Author's Notes
Please note that there are some very deliberate grammar errors in this chapter (I do proof-read it, honest) – you should see why, but possibly not until the next part.
Yes: Mike really did call Eldarion's Animal Companion 'Dog'.
We ended the last chapter with Boshley diving head-first into a rubbish pit to confront an unknown monster.
* IV *
"Help!"
Gravak and Buttercup both reacted quickest to Boshley's panicked scream. The rest of them were still mystified at his sudden decisiveness and bravery. Some of the party, Elantar included, just didn't really seem to care all that much.
"Yep, it's an Otyugh," Eldarion confirmed, more interested in the monster than the Gnome, who was slowly disappearing into its mouth. Everybody moved towards the edge of the pit to get a better view of what was happening, and saw Buttercup trying desperately to pull Boshley free whilst Gravak struck the Otyugh repeatedly with his mace. Coralyn, Arden and the Elves all loaded bows and began to rain arrows and bolts on the beast.
"Phew!" Boshley shouted with relief as Buttercup wrenched him free. "Thank you miss!" Buttercup blushed, perhaps the most frightening expression she could pull off, before turning her attention to the monster.
As Buttercup swung her axe to sever tentacles, Boshley managed somehow to climb on top of the Otyugh. He bought his weapon down and the beast succumbed to a sword in the head.
"Haha!" Boshley exclaimed. "Easy!" Taldir paused for a couple of seconds, before slowly clapping his hands in mock applause and leaving. Eldarion stifled a chuckle, and turned to head back towards the corridor too. Boshley muttered something under his breath, and began raking through the refuse. The Orcs joined him.
"How can you stand that smell any longer?" Elantar asked. She got no response, shrugged her shoulders and decided to join the others out in the passageway.
"Shield for you," she heard as she was near the door. Looking back, she saw that Buttercup was handing a metallic slab over to Boshley. It was roughly the same size as his tower shield, but was emblazoned with Kobold insignia and glowed faintly in the dim chamber.
"Are you finished?" Arden asked irritably as the party reassembled back in the passage.
"We found a wand too," Gravak announced.
"I'll be taking that!" Taldir declared arrogantly, snatching the short piece of crafted wood from his grasp. Gravak growled irritably and rested his hand on his Mace's handle, but made no further comment.
Eldarion and Elantar had already advanced to the final door; the one that concealed the unidentified beasts.
"Dire Wolves…" Eldarion decided. "I'm almost certain of it."
"Three of them?" Elantar asked, looking for confirmation of her earlier assessment.
"Sounds like it. That rattling sound… Think they're chained up?" Eldarion asked.
"Let's hope so," she replied, "it'll make it easier on us if they can't move so far."
They returned to report their findings to the rest.
"We believe they're chained up: hopefully we can get around them without a fight," Eldarion stated.
"Dire Wolves are dangerous," Elantar added. "If we can avoid conflict, we'd be better off."
"They are close to the door though, and most definitely awake. We're just hoping they can't reach us and there's room to get through. We should still be prepared to fight them off," the Ranger concluded, somewhat reluctantly.
"I'll go first," Boshley volunteered. "I want to try out my new shield!"
The Gnome stepped into the room, and was immediately pounced upon. He swatted at the Wolf with his shield, trying to hold it off. He was slowly pushed to his knees, and then onto his back.
Buttercup barrelled into the room after him, and was set upon by a second Dire Wolf. Elantar could see that the wolves were indeed chained to the wall, but their tethers had allowed them to reach almost to the opposite wall of the chamber and the door was well covered: there was no chance of avoiding fighting them off. Eldarion cursed with disappointment, reached for an arrow and began to fire.
Gravak had also entered the chamber, helping Buttercup to fight off the wolf she had engaged. Boshley was trying, and not quite managing, to regain his feet as wolf jaws snapped at him. Elantar moved into the room and into a far corner from the Wolves to get a better view, and plan her line of attack.
"UUUUUUURGRGRGGRHHHH!" Buttercup was hurt. She lay in a growing pool of blood and wasn't moving much. Gravak stood over her with his shield raised.
"Help her!" he urged the party. Coralyn responded first and tried to get to the Barbarian.
Boshley had managed to get back on his feet, and had the full attention of the closest wolf. Blocking out memories of Demara's Fortress, where this manoeuvre had previously gone horribly wrong, Elantar sprinted forwards, vaulted onto Boshley's head and flipped over the wolf, landing perfectly to its rear. The second Dire Wolf turned to snap its jaws at her, but couldn't reach into the corner where she had retreated. Defiantly, the Rogue severed the hamstrings of the Wolf attacking Boshley, and the Gnome soon finished it off with a fierce thrust of his Bastard Sword. The two remaining Wolves howled in anger, and renewed their assault.
Buttercup was back in the fight, but was still looking woozy; her axe swings not quite managing to land where she intended.
Eldarion lined up two arrows simultaneously, and aimed them both at the second Dire Wolf. It yelped, before falling to the ground motionless. Elantar noticed the two arrows barely protruding from its eye sockets, and surmised that the grim-faced Ranger had pulled off an excellent shot.
