The Dark

  Present:

• Cody Dieback. Human Male Wizard from Highport – Andrew
• Jack "Blocker" Jones. Human Male Temple Fighter of Aqua Marina from Porn City – Jamie
• Tom Eade. Human Male Fighter from Porn City – Jeff
• Grim Hand. Human Male Rogue from Porn City – Jason
• Esmeralda "Ezme" Abernathy. Human Female Temple Fighter of Soixante Neuf from Scabport – Shane
• MARMALADING: Ardern. Human Female Priestess of Mr Quail from Porn City – Kevin
• MARMALADING: Rock Hammer. Human Male Barbarian from Central Plains – Steven
• (part) MARMALADING Willow Woods. Half-elf Male Caribou Gorn Priest from Porn City - Chris
• Kippy Hunt. Human Male Barbarian of the Central Plains – Ian
• MARMALADING: Munch Ease. Human Male Thief from Porn City – Darryl

by Jeff

The pillar of greasy black smoke from the burnt bodies of the barbarians we had found at the old ruins was quickly shredded apart by the cold winds that were constantly blowing across the plains. The broken wooden door to the intact stone building was banging in the wind, but we didn't look back as we left that accursed place.

Thoughts and eyes directed forward, towards the distant coast and the mysterious tower of Autorock, the party pushed on into the face of the winds. The plains were mist covered, with a constant drizzle driving into their faces and settling over them. The landscape was barren and constant with no distinguishing features to mark direction of progress. But Cody knew the way.

"Off there is Klib" Cody stated with certainty, "So we go ... there"

Pointing ahead into the miserable grey, Cody led the party on.

Later that day a rough campsite was located and set up for the night. A cold meal was eaten and the watches for the night were assigned. Huddling down behind a few boulders, they prepared for another miserable night in the unceasing wind and cold damp conditions.

Nothing happened!

The next day arrived, Real's light beaming down over the sparkling coastal landscape. No winds blew, no rain was falling, no mists filled the hollows. The blue of the ocean could be seen ahead, and the vibrant green of the plains stretched out in all directions.

"That's not good" muttered Kippy.

The Tower

But it was. The party packed up with a spring in their step and a smile on their faces and moved on towards the coast. Pretty soon the shape of a stone tower jutting up from a rocky promontory was spotted ahead. While the bulk of the party sheltered in a small dip in the landscape, Cody, Grim, and Kippy were sent forward towards the tower on a reconnaissance mission.

After slipping off towards the tower, they disappeared from sight amongst the low scrub.

Half an hour later, Cody was spotted standing by the base of the tower, beckoning calmly, so the party moved up. Joining the three scouts at the base of the tower, Kippy gave a brief report.

"Stone tower, four storeys, no windows, arrow slots each level, crenelations around the top, lots of vines, wicked looking thorns, one steel banded wooden door, no magic detected, no sign of watchers or guards, haven't gone in"

Kippy cautiously approached the door.

"Hey" he whispered, "It's not even closed"

Kippy gave a light push and the door swung open. The ground floor level of the tower consisted of a single open circular room, a spiral stair winding up around the outside wall to the right and winding down to the left. The stone floor was bare, but the walls were adorned with a series of four mounted heads, equally spaced around the walls. There was a Bison, Gnoll, Human, and Wolf head, each one mounted on a carved wooden backboard and all of them staring down towards the centre of the room.

"Trophies?" wondered Kippy with a gulp.

With no obvious threat apparent, although Kippy did feel that he was being watched, the rest of the party entered behind him. Cody cast a Detect Magic spell (nothing), and then Kippy made his way stealthily up the spiral stair towards the next level.

Kippy approached the first-floor level and immediately noticed a body slumped over the top steps. A long dead skeletal figure, dressed in old, tattered leather armour and clutching a sharp looking long sword in its right hand was sprawled at the stair landing. The room at this first-floor level was obviously an old kitchen/dining/living space, but long disused. Dust covered everything, apart from a large brownish stained area around the body. Kippy noted that the stain looked like it had once pooled and flowed down the top steps. "Old blood" he surmised, "Yuk". Leaning forward Kippy picked up the long sword, gave it a testing swing, and entered the room. 

