Savior
Chapter 5
They went up the stairs and almost immediately were confronted with a problem. "Left or right? …Right." Rick took the lead, and they found a small round building with a well. They tried it, eventually getting water to come up. "Deep well," he noted.
They tested the water, which tasted fine, so they filled their waterskins and drank their fill. Then they exited the building and went left. But soon after, they were presented with another problem. Should they go up and up and up, or go straight?
They went straight.
It wasn't long before they had yet another problem. "Left or right? Either way leads to a set of stairs going up," Rick told them, and he went right. Except, Roy wanted to go left. Rick frowned at him. "You always want to go left." Roy went on the defensive. "I can't help it. I like going left."
They went up the stairs and ended up on a landing. There was some carving in the middle of it, which they avoided and went left to satisfy Roy. They came to a shaft opening. "It's a mine. I wonder how deep it goes?" Rick mused. But they didn't look just yet since they still had more to explore.
They went to the right, up a set of stairs to another landing, then another set of stairs, only to find a shaft. "It's another mine. I'm starting to see a pattern here. But why isn't anyone here?" Rick asked. "Is it played out?"
Since this way was a dead end, they went back down, and down, and down again, only to go up. Once there, they saw two round carvings on the floor that they avoided by walking around them. They were confronted with a choice then. "Do we go up or go up over there? I want to go up over there. It goes up to the highest point," Rick told them and walked that way.
He went up the stairs and came out on top. They found another carving on the floor, but this one looked different. For one, it was much larger than the others. He and they walked around it inspecting it.
"What is it?" Rick wondered.
Roy shrugged. "You got me."
"I don't know either. It means something, but I have no idea what," Kate added.
"This is the highest point." Rick went to the edge, and looking down, he could see everything. "It doesn't look like there's anything over there, and somehow we missed a spot." Rick looked straight down. "There's another carving, and you can see all of the carvings from up here. I wonder what they mean, given they're each different. Even this one is different." He went back to the one on this level. "Teleportation symbols, maybe? Gate openings to another plane?" Rick speculated.
"It could be that they're just carvings in the ground," Roy suggested.
"No, somehow I feel they all mean something, something I'm missing." Kate sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. Do we go back, then go up to the mine and go in?"
"As curious as I am, I vote no," Roy told them. "If it's an old mine, and it is since otherwise there would be someone here working it, there might be a cave-in trapping us."
"I agree. So, I guess we go down and move on. Still, there's something about these carvings, but I don't know what it is," Rick said.
oo0O0oo
They went down and down and down again, leaving an unanswered dilemma behind them. They moved on, going into the mountain range, where they found a sort of valley, a passageway between the mountain peaks.
That night, Rick said he wanted to call for an Animal Companion and asked if there were any objections. Neither Roy nor Kate had any, and Kate even said, "Go for it."
So he sat down cross-legged and wished for a Puppy. He wanted a Puppy, a pet that, over time, would grow into a big, wonderful dog. Though not too big.
Roy's jaw dropped. "Well, I'll be damned," he said as he watched a puppy show up. But it looked strange. Its feet seemed to be on fire, for one thing, as did the tip of its tail. It approached them timidly.
"WOW!" Kate exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like it before. What is it?"
Then Rick opened his eyes and saw a puppy, the perfect puppy. He loved it instantly, even though its paws were on fire, as was the tip of its tail.
"Come here. I won't hurt you. Are you hungry? Want something to eat?" Rick coaxed. "All I have are trail rations, I'm afraid." Rick fished some out of his backpack and offered it to the pup. The pup got close enough to sniff it but didn't like what it smelled.
"You're a good puppy, aren't you?" Rick was finally able to pet it, and it seemed to like having its ears scratched. "Have you got a name? …What am I saying? Of course, you don't have a name. You need a name."
But Rick got too close to its paws. "OUCH!" It ducked its head and whimpered. It didn't mean to hurt him; it wasn't the puppy's fault its feet were on fire.
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it. Come here." Rick lured it close to him again, and he scratched its ears some more. "You like that, don't you?" he crooned. "I think I'll keep you. You're so cute."
"All puppies are cute, Rick. That's the point," Kate said dryly.
"Don't listen to her. You're cute, but you need a name. Hmm." Rick tried to think of a name for it.
"How about Firey?" Roy offered. "Or Burnt?"
"Those are terrible names!" Rick snapped.
"How about just plain Flame?" Kate suggested. "His paws are on fire, after all. I wonder why that is?"
"Come on, boy. You're coming with me. Or are you a girl? No, definitely a boy." Rick stood up and decided to play with him, so he jumped around him. "OUCH!" Rick yelped. "Watch it!" The pup cringed and backed away from him.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know you didn't mean it. Come here." Rick petted him. They started walking with Flame in front, bouncing from place to place.
oo0O0oo
Eventually, he settled down and walked next to Rick. "That's a good boy." Rick petted him. Then, they came across an old, abandoned, and half-destroyed building. The second floor was gone, and the first floor wasn't in much better shape, save for the front door, which was closed.
