After standing in the white mid-afternoon sun and marveling at the mass of black granite boulders known as Black Mountain, Max outfitted as Eldritch asks the team, "Ready?"
The mage gesticulates with his fingers focusing on the gaps in the rocks and calls out, "By the craft of Anog the Keymaker, I open the doors to Agartha"
"Ready."
Back at his museum office Æthelweard obtains a change of attire; disposing of his tweed suit for identical ensemble but with reinforced elbow patches. Once changed he gathers an old satchel, placing in it his British Archeological Assocation thermos flask and a flashlight.
From the exhibits he “borrows” a pith helmet, Webley & Scott flare pistol and an antique police belt lamp.
The lanky academic then returns with Max, joining the others for the coming expedition.
At Max’s prompt he nervously nods, hand straying absentmindedly to the stone Eotenheorte around his neck;
”Girded as I… We.. can be I suppose old chap… Onward to Agartha!"
After standing in the white mid-afternoon sun and marveling at the mass of black granite boulders known as Black Mountain, Max outfitted as Eldritch asks the team, "Ready?"
The mage gesticulates with his fingers focusing on the gaps in the rocks and calls out, "By the craft of Anog the Keymaker, I open the doors to Agartha"
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Oswald comes prepared with his signature rugby shorts, his father's old slouch hat, and a large insulated bag slung over his shoulder. "So I got us some snacks in case we get hungry. I figured if we're going to 'Stralia, I'd grab us some vegemite sandwiches and a couple'a Fosters for the trip."
Once everyone is ready to depart, Oswald cracks open a cold one. The blurred umbral form of the nightmare demon overtakes him as he takes a long cold chug of the Fosters.
"Tsssss Ahhhhhh. Ain't nothin' like a cold Fosters."
The Keys of Anog open a door into something quite different from the modern world. You see the interior of a vast cavern, filled with a strange and ancient city of stone towers and serpentine archways. A grand, palatial structure looms nearby, and it’s not difficult to see where the Factor Four have been or which way they went, as there are unconscious bodies scattered around the stone pavement amidst scorch-marks and cracked stone. The forms are not human, however. They’re small, spindly figures with yellowish, hairless skin, clad in kilts and equipment harnesses. Odd-looking pikes and clubs lie tossed about. A trail of combat leads to the front door of the looming building nearby, its massive vault door smashed in by a great force, and you can hear a powerful drumbeat echoing through the cavern, the sound of an alarm.
Cesarina comes clad in faith, and the accoutrements that come with it, but also comes wielding a goody basket of snacks she has lying around the house, as well as a case of bottled spring water, which she passes around before we step through; three to each person.
"One for drinking, and the ones with the H on the cap have been blessed, in case we run into the undead or demons. They should be good for a good sting against lesser monstrosities at least. Don't get them mixed up. It shouldn't be harmful, but the touch of your lips will result in a de-purification of the water...and it won't taste very good, to boot."
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"It appears we aren't as far behind our quarry as we may have feared."
Max breathes his childhood mantra to activate his magical understanding.
The mage floats toward the alarm following the ruckus through the smashed massive vault door.
Gracie
Oz
Pyre
Cesarina
Max
Sub Terrans
Professor
Granite
The Sub-Terrans communicate through a series of clicks, whistles, and keenings, not entirely unlike whalesong and dolphin clicks. Max's spell translates them effortlessly.
"Hold them fellows, our king will be here soon enough to teach these invaders a lesson. Look! another one, and more behind him. Remember your teachings. Gang up on them."
The chamber beyond the vault door is overflowing with the purloined treasures of the Earth. There are piles of gold and silver coins and jewelry, ancient statuary, and a profusion of gems.
"Dyfres." Gracie's armor shimmers around her body as she steps forward. She holds open her hands and shakes her head at them. "Our fight's not with you. It's with them." She points at the elemental men toward the back of the room and scowls at them.
And then, buoyed by the magic ligaments of her armor, she leaps over the crowd of SubTerrans to land as close as she can to Granite. "Oy! Over here, Rocky!"
Oz figuratively smashes the can, and then very literally as he tosses the squished can towards the nearest Sub-Teran's head. "Her fight isn't with you guys, but mine is. Jeez you guys are U G L Y. I've got just what you need."
A black puddle opens beneath the bulk of Sub-Terans as an eyeball emerges and explodes in a cloud of barbs and lashing thorns.
The Sub-Terrans fall under Oz's onslaught.
Pyre surveys the arrival of the heroes. "Keep looking, Granite, I'll take care of these interlopers."
He puts his hands together and rakes Gracie and the Sub-Terrans with a lance of fire.
The Sub-Terrans drop under the fiery blast.
Cesarina
Max
Sub Terrans
Professor
Granite
Old habits die hard and the archaeological magpie in Æthelweard is momentarily drawn to the gems and ancient artefacts.
"Quite the trove, worth a inves-"
He snaps out of it as the team are assailed by the troglodytes, then freezes (ironically) in place when Pyre makes his presence known.
