Log: Clever Title III

Date	Title	People	Location
May 4, 2015	Log: Clever Title II	Kyson, Xiuhcoatl, Drok'thar, Ganbaatar, Katyana and Terewin	Rune, Dran

LOG: Clever Title, part 3: 5-19

And so you push ahead.

The passage bends sharply to the right, meaning you're liable to join in to one of the other directions from the central area at some point. It doesn't look like anybody's been here in a while. More everburning torches light up as you pass, as if sensing your nearness.

You emerge, now, into what must've once been a feasting hall. It makes sense it'd be near a training pit, doesn't it?

Battered old tables and seats collect dust here, and there are more skeletons on the ground. IT looks like some of these were shattered by hammer blows. Must be Grat's work. Others, though, sit up and look at you, then reach for battered weapons. A handful of skeletons, on their feet now, and coming for you.

Xiuhcoatl hisses as the walking dead approach, left hand extended, right holding a crude morningstar. His tail lashes back and forth as his nostrils flare.

Terewin holds up his blade, looking down the edge to see that its still sharp after the last encounter and twirls it into a fighting stance, left foot forward and with the sword parallel across his body. "Lets remind them that they are dead."

Ganbaatar reaches over his shoulder and pulls out his Dran flail, a heavy iron ball on a long chain. He starts it spinning with a jerk and braces against the weight. "This is more like it. Foes worth smashing."

The young apprentice, Kyson, has never fought undead before. The sight of the skeletons charging at him is enough to send a shiver or three up his spine. As the others bravely charge forward he takes a step closer. He's not about to let a 'Dran' go where a mage dare not. No sir. However, not being exactly the 'toe-to-toe' kind of guy, the step was more symbolic than actually useful in some combative sense. He'll not be retreating this day. Sea-blue eyes scan the room to make sure that there's not some other little 'surprise' heading for them from this chamber or from behind.

"Hey look, you guys." Katyana offers, gesturing at the skeletons and giving a fangy grin around the room. "We finally found those murderous undead we were looking for." The dark elf waggles her hands patronizingly. "Whoopee! Now we're risking getting murdered again! Ahhh, the life of an adventurer."

Into the ancient halls they tread where warriors rose from the dead...

The Oruch could not exactly be characterized as having been 'in bad spirits' prior to their entrance to the caves but the battle against the animated weapons seems to have invigorated him. Whatever their pace is through the narrow corridor he very nearly seems like he wants to rush ahead..

Upon reaching the hall where the bones start to come to life his crimson eyes widen and he falls backward a half pace to assess the room. Powerful hands knot with the audible crack of knuckles before arms stretch outward to prevent a physical barrier between himself and those who would encroach upon his physical space.

"We'll be telling this tale for years," he says sizing up his opponents.

'...if we make it out alive.' but that bit goes unstated.

Xiuhcoatl rushes forward, a shrilling cry as he moves forward to engage. A large overhand smash by the crude morningstar shatters bone and splinters ribs as bits crash to the floor.

When Xiu leaps out ahead, the skeletons immediately clicker-clack their way over to Xiu, stumbling to him with their blades all a-broken as they swing and swing. They now have him mobbed, surrounded, beginning to slice at him. Eventually, two of them begin to bear down on him more successfully than the others.

In just a few long steps Terewin comes up behind a skeleton thats on Xiu and slashes down on its shoulder with his adamantine blade that breaks through the brittle bones, leaving it in a pile of dust.

Seeing the skeletons swarm after the Sith sends yet another shiver up Kyson's spine as the black-scaled sorcerer fights to be free of them. The young wizardling takes a step towards the cluster of undead and unleashes a pair of blue-white missles of arcane energy at one of the attackers. "Telae Incinderae!" The darts zipp from his fingertips, miss Xiu entirely and burn into one of the dirty-white skulls. The creature doesn't scream, doesn't flail in pain or agony it simply falls to the ground as though it were a puppet and someone had just cut its strings.

Katyana levels her smouldering fingers at one of the skellingtons, but as Team Sticks rolls in to do Team Sticks things. She tries to take aim, but her fingers are a little wide.

Internally, she blames the people fighting the skeletons as the point of her failure.

Together we moved against our foes...

"ACHOOO!!"

The Drok'thar squats with sublime form, knees behind feet, and surges forward a step. A single powerful stride catapults him into a mid-air corkscrew the momentum of which sends him spiraling downward upon one of the skeletal foe.

Heavy fist meets brittle skull which explodes in a cloud of thick dust as the rest of it falls to the ground in a heap.

Hands moves as tiny frenzied maws, pushing his foes away, as he prepares for the next round of combat.

The remaining two skeleton remain unbowed by the attacks that seem have levelled their comrades. They don't have any problem facing down very much alive, powerful adventurers sent to finish the work of the fallen warrior of Dran.

They're just not very successful at hitting with their rusty swords.

Xiuhcoatl wildly swings, like one who hasn't had a lot of training, but lands a hit, sending one sprawling, but not felling it. Bits of bone and sinew fly to the left as he snarls to the remaining one.

