Each of the three northern doors had a pot in front of it that seemed odd. The center door looked like a human skull without a jawbone. Madrin attempted to pry it up since its eye holes seemed like perfect handholds. However, the door was beyond his strength to lift. He would try again later after he checked the left and right archways that were open. Madrin took the left exit and, almost walked off the edge of a ruined bridge into a hole of unknowable depth. He decided to be more cautious in the future. Madrin was in luck though because, he could see an intact bridge that crossed the gap. He judged by the distance that it was reached by the center door in the previous room. Madrin decided to smash the strange pots to see if it mattered. The middle one had a pressure plate under it that raised the door in front of it. He would have to remember that the pots might conceal hidden switches. As he entered he saw three patches of grass that moved toward him as soon as he stepped on the bridge. Madrin took up a defensive stance an waited for them to come. He cut them down like wheat but, they stung his flesh where contact was made. However, behind them was another skull door. He started looking for another switch and saw none. As he searched he heard a click from a pressure plate. The door opened and Madrin did a diving roll to avoid any unknown traps and, went thru the open door.
He ended up on a dais with two more orange statues overlooking a steady flow of black metal spheres half his size. Metal boulders slightly bigger than him randomly interrupted but, went to the same place. There were two sets of steps that led down to the sphere flow. Madrin noticed there were some jade wall sections that left places to be out of the path of the metal boulders. He guessed it was some kind of test or else why was there a path. He dodged the obstacles by ducking in the open spaces between wall sections. Eventually he dove to the right and headed up another set of stairs that led to another smaller dais. It had a second set of stairs that headed down to the trap. Madrin continued on thru the archway he saw.
The path came to an intersection that split left and right. He chose the right hall and continued on. He found two more clay pots and another giant beetle statue. Whoever built this place must have been obsessed with those things. At least there were torches now that already burned he wondered if they magically ignited when someone entered they were well up the wall impossible to reach without a ladder. Madrin had to admit he was starting to grow fond of the statues. However, the skull doors were getting irritating. He smashed the first pot but, found no switch. As he walked towards the other one he felt a pressure plate give and saw the skull door rise. He left the other pot alone and headed thru the new opening.
The path went three ways with jade brick walls separating them. Madrin chose the center path and, moved carefully. He heard footsteps that seemed off, there was a grinding sound that he couldn't place. He continued on and, chose to go straight at the second intersection he came across. The third crossroad had only two paths so he headed left on impulse. Then he saw a skeleton in his way and, finally understood the strange footsteps. Madrin charged the fiend, it jumped back as soon as he got close enough to use his sword. That bastard evaded him for several seconds as he attempted to connect with it. Finally, he forced it into a corner and shattered the skeleton with one blow. Lucky for him he found the next doorway while chasing the skeleton.
When he entered Madrin was appalled to see a child's skull surrounded by a strange red light. The gruesome creature moved about the room at high speed. Every time he attempted to destroy it, the light blocked his blade. He decided to leave it alone and chose to evade it despite his misgivings. The five clay pots in the room seemed to repel it so he wanted to leave them intact. However, that blasted skull door had to have a switch somewhere if it followed the same pattern as the others. Madrin chose the middle pot to break first so that he had as much cover from the flying skull as possible. Tactical thinking paid off, when he found the switch under it. He ran thru the doorway so that he didn't have to see that child's skull any longer than needed. First he noticed the hole that showed the floor below. It probably had a ladder at some point that degraded into dust long ago. He saw the jade steps that led out of the pit as confirmation of his theory. Madrin wanted to check the rest of the room before dropping down a floor in case he couldn't get back up. He found a wooden chest with gold inlay that was beautiful and, unlocked. Madrin lifted the lid and found a map in perfect condition. He guessed there must have been a spell on the container that kept the map from turning to dust. Next he lowered himself down into the pit after seeing another archway across the room. Madrin ascended the jade steps and went thru the doorway.
The room he entered looked familiar as he moved up to the first turn. He saw another skeleton down the hall and decided to turn it to dust as well. His rage gave him greater speed and he pinned the bastards skull to the jade stone with a strike between the eye sockets. Madrin realized at that point that he had been in this room a short time ago. He decided to try the left hall in the old room. After he went down the hall Madrin found a mirror image of the right path. He judged where the pressure plate had been on the other path if flipped in a mirror. Madrin was glad his theory had been correct the skull doors really pissed him off.
He found a great way to use his anger when he noticed four of those blasted skeletons. The square room had jade brick walls in the center. Madrin drove all the skeleton's into the same corner at once and dismembered them with his bare hands as his blood boiled. When he entered the next room he found piles of bones all over it. Five more clay pots were positioned about the room one in each corner and, the other was in the exact center of the room. There were two snake carvings as big as him on either side of another skull door. He started looking in the center since that seemed to be the pattern. After he lifted it and was about to throw it against a wall three skeleton's sprang up from the floor. Madrin decided their skulls would work just as well as the wall and, tossed the pot at one. The satisfying crunch that followed destroyed the bastard it hit. Madrin repeated the process until the other two fell apart and, saw the door slide open. He laughed and thought this was a much more entertaining way to open those blasted skull doors. The next room was a narrow hall with another one of those gold inlayed chest just past the turn in the path. Madrin opened it an found a compass inside that he could use to pinpoint his location on the map from earlier. This would make his exploration easier to deal with. He took the jade steps nearby down a level and walked thru the exit on the other side.
