Episode 12
"The Cup Runneth Over"
(c) Matt Grossman and J. Sage Schreiner
Tron Malkaszar, an irreverant elf -- Matt Grossman
Norel Bolderdash, hulking woodsman of the Adri forest -- Tom Morin
Nigil Palom, noble from a far-distant land -- Kevin Osborn
Aran, a beefy (ex-)Paladin from Tenh -- AJ Drexel
Vuz, an engimatic druid -- Corey Paganucci
Rhahid, a mysterious spell-crafter -- Eric Kruller
All others -- Sage Schreiner
The party has been trapped in an ancient ossuary by their enemies.
After defeating a fearsome monster, the god Rao revived the dead party
members. They have thoroughly explored the catacombs, and there seems
to be only one way out. The floor of one of the corridors has
collapsed into a lower tunnel, a cave not originally connected to the
ossuary. They descend into this cave...
Tron: (scouting ahead)
Tella: Yuck, it smells in here. Kind of like... fish.
Vuz: The air is damp, and there are fungi. I would say this cave
probably connects to the outside world. I wish we had a dwarf with
us.
Norel: Let's hope so. We have enough lantern oil for about thirty
more hours, if we only use one lantern.
Tella: All the dust in that bone place dried out my throat. Can I
have some water?
Norel: That's our other problem. We have only six pints of water
between us.
Tella: Ulp.
After almost a quarter mile, during which they descend slowly...
Tron: The passage ahead is blocked by a wall.
The party examines the wall, which is made of dry-laid stones. Tella
and Tron quickly clear an opening while the rest of the party stands
guard. A strange, rank odor drifts out of the hole as the party moves
forwards...
Nigil: It smells kind of like... lizards.
They find themselves in a cavern, obviously used for storage by
intelligent creatures. Dried fish hangs from the ceiling.
There are wooden staves, bronze spearheads and fishooks, and thread
made from some unknown but very strong substance.
Norel: Hmm, this looks like fishing gear.
Tron: (pockets a spool of thread)
There are several passages leading out of this area. Suddenly they
hear a voice from one of the passages.
Voice: Hey, could you help us out over here?
Tron: Who's there?
Voice: We're prisoners here. Hurry, let us out before those things
come back!
The party goes to investigate, and finds a crude cell, with bronze-work bars,
containing two men. Both are dressed in hip waders and work clothes. One is
unconscious, the other is standing and clutching the thick bronze bars of
the cell.
Griff: My name is Griff. We're sewage workers from the city. We were
ambushed by some kind of fish men. They traded us to these other
guys. I think they ate the others who were with us. You gotta let us
out!
Tron: Who's that guy?
Griff: He's just a temp. (pats his blue name badge significantly)
The "door" of the cell is a crude portcullis. No normal human could
lift it.
Nigil: Unggrh! (lift)
Griff: Thanks!
Other man: Ungh... light... hey, we're free!
Vuz: Who are you?
Rhahid: I am Rhahid ibn Faisal ibn Adbullah ibn...
Norel: Ok, we'll call you Ibn.
Rhahid: No, no! Ibn means "son of", it's not my name!
This misunderstanding is eventually sorted out. Rhahid is a lean man
with dark hair and skin, obviously a foreigner.
Rhahid: I come from a land in the far west. I had a cash flow problem,
so I was working as a temp, cleaning the sewers.
Griff: He's a sorcerer. He casts spells.
Norel: Can you... draw sounds?
Introductions are made. Rhahid obviously considers himself a ladies man.
Rhahid (to Skanda): Hey there, blond and beautiful! What's your name?
Skanda: Humph. (walks off)
Tron: Don't worry. Her god's a wuss-god.
Rhahid (to Tella): So, what's a charming young lady like you doing in
a cave?
Tella: I hit things with my mace. Also I polish his armor. (points to
Aran)
Rhahid: So that's what they're calling it these days. You haven't
seen my spell books anywhere, have you?
Norel: What are the creatures who live here like?
Rhahid: I don't know, it was dark the whole time. They smell bad and
they have scaly skin.
Griff and Rhahid arm themselves with staves from the storage room, and
the party continues to explore. They find a shaft leading down into a
lower level just past the cell. They decide to explore in the other
direction.
Aran: Boy, it sure is dark in here.
