"It sounds like they're still searching," Arnick said, returning from the cave entrance where he had been listening. "I heard several groups going back and forth outside, but none of them came towards us again. The minotaurs seem to have split up amongst several groups of bugbears, based on the clip-clop sounds. The echoes in here are a little weird," the gnome looked around. "Almost as though this place should be bigger than it is."
"Is anyone going to open the obvious chest in the room?" Sy demanded from the back, where Poppy slept under the cultist robe. "Because I'm going to open this chest."
"Go ahead," Cassian said, off handedly.
Sy knelt in front of the chest and attempted to lift the handle. "Hey, my hands are stuck," she said.
"Oh no," Sadun muttered.
From the side of the chest, a small panel slid open, and a muscly arm emerged, swinging swiftly around and punching Sy across the jaw. Unable to retaliate and seeing the arm wind up for a second swing, Sy quickly chanted a spell. In a puff of silvery smoke, she disappeared and appeared across the cave. "What in the hells was that?" She demanded.
"Did that chest just punch you?" Cassian asked, incredulously. "Arnick, you take the watch, I want to check this out."
"Careful, the lid is sticky or something, I couldn't move my hands once I put them on it," Sy warned.
Cassian knelt by the chest and placed his hands on it. As happened to Sy, he found he could not pull them away. The arm emerged again, and Cassian leaned back, avoiding the blow, but he did not see the arm emerge from the opposite side of the chest.
"Hells, that hurts!" Cassian said. The half-orc lifted the chest, still stuck to his gauntlets, over his head. As he did, a pair of legs dropped down the bottom of the chest and kicked at him, but he was able to avoid the blows. With a grunt, he slammed the chest down onto the ground with a muffled crunch. The chest's arms wound up for another blow, when Arnick stepped in, slamming his quarterstaff onto the lid of the chest. The staff stuck fast, and Arnick jumped back. drawing his bow and firing an arrow into the box.
"I guess we're not being quiet then?" Sadun muttered. She felt something climb onto her shoulder, then drop to the floor. A moment later, Fei was standing next to her.
"It's dark Sadun, where are we?" Fed complained.
"You were in my backpack?" the dragonborn asked, astonished.
"Well, I did get drunk last night," the druid said. "I guess it seemed like the thing to do, be a hamster and sleep it off in your pack. Here," Fei placed a hand on Sadun, and suddenly the dragonborn was able to see. "I've gifted you with the ability to see in the dark. I'll cast the spell on myself as well. What is the commotion then?"
"Something about a chest punching them," Sadun said, looking over and seeing Cassian and Arnick struggling with the flailing arms of the chest. She drew Briarblade and moved quickly over, swinging a heavy blow that splintered the chest's wooden lid slightly. Pulling back on the blade, it came off in a small spray of sticky goo. With a shrug, Sadun swung again, the impact causing the chest to shudder, but this time the sword stuck fast.
Sy, walking over, cast an icy Ray of Frost that froze a spot of the chest. The chest responded by grasping the weapons stuck to it, and swinging both at Cassian. The Briarblade, though swung inexpertly, slashed hard across the half-orc's chest and shoulder. The quarterstaff followed, bopping him on the head. With another grunt, Cassian lifted the chest off the ground, taking a foot to the knee for his trouble, and slammed it back down again. The arms sagged and the chest lid popped open.
"I think I killed it," Cassian said, breathing heavily. "Why are my hands still stuck?"
"Can you just take off your gauntlets?" Arnick suggested.
"But... my gauntlets... fine, at least until we get them unstuck," the half-orc grudgingly allowed. Arnick nodded, and ran to the front of the cave to see if the fight had attracted any attention.
"There was just a scroll inside," Sy said, picking up the item from the now open chest. "It says 'Ha'."
"Very helpful," Sadun said.
"I have Pip's magic goggles," Cassian said, pulling them from his pouch. "Let me look at the scroll."
Sy held the paper out, and the half-orc examined it. "It glows, but I can't see more than that. Why are these goggles tinted?"
'I could light my lantern, it that would help," Sadun said. "It is hooded, I can cut off the light for sneaking later. Also, I'm tired of not being able to see, though thanks to Fei that has been mitigated."
"Oh, hi Fei," Cassian said, pulling the plank of chest his gauntlets were attached to off and pushing the remains of the chest into a corner of the cave.