Elantar joined Boshley, Buttercup and Gravak, surrounding the final Wolf, and quickly bringing it low, with a little help from the bow-wielding Elves in the doorway to the chamber.
"Are we all OK?" Arden asked. Not many of them had escaped the fight unscathed, and Coralyn was still assisting Buttercup.
"Shame we had to kill them…" Eldarion declared, reluctance and pity in his voice.
"But why were they here? And who chained them up?" Taldir asked.
"Must be the Kobolds here… Perhaps they were guarding the path forward?" Arden suggested.
"A cave…" Gravak said. His deep booming voice echoed in the new chamber and it began to shake. There was a crash in the gloomy distance; something heavy had hit the ground. Confused, disturbed and worried, the party all looked at one another for answers.
"Dog," Eldarion whispered to his companion in Elvish,"go and take a look for me." The hound licked the Ranger's face, before padding off into the cavern. A couple of minutes passed without activity before Dog returned unharmed, but with no further news for Eldarion.
"It must be safe," Boshley declared, and blundered into the room. He only managed a few steps before a rock roughly the size of his head plummeted towards him, clipping him on his shoulder on its way to the ground. The Gnome yelped, sending several more rocks to the ground as he retreated to the Wolves' den.
"It seems pretty unstable… could it be sound that sets it off?" Eldarion asked, looking to Elantar. The two exchanged nods and entered the chamber. Even with the curse on Elantar's boots, nothing happened.
Within a few minutes, both were safely undercover on the far side of the chamber. Elantar ignited a Sunrod and signalled for the others to follow one at a time.
One at a time, it took a good quarter of an hour or so for everyone to make it across. Arden and Coralyn managed the walk across the cavern without disturbing any rocks, and Eldarion congratulated them both on their stealth. Taldir had made a few rocks drop, but had managed to avoid them as they fell and was unharmed. Buttercup was nursing a sore head when she reached them, and Gravak and Boshley were both stripped to their tunics when they arrived.
"Coralyn's idea," Gravak explained. "She pointed out that we'd be able to move quieter without our armour. She was right, but we still had to dodge some rocks on the way through."
"Wait, Gnome!" snapped Taldir. As soon as he'd re-armoured, Boshley had approached the next door and was about to barrel through. Elantar nudged him aside and began to inspect the opening.
"There's something here. If I can just…" gently, she pushed against the door. "There," she added, as it creaked slightly open. A rope stretched up over a series of pulleys and into the low roof of the cavern.
"What is it?" asked Boshley.
"Can't be sure… I think it might be some sort of system to warn them of intruders," she answered. "I think I can disable it."
She reached for a blade from her toolkit, and managed to slot it through the narrow opening with her right hand, whilst gently grasping the rope with a pair of tongs in the left.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing Rogue?" Taldir demanded.
"Shut up Taldir," Arden answered. "Let her concentrate." Elantar noticed that several of the party were holding their breath. She resumed, painstakingly sawing through the rope and gently gripped the loose end before it could be pulled away.
"Got it!" she announced with glee. The party exhaled, almost as one, as Elantar tied off the rope and swung the door open.
As they moved on into the next tunnel, they passed two blocked passages, one on either side. "A cave-in?" Arden asked with a whisper.
"Either that, or the way has been deliberately blocked," Gravak suggested. Elantar motioned irritably for silence as she listened at the far end of the corridor. She was fairly convinced that there was at least one Ogre waiting behind the door. She could hear muffled strikes in an arrhythmic pattern on the other side as well: as if somebody was attempting to play drums, only very badly. She signalled to Eldarion, and the party prepared themselves to enter. Arden was wincing irritably; Elantar didn't need to wonder too hard what she was making of the percussive sounds.
Buttercup barrelled into the door, catching the Ogre unawares and swinging her axe in a deadly arc. It reeled from her blow and looked to its own weapons. The rest of the party joined her; this Ogre was a little tougher than the others, but still didn't cause them any serious problems and was easily bought low.
The Ogre had indeed been drumming. Four large wooden barrels sat upturned in a corner of the chamber; clubs that had been used as improvised beaters lay discarded near them when the Ogre reached for its axe.
"Have you ever played drums Arden?" Coralyn asked.
"Not particularly well," the Bard answered. "Well…" she continued, "better than he did. I've never owned a set to practice enough to master them though."
Without warning, Boshley swung his sword in as wide an arc as he could manage, and smashed the nearest barrel to pieces.
"What?" he squeaked when the rest of the party turned their eyes on him.
Taldir was far more interested in the walls. "These runes are fascinating…" he claimed.
"Can you read them?" Arden asked.
"No… not without working a spell. I'd need to rest first."
Elantar quickly lost interest in the conversation, and was checking the next door over. She found it to be safe and slowly opened it up to reveal a long passage. A steady clunk of metal striking against rock could be heard ringing through the next area.
"It looks like the cavern opens up into several smaller tunnels to either side ahead," she reported.