Troglodytes: (hidden by their camoflage abilities, they hurl javelins,
then run)
Aran: Get back here, you lizard men! Oh, by Hieroneous, their stench
makes me weak!
Tella: Don't worry, I'll handle them. (charges)
Tron: (pursues the troglodytes down a side passage into a larger cave
with no other exits) Guys, they're in here! Wow, they do smell bad.
Battle is joined.
Tella: Die! [swish]
Aran: Die! [swish]
Tron: [backstab]
Troglodyte#1: Urk. [thud]
Tron: Haven't done that in a while.
Suddenly all the party feel a telepathic voice in their head say
*Hungry*.
Creature: (lurches out of the darkness behind Tron and wounds
him badly, wrapping him with a tentacle)
Tron: Ow!
Vuz: Take that! (slashes creature)
Norel: And that! [hack]
Tron: [stab hack] Eat steel, you pile of garbage!
Creature: (Attacks wildly)
Aran: Hang on, Tron! [cleave]
Troglodyte#2: Urk.
Griff: (guards the rear)
Rhahid: I'll handle this. (casts Acid Arrow, narrowly missing Nigil)
Or maybe not.
Nigil: Pah. (swings at shambling mound)
Shambling Mound: (blocks with Tron)
Tron: Urk. (falls unconscious)
Nigil: Whoops.
Tella: (slays Troglodyte#3)
Skanda: (trying to touch Tron to heal him)
Norel: Don't attack, it'll just use Tron as a shield!
Aran: Hiyaaaah! (charges the shambling mound and pulls his blow,
intending to decoy it into blocking with Tron)
Creature: (sees the feint for what it is, and does nothing)
*Funny*
Aran: Darn.
Creature: (lifts Tron's unconscious body up towards its mouth)
*Leave, or the smell-yummie dies*
Aran: Ok, ok, we're leaving.
After the party leaves the room, the monster drops Tron's body and
proceeds to eat the dead troglodytes.
Aran: Oh Hieroneous, heal this elf.
Tron: (still unconscious, but not bleeding)
Skanda: (heals Tron)
Tron: Let's go back and kill that thing.
Aran: No, that wouldn't be honorable. Anyway, we need to find water.
Tella: Yeah, I'm really thirsty.
They continue until they come to a pit spanning the width of the
corridor. From beyond the pit they can hear the sound of running
water. To one side there is a blocked up opening, similar to the
opening by which they first entered this cave.
Tella: Maybe that's a way out.
Tron: Or maybe not.
Rhahid: Those things took my spellbook, and I'm not leaving until I
get it back.
Suddenly javelins fly from all sides as the troglodytes attack. More
dangerous than their crude bronze weapons is the terrible smell of
these monsters, which sickens most of the party. However, even in a
weakened state the party is still able to defeat the troglodytes.
While the rest of the party is mopping up, Tron scouts ahead.
Tron: (climbs down into the pit and notices a smaller sinkhole at the
bottom)
Kobold: (cowers in the sinkhole, brandishing rusty dagger)
Tron: (in orcish) Where is water?
Kobold: (points in the direction Tron was going and ducks further into
its hole)
Tron: Pah. (continues)
The passage forks, and one fork leads to an underground beach on a
freshwater river. There are fishnets strung into the current, and
several buckets lying on the shore. Tron refills his water skin and
returns to the party, carrying two full buckets of water.
The rest of the party meanwhile has penetrated into the inner sanctum
of the troglodytes in time to see the survivors climbing a rope ladder
down a shaft to the lower level.
Aran: There must be a lower level of caves. I bet that connects up to
the other shaft.
Norel: (picks off a straggler)
Troglodyte children: (cower in the corner)
Nigil: Let's kill them.
Aran: No, that's not honorable.
Norel: I had a bad experience with leaving children alive once.
Aran: No, and I mean it. End of discussion.
Rhahid: (quietly pockets a bone from the floor, recognizing it as
magical)
Tella: Why did these things collect a big ball of tar?
Vuz: Why ask why?
Tron: (returns) Hey guys, I found water!
The party goes to the river and quenches their thirst. They search
the beach area and find the body of a drowned goblin caught in one of
the nets. He has nothing of value. They the party tries to figure
out what to do.
Griff: We told you, it was dark when they kidnapped us, and we're a
long way from the sewers. I don't know how to get back.
Rhahid: And I'm not leaving until...
Nigil: Yeah, yeah, until you get your spellbook. Well, it looks like
there are still some unexplored areas.
