Home > Campaigns > Book 5, Chapter 10 - My Brush with Death
My Brush with Death
Lyra and Lagasse were having trouble outside. They repeatedly rode to the area of the cave and fired flaming arrows at the guards. Each time, one or more giants came out with an army of trolls and chased them away. After some time of this, the giant shaman herded the trolls to a large rock. They were obviously discussing the situation. Lyra and Lagasse chose that moment to shoot at the giant.
He bellowed and the other two giants came out. The shaman seemed to be giving a pep talk. Everyone picked up big stones and split into three groups. Each group went a different direction. My friends hid the horses and crept into the cave. No one was there. They couldn't figure out where we had gone until they finally noticed the crack. They entered and eventually reached the room with the stream. They hollered, and we somehow heard them.
After we yelled back, a bundle of equipment popped from the hole and dangled from a rope above the lake. It dropped into the water and began to sink. I distinctly felt that I should go get it, even though I knew that I couldn't swim. I walked toward the water and dove in. It was as if I had been swimming my whole life! No wonder those who could liked it so much! I soon remembered that I was supposed to be getting the bundle, and did. Mical was confused, but stated it must be the will of the gods. I was grateful to whoever had blessed me.
Next, Lyra popped out of the chute, followed by Lagasse, who made a huge splash. They swam to shore and put their armor back on. We camped by the lake that night, which had no fish to speak of. Gruel again?
Just as we awoke, Mical noticed that two good-sized boulders across the stream seemed to be much closer than before. As he stared, Mical could actually seem them moving, and his infravision began to pick up a faint trace of heat. He shouted just as tentacles shot out of the creatures, hitting Lagasse and I. The 'boulders' now looked yellowish-grey. Each possessed one round, yellow eye and an enormous mouth.
Mical jumped over the stream and attacked. Lyra cast 'waterbreathing' on Lagasse and I, in case we were stuck in the water. Lagasse hacked through the tentacle holding him, but I couldn't get a good grip. It kept pulling me closer and closer to the water. Mical got grabbed too, but chopped the tentacle in half before it could bite him.
I still struggled to get free, to no avail. Lagasse joined Mical in the fight while Lyra fired arrows and cast 'faerie fire' and 'prayer.' Boebil shouted from the shore as I was dragged through the water. I suddenly felt very weak and sick. The monster pulled me closer and closer to its mouth. Lagasse tried to swing at the tentacle holding me, but missed and hit my hand. It bit my shoulder; I could feel the pain and blood pouring out, but couldn't resist.
Lyra 'summoned insects.' At that point, it bit me again, and I passed out. I woke up within moments to see Mical healing me as Lagasse tried to pry me away from the creature's mouth. Lyra tried to jump over the stream, but fell in the water. Finally, Lagasse killed it, after (oops) stabbing his own foot, and Mical attacked the other one.
Lyra dragged me back across the stream. I was so tired and weak. Lyra healed me some more, and Boebil kept trying to give me water. Sweet kid. Meanwhile, Mical was doing well until he got captured by a tentacle, and seemed to suddenly slump and look ill. It bit him, but he managed to pull away. Lagasse finished it off with one hack, so Mical had nearly done the job. These were known as ropers, we found.
Lyra cast 'nap' on herself and Mical, allowing them to acquire more spells. After they woke, we followed the stream. They took turns supporting me, as I could hardly walk. A rusty piton was attached where the water went down. A frayed rope was tied to it, and the setup looked much the same as the last waterfall. Lyra cast 'water breathing' on all of us, then we set our own piton and rope. Mical went first, then the rest of us. Boebil just dove through, the little showoff. We found ourselves in another cave with a lake. Something on the ground glowed and a form lay still next to it. Neither gave off heat. A ledge ran around the cave walls, 50 feet up and about 10 feet from the ceiling. The stream continued on under the far wall. Once we made it to shore, Mical saw humanoid footprints.
We approached the glow, seeing that the skeleton was from a halfling. The glow came from its hand, and turned out to be a stone with 'continual light' cast on it, much like our own. A cloak in excellent condition lay next to it, as well as a dagger. Lyra had a look of awe on her face as she picked up the cloak. She shook it out, and we could all see that it was a Cloak of Elvenkind. "I HAD been desiring one of these! This must be my reward for serving Mielikki!"
She was happy, so we didn't dispute her claim. The dagger was engraved with the word, 'Wyetokaya.' We had no idea what that meant. Lagasse quaffed a 'levitate' potion, as I was still too weak to cast spells, and lifted all of us to the ledge. It led to a tunnel with many twists, then to another enormous cave. It looked empty, so we cautiously walked through. We smelled fresh air, and saw light ahead. We emerged from the mountain! I never want to be underground again.
I concentrated, and felt Spartan was not far. I told him that we were probably on the other side of the mountain. Soon after, he dove at us, pulling up just before he hit us. He settled on my shoulder, seeming pleased as I told him how pretty he was. He helped us find our horses, and we rode away as soon as we could.
