2001 an evil skink playing, tricksey DM
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I didn't forget this....it's even more painfully slow than ever...this is my favorite time of year and it seems like people are doing there damnedest to fill every spare minute i have...but I'm no quitter. Soon!! Kerkis' adventures must continue!!
just venting...you were a ways off from that room but certain other things that happen effect it so there's the issue...hell in turns your about an hour into the dungeon...spiders, rats, giant spider, more spiders....yup just over and hour I reckon
Kerrigan swings wide as he feels the toxins course thru him, the 4 remaining spiders dodge the wild swing and snap at Kerkis, mandibles clicking, and he feels the brush of the bristley (?) bodies but none get a hold of him.
You are beset on every available limb with hairy little monstosities, and you feel the sickening crunch of mandibles in at least four places. The good news is, that, one is now a nasty little burning furball with it's legs curled above it. It appears there is 4 left.
1d20+4=23, 1d20+4=6, 1d20+4=21, 1d20+4=23, 1d20+4=24
As he does a gout of black things spring from within! Spiders! Though not the king size one he just dispatched, many and large enough to not want any on you! One of which manages to find a bit of exposed flesh to sink it's mandibles into!
Kerkis sees a few small darker shapes dart away to the left as his torch sizzles through the air of the web encrusted tunnel, if your bearings are correct this is probably the web strewn tunnel on the right, on you're way in. On the the left, where the shapes darted away is a black patch in the strand covered mess.
The giant arachnid is no match for Kerrigan's blade, as he chops what at least mostly serves as the creatures head clean off with the blow, and it collapses to the floor limbs twitching even as the head rolls to rest several feet away.
The tunnel widens into what you figure as the creatures lair. There are numerous web enmeshed forms and detritus on the floor and tunnels leading (besides the one you came from) leading north and vaguely southwest
The spider seems to regain a bit of it's balance at it scampers for the attack, but can't overcome Kerrigan's mail.
The spider flinches ever so slightly-right into the path of the axe which hits it squarely between the eyes with a sickening thunk, it recoils for a moment then springs into the tunnel, clumsily rambling at your position, green ichor blinding half it's eyes .
As you approach you notice beyond that point is fairly webby but widens into a chamber, on the right illuminated by the fortuitous torch is the spider, and a big 'un, it is about human sized all told. 8 beady prisms fix hungrily on you as you approach. You're not sure if it knows you can see it, but it seems to see you and sits quietly waiting.
The torch is right there on the floor illuminating the corridor.
You throw the torch basically where the rat was and you hear angry sizzling as previously unseen webs ignite, it appears as though there were thin strands of web across the corridor! (This may be a bad time to point this out, but I thought you should know: Kerkis left a torch smoldering in the rat room's garbage and now he's thrown one, leaving him with one of the three he had taken off the wall upstairs)
As Kerkis draws the rope back for a second throw, after missing badly due to standing on the slack, he is taken aback as a large forleg and mandibles slice out of the darkness and envelop the hapless vermin as if nothing was ever there. These appendages he notes, are quite larger than the really big rat sized spiders he had seen splattered all about the first chamber, and a quick calculation puts this mother at about man size!
The axe thunks heavily into the creature stopping it's squeak-permanently but it still seems to stand in an upright position in the middle of the corridor
the corridor continues due south for about 15 or 20 ft before making an ever so slight westerly curve. 30 ft ahead at the edge of your torchlight a rat stands upright in the middle of the tunnel chittering angrily (it looks to be the last escaping rat) the wall are the crumbling impacted stone, and the floor ancient stonework.
It squeaks in pain as it scoffers off down the (south) corridor. To refresh, you came from the north corridor it split and you went towards the chittering to the left(to the right was ever thickening webs), this chamber was on the left and the corridor also continues to the south. The chamber's rubble walls are pockmarked with large rat holes. and the floor is covered with smelly debris (some of which is now burning) it was obviously a nest.
