Chapter 3-22 - Verani Sewers
As Juliana sealed off the manhole cover, Ramas looked around to orientate himself. They stood in a surprisingly spacious underground chamber, with a vaulted ceiling. Four circular tunnels, one located in each wall, led out from the central chamber like spokes on a wheel. The floor was unexpectedly dry, and as a whole, the chamber smelled much more pleasant than any other sewer Ramas had found himself in. He was disturbed to realise that he enough experience creeping through urban sewer systems to make that comparison.
Juliana and Morth stood with Tanika, talking to her and trying to get a response. Morth held the wiry haired ranger upright, tears glistening in his eyes as she stared ahead uncomprehendingly. A sound echoed from one of the open tunnels. Instantly weapons leapt from scabbards as the whole group turned to face the source of the noise. A figure stepped out of the shadows and hopped down into the chamber. Aurora in Winter waved urgently at the group,
"Come on. We need to get moving. I've scouted out a route from here to a plaza on the eastern edge of the city. Etgar and the rest are waiting there to get us out of the city."
She turned to Miaug with a half-smile,
“Also, I brought a friend"
A hulking shape loped out of the shadows behind Aurora. Badger lunged forward and bumped his head up against Miaug's waist, nuzzling her side and taking up position protectively beside her.
The party hopped up into the circular opening and followed after Aurora. The tunnels were pitch black. Ryoko and the Verani members of the group stumbled along blindly, guided entirely by Aurora and the other members of the party. Ryoko, her vision entirely absent, found herself focused on her remaining senses. The floor of the tunnels were completely dry, and the smell of raw sewage was completely absent; replaced by an odd chemical scent, almost like antiseptic. Ryoko felt a hand grip her upper arm, and she tensed in shock, reaching for Lightbringer,
“Sorry Ryoko. It’s me” Juliana whispered. Ryoko relaxed,
“Don’t worry. Are you ok?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to talk to someone. Something has been bothering me”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something just doesn’t seem right. It took us at least five minutes to get up into the tower, and maybe another ten to deal with those creatures. Why did the sirens only start after those things were all dead? You'd think they'd have gone off right after we blew up the tower.”
Ryoko realised with surprise that the same thought had been bothering her,
“That’s true. They went off almost as soon as we’d finished with those creatures. What were they?”
“I don’t know. But they were inside each of the Grandmasters from what I saw. I feel like there’s something else going on here. And what did that Grandmaster mean when he spoke about previous revolutions?”
Ryoko and Juliana both bumped into Aetilius, who had stopped directly in front of them. Aurora had come to a sudden halt, and was looking around confused and concerned.
"This isn't right. There should have been a turning back there. We can't have missed it. What's happening here?"
Ryoko noticed that she could just make out her companions in front, outlined in a dull purple glow,
“What’s that light?” she asked
Aurora looked ahead, surprised,
“You’re right. There’s something off to the right”
The right hand tunnel ended at a solid wall, in front of which the amethyst glow emanated from a perfectly circular hole bored in the floor. The hole appeared to be around thirty feet deep, perfectly straight with smooth and featureless walls. The chamber beneath appeared to be well lit by the unsettling purple aura that spilled out into the sewer. Aetilius stepped over to the edge,
“Hold on a second. I’ll check it out”
The big tiefling stepped out into the void, flexed his wings to slow his descent slightly, and hit the interlocking tile floor below with a solid thud, absorbing the impact with his knees. He summoned his mythal axe in hand and checked around the chamber for threats. The room was large; octagonal in shape. The walls were made of the same odd pattern of interlocking purple tiles as the floor. Around the walls, strange looking silvery protrusions emitted a pale silvery light, which reflected off the purple tiles with an eerie purple hue. Two passages, slightly taller than the average human sized corridor, led out of the far walls. Aetilius clutched the haft of his mythal axe as it thrummed gently in his grip. Finally satisfied there was no sign of movement, he motioned back up to his companions.
Ramas moved next, leaping forward into the hole and reaching out with his right arm. Volux’s tendrils whipped out, grabbing hold of the far edge of the bore, and gently lowered him to the ground below. Ryoko quickly shifted back into her Urkhan Vhar form and leapt down into the hole, dissolving into black mist and reconstituting at the bottom. The three of them formed up at the edge of the hole, weapons ready and teeth bared. Clootie somersaulted forwards into the bore, calling out,
“Big Red. Catch me brother!”