The party continues. They find that the cave of the troglodytes is
basically a loop; that is, there is a passage which leads back to the
cell and the storeroom. That passage crosses a pit by a flimsy rope
bridge. As the party is approaching this bridge, they are ambushed by
more troglodytes. The monsters are in a wide portion of the passage,
where three of them can attack, while the adventurers can only fight
one at a time.
Norel: (at the rear of the party, he is faced by three troglodytes)
Gnyarrh! (charges) Die, smelly lizard men!
Tron: (at the head of the party, there is no way he can get to the
rear and help Norel) Hang on... (takes off at a run)
Aran: Of course! Follow that elf!
Using his infravision, Tron runs completely around the cave of the
troglodytes and attacks them from the rear.
Tron: (backstabs and misses wildly) I don't believe this...
Troglodyte: Huh?
Norel: Hi, Tron. [cleave]
Troglodyte: (breathes its last)
Aran and Nigil take longer to arrive, and the monsters are all dead
before then.
Vuz: It looks like there is just one tunnel left.
Nigil: Let's hurry it up. I don't want to think about Jola alone in
that city.
They go along the tunnel, until...
Tron: Giant spiders! Well, not that giant, maybe about two feet
across.
Vuz: Let's not bother them.
Tron: No way, this could lead to the surface. These things look
wimpy. (wastes one with his longbow)
The other spiders scuttle away.
Tron: See?
Norel: Actually, I think this explains where that thread comes from.
It must be specially prepared spider silk.
Aran: Tame spiders, huh?
Tron and Aran advance, and find a large cave. Suddenly a huge, 9 foot
tall spider, surrounded by many smaller spiders, attacks.
Tron: [twang twang] We need some help up here!
Aran: Hieroneous, help me slay this beast! [hack]
The rest of the party rushes in, as do more spiders attacking from a
side passage.
Griff: (guarding the rear, he is bitten many times) Aaaaagh! (flees)
Tella: Die, you horrible thing! [squish]
Giant Spider: (bites Aran)
Aran: Arghh... poison... burns... but you'll have to do better than that!
Tron: Ow, one of these little ones bit me... get off! Die! [squish]
Rhahid: Yes, what the elf said... ow!
Soon all the spiders are killed. However, Tron, Aran, and Rhahid have
been bitten by the smaller spiders.
Vuz: So, are those little ones poisonous?
Rhahid: I don't think so, we would have felt something by now if...
Griff: (runs in, his face swollen) Help... I'm dying...
Norel: Well...
Skanda: I don't have the power to cure poison.
Aran: I... don't... feel... so... good...
Skanda: The large spider's venom was clearly much more toxic.
Tella: Use the cup! I bet the cup can cure poison!
Norel: I dunno, it didn't help that ranger the one time, and Aran
already drank from it twice...
Tron: Remember Thost? He warned us of weird effects if you drank from it
a third time.
Tella: But he's gonna die.
Aran: A... true... knight... does... not... fear... oooh (sits down)
Skanda: (fills the cup and gives it to Aran, who drinks)
Aran: Wow, that's better.
Griff: Please... darkness...
Aran: Oops, gosh, dropped the cup.
Griff: (dies)
Rhahid: Give me a drink too! (opens his mouth and closes his eyes)
Aran: Sure. (unseen by the others, he pours water from his wineskin
into Rhahid's mouth)
Rhahid: Thanks, I feel better... (starts woozily searching the room,
convinced that his sickness will soon wear off)
Skanda: Tron, are you ok?
Tron: I don't feel so good...
Skanda: Aran, give me the cup.
Aran: No, umm, uhh... (runs from the room, still holding the cup)
Skanda: Pholtus, HOLD him!
Aran: Sccreeeeeeeeeeach.
Nigil: (Binds Aran)
Norel: (takes the cup from Aran and gives Tron a drink)
Tron: Wow, that's better.
Norel: Are you ok?
Tron: Fine.
Rhahid: Umm... I think I need another drink or something... urgh...
Norel: (gives Rhahid a drink from the cup)
Rhahid: Wow, that is better. Say, where did you get this cup?
Norel: It's a long story.
Suddenly, in a massive feat of strength, Aran bursts free of his bonds,
and ducks out a nearby passage. The party corners him in a side passage.
Aran: (brandishes his sword threateningly) Give me the cup, and
everything will be fine!
