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March 22, 2004

Mental note, pay attention more….

Tassar's Journal

After getting some rest, the group was sort of meandering around. None of us really wanted to go into the dark hole, so we were just waiting for someone to stand up and be in charge and say ‘we are not going into the hole.’ Eventually the new guy went up to the surface to see if the wolves were still around. He returned and we thought it would be fun to go fight some wolves until someone found a way to go besides the dark hole.

Off we went, the rest of the party decided not to join us. They all were staring at us though as if waiting for a punch line from a joke. Disregarding the looks, we started up to the surface to kill a few wolves and maybe gain some meat for breakfast. We never made it to the surface. A scream came from below us as we were just steps away from the surface. It sounded like Deitricha and I was off and running.

Seconds later and with a few stubbed toes, I found Deitricha with a panicked look she had never shown. She stated that there was a voice coming from a hidden room that the two ladies had found. I prepared my sword and shield and went in after the voices. I must admit I was expecting something other than what I found. Perhaps, the reported vampire that I had been mocking for so long. As I peered over the edge of a pit I saw a pile of rubble, with a pile of rubble on top of him. What I mean is I found a Dwarf.

Having no great love for the boisterous creatures I told Deitricha “It’s just a Dwarf, leave him.’ After recoiling from the smack to the back of my head, I apologized to her and went down to see if I could help. The Dwarf had somehow become trapped. It looked like he was climbing the ladder on the wall and it collapsed with some of the wall. I think the new guy followed me, I just know that I found a chance to have some fun and took it. I climbed onto a large chunk of stone that was deposited on the Dwarf’s chest. To my joy the burly fellow yelled at me. I returned the favor by asking his name, without making the slightest effort to free him. Instead he ruffed back at me and I back at him. Before long the rest of the party was beside me pulling me off of the Dwarf and apologizing to him for my behavior.

I took a bit more of yelling from Deitricha before I wondered off to see what Theona was doing. Sometimes I think Deitricha does not understand how fighters talk to each other. We are not a breed of huggy-kissy people. We insult each other and lie about our deeds, it is an unwritten rule.

Anyway Theona was looking at a set of doors, she muttered something about ‘not locked,’ then began looking at other stuff. I took my normal queue and opened the door. Theona dove to the side as the two statues on either side of the doors let loose brilliant blue bolts of lightning. It hurt a little, but it was worth the pain to see the light show. Well, it was until the ladies started yelling at me for it. Even Areon put in his two bits. That is probably why I started walking down the hallway that the door revealed, just to find some piece and quiet, and to figure out if what Theona said was even physically possible.

I was followed as usual by Deitricha who continued to tell me to take more precautions. I stated that I would do so if she learned to stay behind me in the battle. For Tempus’ sake that woman can argue. She was just telling me, again, to let Theona look for traps as I stepped on something that clicked. Before I could look down there was another sound, a sound of bars closing us into a trap, then the sound of stone on stone. Two doors opened in the hall, one on each side and inside the trap we were in. I began telling Deitricha to get behind me when we were flanked by two more of the armored statues that attacked us earlier. We quickly stood back to back and began fighting the statues when we were joined by skeletons.

I began telling Deitricha to stand behind me and she began to tell me that she had nowhere to go. About that time the arrows began. Thank the gods I am a short fellow, as at least six arrows flew just over my head and into the far wall. Deitricha raised her holy symbol and turned the skeletons to dust. I told her that she took some of my kills, and to get behind me. By this time we had both taken a few shots from the armored statues and Theona was yelling ‘You two look like hell.’

As we enjoyed a slight chuckle, and ducked yet more arrows (my friends need some time on a practice range), more skeletons came out from the doors. As Deitricha again hoisted her holy symbol to destroy the skeletons, some of the party set the trapped area on fire. At least they set the end near them on fire and not where we were. I heard Deitricha hit the floor and I turned to try to protect her as the suit of armor I was fighting took advantage of my distraction and landed a solid blow that knocked me from consciousness.

Soon I was brought back around and the battle had ended. Theona, I am told, found the way to open the bars and the party finished the statues off. I was also coherent to two more facts: first the new guy wondered off to check out the passages that the statues had come out of instead of trying to save Deitricha and my life, second was the fact that the Dwarf (named Rosorc) had fought bravely in our behalf. That settles it for me, Rosorc is Rosorc, and William is still the new guy.

