by Lee Duckett
Badger looked down the path, eyes following the river. ~Even if we stuck to the far wall we’ll still be in range of that thing’s tentacles,~ he advised.
“But no!” the monster continued, immersed in its monologue. “I got soo excited that I couldn’t hold still! So I said to myself, ‘Stal, they’ve already seen you, you should just go for it!’ and now look at the quandary I’m in. Oh, I’m a disgrace to roper kind everywhere!”
“I’m sorry, roper?” Aria asked, unsure how to act in this situation.
“I know, I don’t act like I’m supposed to. Us ropers are supposed to wait, stealthy predators of the deep, waiting for our prey to get close and then, strike!” it lamented, sending a tentacle shooting at the group, which hadn’t moved, coming up short again. “See! I can’t even lure you in with my tale of woe! I’m a disgrace! A blight upon all roper kind!” it keened, one tentacle laid across its ‘face’ in abject sorrow.
“I don’t suppose you’ll let us by if we just ask nicely?” Badger asked.
“Oh, you still want to get across? I can work with this!” the roper said excitedly, rubbing his tentacles together. “Counter-offer, you give up one of your tasty companions and I let you by. Not the elf, they’re always sooo bony.” It propositioned, ignoring Fayne’s “Hey!” as it continued. “How about the glowing one in back, I’m sure she tastes just divine! Hah!”
~No feeding me to the roper!~ Aria hissed.
~What? No! I’m not going to do that! I’d never do that!~ Badger spluttered, appalled.
~Good!~
Badger sighed, massaging his forehead. “We’re not going to feed you one of us. How about we give you our rations instead, they’ll have a lot of variety.”
The roper considered this offer. “Do your rations contain the brains of sentient creatures?” it asked hopefully.
“Um, no!?” the gnome responded, appalled.
The living stalagmite sighed, waving its tentacle in defeat. “Fine, I’ll let you by if you give me. . . three hundred pounds of rations.”
The wizard looked at him incredulously. “We don’t have three hundred pounds of rations!”
The roper shrugged “Well then, We’re at an impasse. I guess you’ll just have to feed me one of your companions.”
Fayne raised her bow. “I can shoot you, but you can’t reach me. Why don’t we just kill you?”
It laughed. “I invite you to try but-” A crackling arrow exploded on its shell to no visible effect. It glared at the archer as several more impacted, batting an arrow away before it could hit its eye, clearing its throat loudly. “I was saying that you could try but I doubt you’d be able to hurt me. You lot look interesting, not to mention tasty, but not dangerous in the slightest.”
Badger motioned for the rest of the group to go back the way they came. After closing the stone door and locking it he addressed the group. ~So, we’ve got a bit of a problem. We can’t kill it, and we’re not feeding it anyone. Any ideas?~
Fayne raised a hand. ~Maybe I could sneak past it to get to the door?~
Rurik shook his head. ~Back at home Rurik’s unit had to deal with ropers, they’re too bloody good at spottin’ anyone tryin’ to sneak by em.~
Aria cocked her head to the side, ~How did you deal with them?~
~The same way we dealt with earth elementals. Ya see a ballista anywhere?~
The group lapsed into silence. “Actually, I think I know where we can find the solution to our problem,” Badger announced.
~You know where we can find a ballista?~ Fayne asked.
“What? No, I know where we can find ‘rations’,” he said, using air quotes. “This thing eats sentient beings, right? Well there’s a bunch of troglodyte corpses upstairs that no one has any use for.”
“They’re already dead,” Fayne commented. “Do you think it matters?”
“One way to find out,” Badger responded, opening the door and calling out. “Excuse me, Mr. Roper?”
“Oh please, Mr. Roper was my father! Call me Stal!” came its response.
“Um. . . alright, Stal. Do you care if the sapient beings we feed you are already dead?”
“No more than a week old!” came the response. “Don’t try and pull a fast one, I’ve got my eye on you. Metaphorically speaking.”
“I promise they’re fresh.” Badger called back, stopping for a second to think. “Just wondering, do you know how to get past the monster upstairs?”
