Chapter 22: Underworld

[Urson]

Zahra.
One thing at a time, please. Let's be sure we're done in this room before you wander off with your dog.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

"Aye," Cruloc grunts. "An Eiglophian buck moves most swiftly when all its legs run in the same direction."

[ravenn4544]

Amethu waits eagerly as the small door is examined and, hopefully, opened. "Indeed, let's finish here first as this could be of import to our quest"

[ChubbyPixie]

Cruloc

"Aye," Cruloc grunts. "An Eiglophian buck moves most swiftly when all its legs run in the same direction."

Kiri pauses and considers Cruloc's comment, then nods to himself at its wisdom, approving of the way the saying rolls off the tongue.

Heeding Zahra's advice, he waits patiently to se what the reliquary box reveals. Though he does stand well to the side as it is pried open, having heard stories of compartments trapped with poisonous needles that spring out when tampered with.

[Inferno]

The Caverns of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Eleven. Late Morning. 21st day of the month of Qrot, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia





Gnasher picks up the scent and pulls his gypsy master through the door and toward the rope bridge over the bottomless chasm!

Meanwhile, in the defiled temple, Dahinna struggles to pick the lock of the reliquary door in the sundered statue of Thanatos.

Suddenly, from the tiny keyhole, a long spring-loaded needle jabs out, stabbing her finger!



(1hp damage and please Save vs Poison!)



Actions?!


Map:

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

Behind the DM Screen:

Dahinna: Find Traps (45%): [1d100]=59 Fails.
Dahinna: Open Locks (57%): [1d100]=73 Fails.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 16/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, Lantern
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/45
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 19/25, Torch nearby
Grigor: Zamoran Nomad Cleric/Fighter 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 19/29, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 21/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 28/28, Torch
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 1, HP: 12/29, Torch
Gnasher: Grigor's Hound: Move: 12", AC: 5, HD: 2+2, HP: 10/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

When the needle pricks her finger, Dahinna yelps in surprise and sits back on her butt in the dust...staring at the blood pooling and dripping from her finger, which begins to throb in agony.
"This is not good..." she whispers...

[Bluetongue]

Grigor

Reins the dog in. Obviously not going to leap off the cliff edge. I was hoping he might sniff a trail up one passage. "Steady boy." I would be interested to find out how deep the chasm goes.

Before he can test price any theory with a flaming arrow, he hears Dahinna's cry of shock and pain.

He is out of cure spells though.

"Put your finger out, on the stone block there. Cut it off now before the poison goes to your heart. Anyone got an axe."

Unless someone has a better idea or she hopes it is only a weak sleep poison, he suggests radical therapy to save her life.

[ravenn4544]

As Dahinna considers removing one of her precious fingers, Amethu will lend what prevention he can to buy her some time. He will cast slow poison on her.

[ChubbyPixie]

Startled, though half expecting this exact situation, Kiri springs into action. Knowing exactly where he'd keep an emergency antidote if he installed a poison trap in the base of his temple statue, he attempts to smash the palm sized door in with the blunt side of his hand axe.

Attack with Hand Axe (THAC0:18): To Hit: [1d20+3]=11+3=14 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+6]=5+6=11, vs. Lg: [1d4+6]=3+6=9

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

The barbarian scowls at Grigor's suggestion.

"Hmph. Barbarian..." he scoffs.

He rushes to the stricken thief's side and examines her finger. The puncture site he sniffs for clues as to the poison's nature. His pouch of herbs is opened, and his rough fingers gently sort through the dried apothecary within.

Effect cure on unknown poison 10% [1d100]=6

"Hold now, Dahinna. It takes more than a little prick to lay low a Zamoran wench."

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra glances back at the thief, then returns her attention to the entrance.

[jemmus]

Hearing the Zamoran or Zingaran swordswoman cry of pain, Torix turns. The Cimmerian is already running to her. The swordswoman is staring at the little prick as if she'd never felt the bite of steel on on her flesh before. "Poison. Snakebit...," the Pictish savage thinks. "People try to draw the poison out by sucking out and spitting the blood. But that only works if the poison doesn't reach the heart. And this warrior looks like she has a strong heart. It will pump the blood back to itself quickly." He rushes to scene, hunting knife ready to take an arm off at the wrist, or even elbow if needed. Or tie the arm off at the biceps and slow the flow of blood to the heart. But who can know the nature of a death god worshipper's poison? As potent as a viper of the forest's, but also infused with human sorceror's evil magic? At the shoulder then, to be safe?" He grits his teeth, mentally picturing what to do next. "Just like butchering an elk, deer, or village chicken. Find the joint, move it around, make a clean cut around it and through it. And let the joint fall to the Earth, by its own weight." The tattooed savage grimaces and slowly moves toward the warrior swordswoman.

