Previously...
Bujilli, Leeja and the rest of their group knew they could no longer stay where they were. They needed to get moving. They could either go down into the depths in search of unknown secrets or upward to the roof-tops in the hope that the Synchronocitor could take them elsewhere. But which way would they choose?
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Bujilli slipped out through a gap in the stacked and piled debris they had tried to use to make this spot more defensible. He padded along as quietly as he could. Six steps past the jumbled bricks and beams he spotted the distinctive glimmer of freshly-expelled fungal spores.
Pale blue light swirled where things disturbed the otherwise placid cloud of faintly luminous spores. Some of the spores stuck to the chitinous carapaces of the things that were approaching from the direction of Bannerworth's enclave. Spiders. He counted six of the things as they passed through the flickering blue miasma exuded by the rapidly growing fungi. Dripping filaments formed dozens of sticky curtains that were increasingly tangled-up in the limbs of the approaching spiders.
Bujilli returned to the group. Leeja was scowling meaningfully at the Ignoble. Hedrard was staring at the space beyond their pitiful defenses as if she could sense the spiders out there. For all he knew, she could see them, somehow. He didn't really know all that much about the old hag, but he was glad to have her on his side.
"We need to get going--"
"How many did you see?" Hedrard stretched her shoulders with a series of bony clicks. She stood taller, straighter now. Frailty fell away from her like chaff from wheat in a mill. An old cold light twinkled in her eyes; it was not a pleasant thing to behold by any means.
"At least six. Very likely more than that."
"Six what? What's out there?" Demanded the Ignoble.
"Spiders. Very big spiders." Bigger than any he'd ever seen before. But he didn't feel it was prudent to elaborate any further.
"But spiders are quiet..."
"They're moving through the fungi growing in the passage. That seems to be slowing them down."
"We need to delay them. Otherwise they will simply run us down and you do not want to be taken prisoner by these things." Hedrard flexed her bony fingers, her nails looked longer, almost like Leejas' talons.
"I'm open to suggestions." Bujilli looked at Lemuel, Leeja, the Eloi and the Ignoble and back to Hedrard.
"I can cast Web..." Leeja offered.
"No. The passage is too wide, too high; they'll go around it." Bujilli knew she could extend the reach and the range of that spell, but it would cost her more energy than she could spare right now. She was still recovering from the draining attack of the Irrlicht.
"Get everyone moving. I'll buy us some time. Just let me know which way you're going--up or down--and I'll follow as soon as I am able."
Bujilli looked into her eyes. All argument evaporated instantly.
"Up. We'll look for a way to get back to the roof-tops and take our chances with the Synchronocitor. It got us here in the first place, I'm hoping it can get us out of here once it has recharged."
"Go then. I'll--"
Lemuel rushed past them both. The make-shift barrier collapsed as he pushed his way through it.
"Scheiss!" Hedrard made to follow then stopped herself; "Let's go. Lemuel thinks he can handle these spiders and he knows which way to go to catch up to us."
"Do we just leave him--"
"He made his choice. Let's not waste the young man's gallantry. It has been a long, long time since another young man put himself in harm's way on my account. I'd rather we made the most of it. So let's get going. He'll find us after he's dealt with these spiders."
"How? How will he find us?" screeched the Ignoble in a tone that was both accusatory and insulting at the same time.
"We share a bond of sorts. He'll be able to find us." If he survives. If he doesn't run into worse things trying to catch up to us. Bujilli didn't like leaving anyone behind, but this time the decision was made and they needed to make the best of it. "Let's go."
Leeja nodded. The Eloi Roof-runner went ahead of the group, one of Leeja's daggers held at the ready in their left hand.
Bujilli and Hedrard flanked the Ignoble and prodded the reluctant ex-prisoner along behind Leeja.
They didn't have far to go before they found a narrow stairwell that wound around the inner walls of a chimney-like shaft less than ten feet across. The door that has sealed-off this vertical passage was mostly charcoal and long since fallen into a heap.
The Ignoble screamed as they ran toward the exposed stairwell and hurled their Iron Mask down the center of the stairwell shaft.
Ka-Thunk! Klunk! klank-klank-klank-klank-klank-klank
The Iron Mask bounced from one wall to the next as it bounded and ricocheted its way down the stairs into the darkness below.
"Asshole!" Hissed Leeja. Her short sword poised to take the Ignoble's head.
"Like you said; 'we are in this together.' I just made sure you wouldn't feel quite so tempted to go down there looking for who knows what. You apparently have a means of escaping this place. I mean to make sure I get out of here. It's as simple as that."
"We don't know what's down there--"
"Wrong. I know. Guards and scavengers. If one of the scavengers finds my Iron Mask, they'll think that it was removed by one of the free-tribes or corridor-clans and tossed aside as a warning that this territory is now claimed." The Ignoble looked quite smug, obviously very pleased with their supposed cleverness.
"I'm not sure I buy your explanation, but there's nothing to be done for it now, so let's get going." Leeja slowly, reluctantly lowered her blade.
"Stop!" The Roof-runner came back down the stairs in a hurry.
"What did you--"
"Run! We can't go this way. They're not far behind me."
"Who--"
"We can discuss things later. Now might be a good time to use your spell, Leeja." Bujilli shoved the Ignoble forwards. Hedrard made sure they kept going with an occasional poke in the ribs with her talon-like nails.
Leeja cast her Web spell, making sure to seal-off the upper passage-way as quickly as she could before running to catch up to the others.
They followed the corridor that curved past the stairwell until it crossed another passage. The Eloi went right so they all went right.
It grew darker as they went along, so Bujilli cast Gloomlight to help them all see a little better. He set the glyph formed by the spell to stay roughly ten paces in front of the Roof-runner.