“What monster upstairs. Is there another monster around here? Why hasn’t he said hello! Oh, the nerve of some creatures, no manners at all!” the living stalagmite harrumphed.
Badger closed the door. “Well, he was no help.” He stopped seeing everyone looking at him. “What?”
“Why were you asking how to get past the thing upstairs?” Aria demanded. “We’re not going back out there!”
Badger sighed. “Aria, how do you get to the trog cave from here?”
Aria considered the question before frowning, face set. “No! I’m not going back out there!”
Badger waved a dismissive hand, “Don’t worry, you’re not going to, Fayne is.”
“What?” the elf sputtered. “Why do I have to go? I can’t even see in the dark, make Rurik go.”
“On me stumpy legs? Nah lass, you’re the fancy, graceful elf, you get to go.”
“It’ll be okay,” the wizard soothed. “I have a plan.”
◆◆◆
~I hate this plan,~ Fayne stated, glaring at the glowing arrow strung on her bow, with a dozen others laid before her.
~It worked last time,~ Aria assured her, comforting countenance ruined by her occasional fearful looks outside. ~When we fired the glowing arrows, it went after the light arrows before it went after us. If you’re running you should get to the cave with tons of time. Then, when you’re ready, Rurik will shoot lighted crossbow bolts so you can get back. It’ll be fine.~
Fayne looked at her incredulously before shaking her head, firm in the knowledge that this needed to be done, and she was the best one for the job. Nodding to Rurik, who opened the door she drew the arrow back and sent it arching off into the darkness, the electrically charged arrow splintering on contact with the cavern floor and littering the ground with glowing blue fragments. She grabbed the next arrow and shot it, repeating the process until she had one left, which she strung, using it as a torch as she took off, slipping on the wet stone for a moment before righting herself and bolting as fast as she could for the ruins to the west.
Badger frowned at her slip and took a few steps outside, curious as to what she slipped on, as this cave had been bone dry before. Reaching down he poked the ground with his quarterstaff, mentally suppressing the enchantment to keep it from splattering the liquid everywhere. Bringing it up he saw that it was slick with some sort of slime that he distinctly remembered not being there before.
~What are you doing!~ Aria demanded from her place inside the structure.
~I was just curious,~ he defended, taking a step back towards the building, stopping as he looked at the doorway. Where before the door had been set in a wall of smooth stone, now there was a pattern of gouges in the stone, forming several sets of semicircles, all pointing towards the door. "Claw marks?” he whispered to himself, not understanding what made them. They were almost beautiful in their own way.
Aria had had enough. ~That’s it!~ she told him, walking out and physically picking him up. Both of them heard the rustling of scales on stone behind them and Aria darted back inside, Badger looking behind her as, noting that the first light had gone out.
Once back inside Aria shut off her aureole as they watched through the arrow-slits as light after light went out. The sound of movement always stopped for a moment before there was a thump and a light disappeared. ~I’m in the cave~ Fayne sent to the group’s relief when there were only three lights left. The last one went out and the cave was dark once more. Aria and Rurik still scanning the area near the entrance as Badger sat down in the pitch blackness, u
nseeing, holding his staff, and waiting.
Half an hour later Fayne’s call of ~I’m ready~ came over their connections and the group sprang into action. Badger, under his wife’s glow, cast Light on Rurik’s crossbow bolts as fast as his son could shoot them out, firing a dozen before giving Fayne the go ahead. The first one disappeared before she could respond, far faster than last time. Rurik shot another dozen bolts, each landing before skittering across the stone floor, the last one vanishing mid-flight. They spotted the green light of the elf’s everburning torch as she rounded the corner, the last of the magically lit bolts disappearing on the far side of the cave.
~RUN LASSIE!~ boomed Rurik, firing unlit bolts into the darkness as Badger moved to open the doorway, Aria watching in mute horror. Each bolt produced the same ‘twang, skitter skitter’ sound as it was fired and skidded across the stone floor, hitting nothing, creating a beat to accompany the pounding of Fayne’s feet before the dwarf smacked himself in the head and started firing in the archer’s direction, angling to fire above her head.