Aetilius reacted in shock, lurching back towards the middle of the hole. There was no way he would make it in time as the little gnome plummeted towards the ground. Ramas stretched out with Volux, who whipped forward and snatched Clootie out of the air, gently placing her on the ground next to Aetilius,
“Gonnae no do that” Aetilius chastised her shakily. Clootie just grinned at him winsomely.
Miaug was next to go, smoothly teleporting down using her Blink arrow. Letho looked around at the rest of the group up top with him, including Badger. He shook his head, trying to figure out how to get them all down safely,
“We should probably rig up a rope? What do you think?”
Aurora nodded,
“Good idea. Does anyone have a rope?”
The silence was palpable as everyone looked at one another, then a sheepish voice echoed up from below,
“Yeah. I think all the ropes are down here now…”
With a sigh, Miaug removed the coiled rope from her backpack and carefully placed it in Ryoko’s mouth. Energy coursed through the Blink Dog talisman, and a moment later Ryoko crouched beside the edge of the tunnel in the sewer. She dropped the rope at Letho’s feet, then once again dissipated into a cloud of mist as she shadow leapt back down to the buried chamber.
Juliana twisted the material of the sewer ceiling into a roughly fashioned hook, and Morth pulled a set of block and tackle out of his backpack, rigging up a makeshift hoist. He tied a crude harness in one end, and gently slid Tanika into it, his eyes mournful as he lashed her into place. Then organising the rest of the party up in the sewer into a team, they carefully lowered the catatonic woman down.
Over the next ten minutes, the rest of the group were lowered down the shaft one at a time. Once regrouped, the party took a moment to catch their collective breath and eat some jerky before they pressed on further.
As the party adjusted their packs and stored their supplies, Letho started to explore the far end of the chamber. At the far end of the room, Letho noticed a scattering of circular holes cut into the wall between the two passageways. On closer inspection, he also noticed a couple of similar circular holes cut into the floor. As he drew nearer to investigate, he could feel an odd pressure at the back of his mind; it almost felt like a dull scratching sound. He shook his head to clear it, and took a look at the nearest hole in the floor. Unlike the main access shaft they had come in through, this hole wasn’t cut vertically. Instead it ran out at a shallow angle, in the direction of the wall with the two passages. The walls of the bore were smooth, much like the main shaft, but the gradient seemed shallow enough, Letho thought he could probably crawl along it if necessary. The scratching feeling grew louder, and more insistent. Letho couldn’t shake a feeling of familiarity. He’d seen something like this before. He rubbed his temples, as the scratching began to swell. He could swear it was almost audible.
Aetilius came over to him; Ryoko padded along behind, her nose twitching furiously,
“What’s that noise?” Aetilius asked, his eyes concerned,
“You can hear it?” Letho responded, surprised,
Suddenly a mass of silvery blue fur erupted from the hole in the floor. A Quaggoth hurled itself towards Letho. Aetilius nudged him out of the way and raised his shield, knocking the snarling creature from the air with a bone jarring thud. Two more exploded outward from the holes with a cacophony of snarls. Ramas ran up, whipping out with a tendril from Volux and knocking one of the Quaggoths aside, exposing a second. He raised his dwarven pistol and unloaded it, at point blank range, into the shocked creature’s skull. It fell backwards in a cloud of gore. Aurora raced up the other side of Aetilius, sweeping out with her sword and slicing the one Ramas had unbalanced across the belly. Ryoko moved in sync, leaping forwards and grabbing the same creature by the neck and crushing it’s throat between her fangs. Letho slipped past Aetilius just as the Quaggoth he’d knocked down pulled itself back to it’s feet. He shared a look with the big Tiefling, then raked his sword across the side of the creature’s head, a deep wound drawing both blood and attention. The Quaggoth turned to glare at him, and as its focus shifted, Aetilius swung his mythal axe and cleaved its head from its body. The Quaggoth’s corpse slumped to the ground, the party moved back and took up defensive stances, listening as the scratching sound continued to build. Morth gently placed Tanika down on the ground and stepped protectively in front of her. He unslung his crossbow and primed it. Arina traced a holy symbol in the air in front of her, casting a blessing over her companions. Clootie pulled out her golden kazoo and trilled a little melody, then readied Kulog. The moment seemed to hang like a held breath, pregnant with anticipation.
