Extermination & Discovery

Characters:

• Thalestris (Heather), an Oeridian "Woman-at-Arms"
• Barracus (Big J), a Touv Weapons Master
• Allsaran Telrün (Dan), a Gray Elven (Sindolven) Arcanist
• Ulfgar Bandobrass (Danner), a Dwarven (Dwur) Thief

Date: Moonday, The Seventeenth Day of Planting (Low Summer), known to the Sindolve as Blossom, and to the Nomads as the Month of the Frog, in the Common Year (CY) 581, which is also 1225 OR (Oeridian Record), 6096 SD (Suloise Dating), 5043 OC (Olven Calendar), 3240 BH (Baklunish Hegira), and 2731 FT (Flan Tracking) .

Allsaran Telrün and Allustan, in their quest for the Chronicles of Chan, had spent most of a day travelling towards the Free City of Greyhawk. As fortune would have it, they happened upon a courier on the road, who agreed to bring the book they desired back to Diamond Lake within a week. The two wizards then decided to retire back to Allustan's abode. After a brief rest, Allsaran decided to seek out his companions. Alas, they were nowhere to be found. Following a flash of intuition, he decided to head to the Whispering Cairn, thinking perhaps that his companions had foolishly attempted to explore further without his assistance. As he neared the location of the cairn, he saw a pale-skinned figure running through the woods in the opposite direction. Fearing the worst, he began to run towards the cairn.

Meanwhile, just outside the cairn, Thalestris and Barracus realized that Ulfgar was going to be overtaken by the mad slasher before he could reach the entrance. Without a second thought, Barracus charged in, slashing with his mighty bastard sword. Thalestris followed, engaging the foul aberration as well. Ulfgar immediately ceased his retreat and stood fast with his companions, in spite of his wounds. The slasher then went into a crazed frenzy, spinning wildly with all its legs flailing about. A telling blow from Barracus crushed its body, and none too soon, for the other slasher was upon them. Suddenly, a lance of ice raced down the hall and struck the aberration. Taking advantage of the distraction, the group surrounded it and crushed it in a hail of blows.

The fortuitous return of Allsaran could not have come sooner, because the swarms of beetles, fresh from devouring the wolf corpses, were rushing down the hall. At the last moment, Allsaran calmly stepped forward and whispered an incantation. Instantly, the ground on which the insects skittered was frozen in ice, the beetles frozen with it. Another few words and the ice thickened, freezing the swarm. After a few words were exchanged (and wounds dressed), the group decided to press on.

The companions made their way to the chamber with the sarcophagus, and decided to take a more careful look around. Ulfgar noticed something strage about the tunnel with the blue lantern, and called Thalestris over. It appeared that the ceiling was about ten feet higher than in the other tunnels. Closer scrutiny revealed a tunnel leading off up towards the top. Also, a skeleton was lying in a heap on the floor. Thalestris was able to determine that it had several crushed bones, as if the person had died in a fall. Making note of these things, they returned to the collapsed pit, careful to avoid the trails of yellow, acidic slime left by the beetles.

Ulfgar peered down, and could see that the drop was considerable: sixty feet by his estimation. Fortunately, the sides were pitted and rough due to years of deterioration from the insects' secretions. It was decided that the Dwur, with his exceptional sight, should go down first to scout the area. In the event he needed to get up in a hurry, Barracus lowered a rope. Unfortunately, it came far short of the bottom. Without complaint, Ulfgar made his way down into the pit with a lantern. He found himself in a small chamber filled with stone debris and the metal cylinder that once was the wondrous lift. The walls were lined with dozens of bas relief figures similar to the one on the sarcophagus above, all bearing stern expressions. Many of them were eroded by acid, some nearly beyond recognition. A stylized arrow on the floor pointed down a short corridor to the north that led to a four-way intersection. He began to make his way down the corridor leading out of the place. As he came to a four way intersection and peeked around the corner to the right, he saw something that froze his blood.

In a huge chamber sat a wide basin flowing with a orange, pasty substance. Thousands of bright blue beetles were skittering and tunneling through the substance. In the center of them was a huge, Dwur-sized beetle. Immediately, a keening insect chorus filled his ears as the colony rushed forth to devour him. He ran back to the chamber and began to scramble up the wall, yelling. Barracus, seeing the jerking lantern below and hearing Ulfgar's cries, grabbed the bitter end of the rope and hit the floor, stretching his arms as far as they would go. Thalestris grabbed his legs. Ulfgar was barely able to jump off the wall and grab the rope as the insects came scrambling up. As Barracus and Thalestris pulled with all their might, and Ulfgar climbed for dear life, Allsaran began another incantation. Just as the pair pulled the Dwur to safety, Allsaran spread his hands and encased the vermin in ice. Unfortuantely, he miscalculated, and a small swarm flowed up the tunnel and over his body. He screamed, backing up and trying to get his bearings as the insects bit and burned him. Desperately, he finished another spell and was able to freeze the beetles in place. After checking to make sure no more surprises were scaling the walls of the pit, the group retreated to the abandoned mine overseer's office to dress their wounds and get some much needed rest.