~Why are you shooting at me?~ Fayne demanded, bolts flying past her. She faltered when, instead of the skittering noise, the bolt that flew past her head landed with a meaty thunk, a deep hiss emanating behind and above. Running even faster she yelled, ~Keep shooting at me!~
Rurik fired four more times by the time the elf had reached the door, flying through with Badger slamming it closed, reaching up and throwing deadbolt shut. Rurik’s last shot also hit … something, which let out a low, booming hiss of anger. ~Down the stairs!~ Badger called, leading the way away from the windows and down to the safety of the roper’s lair.
Chapter Ten
Slithers In The Dark
Fayne panted as she rested to the floor, limbs sprawled, having slipped and fallen on the wet steps but having rolled down them without injury. “So,” she spat. “I’ll be fine?”
Aria gave her a weak smile, “Well, you’re not hurt. I was right.”
“Oh! that makes it okay then!” the elf shot back. “In that case you can be the one to go get supplies next time. You can even see in the dark so you won’t need to take a light, which happens to be a massive target to whatever the heck is out there!”
“Hopefully we won’t need you to, either of you,” Badger interceded, turning to Fayne. “Did you get the bodies?
She nodded, sitting up and taking out Shino’s bag of holding, reaching in with a grimace and pulling out a troglodyte by its leg, awkwardly pulling it out with some assistance from badger. Moving the magical bag next to the body’s feet, she reached in and pulled another one out. On her third Rurik spoke up.
“’Ow many of those lizard bastards did you grab lassie?” he asked, nose wrinkling at the stench of the creatures.
“I figured a baker’s dozen would work,” she responded as she started to pull out the fourth one.
Badger whistled as he tried to help, pulling the leg while the elf held the bag. “I’m pretty sure that’ll be enough.”
“It better be, I’m not going out there again if I can help it.”
After the corpses were laid out, including the Alpha trog, Badger grabbed the smallest one, waving for the rest of the group to do the same. They carried their grisly tribute out into the cave and around the corner.
“Hey Stal, we got what you wanted,” he said, stopping right at the edge of the roper’s tentacle range.
“Oh that smells lovely, and so fresh!” the creature cooed. “You really shouldn’t have! I mean you had to if you wanted to get by with me eating you, but still, I’m oh so very grateful!” It reached a tentacle out and Badger handed him the corpse he was carrying, still keeping his hands out of range, just in case, Aria doing the same. The roper extended two additional tentacles it’d hidden to take the additional bodies that Fayne and Rurik brought. “Oh yes, this is well over three hundred pounds. You’re free to go!”
“Um, that was the first load,” Badger said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
“There’s more!” The monster squeed in delight. “Oh, you guys are just the best! They smell absolutely scrumptious!”
The party delivered the rest of the stinking bodies, handing over the Alpha last. “Oh this has made my year!” the creature cried, tentacles wiggling like a horrible wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man. “Oh, I know just what to do!” It reached a tentacle in its mouth and seemed to be rooting around for something. After a moment and a muffled “aha!” it pulled out something red and extended a tentacle to Badger, who tentatively took hold of the large crimson stone. “I’m not sure how but this got stuck in my teeth who knows when. I used to suck on it when I got hungry, but I found something better for that some time ago. You have it, and my gratitude!”
It waved cheerily at them as they crossed the room, Fayne checking this new door for traps as the roper ripped an arm off of one of the corpses with ease, sucking on it with a delighted sound which did nothing for her concentration. After a moment she picked the lock, disabling the seemingly nonfunctional trap in the lock just in case, and opened it, the party walking in and closing it behind them. In the hallway they found themselves in, everyone gathered around Badger to see what the monster had given him. In his hands was a cut Ruby the size of his head, covered in roper drool which the wizard quickly vanished. Aria gasped as she took it, turning it over in wonder.
“This has to be worth millions,” she breathed, awe shining in her eyes. “It might be the biggest ruby in the world!”