Then another blur of silvery fur, as dozens more Quaggoth flew out of the holes around the room. As soon as the first emerged, Miaug loosed two arrows. The first struck the Quaggoth in the rear, causing it to let out a bellow of pain; exposing its throat to her second arrow's killing blow. Three Quaggoth fell upon Letho, tearing at him in a flurry of claws, deep wounds criss-crossing his back as he fell to his knees under the assault. Another landed on Aetilius’s back, finding a gap in his armour and driving both claws deep into his flesh.
A Quaggoth threw itself across the floor at Ramas, and raked vicious claws across his chest. Ramas responded instinctively, thrusting a bladed arm into its chest. Aurora spun around him, slashing the impaled Quaggoth across the abdomen, and then across the back with her scimitars. Ryoko dissolved into mist and then coalesced in midair beside Letho, landing on one of the Quaggoth and tearing at its throat. Aetilius dove forward to help the half-elf. He raised his shield, using it to force the beasts on top of Letho back. Then he grabbed the injured half-elf by the shoulder and slid him across the floor towards Arina. Letho out of danger, the big Tiefling lifted one of the Quaggoth with his shield, then brought his axe up to disembowel the creature. Morth loosed a bolt from his crossbow at the Quaggoth still attached to Aetilius’s back. The shot piercing the creature through the temple, killing it instantly.
Arina lifted her talisman, focusing her healing energies through it. Golden light swirled around her clenched fist, and a ball of divine energy coalesced appeared at the tips of her other, outstretched hand. The light expanded, enclosing Letho in a shimmering aura, knitting his wounds back together. Clootie hurled Kulog at the final Quaggoth in front of Aetilius. It whizzed past the Tiefling’s head, and struck the creature in the middle of its chest. Lightning arced out from the point of impact, crackling flesh and scorching fur. The hammer then reversed, whizzing past Aetilius's head to return to her hand. Miaug loosed two arrows over at the Quaggoth in front of Ryoko - the first striking it in the back, while the second tearing out the front of its throat. Badger loped forwards, taking up position beside Ryoko, and pouncing on the Quaggoth next to her. He pinned the creature with his weight, and ripped open its chest cavity with his claws.
Suddenly, all the Quaggoth stopped moving. They froze midmotion, uncannily still as though petrified. A deep rasping chuckle echoed down from a hole in the ceiling; ominous and joyless. Two tall, slender figures, dressed in long flowing black robes appeared and started to descend slowly from the opening. Their flesh was a pale purple hue; their heads smooth and hairless. A dozen writhing tendrils protruded from their faces where a mouth should lie,
"An excellent display. They will prove most valuable" one chuckled to the other, absently waving a bony purple hand across the party,
"I claim the red one"
"Easy Thrullex. We can discuss ownership later."
Morth raised his crossbow and fired a bolt at the first creature. The creature raised its hand, and the bolt shattered against a wall of golden light,
"How rude Usruss. Perhaps he should be made an example of."
The creature flicked its hand dismissively. Morth suddenly stiffened, arching his back in agony as the tip of a dagger emerged from his chest. Blood trickled from his mouth as he turned his head to see Tanika, her face blank and emotionless. Her expression didn’t change as she twisted the dagger upward and Morth collapsed to the floor. With a sudden collective roar, more Quaggoth emerged from the walls, and the frozen ones in the chamber exploded into motion.
The Quaggoth fell on the party like a seething wave of silver fur and flashing claws. Talons tore into Ramas’s side. Three flanked Ryoko, claws flashing against fangs as she tried to defend herself. While she was distracted, a fourth leapt off the wall and raked its claws up her back. The wound was so deep, if it weren’t for her stonelike skin it would have doubtless exposed her spine. Her knees gave out and she collapsed under the weight of the pain. A Quaggoth sank its teeth into Badger’s shoulder, but a burst of static charge from his fur blasted the creature backwards. Another wave of Quaggoth closed in around Aetilius and Letho, who stood back to back, blades whirling at blinding speed as they held them at bay.
A pulse of energy emanated from the first Mindflayer. The weight of the creature’s overwhelmingly alien mind pressed down on Ramas, Aurora, Miaug and Letho, forcing them to clutch their heads in agony as they dropped to their knees. The second Mindflayer raised its hand, almost seeming to beckon to Aurora. The Tabaxi lifted off the ground, her legs flailing helplessly as she slowly rose through the air towards the Mindflayer’s outstretched hand.
