Tales of Faerun

[josh900]

"Vampires." Azuris growled as he slid his pack off his back and drew his sword. "Of course! Why not?! Stuck in a damn tomb with no way out! Sure! Just throw some damn bloodsuckers at us and call it a day!!" He yelled out as he stormed his way into the battle.

 

With only a few remaining by the time he was able to unclasp the pack, his choices of targets was limited, but seeing as Weyland was closest, he went for the one assaulting him.

 

It went in for a spinning kick that went unfinished, as Azuris's blade cleaved through it's standing lag, toppling it over. It made a quick spin in an attempt to face it's new assaulter, but was met with the large blade being brought down onto it's body and limbs over and over, accompanied by Azuris's grunts and profane yells of anger as he sliced through the vampire's unarmed attempts at defending itself.

 

After his blades started to scrap against the floor and the creature had no more limbs to sever, Azuris took to stomping on the undead being's skull, cracking it open more and more under his plated boots. His profanity only grew worse and worse as his foot sunk deeper and deeper into the skull as ages old brain matter and fluid covered his foot.

 

"I... I think it's dead Az!" Lucas called out.

 

"They've always been dead." Azuris retorted as he continued to stomp. "They're just.. too.. damn.. dumb.. to notice!" He finished, ending his barrage with a kick to it's shattered jaw, sending it and a collection of dust and vampiric mist sailing across the floor.

He took in a deep breath afterword, calming himself as best as he could before shooting a look to Weyland.

"I hate these ba******." He growled before picking his sword up off the ground.

[AurianaValoria1]

Amendale's glittering blade went completely unnoticed by the vampire who was attacking Zorica; it was so intent on destroying the half-drow that it focused entirely too much on its task - a fatal mistake. Its head rolled cleanly from his shoulders with one swipe of the moon elf's keen sword, and then its body spilled into ash all over Zorica's thrashing form. Once the monk's fingers had vanished from her throat, she took in a great gasp of dust-filled air and then coughed and spluttered violently, spitting onto the stone beside her. After a few moments of shuddering recovery, she angrily slammed her fist against the floor, emotional tears tracking down her cheeks, "Gods damn them to the Hells!"

 

Meanwhile, Annette's potion was enough to revive the unconscious Conall, but he still bled a little from the wound on the side of his head, his gauntleted fingers coming away with sticky, burgundy blood. As he tried to raise himself from his position beside Argyros's foot, the room spun, and he was forced to lie back down. "Ohhhhh," he groaned, squeezing his electric-blue eyes shut again and holding his head, "Oh, that was not smart."

 

Imhiros, sighing in relief now that the fight was finally over, picked up the broken shaft of his spear and raised an eyebrow, "Well, there goes that." Tossing the shattered wood aside, he glanced around and added, "Is everyone all right? Who needs potions?"

 

Rhaine winced as she held her broken wrist straight, "I've got my own...see to the others." She then fished around in her pack with her good hand for a potion, pulled off the cork with her teeth, and downed it in one gulp, wincing again as the bones were set back into place and the flesh and muscle mended. The Doomguide could also feel where other wounds - mostly bruising - were healed by the pale blue liquid. Once that was done, she tossed the vial aside and flexed her fingers properly around Touch of Death's hilt, "Sharrans...I think I know why they're here."

 

Imhiros frowned, "And why would that be?"

 

"Simple," Argyros rumbled darkly, "The same reason we are."

 

==============================

 

Quarylene smirked as she gazed upon the shadowy woman's impressive achievement. Before them, on an altar, rested three crystal spheres inside protective cages, all of them pulsing with a soft, swirling red light that cast deep shadows upon both vampiresses. The drow's grin widened, and she glanced sideways through solid white eyes at her new ally, "So...you managed to beat them to these, did you? Where did you find them?"

 

The woman pointed with a sender, gloved finger to each sphere in turn, "Chult, Icewind Dale, and Mulhorand."

[Deleted6317247User]

With the vampires defeated, Nawen climbed down the dragon and approached Conall. "How are you feeling?" She asked concerned as she crouched down beside him. "You had me worried for a moment there."

 

Shalena looked around to see if there were any more undead around, but after seeing Amendale killing the last of the vampires she shot a glance at the others. "So... how large is this tomb anyway?" The piratess asked. "Cause if there's an army of vampires waiting ahead I suggest we get our dragon friend here to make us a new door. We barely defeated those six."

[tokyobiohazard]

Aera, dazed as she was, managed to swallow the absolutely foul potion Annette offered her with her good arm. She'd never tasted anything this awful, and her face showed it. The mint was a barely noticeable undertone to a disgustingly bitter potion that was thick as syrup in her mouth. Aera's body wanted to heave up something that tasted this bad, and she gagged after the last gulp.