The rat is blasted into the back wall of the chamber where it bounces onto the burning garbage and immolates, making it's lone toothy comrade up and run off down the darkened corridor, chittering and squeaking in protest of the lost meal. The room is getting a hazy quality with the burning garbage, but it still smells no better.
The thoughts of skinny dipping fey cloud Kerkis' mind momentarily and one of the torches flies from his grip and lands on a large pile of garbage, igniting it with a rancorous vapor. Rats skitter and chitter in all directions fleeeing the growing blaze, but 2 rats are still intent on a meal. But once again the verminous attempt is foiled by Kerrigan's mail.
Kerrigan's main attack plants a firey kiss in the face of one of the giant rats sending it smoking end over end into the shadows, the 2 that have not slunk away or been torched renew their hunger-borne assault. They prove inept at biting thu Kerrigans mail, tho.
The rat you hit skitters off half dead with another sickening puff of smoke, now there are only three rats still interested in making a meal of you, and you deftly avoid the gnashing buggers as you connect the torch ends. You're now holding two torches.
You flurry the torches thru the air, at the darting rodents. The one that had previously got you latches on good and another just nips a forearm on the back swing.
The rat hit by the torch squeaks loudly as it's filthy pelt crackles and hisses, leaving a sickening wisp of burnt hair and flesh to assault your nostrils. This and the brandished torches seems to break the will of most of the vermin who skitter off into various holes and into the general debris of the nest. However half of them still seem intent on having at least part of you as a meal. 2 of the vile things manage to find a way thru your mail
The corridor goes but a mere 5 ft before widening into a small (around 10-15 ft) irregular chamber. The scene would have blanched most civilians but the hardened Kerrigan is not effected-Kerrigan at quick glance counts no less than 11 huge rats skittering and chittering amidst heaps of garbage. Putting the torch into one of the rubble strewn walls is a fairly simple act. It smells vile and you notice smaller rat tunnels pockmarking the eastern wall. From out of some rubble at your feet a vicious little blighter strikes at you but you kick it away defensively..this commotion and the sudden light source causes most of the rats to start and begin rushing towards you in a small swarm of beady eyes and gnashing yellowed teeth.
After about 20 ft to the east there's another fork one way goes vaguely north east and one vaguely southeast. You barely catch a glimpse of something skittering from the torchlight, to the north east and the verminous chitterings seem to emanate from that direction. You notice there are hardly any webs here, the unstable nature of the rubble walls becomes quite clear, and the smell of rat is very strong.
After 10 ft or so the narrow tunnel forks. One way to the east and left, the other to the south, and right, the web strands still cover the walls for the most part and in the south/right tunnel they seem to cling more tenaciously. Less so from the east tunnel, but the verminous noise seems to be coming from that way, along with the telltale, now familiar, stench of rat.
You reckon the spiders have been dead since at least last night and the trail of disturbed dust that led from the strange tunnel is lost in the general mess the recent killings have made in the room. Though there is evidence that traffic has passed in and out thru the south tunnel, it could be rat, spider, or other. You realize that the room was once much larger, and you are in a cleared area of a caved in chamber or building, thus the irregular shape and jutting protrusions. Also you hear more verminous chitterring from the south.
The irregular room's walls are coated with viscuous strands, here and there bits of natural stone protrude thru. there is another low tunnel exiting a foot off the floor to the south. The floor though is actually ancient worked stone, which is surprising given the irregularity of the chamber. It is strewn with the entrails and various cleft parts of spider and rat, some accidental pairings taking on the form strange hybrid creatures. The noisome stench of rat innards fills the air.
The last rat left after Kerrigan obliterates another one with a deft chop, squeals mindlessly as it attacks. The filthy thing some how gets its toothy maw into an exposed bit of flesh.
The tunnel indeed widens to a small irregular chamber. Strands of web obscure the walls' composition but the floor is ancient worked stone, and the tunnel exit comes out a couple feet off the floor. In the room are 4 large spider corpses, they lie hacked in pulpy pools on the floor their innards forming a sort of a mastic. The source of the chitters and squeaks is also obvious as there are 4 of the largest evil looking rats you have seen, feasting on the arachnid remains. They have as of yet taken no notice of you, intent on their meals.
