Chapter 27: The Tower of the Ancients

[Inferno]

Chapter 27: The Tower of the Ancients

The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia





In the desolate ruins of lost Thracia, a marble tower stands alone. The pale obelisk rises some 70 feet into the sky, nearly blinding in the dazzling sunlight.

Four explorers of antiquity, Amethu, Cruloc, Kiri and Torix, gather at its foundation.

Cruloc the Cimmerian smiles greedily, "Inside this gleaming shell, some silk-swaddled lordling, fat with gold and softer than a slug, sat lazy atop a mountain of gold, oblivious to the carrion stench of his dying kingdom. It's a ripe fruit for the plucking."

A fleeting smile crosses Kiri's lips as he knots Torix's rope to his own and fastens its grapnel onto his chest plate. He removes his footwear, winks at Torix, eats a live spider and begins to scale the smooth wall of the shining spire!

Like fabled Arachne, the tragic spider goddess of Atlantean mythology...



...the gigantic Easterner eerily and impossibly ascends the sheer vertical surface in full armor until he reaches a window near its dizzying apex!


Actions?!


Map:

X = Adventurers' position. A = Cliff face trail where the Harpies attacked. B = Ruined temple lair of the giant Cyclops and the unleashed Hydra. C = The Tower of the Ancients.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 48/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 54 rounds
Spider Climb (Kiri): Target: self. Duration: 2 rounds

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)

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri peers in the window. If there is no immediate and obvious danger, he'll affix the grapnel to the sill and heft his bulk inside for a better look at the space there.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Looking upward with no small admiration at the ascending Easterner, Cruloc shields his eyes against the midday sun hanging in the blue vault above the ruined sprawl of domes and column-lined avenues.

"To be sure, in Kambuja lurk spiders which rival Kiri in bulk. Eating them passes for courage in their tribe. I'll wager our Hyborian spinners are no more a morsel to him than an olive tucked in the cheek of a wine-soaked Zingaran!"

Returning briefly to thoughtful silence, the Northman scours his crude imagination, straining to picture the women of the distant East, their strange mating customs entwined with the perilous art of climbing, as if love in that land demanded the conquering of both heights and hearts.

"If there be cliffs like those in Cimmeria," he adds lustily, "the maidens of Kambuja, smitten by my prowess, would line up nightly to share my furs, by Crom!"

[jemmus]

Torix smiles and tries to imagine the women of Kambuja. Are the giants like Kiri? And sorcerers as well? He prepares to scale the wall when Kiri throws the rope down.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu continues to keep a look-out as the others navigate the tower entrance.

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia






With Eastern sorceries astonishing and inexplicable, Kiri scales the sheer wall of the ancient marble tower as easily as a spider on a web.

Near the summit is carved a motif of fabled Icarus...



...who flew too close to the sun and paid for his hubris with his life.

Kiri secures the iron hook and throws down the rope to his waiting companions. He readies to peer inside the shimmering white spire when suddenly he hears the faint noise of a crying infant, coming from the roof directly above him!

Perched high above the lost city, Kiri realizes his amazing spell has but one minute left!


Actions?!


Map:

X = Adventurers' position. A = Cliff face trail where the Harpies attacked. B = Ruined temple lair of the giant Cyclops and the unleashed Hydra. C = The Tower of the Ancients.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 48/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 53 rounds
Spider Climb (Kiri): Target: Self. Duration: 1 round

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)

[ravenn4544]

Amethu glances up at the tower but keeps his attention on watching and listening for the hydra - or worse...

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc seizes the frayed rope and, fixing his eyes on the parapet far above, begins to propel himself upward.

"What do you see, Kiri?"

[ChubbyPixie]

"I see an obvious metaphor, warning me not to climb higher. Also, I hear a baby on the roof. I will investigate," Kiri responds.

This assumes the roof is close enough for him to scuttle up there in 15 seconds or so, cautiously peek over the roof, and scuttle back down before the spell ends. If not, he will not say the above and will instead ignore the baby for the moment and look in the window before entering (if all seems well). If there is danger inside, he'll grab onto the robe and rappel back down to let the others know.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

"Bel's balls!" Cruloc beseeches the mighty Kambujan. "Is your skull filled with spiders as well? The roof hides no infant, only death with a beguiling tongue! Wait for me to bring my blade to bear!"

"Grandfather, speak sense to him!" he implores the elder.

Gaining the topmost floor, the Cimmerian re-stuffs his ears with pine wax and moss.

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Amethu stands guard below as Cruloc and Torix grip the rope and begin their ascent of the ancient marble tower!

High above them, Kiri effortlessly moves past the idol of doomed Icarus and peers over the edge of the flat, marble roof.

What his eyes behold there, he cannot believe!



On the tower's roof, abhorrent harpy hatchlings are awakening in a nest lined with human skulls. Of their mother, there is no sign.

Directly before them lies the figure of a man, either sleeping or dead! From his attire and gear, he is a warrior or a scout, but neither an Aquilonian soldier, a Thracian warrior of Thanatos, nor a Pict savage. Is he meant to be the heinous creatures' breakfast?