Arnick rushed back to the group. "There's a group of bugbears and a minotaur out there," the gnome hissed. "I think they heard us! Be quiet, they're coming." And with the warning voiced, Arnick transformed himself into a chest in the spot the chest had been.
Sy, slightly panicked, cast another minor illusion as well. A second chest now stood next to the Arnick chest. Sadun put her face in her palms before crouching down and shielding herself with the shield Talna had given her. She lit her lantern, and pulled the hood down, then laid the shield over what light still escaped. She then retrieved her sword and crouched against the back wall. Fei looked at the group, and cast a spell that caused them to blend in with the shadows.
A large group of bugbears came into view, a single minotaur standing amidst them. They looked carefully around the cave. Several went to talk to the dead minotaur the group had propped up. Getting no response, they pushed it, and it fell over. By the back wall, the adventurers watched the minotaur come and look at the pair of chests, then look at the broken chest pieces by the wall. The minotaur picked up the chest plank with Cassian's gauntlets stuck to it, a strange mix of sadness and anger coming through its bovine expression.
Behind it, a bugbear shouted, and the minotaur turned and walked away out of the cave. Cassian nearly jumped it when it turned to go, but Arnick placed a restraining hand on his knee, then snuck after the retreating humanoids.
"The lead bugbear shouted 'they must be nearby, let's split up and track them down'," Sy said, emerging from her illusion. "Just before they left. That was close, I thought that minotaur was on to us."
"It took my gauntlets," Cassian said with barely suppressed rage. "I'm going to get those back if its the last thing I do."
Arnick returned a moment later. "They split up, six of the bugbears headed north, the minotaur and the remaining bugbears went south."
"Then I'm going south," Cassian said decisively.
Sadun lifted her lantern and pulled back the hood. "Don't you want another look at that scroll before we go charging off into danger?" she asked.
"I suppose," Cassian conceded. Sy held the paper out in the lantern light. "There's more writing here," Cassian said, examining it through the goggles. "'Sixth rock on the wall to the left?" The half-orc walked thoughtfully to the wall behind the minotaur corpse, and ran his hand along the stones. "This one?"
With a low hiss, the wall evaporated, revealing another chest. Sy hurried over and carefully inspected the chest. "I think this is just a normal chest," she said. "Not a mimic or trap or anything." A gleaming golden light spilled from the chest as the elf lifted the lid. Without thinking, Sy reached inside and drew out a hammer, golden light shining from two sides of the rectangular head. As Sy held the hammer in front of her, she felt her soul enter the hammer, a warm, pleasant sensation, and then return to her.
"Ok, that was strange," the elf declared, handing the hammer to Cassian. As soon as she let go of the hammer however, she grabbed it back out of a startled Cassian's fingers. "Why did I do that?" Sy asked, surprised.
Sadun wandered over with her lantern unhooded to see what was going on. Cassian put on his magic goggled. "Sy, there is a strange magical chain linking your hand and that hammer," he declared. "Try this. Open your hand." Sy complied. "Now turn your hand upside down." The hammer clattered to the floor."Ok, that worked, but it's still linked to your hand. I wonder..."
The half-orc walked forward and knelt to pick up the hammer, but as soon as he did Sy bent down and snatched the hammer away from him. "Why am I doing this?" Sy wailed.
"Try hooking the hammer on your belt," Sadun suggested.
"That worked, thankfully," Sy said, raising a hand empty of hammer. Arnick snuck up behind Sy and made a grab for the hammer, but Sy immediately and instinctively moved out of his way.
"Anyway," Arnick said, washing his hands of the hammer affair, "should we go after that minotaur?"
"Yes," Cassian said. "Lets. I really want my gauntlets!"
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The party moved in silence, Sadun's lantern lighting the way. The tunnel to the south seemed to descend slightly as they traveled until they reached a branch, one side leading east and one leading west. At Arnick's gesture, Sadun hooded her lantern and covered it with Talna's shield.
Arnick moved quietly forward, and looked down the west tunnel. Nothing. Turning to look east, he saw a pair of trolls standing guard, heavy clubs dangling in their long arms. Before he could sneak back, one of the trolls turned around, sniffing, and seemed to see the gnome. The alert troll poked its companion as Arnick retreated.
"Trolls!" the gnome hissed, reaching the group. "And I think they're coming this way!"
