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-- 9/3/6526 --
Aristo was rudely awoke as something large and heavy started to
batter its way through the barricaded door. Rather irritated at being
roused from a nice, deep sleep in such a manner, Aristo was most annoyed
when a large, squat, four-legged creature pushed its way into the room.
Its body was covered by armored plates and it had a large, double-clubbed
tail and two long antennae.
It only took Ari a moment to recognize the creature, even though he
had only seen one of its kind before. The previous one had been locked in
a heavy, wooden cage, and Aristo had been generous of heart and freed it
from captivity, watching with joy as it rampaged through the city.
The creature was what was most popularly known as a rust monster.
Its name came from the fact that whatever ferrous metals it touched
instantly rusted and turned into power, which the rust monster then
joyfully devoured.
As such, Aristobulus cast a spell on this rust monster, surrounding
it in thick, clinging webs. Ari then gathered up a stout wooden beam and
proceeded to beat its brains in, for he did not want to lose his sword,
which had proved so useful to him, and he certainly did not want the
creature breaking free from the webs and following him around.
Aristo then made his way around the messy remains and the clinging
webs, stepping out of the room. With a simple little spell, Aristo set
the webs aflame, incinerating the remains of the rust monster.
Deciding to look for a safer haven free of acrid smoke, Aristo paused
to renew his protective wards after they had been weakened by the serpent-
bat thing which had ambushed him some hours ago. Since he had the time,
Aristo figured he might as well as check out what wonderful spells Egamus
had in his spellbook.
Tugging the spellbook from his pack, he opened it up and looked over
the pages by the light of the burning rust monster. But before he had the
chance to start to cast the spell which would enable him to understand the
magical writing in the book, Aristo noticed that there was something not
quite right about the magical writing therein.
Looking closer, Ari realized that this was not the spellbook of a
true mage, buy rather that of some mediocre charlatan spell-caster, one of
those known as illusionists. A wave of intense anger washed through
Aristo. He hurled the tome against the wall, then grabbed it up and
ripped its spine asunder, tossing the remains onto the still-burning rust
monster.
Aristo realized that this 'day' was starting off entirely on the
wrong foot. He figured he might as well give it another try. Turning to
the other storage room, Aristo barricaded himself in there and went back
to sleep for an indeterminable length of time.
Exiting the storage chamber after he was feeling in better spirits,
Aristo ignored the incinerated remains of the rust monster and the book of
spells. He continued down a different passage, pausing at the first door
on his left. He leaned close to the door, listening to see if anything
exciting was happening on the other side. He could hear low voices,
although they were too low for him to make out what they were saying, or
even their language.
Examining the heavy lock set in the door, Aristo figured it would be
easy enough to pick the lock and have a quick peek at whoever was on the
other side. It was but a moment's work to convince the lock to open for
him. When he pushed on the door, it moved a bit, then stopped, setting
off a rattling of what sounded like pots and pans falling off of a shelf,
for an instant reminding Aristo of a few things he had done when he was a
couple centuries younger.
Since it was rather obvious that whoever was on the other side of the
door would likely know he was there, Aristo figured he might as well step
inside and announce himself formally. Ari slammed his shoulder into the
door a couple of times, smashing it inwards with the sound of something
wooden breaking on the other side of the door.
Stepping into the room, Aristo found himself facing a pair of
ridiculously attired humans of amazing appearance. One was very tall and
quite thin, whilst the other was short and very obese, and both were
dressed in gaudy, pretentious clothing. They stood behind a large table
which had been turned on its side, presumably as a shield of sorts, and
their faces seemed a cross between livid rage and abject fear.
Only a small part of the room was readily visible to Aristo, since
most of it was closed off by a couple of ratty wall-hangings and there
were several other tables turned on their sides, along with some piles of
timber and other rubble, forming a barricade closing off a circle of space
around the door, and a large number of pots and pans which had been
scattered across the floor by his abrupt entrance. These two humans had
formed a functional fortress against anyone who barged in upon them as
Aristo had. The question was, could they defend it?
