Chapter Twenty Five
There were four of them. They appeared to be semi-human, in the same way a Chihuahua resembles a wolf.
They were kind of short, standing only about five feet, with almost translucent white skin that hung loosely off of their bones. Their hair was a greasy white, but it was the facial features of the strange monsters that creeped them all out.
Lidless, solid black eyes that protruded under heavy brow ridges held red slit pupils. Squashed, gorilla like nostrils flared and slimy black lips were pulled back to reveal pointed teeth. Twitching, bat-like versions of human ears stuck out from their hair and claw-nails gripped primitive weapons. The arms were disproportionately long for the body and the tree trunk like legs.
Several of the creatures possessed bony protrubences or horn like features on their bodies-heads, arms, and hands.
The creatures were only still for a few seconds. Then they charged-which was, of course, futile.
Laguna gagged back bile and ran the first one through. Sickening looking black blood erupted out of the things mouth, sizzling like acid when it hit the floor. Jerking his sword out, Laguna looked for another target.
Something about these creatures unsettled Jea totally. She gave a hoarse battle-cry and bashed the brains of one monster in, gore and brain matter coating her mace. She swung backwards and caught another one in the face, the spikes on her mace ripping its face off. It screamed and bashed her back with its fist. Her dragon skin cloak absorbed most of the blow and Laguna appeared to finish the monster off.
Dumbugg, Ambermist, and Shikatsu didn't waste any time either. They charged in and dispatched the last beastie with a few quick sword strokes.
Jea spat on the corpses. "Pathetic." Wiping the gore off her mace, she looked to her companions. "Any of you recognize these things?"
Laguna shrugged. He was new to all this, and hadn't had the chance to acquire a menagerie of monster knowledge yet. Dumbugg just grunted and began beheading the monsters to amuse himself. Ambermist and Shikatsu looked at each other to confer. After a few minutes, they shook their heads. "No Underdark creature we know of."
Jea studied the bodies a moment, running through her monster catalog in her brain. Suddenly, all the similarities jumped out at her and she recoiled in horror, choking on bile.
Laguna, who was also trying to keep his stomach in place, touched her shoulder. "What is it?"
Shuddering, Jea swallowed. "That's horrendous! An abomination of nature and the Planes! Faaagghh!!!!!!!"
"What are they?"
"The actual question, my friend, is 'What were they?' These things were human-once. They bred-somewhere along the line-with things of the Lower Planes." She pointed to the bony protrubences. "I'd say this group has been here for several centuries.to be changed this much by breeding and environment."
Jea looked hard at each of them. "Final chance to back out, any of you. I'm not leaving until every single one of these things is dead and this place destroyed. Anyone who wants to go back up, speak now, or deal with it."
Laguna, being a paladin, was first to respond. In a superior, noble tone, he intoned, "These things are evil. We must destroy this foul place and restore it to purity." Jea rolled her eyes, squashing the urge to smack the holier-than-thou attitude from him with her mace.
Ambermist, noticing the expression, started choking on her laughter. Looking at the ranger, she said, "If you think there's treasure, count me in!" Shik nodded in agreement.
Yar? Dumbugg grinned-a scary sight indeed. "I get to Kill stuff."
Jea smiled wickedly. "Let's go then. Laguna?"
He pointed to a door on their left, and they opened it. It was a small reading room with a door on the far wall. Laguna looked at Jea. "Mind if I take care of this door?"
"Go right ahead, me'boyo."
The knight looked at the door speculatively, then drew one gauntleted fist back and punched the door with all his might. The wooden door exploded inward, flying across the next room and crashing through a door on the far wall, landing at the feet of two very startled demon-priests.
Laguna took one look at the priests and stepped forward, shouting, "You! Prepare to meet justice!"
Jea snarled as both sides moved into the room. One of the priests began to mark a pentagram into the floor as his companion moved to attack.
As Laguna ran the charging priest through, he heard chanting. Looking at the remaining priest, he realized the "man" was trying to summon a demon. The chanting was cut off abruptly, though as knives blossomed in the guys throat and chest. With a gurgle, he slumped to the ground, dead.
Jea walked over, breaking the pentagram with her foot and retrieving her knife. Then she entered the next room.
The sound of her startled disgust made them all rush in to the room. Laguna almost collapsed to his knees from nausea.
The room was a reference room-of sorts. Books on demons and demon worship lined the shelves, next to volumes on unspeakable horrors. The walls were decorated with unspeakably horrifying scenes: demons raping women, demon- human hybrids devouring their mothers in birth, sacrifices of men, women, and children to demons, and many other awful atrocities.
Laguna couldn't stand it. Leaning in a corner, he vomited, the evil aura in the room overwhelming even his strong constitution. Jea rubbed his neck soothingly, murmuring under her breath. Even the two thieves were utterly disgusted-and they were both part drow.
When Laguna stood, he commented, "This place MUST be destroyed. You were right, ranger, when you called these people an abomination. In the name of Goku, I will destroy this evil."
Jea grinned. "Two steps ahead of you, Pally-boy." She held up a bottle labeled "Never Empty Oil Flask." Uncorking it, she began to saturate the room and everything in it.
Baring her teeth, she motioned everyone out of the room. Once out, she pulled out some strange clay flasks with fuses. "Everyone take one, light it with the torch, and toss it in the room."
Simply put, the blew up the room and everything in it, letting it burn. Then they walked back to he entrance area. Jea headed toward the remaining door, which was directly across the room from their point of entry. "My turn," she said.
Looking at it, she took aim, and kicked the door in. It was an empty room, with a door leading out into a hall way.
Laguna grinned at his lover. "I guess the next door is mine?"