Ganbaatar swings the iron ball around by the chain so that it passes through the ribcage of one of the skeletons. There is a shower of bone shards and the remains drop to the ground as the Dran warrior continues to spin.

Xiuhcoatl's nostrils flare heavily after the exertion. He tightens the grip on his morninstar, kicking at the bones that fell around them.

In moments, the bones were lifeless again..

"More teeth to me name," Drok'thar intones as the final set of enchanted bones topples lifelessly (again) to the floor. The Oruch kneels without putting a knee to the ground and picks up one of the yellowed teeth that lies amongst the broken bones that surround them.

Thrusting the object into the pocket of his pants he then seems to size-up the room again -- no doubt seeing it differently without the threat of skeletal assault.

Skellingtons are 2spoopy. And, also, 2sneaky to be hit by ULTIMATE ARCANE POWER. Ultimate! ARCANE! Okay it was a second level spell and she's got juice in the tank, still, but after slagging the sword and shield of the animate weapons, she had a bar of expectations set. That she was an arcane badass, not a jobber.

As she steadies herself, she slings forward her hand again, this time streaking lights of force surging forth with, amazing, pretty distinct lines of little snake fangs that smash the last skeleton to spooky bits.

"Well, can't miss with that. That's that. So, anything else we need to explore? Maybe a lich crypt, that can't possibly go wrong!"

It would appear that some of these, indeed, were shattred by hammer blows. Others were laying in wait for more adventurers! Aside from that, though, the room is much more easy to see now. There are broken old tables, all battered, and broken chairs too. All of this is collecting dust.

There are two exits here aside from the one you came through. One to your right with a pair of loosely hanging double doors and an open archway that leads into a larger room from the look of things. The whole area smells like dust.

Ganbaatar lets his swinging chain clatter to a halt on the ground and wipes his forehead with the back of one hand. "Whoof. That does take it out of me, this thing is heavy." After catching his breath he looks around and gestures towards the larger room. "Shall we?"

Kyson holds his staff a bit higher, the light from the blue-white fire at its top casting shadows here and there within their chamber and to the next.

Xiuhcoatl rolls a wounded and battered shoulder and humphs with approval, heading to the larger arched chamber. There is a slight hiss, but that's likely from cuts and bruises sustained so far. He lumbers forward, tail lashing irritatedly.

Terewin rolls his shoulder a bit. "Just wonderful. Let's go find ourselves some more rattlebones then shall we?" he says following the others.

Drok'thar moves with purposed steps between the long tables. Long fingers move through the dust upon the tables and carelessly scatter ancient bones across the stone floor.

At some point he stops and palms a skull off one of the broken tables. Tilting his head slightly to rectify the upside down position of the skull the Oruch's broad shoulders roll slowly, "Wonder who moved in here after the giants," he says breaking his gaze with the hollow sockets to regard the more magically inclined.

When the Xiuhcoatl slithers forward unceremoniously drops the skull upon the table and breaks into a jog until they're moving together towards the shattered doors. He stays with the party.

In through th eastern door you go. The battered, broken down doors swing creakily on their hinges as you make your way into the next room. This appears to be full of bronze kegs.

/Kegs/. 

There may yet be alcohol still inside. 

They line the far wall, one after the other, indicating what the other room was used for, no doubt. Shattered pewter lays on the ground here and there appears to be one exit out of the room to your left, leading gods knows where. Bronze plaques sit above each keg, bearing names. Perhaps the names of the beverages inside the kegs? 

Skeletal remains lay on the floo here, but thankfully, they do not move. 

Yet.

"Touch nothing." The blue sith calls. "This place is awefull, and nothing good can be in those." he continues through the room, carefully looking through the room in a cursory glance in search.

Ganbaatar strides forward suspending the head of his flail, swinging it back and forth. "Well. This is an interesting sight in a crypt, not what I expected at all. Perhaps it's been used for other things as well?"

Kyson does his best to not touch anything but the ground upon where he walks. However, curiosity does draw him to the nearest bronze plaque to see if he can at least identify the text.

Different kinds of ale, it would appear, be the names. 'Onslaught Haze' 'Red Rage of Battle', 'Shieldbeaker' and finally 'Korsday Hardening' and last but not least 'Witness this'.

Who says the Dran don't know how to party?

Terewin keeps his eyes on the bones while the others check out the kegs or otherwise investigate. He is intent on not being caught by suprise if these bones decide to move, his sword resting on his shoulder as he watches the dead... and hope they remain dead.

As the Dran is further into the room than Kyson, the wizardling turns to the warrior and then to the exit to their left and asks, "What do you see in there?" His tone is urging, perhaps encouraging the tribesman to eliminate the possible antechamber as a resting place for the object they seek. "I think we're in the wrong spot..." he adds and turns back towards the way they came in.

Xiuhcoatl looks to the ground, spinning in a circle and tilting his head to the side. Something grabs his attention as he looks to the remains. "These haven't died in battle. Caution, keep something to cover your mouths and noses at the ready." he kneels to inspect closer.

Terewin nods to Xiu and ties a handkerchief around the bottom of his face "I would be careful drinking anything left in those vats as well... probably best to move on."