Eventually we walked up to another door, which I did let Theona check for traps, she then opened it and we walked in to find a dead Gnome on a table. Well, I will call it a Gnome, there wasn’t very much left of him. Rosorc, showing a good heart wanted to cover the fellow and I gave him my cloak. Before we knew it the dead, long dead, Gnome turned his head and looked at the new guy with hollow eyes. Then the dead fellow told the new guy to get out. I admit this was a new one for me, a creature with no innards turning and talking to some one. The new guy had had enough and was off and running, Deitricha followed him.

Then Theona, who was off to the side of the room, yelped in pain. Areon, Rosorc and I then took to fighting this new foe. It took a little while to figure out what or where it was for it could blink into invisibility and was very fast when we could see it. Areon after getting a good look at it, and a sting in the shoulder for the effort, told us it was some kind of Imp. Then Deitricha came back to the room and told us she ‘had to beat William into unconsciousness to stop him.’ I said “Sure, you had to. Who gets to beat him up tomorrow?” Then our attention was forced back to the attacking Imp.

It didn’t take long for the ladies to retreat into the hall to escape the speedy Imp’s attacks. The three of us men still standing, gathered into a tight group to give us extra chances to hit the speedy foe. The Dwarf then pulled out a length of chain and swung it at the Imp. On his second attempt, he actually caught the little creature. Taking nothing for chance I reached over and cut the tail and stinger off of the thing. Areon then stepped up next to me and cleaved the creature in half.

The party then gathered around and decided to rest for a while. We took the chance to get to know Rosorc better and kind of unofficially asked him to join us for a while. It was funny, we never had asked him, he just joined in and helped us.

After two days of rest I was ready to climb the walls. Finally Theona opened a hidden door off of the room that the Imp was in, we then followed her into the new room. In the center of the room was a large and ornate circle. It had many symbols on it that told something that I could not understand. In the corner of the room we found a chest, which was locked. Theona said she was going to get her tools. Soon as she was out of the room Rosorc and I looked at each other and without speaking a word, we agreed to open it before she got back. I held a dagger in the lock and he swung a small hammer that he produced from his pack. Just as we opened the lock Theona came back in and was yelling at us. It felt nice to have someone to share the blame with.

As the party went through the treasure I turned my attention back to the circle. I pulled a copper coin from my pouch and took a second to admire the flying Pegasus that was on the face of the coin, the symbol of Silverymoon. Then my attention was drawn back to the circle as Theona and the new guy were talking about the meaning of the symbols. The new guy said it was some kind of portal. I then rolled the copper coin into the circle and it disappeared. Then the new guy was telling Theona that it was probably a two-way device. Then I pulled another copper and tossed it into the circle, about ten feet in the air. This coin too disappeared.

Then I decided to go through the portal and see what was there. I don’t know why I had decided to do this. Perhaps I trusted the new guy, but that makes less sense to me in hindsight. I think it was just because we had spent two days cooped up in that room. As I walked toward it I heard the beginnings of something from Theona, but I was too far into the circle to hear what it was.

Suddenly my all of my senses were bombarded by heat and light and some dizziness from the trip through the portal. The heat was from the fires that erupted at random in every direction. The light was from both a red sky and from lightning that danced about. “Friggen Ehh, where in the Nine Hells am I …”? I stopped my thoughts as I realized that for the first time in my life, that was a true statement.

I quickly looked around for the returning symbol only to realize that there was none. Then they caught my eye, out in the distance, groups of creatures moving in small packs. Some appeared to have wings, others had horns. All of them where in shapes I have never seen in all my years. As sweat rolled down my cheek from the intense heat, I began to pray that no one follows me. Then in a flash Deitricha was next to me. I was not happy, but yet I had to laugh, she followed me to Hell. I went to her and gave her a hug. Soon all the party was there.

Theona lit into me real good. It appears that someone had warned us that there were passages to ‘Hell’ in the tower. I could only shrug and apologize, I didn’t know. I then turned my attention back to the new surroundings. Off to one side was a large castle that had a greenish tint to it. Other than that the only landmark was a mountain in the opposite direction.

I figured that the mountain might be a good place to find a place to hide while we figured out the trouble we were in. We all started off in that direction. The new guy pulled his cloak tight around his head, he was very afraid of this place. Rosorc seemed indifferent, and Areon was busy pointing out to Theona all the ‘unnatural’ things that were running about. Deitricha kept close to me, keeping her thoughts to herself. Again in this obviously bad moment, I had to smile to myself. She followed me to Hell.

Posted by Jim at 17:43 | Tassar’s Journal