Of course, that was just the beginning. With a sharp twinge, she was now feeling her bones knit themselves back together. Her skin itched and her arm hurt almost unbearably; her ribs pulsated with pain. Afterward, Aera's arm was freed and she flexed her fingers.

"Thank you Annette. I have to say, I think the vampire's flesh tasted better than that concoction, but it did the trick. I feel stronger than when I entered the tomb." Aera laughed, ecstatic that she'd made it through that ordeal.

==========

Outside, Hazel lay down propped on one elbow, idly chatting with Heidi about her home, before it had been destroyed. Her heart twinged, but Hazel had lived long enough to know that nothing is forever. She just wished that her recovery were more swift than this. Of course, even magic and potions took time, so Hazel didn't dwell on it too much.

[Flipout6]

Amendale watched the vampire's corpse turn to dust with a vindicated satisfaction. He flicked the blade of his sword, flinging off some of the congealed, putrid blood it was steeped in. After a quick look around to see if there were any other dangers to be aware of and finding none for the moment, he slipped it back into its sheath and sighed, cracking his neck. He had to have pulled half the muscles in his body during that battle. He was just thankful he hadn't been hit much; a beating like Aera, Connall or Rhaine took was going to hurt if they got out of this alive. Zorica's distress caught his attention and alarmed him, and he looked down at her.

 

"Easy does it..." He almost whispered. He caught her arm when she went to punch the ground again, relaxing his grip instantly when she tensed up. "Zorica..." Amendale knelt down beside her, slipped an arm around her shoulder, and gently took her hand. "It's alright. You'll be fine, you're alright, they're dead. We all made it." He looked her in the eyes, the ghost of a smile etched into his features. He gave her hand a squeeze and then helped her up. "He won't be hurting you again."

 

Annette, on the other hand, laughed lightly. She appraised Aera with a glint in her eyes. "Sounds like you've already made a full recovery, then. If you're in good enough a shape to complain about the taste, I don't need to worry." She patted the weretigress on the shoulder and then went over to help Connall, supporting him as he began to recover and sit up.

 

Sybille whooped. "That was almost fun!" Then suddenly the feeling of the dozen punches or so hit her and she winced. "Almost."

 

"I'll keep watch while we gather our breath." Weyland declared, stepping forwards. Passing by Azuris, he grunted, "Yeah, they're bastards alright."

 

"Next time, Arland, try to go for the head, will you? Can't save you every time." Marie teased, cracking a small smile.

He scoffed. "Like I needed saving."

Edited February 22, 2015 by Flipout6

[Llhunara]

With her daggers doing little to deter the undead monster Llhunarra was at bit of a loss. Well, not really, more like hesitant to run into combat regardless of the vampire advancing towards the human. With all but one of her blades thrown she still had no desires to engage the creature in combat. Thankfully the decision would be made for her as the ever impressive Sybille seemed to have plenty of stamina left. Disposing of the creature with one of the traps set further down the tunnel was quite brilliant and entertaining all in one swoop, the redhead not able to keep a grin from her face.

 

As the larger warrioress yelled out the rogue was quick to get to work on retrieving her thrown weapons. Her vampire target had done well enough to smack two aside, both of which had skittered across the cave floor while the rest were stuck within its body. Carefully making her way to the somewhat pincushion of a creature she manages to pluck all of the throwing daggers from his lifeless body…wait…hadn’t he been lifeless to start? Llhunarra had to wonder if killing an undead creature was actually killing it since it had already been killed. Putting too much more thought into the answer was going to give her a headache so like most things she just lets it go.

 

Sliding the last of her small daggers into their respective holsters on her hips she scampers back over towards Shalena. The piratess had been the original target she had risen to help before Sybille had come barreling in. Having heard the female’s comment she steps in close, dropping her voice to a whisper.

 

“Large enough to be annoying it seems, but doesn’t that mean it can hold that much more loot?” Giving the half-drow a nudge with her elbow as a smirk curls across her lips. Rhaine had of course told them all nothing was to be taken, but she had also warned them all to be prepared and look who it was that had been the first to be caught off guard by the vampires. If the Chosen didn’t have to follow her own rules, why did Llhunarra?

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall slowly opened his eyes again to see Nawen and Annette kneeling beside him. As the latter helped him up to a sitting position, he answered the former, "I'm...fine, thank you. A little dizzy, but I think it will pass." He winced, "My apologies if I distracted you...I'm going to make a point of not letting that happen again."

 

Nearby, Imhiros glanced at Shalena, "These types of tombs do generally get larger. The deeper catacombs serve higher-ranked members. There will be a large chamber at the end that houses relatives of the royal family."

 

"That is likely where the phylactery will be," Rhaine added, "If it is still here. And the only way we can find out if it is there or not is to continue on."

 

Zorica squeezed Amendale's hand momentarily, briefly resting her head on his shoulder before allowing him to help her push herself to her feet, "Then let's get this over with. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

 

Rhaine nodded, "Marie? Audri? When you are ready, let us go." She gestured to the darkened halls ahead, "I do believe we'll need you to make more trap sweeps."

