"Wait here.......
I will go tell Graz'zt of your great accomplishment. He may want to meet with you."
With that, she dives into the lagoon, and then surfaces far on the other side, wherupon she disappears into a cave opening there...
"Wait here.......
I will go tell Graz'zt of your great accomplishment. He may want to meet with you."With that, she dives into the lagoon, and then surfaces far on the other side, wherupon she disappears into a cave opening there...
Pip the Sahaguin starts moving his fishy orbs around looking for available exits.
Pretty much all you see is the way you came in, and the cavern on the far side that Ocean went into to tell Graz'zt of your arrival.
“So we did time travel … I wasn’t sure. Wow. I hope I don’t … bump into my parents when they were young or anything.” Beldan seems to have private concerns about somehow turning out to be his own father.
“Anyway, let’s go.” He steps forward to follow Altai, then appears to have another thought. “So, alright, if we’re in the past … how do we know that’s not our Ocean? Elves are really old right – no offence Elgan – what if Ocean was evil when she was young, then ended up reforming by the time we met – meet – her? So if we kill her now, would that create like a paroxide thingy, ‘cos we couldn’t meet her when we did – do?”
Time travel is hard…
“Um … fellows … did she just say she was going to go and get a blasted demon lord??” Beldan whispers harshly. “Oh man, we have to get out of here! Oh man, is that lady having a baby?? Oh help…”
"Maybe we should just go ... like now ..."
“Um … fellows … did she just say she was going to go and get a blasted demon lord??” Beldan whispers harshly. “Oh man, we have to get out of here! Oh man, is that lady having a baby?? Oh help…”
Five minutes elapse. She completes her labor. One of the other pregnant sea elves receives an egg...roughly football sized, and grayish opaque.
She walks over to the viper tree and places it within a bole that opens in the trunk through muscular action then closes.
"Oan sekin thooght, mebbe Ah willnae quit boozlin'."
<Stig starts rummaging around for the bottle he just cast away.>
he finds a snifter of something labeled "xxxxxx" wedged in to his right vambrace. Doesn't know how it got there.
Stiggy might have acquired a wino's gremlin.
Beldan sidles back towards the mouth of the passage they entered this cavern by, and presses himself into the shadows.
From the cave across the grotto, some strange tune twanged out as if from the Devil's own lute can be heard. A hollow thrumming which must be what an ant hears when the bottle he is in is blown into starts up as well, and resonates through the grottoe, and the still waters start twinkling and forming expanding circlets as if an invisible rainstorm falls upon them.
The sea elves murmer and giggle amongst themselves.
<Shrugs his shoulders, has a pull on the mysteriously procured hootch, and smacks his lips.>
"Diz anyain min' mah askin' wa we arnae roonnin' fur uir feckin' warthliss li'es?"
Wiser unintelligable words were never spoken, thinks Beldan from his hiding spot, tensing himself ready to run.
"Cos it taint really Grazzt we coming to see. Mothers little boy would stain his pants if it were so and no stain here. Where did Beldan go?"
Oso grips his sword tight then decides to put it away.
"Who Grazzt?"
"You heard of demons? Tough, cunning and powerful with weapons and magic they come from far away. Well they spend their lives clawing and fighting and killing their way to the top of a pile and make chief. The chiefs fight to become the biggest and the best and they are Lords. Lords of more demons than there are leaves in a forest in summer."
"Grazzt is one of them Lords. He be nearly so strong as my god Kelanen that gives us all this magical healing. Only Orcus and Yeenoghu rank higher I believe."
"But don't worry, taint Grazzt. Can't be."
"OK. So if no Grazzt, we kill, yes?"
"We wait and see first. That's wise. Many things are not Grazzt and some may not want killing. Okey-dokey?"
Oso finishes with a grin, "but only some. Many others deserve a bit of hack and slashing."
"Th' wee laddie es raight persuasife, Oso. Effen anyain nids killin' et woods be Grazz't."
"Stig, can I have a swig of that stuff, cos you is right on that."
Hours go by, and Stig starts to smell like you just removed the gas cap to your car.
Finally she returns, appearing at the cave entrance, and pulling across the grotto on a gondola.