As Arnick gave his warning, the alert troll rounded the bend. The group faded back into the shadows, still protected by Fei's magic, but the troll stared straight at the druid herself. It lifted its club, still staring at Fei, and began smacking it against the wall, the thwacking noises evidently meant to call help.
The adventurers readied their weapons.
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Whistle skulked in the shadows, watching the two trolls blocking her path. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, one of the trolls turned, and walked away. Shortly after, Whistle heard a rhythmic sound of wood on stone. Still disguised as a kobold, she walked up to the remaining troll. "Can I help?" She inquired. The troll looked down at Whistle, sighed, and smacked her lightly with his club. Whistle dramatically fell to the ground and played dead at the hit, and the troll turned away to look after its companion.
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Arnick, still blending in with the shadows, snuck up near the troll banging on the wall, hugging the wall. The troll did not seem to notice the gnome's movement, staring intently at Fei, but when Cassian began to follow suit the troll shifted its gaze to the half-orc. Deciding that stealth was no longer an option, Sy set her rapier to humming its bladesong while Sadun lifted her greatsword. With a swift motion, Sadun plunged the blade into the floor. Despite the smooth stone of the tunnel floor, the sword cleaved cleanly through the rock, and a lightning bolt flashed down from a stalactite over the troll's head, leaving it singed, before leaping down the tunnel. Sadun heard a grunt of surprise as the bolt struck the second troll, and then the sound of lightning hitting a third body before it fizzled.
The troll responded quickly, charging Sadun and swinging its club wildly. Sadun leaned back from one swing, and ducked the second, but the third caught her in the chest, knocking her back a step and driving the breath from her lungs. The stout club continued its path, and cracked in half against the nearby wall. The troll grunted in disappointment and dropped the piece of wood it still held.
A splinter of wood from the club ricocheted from the wall and flew straight at Arnick, who caught it in midair, spun around and released the splinter back at the troll. The wood pierced the troll's shoulder, causing the troll to look down in surprise.
Sy rushed to Sadun's aid, swinging her rapier. She stabbed the blade into the troll's forearm, then moved to make an upward slash, but missed. Startled, the elf looked down and realized somewhere in the upward slash she had somehow dropped her sword and pulled the magic hammer from her belt. "Hells!" she cursed, but the hammer seemed to be humming along with the bladesong she had started, so she decided to press the attack.
Next to Sy, Sadun threw herself into a rage and began swinging repeatedly, landing a solid blow with the greatsowrd in the process. Ghostly dragonborn appeared around the growling barbarian and began pestering and taunting the troll.
From the shadows Arnick appeared, smashing the troll with his staff and following it up with a flurry of punches and kicks that left the troll's flesh bruised and battered. The troll let out a howl of pain from the repeated hits, but even as the wounds were inflicted, the creature seemed to be healing from the injuries.
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As the sound of fighting sounded down the tunnel, the troll that remained behind turned again and grabbed Whistle. As it moved to toss the "kobold" away from the fight, Whistle snatched a dagger from her belt and stabbed at its hand, but the motion of being lifted bodily from the ground caused her to miss her target. The troll growled in anger, and slammed Whistle down onto the ground, hard. Whistle felt her breath leave her body, only for the troll to lift her and slam her down again, and again. By the time the troll seemed satisfied, Whistle was barely hanging on to consciousness.
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"We need to burn this thing to stop it's regeneration," Fei muttered, using her dark vision to look back behind the troll. "Arnick mentioned there were more in that direction, so I think this will work." The druid raised her hands and chanted an incantation. A ten foot tall wall of fire sprouted into being on the troll, burning its right side and causing it to howl in agony. The wall of fire swiftly spread down the length of the tunnel, and a second howl echoed as the troll holding Whistle was caught in the heat. Happy with the effectiveness of the wall, Fei gestured with her fingers, causing a rock to float of the floor and then shoot into the visible troll's wounded right side before ducking into a corner behind the confused and still blind Poppy.
"What is going on?" Poppy asked, exasperated. "I'm still not feeling like I can manage a fight you know."
"Don't worry, I suspect the rest of the group can handle this," Fei reassured the rabbit.
Behind her, a magical portal opened, and a small dazed looking kobold dropped to the floor. "Gods you people are terrible," the kobold said blearily in Whistle's voice, as it staggered to its feet.
