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Chapter 65 - The Quest for the Impossible Shovel


“Captain, we are approaching the coordinates Captain Shatterkeel gave to us back on the Rock of Series,” Silas announced.

Kildo nodded to their navigator. Stepping forward toward the view screen, floating rocks, which Silas explained was called an asteroid field, loomed ahead. While there were a great many, they were in a standard orbit around each other. The tiefling cultist of Belial was strapped into the spelljammer pilot’s chair. A swirling design inlayed the plush, cushioned material. The ornate chair was perfectly balanced on a large azure-blue crystal embedded in the deck. A retractable golden helmet firmly on his head with a multitude of wires attached to the ceiling. “Odium, take us in.”

“Yes captain. I’ll need to be careful, so it’ll take some time. Meanwhile, I’ve made some lovely pumpkin scones in the dining area, blessed by Belial of course,” Odium said.

“Ye be minding yer task. Kai, I’ll be back. Ye have the chair number one,” Kildo said to Kai. The dwarf hurried to the mess hall. Ensuring no one was around, he shoved one of the scones in his mouth and then another. He grabbed a third and ate it on the way back to the bridge. Returning, Odium was maneuvering the Space Ghost through the asteroid field. Shortly, they approached an enormous rock. In the middle was a circular depression about a quarter of a mile across the top. It floated evenly, and coming in, the ship lightly shook as the landing gear touched down.

“Is there air to breathe?” Guo Gan asked.

Silas said, “There should be enough air. At least for a day.”

Kai asked, “Scomatch if we need air, can you summon an air elemental?”

“Yes, that’s not a baby spell.”

The command crew of Kai, Guo Gan, Scomatch, and Kildo exited the Space Ghost from the top deck. Climbing down, Kildo saw an amphitheater nearby. There were crumbling columns and even a broken statue. Upon closer examination, it was humanoid, but there were no details to verify whether it was a human, elf, or even a dwarf. However, he determined it wasn’t anything like a mind flayer, as that is the world they live in.

“There’s a large pit over here,” Guo Gan called out.

The party gathered around. The hole went further than they could see. Taking a rock, Kildo cast the cantrip, Light. It shed bright light out twenty feet, which dimmed another twenty feet out. He spotted scuff marks on the side of the ledge. They appeared to be made by grappling hooks to climb down, but there was no sign of them or the ropes. He then tossed the glowing stone. It fell. At about the ninety-foot mark, there was what appeared to be a shelf in the middle of the shaft. The pebble continued past until it hit the bottom about two hundred feet down.

“I’ll be back,” Guo Gan said and, taking a deep breath, began running along the hole’s wall. The monk’s feet using any impression, regardless of how small, to keep his footing.

After sixty feet down, Kildo lost sight of him. He then began to dig in his backpack and pulled out his fifty-foot-long coiled hemp rope. “Kai be getting me yer rope and we can be making our way down once Guo Gan returns.” Just as he secured the ropes together and anchored them to a solid column, the monk jumped out of the hole, breathing heavily.

Panting between sentences, Guo Gan said, “There’s a shelf ninety feet down. Four hallways are going in each direction. There are a lot of vines at this level. However, at eighty feet, something swished over my head. Maybe a rope cutter or trap.”

Snorting at the news, Kildo dismissed his light cantrip and cast a new one at approximately the ninety-foot mark on the rope. He took the two coils and tossed them over.

Testing whether the rope would hold, Kai began to lower himself over the edge. Scomatch followed.

“I’ll see you at the shelf,” Guo Gan said and began running down the circumference of the pit wall.

Kai descended, followed by Scomatch and Kildo bringing up the rear. At seventy feet, Kai stopped and the party heard Guo Gan shout.

“The vines! They’re moving! Watch it!”

A bright stream flashed from Scomatch’s fingers. Sculpting the fireball spell around Guo Gan, an explosion of flame ignited the area. Large vines were seen clearly as they caught fire. They tried to fling the effect as they burned.

Kildo saw two distinct specimens. The main branch was thick and the bark stringy with the vines extending from it. The leaves were distinct in an asymmetric five-pointed shape, resembling a grabbing hand.

Dropping from the rope, Kai landed on the shelf and pulled his trident, Wave, from his back. The paladin moved on the northern vine.

Unfortunately, Scomatch was in the way on the rope, and Kildo couldn’t drop without crashing into the halfling and bringing him down. Pulling his magic missile wand from his belt, he sent three force bolts into the southern vine.

Another flash of bright light followed as Scomatch sent a fireball into the vine trees. Their limbs were flailing about and missing Kai and Guo Gan as they whipped around them.

Kildo continued to send magical bolts into the southern vine.

Knocking the burning limbs out of the way, Kai slashed back and forth. He cut off the vines and finally sank Wave into the base. It stopped moving.

Like a spear, Guo Gan used Qiekamis to thrust into the southern vine. There was a sucking sound as it shriveled dead. The staff pulsed a bright green as if drinking.

