Seeing the terrifying skeletal figure rise from the sand, Hoots levels his gun at it and fires off a shot.
What IS that thing? Well, whatever it is, it doesn't look friendly. Let's see if bullets can stop it before it tries to stop us!
"Ionsaigh!" Dahlia commands, pointing at the four armed creature. Snow, having not already noticed the monstrosity, is a bit slow to react. Afterward, Dahlia makes a quick gesture and intones, "Nochtann an draíocht anseo." in the same lilting tone as her commands to Snow.
Vallan hefts his sword, ready to charge anything else that attacks them.
As Vallan leads the group further into the desert, following the trail laid out before them, he is surprised when a figure rises from the sand. The four-armed creature is missing almost all of its flesh beyond a few bits of leathery sinew. Its head is elongated and although humanoid, it is unlike any humanoid the group has seen. As it rises, its eyes begin to glow with an eerie green light.
Seeing the terrifying skeletal figure rise from the sand, Hoots levels his gun at it and fires off a shot, blasting the skeleton in its oversized head, crumpling it.
What IS that thing? Well, whatever it is, it doesn't look friendly. Let's see if bullets can stop it before it tries to stop us!
"Ionsaigh!" Dahlia commands, pointing at the four armed creature. Snow, having not already noticed the monstrosity, is a bit slow to react. Afterward, Dahlia makes a quick gesture and intones, "Nochtann an draíocht anseo." in the same lilting tone as her commands to Snow.
Vallan hefts his sword, ready to charge anything else that attacks them.
<< | | | >>
Another skeleton bursts forth from the shadowy reach of Vallan’s darkvision, charging him with its four claws. In anticipation, the dwarf charges the thing back and smashes it with his greatsword before it can claw at him. ”Hah! Weakling!”
Behind it, yet another skeleton, sand still falling from its bones, skirts the edge of Vallan’s lightsource, its four-armed frame ready to attack.
With Vallan having moved deeper into the sandy cave, the group can see the beginnings of a rocky hill rising from the sands; the path leads towards it. And the skeletons seem to be coming from the north of it.
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Seeing another target, Vallan charges off further into the sands, screaming his lord's name at the top of his lungs, When he gets to the bony aberration, he swings with all his might. The alien skeleton tracked his movement across the sand, and hops nimbly out of the way in anticipation of his blow. Bah! Four armed, bony bugger!
Miss
Barely aware of the conflict up ahead, Wil cannot see beyond the roil of the very fabrics that hold the world and the universe together. He chances an approach to see what all the ruckus is.
Hoots hustles toward the next skeleton, pausing briefly to reload his revolver.
"Solas" Dahlia intones, touching a small semiprecious stone set in the top of her walking staff, causing it to shine with a bright light. Dahlia then walks a shot way forward, toward Hoots.
Snow bounds off toward the skeleton, just reaching it. He rears up on his hind legs, preparing to maul the four armed horror.
Another skeleton bursts forth from the shadowy reach of Vallan’s darkvision, charging him with its four claws. In anticipation, the dwarf charges the thing back and smashes it with his greatsword before it can claw at him. ”Hah! Weakling!”
Behind it, yet another skeleton, sand still falling from its bones, skirts the edge of Vallan’s lightsource, its four-armed frame ready to attack.
Seeing another target, Vallan charges off further into the sands, screaming his lord's name at the top of his lungs, "GORRRRRUUUMMMMMM!" When he gets to the bony aberration, he swings with all his might. The alien skeleton tracked his movement across the sand, and hops nimbly out of the way in anticipation of his blow. Bah! Four armed, bony bugger!
Barely aware of the conflict up ahead, Wil cannot see beyond the roil of the very fabrics that hold the world and the universe together. He chances an approach to see what all the ruckus is.
Groog follows Vallan towards the skeletal target, giggling happily as he does so in anticipation of smashy-smashy time.
Hoots hustles toward the next skeleton, pausing briefly to reload his pistol.
"Solas" Dahlia intones, touching a small semi precious stone set in the top of her walking staff, causing it to shine with a bright light. Dahlia then walks a short way forward, toward Hoots.
Snow bounds off toward the skeleton, just reaching it. He rears up on his hind legs, preparing to maul the four armed horror.
