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14:15, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

IC7-38.

Posted by DM-HeathFor group 0
DM-Heath
GM, 133 posts
God.
Fri 26 Sep 2003
at 06:47
  • msg #18

Re: IC7-38

The party follows to the left, and Rathyl flies over the chasm area.  You watch as the clearing area seems to tremble and move when a melting icicle falls on it.  Then it curls up.  You are thankful you didn't walk over the waiting trapper.  Stalactites and icicles fall from the heat and the rocking of the cavern as the party inches along as quickly as they can to the left.  Because it is the only place without anything overhead, it is the safest route, and you quickly advance forward.

The party moves down the halls to where the bodies of mutant orcs still litter the floor in the bowl-like area.  You move quickly up to the shelf and then down the hall to the right.  The hall to the left has blown with fire and is in flames.  You remember the leaking gas that made you weak and move forward.

You get to the winding areas of the grotto where you had to wind through the giant stalagmites, and you follow the familiar path back to your waiting ropes.  At points, you see lava pouring into the crevices and spouting up through what you thought before were harmless potholes.

You climb up to where Alodar had lain in wait and then squeeze through the narrow opening as explosions rock the caverns behind you, filling the air with steam and smoke and heat.

You run through the further caverns and make your way finally up to the giant underground lake.  This is where you must pause.  The two boats remain on this side of the lake, but this time, the lake monster will not be a concern.  For the circular lake is now spiraling down in a giant whirlpool.  To your left, water is falling in a waterfall.  The swirling of the giant whirlpool makes your heart jump, but you estimate that you might be able to steer the boats along the far edge of the wall, riding the wake to the other side...if all goes well.

You remember that three people can fit in each boat.  You figure that the quakes have opened a fissure underneath the water, thus forcing a whirlpool.  You can only hope that this water is not as acidic from the poisonous lava as the last water that Floradine touched.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 91 posts
Elven Druid
Fri 26 Sep 2003
at 07:44
  • msg #19

Re: IC7-38

Breathing heavily from her run through the caverns the druidess shakes her head at the scene before her.  With the roar of the waterfall and lake transformed into a whirlpool her brow is furrowed in concern.

"It just gets better and better doesn't it?" she says with a grim smile, "I don't think we have any other choice but to attempt the boat crossing. Strong arms are going to be needed on paddles, so I suggest we break the group up accordingly."

Her golden gaze shifts to her companions, "Shanjalae would best go with Father and Garanon. I however,..." she holds up her stump as indication that she won't be doing any paddling, "will rely on Ellid and Joseph."

She pauses a moment longer in thought.

"We go across one boat at a time, with a rope tied to those crossing, with the other end held by those on land.  That was if anything untoward happens we might have hope of drawing them back." she looks tenatively at each of her companions in turn, "Does this sound like an appropriate plan?"
Sir Floradine
player, 67 posts
Human Paladin
Fri 26 Sep 2003
at 22:43
  • msg #20

Re: IC7-38

Floradine takes a look at the teleportatoin staff and then at the swirling lake.  "How far do you think it is across?" he wonders aloud.  "Could we use the staff to help ourselves?  If not, I agree with Shae."  Then he looks around.  "But we have our new...uh...visitors, Fire and Rathyl.  Fire should go first before me.  Rathyl, it looks like with wings you can fly across.  Can you carry someone maybe?"  He looks at the odd lizard-like creature for an answer.
DM-Heath
GM, 134 posts
God.
Fri 26 Sep 2003
at 22:48
  • msg #21

Re: IC7-38

[Please note:  Experience points have been updated.  Check to see if your statistics have changed and let me know of any changes you want to make.]

[The lake is 90 feet (30 meters) across.]
Shae Shadowglen
player, 92 posts
Elven Druid
Sat 27 Sep 2003
at 10:47
  • msg #22

Re: IC7-38

Shae eyes the water critically after Sir Floradine's suggestion.  Her face is a mask of disappointment when she turns back to face him, "I think the water is too wide for the staff.  Damn! It would have made things a lot safer."

"With the addition of Fire," her golden gaze flickers to him, "We will need to make two trips."
Joseph
player, 33 posts
Sat 27 Sep 2003
at 15:33
  • msg #23

Re: IC7-38

"I guess Floradine and I will be making two trips.  Let us hurry before this gets any worse." Joseph comments as he prepares the ropes they need for the crossing.
Rathyl
player, 20 posts
Mon 29 Sep 2003
at 00:29
  • msg #24

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl trills lightly as he walks over to examine Shanjalae.  He circles behind her and raises on his hind legs, hooking his front appendages in Shanjalae's armpits.  Giving his wings a few flaps, Rathyl attempts to lift the girl into the air and stay in place a few feet above the ground.
DM-Heath
GM, 135 posts
God.
Mon 29 Sep 2003
at 04:38
  • msg #25

Re: IC7-38

As the party searches, it realizes that it used the last of its rope other than a fifty foot length.