"Oh my. The fiery elemental fellow... Not him again!"
The Professor's panicked voice harkens back to when he last saw Pyre, and the change that came soon after.
His hand moves instinctively to the ancient stone at his neck, thin fingers gripping through the fabric of his shirt as an equally ancient incantation forms on his lips...
Eldritch floats up to get a line of sight on Pyre and calls out, “Let the Icewinds of Dale freeze,” causing freezing ice to spring from his gesticulating hands and shoot toward the fire elemental.
Cesarina claps her hands and summons the chains of light to bind Pyre.
"I should have asked this before, but is he ON fire, or MADE of fire?"
The chains of light wrap around Pyre's arm, jerking him to the side and throwing him "off balance" even though he is flying.
Granite ignores your arrival for now, opting to dig through piles of treasure with his massive stone hands.
Through the door scurry 6 more Sub-Terrans with double headed spears.
Gracie, shaking off the fiery blast, hears the Sub-Terrans shriek in agony. She turns around to see them falling under one of the Nightmare's evil eyes, and she yells, horrified, "Oz, what the Hell are you doing? They thought we were with the bad guys! It was a misunderstanding!" She gazes over the fallen pile of bodies, matching the carnage left by Pyre and Granite outside, in sheer horror.
Calesvol shimmers into existence in her hand, and for a moment, it almost seems like she is going to Lunge toward Oz rather than the enemies they came to fight. Instead, she simply says, "We're having words after this."
She moves instead toward Granite, looking to see if he has found the Bloodstone among the treasure.
The Good Knight spots it at the same time as Granite. An aged iron coffer, heavily rusted and pocked with spots where the rust has eaten all the way through. Light from inside the box turns the gold ingots that partially cover it crimson.
Oz let's out a hyena-like cackle from the depths of hell as he charges forward. "Oh, you're no fun, Good Knight!"
He leaps into the air and summons a portal to the darkest parts of The Nightmare Realm.
Having had their bodies torn apart and their consciousness thrust into elemental earth and fire, perhaps these two members of the Factor Four have already faced their worst fears.
Seeing the stone in its protective coffer, Pyre moves to protect his ally. Once again he strafes the ground, catching Oz and Gracie in his blast.
Cesarina
Max
Sub Terrans
Professor
Granite
"Over here!" Grace calls out to her allies.
Since she is trying to stand firm close to the box and not dodge much, the flame hits Grace full on, and she is dazed and eyebrowless.
Good work Gracie! Now all that's left is to dispatch of these two!" she calls, then Cesarina tries to finish this quickly so they can tend to the wounded.
SHe blasts a beam of concentrated light at Pyre!
Eldritch floats higher to be out of reach of Granite and forward near Oz. He targets Pyre again and calls out, “Let the Icewinds of Dale freeze,” causing freezing ice to spring from his gesticulating hands and shoot toward the fire elemental.
Pyre dodges to the side as Cesarina's beam goes wide.
Focused on Cesarina's beam, Pyre is caught off guard by Max's blast.
Four Sub-Terrans swarm Cesarina, their spears stabbing haphazardly. It is clear that they are not well trained soldiers.
Three more of the small pale men leap toward the Professor, their spears thrusting.
"Oh my. I come in peace! Venio in pace! Pax! Frith! No bloody need for that! P-P-Please! You'll w-wake him!
Beset by the stunted creatures, Æthelweard takes a spear thrust to the ribs, but his augmented form weathers the blow.
Fee
However as he flails in panic, his long limbs tangle and he trips over himself before scrambling frantically backward...
FIE
The trio surge forward, seeking to overwhelm the lanky Professor!
FOE
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Granite reaches out with his massive stone fist, crushing the rusted box and dropping the red stone into his left hand. He smiles with rocky teeth and turns to Pyre. "Got it, hot sauce! Golden ticket number 2. Let's get out of here so the queen can pull us back."
Pyre turns to him, hot and angry, "You idiot, you don't have to narrate our plans to the opposition."
Gracie
Oz
Pyre
"Not so fast!" Gracie leaps upward, coming down with her blade, aiming to knock the box out of Granite's hands.
Misses.
Gracie's shining blade smashes into the box, knocking it from the massive stone hands. She snatches the coffer as it falls.
The sound of the drums in the deep changes, the pace increasing to a rapid ta-ta-tum-ta-ta-tum, but also, beneath that a deeper, slow throbbing.
Cesarina
Max
Professor
Sub Terrans
Granite
Grace's face lights in triumph as she clutches the box to her chest, the light of Calesvol disappearing as her hand releases the sword.
"Gracie, let me have itto play keep away." Max calls out to the good knight.
"By the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!" The mage gesticulates with his hands and activates a spell to create two red ribbons to wind toward Gracie and collect the magic red stone. He pulls it to his person and secures it in a pocket while floating further toward the ceiling to ensure Granite could not grab him.