Nigil: Calm down Aran, why do you want the cup?
Aran: Just give me the fucking cup! Now! And nobody gets hurt!
As some of the party continues to try and talk to Aran, Norel tries to
smash the cup against a wall, but it doesn't break. As he ponders
what to do, he suddenly realizes the cup is gone.
Tron: (runs down a side passage holding the cup)
Norel: Tron, get back here!
Aran: (drops his sword and runs after Tron)
Tron cuts the bridge after crossing it, and Aran has to circle around
the other way. The rest of the party is unable to pursue them in the
dark.
Vuz: What are we going to do?
Nigil: Let's finish exploring this section.
They find that the spider area is also a dead end. The only exits
from this cave are the blocked off passage, the river, and the lower
level.
Rough schematic of the troglodyte cave (minor side passages, etc. not
shown):
creature ---------
| |
| |storage|
--------| |-----|
| --------- |
blocked | |- cell
off passage-| |
| |o shaft to lower level
------- troglodyte |
| lair and |
| shaft to |
| lower level |
pit w/kobold = |
| |
beach -------------------------||-
| pit w/bridge
|
spiders
Tella: Plus the way we came in, but we know where that goes.
Norel: We're not leaving without Tron.
Rhahid: Or my spellbook.
Meanwhile...
Aran: (runs blind through the pitch black caverns) Tron? Tron? Where
are you? I won't hurt you Tron! (whispers) I'll just crush you like
a bug with my bare hands if you don't give me the cup, you little
pointy-eared bastard!
Tron climbs down inside the pit near the cell and waits, drawing his
longsword. With his infravision he has the advantage over the human,
and intends to take full advantage of it.
Tron: (whispers) Fool, the cup is mine!
Aran: Where are you, elf? [clank clank]
Tron: ...
Aran: [clank clank]
Tron: ... (tenses himself for the spring)
Aran: (unable to see, he falls into the pit and plummets into the
darkness past a surprised Tron) Arrrrrrghh!!! Ooof.
Aran lands in the middle of a large group of astounded troglodytes.
Although seriously wounded by the fall, he wades into them with his
flail in one hand and his dagger in the other.
Aran: Die, you bastards! I may be going to hell, but I'll see you
there first!
Tron: Well, he won't be coming back. (takes a drink from the cup) Ahh.
Now to find those other losers and deal with them... in time. (takes a
drink from the cup) Aran had most of the oil, and I have almost all
the rest. If they don't want to die in the darkness, they'll have to
deal with me... on my terms.
The sounds of battle fade in the elf's ears as he heads away from the
pit.
The rest of the party, meanwhile, has been busy. Using the materials
in the storeroom, they block one of the passages with nets. They
open up the blocked passage, and find a tunnel heading down. Then
they fashion torches out of the wooden staves and the ball of tar
found in the troglodytes' quarters, and wait.
Norel: We have the water. And if he wants to get to us, he'll have to
come across the bridge pit, and I've got a surprise waiting for him...
Tron waits for a while, but he is driven to drink frequently from the
cup, and soon is out of water.
Tron: Thirsty... must get more water. Those fools left this way unguarded.
Probably thought I couldn't cross the pit without the bridge. (climbs down
into the pit and starts climbing the other side)
Something cold and damp brushes past the elf's shoulder as he climbs.
Tron: Gahh! (climbs up out of the pit really fast) I wonder what that
waaaaaaa!
The elf suddenly finds himself suspended in midair by a rope around
his ankle.
Norel: So, you found my weasel sling, huh?
Tron: Want... water...
They give him water. Then they tie Tron up and put him in the cell.
Rhahid and Norel stand guard.
Skanda: I must pray to my god. It is... possible... Pholtus will allow
me to remove the curse on Tron. It will take many hours.
She goes off to pray.
Tron: Give me back my cup, you bastards!
Vuz: I say we gag him.
Rhahid: Hmmm, the inscription on this is in an ancient Flan dialect.
It says: "Given by Olvenfolk to Gajom, that he may better serve the
people". You're an elf, what do you know about Gajom?
Tron: I know that, uhhh, he was a friend to elves, and ummm... just
give me the frickin' cup, you jerks!
Rhahid: Right. Gag him. I wonder what happened to the paladin?
Tron: Wait! I know.
Nigil: He's lying.