Rathyl tests his flight and finds that it is difficult, but he can probably manage to carry Shanjalae across the swirling vortex.  However, the adults would probably be too heavy.

So first group gets in the boat:  Garanon, Kallad, and Fire.  You tie the fifty foot length of rope to the boat to at least help as much as you can.  They push off, rowing to the left of the clockwise rotating whirpool.  This will put them dangerously close to the waterfall, but there is little choice.

The small boat is quickly caught in the current of the eddy.  The three riders try to row along the outside...but the current is extremely powerful...they cannot get to the outside of the rotation fast enough and the boat goes directly into the waterfall...

The boat is pounded by water but is still moving with the current.  The three passengers are still all safely aboard.  Pulling back on the rope will only pull the boat into the inside of the current and closer to the inside of the vortex.  The three are still rowing, but the boat is almost filled with water, making it heavier and pulling deeper into the current...

As the current pulls the boat around, it comes within about ten feet of the far side.  The boat is moving quickly, and there are only a few seconds to think.  Kallad grabs Fire and hurls him toward shore.  Fire lands, sopping wet, on the far shore.  Then Kallad looks at Garanon and nods.  With Kallad's help, Garanon also jumps toward shore.  He lands just short but grabs on and pulls himself up to the far side.  The boat is being carried around to the far side of the current and will soon be moving away from shore and toward the center of the giant whirlpool.  Kallad jumps...but with the unstable boat, he does not land far enough.

Garanon reaches out for him...but the two cannot reach.  Kallad slips just out of his grasp and moves in a circle back toward the far shore...but closer--in fact, dangerously close--to the center of the whirlpool.  He is struggling just to keep his head above the heavy current and swim toward shore, but he will not have the strength to do it himself.

[As Kallad comes around toward the near side of the whirlpool, he is about 20-25 feet away from the shore where the party stands.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:45, Mon 29 Sept 2003.
Sir Floradine
player, 68 posts
Human Paladin
Tue 30 Sep 2003
at 06:12
  • msg #26

Re: IC7-38

Throwing down anything weighing him down, Floradine jumps into the water but close enough so he can get back on shore, relying on his great strength to help him against the current.  He tries to grab Kallad as he floats by.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 93 posts
Elven Druid
Wed 1 Oct 2003
at 02:40
  • msg #27

Re: IC7-38

As Floradine throws himself into the water to save Kallad, Shae runs to the water's edge and throws herself after the Paladin. Grabbing his arm in a tight hold, she turns her attention back to Joseph holding out her stump for him to grab a hold of.

"A human chain, we need to make a human chain," she yells, obviously not willing to lose her father or one of her dear friends.
Rathyl
player, 23 posts
Wed 1 Oct 2003
at 07:13
  • msg #28

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl hisses loudly and drops the girl where he'd been flying in place with her.  Flying out over the water, Rathyl circles Kallad a few times before getting close enough to dangle his tail down for the man.
DM-Heath
GM, 136 posts
God.
Thu 2 Oct 2003
at 07:37
  • msg #29

Re: IC7-38

Floradine jumps in, followed by Shae.  Joseph grabs Shae's stump, holding them together as the current pulls them off slanted to the left.

Rathyl sets down Shanjalae and flies out toward Kallad.

Meanwhile, Kallad is stuck in the current.  He reaches out for Floradine's hand...and misses.  He is pulled further around.

Rathyl reaches Kallad, and Kallad grabs for the tail.  He manages to grasp it, and Rathyl tries to pull him with the current as much as possible toward the shore...but the current is too strong with the weight of Kallad, and Rathyl is instead dragged under himself, wings flapping and struggling against the water.

Both are pulled down out of sight under the water and toward the waterfall.  Rathyl resurfaces a moment later on the far side of the waterfall, bobbing for air.  He is being dragged in the current as Kallad was.

Kallad resurfaces after that, further around the vortex of water and closer to its center.
Rathyl
player, 24 posts
Fri 3 Oct 2003
at 04:38
  • msg #30

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl screeches loudly as he turns to swim with the current for a moment before launching out of the water and flying back to shore.
DM-Heath
GM, 138 posts
God.
Fri 3 Oct 2003
at 06:55
  • msg #31

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl launches himself from the water, flowing with the current.  He lands safely on the far side next to Fire and Garanon, shaking the water from his form.

Meanwhile, Shae and Floradine are having difficulties hanging on, and Kallad will not come within reach of them on the next pass.

Behind you, from the caverns you just exited, you hear a loud rumble, which picks up to a roar.  The walls seem to shake from the sheer volume of the sound, like the amplification of rolling thunder a thousand times over.