Meanwhile, back at the ground floor, Jack had undertaken a perfunctory search around the walls (no secret doors or chambers were found), followed by an investigation of the four trophy heads. It was at the Bison head where Jacks touch caused a small puff of yellow dust to billow out from the Bison's fur and settled over Jack's hands and face.

With a cough and a splutter, Jack dropped back to the ground mumbling.

"Damn " he complained, "That's a bitter smelling du sss  t ...."  

His complaints fading out to silence, Jack dropped to the floor below the Bison head, unconscious.

"Damn" complained Ezme in turn, rushing over to cast a Slow Poison spell.

Which proved very successful, as Jack groaned and sat up with a glazed look.

[The strange poison caused four points of damage, burning down Jack's throat and into his lungs]

Ezme made two unsuccessful attempts to cast Cure Poison [a level two Divine spell, with Ezme's skill at only seven, and costing Ezme a total of four magic points to no effect] before giving up.

Then Kippy popped back the stairs waving an old sword and suggesting that everyone move up to the first floor before he continued up to check out the second level. Which we did.

Cody cast another Detect Magic spell at the first-floor level, revealing that the long sword that Kippy had recovered from the body was in fact magic.

"Can anyone else use these things?" asked Kippy.

It turned out that Jack was the most experienced with the long sword, so he reluctantly received the blade and joined Kippy at the stair before they both cautiously moved up towards the second floor.

"Didn't help that guy much" muttered Jack, pointing at the dead body of the sword's previous owner.

Jack led the way, the new magic sword stretched out before him, Kippy directly behind. Both moved absolutely silently as they made their way around the wall and up the spiral stair toward the opening to level two above.

The bunkroom

Another skeletal body was slumped at the top of this flight of stairs too, no weapons this time though, but just as dead and ancient as the first one. This level was obviously a bunk room; six sets of bunks were spaced across the floor. A number of dead bodies (only skeletons were left, so it some time ago) were also found in the bunks, dry blood-stained sheets bunched up below the old corpses.

"What happened here?" wondered Jack, hoping that the bodies weren't going to leap up and attack him in some mass undead retribution orgy. Keeping a wary eye on the room, and each of the bodies, Jack kept watch while Kippy slipped up the stairs to the final level, a storeroom.

Again, a skeletal body was sprawled at the top of the stairs; old, dried blood trails pooling around the body and dripping down the stairs. A few old dusty barrels and cartons were stacked around the room, and a set of rusty metal rungs lead up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. Kippy checked out the trapdoor, unbolted it, and popped out onto the roof. A fixed telescope was mounted between the crenelations facing out to the sea, and although the view was nice, there was nothing specific to see. Kippy did note that there was a lot of guano all over the roof, the crenelations, the telescope, and in fact, everywhere, including some very large and solid looking deposits.

"Wooh" Kippy thought, "I wouldn't want to meet the bird that laid that log!"

With a nervous glance around, Kippy slipped back through the trapdoor, locking it firmly behind him, and scuttled down to the storeroom floor. Gathering Jack as he passed, they both descended back to the rest of the party, and a slightly more thorough search was undertaken.

Detect Magic's revealed nothing exciting, although Cody did note that one of the barrels in the storeroom contained a well-aged whiskey, and two of the other barrels contained oil. Also harvested from the stores was a sturdy length of good climbing rope and a decent small shield which Tom excitedly claimed. Then it was back to the ground floor where the staircase also descended downward into a dark underground space.

Kippy slipped down the stairs for a recce and was soon back with a report.

"Some kind of dungeon apparently, all kitted out with a torture table, complete with obligatory skeletal body, plenty of torture equipment, and five small cells around the perimeter" Kippy noted.

"But I got a bad feeling down there" continued Kippy, " The hairs on my neck all rose up!"