Suddenly, the figure stirs in his sleep! The man is alive and in immediate danger!


Actions, Kiri?!


Map:

X = Adventurers' position. A = Cliff face trail where the Harpies attacked. B = Ruined temple lair of the giant Cyclops and the unleashed Hydra. C = The Tower of the Ancients.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 48/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 53 rounds
Spider Climb (Kiri): Target: Self. Duration: 45 seconds

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 marvels at the giant Kiri's scuttling up the wall of the tower. As if a small lizard from the many nations of the four-leggeds. Or one of the multidinous nations of the six-legged. But instead, as one of the sacred nation of the 8-leggeds. The spinners, builders, and creators. The beings who patiently climb, descend on threads and crawl to construct a web in the sacred spiral shape of the spirals of always growing and decaying forces of life. The shape of the ram's horn and the snail's shell. For Kiri to have eaten a live spider and survived, he must have a very great connection with the Nation of 8-Leggeds indeed.

He humbly prepares to climb the sheer face of the tower's wall, but as a member of the nation of the two-leggeds (those without also wings to fly). And with the help of a rope. He sets forth, tugging and shinnying as fast as he can.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Nine feet up the sheer flank of the tower, Cruloc's keen senses catch the subtle protest of the hemp as it bears its new burden, and a shadow of unease flickers across his bruised and scarred countenance. Aiming a snarl behind him and down, he reprimands Torix in the manner of a Pictish bride on her wedding night.

"One at a time, damn you!"

[ChubbyPixie]

Acting instinctively, Kiri lunges over the ledge and rushes forward to grasp the man and heave him up and out of the nest. He doesn't intend to hurt the sleeper, but he is not gentle. As soon as the scout is tumbled to the roof, not wishing to endure the humiliation of being ensorcelled by a baby – Cruloc would never let him hear the end of it – he begins frantically looking for his own set of wax ear plugs...

[ravenn4544]

Amerhu continues his guard duty starting to wonder what’s taking so long…

[hedgeknight]

Asterion

The man comes awake groggily and shakes his head...watching curiously as the strange person before him is busy...stuffing something in his ears!
"Wha..."cough"...what are you...doing? Where..." He glances over the edge to see the expanse below...and other figures climbing the tower! Suddenly, he realizes he is on the ledge quite high above ground! He feels his stomach roll over and he closes his eyes and leans back against the stone. Not looking at the stranger who must have rescued him, he manages, "I really do not like heights. But, you have my thanks for...for...what did you do?"

The man is tall, lanky with shoulder-length brown hair. He wears splint armor which is also fashioned into a kilt, leaving his legs bare; he has well-worn boots covering his feet, with a cloak to cover most of his body. He has a bow strapped to his back, but carries a spear almost as if it is attached to his arm.

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-two. Midday. 1st day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







As Amethu stands guard below, Cruloc and Torix scale the tower of the ancients, a white spire that stabs at the sky!

The cord sways and turns in on itself but the barbarians are unhindered. Both have made difficult climbs before.

Up and up they climb and the aching desolation of ruined Thracia spreads out further and further from their rising vantage.



When Torix is at the mid point, Cruloc reaches the iron grappling hook and scrambles up the sculpture of Icarus for the dizzying final yards and peers over the edge of the roof.

There, the Cimmerian cannot believe what his eyes behold!



From a nest of heinous harpy infants, Kiri has dragged a stranger (As), saving his life! The roof is smooth marble and a square trap door is set into it. The unknown archer awakens, unsure of his surroundings, as Kiri urgently plugs his own ears!


Actions?!


Roof Map:

Each PC marker on the map signifies an area of about 5' x 5'.



PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 15/17, Spells: 3/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 48/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 3/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 20/21, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 52 rounds

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]

Asterion

"Titan's tits! Is that a Cimmerian?" Asterion exclaims when Cruloc appears over the edge of the roof. He scrambles to his feet, in a crouch, spear ready...unsure which is worse: waking up as a meal for these abominations or facing off against a freaking barbarian!

[jemmus]

Torix looks upward and sees Cruloc react to some sight. What's up there? No doubt another of the ancient gods' and demons' accursed abominations. He quickens the pace of his scaling.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

The muscles on Cruloc's knotted arms strain, and the barbarian swings himself atop the parapet, his unsheathed sword proclaiming his violent intent. Despite his preparedness, he is astounded by a scene of grotesque incongruity: a hooded sentinel clutching a spear, watching over a squawking litter of repulsive winged whelps!

"Crom's hairy knuckles!" he exclaims, recoiling with a step backward which threatens to send him over the precipice. "Ugliness to turn a lion's stomach! Never have I laid eyes on such unlovely spawn - but then, I've yet to see the inside of a Pict village!"

The Cimmerian's eyes, honed by countless battles, read the stranger’s stance like a war map, noting the slight bend of the knees, the defensive tilt of the spear. This desperate figure stands not as a hunter but as a cornered wolf.

The screeching claws at his senses, and his practised hands respond by thrusting the moss and wax mixture into his ears. He tosses the leftovers to the wide-eyed man. "You. Brood mother. Seal your ears if you value your mind!"