[Deleted6317247User]

"You didn't," Nawen said, "I was just worried. That's all." She shot him a light smile before standing up. "I'll go with Dri and Marie." She said.

Shalena glanced at Llhunarra and chuckled. "Unless their treasures tend to crumble to dust like these bloodsuckers themselves do." As she heard the Doomguide speaking, she could not help but voice her own opinion. "You hit your head harder than I thought." The piratess said. "Look at some of your friends," she added as she gestured to Aera, Conall and then Zorica who seemed to have fared the worst during the fight, "it took six of those things to injure them like that, how long do you think we'll last down here without magic? We don't even know if the phylactery thing we're looking for is still here."

[Flipout6]

Once Marie and Dri knew what they were looking for and what to be cautious of, disarming traps as they proceeded further into the catacombs proved to be much easier and far less time-consuming than their initial session, even once the traps started getting more and more sophisticated. Thankfully due to the dead-magic zone they didn't run into any magical traps, which was a fortunate turn in their favor against the effect that was for the most part a burden and a hazard.

The tombs, mummies catacombs and level of luxury and decoration somehow increased the further into the tomb they got. The hieroglyphs on the walls grew richer in detail but also faded and weathered, some of them being quite obviously several centuries old. Jewelry of various materials and types was easily found on mummified corpses and in or around stone slabs, coffins and tombs. It wasn't long before even the smallest, "least eye-catching" displays were monuments to wealth and extravagance. The jewels in the walls, even after centuries, glittered like new. Arland grumbled, wondering whose brilliant idea it was to give the dead more value than the living when people were starving elsewhere.

 

Eventually they came upon a room deep within the depths of the underground. It was a spectacular, grandiose room, absolutely filled with valuables and bodies. The dead lay within golden coffins carved into the likeness of a sphinx, surrounded by their glittering earthly possessions back from when they lived. A glorious chandelier dangled from the ceiling, the walls were completely painted over with designs, stories of the dead and of mythology, leaving no brick unspared....except for the back wall farthest from the entrance, which had been destroyed utterly. In its place, the mouth of a yawning cavern loomed ominously, distant echoes barely audible even to elven ears as they rebounded off black rock and chasm wall. It was abandoned, with no living or undead forms to be found....but it was obviously recently abandoned.

 

"This the work of those bloodsuckers or do we have more to deal with?" Arland asked.

 

"With our luck?" Weyland responded. "There's probably ten just inside that cave. Watch."

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There was a nigh-imperceptible whistle and a light brush against the leaves of the palm trees where Hazel and Heidi rested. Barely noticeable, but behind it something sinister, garbed in black, ignoring the uncomfortable heat caused by the less-than-optimal desert clothing and the Mulhorandi sun.

 

Silithus liked what he saw. A single defenseless gnome, a pseudodragon fluttering happily around the oasis, and a mechanical dragonfly. Odd, he had expected to find the dryad out here, but she was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she had been brave enough to wander senselessly into the tomb after her companions. Or perhaps she'd simply disappeared again. Either way, if she appeared again....there was more than one disease that could rot a tree from the inside-out. He doubted the dryad was any different.

Heidi was defenseless against the force that slammed her into the dirt and took her pet dragonfly with it, destroying it and crushing its circuits out all over the grass. A hand, seemingly made of shadow, pinned her to the ground and squeezed the breath out of her.

 

"Staying behind while your less.....vulnerable companions wander aimlessly into a dead magic zone?" Silithus clicked his tongue, grinning maliciously, horribly twisting his scarred mess of a face. The flesh was a putrid mess of sickly greens, sallow yellows and angry reds and pinks. His right nostril was completely gone, exposing a simple hole in the flesh for breathing. A entire stretch of hairline was completely gone, replaced with swollen, lumpy sores. His eyes were the same blank grey as ever. "And now they can't save you." The hand squeezed tighter.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Flipout6

[tokyobiohazard]

Aera looked on in wonder at the tomb; it was her first experience seeing anything this lavish. It only seemed to get more beautiful the deeper they went. It was strange, seeing the many depictions of cats being worshipped. She almost felt as if she'd be treated royally if she'd have lived back then. It didn't exactly strike a chord with her until she saw the first sphinx-shaped coffin, seemingly made completely out of gold.

The temptation to take something was oddly strong with Aera, which struck her as odd. She'd never thought about theft before, but something inside this tomb seemed to urge her to do so.

================

Hazel walked with a skin full of water in hand, marveling at her returning strength. As she reached Heidi's cart, her waterskin fell to the ground and she realized Heidi was in danger. A hideously deformed man stood over her, a black hand pinning Heidi to the ground.

Hazel didn't waste time, and snatched up the daggers Heidi had been polishing earlier, throwing one after the other at her assailant.