Saviour in Time of Need

“Saviour in Time of Need”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 20
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Dorothea Honeypot Nathaniel Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Nualia" "The Dark Goal of Greed"
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter a few ancient rooms are looted, but they were not lightly guarded.

Saviour in Time of Need

Amulet of False Life with Sihedron rune.

After having defeated Nualia we took a short rest during which we found an amulet with the same seven pointed star on that we had seen on some statues, doors and stuff. There were also among some other things a book of rituals and some sort of diary, written by Nualia. Honeypot was very interested in that ritual stuff and since we felt confident that most dangers was defeated we continued on without her.

We went through the door on the other side of the statue operating the trap. After a short corridor it entered an L-shaped room. To the left there was a staple of huge gold coins. I went up to them and took a closer look. It turned out to be an illusion, and just made of stone, but what a nice view. In the other end there were double doors decorated with skeletons holding a scull between them. Nathaniel called us over as Dorothea opened one door.

Inside there was a room with a domed ceiling and some pillars, but also seven alcoves with a sarcophagus in each and a statue in the middle. This statue was complete and had not been hacked at as most others had been, but was still of the same man with five bumps in his head and the book and glaive. When we looked at the statue the sarcophaguses opened and skeletons stepped out. I threw my dagger and slipped out of the room and hid. A skeleton walked up to the door and took a swing at me with his polearm, butt missed me. Then he shut the door. It surprised me. Velicia opened the door and teleported into the room. I heard her magic at work. I hid outside the door and threw my dagger at a skeleton just inside the door destroying it, but then the biggest skeleton from the only sarcophagus on the opposite wall shouted something Dorothea later translated to "Get up you slothful dreg." which made the skeleton reanimate and stand up. It walked up to the door, attacked me, but missed, and shut the door.

I was shut out again! This was getting ridiculous. I opened the door and somersaulted into the room, trying in vain to avoid an attack from the skeleton, and stabed another one next to Nathaniel. The big skeleton used some old scary magic and scared the others and made them fall back slightly. It was all well in the end anyway as Dorothea destroyed the big skeleton and I struck down the one I had previously destroyed and another one.

When I looked closer it turned out that the skeletons had masks on their faces that were made of gold and quite expensive. There were a lot of text on the walls and Dorothea speak that language. She said it's called draconic, and that the statue was of someone called Karzoug. The text occupied Velicia a lot and when Honeypot heard that there were a lot of cryptic runes on the walls she came running. I thought it was incredibly boring and looked at the sacophaguses instead. They were all painted with a picture of someone holding a polearm. In an alcove behind one of the sarcophagus I found a secret door.

When I mentioned it Dorothea immediately lost interest in the runes, and Nathaniel started down a corridor closely followed by Dorothea and me. It split into two and then there were a few steps down before ending in a room. Nathaniel stepped out into it and Dorothea stopped in the door. I could vaguely see the far wall and it had some painting on it of spires and a mountain looking like a face. Then Nathaniel said there were water and some creatures in the water.

Velicia heard that and came running past us and cast one of her powerful magic spells but complained that the effect was dampened by the water. Then something sprayed acid on Nathaniel, Velicia and Dorothea and they screamed that we should retreat. I ran up to where the corridor split and took position there guarding the other corridor, and that was a lucky move. Soon there came a swarm of disgusting looking termites welling up toward me. I threw my dagger into them killing several, but they continued on. I crouched down and slashed a sweeping blow with my dagger, killing more of the termites and throwing the others back down the stairs. Shouting "There's termites coming up the other corridor too!" I retreated back into the room through the hidden door. I was followed by Velicia, Honeypot, Dorothea and finally Nathaniel who were doing a slow fighting withdrawal. I tried to support him by throwing my dagger at the swarms that followed him, but with mixed results.

Kruthiks

Velicia was very hurt by acid and took up position close to the doors and took care of her wounds. She also told us more about the creatures. "They are called Kruthiks and said to live deep down in the ground. At night they burrow up through the floor to attack little children in their beds eating all the flesh off the bones. There are Hatchlings, Adults and Hive Lords. We have met all of them." Then she thought of what she had said and repeated "Burrowing..." looking at the closed double doors we had come through. Nathaniel killed the last of the adult termites and Velicia prepared to cast her magic at the doors just as they were thrown up and a huge termite entered. Probably a hive lord. If that thing ate the flesh off the bones it would probably swallow you whole and spit out the bones.

Slightly damaged and blown back in the corridor by Velicias magic it returned and sprayed us all in acid. Twice. It burned on my skin and especially my lungs. I felt blood running down my stomach. Looking around Honeypot fell to the ground, Velicia was bleeding heavily and even Dorothea looked seriously hurt, coughing and bleeding profusely, but she teleported to the rear of the big bug and struck it with her terrible magic. Velicia teleported to the other side of it and retreated down the hall. She whispered faintly using message that she was badly wounded, coughing blood and almost fainting. Feeling very weak from blood loss, with a tear in my eyes thinking of Velicia and Honeypot almost dying I cartwheeled up to it, using my momentum to drive my dagger through it's hard carapace, wounding it. I tried to follow up with a nice move that would leave the foe wide open, but it didn't fall for it. It was probably to stupid to even understand my feint, and I was too weak and too teared up to follow it through properly. Nathaniel poured a healing potion into Honeypot and charged the big foe, hitting it hard. Honeypot ran up to the big monster, flipped over it and continued on to Velicia holding out a healing potion, probably saving her life. Being trapped between my and Nathaniel's strikes from one side and Dorothea's and Velicias' magic from the other side the big termite bug was finally killed, but it was close.

Honeypot and Velicia was still being burnt by the acid when the beast died and Nathaniel helped them get rid of it.