Ryoko pulled herself to her back onto her feet, then dissolved into a cloud of shadow and escaped back to Arina. Panting in pain, she focused the energy of the mythal inward, using the magical energy to knit torn flesh back together. Tanika swiped at Ryoko with her dagger, but the druid easily dodged her stilted attack and knocked her away. Arina dropped to her knees, talisman clasped in both hands, as she muttered an urgent prayer to Silvanus.
Aetilius looked around in concern at his nearby comrades, clutching their heads while the Quaggoth advanced. One of the Quaggoth reached Letho’s defenceless form. Aetilius whistled to Badger, who leapt into action, barging into the Quaggoth and knocking it off balance. Aetilius buried his axe in the creature’s back; and Badger disemboweled it. Aetilius kicked the dying Quaggoth off his axe, and in a single motion spun around and hurled his axe at the first Mindflayer. The axe whirled through the air like a cyclone. Caught by surprise, the Mindflayer didn’t react and the axe found its target in the creature’s chest. It glared at him with inhuman malice as it knocked the axe free.
Clootie jumped into the fray, hurling Kulog at a Quaggoth about to strike Ramas. The hammer struck the creature in the face, pushing it away from the half-elf. As she danced across the battlefield, her hammer a whirling blur, she muttered an incantation under her breath and a golden healing light surrounded Ramas, mending the laceration in his side.
Miaug shook off her stupor just as a Quaggoth swiped at her. She was able to react quickly and turn away from the blow, but the creature’s claws still caught her. Ignoring the pain blooming in her shoulder, she spun under the creature’s arms and fired an arrow from point blank range into its skull. She allowed her momentum to carry her around as she slipped an explosive arrow from her quiver. She sighted along the shaft for a fraction of a second, and released. The arrow flew true, striking the first Mindflayer and exploding in a fiery blossom. As the flames dissipated, Miaug’s heart sank. The creature hung there, its hand outstretched and a golden energy shield visible in front of it. The blast hadn’t damaged it in the slightest, although the impact appeared to have pushed it back slightly.
Another Quaggoth attacked Aetilius, swiping with frenzied claws. The big tiefling puffed out his chest and took the hit on his breastplate, as he summoned his mythal axe back into his main hand. The Quaggoth looked suddenly unsure, and began to back away, before Aetilius briskly decapitated it. Ramas shook off his stupor and got to his feet, just in time to see the second Mindflayer’s bony hands curl around Aurora’s shoulders. It drew her in with a vicelike grip. She struggled desperately as the creature’s tentacles curled around the top of her skull. Then suddenly she stiffened, letting out a pitiful cry. Her legs twitched, and the Mindflayer’s eyes rolled up in its head as an expression of delight crossed its alien visage. It let Aurora go, and she fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Ramas was shocked to see her scalp was missing, and the inside of her empty skull cavity was visible.
The first Mindflayer pointed at Aetilius, muttering something quietly. Aetilius felt the immense force of its mind press against his own, trying to push its way past his defences. He gritted his teeth as he fought to keep the force at bay. He felt himself getting lightheaded, then just as his strength was about to give out, the pressure released. His eyes snapped open and he glared at the creature, who looked back with something like alien amusement,
"Interesting. Stronger willed than I anticipated"
More Quaggoth had reached Ryoko and Arina. Ryoko darted back and forth, tearing out throats and snapping necks, desperately trying to protect the little dwarf who was still on her knees, deep in prayer.
Letho eyes opened as the painful pressure on his mind relaxed. He quickly took in the situation, and set about with his blade, joining up with Clootie and Ramas to force back the wave of Quaggoth; but their spirits dropped as more of the creatures spilled out of the holes in the wall. It seemed as though hope was lost, when Arina suddenly moved. Her head lifted and her eyes snapped open. Bright argent light spewed out from her eyes and mouth, and she lifted her amulet. Dozens of tendrils of crackling pearlescent energy immediately erupted from the jewel. The tendrils raced across the battlefield, arcing between the Quaggoth like a chain of lightning. Where it touched the creatures, their skin blackened and in seconds they were reduced to ash. Two bolts lanced out and struck the top of the Mindflayer’s heads, causing their skin to blister and char, then to peel away. They dropped to the ground, slightless eyes staring upward and blackened skulls smouldering. Arina slumped forward, exhausted. Ramas, Letho and Miaug all heard a sibilant whisper in the back of their minds,
"Impressive"
Next:
Previous: Chapter 3-21 - The Council Meeting
Juliana and Morth stood with Tanika, talking to her and trying to get a response. Morth held the wiry haired ranger upright, tears glistening in his eyes as she stared ahead uncomprehendingly. A sound echoed from one of the open tunnels. Instantly weapons leapt from scabbards as the whole group turned to face the source of the noise. A figure stepped out of the shadows and hopped down into the chamber. Aurora in Winter waved urgently at the group,
"Come on. We need to get moving. I've scouted out a route from here to a plaza on the eastern edge of the city. Etgar and the rest are waiting there to get us out of the city."
