~ The Quest for the Ring of Fire
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Turn 149.0: The Marcus Switch
Posted: 5/2/01
Emma recoils in horror and
disgust from the horde of tiny creatures.
She clutches her shield as if to hold them back somehow, but knows she
can't possibly resist the dark tide.
She looks down at the rest of her gear, searching for a different
solution...and quickly, too!...lest she be swept aside and off the bridge much
like Joelen the Caerloon officer.
'And following the Great
War, the land shall be swarming with a plague of rats and vermin, devouring
both the good and the evil, the brave and the cowardly...' Skandor recites in his head a verse he
remembered from his schooling, the sight of the rats bringing it to the front
of his mind like an ill-omen. But no
rat, no creature alive or dead would cause him to falter. With a few solid steps, he comes to stand in
front of Emma, shield at the ready, gladius poised and ready to cut a bloody
path through the vermin.
Crayne looks stunned as he
hears the horrible screeching of the rats approaching. He glares at Amos annoyed for a few moments
and then says, "Quickly! Gather
what lantern oil we have and make a perimeter around ourselves to ward off the
rats. Be careful not to waste any oil
for we have little supply. If any of
you have anything flammable then be sure to set it on fire."
Hannibal sees the
approaching rats but his initial reaction is rather tame compared to the
others. He had slept in enough barns
and stables in his poorer days to know a rat or two. Hell, he'd even eaten a few in his day...although now he would
never admit that to the others! As the
waves kept coming, however, he realized the danger and prepared for action.
Crayne's words reach Emma's
ears and for some reason the word 'fire' reminds her of the precious ruby
contained in her holy symbol. The
necklace's pendant is designed in the fashion of a sun with the gemstone
representing the heart of its fire. The
elders of her priesthood had frowned on such a selection. It wasn't martial enough to satisfy their
image of Anhur. But their image had
never been her own, and so she kept the symbol as the representation of both
Anhur and the god that she believed to be his twin brother, God of the Sun,
Stars, and Mankind's Future...Nire.
She looks down again and
cradls the holy symbol in her hands.
With faith, it could be wielded as a barrier against the horde of rats,
much like she had used it to drive away the undead in the desert. Crayne's suggestion causes her to arrive at
a different solution, but perhaps a more powerful one.
"Wait!" Emma
exclaims, "Save the oil! Let Anhur
be our shield!" She keeps the holy
symbol firmly in hand and lowers her shield so the necklace is clearly visible. She steps toward the surging tide of rats instead
of away from them...fighting an inner battle to steel her nerves against the
danger. 'If my faith wavers,' she
thinks, 'I'll be pushed over the side...'
Nervously, she glances down at the floor below. An image of Joelen's shattered legs clouds
her mind.
She pulls her eyes away
from the dark pit of the cavern and faces the rats once again. 'But I *won't* be pushed aside!' she
mentally tells herself and then recites a passage from the Scrolls of Anhur,
'Ever will he be my sword and shield...even unto the maw of hell...even unto
death.'
Hannibal, his hand already
grasping the oil flask around his belt, releases the flask and looks to the
Shield Maiden for direction. As the
rats grow near, he wonders if she had a better idea and silently hopes she would
hurry with it!
Calmed by that divine
inspiration, the Shield Maiden intones the words of a short prayer to her god,
"Hold back these creatures of disease and misery...shield us from their
charging ranks." She presses forward
in order to bring the sweeping power of Anhur into contact with the rats,
hoping to drive them back and away from Rinder's Six and their escape route.
Sure enough, the front line
of rats stops suddenly as it appears to meet with some invisible barrier. Confused, the creatures begin to move across
the bridge laterally, climbing over one another in an angry effort to reach
their prey.
"I'll hold them
back," Emma says, "But hurry Amos...I don't know how long it will
last."
Crayne then runs for the
rope unties it and brings it closer so it is right next to the group ready for
a quick escape. He then continues,
"Meanwhile, Amos write down what you read and *don't* touch
anything!" He hands Amos a quill,
ink and some paper. "Also, don't
read aloud and keep the writing small.
We do not know who may be listening in or watching us. And be quick for we haven't much time!"
The mage readies himself
for the onslaught of rats. He grabs the
top of his staff with two strongly clenched hands and rises his staff above his
head. He waits patiently for one to
come near so he can splatter it with a magical thrust of his staff.
"Come stand by me,
Crayne," Emma suggests, "We'll hold them back together if need
be. Hannibal?" she asks,
"Could you or El take a look at the wall and see if there's another door
in it? Do as Crayne said and don't
touch anything. If we can't find a way
through on this side of the bridge, we'll have to push the rats back so we can
climb back down or enter the other cavern again."
Hannibal looks to El and
then motions for the wall. "Give
me a hand El, two heads are always better than one." He moves quickly to the wall and begins his
search, doing his best to be quick while at the same time methodical in his
search.
Quickly, Skandor glances
over his shoulder towards El and Hannibal, silently saying a prayer for their
expediency.
"I'm working as fast
as I can!" Amos responds to Crayne, taking the quill, ink, and paper and
sketching the small carvings. "But
this is in the ancient tongue and I haven't worked with it in some time, I
fear!"
