From alt.pub.dragons-inn Thu Dec 16 07:56:35 1993 Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!olivea!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!nigel.msen.com!yale.edu!yale!hsdndev!cfanews!cfatrw.harvard.edu!rudnick From: rudnick@cfatrw.harvard.edu (Bret Rudnick) Subject: [VampQ] Overstaying a Welcome Message-ID: Sender: news@cfanews.harvard.edu Organization: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1993 22:27:19 GMT Lines: 347 ============================================================ [VAMPQ] Overstaying a Welcome Admin [The cast of characters for the [VampQ] thread: Character Created/Managed by --------------------------------------------------------- Ja'nis arsmith@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Alan Smith) Bluestar Dreamer (in absentia) Gemini (Feline familiar of Bluestar Dreamer) Moria Runecaster Master Hawk Rathan Barbar Morning Reaper Ah (Blood spider created by Rathan) Turion "Mr. Sinister..." a salamander (Turion's Travelling Companion) Billy the Torch JGE103@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Matte Kudasai Matt Hebert Tomonobu Fujiwara rudnick@cfatrw.harvard.edu (Bret R. Rudnick) Mathew Dawnstrider jcarl@jabba.ess.harris.com Synopsis: The party members have been ambushed at a dinner given by their host, the vampire Pericles. A battle has broken out in the Great Hall, and two members of the group are held in the dungeon awaiting rescue. ] Admin [As always, comments/questions welcome.] ============================================================ The clash of swords against clubs and the sound of magic spells and thunderbolts echoed throughout the hall. The tide of battle surged one way, then another, and when Pericles thought things were going against him, he discreetly made his way to the exit at the far end of the hall and slipped out to see about reinforcements. The suits of armour had all been destroyed, but the regenerating trolls were beginning to turn the tide against the party. No matter how many the creatures were cut down, exploded, frozen, or fried, they reassembled themselves to fight again (although the assembly was not always correct -- some had two heads while others had extra arms or legs, while the remaining leftover parts attempted to assemble themselves into something that could fight). The questors were beginning to tire. Bluestar, with both swords drawn, was a whirlwind of slicing blades. Beheading a particularly ugly troll, he began to wonder about an escape route. As Blue's attention wavered a troll scored a nasty hit to Blue's chest. Blue, reacting before his mind realized, rolled back and somersaulted to a standing position on the dinner table. But the manoeuvre's flawlessness was ruined when Blue dropped to one knee, stunned by the blow. Gemini, who had been darting in and out of the legs of troll and companion alike and helping where he could, saw his friend falter. Telepathically screaming a warning, The cat became a blur of motion. The orange-striped blur leapt from the floor to the table to Dreamer's head. Using the dazed elf's head as a spring board, Gemini dived into the face of the troll who was about to swipe Blue's head off (and would have if Gemini's leap hadn't forced Blue to duck). The cat became a whirling cloud of claws and hisses. The Troll stumbled back in pain. Moria, who had heard Gemini's scream, finished off the troll she was dealing with and turned to lend a hand. Seeing Blue slump down on the table, she felt a terrible pain rip through her heart. Summoning up a rune, she called to Gemini with her mind, [Get Clear!]. Sending the rune spinning toward the creature, The magic hit the Troll, and he began to fade from sight while letting out a horrid scream that sent a pause through the battle. Matte, fighting near Moria, asked, "What was that?" With an evil tone in her voice, Moria responded, "I sent him to the elemental plane of Fire." Matte shuddered and was going to say something but the trolls were attacking again and both were separated. Recovered from the wound, Blue was up again and fighting, but with much more caution. From his new-found hiding place under the table, Billy could only see the rapid movement of feet as the battle progressed. He considered going out to fight, but then weighed the options. "No," he thought. "I'll just stay right where-" he rolled out of the way of a flying troll head, severed from its body undoubtedly by an expert samurai's slicing blade. "That's awful!" Billy proclaimed, not realizing his loud remark was overheard. At the sound of the voice, a flying club whirled in his direction. A quick duck was all that saved him from the same fate of that unfortunate troll. Now realizing that his target was nowhere to be found, the stupid grunt searched out other victims. Billy took advantage of the situation. With all his might, he plunged both of his daggers