As Scomatch and Kildo descended and dropped to the shelf, Kildo felt something ‘whoosh’ past his head. Peering up, he saw nothing but noticed their rope was gone. Glancing over the edge, he saw the line with the light cantrip still in effect. It tumbled below as if cut.

“Something be up there and be cutting our rope,” Kildo announced.

“Probably a couple of brownies triggering a trap,” Guo Gan commented.

“There’s a statue to the north,” Kai called out.

Following Kai, Kildo saw the sculpture at the end of a short ten foot wide corridor with its back against a wall. Twelve feet tall and humanoid in appearance, it had a massive, solid, muscular build with arms folded. While it resembled a devil and sculpted as if it was burning, it was the carving of an efreet.

Drawing closer, there was an echoing ‘click’ as Kai stepped on a stone. A ball of fire shot out from the efreet’s mouth. Kildo threw up his shield and Kai dove to the ground. While singed, they both avoided the brunt of the blast. Recovering, nothing else was useful in the northern sections except the trap.

In the eastern corridor, there was another statue against a far wall. It was difficult to tell the origins of the carving, but it resembled a four-armed sahuagin with a bow at the ready. It stood six feet tall and was fish-like with webbed feet, hands, gills, and a finned tail. There was additional webbing down the back, at the elbows and notably where human ears would be.

Guo Gan carefully made his approach. The statue’s arrow fired. Throwing his left arm in an outer block, he deflected the missile in mid-air. Continuing, he shook his head as it was another dead end.

Turning westwards, another statue was at the end of the corridor with the armored torso of a woman. Six heavily muscular arms in total sprouted evenly from her sides. Each held a different type of wicked-looking sword. It almost appeared like a she-demon marlith, except it had a fish’s head.

Taking a deep breath, Guo Gan ran along the walls and landed lightly next to the statue. The monk shook his head. Another dead end.

The last remaining path was to the south, with another statue at the end. Humanoid in appearance, the only distinguishing features were a staff in one hand with a flail in the other. Guo Gan's lighter footfalls allowed the monk to avoid springing any traps.

“I found something,” Guo Gan called out. Stone grounded on stone as the statue moved and revealed a medium-sized room.

Following Guo Gan's instructed path down the southern corridor, the area itself was empty, with doors to the west and east. However, to the south, there was an opening to the edge of a bridge covered in slick mold. A waffling smell of death washed, like waves, from the room. A crippling chill crept through Kildo’s clothing. It felt like he’d never be warm again. The bridge extended sixty feet and then met unyielding darkness. Edging closer toward the southern exit, it was then he heard the tortured, anguish-moaning cries from the wretched damned themselves rise from the inky abyss below. This was a place of torment and agony. A nightmarish purgatory where the persecution of evil souls was abandoned to their place of suffering for eternity without hope.

“I not be going in there,” Kildo said flatly.

“Agreed,” Kai said and then added. “Unless we have to.”

Checking the western door, it opened into a slightly smaller, but empty room. Moving to the eastern exit, it opened to a twin of the west. However, there were tiny scuff marks.

Examining closer, Guo Gan pushed on a stone and another eastern door opened.

Kildo breathed out a little easier seeing a possible path around the bottomless pit of limbo. The path turned southwards and ran parallel to it. The corridor opened into a medium-sized octagonal room. An archway to the east was obscured in shadow. However, in the center of the room was the statue of an old man. Engravings were at the bottom. Peering closer, they appeared more as shapes than words.

“Any idea what the shapes are for?” Guo Gan asked.

An old man’s voice, shaking as it spoke, echoed throughout the room, “Despair if you continue thus!”

As the party looked at each other, Guo Gan continued. “Is that a warning?”

“It could be in your best interest,” the old man’s voice spoke.

“Wait a minute,” Scomatch said. Eyeing the statue suspiciously, he asked, “What is best in life?”

“It could be in your best interest,” came the reply.

“Are you a god?” Guo Gan questioned.

“It must be soon!”

“Are you a bogus obelisk?” Kai inquired.

“Indications are not good at this time.”

Throwing up his hands, Scomatch waved off the statue.

“One more question,” Guo Gan said. “Is this the tomb of Badr Al-Mosak?”

“Dark things are on the horizon!”

“Right, let’s move on.”

Moving eastwards through the archway, as the light revealed the room, it was circular. However, they immediately stopped. Taking up almost the entirety of the area was a deep pit. Rock and debris fell from above.

“Something be up there digging,” Kildo said as they all saw a body fall. It was wrapped in old ancient cloth strips like a mummy. The group turned to each other with confused looks.

“Oh, there goes another body,” Guo Gan said.

“It must be grave robbers who be dropping bodies down a well?” Kildo said as he looked up. Darkness greeted him.

“I don’t see any other exits. We might have to cross the bridge,” Kai informed.