She turned to Miaug with a half-smile,
“Also, I brought a friend"
A hulking shape loped out of the shadows behind Aurora. Badger lunged forward and bumped his head up against Miaug's waist, nuzzling her side and taking up position protectively beside her.
The party hopped up into the circular opening and followed after Aurora. The tunnels were pitch black. Ryoko and the Verani members of the group stumbled along blindly, guided entirely by Aurora and the other members of the party. Ryoko, her vision entirely absent, found herself focused on her remaining senses. The floor of the tunnels were completely dry, and the smell of raw sewage was completely absent; replaced by an odd chemical scent, almost like antiseptic. Ryoko felt a hand grip her upper arm, and she tensed in shock, reaching for Lightbringer,
“Sorry Ryoko. It’s me” Juliana whispered. Ryoko relaxed,
“Don’t worry. Are you ok?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to talk to someone. Something has been bothering me”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something just doesn’t seem right. It took us at least five minutes to get up into the tower, and maybe another ten to deal with those creatures. Why did the sirens only start after those things were all dead? You'd think they'd have gone off right after we blew up the tower.”
Ryoko realised with surprise that the same thought had been bothering her,
“That’s true. They went off almost as soon as we’d finished with those creatures. What were they?”
“I don’t know. But they were inside each of the Grandmasters from what I saw. I feel like there’s something else going on here. And what did that Grandmaster mean when he spoke about previous revolutions?”
Ryoko and Juliana both bumped into Aetilius, who had stopped directly in front of them. Aurora had come to a sudden halt, and was looking around confused and concerned.
"This isn't right. There should have been a turning back there. We can't have missed it. What's happening here?"
Ryoko noticed that she could just make out her companions in front, outlined in a dull purple glow,
“What’s that light?” she asked
Aurora looked ahead, surprised,
“You’re right. There’s something off to the right”
The right hand tunnel ended at a solid wall, in front of which the amethyst glow emanated from a perfectly circular hole bored in the floor. The hole appeared to be around thirty feet deep, perfectly straight with smooth and featureless walls. The chamber beneath appeared to be well lit by the unsettling purple aura that spilled out into the sewer. Aetilius stepped over to the edge,
“Hold on a second. I’ll check it out”
The big tiefling stepped out into the void, flexed his wings to slow his descent slightly, and hit the interlocking tile floor below with a solid thud, absorbing the impact with his knees. He summoned his mythal axe in hand and checked around the chamber for threats. The room was large; octagonal in shape. The walls were made of the same odd pattern of interlocking purple tiles as the floor. Around the walls, strange looking silvery protrusions emitted a pale silvery light, which reflected off the purple tiles with an eerie purple hue. Two passages, slightly taller than the average human sized corridor, led out of the far walls. Aetilius clutched the haft of his mythal axe as it thrummed gently in his grip. Finally satisfied there was no sign of movement, he motioned back up to his companions.
Ramas moved next, leaping forward into the hole and reaching out with his right arm. Volux’s tendrils whipped out, grabbing hold of the far edge of the bore, and gently lowered him to the ground below. Ryoko quickly shifted back into her Urkhan Vhar form and leapt down into the hole, dissolving into black mist and reconstituting at the bottom. The three of them formed up at the edge of the hole, weapons ready and teeth bared. Clootie somersaulted forwards into the bore, calling out,
“Big Red. Catch me brother!”
Aetilius reacted in shock, lurching back towards the middle of the hole. There was no way he would make it in time as the little gnome plummeted towards the ground. Ramas stretched out with Volux, who whipped forward and snatched Clootie out of the air, gently placing her on the ground next to Aetilius,
“Gonnae no do that” Aetilius chastised her shakily. Clootie just grinned at him winsomely.