Ganbaatar picks his way over to the other exit to have a look. "I cannot imagine that anything left in those barrels is good to drink at this point."

Through the door to the left.

This looks lovely. 

It's a hallway. Lined with spider webs. 

Really, really large spiderwebs. 

If you guessed the answer to what's here was 'cookies', you'd totally be right. 

Honest.

Ganbaatar takes a look at the webs and puts his flail away. Pulling out his giant hammer again he starts stalking cautiously forward. "Here, spider spider spider..."

Xiuhcoatl stays back through the doorway as pyros step up. Where there are large spider webs, there are going to be large spiders, and this sith has had a more encounters than he would like with them. "Obstructions. Do we bring fire?"

"Burn it," Kyson mutters at just a bare breath above a whisper. Since he's already seen fire from Kat he backs up and allows her better access from which to cast her spell. "...safer that way."

   Katyana looks down the spider cave and whistles softly. "And me without the power to trivially light things on fire. I'd probably suggest torches, if anyone's got one. Screw going in there with all that gook."

"I can accomodate if necessary," Kyson interjects.

Their goal was lined with silk and fraught with peril...

Possessing no apparent equipment except for the tooth he acquired earlier the Oruch lifts his nose snorting loudly at the hallway as if possessing some extraordinary sense of smell before easing backward while the others bring forward torches and such..

He waits.

"Flick'em matchus..." the wizardling mutters and calls forth a tiny gout of flame on the foor within the web-soaked hall. "Flick'em wickus..." he adds pointing to another area on the ground in the hopes that the flames will climb up and spread through the silken curtains of spidery draperies.

The webs burn away, slowly, as Kyson makes his efforts. So far, there's no immediate response.

Still, it lets you move down the passageway without getting covered in webs, if you want to do so.

Ganbaatar follows the burning webs at a safe distance, keeping alert for unauthorized movement.

Xiuhcoatl breaths deeply, nostrils flaring and looking up and around. "They are here, watching." he adds ominously, taking sniffs to try and pinpoint, but no use with the smell of smoke or must.

Burning away the webs makes it easy to progress. You find yourselves pushing forward. The webs don't conceal anything worthwhile, thoiuh you do find the occasional bones of rats or soemthing.

In fact, as you progress, you begin to notice there are a /lot/ of dead rats here. 

Lots of them. 

Did we mention lots of dead, skeletal rats which are now MOVING?

The good news is that the swarm of rats is swarming you. The bad nws is that they are pretty much like regular rats.

That is, that they bite and chew on you.

Ganbaatar, being in front, is quickly covered in rat skeletons. He roars defiance and lashes out with his hammer, mashing several to powder against a wall. "Ganbataar SMASH!"

Ganbaatar flails further with his earthbreaker, sending up clouds of bone splinters, but is unable to get rid of the skeletons that are now clinging to most of his lower body and are working their way upward leaving trails of tiny bites.

Xiuhcoatl reaches down with an electrified fist, but the tiny skeletons evade, and again, and again. He snarls in frustration trying to catch some of them in an ozone filled handshake.

The Wizardling has yet to use this spell in combat but wasn't expecting to need it to deal with a swarm of undead rats. As they crawl and bite in every which-way, he aims at the general center of the mass of bony tails and teeth, he calls forth his magic to send an arrow of caustic acid. "Tellum Acere!" The shaft hits and spreads its burning liquid just a bit - enough so that it will continue to dissolve for a few moments longer.

The rat swarms are keeping busy. That is, to say, they are ALL over you. Eating you. Chewing. Biting. Endlessly. It's enough that Kyson finally is brought down under the weight of the chewing, chewing, /chewing/ rats.

Ganbaatar smashes more rats and finally the remainder of the swarm starts to scatter. The Dran warrior drops the hammer and starts pulling tiny corpses off his body and flinging them after the pack as it disperses. "Hate! Rats!" He subsides into a panting slump. "Hate."

Kyson's rejuvenated back to health thanks to the Dranei's healing potion. Once back on his feet, the young apprentice just levels a gaze at Gan - uncertain how to process what has happened. He was gone; unconscious and bleeding upon the ground when this...'person' came to his aid. Oh, he just -had- to heal Kyson. Unwilling to remain in such a weakened state, the wizardling up-ends his own healing potion to restore him to his full vigor. He'll need all the strength he has to keep an eye on this tribesman; they're sneaky.

Ganbaatar finishes administering the potion and turns away, collecting his hammer. "This isn't as fun as it was. Rats. Let's get this over with."

Finally, you're able to make your way down to the end of the tunnel, the webs having been cleared apart and th tunnel left exposed.

You break into chamber, this one circule affair covered in web too, top to bottom. 

Also, the dried and dessicated corpses of spiders, collapsed and brittle looking. 

It appears that this was once some kind of... meeting room, perhaps? There are more tables and chairs, yes, and old tapestries on the walls that you can't really make the details out of. A yellowed map is pread across a table in the center, and rins around the tables serve as seating. They're concentric grooves in the floor, really, is what you find upon closer inspection. Built in seating attables that are part of the stonework. 

Also, the dead spiders are stirring. Great. Zombie spiders.