On the other side of the room, Cassian ran up to the burning troll and swung his magic hammer Mjolnir, smashing bones with each swing, but the troll remained on its feet. "Where are my gauntlets?!" Cassian shouted at the troll. The troll stared dumbly as Cassian as fire licked up over its face, and then slumped to the floor, dead.
Before the adventurers could catch their breaths, a clatter of armor sounded as a group of seven bugbears ran up behind the remaining troll. From the southwest tunnel came four more bugbears and a minotaur. Sadun turned at the new threat in the southeast as a pair of javelins flew over her head and clattered harmlessly to the floor behind her. In her peripheral vision she saw one bugbear in the southwest turn the corner and motion to others behind it. "More coming!" Sadun shouted.
Sy moved up behind Sadun and hurled a blazing ball of fire down the southeast tunnel. It exploded just out of sight, and cries of pain sounded from half a dozen bugbear throats, undercut by the roar of the troll. Two bugbears spilled from the tunnel, their clothing on fire but otherwise appearing ready to fight. "Those are the flames of righteousness foul beings!" Sy shouted in exhilaration. "Come at us and die! For we are the Champions!"
Sadun turned to the bugbear in the southwest, and charged. Two swift swings of her greatsword lopped each of the bugbears arms off, and the surprised goblinoid dropped to the ground, bleeding to death. Behind the dragonborn, Arnick charged the pair of bugbears that had appeared in the east, smashing it with her staff and then punching it repeatedly. The bugbear looked sad that it was being beaten up by a gnome. From the eastern tunnel came the sounds of bugbears and troll fleeing the fight.
The second bugbear remaining in the east moved to flank Arnick, but could not land a hit on the dodgy gnome. Its efforts were rewarded with a lightning charged spear piercing its left leg care of Fei. "Go get 'em!" Whistle shouted, inspiring Fei. She stayed behind the fighting lines near the still blind Poppy, casting healing magic on herself and reverting to her normal form.
In the west, two more bugbears charged at Sadun. The first one missed, and the second followed up with such a poorly aimed swing they hit their companion with their club. "Watch it!" the injured bugbear hissed. Cassian ran up behind Sadun, gave the two bugbears a look of disdain, and hurled his hammer at the minotaur now visible down the tunnel. The hammer flew, enlarging as it went, until it slammed into the minotaur, knocking it to the ground and crushing it into the floor. "WHERE ARE MY GAUNTLETS?!" Cassian shouted towards the minotaur, getting a confused look in response. The final bugbear in the west ran to the minotaur, attempting to pull the hammer off of it, but failing entirely.
As the pair of bugbears in the east continued to fail at hitting Arnick, Sy ran to the mouth of the eastern tunnel. She was just in time to see the last bugbear from that side disappear around a bend in the tunnel. With a shrug, she turned and smashed one of the bugbears harrying Arnick. The hammer blow caved in the back of the bugbear's skull, leaving a bloody smear as the unfortunate creature slumped against the wall. A puff of silver smoke signaled Sy's teleportation behind the remaining bugbear.
Sadun, with two bugbears next to her in the west, smashed one of them with her sword, causing her ghostly compatriots to appear again, taunting the bugbear for its inability to do anything against the raging barbarian. The bugbear responded, swinging its club in terror. It missed Sadun, smacking the club against the floor and dropping it. In utter despair, the bugbear sat down and awaited death. Sadun's second opponent gave up as well, retreating back to the prone minotaur and attempting to help the last bugbear lift the hammer again. They failed to budge the massive weapon, only for water to suddenly rush out of the ceiling and slam into them as Fei summoned a tidal wave.
Cassian stepped up to the seated bugbear and obliged it by lopping its head off with his greatsword. The half-orc turned just as the last bugbear in the east finally landed a blow on Arnick and charged, cleaving Arnick's assailant in two. "WHERE IN THE HELLS ARE MY GAUNTLETS?!" he cried.
Sadun rushed to the minotaur and smacked the helpless creature with her sword. The bugbears tried one last time to lift the hammer, then turned to flee. Before they could make a step, Sadun turned instinctively and slew one of them, before the other escaped. Sy wandered over and smacked the minotaur with her hammer. "So where's my sword?" she asked. The minotaur looked at the elf from under the hammer.
"It's where you dropped it," Arnick said, walking up next to Sy and punching the minotaur repeatedly in the forehead. Standing again, the gnome reached up and caught the magic stone Fei had hurled after it ricocheted off the floor, and hurled the rock back at the minotaur. The stone skipped harmlessly from the hammer.