They walked up to the door and checked it. It was locked. The lone building was built on a hilltop, so there wasn't another way inside that they could see.
"I can knock it open." Kate cast the Knock spell, and the door crashed open, allowing them inside. They went in, Roy first.
Inside, they saw that the second floor was indeed gone. So was the ceiling of the first floor. They had a look around but didn't see much. There was a living room and a kitchen, but it was all destroyed.
"Fire, do you think?" Roy asked.
"More like an earthquake hit it. Strange, though. The front door was still locked," Rick told them. "What have you found, boy?" Rick noticed his puppy was interested in a section of the floor. So Rick went over to inspect it. "Hey, I think there's a trap door here," he exclaimed. "Good boy." Rick petted him and looked for a way to open it.
He found one, but it was locked. "Kate, I need your help again."
Kate walked over to it, cast Knock on the door, and watched it swing open. "Thanks." Rick looked down into the darkness. Well, after the sun didn't shine its light in that area, it was dark.
"There's a set of stairs. Do we try it?" Rick asked them.
"I'll go first." Roy took out a torch, lit it, and started down the stairs. He doubled back twice before coming out on a landing, only to find more stairs. So he went down those stairs. But he saw a light up ahead, so he put out his torch and continued cautiously.
He came out into a room. From there, he could go two ways. To the left, there was an opening, and straight ahead he saw two columns with a set of wide stairs leading down. He chose to go down the stairs. But Flame beat him to it as he bounded down them, happy with himself. Roy and the others followed him.
They came upon a pool with four columns at the corners holding up the roof and an altar off to the right. Flame checked out the pool but seemed reluctant to step into it.
"It's green," Kate pointed out as she looked into the pool.
Roy went over to the altar. "I don't recognize these symbols," he murmured. All the while Flame went round and round the pool.
"What is it, boy? Something in the pool?" Rick asked him, and he drew his sword just in case. That got Roy to draw his sword as well.
Flame stopped going around the pool and stood beside Rick, looking at the pool. Suddenly, a creature burst out of the pool. "VAMPIRE!" Roy shouted.
Rick swung his sword and hit it, causing it damage.
Roy charged at it and swung, killing it as it fell to the ground. "Vampire," he repeated. "What's it doing here?" He carefully searched it and came up with some gold, silver, and copper pieces, which went into his backpack.
From there, they moved on through an opening and came to an intersection. They could go left, right, or straight. "Left," Roy declared, and with his weapon still out, he went left and found he had to climb some stairs.
He entered what was clearly a dining room with a kitchen beyond. It had a table with bench seating. Long-since spoiled food was on the table, moldy and disgusting-looking. They moved into the kitchen and saw still more spoiled food. There was even an open oven like a pizza oven. It was long since dead. They found kitchen utensils of all kinds. Most of it was very old.
From there, they went back to the intersection and went straight. It opened onto a living room.
"WOW!" Kate was impressed. There were pillows to lounge on everywhere and tapestries on the walls. It was so lovely. Flame went around stepping on things and setting them on fire.
"Flame, stop and come here," Rick told his pup. Obedient, he came and sat down next to him. The fires eventually burned themselves out. They did a quick search but didn't find anything.
So they went back to the intersection and went to the right, which led them down a set of stairs, only to turn with more stairs. "Wait, I hear water running," Roy told them. There were braziers even burning on all of the walls so far, this hallway included.
They walked down the stairs, and they came to a stone bridge over a waterfall. "Interesting," Roy commented and continued over the bridge.
He came into a sitting room and saw chairs, bookcases, and cabinets. There was a rug on the floor, and a pair of closed doors off to the left side.
Kate went straight to the books and looked them over, while Roy and Rick checked out the cabinets.
"BINGO!" Kate took down a book and opened it. It was indeed a spell book. The spells went all the way up to the fifth level. She tucked it in her backpack and would view it later.
Rick and Roy struck out, unfortunately. They didn't find a thing worth that much. Yes, there were some fine-looking items, but nothing they wanted to keep.
So they went to the door, and they both listened, but neither heard anything. The men tried the door. It was locked. "Kate, we need your help again," Rick called out.
Flame was sitting there nice and quiet next to Rick. She cast Knock, and the door burst open. "Thank you," Rick told her, and he and Roy entered the room. It was a bedroom with a king-size bed, a dresser, and a tapestry on the wall behind the bed. There was even a rug on the floor.
"MUMMY!" Roy shouted since a mummy was lying on the bed. It slowly got out of bed. Rick aimed his bow and fired four arrows into it, hitting it all four times. Kate cast Magic Missile. She thought about casting Fireball, but the room was too small for that, and they would caught in the blast.
Roy drew his sword and waited for it to come to him. That allowed Rick another chance to put four arrows into it. He hit all four times, and Kate cast Magic Missile.
They all backed up out the door, allowing Rick and Kate more time to shoot and cast spells. Rick fired four more arrows and hit it four times, while Kate cast Magic Missile again.
