Chapter 9: Abyss of the Xenomorphs

[redwarrior]

Connack has a sudden inspiration, as if the gods had reached into his brain, stows his bow and draws his magic scimitar, hoping that he and others will be able to see well enough by it's light to fight this monster. Well, at 5 HP, mostly others!


It would appear that the monster isn't in the first direction he looked
attack with scimitar THACO 19 [1d20+3]=4+3=7 Damage [1d8+4]=1+4=5

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan tries to take advantage of the glowing new light to strike down his foe.

Attack: THACO (20): [1d20+2]=9+2=11 / Damage: (S/M: [2d4+3]=5+3=8 / L: [3d4+3]=3+3=6)

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

With the illumination helping to highlight the monstrous alien, the lawman snipes from both hips with seemingly unerring accuracy.

Sheriff Yul. Handheld crossbow [1d20+3]=18+3=21 damage [1d6+2]=5+2=7

Sheriff Yul triggers the ballistic relic [1d20+3]=20+3=23

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Maskelyn has gotten hold of himself (a little). He stays huddled in his corner, praying.

Hey, Doc! We're in a real spot down here! We need help BAD! Please, Mac! Any sort of pranks you can put on Big an' Ugly will be a big favor to us!

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY






In a labyrinth blacker than the heroes' prospects, Fiefo, Yul, Connak and Ko-Nan are lacerated without mercy by six-fingered claws, steel fangs and a razor sharp tail! (7hp, 7hp, 3hp and 2hp respectively!)

Weak with bloodloss, Connak unsheathes his sword and by the glimmering light of his enchanted blade, the questers can see again. They immediately wish they couldn't.



The gigantic ebon horror is perched in the ceiling above them, drenched in their blood!

Cowering in a corner, invisible Maskelyn prays to the unreliable Gray One. The Kirk leans heavily against a wall of dark amber, struggling to stand.

Connak's glowing scimitar and Ko-Nan's fearsome ax cut only empty air! But Fiefo impales the rapacious inhuman monstrosity with his ancestral weapon in a spray of burning blood! (Fiefo, please roll an Ability Check on 1d20 vs Dex to avoid 3hp damage!)

Then Sheriff Yul quickdraws the strange crossbow of the gods and fires!



A magical ray of cold starlight scorches the air and burns the glistening exoskeleton of the serpentine colossus as it shrieks with venomous fury! The archaic weapon of Earth That Was cauterizes the brutal wound and no acidic blood rains down upon the adventurers beneath the screeching black demon queen!


Actions?!


Map:



Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=4, Monsters: [1d6]=6 Monsters win.
Queen attacks Fiefo, Yul, Connak and Ko-Nan: [1d20]=11, [1d20]=13, [1d20]=17, [1d20]=17 All these blind targets are hit.
Damage: [1d8]=7, [1d8]=7, [1d8]=3, [1d8]=2
Fiefo attacks: [1d20+1]=15+1=16, damage: [1d10]=6

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 2/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 18/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/32
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl, Invisible
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 6/38

PC Magic:

Invisibility (Maskelyn): Target: self

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)

[ravenn4544]

Ko-nan reels at the magical beam - his morality torn between revulsion of magic and revulsion of the filth before him.

Attack: THACO (20): [1d20+2]=11+2=13 / Damage: (S/M: [2d4+3]=3+3=6 / L: [3d4+3]=5+3=8)

[redwarrior]

Connak Will keep his sword aloft, but attempt to move back out of melee range, dragging the Kirk with him. He may have been hurt worse, but he can't remember when. If attacked, he will attempt to use the blade to parry the beast's claws & tail.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Atta boy, Baldy! Hit 'er again!
Maskelyn has nothing he can do, so he cheers for those who can.

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Feels like he needs to cauterize his own wounds, blood and fluid leaking from being clawed and impaled. He feels weaker, like a boxer on his last legs.
I am going to point and trigger the phaser effect again as it obviously does more damage than the crossbow and doesn't need two hands to reload. So I grab 'The Kirk' by one shoulder and drag him to the door right behind me, firing at the colossal alien as I retreat a few yards through the door.

Sheriff Yul triggers the phaser[1d20+2]=10+2=12

[ChubbyPixie]

In the new source of light, Fiefo deftly avoids the blood spray as he scampers to the side:
Dex Check (17): [1d20]=2

He weaves and dodges in the flickering glow, looking for another opportunity to skewer the freakish matriarch:
Attack with Fauchard Fork (THAC0 18): To Hit: [1d20+1]=11+1=12 Damage vs. s/M: [1d8]=8, vs. L: [1d10]=4

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY






Grievously wounded, the heinous endoparasite queen drops to the ground and seemingly hesitates a fraction of a second; enough for the questers of the Kirk to act!

