Chapter 27: The Tower of the Ancients

[jemmus]

Torix feels the slice of something sharp gash his chest and thinks, "Ah, there you are!" He draws the shaft of his spear back for a return strike... but suddenly feels biting agony from within his body, through every nerve, organ, muscle and pore. His body wants to collapse and he strains to make his body obey, but he thrusts at the enemy in the black dark.

Save vs. paralysis 17 (4th level Fighter (13), Barbarian +4 bonus) [1d20]=17
Atlantean Spear [1d20+3]=7+3=10 S-M [1d6+3]=5+3=8 L [1d8+3]=6+3=9

[ravenn4544]

Amethu calls out to his comrades “I heard the barbarian fall. I am useless back here. Guide me to him and I will lend aide as I can!”

[jemmus]

Torix calls, He's here! My left!

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The three blind adventurers shout instructions to each other, and to Grandfather!

Suddenly, Kiri feels a slow, steady tapping on his forehead!

Amid the cacophony of voices, Torix drives his enchanted spear into the void! It finds no flesh there to give it purchase. Then, from out of that endless abyss, the Pict savage feels something stab him again! (4hp damage and please Save vs Poison to act next round!)


Actions?!


Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=6, Monsters: [1d6]=3 Party wins.
Monster attacks Torix: [1d20]=6, damage: [1d4]=4 Hits blindfolded Torix for 4hp damage.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/17, Spells: 5/8 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 36/54, Poisoned
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 31/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 78 rounds, Torch

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 hears Torix just a few paces away in the darkness and shuffles forward quickly to where Cruloc lies. He quickly confirms it's him before casting slow poison on him.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri will orient himself to the side Grandfather is tapping an move steadily forward, shield and trident raised. "Grandfather is guiding me to the enemy. I will talk so you know where I am," he says as he moves.

If he feels the tapping quicken he will lunge forward with Cranach:
Attack with Trident +1, Claw of Chobek (THAC0:17): To Hit: [1d20+4]=19+4=23 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+8]=6+8=14, vs. Lg: [3d4+7]=5+7=12

[jemmus]

Save vs. poison 17 (including barbarian bonus)[1d20]=17

Torix again feels his flesh gashed, this time more deeply. The wound burns with venom like that of a scorpion, and he succumbs to delirium. He aims a thrust of his spear at the nearby but unseen foe.

Atlantean Spear [1d20+3]=19+3=22 S-M [1d6+3]=2+3=5 L [1d8+3]=1+3=4

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Within the disorienting, black gulfs of complete blindness, the hardy Pict savage survives a second dose of insidious venom!

Then, before he can act, Torix feels yet another slash at his face from out of the bewildering abyss! (1hp damage and please Save vs Poison to enact the action you have already posted. Thanks!)

Somewhere behind him, in the fathomless void, Amethu sightlessly moves southward and suddenly plunges through the open trapdoor the blind slave had used to enter this tier! (Please roll your DEX or lower on 1d20 to avoid falling, and to enact the action you have already posted. Thanks!)

Elsewhere in the ebon unknown, blindfolded Kiri is guided forward by Grandfather and trips over Cruloc's fallen body and the ossified corpse of Asterion beneath it! (Please roll your DEX or lower on 1d20 to keep your feet and enact the action you have already posted. Thanks!)


Map: (Estimated positions only. The PCs are blind.)


Behind the DM Screen:

This post covers only the first half of one combat round.
Initiative: Party: [1d6]=2, Monsters: [1d6]=3 Monsters win.
Monster attacks Torix: [1d20]=15, damage: [1d4]=1 Hits for 1hp damage.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/17, Spells: 5/8 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 36/54, Poisoned
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 30/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 77 rounds, Torch

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

Trap door?!? Ugh.

Dex (11) [1d20]=7

[jemmus]

Saving throw vs. poison 14. Saving throw vs. poison [1d20 +4]=13+4=17

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Blind and adrift, the adventurers labor to advance!

Amethu keeps his feet when he unexpectedly drops through an open trapdoor onto the curving stairwell beneath! The sightless sorcerer-priest feels his way out and locates Cruloc's lifeless body. With orisons to Uthoth, he seeks a miracle to allay the poison coursing through the barbarian's veins!