Jack led the way with his new magic sword, the rest of the party trailing.

The stair spiralled down and soon deposited the party into the torture chamber. 

Cody cast a Detect Magic, which was negative, and Kippy pointed out some tracks.

"Look, some footprints lead around the room to the cells" Kippy exclaimed.

Kippy moved silently across the basement floor, slipped around the torture table and body, and approached the cells. The doors were wooden, but metal strapped, and three of them hung open. Small, barred windows allowed a look inside, and Kippy's lantern light sliced across each window in turn.

"CLANGGG" rang out from one of the closed doors, as a terrifying shape lurched suddenly out of the darkness of the cell and threw itself at the bars in the window. A stinking breath of air blew from the window as spittle rained down around Kippy from the creatures horrific hissing.

"Creeeeeak" went one of the open cell doors, as it slowly started to swing outwards.

"BOOM" went another, as it smashed open against the stone wall, two hideous creatures lurching quickly out of the door and charging at Kippy, who squealed and leapt back behind Jack and retreated to the stairs where he could get a decent arrow shot.

"Zombies, thanks heaps" groaned Jack sarcastically as he squared off against them.

Kippy missed, his arrow clattering across the room ineffectively. Ezme had also backed up and drawn her bow, a silver tipped arrow momentarily poised across the quivering bowstring and then flying straight and true into the lead Zombie's throat. Cody's Magic Missile fizzed out on his finger, but Jack's new magic long sword hacked into the foul creature, and it dropped to the floor in a heap.

The second zombie lurched over the slumped body of its fallen comrade and threw itself at Jack. 

A second wave of arrows flew from Kippy and Ezme, Ezme's silver tipped arrow missing, tearing through the small gap between Jack and the zombie, but Kippy's arrow speared straight through the zombie's chest. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to do any damage whatsoever!

Cody's second Magic Missile attempt also fizzled out, and this time the zombie's clawed fingers cut across Jack's arm, drawing blood. 

Hissing in pain, Jack braced himself for the next attack, swinging his magic long sword at the creature's chest, successfully this time, and Cody's Magic Missile also launched from his finger and struck the creature unerringly in its sightless eye.

Another successful round of attacks from Cody and Jack saw the zombie dispatched. And just to be absolutely sure, the two bodies were dosed with oil from one of the barrels and set alight. 

[Jamie's Poison Defence roll following the zombie's successful attack had failed, and his wound was stinging something awful]

Retreating from the smoke, and other potential undead attacks, the party exited the tower. Jack drank one of the Potions of Healing and stood under Real's light (the sun) for a time. His scratches healed up following the potion, but it continued to sting a little, and traces of red infection remained.

It was decided that the party would rest up in the tower storeroom for the night, Jack and Ezme taking doses of the magic White Pine bark to assist them recover their magical power. 

During Grim's watch overnight, he heard load crashing and scraping claw noises from the roof but didn't bother to wake the rest of the party and reported the disturbance to the rest in the morning.

Jack was surprised that he hadn't recovered any power after his magically supported sleep, but he did note that he felt much better. Ezme was restored to full power.

After a decent breakfast, the party made their way back down into the basement torture chamber and carried out a thorough search of the three open, and now empty, cells. The first creature we had encountered was still present in the closed cell, hissing and spitting at the party as they passed. 

Success, a secret door was located in the first cell. Kippy undertook a check for Traps, finding nothing, and opened the door. A smooth and man-made passage led off into the darkness. As Kippy's lantern beam speared the darkness, a slumped form was revealed about thirty feet away down the passage, beyond which the passage turned towards the right, with nothing visible. 

Cautiously approaching the body, the party carried out an inspection.

"Porn City" noted Cody, "He is Cercle des Vicieux, from the Wicked Circle"

But he wasn't wicked anymore, definitely deceased, maybe two weeks ago, his face unnaturally sunken in around the skull, his skin dry and desiccated and flaking off as he was prodded. Even his purse was gone, artfully cut from his belt tie by an expert.

