A/N: And here's the next chapter! what might our heroes find down in the Sinkhole?
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons I only own my original ideas.
Chapter 25: The Sinkhole
We began our explorations of this area of the caverns beneath the Stone Tooth by checking to door to the east. The moisture in the area had caused the wood to swell, making the doors stick. Charles stepped up to the door, and gave the doors a solid shove, forcing them open. The doors gave way grudgingly, revealing a low chamber of dressed stone. I was immediately assaulted by the smell: It seems that his chamber was once a larder, but all the food had rotted over the years. The odor was a mix of rotten meat, mold, mildew, and vinegar. On the far side of the room, I could see a pair of archways, leading into a similar room. We decided to check it out anyway, just in case anything worthwhile had been left behind. As I moved forwards towards the archway to the next section of the room, I noted a large puddle on the floor. However, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the 'puddle' moving!
A grey, slimy pseudopod rose from the ooze, and bashed at me. The pseudopod itself didn't hurt that badly, but it was followed up by the searing sensation of acid. I let out a snarl of pain, and readied to fight back. Lydratir reacted the fastest, and drew the rapier we'd found previously, driving it into the grey ooze. I recovered from the severe blow I took, and slashed at the ooze with my claws, but I didn't get a very sold hit. Krisyra stepped up, her staff glowing with druidic magic, and broght it down upon the ooze. As she did, the ooze writhed, and then began to dissipate, its mass draining away through cracks in the stonework. No other threats presented themselves for the moment. Krisyra moved to my side, and poured healing magic into my wound. It still tingled, but I knew that given a bit of time, I'd be alright.
We soon came to the conclusion there was nothing of interest in this area. We returned to the main chamber. A check of the rooms behind the door just south of the one we'd just checked revealing nothing but some empty storerooms. We instead headed south, where we found another portion of the river that ran through these caverns. The southern half of this chamber was occupied by a fast-flowing river. It flowed to the west, swiftly vanished into a low passage. Ahead of us, a stone bridge spanned the river, crossing to the opposite bank. We crossed the bridge, and continued down the path to the east. We soon came to a door to the south.
A short flight of stairs led down to an ajar wooden door. Dark, stagnant water pooled in the landing at the base of the stairs, most likely indicating the room was in the same condition. Krisyra knelt down and examined the water, then back off, careful not to disturb the water.
"We shouldn't go in that room," said Krisyra, "the water's tainted… some sort of disease. I'm not sure what it might do to someone infected by it, but it's better to avoid the risk altogether".
That was sentiment we could all agree with, and instead continued to the east, climbing up another set of stairs. The rock stairs climbed steeply, turned north, and then back to the east to enter another cavern similar to the one we'd just left, only smaller. A ledge alongside the river continued east towards a door on the northern wall, and the rushing river separated us from the southern ledge. A large, strange-looking stalagmite stood in the middle of the southern ledge. A cave fish flopped helplessly on the floor nearby. Krisyra moved towards the fish, intent on helping it back into the river. However, I saw too late a strange tendril snaking its way towards her. It suddenly wrapped around her, pulling her towards the 'stalagmite'. From the shouts of surprise, I knew my companions had been similarly grabbed. I watched as my allies were reeled in towards our attacker, and saw as the 'stalagmite's' surface opened up revealing a single large eye and toothy maw, which it used to bite at Krisyra savagely.
I recognized what our attacker was, I'd seen depictions of it in some of Quoros' books: it was a Roper. Lydratir struggled against the tendril holding him, but couldn't break free. I leapt into the fray, and bit through the tendril holding Krisyra, freeing her. Charles tried to break free of the Roper's grasp, and to no avail. The Roper lashed out again, a tendril wrapping around Krisyra again, and one grabbed me as well. As it did, I felt weak, like something about this creature was sapping my physical strength. The Roper tried to pull me closer, but I dug my claws it, and it failed to move me. Instead, the Roper pulled in Narcrath, dealing heavy damage with another bite. Narcrath retaliated by pulling a small flask of powdered iron and recited the incantation of a Reduce spell. I watched as the Roper suddenly shrank in size, its tendril's grip becoming weaker. Krisyra let out a bestial snarl, and morphed into a dire wolf, slipping free of the tendril and biting through the tendril holding Narcrath.
Lydratir slipped free of the Roper's grasp, and quickly cast his magic upon the Roper. He then raised his bow, and fired, piercing the Roper's hide. I shook the Roper's tendril off, and unleashed my fiery breath upon the Roper. It was seared by my flames, and I felt the air around me heat up. Charles tired once more to break free, but failed again. The Roper attempted to re-grapple those of us who'd broken free, but we managed to evade the strikes. It then attempted to bite Charles, but its teeth couldn't find purchase. Narcrath cast a Chromatic orb, which struck to Roper as a ball of lightning. Krisyra-wolf snarled, and leapt at the Roper, biting at it and knocking it over. On the Roper's underside, I could see the thousands of hair-like protrusions it used to move.
Lydratir stepped up, jabbing at the prone Roper with his rapier. I joined him in the fray, and attempted to slash at our foe with my claws, but they simply glanced off its tough hide. Charles finally managed to dislodge himself from the Roper's grasp, and then turned to bring his greatsword down upon our foe. It found purchase, dealing more damage to this creature. The Roper flailed about attempting to grab us once more, but it missed everyone. Narcrath continued his magical assault firing another orb of lighting at the Roper, striking it again. Krisyra-wolf repositioned, and then leapt in, her fangs tearing at the Roper.
Lydratir tried to run the Roper through with his rapier once again, but this time the blade glanced off its hide. I repositioned to strike the Roper once more, and brought my claws down upon it. As the Roper thrashed, its eye ended up in perfect alignment with my claws. I struck, feeling a surge of new strength as I finished off our foe.
As the dust settled, My companions and I were still breathing heavily from that battle. We cautiously scanned the area, looking for more threats. Luckily the area was clear.
"Well, that was unexpected," said Krisyra, now transformed back.
"I hate Ropers," I said.
We recollected ourselves as Krisyra healed us of the damage the Roper had inflicted, and discovering the Roper had previously swallowed a ring of some sort, as well as a collection of gemstones. We next moved on the explored the chamber to the north. A sturdy door of iron plate stood open in the northern wall of the cavern. Insidem I could see a short passageway with three small iron door set into the western side of the hall. The first two were open tbut the third was closed. It appeared to be a prison. We headed inside, and after a quick search, Charles found an key lying on the floor, one which appeared to mach to locks of the cells. There was nothing of interest in the first two cells, but the third contained the skeleton of a dwarf in rusted plate armor. The armor looked to be worthless at this point, but Charles came up with a coin purse containing a handful of platinum coins, as well as another key.
With the area checked over several times to insure it was clear of any threats, we closed to door to the prison and set up camp, ready for a well earned rest.
A/N: And there we go! Yeesh, Ropers are nasty. I definitely think they deserve a higher CR than they have. Anyway, next time, our heroes return to the Giltterhame, and begin making their way towards the Foundry. See you then!