Madrin followed the path straight ahead instead of taking the right hall he passed. He noticed an odd white stone protruding from the wall as he continued on the path but, it had an unfamiliar language carved in the stone that was gibberish to him, so he left it alone. When he entered the room he saw two clay pots on his right. Also, on the left he noticed another beetle statue but, this one was turquoise. Madrin's curiosity drove him to get a closer look. This beetle had a closed eye that suddenly opened when he got close to it. His combat training immediately took over and, he drove the point of his sword into the most vulnerable place he saw on the armored body its massive eye. The creature died instantly without a drop of blood coming out. Madrin realized that it was a magical construct used to guard this dungeon. The room had two massive braziers on either side of a set of stairs leading up to a platform with a door with a massive keyhole. He wished for his lock picks but, it looks like he would have to find a ridiculously big key. In the center of the area was a huge chest as long as he was tall with another large keyhole that matched the door. It was on a slightly raised dais with an interesting light blue carpet underneath the chest. Madrin saw the other door on the right from his position and another construct near it. He avoided the guard with ease and, entered the next room.
The area was a lot dimmer than the rest of the places he had been, so his eyes took some time to adjust. Madrin could see up two floors to a ceiling at five square openings as he walked towards the steps he saw at the end of the room. He noticed them because of the light streaming around them. Madrin went from normal visibility to total darkness when he stepped thru the doorway. He heard a something drop behind him an turned to face it. Madrin felt a skull door covering the exit and almost kicked the blasted door. He took a few seconds to light his lantern for a better view. The hall divided into two paths so he chose the left one. Madrin noticed another skull door as he progressed down the hall. He went past in search of a pressure plate which tripped seconds after passing the door. Nice of the builders to make it simple.
Madrin found three more skeletons in the adjoining room and, eight more clay pots. He made quick work of the bastards by tossing pots at them. The last one he threw had a small key inside that he placed in his bag. After smashing the remainder of the pots to be sure he headed back to the previous room and continued down the path. He had to cut down two of the plant things as he went and came to a locked door. Madrin saw no reason not to try the key he found earlier which worked. He followed the slightly curved hall bordered by jade brick to the next room. Four red skulls circled a switch that he pressed after a combination of sword and shield strikes drove them back. A chest appeared on a raised platform similar to the one the big chest was on earlier. Madrin guessed it was concealed by some kind of spell keyed to the switch. Inside was a key big enough to fit the large chest and that strange door. Speaking of which he saw another one of those doors right in front of him.
In the next area he saw two square pillars blocking his path and, the ceiling was lower than other rooms he entered. Madrin moved towards the pillars and, applied force to each and discovered the right one was light enough to push forward. He continued on and noticed that strange white stone with gibberish on it from earlier down the hall. Madrin was glad he was in familiar territory. He went to the large chest and opened it with the big key and found an already strung bow. That was it, by the abyss that was stupid. Whoever did it had no idea how to take care of a bow. It should have been left unstrung. However, it was a longbow that wouldn't have fit in a smaller chest so there was some thought to storage. Suddenly, six skeletons dropped from the ceiling and threw their heads at him. He had the strung bow in his hand already so he started firing arrows from his quiver. Madrin's training covered bows but, he was more proficient with other things, so he used more arrows than needed on the skulls. After that he took out the bodies with sword strikes since arrows weren't very effective on that part of a skeleton because, of all the openings.
Madrin went thru the door at the top of the dais and faced eight foes. The six orange and blue grass creatures were taken down with ease. However, the two turquoise constructs where more difficult. He made sure to only get one's attention at a time and took them down with a skilled thrust to the large eye with his sword. After the battle he found a key in the remains of one of the constructs. Madrin used the key on the left locked door and continued on up the stairs in front of him. Those blasted red skulls were flying around the room which had four pots forming a square. There was also four white stone statues carved to look like full plate mail forming a larger square than the pots. He found the switch for the skull door under the southwest corner of the clay pot square. The next room had three constructs lined up very neatly from north to south. Madrin approached the southern one and destroyed it and set off a pressure plate beneath it. He saw a path that went behind the next guardian and took it out. He found a constant flow of black metal orbs in the new area coming from numerous openings. Madrin put his reflexes to the test and managed to find the hidden switch to the next skull door. He jumped thru the doorway and came under attack from two skeletons. The two clay pots in the room were used to destroy them. This time however, there was a guardian that is a pale shade of red. This one was smarter, it dodged his sword multiple times before he finally drove his blade thru its head. After that the jade skull door opened, so it must have been keyed to his foes.
Six grass monsters and two red constructs stood between him and the exit currently blocked by another skull door. There were two red eyed snake carvings glaring at him from the sides of the hall in front of him. The smaller creatures were cut down with ease but, the two guardians presented a challenge. If he approached them they would be able to flank him because, Madrin would wake both up at once. He decided to use his bow so that he could take them out from a distance. With an arrow ready Madrin approached them and started firing as soon as they moved. He retrieved his arrows and, went into the opening that was behind the red guardians to see what was next. He found six light blue statues that were twice his size. They started moving seconds after the door closed behind him. Madrin could tell it was time to unleash his wrath on these unsuspecting constructs that resembled humans in full plate mail. They wielded long swords and tower shields relevant to their size. Madrin had to avoid the skilled enemies taking many shallow wounds as he dismembered them. With five down the last one turned pale red and used its size to try to crush him at inhuman speed. Madrin's adrenaline infused muscles were all that kept him from becoming mush. Finally, when the red statue crumbled he found a jade pendant with a gold chain. Madrin grabbed it and suddenly woke up empty handed. As the dream faded he had a strong urge to save Lady Layla from the evil mage Gerthluo.
Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:14 pm