"One down then" noted Ezme, "Let's go"

But around the corner was pitch blackness. A solid wall of darkness across the passage that Kippy's lantern couldn't penetrate. Kippy stopped and looked to Cody.

Cody cast a Light spell.

"BOOM" 

A solid beam of darkness erupted from the Dark and struck Cody in the chest, throwing him back across the passage and into the wall, where he groaned and slumped to the floor.

"Ouch" he mumbled, "That's not natural"

[The Light spell had triggered a Divine reaction, dealing six points of damage to Cody]  

"IMAG?" postulated Ezme.

"We definitely can't continue then" complained Jack.

"Well" stated Tom, "The other three must have gone that way" and stepped forward into the Darkness.

"Shit" muttered Jack and bravely followed.

Then everyone piled through the Darkness, one after the other.

On the other side was a circular chamber, and definitely a shrine or temple to IMAG.

A black alabaster sacrificial table took centre place in the chamber, six blood channels running to a drainage penetration in the centre. The circular shiny black wall was symmetrically adorned with six strange hemispheres of Darkness, about a metre in diameter, bulging out from the wall. Between each of the hemispheres were a series of disturbing etchings carved into the black stone.

"Don't look at those" warned Ezme, but it was too late.

Cody had wandered over and peered at the closest etching. His body stiffened, his eyes dilating, then he shuddered violently and screamed. Spinning on the spot, Cody turned to the circle of Dark marking the passage they had entered through and sprinted straight out with a scream of terror.

[Andrew had failed his Divine Defence roll, witnessed unimaginable scenes of debauchery and violence, and been overwhelmed with fear. The duration wasn't particularly long though, and Cody was soon back with the rest of the party, albeit with a sheepish grimace on his face]

"Don't look at those" agreed Cody on his return.

Tom was gesturing at the Black hemispheres.

"They are the only thing here" Tom suggested, "Let's just check inside them"

"NO, don't touch them" warned Ezme.

But it was too late. Tom had thrust his hand into the centre of the Dark hemisphere, up to his elbow, and was attempting to locate whatever was on the wall generating the Darkness.

"It's a bit cold" he said, "And I can't even feel the wall here"

"I think there is a tunnel back here" concluded Tom, "Let's try the others"

And before anyone could stop him, Tom had wandered part way around the room, thrusting his arm into each of the hemispheres in turn.

"All the sa...." he began, but he was cut off mid-sentence at the fourth hemisphere. As soon as his finger touched the surface there was a loud "POP" and Tom disappeared.

"Shit" muttered Jack and bravely followed.

[There is a standing party protocol wherein if someone is transported by a magical portal to an unknown location, then the rest of the party decides whether to all follow, or to abandon the hapless sucker to their fate. In this case, the decision was to follow, and everyone popped through, one after the other, following Tom into the Dark]

The party were transported into some type of small mausoleum, a rectangular room with an exit opposite the arrival point. Rows of ancient cadavers lined each side of the room, and a much more recent human body lay in the centre of the room. This body looked to be only two weeks dead, some type of fighter dressed in chainmail armour, clutching a long sword, with a dagger sheathed on his belt. His money purse was also gone, just like the other human body we had encountered.

"Two down then" noted Ezme, "What's next?"

"A Detect Magic" declared Cody, "That's what"

And just like that the party had another magical weapon, the dagger from the body. Since only Grim could effectively use a dagger, he was handed the weapon.

"Front line" chuckled Jack, happy to now not be the only wielder of magic weapons.

There was another Dark hemisphere behind them, where they had arrived, so testing the exit options was decided upon. Cody tentatively reached out to tough the surface of the Dark, and "POP", gone.

Everyone followed and found themselves back in the IMAG room. There were two Dark hemispheres that hadn't been investigated, so that occurred. All similar hidden shafts like the first one previously tested, with no other magical portals.

Grim decided that he should squeeze his way into one of these hidden shafts to see where they went, so he clambered up the wall and crawled into the Darkness. 