Badger shook his head. “It isn’t,” he told her. “I’ve seen bigger at the arcane academy. Not by much, but still.”
Aria waved a dismissive hand, “I didn’t mean here, I meant back home.”
Rurik laid a hand on her arm. “Lassie, I ‘ave twenty pounds of gold in me pack. That’d be a nice ‘alf a mil’ where we be from, but ‘ere it’s maybe enough for a keelboat. A riverboat,” he explained at her incomprehension. “If ya wanted our house rebuilt here, not even gettin’ into the magic version of the tech ye be wantin’, like runnin’, heated water, ya could expect ta drop five times that, easy. Gold’s more plentiful here, and ya gotta understand that.”
“I know,” she admitted. “But I still want to appreciate this, okay?”
“It is pretty,” Fayne agreed, shaking her head, carefully making her way down the hall checking the interior door for traps. She unhooked the catch on a door that would have sprayed something nasty in the face of anyone trying to force it open, assuming it still worked. A few twists of a lockpick later she opened the door, revealing a large room with several desks, barred jail cells visible through a doorway. The group spread out, ready for anything, but nothing jumped up, lunged out, or otherwise announced its presence, so they sheathed their weapons. Badger and Rurik started going through the desks, grabbing anything that looked valuable. Fayne slipped into the jail area while Aria took a seat and relaxed.
~Jail is clear,~ the elf announced after a moment, slipping back in and walking over to Aria, who was examining an old piece of large parchment hung on the wall. ~What’re you looking at?~
Aria stood up and walked over to it, running her fingers over the irregularly shaped edges of the map in front of her, before carefully taking it down and turning it on its side, laying on one of the cleared desks. ~I think it’s the main cave~ she mused, pointing to the structure at the bottom. ~And I think this is where we are. Rurik, get over here, I need you to read this.~
Rurik stopped searching and walked over, ~Would it kill ya to say please lassie?~
Aria rolled her eyes, ~Please.~
The dwarf looked at the writing for a second before walking around it to see it as it was on the wall. ~Well, to start with it be on its side, makes it ‘arder to read. Second of all, ye’re right. The big empty space,~ he explained pointing to a bit of writing in the center, ~is the bazaar, where visitin’ merchants be hawkin’ their wares. We’re in the guard barracks and the temporary holdin’ cells. Those ruins be the established shops, no m
ention of the trog cave though.~ he moved his hand to a building on the other side of the cave from their position. ~This here be the guardhouse proper,~ he moved his finger to a door symbol opposite of the ruins, ~And this here is the entrance to the lower level, where there be a temple to Andruft, dwarven god o’ smithin’. If this place be anything like ‘ome, it’ll be locked up. We woulda seen the everburning flame if it were open, and all dwarven temples lock down tight if they need ta, not like those wooden deathtraps the elves use.
Fayne rolled her eyes at the slight as Badger walked over. “If it’s locked then we need the key, because I don’t think whatever is out there will give us time for her to pick the lock.”
“Wait, what? No!” Aria cried, taking a step back. “You mean we have to go back out there with that monster? No! I refuse to!”
Rurik regarded her with a level look. “Ya got a better idea, lassie? This place be a dead end, and while you might wanna stay here, the roper’s gonna get peckish after a while. We haven’t found the key around ‘ere, and if it’s anywhere it’ll be in the main guardhouse.” He tapped the location for emphasis.
“But did you see that thing out there!” she protested. “It’ll kill us!”
Badger held a hand up, “We didn’t actually see it, and I know that’s not what you meant, but if we’re smart about it we should be fine. It goes after light, and I think we can all agree that, by the sound if nothing else, that it’s big, right?”
Fayne looked thoughtful. “I suppose, but it did go after the lights faster the last time. But I don’t see what being big has to do with-” she cut herself off, going a bit pale. “No, that’s crazy. It’ll never work!”
“What will never work?” Aria asked her, turning on her husband when she didn’t get a reply fast enough. “What will never work, Jack?”