“They’re coming outta the walls! They’re coming outta the goddamn walls!” Scomatch bellowed in alarm. A phase spider’s fang bit into the halfling’s bare right foot. However, they failed to penetrate the mage’s skin, as his delicate, silver periapt of proof against poison necklace glowed green and surrounded him for a brief moment.
Kildo was also taken aback at the five phase spiders sudden appearance. They had the body structure of an ordinary arachnid. Its coloration was very pale, bordering on translucent, with blue tinges and patches to it. Due to its size of a pony, it was clear it had two large eyes. Also, whereas most spiders are solitary creatures, these were hunting in packs, like wolves. He felt a sharp pain on his left leg as one of the creatures bit him from behind. He felt the stinging pain as his skin was scraped by its fangs.
One of the creatures appeared on Kai’s back. Its fangs also attempted to sink into the paladin, but his armor prevented them from penetrating deeply. Another phase spider dropped on top of 9 of 5. Its fangs sunk into the flesh golem. Besides the bite wound, he didn’t seem affected by the more lethal poison.
A phase spider appeared next to Guo Gan and bit the monk on the arm. He was able to pull away at the last moment to prevent the fangs poison from doing serious damage. Bringing his spear down in a bashing attack, it smashed into the head of the third creature stunning it. The monk then smashed the spear into the side of the spider, attacking Scomatch. It knocked the spider into an unforgiving stalagmite stunning it. The wood elf then swung his spear at the phase spider on top of 9 of 5. It was the largest and likely the alpha male of the pack. Striking its face, the creature jumped off the golem but only cleaned its fangs with his front legs. Hurt but not stunned.
Kai made a deliberate attempt to impale one of the phase spiders. All three prongs from his trident, Wave, sunk deep into one of the stunned creatures. There was a shriek of pain as murky ichor exploded from the spider’s side. He then smashed the end of his weapon into the second dazed creature. Radiant damage blasted into it from Kai’s divine smite.
“I hate spiders!” Scomatch called out. A fireball engulfed the area in flames as the mage sculpted the spell around the party. Three of the phase spiders shrieked as their bodies burned and shriveled up. The alpha male’s body flattened to two dimensions. It then compressed into a singularity and winked out of existence as it shifted from the Prime Material Plane.
The party remained on high alert but realized there were no more phase spiders, and the remaining one wouldn’t likely be back for some time, if ever. Not wanting to wait around for more to return, they continued southwards through the cavern-like maze. There were numerous stalagmites, which looked roughly humanoid-shaped. It was hard to distinguish if they were once human and turned to stone or naturally occurring phenomena. Peering closer, each was heavily blown by the constant winds in this tunnel for decades, centuries, maybe eons, like wax melting on a candle.
Passing the stalagmite field, the party found themselves in front of another large crevasse. The bottom disappeared into the darkness with a small ledge around its circumference. Taking Kildo’s hemp rope, the monk leaped across the cavern and secured one end to a stalagmite. Using the line as a handrail, the party traversed the chasm to the other side.
As Kildo crossed, the winds picked up, and the gale became fierce. He managed to hold his grip. The ledge wasn’t more than the width of his foot. He had to move slowly. Test each step. He slid more than walked but finally arrived safely on the other side. The dwarf thought he heard a female voice in the wind. Concentrating on listening, he heard the voice of Copperlocks. She was speaking to him directly. “So unsatisfying in bed. If I didn’t need to trick them into thinking I was on their side, I wouldn’t waste the time.” Woit?! Kildo thought to himself. Copperlocks thought he was bad in bed? Impossible, as he remembered their throws of pleasure in the night after their escape from Keraptis House of Fun. It wasn’t a marathon session by any means, but still. This had to be a trick being played by some nefarious being. In any event, at least he was satisfied that night.
Heading northwards from the chasm, they continued through the cavern. Kai held up his hand for the party to stop. Up ahead were five cultists, humans, dwarves, and even an elf in yellow robes that billowed out. Unarmored and unarmed, their backs were turned to the party. Each had their arms spread and open wide as if they were trying to take in as much of the blowing wind as possible.