"It's pitch black" he reported, "But goes forward a li...."

His sentence was cut off by a surprised squeal, then a clattering thump.

"Ooof" grunted Grim from within the Dark hemisphere, "There's a vertical drop here, about eight feet"

"And it's still pitch black" he continued, "The ground is covered with crunchy stuff, and there is a wall"

"Ouch" called Grim, "Something hit me"

Grim wildly swung his magical dagger in the general direction of the scratching noises he heard but struck nothing. Then he realised he could hear quite a lot of scratching noises, from all around, and leapt for the wall below where he thought the shaft he had fallen from was. As he scrambled his way back up the wall, he received a number of blows to his legs, and something had grasped hold and wouldn't let go. Clambering quickly back up the pitch-black shaft, Grim soon tumbled through the Dark hemisphere and into the IMAG room, a skeletal arm gripping tightly to his lower leg.

"Get it off" he screamed, "Get it off"

But it wasn't moving and was able to be easily prised off. Cody tossed it back through the Dark hemisphere, and it clattered away down the hidden shaft back into its ossuary.

"Let's get out of here" shivered Grim, and the party all popped back into the mausoleum.

Moving across the room, between all the desiccated cadavers, past the dead fighter, and into the only exit, the party pushed on along a gloomy passage. They soon encountered a third human body, about two weeks dead and similarly drained like the previous two. This one was wearing a suit of leather armour which on close inspection looked to fit Kippy perfectly [Courtesy of a successful Luck roll]. Kippy spent a few minutes stripping the armour off the body, noting in passing that his money-purse had also been cut off and removed.

"Three down then" noted Ezme, "Looks like only a thief is left"

The passage then opened out into a large double chambered cavern.

Cody, who could visualise in 3D, noted the room looked like someone's fat arse so it was immediately dubbed the Buttock Cavern. And it was pretty dark in there!

But not dark enough to mask the even darker wispy silhouette of a floating figure that was gliding straight towards the party. Waves of "evil" were emanating from the figure, and the temperature suddenly dropped.

"Shit" muttered Jack and bravely stepped forward with his magical weapon.

Grim also stepped forward with his new magic dagger, and even Tom inched forwards with his club and newly found shield.

Three rounds later, the evil wispy creature was dispatched with a POP. Well, it disappeared anyway which was as good as killing it as far as Grim and Jack were concerned.

[The fight was accelerated and over in only three rounds as a result of a Critical hit by Jack, dealing a massive 11 points of damage and causing the creature to lose its next attack. Tom's attacks did no damage whatsoever, and Cody did manage to get a few Magic Missiles into it as well]

While the short battle was taking place, Willow and Ezme had paused to admire a piece of artwork that was etched on the wall. It had a few button-like shapes placed over what looked to be a woman's sexual organs, and Ezme reached out to brush her hand across the apparent butt-plug.

"POP" and Ezme immediately vanished from the room. Willow was quite startled, but no one else noticed, until the fight was over and Willow described what had happened.

The artwork was revealed to be magical (Cody's Detect magic spell) and Tom was the first to respond this time. Stabbing his hand at the butt-plug, he disappeared, and everyone else followed.

The party appeared in a small brick lined room, about four metres square. It was obviously old and was covered in a thin layer of dust and cobwebs. A lone set of tracks led across the room to a solid, and securely locked, door. This was the only apparent exit because there was nothing behind us, no way to get back to the Buttock Cavern. 

Cody was very excited that the party had arrived, wherever it was that they had arrived to, and gave Ezme a long and deep kiss on the mouth, with tongue!

"Gross" yelled Ezme, shoving him off.

Kippy examined the locked door while Tom ran his eye over the four walls, noticing a small door shaped outline hidden on the brickwork. A secret door!

A narrow brick lined passage led off into the distance, the party followed, Kippy leading the way.

After about sixty metres, Kippy spotted a slight red shimmer across the passage and halted the party. Cody Detected a magical field.

Continue on through the magical field?

Return to the locked door?

What was the party to do?