Left at the next passage. Right after that. Straight through the next. Then they emerged into a round chamber thirty or forty feet in diameter. At the center of this chamber was a ramp-way that curled like a ribbon up past the ceiling and down well below the floor.
The Roof-runner paused to make sure they were all following, then off they ran, up the ramp-way.
The ramp-way made about a dozen spirals before it terminated in a domed enclosure that might once have been some sort of protected garden. Dead leaves and dried-out stalks were all that was left of whatever once flourished in this place. The still air reeked of stale beer.
Six paths led away from the ramp-way. Each one was bordered by trellises and arches of dead plants. The floor was ankle-deep or deeper in spots with dried plant-matter.
"Can you get us out of here now?" Asked the Roof-runner.
Bujilli closed his eyes to consult with his Counsel. It was sluggish in responding. There was resistance to his inquiry, as if the very walls emanated some sort of stifling effect, only it wasn't like the sort of thing he had experienced elsewhere. It felt like his brain was packed in aspic, but he was able to access the Synchronocitor still floating along at his side slightly out of phase while it recharged. They had seven hours left to go before he could attempt to activate the device once again.
"Not yet. It'll be seven hours before I can try it."
"Then we'd best keep moving." The Roof-runner held out their right hand, palm outward and turned to face one after another of the paths available to them. They chose the third one for whatever reason and headed off in that direction. Everyone followed. The Ignoble seemed about to try something, but Hedrard dissuaded them with a good poke.
The third path split to encircle a pool filled with rusted chains and manacles. They kept going.
A set of stairs led down three flights to a large hallway. They were half-way down the stairs when the tribe of degenerates who had been trailing the Roof-runner caught-up with them...
What should Bujilli and company do next?
You Decide!
Now What?
We need 3d6 rolled to determine how many tribal Degenerates we're dealing with...
Five or six D20 rolls would be appreciated so I can deal with any shots fired, javelins lobbed, etc.
We could also use another Morale check for both the Ignoble and the Eloi prisoners, (as per P. 56) by rolling 2d6 for each of them. The Eloi has base Morale of 8 and the Ignoble has a base Morale of 10. Remember--Bujilli receives no bonus/penalty from his Charisma, however Leeja does gain a -1 modifier that can be applied--lower scores are best in this situation. One or both of them might panic. If they are attacked by Varn-Spiders, they both receive a +2 modifier to their Morale Check, since they know far too well just what those horrid things will do to them, and what very likely follows close after them.
The combat between the Varn-Spiders and Lemuel was played-out using the previous die rolls and we'll find out how it was resolved, and whether or not Lemuel escaped next week.
As always, if you have any questions or want to vote for a particular direction to take or specific thing to do next please let us know in the comments, or via email.
What happens next is up to you, the readers.
You Decide!
Series Indexes
About Bujilli (What is This?) | Who is Bujilli? | How to Play
Bujilli's Character Sheet | Leeja's Character Sheet | Cast of Characters
Bujilli's Spells | Little Brown Journals | Loot Tally | House Rules
Series Two (Episode 20-36)
Series Three (Episodes 37-49)
Series Four (Episodes 50-68)
Series Five (Episodes 69-99)
Series Six(Episodes 100-ongoing)
Labyrinth Lord | Advanced Edition Companion
Series Six(Episodes 100-ongoing)
Labyrinth Lord | Advanced Edition Companion
Glad you're back, a very productive episode.
ReplyDeleteFrying pan... Fire....
3,1,2,3,5
And 12 baddies.
So the chosen route/ detour is downish? 12 is a lot to stand against, especially since they have the high ground... Strike hard, put them on their heels, then continue to run. By some machination a safe place might appear, but I'd hate for our friends to get cornered.
Let's hope some of Lemuel's rolls were in his favor, too.
Glad to be back and feeling a lot better. Hope to be more productive in the near future as well.
DeleteThe current route was mostly upwards, but has taken a bit of a down-turn at the end. There are a number of vertical passages located along the outer walls of the Central tower, but those tend to be blocked by valve-like structures and other defenses, so they might want to avoid those for the moment. Where they are right now is somewhere in-between the nearest of those vertical shafts, in a region with increasingly more cul de sacs, dead-ends, and overlapping/intertwining corridors surrounding the main interior labyrinth which is a defense against teleportation-based infiltration and remote viewing, etc. Any vertical passages they find will necessarily involve some downward sections, as nothing will go directly up without a bit of a zig-zagginess except for the primary vertical shafts. So two steps up, one back down more or less, will be the order of the day.
Twelve degenerates are a lot for most groups, but they have Hedrard in the group, and we're about to see another side of her that could prove very interesting.
Lemuel's rolls were quite favorable over-all, which motivated my featuring his battle in its own installment--we get to see something of what this young man is capable of now...and what he's becoming. I plan on posting Lemuel's battle on Tuesday, as it will have definite implications and repercussions for the next episode on Thursday...
Thanks for the die rolls!
I agree with V.A., deal with the degenerates and keep moving in a generally upwards direction. The Roof-Runner seems to be doing well as a pathfinder, so far.
ReplyDeleteI rolled 5d20s and got 17, 17, 19, 10, and 18.
For morale checks I rolled 4 (1 + 3) for the Eloi and 5 (1 + 4) for the Ignoble.
Okay then, sounds like we have a plan and a direction. Thanks for the die rolls. Looks like Morale is still an issue, seeing as they both failed. Bujilli rolled a '2' and Leeja rolled '3', so both of the prisoners are looking for ways to escape. Their conditioning, especially that of the Ignoble who was locked inside their Iron Mask for so very long, makes them see any potential liberator as a monster out of their nightmares. This place imprisons people through far more subtle and effective means than just a few dreary walls or barred windows...
Delete