Approaching cautiously, each had a look of ecstatic and crazed happiness as their eyes bulged out with what seemed like a forced beaming grin. Drool came from the corner of their mouths.
Seeing the party, one shouted out, “Brothers, embrace emptiness!”
Kai leading the way, the party moved through the cultists cautiously. The room continued north and then east around a corner. A jingle proceeded a shout from behind.
“No, me first! Then you, but me first!”
One of the human cultists wearing several metal chains around his wrist pushed their way through the group. Turning the corner and heading east. The winds picked up. There was a thunderous whirling sound, like a tornado. A horrible crunching as if bones were being cracked and snapped. A sickening blood splat sprayed against the far wall as a severed arm flew by and landed. Around its wrist were the remains of the metal chains.
“The nine hells!” Kildo cursed.
The party looked at each other, dumbfounded at the scene before them. Even Kai, ever the bold one, hesitated to take another step in the eastern direction.
Pulling out his hat of holding, Kildo rummaged through and pulled out a mirror. He specifically purchased it after their encounter with the mandusa, Marlos Urnrayle, the leader of the Black Earth Cult at the Sacred Stone Monastery. “Here lad, use this to peek around them corners.”
Nodding in thanks, Kai took the mirror and carefully edged it around the edge, peering eastwards. “Lot of gore, but I don’t see anything that would have ripped that cultist to shreds.” The paladin then edged around.
Following Kai from a respectful distance, Kildo edged the eastern corner. The triton wasn’t exaggerating. The pathway east went forty yards before turning south. The entire length seemed as if it had been painted a dark red. Blood, gore, and bits of unknown creatures littered the area. The dwarf cringed as he felt soft, slippery material under his boots. The winds began to pick up as he made his way to the end. Kai stopped up ahead. Entering a slightly larger cavern about thirty feet across, it extended southwards one hundred feet before narrowing back into a tunnel. More gore and an untold number of bodies were shredded and thrown across the entire room. Within was the source.
A funneling cloud of whirling air with a vague semblance of a face howled in the middle of the room. It was a massive air elemental. Made up of living air, the vortex moved rapidly in every direction. However, a red tinge began to color its form. Someone was inside it. The living tornado churned and pulled and sucked in debris from around the cave, spinning at incredible speeds. The sharp rocks sliced into the person stripping flesh from his body like an air blender.
Within moments, there was nothing recognizable left of the person. Its form turning, it spotted the party to the north. It began to advance. The swirling twister threatened to deafen them all.
“Ferget this noise,” Kildo yelled as he began to cast, Banishment. With what could only be construed as surprise on the air elemental’s face, the creature’s form began to fall apart and unwind into a slight breeze.
The room went quiet.
“Great job Kildo, but it was probably in vain. I have a hunch that creature will be back,” Guo Gan said.
“Woit, ye be talking abut elf. I done banished that air blender back to the Elemental Plane of Air.”
“That’s the rub. I think that portal brought us to the Elemental Plane of Air. We are in its home,” Guo Gan explained.
“The nine hells!”
Narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip on the trident, Wave, Kai ordered, “Surround where that air blender was banished. We’ll wait to see if it returns and finish it off.”
“I be having a better idea. Let’s be leaving this beasty alone and move on. Besides, it be managing these cultists just fine,” Kildo countered. The other party members all nodded in agreement toward the battle-ready paladin.
Shrugging at the logic, the party moved southwards. They entered a narrow passageway. It entered a small area with numerous stalagmites. The path curved around northward, but something caught Kildo’s eye. Taking a step closer to what appeared to be normal rock formations turned out there was a person chained to it. No, there were two people.
“Oi! There be prisoners here!” Kildo called out. Dirt and grime covered their bodies, causing them to blend into their surroundings. They appeared to have been tortured for weeks or months by bruises and marks all along their bodies. Kneeling down, he pulled out his waterskin from his hat of holding. Holding it for them to drink from them, he then used some to clean their faces. As the water cleared away the layers of dirt and fell, it was then that the dwarf realized they were women and, like the other prisoners with the breath taker, had been stripped of all their clothing.