Tron: No really! He fell down the shaft to the next level! When I
last saw him he was fighting twenty troglodytes. And it was totally
dark. I don't think he survived. And he got what he deserved,
because he tried to take my cup mpmphmpmmpph.
Tella: That's better.
Norel: Don't worry Tron, I'm sure Skanda will cure you.
Nigil: Again.
Tron: Mpmph.
Skanda spends eight hours meditating. During this time, Tron becomes
noticeably weaker.
Tron: I'm dying... the cup...
Rest of the Party: NO!
Skanda: I have prayed to Pholtus. Pholtus' power has saved you from
death many times before. You have learned nothing from this. He will
only lift this curse if you agree to worship Pholtus and follow the
way of the stars.
Tron: Sure... I... convert...
Skanda: You must be sincere. Pholtus knows your heart.
Norel: Come on Tron, remember, we have to take revenge on the orcs.
You can't die here.
Tron: I... mean... it...
Skanda: (Skanda touches his forehead)
Tron: A weight has lifted from my shoulders... only to be replaced by
another.
Skanda: Remember, the god is always watching.
Tron: (buries his head in his hands)
Tella: Hah hah. Guess Pholtus really is your god now.
Nigil: "Great change or death", huh? I guess this is what that old
woman was talking about.
They go to the shaft that Aran fell down and lower a lantern. They
see a number of troglodytes standing around an unconscious Aran, bound
head and foot with spider thread. They look like they are just
preparing to eat him. The largest of the troglodytes looks up at the
party and makes a threatening gesture with his spear.
Tron: (in pidgin orcish) Now you listen up down dere! You done for be
sending up dat dere sahib dere chop chop, or we done for be coming
down and killing all of you! Savvy?
Troglodyte: Huh?
It turns out that the troglodyte chief speaks some Goblin, and with
Tron's knowledge of Orcish, it is possible to communicate. The rest
of the party has no idea what is being said.
Troglodyte: You... foreign... man... return.
Tron: Huh? You want him? (points to Rhahid) Sure.
Rhahid: Hey, they have my spellbook down there! Make them send up my
spellbook!
Norel: What does he say?
Tron: He says he wants the foreign man... I think.
Nigil: We should give them Griff's body.
They toss down Griff's bloated, poisoned, corpse.
Vuz: Great, now they'll think we're going to poison them.
Tella: Say it's a gift.
Tron: (in Orcish) Gift... foreign... man... you... man... return
Troglodyte: (in Goblin) YOU... FOREIGN... MAN... RETURN
Tron: Ohhh... he wants us to leave, then they'll return Aran. (in
Orcish) We go to surface. Where is the surface?
Troglodyte: (in Goblin) Surface... pile... you... go
Tron: He says the surface is beyond the blocked passage.
Rhahid: What about my spellbook? Make him send up my spellbook!
Tron: (in Orcish) You send up square thing.
Troglodyte: (in Goblin) Eat? (takes a bite of the spellbook)
Rhahid: Oh gods, no!
Tron: (in Orcish) No eat!
They lower thread and the troglodytes send up the spellbook.
Tron: (in Orcish) We go to passage. You wait 500 heartbeats, then
give us foreign man.
Troglodyte: YOU... FOREIGN... MAN... RETURN
They go to the blocked up passage and wait... and wait... and wait...
Nigil: Shouldn't they have returned the paladin by now?
Norel: They're lizards. Maybe their hearts are slower.
Tron sneaks back to the pit, and sees that the troglodytes are
slooowly preparing to return Aran. After about two hours, the
paladin's unconscious body is returned. The party moves a short ways
down the passage, and the troglodytes block up the entrance. Skanda
prays for another eight hours, then casts "remove curse" on Aran.
Tron: Hey, how come he didn't have to convert?
Skanda: The ways of his god are similar to those of Pholtus. I saw no
reason to convert him.
Tron: You tricked me!
Skanda: The ways of Pholtus are not so simple, gentle elf.
Nigil: Jola must be worried about us. I don't like to think about her
alone in that city. We've got to get out of here!
A whispered conversation ensues just down the corridor:
Aran: I am no longer one of Hieroneous's chosen. I failed Him when I let Griff die.
Tella: But it wasn't your fault!
Aran: Gods do not care about motivations, only actions.
Tella: That's not fair!
Aran: At least I still have my good looks. I will pray for guidence.
TO BE CONTINUED...