Miaug was next to go, smoothly teleporting down using her Blink arrow. Letho looked around at the rest of the group up top with him, including Badger. He shook his head, trying to figure out how to get them all down safely,
“We should probably rig up a rope? What do you think?”
Aurora nodded,
“Good idea. Does anyone have a rope?”
The silence was palpable as everyone looked at one another, then a sheepish voice echoed up from below,
“Yeah. I think all the ropes are down here now…”
With a sigh, Miaug removed the coiled rope from her backpack and carefully placed it in Ryoko’s mouth. Energy coursed through the Blink Dog talisman, and a moment later Ryoko crouched beside the edge of the tunnel in the sewer. She dropped the rope at Letho’s feet, then once again dissipated into a cloud of mist as she shadow leapt back down to the buried chamber.
Juliana twisted the material of the sewer ceiling into a roughly fashioned hook, and Morth pulled a set of block and tackle out of his backpack, rigging up a makeshift hoist. He tied a crude harness in one end, and gently slid Tanika into it, his eyes mournful as he lashed her into place. Then organising the rest of the party up in the sewer into a team, they carefully lowered the catatonic woman down.
Over the next ten minutes, the rest of the group were lowered down the shaft one at a time. Once regrouped, the party took a moment to catch their collective breath and eat some jerky before they pressed on further.
As the party adjusted their packs and stored their supplies, Letho started to explore the far end of the chamber. At the far end of the room, Letho noticed a scattering of circular holes cut into the wall between the two passageways. On closer inspection, he also noticed a couple of similar circular holes cut into the floor. As he drew nearer to investigate, he could feel an odd pressure at the back of his mind; it almost felt like a dull scratching sound. He shook his head to clear it, and took a look at the nearest hole in the floor. Unlike the main access shaft they had come in through, this hole wasn’t cut vertically. Instead it ran out at a shallow angle, in the direction of the wall with the two passages. The walls of the bore were smooth, much like the main shaft, but the gradient seemed shallow enough, Letho thought he could probably crawl along it if necessary. The scratching feeling grew louder, and more insistent. Letho couldn’t shake a feeling of familiarity. He’d seen something like this before. He rubbed his temples, as the scratching began to swell. He could swear it was almost audible.
Aetilius came over to him; Ryoko padded along behind, her nose twitching furiously,
“What’s that noise?” Aetilius asked, his eyes concerned,
“You can hear it?” Letho responded, surprised,
Suddenly a mass of silvery blue fur erupted from the hole in the floor. A Quaggoth hurled itself towards Letho. Aetilius nudged him out of the way and raised his shield, knocking the snarling creature from the air with a bone jarring thud. Two more exploded outward from the holes with a cacophony of snarls. Ramas ran up, whipping out with a tendril from Volux and knocking one of the Quaggoths aside, exposing a second. He raised his dwarven pistol and unloaded it, at point blank range, into the shocked creature’s skull. It fell backwards in a cloud of gore. Aurora raced up the other side of Aetilius, sweeping out with her sword and slicing the one Ramas had unbalanced across the belly. Ryoko moved in sync, leaping forwards and grabbing the same creature by the neck and crushing it’s throat between her fangs. Letho slipped past Aetilius just as the Quaggoth he’d knocked down pulled itself back to it’s feet. He shared a look with the big Tiefling, then raked his sword across the side of the creature’s head, a deep wound drawing both blood and attention. The Quaggoth turned to glare at him, and as its focus shifted, Aetilius swung his mythal axe and cleaved its head from its body. The Quaggoth’s corpse slumped to the ground, the party moved back and took up defensive stances, listening as the scratching sound continued to build. Morth gently placed Tanika down on the ground and stepped protectively in front of her. He unslung his crossbow and primed it. Arina traced a holy symbol in the air in front of her, casting a blessing over her companions. Clootie pulled out her golden kazoo and trilled a little melody, then readied Kulog. The moment seemed to hang like a held breath, pregnant with anticipation.