There were four of them. They appeared to be semi-human, in the same way a Chihuahua resembles a wolf.
They were kind of short, standing only about five feet, with almost translucent white skin that hung loosely off of their bones. Their hair was a greasy white, but it was the facial features of the strange monsters that creeped them all out.
Lidless, solid black eyes that protruded under heavy brow ridges held red slit pupils. Squashed, gorilla like nostrils flared and slimy black lips were pulled back to reveal pointed teeth. Twitching, bat-like versions of human ears stuck out from their hair and claw-nails gripped primitive weapons. The arms were disproportionately long for the body and the tree trunk like legs.
Several of the creatures possessed bony protrubences or horn like features on their bodies-heads, arms, and hands.
The creatures were only still for a few seconds. Then they charged-which was, of course, futile.
Laguna gagged back bile and ran the first one through. Sickening looking black blood erupted out of the things mouth, sizzling like acid when it hit the floor. Jerking his sword out, Laguna looked for another target.
Something about these creatures unsettled Jea totally. She gave a hoarse battle-cry and bashed the brains of one monster in, gore and brain matter coating her mace. She swung backwards and caught another one in the face, the spikes on her mace ripping its face off. It screamed and bashed her back with its fist. Her dragon skin cloak absorbed most of the blow and Laguna appeared to finish the monster off.
Dumbugg, Ambermist, and Shikatsu didn't waste any time either. They charged in and dispatched the last beastie with a few quick sword strokes.
Jea spat on the corpses. "Pathetic." Wiping the gore off her mace, she looked to her companions. "Any of you recognize these things?"
Laguna shrugged. He was new to all this, and hadn't had the chance to acquire a menagerie of monster knowledge yet. Dumbugg just grunted and began beheading the monsters to amuse himself. Ambermist and Shikatsu looked at each other to confer. After a few minutes, they shook their heads. "No Underdark creature we know of."
Jea studied the bodies a moment, running through her monster catalog in her brain. Suddenly, all the similarities jumped out at her and she recoiled in horror, choking on bile.
Laguna, who was also trying to keep his stomach in place, touched her shoulder. "What is it?"
Shuddering, Jea swallowed. "That's horrendous! An abomination of nature and the Planes! Faaagghh!!!!!!!"
"What are they?"
"The actual question, my friend, is 'What were they?' These things were human-once. They bred-somewhere along the line-with things of the Lower Planes." She pointed to the bony protrubences. "I'd say this group has been here for several centuries.to be changed this much by breeding and environment."
Jea looked hard at each of them. "Final chance to back out, any of you. I'm not leaving until every single one of these things is dead and this place destroyed. Anyone who wants to go back up, speak now, or deal with it."
Laguna, being a paladin, was first to respond. In a superior, noble tone, he intoned, "These things are evil. We must destroy this foul place and restore it to purity." Jea rolled her eyes, squashing the urge to smack the holier-than-thou attitude from him with her mace.
Ambermist, noticing the expression, started choking on her laughter. Looking at the ranger, she said, "If you think there's treasure, count me in!" Shik nodded in agreement.
Yar? Dumbugg grinned-a scary sight indeed. "I get to Kill stuff."
Jea smiled wickedly. "Let's go then. Laguna?"
He pointed to a door on their left, and they opened it. It was a small reading room with a door on the far wall. Laguna looked at Jea. "Mind if I take care of this door?"
"Go right ahead, me'boyo."
The knight looked at the door speculatively, then drew one gauntleted fist back and punched the door with all his might. The wooden door exploded inward, flying across the next room and crashing through a door on the far wall, landing at the feet of two very startled demon-priests.
Laguna took one look at the priests and stepped forward, shouting, "You! Prepare to meet justice!"
Jea snarled as both sides moved into the room. One of the priests began to mark a pentagram into the floor as his companion moved to attack.
As Laguna ran the charging priest through, he heard chanting. Looking at the remaining priest, he realized the "man" was trying to summon a demon. The chanting was cut off abruptly, though as knives blossomed in the guys throat and chest. With a gurgle, he slumped to the ground, dead.
Jea walked over, breaking the pentagram with her foot and retrieving her knife. Then she entered the next room.
The sound of her startled disgust made them all rush in to the room. Laguna almost collapsed to his knees from nausea.
The room was a reference room-of sorts. Books on demons and demon worship lined the shelves, next to volumes on unspeakable horrors. The walls were decorated with unspeakably horrifying scenes: demons raping women, demon- human hybrids devouring their mothers in birth, sacrifices of men, women, and children to demons, and many other awful atrocities.
Laguna couldn't stand it. Leaning in a corner, he vomited, the evil aura in the room overwhelming even his strong constitution. Jea rubbed his neck soothingly, murmuring under her breath. Even the two thieves were utterly disgusted-and they were both part drow.
When Laguna stood, he commented, "This place MUST be destroyed. You were right, ranger, when you called these people an abomination. In the name of Goku, I will destroy this evil."
Jea grinned. "Two steps ahead of you, Pally-boy." She held up a bottle labeled "Never Empty Oil Flask." Uncorking it, she began to saturate the room and everything in it.
Baring her teeth, she motioned everyone out of the room. Once out, she pulled out some strange clay flasks with fuses. "Everyone take one, light it with the torch, and toss it in the room."
Simply put, the blew up the room and everything in it, letting it burn. Then they walked back to he entrance area. Jea headed toward the remaining door, which was directly across the room from their point of entry. "My turn," she said.
Looking at it, she took aim, and kicked the door in. It was an empty room, with a door leading out into a hall way.
Laguna grinned at his lover. "I guess the next door is mine?"