Sherriff Yul fires again and the strange artifact's terrible ray of icy flame sears the black goddess of death!



It shrieks with pain and rage!

By Connak's illumination and Maskelyn's cheers, Fiefo and Ko-Nan spear and hack the monstrous atrocity, razing it asunder in a cataclysm of fiery blood! (Please roll Ability Checks on 1d20 vs Dex to avoid 2hp damage and 4hp damage respectively!)

The demon queen dies screaming!

In answer, feral screeches burst from the darkness to the south! The Kirk groans more strange mystic syllables, "Computer, this is Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise. Begin three minute countdown. Code zero-zero-zero-destruct-zero!"

The eerie, disembodied female voice intones, "Destruct sequence engaged. Enterprise will self-destruct in 180 seconds... 179... 178... 177..."

The injured angel croaks, "Come on, let's get you out of here... This way..." Connak and Yul urgently drag him northward. They soon leave the confines of the demon labyrinth and reenter the architecture of the gods!



"165... 164... 163..." the ghost woman chants.

They reach a dead-end; its iron wall is cleaved apart! Darkness lies beyond!

The Kirk says, "We had a hull breach on impact, during emergency landing. Sensors detected... an extensive cavern system beneath us. It surfaces east of here. You should have time enough to get clear. I can't... thank you enough for saving us."

The questers ready to flee when suddenly 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?"


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. Ki = Kirk. QA= queen. A = alien. X = dead. H = host. e = egg.


Behind the DM Screen:

Queen is badly wounded. Once that occurs, her survival instincts kick in. Her survival is the brood's survival. This powerful urge causes her to hesitate. Gamewise, it means she moves last in a round after being wounded enough.

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 2/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 18/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/32
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl, Invisible
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 6/38

PC Magic:

Invisibility (Maskelyn): Target: self

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)

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Is probably less puzzled by the question from The Kirk as he can reflect on having a designer and creator, put together for the amusement of others until proving his worth and gaining his freedom to roam in the world, driven by compulsions and desires to assimilate and bring law and order. He comes to pity the man, perhaps living a cyclic existence, repeating the same scenarios in futility.

"Did not Frankenstein's monster once enlightened only want to seek to live?

Come Kirk, 'to infinity and beyond'" he says quoting another fabled hero of yore.

He steps across the void threshold.

[redwarrior]

Connak will follow his partner Yul, hoping that there is a nice place to curl up and heal on the other side.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
The invisible Gnome frowns. "Implanted memories?" "Two years old?" "Dungeon Master?"
I dunno about you, Doc- but I'm real, and nobody pushes me around- except Bugs the Gray, of course. He pauses, then remembers another thing The Kirk said; "Get clear"
Let's go, fellas! we'll argue this later. He hustles off into the darkness.

[ChubbyPixie]

Dex Check (17): [1d20]=10

Fiefo looks blankly at The Kirk for a moment. "We did all that, and it was all for pretends?..." he says, finally, shaking his head. "I shoulda known."

The rat man scampers forward, not needing to be told twice. He runs to what he judges to be a safe distance, then slows to a heroic stride, never looking back at the ship...

[ravenn4544]

Ko-nan, tired and injured, growls at the Kirk, "Dungeon master!? That wizard filth from the tower!?!"

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY








As the questers are about to escape, The Kirk desperately warns them that the strange castle-ship out of Ancient Earth mythology and all its inhabitants were created by Xygax... for his amusement.

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.



Fiefo, Ko-Nan and Maskelyn know of whom The Kirk speaks.

Referencing Frankenstein's monster, Yul urges Kirk to be free, to join them.

The bygone saint replies, "Are you free? Are you... real? I hope so." He touches his chest beneath which grows a heinous parasite. The grateful demigod captain will go down with the dungeon-ship. "But if you ever get the chance to face Xygax... Avenge us."

"143... 142... 141..." the spectral voice counts down and the saviors of the Castle Enterprise flee into the cave systems beneath its sundered wall!

With scant light from Connak's blade, they race through the subterranean darkness until the ghost woman's voice is no more.

High above them, in the barren wasteland, the strange citadel is suddenly consumed by a terrible fire within!












Far below comes a deafening thundering of flame that shakes the ground beneath the heroes' feet! The cavern collapses behind them in a violent cataclysm and the crew of the Castle Enterprise are free from the ghastly alien infestation forever.

And free from Xygax.


Actions? (And new Experience Point Award is here)






PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 2/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 18/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/32
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl, Invisible
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 6/38

PC Magic:

Invisibility (Maskelyn): Target: self

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)

[Inferno]

The adventure continues in... Chapter 10: Secret of the Sleestaks