Then another blur of silvery fur, as dozens more Quaggoth flew out of the holes around the room. As soon as the first emerged, Miaug loosed two arrows. The first struck the Quaggoth in the rear, causing it to let out a bellow of pain; exposing its throat to her second arrow's killing blow. Three Quaggoth fell upon Letho, tearing at him in a flurry of claws, deep wounds criss-crossing his back as he fell to his knees under the assault. Another landed on Aetilius’s back, finding a gap in his armour and driving both claws deep into his flesh.
A Quaggoth threw itself across the floor at Ramas, and raked vicious claws across his chest. Ramas responded instinctively, thrusting a bladed arm into its chest. Aurora spun around him, slashing the impaled Quaggoth across the abdomen, and then across the back with her scimitars. Ryoko dissolved into mist and then coalesced in midair beside Letho, landing on one of the Quaggoth and tearing at its throat. Aetilius dove forward to help the half-elf. He raised his shield, using it to force the beasts on top of Letho back. Then he grabbed the injured half-elf by the shoulder and slid him across the floor towards Arina. Letho out of danger, the big Tiefling lifted one of the Quaggoth with his shield, then brought his axe up to disembowel the creature. Morth loosed a bolt from his crossbow at the Quaggoth still attached to Aetilius’s back. The shot piercing the creature through the temple, killing it instantly.
Arina lifted her talisman, focusing her healing energies through it. Golden light swirled around her clenched fist, and a ball of divine energy coalesced appeared at the tips of her other, outstretched hand. The light expanded, enclosing Letho in a shimmering aura, knitting his wounds back together. Clootie hurled Kulog at the final Quaggoth in front of Aetilius. It whizzed past the Tiefling’s head, and struck the creature in the middle of its chest. Lightning arced out from the point of impact, crackling flesh and scorching fur. The hammer then reversed, whizzing past Aetilius's head to return to her hand. Miaug loosed two arrows over at the Quaggoth in front of Ryoko - the first striking it in the back, while the second tearing out the front of its throat. Badger loped forwards, taking up position beside Ryoko, and pouncing on the Quaggoth next to her. He pinned the creature with his weight, and ripped open its chest cavity with his claws.
Suddenly, all the Quaggoth stopped moving. They froze midmotion, uncannily still as though petrified. A deep rasping chuckle echoed down from a hole in the ceiling; ominous and joyless. Two tall, slender figures, dressed in long flowing black robes appeared and started to descend slowly from the opening. Their flesh was a pale purple hue; their heads smooth and hairless. A dozen writhing tendrils protruded from their faces where a mouth should lie,
"An excellent display. They will prove most valuable" one chuckled to the other, absently waving a bony purple hand across the party,
"I claim the red one"
"Easy Thrullex. We can discuss ownership later."
Morth raised his crossbow and fired a bolt at the first creature. The creature raised its hand, and the bolt shattered against a wall of golden light,
"How rude Usruss. Perhaps he should be made an example of."
The creature flicked its hand dismissively. Morth suddenly stiffened, arching his back in agony as the tip of a dagger emerged from his chest. Blood trickled from his mouth as he turned his head to see Tanika, her face blank and emotionless. Her expression didn’t change as she twisted the dagger upward and Morth collapsed to the floor. With a sudden collective roar, more Quaggoth emerged from the walls, and the frozen ones in the chamber exploded into motion.
The Quaggoth fell on the party like a seething wave of silver fur and flashing claws. Talons tore into Ramas’s side. Three flanked Ryoko, claws flashing against fangs as she tried to defend herself. While she was distracted, a fourth leapt off the wall and raked its claws up her back. The wound was so deep, if it weren’t for her stonelike skin it would have doubtless exposed her spine. Her knees gave out and she collapsed under the weight of the pain. A Quaggoth sank its teeth into Badger’s shoulder, but a burst of static charge from his fur blasted the creature backwards. Another wave of Quaggoth closed in around Aetilius and Letho, who stood back to back, blades whirling at blinding speed as they held them at bay.
A pulse of energy emanated from the first Mindflayer. The weight of the creature’s overwhelmingly alien mind pressed down on Ramas, Aurora, Miaug and Letho, forcing them to clutch their heads in agony as they dropped to their knees. The second Mindflayer raised its hand, almost seeming to beckon to Aurora. The Tabaxi lifted off the ground, her legs flailing helplessly as she slowly rose through the air towards the Mindflayer’s outstretched hand.
