Norfleet said:
Good pick on the weapons, if a bit pricey. I hope you loaded up on some landmines, though. Tomb-delving frequently seems to nvolve a bunch of undead, against which your sneak attacks are pretty much useless. The -1 damage is basically insignificant, since your damage comes from the sneak attack boost anyway, although even the intrinsic -2 TWF penalty is going to hurt your already craptacular attack rating.
Looking forward to my Weapon Finesse. And I wouldn't worry about dying in this tomb, since I have a level 7 Paladin and a Cleric with me. It's really a matter of knowing when to pull out. The funny thing is, the AI will have more chance to die actually. They run through traps and had to be babysit. They also love to cast heals in front of the enemy.
Chapter 32: Tomb Raiders
The beach stretches for a while, after several minutes of hiking, we enter a grassy area.
Christiano and Myra have been holding hands while following me up the incline. Now Christiano pats Myra's bottom, making her giggle.
LP Comment: Valine tries to break the monotony with some party banter. And I have to say, it does work a little. Though it gets annoying after a while.
Christiano, please!
She glances at me, still giggling.
I cannot keep my fingers off you...
Christiano beams a bright smile at Myra, pulling her close, cupping her buttocks while giving her a deep kiss.
I don't think this is such a good time.
She half-heartedly fends him off.
Hehehe okay...
He pets her bottom again, then lets her go, turning to me.
Alright. As far as I remember, going south now is the shortest way up to the temple.
Okay.
He beams another smile at Myra, ignoring me altogether.
Further into the forest, I spot a large form in a corner of my eyes.
Looks like a bear. It's stabby time!
Christiano takes the front, while Myra stays behind to cast an unknown spell. I shot a bolt into the creature's hide, barely slowing it then step closer with my melee weapons drawn.
As Christiano takes the animal's full attention, I sunk my short sword into its back. It roars in pain as static charges courses through its body.
LP Comment: 16 Physical 1 Electrical. Beautiful.
Finally, the animal succumbs to its wound. If Anden is here he'd probably tame the bear or something.
And so our first foe has fallen to our blades! Well fought, ladies!
I beam a smile at him, humoring his enthusiasm.
I don't know, dear...That was just a grizzly bear. It was half starved, too.
It is also possible that the evil powers on this island forced it to attack us! In that case, its demise has even served two purposes! For one, we have freed the poor creature's soul! And two, we have demonstrated that we are a force not to trifle with!
I roll my eyes. This guy's kinda full of himself. It's just a goddamn bear..get over it.
Let us go on now, and keep your weapons ready!
Keep your ego tucked in, Crusader of Justice. Wouldn't wanna turn Blackguard after stepping on bear turd.
Trees are getting thicker...Christiano halts our advance.
This is where we enter the forest. We need to head north and west now. And watch your steps. There are snakes hiding in the grass.
I'll be careful, trust me.
You should. These snakes have a nasty bite.
No problem. I stealth in...leaving the two slightly lumbering form behind.
Bam. Dead snake.
Idiot cleric. Three snakes later and Mr Personality starts his victory speech again.
The snake, a symbol of evil! But this one won't spread its poison any longer. Well fought, ladies!
I remember now why I didn't like traveling through this forest. Ah, and those damn mosquitoes!
Minor annoyances on our path to victory. Nothing we couldn't deal with.
Whatever, let's head on up.
Finally! The temple ruins in within sight.
Here we are. This was the Temple of Hyath.
Christiano points to the ruined compound situated on top of this hill.
I have never heard anything of Hyath.
Hyath was forgotten by mankind until a scholar discovered a description of the cult in an ancient tome. It seems like many of the cult's rituals involve doing nasty things with and to naked women, which was likely the reason why the cult was brought back to life and this temple was founded.
It's simply disgusting.
*He nods.* We've found many gruesome drawings inside. It's a good thing that my order put an end to this. But let's go in now. There's a trapdoor inside the structure, leading into the actual sanctum.
The sanctum is crumbling, the trapdoor being the only thing of interest, we descend into the darkness below.
As you see, the place really is in ruins. But we stumbled upon a few giant spiders last time, so let's be prepared.
I'll be ready.
No doubt...
At the far end of this hall are the remains of an ancient altar, though my order tore that evil thing to pieces. To the north and south are smaller rooms, but they're all empty. We've already searched through them last time.
Alright.