Nearby, blindfolded Torix endures a third dose of poison! The resilient savage must be building up an immunity.

Kiri avoids stumbling over Cruloc and Asterion, and the tapping on his forehead suddenly accelerates!

As one, Torix and Kiri drive spear and trident into the void, sowing havoc upon their invisible enemy!



The unseen monster shrieks her bloodcurdling death knell!

Suddenly, as Cruloc awakens from his poisoning, the explorers feel the very floor beneath them tremble and sway! The walls of the tower rumble and groan, heralding imminent collapse!

Somehow, terribly, the astonishing sorcery of the unnatural creature, born of an age of magic unimagined, is imbued throughout the ancient tower! It seems certain the shimmering spire will fall with its fearsome mistress!

The blind adventurers know they are far closer to the ground than the tower's zenith! And Amethu knows where lies the stairwell down! But they are running out of time!


Actions?!


Behind the DM Screen:

This post covers the second half of one combat round.
Kiri: DEX check: [1d20]=9 Succeeds.

PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/17, Spells: 5/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 36/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 30/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 76 rounds, Torch

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]

If Kiri feels no more tapping from Grandfather, he will feel ahead of himself to grab an appendage of the creature, meaning to drag it out with them, if possible, as they scramble for the exit. He has an idea, based on an ancient legend his grandfather told (when alive and much more chatty) that is too good to pass up.

“Torix, grab Cruloc!” he shouts.

Also, if no more tapping, he’ll remove his blindfold once facing away from the creature to make a more hasty escape.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Pain lances his limbs, and the Cimmerian's eyes snap open to utter darkness. While the cold grip of poison retreats, driven back by sorcerous art, the dying echoes of arcane syllables linger on his ears.

Cruloc grunts and surges upright with a snarl.

"The bitch-serpent - where is she?" he gurgles, fingers groping for his sword, muscles still sluggish, as though dragging free of chains.

But before he can continue, the stones beneath him groan like a wounded bull. The floor buckles, mortar cracks like the snapping of ancient bones, and dust sifts down in choking sheets.

"By Crom, let it crumble - but not with me beneath it!"

Grabbing his rope, he limps into motion - his stride gaining strength as stone screams and the tower's wrath chases after him.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu calls out so that his comrades can hear him. “This way. Not far to go!”

Can he tell how many levels down to get to ground level?

[Inferno]

The Ancient Marble Tower, The Ruins of Thracia, Pictland, the World of Hyboria
Day Twenty-five. Late Morning. 3rd day of the month of Ublex, 1280th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The bloodcurdling death knell of the sorcerous medusa seemingly shakes the firmaments of the tower itself. Or perhaps that of the world.

The floor suddenly reels, staggering the blind adventurers. Then comes a strange roar of thunder and ruin, growing somewhere over their heads like the screaming of mad angels, until it becomes nigh to deafening!

The white tower of the ancients is coming down upon them! The explorers have seconds to act, lest be swept away with it.

Kiri risks his life in delay, blindly probing for the corpse of the ageless enemy and finds only dust where the body should be! Wait. Within the ash, Kiri feels something solid and grasps it. A necklace? With a center gem as large as an apple.

Then he joins his companions in frantic flight. Blind, upon a tottering floor, they lurch by feel alone back to the winding stairwell, and commence the dire descent for their lives.

The indescribable sound is nearly upon them as the shimmering spire disintegrates in a catastrophic wave from roof to foundation. They have no choice but to cast off their blindfolds to speed their desperate escape!



They burst onto what might be an unlit ground floor as stones begin to loose and fall around them. Within the light of their torch, there seems no path out.

Suddenly, a figure lunges into the edge of the torchlight! Incongruously, it is a man with the appearance of a desert nomad of Shem?!
"Asterion!" he cries in desperation, the tower coming down around him. "Asterion! Is that you?!"

Finding only the adventurers, the nomad sighs, "Alas, poor Asterion." He pulls his wrists free of their rope bonds and says, "In the name of Ishtar and Bel, follow me!"