"You can enter, and go see Graz'zt now. Bring your trophy."
"Um, ah... Gather up, everyone. We're, um, touching the trophy for good luck. Yeah, that's it." Altai is clearly nervous. "Clearly, the demon lord won't be here in person; however, there might be an aspect or something like that. Or an impostor. Anyway, we'll need to stay alert."
Once everybody's bunched up, Altai discreetly casts Water breathing on the group off one of his scrolls.
“Um … fellows … did she just say she was going to go and get a blasted demon lord??” Beldan whispers harshly. “Oh man, we have to get out of here! Oh man, is that lady having a baby?? Oh help…”
"Er, um, Yeah. Dat wuud be bad, yeah?!?" Elgan asks nervously.
Elgan touches the head along with the others.
Cain't be Grazz't, jest cain't,..." He mutters ina strange echo to other's statements,...
The gondola takes you across; poled by unseen hands.
It bumps into the firmament on the other side of the grotto; two torches ensconced in blankly staring skulls greet you.
It's a narrow, 5 foot wide hall that slowly climbs into a vast antechamber; roughly rectangular. It's about 30 feet across, wherupon the side walls are hidden by rows and rows of support columns; you cannot see past three columns deep. The far wall 100 feet away is blocked by a massive stone throne, and perched on the throne...is an ebon skinned demon the size of an ogre, built sveltely like a drow.
Two dainty horns over his finely chiseled face.
He has four arms, the lower two of which idly strum a largish metallic lute-like instrument.
He is Humanoid from the waist up, and below an indigo serpent's body completes him.
He considers you all, each after the other, and you feel icy in your chest. Then,
"do you not bow?" in a whispery voice.
Beldan is quaking in his boots, and trying to hide behind the others.
<Stig throws himself onto the ground, revealing Beldan behind him.>
Beldan stands with a stupid expression on his sharky face, then falls over.
"So, you Grazzt?"
<Clatters a little as he looks up and around for Gittik. Then speaks.>
"At wee a body 'ere es retartet y'Arch-direness."
"Hey!"
Oso's heart misses a beat as it contracts, and tries to stop his bladder from joining in. He bows.
"Dat sure looks like a demon lord, Gittik!"
Even the fishie visage he wears goes pasty-white as Elgan stares at the creature before them.
HE stands without moving until the creature speaks, then hastily falls to his knees, but cannot grovel, as he is too busy watching the magnificent creature.
One part of his mind studies the deamon, wondering if anything he can do, be it blessings of Nature or Tooth & claw, could pierce that ebony skin,...
The other, more intelligent part, screams that he should be at least a league away right now, and running hard,...
<Stig throws himself onto the ground, revealing Beldan behind him.>
rofl!
"Rise,....rise....."
he looks at you all.
"The....sahuagin disguises are convincing.
I have been admiring you all from afar though.
Aaaaaah, poor Xipe. Alas, I knew him well......
I have watched as you have cut a bloody swath through the forces of my dispicable enemy, that thing...Orcus.
This pleases me.
Ergo, Riese's Regulators.....I shall allow you to serve me. Though it must be mind, body and soul.
What does each of you wish?"
"Elgan....you wish Ocean; I would venture..."
"What do you mean? Do you intend to grant us our fondest wishes? And what do we need to do in return?"
"I'm not omnipotent....yet. I can get you some of the way there though. It depends on how greedy you are, and how patient you are.
You must serve me mind, body, and soul. Your holy men must take my communion.
It shouldn't be too bad. We have, so far, not entirely worked at cross purposes.
I guess you should look at it this way: who would you rather have as lord of this world: Orcus or Me?"
;P
Elgan shivers at the demon's words, though whether from fear, or something else, it is impossible to tell,...
"It's okay, little one.....it's difficult at first. Most things worth doing are."
"So, you like us. OK, maybe you no so bad."
"You especially, you viscious little fire in the darkness."
"How you gonna square this with the Prince of Swords? He is a god and Kelanen owns me soul. Faith aint no matter of trade. What if'n I say no to your big offer and just carry on kickin' into Orcus and his crew?"
"What's the choice......Sir?"