As the sound of the last bugbear running down the tunnel came to them, Cassian walked over to the minotaur and put the tip of his sword to its throat. "Did you take a pair of gauntlets?" The minotaur shook its head, confused. "Tell us what we want to know," Cassian said threateningly, "and I'll spare your life."
The minotaur looked at the still unstable Sadun, then over at Sy and Arnick. "You will spare me, but what of them? Bad deal," it declared.
Cassian roared in rage and stabbed his sword into the minotaur's shoulder, before Sadun, controlling her rage, smashed the flat of her sword into the minotaur's face, knocking it unconscious.
"I'm going after that last bugbear," Arnick declared, moving down the western tunnel. Sadun followed close behind.
Now bored, Sy turned and went back to the burning troll body, looking for her rapier. Finding it, she bent to pick up the blade, only to realize the hammer was still in her hand. With a sigh, the elf carefully put the hammer on her belt, and then picked up the fallen rapier. Happy, she returned to the western tunnel. "Arnick and Sadun went that way," Cassian motioned, and the elf followed their path.
The tunnel ended in a dead end. Two bugbears stood by the far wall as Arnick and Sadun approached, examining the cave surfaces. Arnick pulled out his bow and loosed an arrow that smacked into one of the bugbears, but they ignored it. As the gnome pulled his quarterstaff, the bugbears found what they were looking for, smashing their clubs into what appeared to be a support beam for the ceiling. "Look out!" Arnick shouted, dodging backwards and out of the way as a pile of rubble fell from above. Sadun was not fast enough. Turning around, the dragonborn found the pile blocking her path. She narrowed her eyes and turned back to the bugbears, who laughed and turned back to the wall, looking for something else. With a roar of rage, Sadun charged and cut both bugbears down with a wide swing of her axe. With no enemies in sight, the dragonborn took several deep breaths, slowly releasing her rage. She knelt down and examined the wall where the bugbears had been. At floor level, a small panel of the wall was partially kicked in. Sadun looked up, and realizing that the panel likely would have collapsed the rest of the ceiling, taking her and the bugbears both into death.
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On the other side of the rubble, Arnick dug frantically. "Help!" he called down the tunnel, as Sy and Cassian ran up.
"What happened here?" Cassian asked.
"The bugbears collapsed the ceiling. Sadun's on the other side of this, I hope," Arnick explained. Cassian joined the gnome in digging, but for every rock they removed another fell to take its place.
"Maybe there's a place Sadun could crawl through? I'm pretty sure I can see open air beyond these rocks so it was just a portion of the ceiling that fell. I'm sure Sadun is alive over there," Arnick said, scurrying across the rock face. "Damnation, I don't see anything that would work," the gnome cursed.
"What is the problem?" Fei asked, walking up.
"Arnick says Sadun is trapped on the other side of this pile," Cassian explained.
"Oh, I think I can help with that. I put a bear trap on your minotaur by the way, we should at least hear if it manages to get up," the druid said. "Now, let me see." Fei began to wave her hands in mystical sigils in the air. A circle appeared on the floor and began to glow. Suddenly, eight giant badgers appeared in the circle. "My friend is beyond these rocks," Fei explained to the badgers. "Please did through the wall of this tunnel, and loop it around so that you reach the chamber beyond."
The druid turned to see the astonished faces of Sy, Arnick and Cassian. "What? There is always a solution in nature," she said, smiling.
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After a half hour of digging, the badgers breached the other side, and emerged triumphantly with Sadun.
"We should probably get some rest after all that," Whistle suggested, standing from her position by the rock pile. "I can create a magical shelter for us. If I put it here by the rock pile it will appear to be just another boulder."
"That would be welcome," Sadun said. "What about the minotaur?"
"Oh gods, I forgot about the minotaur!" Cassian exclaimed running up the tunnel. "Well, it didn't escape," the half-orc called over his shoulder. "But I forgot the hammer was crushing him this whole time. He's dead. Oops."
"Well, I guess we won't get any answers from him then," Sadun said.
"That was a good job my badgers," Fei said, congratulating her summoned companions. "Go now into these tunnels, attack anything you see that isn't us. Cause a little havoc if you can while we sleep." The badgers scurried into the darkness.
"Alright," Whistle called out. "Shelter's ready. Let's all get in here and sleep the fight off. You to Poppy!"
TO BE CONTINUED
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