into the back of the troll. As it once again turned to face the invisible foe, Billy reached into his tool kit and produced a vial of acid, normally used for melting impossible locks. It produced similar results on the troll's face. With foe abated, Billy once again took refuge under the table, hoping this madness would soon end. Throughout the battle Turion sat calmly at his place at the table, sipping his wine and casually observing the combat. From time to time an object would fly through the air next to him, but would never strike him. His salamander companion stuck its head out of the salad bowl and burped loudly, sending a jet of flame at a nearby troll. Tomonobu decapitated the troll in front of him for the third time. "You could make yourself useful," he said to the sage as he fended off the cudgels and nets of a four-armed mutant. "Or have you joined the ranks of the enemy!" "Hmm, what?" Turion asked, suddenly a bit less distant than he had been. "Well, you could always leave by the back door." "What back door!" the warrior shouted back, his free hand on one of the throats of his opponent. "How can we leave by a way which does not exist!" "But you've had the power all along," Turion replied. "Pull the lever on the wall inside the fireplace. There is a secret passage you will be interested in." "Well why didn't you say so before!" Tomonobu yelled, as he threw the troll off and made his way to the fireplace. "He didn't ask until now," Turion addressed the salamander. Tomonobu found the lever quickly and pulled. A section of the walk-in fireplace slid aside to reveal a dark passage that descended sharply. "There's a way out here!" he shouted to the others. "Let's get out and find Ja'nis and Mathew!" "I think I know the way, I have seen the dungeon!" Rathan yelled back. "Follow me to the lab where Ja'nis and Mathew probably are!" The insectoid creature slipped into the passage, leaving a trail of green blood from a battle wound. "You go," Turion yawned, "and I'll follow later." "Everyone! Clear out!" Bluestar cried, "Its time to get Wild!" Everyone (but Turion) realized the coming danger and quickly went through the secret passage. Tomonobu and Moria lingered at the doorway. Gemini crawled up onto Moria's shoulder. Blue seemed to falter a moment, as if the false bravado of his statement had weakened the elf. Moria was about to go to him, but his strength seemed to return. Standing up straight and raising his arms, Bluestar Dreamer called out to his goddess, "Aoihoshi, Give me your blessing!" And nothing happened. The trolls came closer about to strike. Tomonobu and Moria began to edge closer, ready to pull the elf in. "Lady Aoihoshi!" Blue called again. Suddenly, Blue's image seem to fragment like a broken mirror. The elf let out a cry of pain as his form shattered. Now each fragment became another Bluestar. Now the 12 new elves began to attack the trolls as the real Bluestar entered the secret passage, nearly falling through it. Moria and Tomonobu grabbed him by the shoulders and rushed to catch up with the others. Tomonobu shook his head. "One of him is bad enough, but a dozen?" Rathan led the group through several tunnels and down many stairs, yet it wasn't long before it became apparent that Rathan was lost. "Oh, screw this. Everyone step through the glowing blue portal. You should only experience momentary disorientation." stated Rathan with a bit of strain. The portal Rathan conjured led to an area the demon- surfer was more familiar with, one he had seen in his earlier astral travels. The party quickly traversed the passages to the laboratory at the end, Rathan leading the way. Tomonobu, cutting a pair of guards down in one move, led the way into the lab. Blue, somewhat recovered from the pain of the spell, freed the keys to Ja'nis' cell with a manoeuvre that was impossible to follow. It seemed that his blade left his scabbard and then came right back. And there were the keys in his hand and their keeper on the floor. He swiftly unlocked the door to Ja'nis' cell, freeing the human. "Thank JebStuart, God of Cavalry, you came!" Ja'nis shouted, dashing across the room and retrieving her weaponry. "Quick, we gotta help Mathew! Let's see if you like this more than a ball of string!" She called out to the guards, drawing some strange looks from the rest of the party. Ja'nis rushed headlong at the remaining guards, clearing the way to the wounded Matthew. Matte pushed past the rest of the party and quickly took a look at Mathew's situation. The plants were feeding on him, and had been for some time. "This is more than I've seen in one place before." Matte swallowed hard, but rolled up her sleeves. From a pouch at her belt, she retrieved a small pill box. From it she removed a crumb of some dried, black substance. As she crushed it between two fingers and spit on it, the orchids immediately responded. They