<Stig rolls onto his back so the rum can flow down his gullet.>
"Moradin."
He looks thoughtful, then....
"Kelanen?"
His serpent half arches and he stands, looking up at the ceiling.....
"Kelanen? Kelaaaaaaaaa....neeeeeeen...... are you there, Kelanen? Kelanen?
I want to f&*+ your skull, Kelanen. Come down here off your cloud.
Look at me man. Look. At. Me.
No lightning bolts. The sky is not rent in half with fury.
I am here. Where is your Kelanen? If he exists, he does not care.
I am here. What say you? Take my communion. Mutter prayers to whatever embodiment of concept you wish. Pelor....Kelanen.....they all exist as concepts.
Look at Quetzalcoatl. He's a primitive mind's attempt to grasp Yig, or Ithaqqa, or a battle between both of them eons ago. He's not real.
Kelanin is the same thing.
I don't fear the imaginary.
What would your religion say to that?
I'd say that it is they who fear reality."
<Stig rolls onto his back so the rum can flow down his gullet.>
"Moradin."
"Moradin was real once. He was a chieftan of a group of hunter-gatherer dwarves who hunted giant cavedwelling bears with flint-headed spears.
His story, passed down over a hundred generations, elevated him to godhood.He is a fishing tale. After so many tellings, the fisherman who caught a brook trout caught a whale. No more.
I am not threatened by imaginary beings. Mutter to him as you wish, but take my communion."
"Oh dear. You do seem to have quite the inflated sense of self, now don't you! Keep your communion to yourself along with your enslavement of us. If you have enjoyed our work thus far because it seems to have worked with your own goals then I must say.....good for you. I have no intention of working for you and I assure you that my Regulators are not interested in becoming your slave-pawns." Riese prepares to unleash hell.
"If you wish to continue to watch our work, then do so, but if you wish to control our work or plan to interfere with us, then your rise to power shall end in sorrow for you, Demon."
<On his back. Bottle emptied. Looking up at his friends.>
"Whit th' buck es a coom onion?"
Of all people, Riese seems to instill Beldan with a little confidence, a little courage. He stands, and looks up at Graz’zt.
“Exactly what he said,” he calls defiantly, chin out, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. “We’ll kill the followers of your enemy, gladly, but ‘cos we want to, not ‘cos we want to work for you. And personally, I don’t kneel for any man. So … just let us go and stay out of our way and we’ll stay out of yours … uh, sound fair?”
At Reise's words, the spell on ELgan seems to be broken. Or perhaps it was something else, the slightest hint of a sound, the wind through the trees, can be heard from the elf's direction. And for a moment there seems to seems to be the slightest hint of a breeze, which stirs the Druid's tangled locks, but doesn't touch the others nearby.
The Elf slowly stands. He looks the demon in the face. (He's not foolish enough to look him in the eyes!) And says calmly,... (His accent thicker than ever,...)
"Mah soul dun belong too dah Goddess. Dat's a deal ah dun made dat ah ain't got no 'tention o' goin' back on. She iz deh embodiment o' nature izzelf. An' ah am deh embodiment o' HER poweh heah on urth. Whedder yeh say she iz er ain't real don' make her no nevuhmin', an' it don' bodder me nun 'eeder. If'n yeh gets on her bad side, she will strike yeh down. Whedder she takes that task upon herse'f, or leaves it up fer me tah handle, iz all deh same."
The slim elf shifts ever so slightly, balancing himself on the balls of his feet.
"Lahk deh man sayd, If'n yeh like whut we doin, den let us be on our way an' we be doin' it. But ah ain't servin' you 'er any udder critter whut crawls up from below." He declares softly but firmly. As if in response, another gentle breeze causes his hair to wave,...
"Please." Altai rolls his eyes at the demon's half-baked metaphysical ramblings. "Sure, all gods were once mortals that gained in stature, but so were demons and devils. Moradin and Kelanen are no less real than Graz'zt or Orcus. Now stop prancing around and get to the point. None of us are taking your communion and none of us will serve you mind, body and soul. Having said that, we will quite happily continue slaughtering the minions of Orcus. If you have something to contribute towards that, we're interested in hearing what that might be. If not, we'll be on our way."