It is the sound of the volcano erupting from deep within the earth.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 94 posts
Elven Druid
Sat 4 Oct 2003
at 05:09
  • msg #32

Re: IC7-38

With Joseph's aid, Shae begins to pull herself and Floradine back to the edge of the cave.  Torrents of water splash and foam around her as she looks out to her father, helpless against the might of the whirlpool and with no hope, short a miracle, of anyone of them saving him.

"Kallad," she cries in hopeless frustration, "Father!"
Rathyl
player, 25 posts
Mon 6 Oct 2003
at 01:16
  • msg #33

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl jerks his head toward the cavern entrance as the rumble erupts from within.  Leaping into the air, he flies to the other side and snatches up the girl and flies her to the other side.
DM-Heath
GM, 139 posts
God.
Mon 6 Oct 2003
at 23:57
  • msg #34

Re: IC7-38

As the party watches helplessly, Kallad slides down into the whirlpool, his arms extended, reaching for help.  Then he is engulfed and sucked down into the depths of the volcano.

The continued rumbling grows to a deafening level.

Rathyl rushes across the water, picks up Shanjalae, and cautiously carries her over to the far side.
Sir Floradine
player, 69 posts
Human Paladin
Tue 7 Oct 2003
at 08:48
  • msg #35

Re: IC7-38

Floradine watches in disbelief as Kallad is pulled into the center of the whirlpool.  He sets a comforting hand on Shae's shoulder while looking back anxiously at the tunnel behind.  "Too many have died on this journey," he says.  "His sacrifices will not be forgotten."

Then Floradine urges Shae and Joseph into the boat and across the swirling whirlpool.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 95 posts
Elven Druid
Tue 7 Oct 2003
at 13:25
  • msg #36

Re: IC7-38

The druid barely seems to notice the touch of her friend's hand upon her shoulder as she stared at the swirling torrent of the whirlpool.  Tears stream down her face unchecked as her body is wracked with heavy sobs of grief.

"His sacrifice should not have been!" she replied with grief driven anger to the Paladin's words, "None of our companions should have made that sacrifice!"

At Floradine's urging she moves towards the boat, her gaze no longer on the whirlpool but on the small form of Shanjalae on the other side of the lake.

"She's all I have now....." she murmurs before her voice trails away and she dissolves again into tears.
DM-Heath
GM, 140 posts
God.
Wed 8 Oct 2003
at 06:25
  • msg #37

Re: IC7-38

Shae, Joseph and Floradine hop on the canoe and slide into the current.  Floradine and Joseph, both exceptionally strong, find it not too difficult to row outside away from the waterfall and then pull the canoe up onto shore on the opposite side.

The party now stands, everyone but Shanjalae and Joseph dripping wet, in front of the long tunnel that will eventually lead up to the center of the crater.  All that is left of the party is Shae, Joseph, Floradine, Rathyl, Fire, Garanon and Shanjalae.  You have little time to mourn the deaths of Kallad, Illborn, Nohm, Xelan, Rasal, Arnhargt, and Alodar--seven deaths in your party within the volcano and seven remaining.


This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 06:26, Wed 08 Oct 2003.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 96 posts
Elven Druid
Wed 8 Oct 2003
at 07:04
  • msg #38

Re: IC7-38

Unfortunately for Shanjalae, she doesn’t remain completely dry as her sister sweeps forward and scoops her up into her arms.

Holding the young elf close, tears still running down her face she whispers, “I’m sorry,” before raising her head and continuing up and along the tunnel.
Sir Floradine
player, 70 posts
Human Paladin
Wed 8 Oct 2003
at 13:33
  • msg #39

Re: IC7-38

Shaking his head, Floradine says, "I should have used an oar or my sword.  Maybe I could have saved him if I had just taken something long enough."  He follows behind Shae, his two handed sword ready.
Shae Shadowglen
player, 97 posts
Elven Druid
Thu 9 Oct 2003
at 02:02
  • msg #40

Re: IC7-38

"There is no point in that line of thought my friend. " the druid looks back over her shoulder to look back at Floradine with swollen red eyes, but at least she'd stopped crying. "You did your best, we all did.  It was Kallad's time to walk the Great Blue Path.  It is in that belief, as hard as it is, that I resolve his loss."
Rathyl
player, 26 posts
Thu 9 Oct 2003
at 04:05
  • msg #41

Re: IC7-38

Rathyl gives a low trill and shrugs his wings.  He stares at Shae for a moment before walking along in the rear.
Fire
player, 6 posts
A master socerer of fire
Thu 9 Oct 2003
at 21:17
  • msg #42

Re: IC7-38

Fire catches up having gotten separated in the previous segment.

"I thought I was done for I did.  At least I've found the group"
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