<< | | | >>
The skeleton Snow, Groog, and Vallan charged has ample choice of targets, so the mindless skeleton picks the smallest of the trio; Snow. It lashes at the cat with its four skeletal claws in rapid succession, but only connects with one, tearing a gash in the cat’s shoulder.
Meanwhile, to the south, Hoots and the crew can spot four more skeletons, each bearing the same four-arms and elongated head, running towards them. One of the four leading them have eyes that glow an eerie green.
These four skeletons are running towards the best possible target: Dahlia and her light source, which acts as a beacon in the darkness.
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Seeing a handful of the bizarre skeletons bursting from the ground, Hoots hollers, and levels his pistol at the nearest one.
With a loud crack, it's head explodes and the body crumples to a pile of bones. "Aight pardners, who's next?" he asks while loading one of his precious few alchemical cartridges into his gun and stepping back onto the shattered remains of another.
_______________________
Groog sees that more have shown up to play Smashy Smashy. But they are trying to smash Hoots.
Nobody.
Smashes.
Hoots.
He let's out a roar and rushes the one with green eyes, leaping at the end of his sprint and tries to bring the axe down right through it's skull.
__________
Having reared onto his hind legs, Snow crashes onto the skeleton, getting it's skull in his mouth and crushing it to mere shards of bone.
"Good job, Snow!" Dahlia shouts. She points at the remaining skeleton and shouts, "Now, ionsaigh!"
Seeing a handful of the bizarre skeletons bursting from the ground, Hoots hollers, "Incoming!" and levels his pistol at the nearest one.
With a loud crack, it's head explodes and the body crumples to a pile of bones. "Aight pardners, who's next?" he asks while loading one of his precious few alchemical cartridges into his gun and stepping back onto the shattered remains of another.
Groog sees that more have shown up to play Smashy Smashy. But they are trying to smash
Hoots.
Nobody.
Smashes.
Hoots.
He let's out a roar and rushes the one with green eyes, leaping at the end of his sprint and tries to bring the axe down right through it's skull. In his anger, however, he misses the skeleton.
Having reared onto his hind legs, Snow crashes onto the skeleton, getting it's skull in his mouth and crushing it to mere shards of bone.
"Good job, Snow!" Dahlia shouts. She points at the remaining skeleton and shouts, "Now, ionsaigh!"
Still unable to see the action, Bonnie hazards a move even closer; He then spots Vallan, Groog, and Snow, each injured from the fighting and Groog next to one of the skeletons. With that, he channels forth a wave of light, healing the trio of their wounds.
”Aggh that one was mine! Ah no matter, there are more!” Vallan runs towards Groog, running past the edge of the rock formation as he does so, and moves to attack the skeleton with the glowing green eyes. Swinging his greatsword, however, causes him to fall off balance for just the smallest of moments, causing him to miss.
<< | | | >>
The skeleton with the glowing green eyes shifts over before it begins to claw at Groog with all four of its claws; thankfully, its wild barrage is completely ineffective, the claws doing nothing more than scraping at Groog’s armor. Then, curiously enough, the skeleton’s eyes quit glowing - one of the other skeletons in the rear has its eyes begin to glow instead.
These two skeletons in the rear each charge Groog and Vallan, attempting to rip out flesh with their sharp, bony hands. Both fail in that regard, and leave themselves open to attack.
___________________________________
As he drops the skeleton, Hoots turns to smile at Dahlia and Bonnie Wil. "They don't call me Straight Shootin' Hoots fer nothin' now, do they?"
He takes a step forward, levels his pistol and fires again at the next closest foe...but the skeleton lurches sideways at the last instant and his bullet barely manages to knock a hunk of bone off of it's shoulder.
With a guilty shrug, he says to Dahlia and Wil, "Hrumph! I guess even Straight Shootin' Hoots has to have a near miss every now and again."
________________
Groog, now in a full hearted belly laugh now that his pets were safe, swings his axe in an arc that sends bone fragments flying as he tears it through one of the four armed playmates he has found.
__________
Snow lopes after his mistress's companions and bites at another skeleton, but is unable to get past it's flailing limbs.