A corridor starts south of the altar. It leads further down, to a pit of sorts. That's where we encountered all the spiders. However, that passage was a dead end. Another corridor begins north of the altar, but we've only managed to follow it for a couple of feet before we were stopped by two locked doors.
I'll check them out.
Okay, let's move on. You've got the lead, Aisha.
LP Comment: Too much handholding? I don't know. It's just a simple first level. But thankfully, Chris will stop giving directions when we reach the levels below.
As we proceed onward the screeching sounds of bats descend upon us. We defend ourselves.
Pesky little buggers.
Christiano wipes the remains of a dead bat off his boot.
Yes, very much so. *I turn to Myra.* Do you have your moon blood at the moment, Myra?
That is absolutely none of your business, young Aisha!
She reddens and turn away. Christiano raises an eyebrow at me.
Why do you ask?
I've heard that this might make certain animals aggressive. Bats, for example.
Is that so? Well, in any case, these won't trouble us anymore. Let's move on.
This must have been where once the altar stood. There's nothing left of it but a few reliefs picturing priests and naked women doing all kinds of nasty things. I study the relief carefully.
Quite interesting, aren't they? Did you notice that all the women are naked while the priests are clad in robes, even when they...
Yes, I see that.
Bunch of perverts.
Guess it's a good thing the cult didn't spread into Betancuria, with the rise of rape and what not.
We investigate the first passage down and fought off a giant spider before descending down the stairs.
More of its cousin block our passage below.
Goddamn eight legged freaks. Thankfully, no one failed their fortitude saves.
I found something inside one of its cocoon.
Ugh! Rotten spiders everywhere!
I think that was the last of them. Damn vermin.
You've been down here last time, right?
Yes, and we had cleared this room as well. Seems like those spiders are growing fast.
Probably another evil trick. However, this still seems to be a dead end...
He looks around, leaning on his weapon. He motions at the round back hole near the stair case.
We believe this is the pit where the cultists gave their sacrifices to their foul god Hyath. It seems to be an endless drop.
I peer down the pit. There's no bottom, as far as I can see.
Well, we can't go down there, that's for sure. The walls are too smooth.
Don't get too close to that hole!
Hehe, Myra thinks the demon's still hiding at the bottom. And I sure hope she's right!
Christiano pulls out his manhood and starts urinating down the shaft.
Uhm, is that such a good idea?
Christiano, really...
Myra shakes her head.
LP Comment: ...This paladin's Lawful good? Really?
That will teach whatever's down there that we're not afraid. And besides, I really needed to take a piss.
He grins and shakes off his member and tucks it back in.
You shouldn't do that in front of the girls.
Yeah, you shouldn't pee into dark, evil pits, no matter what.
Feel free to piss down the hole as well.
He grins at us.
No, thanks.
You sick fuck.
Hehe, okay, let's move on then.
Now, to check the other passage...
This passage was hidden behind a fake wall. Myra discovered it. There are two locked doors ahead of us. Time to prove you know what you are doing, Aisha.
I'll do my best.
I'm sure you will.
What do you mean by that?
Oh, nothing.
We, errr, disarmed everything up to this point. From now, we'd better watch out for traps.
Point taken. I slow down our paces, and start searching actively for anything that is out of place.
No traps...but no keyhole either...This massive stone door features a life sized relief of a male human, probably a priest. He's clad in floating robes, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture. It almost looks like he's reaching for an embrace. The stone shines as if polished a hundred times.
Maybe I should embrace it? I give it a try.
I've tried that last time, Aisha. It didn't work either.
Though it always works when you hug me, my sweet.
Oh, Christiano! *She giggles.*
I wonder whats' the key to this..then I recall the reliefs by the altar...maybe...if I'm naked? I start to remove my armor.
Shameless girl.
Woohoo!
I feel somewhat embarrassed pressing my naked skin against the cold stone.
What are you doing?!
Trying to open that door.
Suddenly there's a click, and the door swings open. Christiano glances at the door, stroking his chin.
So you had to be naked. Interesting mechanism!
Perverts!
I don my leather armor as a zombie appears from behind the door way. Christiano steps forth and gave it a good swing from his morning star. I follow suit.
The dead stay dead this time.
An undead cleric...It's disturbing to find such a creature. MY order would have killed it, most surely.
Maybe they just couldn't get through this door.
I still cannot believe that you pressed your boobs against it!
I didn't invent that silly mechanism!