Although the strands of web are thickening, there is still a perceptible trail thru the dust on the "floor" of the tunnel. Up ahead it seems to widen into a small chamber and Kerrigan's keen senses, bring a faint squeaking and verminous chittering from in there.
Kerrigan drops into the tunnel after his torch, shield arm pulled aside awkwardly and grating against the confines of the tunnel, which runs due east. Garbage from the vault sits on the floor and a clear trail thu the cowebs and dirt leads east. After about 25 ft the Tunnel turns to the south. The tunnel itself is virtually round, and smooth as if some great creature ate, or melted it's way through here, by contrast the hole hacked through to the vault is crude and rough. After the cornerit goes about 10 ft to the south before swooping back east, then south 5 ft then east then south the west, and though disorienting due it's curving nature, it seems you've been swooping back and forth until it turns to the south one last time. You notice the cobwebs starting to get thicker as the tunnel seems to be widening to the south, and they hiss angrily as the torch flickers thru them.
He easily knocks the loose boards away from what appears to be a small tunnel leading down into darkness. the entrance is rough as if chipped away from below, and small. Someone man-sized in armor would have to stoop to fit and fast movement looks to be a bit of a problem to the trained eye of a soldier familiar the seige/sapping operations.
Plainly these aren't original, and look to be from the same wood used in the fort/keep's refurbishment; and moving the garbage aside to examine them reveals that they seem to cover some sort of opening in the bottom of the vault,
You notice that beneath the detritus, the bottom of the vault is covered in wood planking, something you haven't seen used in stone sarcophogi before, and it strikes you as very odd.
The sound of moving through the storied grime grates eerily in the gloomy silence. The ceiling is nondiscript stone work. The vault as described is partially full of old remains and random garbage the greater portion of the lid being piled with the other large stones on the vault directly to the north.
As you approach you notice the layer of grime around this vault is disturbed and looking back you clearly see a trail leading back through the room on the dusty floor. The open vault has more crusty remains and strangely it appears to have collected an additional layer of detritus.
You look quickly and discover no where to put the torch. You approach (i'm assuming the the northern middle one, as you'd have to pass that to get to the one in the southern corner.) The open vault and lying within is a what's left of a crumbling human-sized skeleton.
The door opens to an old sepulchre, 25(N,S)x30(W,E) along the north and south walls are 6 roughly 5x10 stone vaults. This tomb is old, but your knowledge of ancient Thassilonia tells you that it is relatively recent, most likely Varisian or Shoanti(less likely). You have seen rough sarcophogi like these at various locales in your travels, and nothing particulatly distinguishes these.
The sound of his own breath grates on his ears in the cloying silence as he makes his way down the ancient passage, the smell of the burning pitch mingling with with the mildewed stone assaults Kerrigan's nostrils. His torch arm and head break through strands of cobwebs annoyingly as he strides forth. After 30 or so feet he stands before another ancient black iron bound portal.
The door opens to another ancient stone corridor running east-west. You face south as you pull the door easily open. To the east and left you recall Rydak saying something about a "dusty ol' burial chamber" and to the west and right a " 'ol well an' n'er ta th' bottom o' wi'ch is a 'idden door ta some ancient ways what seem like they might be oldin some loot"
It appears that it has. On closer inspection you see that the dust has been disturbed and there are faint tracks of small booted feet, but as they go both ways, there's no way of determining how many creatures may have passed this way. You also note that waht you took to be corrosion on the black metal door-binding is actually some form of foul smelling grease, concentrated around the hinges.
The light from the torch reveals a dim stairway extending 20' to a landing, at he other side of which lies another door that appears to be roughly the same age as the first. The eaves are cobwebbed and the dust and grime of at least a century clings to the walls and floor.
The door opens surprisingly easily, without a sound to reveal a dusty, dark, cobweb strewn, stone stairway leading down into darkness. The dim torches of the hallway barely cast a feeble ray into the stygian depths and the silence of the place assaults your ears.
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