Ryoko pulled herself to her back onto her feet, then dissolved into a cloud of shadow and escaped back to Arina. Panting in pain, she focused the energy of the mythal inward, using the magical energy to knit torn flesh back together. Tanika swiped at Ryoko with her dagger, but the druid easily dodged her stilted attack and knocked her away. Arina dropped to her knees, talisman clasped in both hands, as she muttered an urgent prayer to Silvanus.
Aetilius looked around in concern at his nearby comrades, clutching their heads while the Quaggoth advanced. One of the Quaggoth reached Letho’s defenceless form. Aetilius whistled to Badger, who leapt into action, barging into the Quaggoth and knocking it off balance. Aetilius buried his axe in the creature’s back; and Badger disemboweled it. Aetilius kicked the dying Quaggoth off his axe, and in a single motion spun around and hurled his axe at the first Mindflayer. The axe whirled through the air like a cyclone. Caught by surprise, the Mindflayer didn’t react and the axe found its target in the creature’s chest. It glared at him with inhuman malice as it knocked the axe free.
Clootie jumped into the fray, hurling Kulog at a Quaggoth about to strike Ramas. The hammer struck the creature in the face, pushing it away from the half-elf. As she danced across the battlefield, her hammer a whirling blur, she muttered an incantation under her breath and a golden healing light surrounded Ramas, mending the laceration in his side.
Miaug shook off her stupor just as a Quaggoth swiped at her. She was able to react quickly and turn away from the blow, but the creature’s claws still caught her. Ignoring the pain blooming in her shoulder, she spun under the creature’s arms and fired an arrow from point blank range into its skull. She allowed her momentum to carry her around as she slipped an explosive arrow from her quiver. She sighted along the shaft for a fraction of a second, and released. The arrow flew true, striking the first Mindflayer and exploding in a fiery blossom. As the flames dissipated, Miaug’s heart sank. The creature hung there, its hand outstretched and a golden energy shield visible in front of it. The blast hadn’t damaged it in the slightest, although the impact appeared to have pushed it back slightly.
Another Quaggoth attacked Aetilius, swiping with frenzied claws. The big tiefling puffed out his chest and took the hit on his breastplate, as he summoned his mythal axe back into his main hand. The Quaggoth looked suddenly unsure, and began to back away, before Aetilius briskly decapitated it. Ramas shook off his stupor and got to his feet, just in time to see the second Mindflayer’s bony hands curl around Aurora’s shoulders. It drew her in with a vicelike grip. She struggled desperately as the creature’s tentacles curled around the top of her skull. Then suddenly she stiffened, letting out a pitiful cry. Her legs twitched, and the Mindflayer’s eyes rolled up in its head as an expression of delight crossed its alien visage. It let Aurora go, and she fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Ramas was shocked to see her scalp was missing, and the inside of her empty skull cavity was visible.
The first Mindflayer pointed at Aetilius, muttering something quietly. Aetilius felt the immense force of its mind press against his own, trying to push its way past his defences. He gritted his teeth as he fought to keep the force at bay. He felt himself getting lightheaded, then just as his strength was about to give out, the pressure released. His eyes snapped open and he glared at the creature, who looked back with something like alien amusement,
"Interesting. Stronger willed than I anticipated"
More Quaggoth had reached Ryoko and Arina. Ryoko darted back and forth, tearing out throats and snapping necks, desperately trying to protect the little dwarf who was still on her knees, deep in prayer.
Letho eyes opened as the painful pressure on his mind relaxed. He quickly took in the situation, and set about with his blade, joining up with Clootie and Ramas to force back the wave of Quaggoth; but their spirits dropped as more of the creatures spilled out of the holes in the wall. It seemed as though hope was lost, when Arina suddenly moved. Her head lifted and her eyes snapped open. Bright argent light spewed out from her eyes and mouth, and she lifted her amulet. Dozens of tendrils of crackling pearlescent energy immediately erupted from the jewel. The tendrils raced across the battlefield, arcing between the Quaggoth like a chain of lightning. Where it touched the creatures, their skin blackened and in seconds they were reduced to ash. Two bolts lanced out and struck the top of the Mindflayer’s heads, causing their skin to blister and char, then to peel away. They dropped to the ground, slightless eyes staring upward and blackened skulls smouldering. Arina slumped forward, exhausted. Ramas, Letho and Miaug all heard a sibilant whisper in the back of their minds,
"Impressive"
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Previous: Chapter 3-21 - The Council Meeting
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