Meanwhile, El whispers to
Hannibal under his breath, "Find anything?"
The thief replies, his eyes
never straying from his inspection of the smooth stone wall, "nothing
yet--" the way his voice cuts off alerts El. "Hello..." Hannibal says, shifting his stance to get a
better look at something.
"What is it?" El
asks.
"A Marcus
Switch."
"Marcus what?"
the elf replies, his eyebrows raised.
"Haven't you ever
heard of a Marcus Switch? They're
classic," he points to a small spot on the border. Where the border juts out from the wall by
about an inch. There, tucked into the
side of the border is a small button. "I
used to be something of an expert."
"Marcus Switch? I've never heard them called that
before..." El responds, narrowing his eyes to get a better look. He checks the button and the surroundings as
best he can for any kind of traps, and Hannibal does the same. "Seems okay to me," he finally
says.
"Me, too,"
Hannibal replies. "Amos? Ready?"
"One more
minute!" the flighty priest responds, holding up an index finger in a
gestural plea for time.
"Emma, Crayne, I think
we've found another way out of here...or at least off this bridge,"
Hannibal says over his shoulder to the Shield Maiden and mage.
"Sounds good!"
Crayne says. "I can only take
those oversized rodents for so long!"
"And I'm not sure how
much longer Anhur's will will hold them back," Emma adds. "Is it safe?"
"Safer than the trap
Amos tripped?" Skandor asks.
"As best we can
tell," Hannibal answers.
"Ready?"
"Ready," El
replies.
"Storm, you're first,
if you don't mind!" Hannibal instructs his dwarven friend.
Storm nods, drawing one of
his swords. "Aye," he says in
a low growl, readying himself for whatever might be on the other side of the
door.
"Press it!"
Crayne instructs.
And so Hannibal does. He places his thumb firmly over the small
button and depresses in into the side of the border as far as it will go. With the tell-tale "click!" the
switch is tripped. Amos' head
immediately spins around at the sound and the priest is terrified. With a pat on the shoulder Hannibal calms
him, motioning to the carvings and setting him back to work. In moments the smooth wall begins to slide
back and to the side, leaving an open doorway surrounded by the carved
border. Inside is all dark, except for
the few rays of lantern-light entering from Canter's lantern.
Taking a deep breath, Storm
rushes in, weapon drawn. He takes no
more than three steps before he realizes (with the aid of his infravision) that
there is another wall immediately in front of him. But out of the corner of his eye, he sees something off to his
right. A sparkle.
"You okay in
there?" Canter calls out to Storm.
"Hurry, boys!"
Emma warns.
"Ya!" Storm
replies, the smile on his face widening as he takes in the sight.
"Done!" Amos
shouts triumphantly, holding the sketch high above his head.
"Great," Skandor
says without a thread of excitement for the priest. He had more important things to worry about. Like keeping his charge and the rest of the
party alive. With one motion he pushes
the Hathean priest through the now-open doorway, sending him careering into
Storm. "You're next,
gentlemen," he motions to the door in El's and Hannibal's direction.
"If you insist!"
Hannibal replies, leaping through the threshold. El follows right on his heels, and the two quickly locate the
corresponding Marcus Switch on the other side to re-close the door when the
rest come through.
"Shield Maiden! Crayne!
It's time!" Skandor shouts to Emma and Crayne as Canter makes his
way through the door.
With a nod, Crayne turns
and heads through the door. Emma then
exhales strongly, gathering her courage.
Turning her back on these vermin was not her idea of a good move, but she
had no idea how long the spell would last and did not want to be moving slowly
when it finally broke. With a nod to
Skandor, she turns and runs for the door, sensing Skandor immediately behind
her.
Soon all are on the other
side, and El activates the switch, closing the door behind them. They are in a small room, perhaps eight feet
wide, twelve feet long, and ten feet from floor to ceiling. Canter's lantern illuminates the area, and
Skandor can finally understand the tone of jubilation he had detected, but not
understood at the time, in Storm's 'Ya!'
The room is stuffed to the
gills with sparkling chests, tattered and time-worn sacks of coin, gems and
jewelry, and gleaming shields and swords, among a variety of other items
visible. In the center of the wall on the
far end is a small table, with a small stone statue (about a foot tall) and a
small bowl, perhaps an ancient altar of some sort? The lantern-light reflected off the gold chests sends a warm
orange glow about the room, and for a moment there is silence. The only sound that can be heard is Storm's
breathing.
1. HP Status (unchanged): Canter 22/44, Crayne 24/16, El 18/28, Emma 28/47,
Hannibal 14/29, Skandor 25/35, Storm 23/50.
2. The party is now inside what I
will call for lack of a better name, the treasure room. The door out onto the bridge is closed and
for the moment the large rats are held at bay.
There are at least a dozen gold-encrusted chests filled with various coins and gems. There are also close to thirty tattered and time-worn burlap sacks filled with coins and gems. There are cases of jewelry (diamonds, gems, and other precious stones in rings, necklaces, and headpieces). There are four gleaming shields of yet-to-be-determined metal, and four accompanying swords, all in apparently mint-condition. There is also one helmet to match the shields, one chest-plate, one pair of bracers, two lutes, and three horns.
~ The Quest for the Ring of Fire
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