Scoffing, Kildo didn’t like that idea. One slip and he’d be stuck with the damned. Not a pleasing ending. Returning to the octagon statue room, he mumbled, “There has to be a way out. Where is it?”

“Another tactic might prove wiser,” the obelisk replied to the question.

“Shut it!” Kildo exclaimed and then noticed a stone to the south out of alignment. “Oi! There be a secret door to the south!”

The party returned as Kildo pressed the stone. Rock ground as the door opened. Another medium-sized room was beyond. In the center was a ten foot tall grey cube on all sides resting in the middle. Circling it, the square structure was heavy and didn’t look like it would more.

Stepping back, Guo Gan ran up the side onto the top. “Whoa! It’s hollow on the inside. There’s a stone sarcophagus, but it isn’t decorated.”

Kai jumped and grabbed onto the edge. Guo Gan helped the paladin up. Kildo helped Scomatch and then they pulled him to join them. Kai and Guo Gan jumped down. In unison, they pushed the lid open. Stone scraped stone as it was pushed aside.

A hand wrapped in old strips of linen, damaged by rot and age, grabbed Kai’s arm. It was a mummy. Humanoid in shape, it permeated the smell of earth, decay, and rot.


Flames wreathed the creature as Scomatch cast, Immolation.

Guo Gan jabbed with the end of Qiekamis repeatably knocking the mummy’s grip from Kai.

Kildo thought about jumping down, but the room was already crowded at the bottom with Kai, Guo Gan, and the creature. Pulling out his wand of magic missiles, he sent three magical darts into the already burning mummy’s chest.

The creature’s eyes glowed brightly. It screeched as a swarm of flies vomited from its mouth. It stared hard at Guo Gan.

“Courage!” Kai shouted, jolting the monk hard, knocking him to the side and breaking the gaze. The paladin thrust with Wave. The prongs sunk deep into the mummy’s chest burning it further with radiant damage. He then pinned it to its coffin floor. It struggled violently. Guo Gan rose and thrusted with Qiekamis, helping pin the mummy. It shrieked as it burned from Scomatch’s spell and quickly turned to ash and dust.

Climbing out of the tomb, the air was a little less oppressive and lighter. Kildo noticed the fragrance of cinnamon, ginger, rose, frankincense, and myrrh. As Kai jumped down, he said, “Be letting me look at that arm. Examining, the distinct print of the mummy was seen. The veins seemed tainted. “Life is death. Death is rebirth. Rebirth is life,” Kildo chanted as he cast, Greater Restoration. A magical breeze from the cleric’s spell blew the mummy’s imprint and corruption curse away.

Nodding in appreciation. The group searched. Kai found a lever, which opened a western secret door. It led to a similar octagon room. There was a closed door to the north and another continuing west. In the middle was another statue of an old man in the middle with similar script at the base. “Are you a fake obelisk too?”

“Extreme caution must be applied!”

“Yup.”

Moving past the statue to the south was another circular pit. More debris fell. A moment later came a skeleton within broken plate mail.

“Somebody be busy digging up there,” Kildo said as they watched the debris continue to fall. Just as the group turned to leave, another skeleton in broken plate mail fell past.

“I think that’s the same skeleton,” Scomatch commented, raising his goggles from his eyes.

The party watched, and shortly afterward, another skeleton in broken plate mail dropped. It had a striking resemblance to the other two they saw.

“Good observation Scomatch,” Guo Gan said. “Is any of it magical?”

After casting Detect Magic, Scomatch shook his head.

Continuing to move westward, the party entered another room with a ten-foot square cube in the middle. Expecting another mummy, Guo Gan led the group as he jumped on top. Peering down, he said, “Empty. There was some kind of container, but that was some time ago.”

A corridor turned north into another statue room. Ignoring its repeating comments, another large circular pit was to the west. The party gathered and watched. More debris fell. Then a helmet. A kite shield, two potion bottles, and a scroll tube. However, it was about thirty feet out in the middle of the pit.

Kai turned to Scomatch.

“Oh yes. Those are magical.”

Folding his arms, Kildo asked, “What we be having to grab them?”

“We be having, mage hand,” Scomatch mimicked the dwarf and began casting. In short order, the helm, shield, two bottles, and scroll tube were fetched. “Bah, the helm isn’t magical. It just blended in with the others. Still a good find.”

Backtracking to ensure the falling mummy in the first pit didn’t have any magical items, the party returned to the northern door in the southernmost room, which had the second obelisk they encountered. Opening the door, a circular room greeted them. It was empty except for another statue in the middle. However, this one was different from the others. Humanoid, but featureless, it was crouched with its back to the door. It was constructed of dull, grey metal. As the group entered, gears grinded as it turned toward the party. It rose and it was then they noticed its right hand was made of a sharp long blade. The left was shaped as a large hammer. It prepared for combat.


Treasure

· Shield +2

· Oil of Slipperiness - Potion

· Oil of Slipperiness – Potion

· Scroll of Fireball




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