fill in. These have been carefully completed by Xygax. "5 Daleks" reads one hand-written entry. "9 Klingons" reads another.

...He switches on a microphone and speaks.
"Game over. Another TPK. I knew that wandering monster chart was going to be trouble.
"Okay. Reset the rooms. Get everything ready again. The next group of playtesters will soon be here."

Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter area is visible. All else is from memory.





PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 22/24
Draupadi: Human Cleric 5: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 41/41, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 29/29
Finver Karstlander: Dwarven Fighter 4: Move 6", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/35
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 45/51, Torch
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 18/18, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Mungo: Mole-Man Cleric 5: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 39/39, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Lantern

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[Urson]

Maskelyn
All these refreshed memories shake Maskelyn to his core. He wavers for a second, then bends over and braces his hands on his knees. He mumbles a fragment of dialogue he heard once. A strange game. The only way to win is...not to play.

[Rex]

Draupadi

"Perhaps that is a way to win, but we are already playing and I intend to win. So, what is out next move?"

[redwarrior]

Connak shivering at the memories, gives the pool a suspicious glance, but finally asks That pool you bathed in the other day, do you think it would protect the rest of it if we took a shudderswim in it?

[ChubbyPixie]

We all died and came back as enhanced, cybernetic versions of ourselves...

Fiefo considers all the pieces of the "who's the real enemy" puzzle. He's not super smart.

"Wait, does this mean we have to go back to The Tower? And die again, probably?" he says. "...I knew we'd never escape."

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Sooner or later, yeah. We'll have to go back to the tower and face the Wizard. But not until we're a LOT more ready than last time... I hope.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan growls at the mention of the tower. "No Tower!" He raises his axe with a sneer, "Unless it's to impale the wizards skull upon my axe!"