The mummy cast Spell Immunity, immunizing it from Kate's Magic Missile spells.
They continued to back up, and Rick fired four more arrows, hitting all four times, and Kate cast Magic Missile. "Watch out! My Magic Missile didn't work. I don't know why, since it can't miss. Suddenly, it has immunity to my spells," Kate warned them.
Finally, it was close enough for Roy to swing his sword, and he hit it. It didn't kill it, but it was looking worse for wear. It had lots of arrows sticking out of it.
At last, it was its turn to swing, and it struck Roy, causing damage. Roy swung again, hit it, and ended it. But suddenly, he noticed his skin beginning to peel away. "Mummy Rot." Quickly, he cast Remove Disease on himself, which seemed to have fixed the problem. But he was hurting, and not just from the hit. He realized it was the Mummy Rot. So he laid hands on himself, curing all of his wounds.
"Let's see what the mummy has on it," Roy told them and searched it.
He came across some gold, silver, and copper pieces on it. Kate cast Detect Magic and was able to tell him its armor was magical, as was its cloak and its ring, and that it was wearing a brooch that was also magical.
They searched the bedroom but came up empty. Kate cast Identify on the magical items and could tell them it was a +2 plate armor, a Cloak of Resistance +2, a ring of Elemental Resistance Fire, and a Brooch of Shielding.
"That means none of my Magic Missile spells were getting through to it. NONE!" Kate was alarmed by that, and rightly so.
They worked their way back upstairs after Flame sniffed the mummy and turned away from it. It didn't smell all that nice.
They set up the tent just outside the now-locked again trap door and front door.
Kate went over to Roy. "You're sure you're okay?"
"The Cure Disease seems to have worked. I'll be fine," Roy assured her.
They were all seventh-level after that encounter.
Kate learned one extra first-level spell, one extra second-level, and one extra third-level spell. She also gained a few skill points. She could now cast six second-level spells and four third-level spells.
She looked through all three of her books and chose Disguise Self for her first-level spell, Scorching Ray for her second-level spell, and Haste for her third-level spell.
Rick gained Woodland Stride and a few skill points.
Roy didn't gain anything, nothing at all. Save for a few skill points.
They counted their coins and came up with 1,445 gold and 2,566 silver, giving each 485 gold and 855 silver plus one.
oo0O0oo
Three days later, they were in the city of Samargol. It was the capital city of the Samarach, also known as the City of Veils, partly because all males and females wore veils. Though, it was mostly the women. Kate stood out because she wasn't wearing a veil.
It was also a walled city requiring the payment of one copper piece to get in.
They found the closest general store where each bought two weeks of trail rations. Then, the three of them searched for an inn. They found one where they got a room and went downstairs to eat dinner. It cost them three gold for the room and eight silver for the meal.
They each slept in their own bed while Kate got another good look at the guys. She liked what she saw.
Come the morning, after using the bathroom, they paid seven silver for a hot bath, five silver to get their clothes washed, and six silver for breakfast.
Then they walked around the city since it was so lush and green. They learned the next closest city was called Ishau, which was coastal. But it was on the other side of the Sanrach Mountains, and they had to go through the Jungles of Chult to reach it, a Yuan-Ti-infested jungle, no less.
They would come close to the L Luo Lake to avoid a small mountain range to the east, in the jungle.
Kate rolled her eyes. "Great, and after that?"
"We'll have to travel through more of it to reach the capital city of Mezro. It's also a coastal city," Roy told her as he put the map away.
"So, we either go back the way we came or go through a jungle crawling with Yuan-Ti. Lovely." Kate sighed and shook her head.
"Do we have a choice here?" Rick asked them. The consensus was, no, they didn't have a choice. Going back was out, so they would have to go through the jungle.
Rick bought Flame a piece of meat and a bone to gnaw on. The pup enjoyed the meat and was content to chew on his bone. Rick offered up a bright spot. "Look at it this way. I can go hunting in the jungle for something to eat. It'll give Flame something to eat and a bone to chew on."
They sold the surplus +1 Scimitars for 2,000 gold each. So it earned them 6,000 gold divided by three, coming to 2,000 gold for each.
Then, they came upon a magic shop and purchased a few things. One of them was a new tent. It was called a Wizard Tent. It was five by five on the outside but 20 by 20 on the inside. It cost them 4,500 gold, and they split the cost.
Rick bought a +2 Composite Longbow with a Strength of +2, and it had Shock on all arrows fired from it. It cost him 18,600 gold, almost breaking him, but it was worth it.
Kate bought a Wand of Cure Light Wound, which only cost her 750 gold. It had 100 charges in it. She also purchased a Wand of Web for 4,500 gold. She could afford it. It also had 100 charges in it.
They combined their gold and bought eight potions of Cure Light Wounds from a local temple.
So they stopped at a general store to purchase more trail rations to be safe. Rick sold his old bow for two gold. Then they went through the city's North Gate, heading for the Sanrach Mountains and the jungle beyond.
They just made it to the edge of the Jungles of Chult when they stopped and set up camp for the day.