But the tattooed savage sees the Cimmerian adroitly taking care of the wound. He watches from some feet away. "So that is the Cimmerian way of dealing with poison, is it?" Torix watches closely. It seems that the big Cimmerian somehow knows about medicine for injected poison. The priest chants good incantations. "I don't think we'll need to remove an arm at the shoulder or the elbow. I hope not. We shall see."

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

"Get the hell away from me!" she hisses. "Nobody's cutting off anything!"

[Inferno]

The Caverns of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Eleven. Late Morning. 21st day of the month of Qrot, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Suddenly, from the tiny keyhole, a spring-loaded needle jabs out, stabbing Dahinna's finger!

The little thief collapses to the floor, stricken, eyes wide with fear!

Torix considers removing her arm at the shoulder. Grigor asks, "Anyone got an axe?"

Kiri grips his hatchet and raises it high over his head! The giant brings it down into the reliquary door with a crash, breaking it open and revealing a dark cavity within! His large hand squeezes in and feels damp parchment, a knife hilt, and broken glass! A crystal vessel must have shattered when the statue toppled!

Dahinna has seconds to live. In those seconds, Amethu's devout orisons prolong her fleeting life long enough for Cruloc to suck out the poison and treat the wound with barbaric medicines.

Zahra keeps her eyes firmly on the doorway and senses at the edge of her perception a patient, spectral figure like the icon of Thanatos!



It is the same deathly apparition that Zahra saw haunting Iago's death!

Dahinna rouses and the spectre disappears!

"Get the hell away from me! Nobody's cutting off anything!"

The little rogue will live.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas were visible this round. All else is from memory.




PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 16/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl, Lantern
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/45
Dahinna: Zamoran Southwoman Thief 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 19/25, Torch nearby
Grigor: Zamoran Nomad Cleric/Fighter 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 19/29, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 21/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 3: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 28/28, Torch
Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 1, HP: 12/29, Torch
Gnasher: Grigor's Hound: Move: 12", AC: 5, HD: 2+2, HP: 10/11, AT: 1, D: 1-4

PC Magic:

None currently.

Player Resources:

The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[jemmus]

Torix to the canting of Amethu, a priest and sorcerer from a place doesn't even know of. Somewhere beyond the Pictish lands, Aquilonia, Zingara, and Cimmeria. Past even Stygia and Turan far to the east, even. He ran to the stealthy Zamoran fighter Dahinna's collapsed body lying on the floor in this strange underground. Amethu intoned strange words, with good heart and sounds. The Cimmerian Cruloc seemed to somehow doing something very right to tend to poisoned Zamoran stealth swordswoman's flat body. "What? A Cimmerian is only good for swinging a broadswoard in a forest. And big man getting a sharp stone in his guts in Pictish lands. The Cimmerians know medicine, too?"

And then, the peaceful chanting stops and Zamoran swordswoman wakes up, stands up, and pulls her steel sword. Torix puts his knife back in its sheathe at his belt. It's a good knife. It can dig for roots, skins off bark, be thrown as a weapon, skin root crops, cut hair, skin a deer or boar, chip away at stone wall, all kinds of things like that. He whets his knife, to be ready in case any limbs may need to removed in the future.

Sorry all, just trying to RPG the REH books. My favorites.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu reacts quickly, "Careful! That parchment may bear something as yet unknowable! Let me tend to that while the others examine the rest!" He will gently take the parchment and examine it with years of study and practice behind him.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Er... I'll just look at this knife, then." says Kiri as Amethu seemingly comes out of nowhere for a drive by scroll snatch.

Once he realizes Cruloc has deftly de-poisoned Dahinna, he carefully removes the knife and examines it. He'll dip his pinky into a droplet of moisture from the vial and touch it to the tip of his tongue, careful to get only the smallest taste.

[Bluetongue]

Grigor

I am concerned about the haunting spectre that comes and goes. He takes his divining rods and tuning forks. He holds them out before him as one might a holy symbol and scouts the room to see if any vibration triggers. Gnasher goes to sniff out the borders and shadows of the room.

Ymir's daughter, Atali, appears to dying warriors as harbinger of their journey to her father's realm.

I would rather not have any kind of deathly shadow or grim reaper following us about.

[hedgeknight]

Dahinna

The Zamoran rogue looks around at the faces of her companions and wonders aloud..."What the hell just happened? Did I die? I-I remember..." she looks at her finger, seeing a slight red indention where the needle stuck her. Tears spring to her eyes and run down her cheeks. "What...who...will somebody please tell me what the fuck just happened?"

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc holds his sword-calloused hands out toward Torix.

"These do more than snap Pictish necks like rotten branches."

To Dahinna, he explains.

"You were off to reunite with Iago, but it was not your time. Badb, the goddess of death, will carry you away on her chariot another day."