Dahlia steps up between Bonnie and Hoots, biding her time while her allies and Snow deal with the threats.
Miss
Vallan steps between the skeletons and swings his sword at the one with the glowing green eyes. He misses it by a hair, as his blade whistles between its empty ribs. "Damn!" he curses emphatically. Where're all these bone bags comin' from anyway? How come one o' 'em has glowin' eyes?
Finally catching sight of something angry and moving, though not living, Wil clutches his morningstar tightly and begins thumping a path through the sand towards his intended target. These were non-things. They did not exist within the same spectrum as the rest. What fibers connected them now hung loose--severed--and flailing loosely in an invisible wind. Even the color was absent, the connection with the larger whole. They needed to be put down, before they could manage to inflict further injury on anything around them.
"Sleep as intended!" Bonnie Wil screams as he rushes into the fray, weapon brought around wildly. It rakes harmlessly across the skeletal creature's frame, but Wil's rage shows no sign of slowing.
The skeleton with the glowing green eyes shifts over before it begins to claw at Groog with all four of its claws; thankfully, its wild barrage is completely ineffective, the claws doing nothing more than scraping at Groog’s armor. Then, curiously enough, the skeleton’s eyes quit glowing - one of the other skeletons in the rear has its eyes begin to glow instead.
These two skeletons in the rear each charge Groog and Vallan, attempting to rip out flesh with their sharp, bony hands. Both fail in that regard, and leave themselves open to attack.
As he drops the skeleton, Hoots turns to smile at Dahlia and Bonnie Wil. "They don't call me Straight Shootin' Hoots fer nothin' now, do they?"
He takes a step forward, levels his pistol and fires again at the next closest foe...but the skeleton lurches sideways at the last instant and his bullet barely manages to knock a hunk of bone off of it's shoulder.
With a guilty shrug, he says to Dahlia and Wil, "Hrumph! I guess even Straight Shootin' Hoots has to have a near miss every now and again."
Groog, now in a full hearted belly laugh now that his pets were safe, swings his axe in an arc that sends bone fragments flying as he tears it through one of the four armed playmates he has found.
Snow lopes after his mistress's companions and bites at another skeleton, but is unable to get past it's flailing limbs.
Dahlia steps up between Bonnie and Hoots, biding her time while her allies and Snow deal with the threats.
Vallan steps between the skeletons and swings his sword at the one with the glowing green eyes. He misses it by a hair, as his blade whistles between its empty ribs. "Damn!" he curses emphatically. Where're all these bone bags comin' from anyway? How come one o' 'em has glowin' eyes?
Finally catching sight of something angry and moving, though not living, Wil clutches his morningstar tightly and begins thumping a path through the sand towards his intended target. These were non-things. They did not exist within the same spectrum as the rest. What fibers connected them now hung loose--severed--and flailing loosely in an invisible wind. Even the color was absent, the connection with the larger whole. They needed to be put down, before they could manage to inflict further injury on anything around them.
"Sleep as intended!" Bonnie Wil screams as he rushes into the fray, weapon brought around wildly. It rakes harmlessly across the skeletal creature's frame, but Wil's rage shows no sign of slowing.
<< | | | >>
Only two skeletons remain; The glowing green eyes fade from the one Bonnie attacked and reappear moments later in the other one. As they do so, the skeleton shifts over into a flanking position with its comrade and both of them unleash a flurry of claws at Vallan. The dwarf survives the meat grinder of bone and sinew, but does not come out unscathed. Three separate claws find purchase and slash at him, leaving bloody marks around his body and face. The dwarf remains standing only barely, staggered from his excessive wounds and ready to fall over at the slightest provocation.
_______________________________________________
"LEAVE DORFY ALONE!"
He demolishes the one near him, then moves over to the new green eyes monstrosity.
__________
Wil petitions the morass of dimming life around Vallan to stay its sentence, and the tendrils reach back to secure once more their bond with the dwarf. "I know. I'm not going to watch him bleed out."
Hoots hollers "Nice work, Bonnie Wil!" as he moves into position for a clearer shot, reloading his gun as he does.