He races to a featureless stone wall and pushes on it, opening a secret door! "Open sesame," he mutters under his breath and plunges through.

With the booming avalanche of stone nearly upon them, the explorers follow the stranger inside!

Their torch the only light, they find a steep stairwell cut into the living rock, leading downward!



They fly precipitously down the steps, fleeing the certain apocalypse at their heels! After an earsplitting crescendo of calamity and destruction, there comes a sudden, resounding silence. The ground stops shaking and a hush falls over their world.

Alive by the narrowest of margins, they catch their breath on the stone stairwell. It leads further downward or back the way they came.


Actions and Introductions?!




PC Status:

Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/17, Spells: 5/8 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl
Cruloc: Cimmerian Northman Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 36/54
Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 4/3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/25, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Torix: Pict Savage Barbarian 4: Move: 12", AC: 2, HP: 30/38

PC Magic:

Unseen Servant (Kiri): Duration: 72 rounds, Torch

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 has no choice but to draw the folded wash rag from his eyes to find a way to escape the quaking room. He sees bright sunlight again coming through window openings in the ancient stone tower. He sees a bright yellow-green spot like a hollow peach pit before his eyes as they adjust to coming from a black darker than the dark of a darkest moonlit night. He looks around to see the slashing enemy with poisoned talons, claws or nails. There is none to be seen. But the mother of the horrid bird-human chicks crying to be fed the body of the Argosian Asterion. The poor fellow who boldly opened the door to the chamber and who was instantly turned to stone. A new sculpture statue, like the other ones in this tower. But not yet tumbled and broken by the ages and ages of silent standing.

He follows his companions' voices and runs down the sunlit spiraling stone stair steps, eager to escape the quaking structure before it collapses on everyone's heads, arms and legs, hip bones and spines. The man of the Pictish forest thinks, "The people of this old place worship old, terrible gods-- stone, earthquake, and the eternal unknowable Sea. And what can't be seen under its waves." The hairs of the forearms of Pictish hunter-fishermen-warrior raise, and an involuntary shudder shakes his shoulders.

[Yrkoon]

Cruloc

Cruloc's heels spurn the steps as he descends the groaning tower. "Haste, Verulian!" he snarls at the willowy Amethu, shoving him forward. "I'll not be shackled by your slow pace despite the gift of resurrection!"

Panting, Cruloc reaches the ground floor, and his eyes cast about the stone like a cornered wolf. No door. No gap. No mercy from the gods of stone, who have closed their jaws about the party. Then—movement! A figure stepping from the shadow as if born from it offers them mad hope in a swaying desert cadence. "Crom! Lies wear perfume in the Shemite tongue!" Above them, the tower screams its last, hurling stone to the ground in a thunderous deluge. "But I'd rather slit a liar's throat in the dark than be buried like a dog in the ruin of a marble wench-hall! Come on!"

[ravenn4544]

Amethu thinks nothing of the brash and bombastic outbursts of the barbarian by now. He thinks highly, however, of his prowess in battle and willingness to keep living. The quest is yet likely to succeed.

In the quiet seconds after the tumult a new voice echoes out and he raises his staff, wondering what next is to come in this ancient city of death...

...a friendly voice? or, at least, not an unfriendly one? Calling for Asterion. Fallen Asterion. "A terrible price was paid today once more. We offer a prayer of thanks that we may continue our own path due to his sacrifice, and we pray for his soul's swift arrival in his Lord's Embrace."

[rredmond]

Kassim

Bel! So it's true, the cloaked man attempts to rub the grit from his face, and absentmindedly twirls his moustache, Asterion is gone? He was a good and stalwart companion, it is sad if it is so.

[ChubbyPixie]

As they come to a halt at the base of the steps and the dust settles, Kiri holds up the amulet, his fist still wrapped around it.

“We didn’t come away with nothing, it seems. We have the potions, and this treasure seems to contain a very large gem, though I hesitate to look at it directly until I’ve prepared the appropriate magics,” he says, glancing at Amethu. “That is for tomorrow.” He turns to the newcomer. “Your friend is stone, and so felt nothing, unless stone can be said to feel.”

Unless someone wants to risk looking at the amulet now, he puts it away for later examination.