"Probably riddled with traps," Taldir observed, time for you to do something useful Rogue." Elantar nodded, trying to dismiss both the Wizard's distain and the feelings of reluctance about going out there alone.
"Or... we could just roll these barrels down the tunnel?" Coralyn suggested.
Buttercup and Gravak each hefted a barrel, and sized up the throw. Gravak firmly tossed his barrel into the passage where it rolled around thirty feet or so before coming to a stop. Buttercup, gave a disapproving grunt as she raised her barrel over her head.
"Nah… like dis!" she exclaimed, hurling the barrel with all of her strength. It clattered down the tunnel, and only came to a stop when it struck the door at the far end with a dull thud.
The mine fell silent.
"I'll take a look," Eldarion bravely volunteered. The Ranger swept ahead, peering around the first corner to the left. "Kobolds!" he hissed in Elvish, turning back to them.
"What did he say?!" Boshley demanded.
Unseen drums began to play deeper in the mines. Arden nodded appreciatively and took out her Flute, as if to fight back against it. A chilling sneer drew all of their attention to the ceiling. They followed the flask that dropped from the murder hole as it fell, scoring a direct hit on the Ranger.
"Help me!" Eldarion cried, as the flames began to engulf him. The party began to look helplessly at one another, but Coralyn took out a water skin and began to empty it over him. It had no effect.
Seeing no way of helping the Ranger, Elantar slipped passed him and into the cover of the tunnels. It was cramped; clearly dug out for much smaller creatures than her. She took out a sword and edged forward in a crouch, looking back just in time to see Coralyn conjure a surprising amount of water above Eldarion's head. The whole tunnel filled with steam, and the Ranger's cries turned to relieved sighs.
She retreated from the entrance and found a ladder cut into the tunnel wall. The passage came to a dead end only a few feet further on so she began to climb, pausing only to peer over the lip and onto the next floor.
She could see nothing, but could hear the scampering of several pairs of feet. Cautiously, she approached the next corner in the tunnel and took a peek. A single Kobold waited with its back to her. Beyond that, a gap across the main passageway before another pair of Kobolds who were beginning to throw sling fire at her companion. She hoped to quickly dispatch the nearest enemy before leaping across the cavern to engage the ones on the other side.
The Kobold had other ideas, however. She approached it and silently drew her second sword. The cramped conditions worked against Elantar, and her opening strike caught on the rocky ceiling. Suddenly alert to her presence, the Kobold fought back with surprising skill and agility, leaving her with a light shoulder wound. Forced onto the back foot, Elantar crouched and tried to defend herself from the flurry of blows that she faced. Eventually, after taking a couple more minor wounds, she managed to impale the Kobold on a sword, and left it on the cavern floor.
The Mine seemed much quieter now; Arden's Flute was still piercing the air, however, and seemed to somehow be drowning out the drums. Moments later the drumming stopped altogether. Elantar approached the edge of the main tunnel, and looking down and along the passageway, she could see more Kobolds further ahead on both levels, some with slings, a couple with crossbows and some fighting her companions with spears. The corpses of recently deceased Kobolds littered the cavern and the party had pushed on to about half way through. She couldn't see Boshley anywhere, but his cries of hatred were echoing through the tunnels.
Elantar found another ladder heading up into the roof of the cavern. Ascending, she found a short tunnel that lead across to the other side of the Mine; she assumed it came down into the opposing network of tunnels and found that was the case. This had been where the first Kobold had dropped Alchemist's Fire on Eldarion, but there was no sign of it now.
Buttercup was ahead; hunched and struggling to move effectively through the tunnels. The cramped space must have been even harder on the Barbarian than Elantar had been finding it. She seemed to be holding her own though; two Kobolds lay dead at her feet, and she could see others beyond her, including one slumped over a now redundant pair of hand drums.
Elantar was certain to make some heavy footfalls to gain Buttercup's attention before approaching too close, and raised a hand in greeting.
"Well meet again," Elantar whispered in Orcish. Buttercup seemed taken aback by her choice of tongue, and slightly confused by her choice of words. She responded with something that the Rogue didn't quite understand. "Slowly, we're still learned…" she responded. "Have I checked what's between this curtain?" she added. Elantar could feel a breeze from behind, and hear the distant sound of trickling water.
"Nevva saw it…" Buttercup answered, and moved to take a look.
A sudden gasp followed by a brief shriek broke their attention. A Kobold in purple robes had rounded the corner, taken one look at the Half-Orc and scarpered in the opposite direction.
"Wizzud!" Buttercup shouted, taking off in pursuit. Elantar followed close behind. As they rounded the corner, they found that Kobold had vanished. Buttercup hacked at the wall in frustration.
"A ceilings," Elantar pointed, still clumsily practicing the Orcish tongue, as she gestured upwards to another opening. She put her hand to a ladder rung before the Barbarian shoved her aside and ascended in her place.
By the time they caught up to the Kobold Sorcerer, he was already dead. Boshley stood over it, spattered in gore as his chest swelled with pride. "I got eleven!" he squeaked.
"Eight…" Eldarion reluctantly admitted. Elantar kept her own kill tally to herself.