Only two skeletons remain; The glowing green eyes fade from the one Bonnie attacked and reappear moments later in the other one. As they do so, the skeleton shifts over into a flanking position with its comrade and both of them unleash a flurry of claws at Vallan. The dwarf survives the meat grinder of bone and sinew, but does not come out unscathed. Three separate claws find purchase and slash at him, leaving bloody marks around his body and face. The dwarf remains standing only barely, staggered from his excessive wounds and ready to fall over at the slightest provocation.
"LEAVE DORFY ALONE!" Groog demolishes the one near him, then moves over to the new green eyes monstrosity.
Wil petitions the morass of dimming life around Vallan to stay its sentence, and the tendrils reach back to secure once more their bond with the dwarf. "I know. I'm not going to watch him bleed out."
Hoots hollers "Nice work, Bonnie Wil!" as he moves into position for a clearer shot, reloading his gun as he does.
Vallan, quickly recovering from his near-death experience thanks to Bonnie, takes a step and swings at the last remaining skeleton, but misses and swears.
Snow follows Dahlia’s commands and runs at the last skeleton, leaping up and biting its neck, crunching down on bone and severing the head from it’s body, causing the bones - and snow- to fall in a crumpled heap. Snow keeps one of the bones in her mouth as she returns to Dahlia to show her prize.
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Groog bends down over the last one he killed, and starts picking through it's remains. He then stands, holding the things skull in his hand, a huge smile on his face as he shows it off to his pets.
"It's silent, Groog. They all are. The sands don't want them. Won't have them. All of them loitered where they did not belong. You were right to cut them down. Pile them up. Bury them." Wil has a bit of disgust in his features as he speaks.
Hoots rolls his avian eyes, "C'mon Wil. If the sands don't want them, what good will it do for us to kick more over 'em?
"Anyway, time's a-wastin' and that Water Breathing spell won't last forever. They'll do just fine where they are.
"Come on, Groog, you can bring your new skull. Let's go find out what happened to the other parties and fix this torch so we can get our reward!"
Groog looks back and forth between Moosic Man and Hoots, before turning back to Hoots and nodding, leading the way down the trail.
With the skeletons re-dead, the group decides not to bother burying them and continues on their way, following the path outlined in the sand before them. The underground desert is eerily quiet as the group move forward, following the path east before it turns south after a hundred feet. By this time, the group can see the edge of the desert, which ends in a rocky outcropping much as it did earlier; Above it rises the grey metal wall that reaches beyond darkvision range.
The group come upon a similar cavern to the one they entered this freakish desert from; inside a short distance lies a bare rock wall, a dead end. However, curiously enough, an odd light seems to be glowing from the northern wall, yet the source is not readily visible.
"What's that?" Wil says, maundering closer to the northern wall.
"Oh!"
Examining the northern wall, regardless of consequences, you note that the northern wall is in fact, some sort of non-magical illusion that hides a pair of metallic doors that are not quite closed. Inside, bright light shines forth from the walls and ceiling and out into the cavern. The room is eerily similar to the one just before the desert the group had passed by earlier.
Inside the room is another set of doors on the opposite wall; unlike the one before you, these ones are closed. A panel is lit up beside them.
"It's another room. Vallan? Groog?" Wil nods at the illusory wall and steps through, pressing beyond the not-quite-closed doors. He allows the dwarf and orc to resume their usual position at the fore. Partially because he doesn't want to get rent to pieces by more of the skeletal things, and partially because the air tastes a little too sour for him.
Vallan stares at the wall for about twenty seconds before he can see what Bonnie is talking about. "Alright, laddie. I'll check it out," he says to the oracle, passing through the illusory wall and into the next chamber.
This metal room is brightly lit by glowing panels in the ceiling above. To the left and right, complex machines consisting of spiral tubes and nozzles twitch and hum. Once Vallan, and Groog behind him, step into the room and Vallan walks up to the door inside, the complex machines on either side of them begin to twitch more violently and sparks begin to shoot out from either of them. The humming grows worse, louder, by the second.
Vallan is once again completely ignorant despite his years of working with machines and technology. "I dinnae like the sound o' that lads. Perhaps we should wait outside for a bit to see if they're going tae blow." The dwarf backs out of the room with the machinery, unwilling to die if it blow up.