all released their root and blossom holds on Mathew and reached toward the little girl. Mathew stirred slightly as they did so. "Don't let them touch you!" she warned the rest of the party. Matte proceeded to pull a smallish burlap sack down from the wall. "I brought a special container for these, but I left it with my pack upstairs. Guess I'm not much of an adventurer yet." She tossed another crumb from the pill box into the sack, and allowed the orchids to creep inside. But two of the plants would not fit. She sealed the sack, then removed a charm from her blouse. As she touched it to each of the two remaining flowers, they immediately withered and crumbled to dust. The exorcist carefully collected the orchid dust and placed it in an empty box from her pouch. Waste not, want not, she thought to herself with a smile. As Matte worked, Rathan's features melted as leaves sprouted from his body. Slowly he turned into a swamp elemental, then collapsed into a mound of muck. "Don't worry, he'll be able to move when it's necessary, he just needs some time to recuperate after all that strenuous activity," stated a small red spider standing on the mound. The next few moments passed in slow motion for many in the group. Crucial decisions would have to be made, with little time to consider them. Mathew had risen from the table and armed himself with his sword that had been leaning next to the wall. Although his armour was there as well he had no time to put it on, and faced the door his enemies would come through clad only in a loincloth. The runes etched on his blade roared with fire and sent a blue light coursing through his body. It seemed to strengthen him. "I'll hold them off," Mathew said to the others as he pointed with his sword to a door at the far end of the room. "Go out that way and up the stairs. You'll eventually get to the courtyard." "I shall stay with you," Tomonobu declared. "In over twenty years of combat I have never retreated in the face on an enemy and I do not intend to do so now." "We cannot win this battle," Blue admonished his fellow-samurai. "We must live to fight on. There is no honour in --" Bluestar saw the resolve in the warrior's eyes and knew his words were wasted. Tomonobu's bloodlust was up, and the samurai was fully prepared to fight to the death. [This will not do], Blue thought. [We need him.] He quickly whispered something to Moria. "I hate doing this," the dark elf replied as she quickly traced a rune in the air. As she touched Tomonobu the samurai suddenly went limp. Moria and Bluestar supported him and pulled him toward the exit. "It's locked!" the voice of Billy shouted. "It's a tricky one, too," the voice said more quietly as the sound from the door indicated he was fiddling with the mechanism. The tiny thief cursed himself for using his last vial of acid on the troll. Oh well. Have to take this one on with skill... "Stop admiring the workmanship and open the damn thing!" Ja'nis shouted, raising her sword in readiness for a last stand. "I'd be able to take care of this a little faster if you would shut your trap!" Billy retorted, annoyed more at the accuracy of her remark than at the actual distraction. "If you would open ours I wouldn't -- Oh, dear," Ja'nis said, breaking off the verbal fight as the trolls broke through the other door. They had apparently received different instructions, for they were now armed with spears. Mathew defiantly blocked the passage and held them off. One by one they fell, and Mathew fought with a strength and skill none of the others had seen before. There was a loud click from the nearby door. "Got it!" the voice of Billy declared. The door swung open and the party dashed into the corridor, Billy first, then Rathan (now in his more familiar human form), Bluestar and Moria with the unconscious Tomonobu, Matte, and lastly Ja'nis. Ja'nis held the door ready to shut it quickly. Moria readied a spell to hold it fast. "Mathew!" she shouted, "We're leavin', are you coming?!" But as Mathew tried to untangle himself from his enemies, a troll spear found its mark. It ran Mathew through his body, right through his heart. As the troll retracted the spear to kick the now slumping body aside, there was a bright flash of light from where Mathew had been standing, and a rush of wind from an implosion at that site. Mathew was gone. "Oh, Mathew," Ja'nis choked as she swung the door shut and Moria secured it. There was no time to mourn. The party met no additional resistance as they climbed the stairs and found the courtyard. They quietly slipped away into the cold, still darkness of the Undead world. -- |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | On the edge of Oblivion, all the world is Babylon, And all the | | lovers and everyone, a ship of fools, sailing on -- Wang Chung | |--------------------------------------------------------------------|