Christiano scratches his chin.
I do not believe a mere door would have been able to stop the knights of my order. No. I think something must have awakened the undead creature after they left...
I look around uneasily. This keeps getting better and better...
We'll probably learn the truth once we enter the lower levels, dear.
AA search of the room's trapped chest reveals a key.
It opens the other door across the room. I carefully disable a trap before descending deeper through the trapdoor.
It's dark down here...Dark, and too quiet. I don't like this place at all.
Me neither.
There are no tracks in the dust on the floor. We must be the first in decades! Meaning, the chalice is still down here!
This place's loaded with traps, Christiano may be a capable fighter, but I doubt both of them can survive this place for long without my help...
Carefully, I disarm every trap on our path. I'm fumbling around with the traps when I hear Christiano and Myra whispering behind my back...
So what do you think of her, sweetie?
Not sure. She seems reliable enough that she won't run off with our things in the middle of the night. I hope so anyway.
Yes, I think you are right.. Her tits are big! And the way they bounce...
He snickers, Myra snorts.
Aww, you have no reason to be jealous, honey. I wouldn't trade you for a million of her kind.
I know, dear.
Wonder if she likes it up her butt.
He snickers again.
Christiano! That is disgusting!
I pretend I haven't heard a thing and finished disarming every trap in our path.
I'm finished, let's go.
Hm. Three doors... I start with the one on the right.
This room's a mess!
Looks like a battlefield..
Indeed. But I see no corpses, no bones, nothing...
Here's one of them. An undead cleric. We dispatch it with little trouble.
More undead...
You were right, dear. Something must have awakened them. Recently.
So it's up to us to lay them to rest.
And we shall do exactly that!
He grabs his weapon with grim determination. Behind the passage, lies a bedroom.
Looks like we found the private quarters of that ghoul! Quite the decoration!
Yes, indeed.
Cages and torture equipment. Ugh...
This place is evil.
Perhaps, but did you see how thick that door is we just passed through? I bet if we locked it, we'd be safe to rest!
And if we lose that bet, who wins, my dear?
Come on sweetie. We need to recover. Let's set up camp.
Christiano quickly builds a campfire using the wooden debris from the previous hall. Soon, the flames burn merrily in the corner of the room.
I walked over, and casually picked the lock on a chest, feeling very happy with the click I've heard. I peered inside, a bow, some armor..and a few..
What's inside?
He shoves me aside, peering into the chest. Geez.
A bow, some armor, and a few potions.
Useless. And that armor seems to be some kind of blackish chain mail. Girls' armor by the looks of it.
Don't expect me to put that evil thing on!
You don't want any of them?
Not me, no.
Feel free to take what you want, Aisha.
I won't say anything to that. I identify the items inside with my spell.
Ooh, with a little help from Bull strength, this should be a more effective ranged weapon than my Light Crossbow.
This is better than what I'm wearing now. Guess I'll put it on...
Hey, that armor actually looks nice.
Christiano looks me up and down, nodding in approval.
Hmm, you think so?
Absolutely!
Myra frowns at me but doesn't say anything. Christiano chuckles and gives me a pat on my behind.
Hey!
Sorry, couldn't resist. You look really cute in this.
He grins, studying my bottom.
Christiano, you're staring.
Hehe, sorry.
*She clears her throat.* The origin of this armor is rather questionable. Not to mention its design.
I don't see anything wrong with the design.
Yeah, right.
Myra rolls her eyes.
I'm getting tired. Let's stay here and rest for a while.
I'm very exhausted as well.
Resting it is, then. Who stands watch first?
You mean one of us has to be on watch all the time?
Yes, you never know what might happen in a place like this.
Alright.
I'm dead tired. Let me lay down for a while now, I'll take the second watch.
So first or third for me?
I'm not very tired yet. Go to sleep, Aisha. We'll wake you for your turn.
I crawl into my sleeping bag. It doesn't take very long until I drift off to sleep. Faint noises wake me, somebody's whispering. I strain my ears to listen.
Oh baby, you were great again!
Myra giggles. Think they are kissing. Grr! So much for standing guard!
Think I could get some more, sweetie?
She giggles again.
You still have that in you, after today's fighting?
Oh yes! I'm addicted, as you know!
Well, let's see, dear. I need to rest some to get back my spells.
Okay, sweetie.
They kiss again, and then there's only silence and soft breathing.