“It’s Dexy and Connie from the Midnight Runners,” Guo Gan said.
Kai approached and laid his hand on each. Healing energy passed from the paladin to the two women. Their eyes fluttered open. They retreated back as far as the chains would allow.
“You’re fine, you’re fine,” Kai calmly said.
“Emerald Eels?” Dexy weakly asked.
“The same. We heard you had gone to the Spiral, but no one had seen you since,” Guo Gan said.
“We made it there, but I don’t remember much after entering. We were taken prisoner and found ourselves here and have suffered the cultists’ hospitality ever since. Needless to say, it didn’t go as planned,” Dexy replied and lifted up her chained arms, and shrugged.
“No shame in that lass. We be understanding that,” Kildo said.
Guo Gan pulled out his lock adjustment instruments and began working on the manacles. The locks seemed to be giving the rogue some issues, as it was taking longer than expected for him to pick the simple locks.
“Are you about done here?” Dexy asked flatly as her face wasn’t more than a few inches from Guo Gan.
“These ones are a bit tricky. Rusted and all like, but yes,” Guo Gan replied as there was a resounding click, and the manacles opened. He then moved over to Connie.
“We’ll have you wait here as we scout out ahead,” Kai said as he turned to the side to give the two women some modesty. He then glared at Kildo and Scomatch, who both were looking at the nude women.
“Woit? You tall folk have such a stigma about nudity. Besides, they’re too skinny and don’t have enough hair,” Kildo said, stroking his beard. “Nothing to hold onto.”
“Agreed, too skinny and no hair on their feet,” Scomatch added.
“Just turn around,” Kai replied.
“Here, I have some traveling clothes they can wear,” Guo Gan said, and he pulled out the garments from his back. “They might be a little big.”
“Ha, it’ll probably fit them just fine, ye be as skinny as they be, elf,” Kildo snorted.
Casting a light cantrip on a nearby stone for the women to see, the party left food and the waterskin for Dexy and Connie. Ensuring they were safe for the moment, the party followed the tunnel pathway as it curved northwards. The winds began to pick up again. Ahead was a small, lit cavern. There were four cultists in yellow robes. Each was in a poor condition as they were all emaciated and their faces gaunt. It seemed they hadn’t eaten for days. Their arms were outstretched and mouths wide open as if trying to consume the wind.
“Great more breatharians,” Kildo snorted.
“These mouth breathers can suck on these,” Scomatch snapped, and there was a resounding PFFT! Followed by an even longer FRRRRT! An odor of methane saturated the air. The entire group collectively garnered a whiff of a combination of sulfur and rotten eggs.
The four acolytes snarled in anger and advanced toward the group. A flame-like radiance began to form above Kildo, Guo Gan, Kai, and of course, Scomatch. The party scrambled out of the way as the shot of flame blasted the ground where they had stood a moment before.
Kildo bashed the first acolyte with his war hammer, striking him in the chest. He then smashed his shield and easily knocked the cultist to the ground.
Kai’s trident came right behind him and thrust into Kildo’s downed opponent, ending his life. Pulling his weapon free, he lunged, impaling another of the weakened cultist, killing him instantly.
Thrusting his spear, Guo Gan’s weapon penetrated through the cultist’s chest. He slumped to the floor dead.
There was only one cultist remaining. The yellow-robed breatharian bellowed a war cry as a sickly-green chromatic orb flew right into his mouth from Scomatch. It burst, and the cultist attempted to scream out, but all that emerged was a gargling of blood, flesh, and ichor. The acolyte attempted to claw at his own throat, but it only resulted in acid burning away his fingertips. A pungent smell of melting flesh irritated each of the party’s nostrils.
Scomatch then commented, wiping his mouth, “Looks like he just breathed his last.”
Treasure:
· Found Dexy’s Midnight Runners.
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