There were several loaded crossbows sitting on one table, pointing
towards the door, with a motley assortment of weapons scattered about at
odd locations on their barricade, as if they were ready to shoot, throw,
and swing anything at hand to defend themselves.
The obese man shouted, "Who are you? And what do you want?" while
his companion bellowed, "Begone elf, or we shall blast you with our mighty
magics!"
Aristo's pointed ears perked up at this. "You mean a magical duel?"
He cracked his knuckles eagerly. "I've been waiting for one of these for
decades. When do we start?"
The two humans exchanged uncertain glances, put off by Aristo's
enthusiasm to start blasting away with spells. The tall one added in an
even more insecure voice, "Begone, while you still have your life!"
Aristo noted their reluctance to carry out their threat. "What's the
matter? Don't you want to have a magical duel?" Yes, there definitely
was fear in their eyes. "Do you doubt your powers that much? There are
two of you and but one of me!"
"Since you claim to be a fellow mage, we will give you one last
chance to leave now while your life is still yours!" the tall one
bellowed, his voice starting to falter.
"Oh, come on," Aristo offered, almost pleading. "Where's your spunk?
Your lust to demonstrate your magical prowess?" Oh, well. He could see
it in their faces. They had no desire for a battle, preferring to use
threats to avoid a confrontation. So much for the chance to have a
magical duel.
Aristo heaved a vast, bored sigh. "How do you two manage to survive
in this place if you are so afraid of defending yourselves?"
"If you do not depart this instant, you shall be struck down by our
powers."
"Oh, save it," Aristo returned with some distaste. "It's more than
obvious that you two won't do anything against me unless I force you. And
your reticence to engage in a little sorcerous duel tells me you wouldn't
be worth the effort."
"Who are you?" demanded the short, fat fellow, not knowing just what
to make of this elf.
"I am known as Aristobulus the Dark," he said impressively. "And
yourselves?"
Seeing that Aristo was apparently not a danger to them, or at least
not for the moment, the taller chap said, "I am Akeereol the Great," to
which his companion added in a quavering voice, "And I... I am Q'karu the
Magnificent," trying his best to sound impressive, and failing miserably.
"And how did two powerful wizards like yourselves come to live in
these subterran chambers?" Aristo did not bother to hide his sarcasm.
"We were once adventurers," stated Akeereol, "but we have since
retired."
It took Aristo less than a second to figure out what that probably
meant. "By which you mean that the warriors you were with were slain, and
now you barricade yourselves in here, cowering in fear of your lives,
chasing off anyone who breaks in."
Q'karu started to say, "How did you kn..." but Akeereol cut him off
with a backhanded blow to his ample gut.
"We survive by wit and spell," the tall mage said by way of
correcting Aristo.
"Yah, right," Aristo muttered, half under his breath. Then an idea
occurred to him. "Care for an exchange?"
Akeereol was confused by this sudden change in the direction of the
conversation, which did not in the least surprise Aristo. "Exchange of
what?"
"Of spells. An exchange of spells." Ari tugged Jimar's massive
spellbook from his pack, glad of the reduced weight on his shoulder.
"I've got this extra spellbook I've been wanting to unload for a long
time. So, I figure you fellows, cunning chaps that you surely are, have
managed to collect a wide variety of spells. Therefore, I propose to
exchange this spellbook for some of your spells." Assuming they actually
had anything of worth.
The two mages literally started to drool as they caught sight of the
size of the spellbook. But then, what mage would not be more than happy
to lay his hands on some more spells?
Backhanding Q'karu again, Akeereol told him, "Get the scroll!"
Q'karu just stood there and succeeding in spitting out a barely audible,
"What?"
"The scroll. Go get it." Q'karu started to object, not wanting to
relinquish his spell of scrolls, but Akeereol glared down into his face
and hissed, "Get the scroll!"
Q'karu angrily moved off behind one of the wall-hangings as Akeereol
tried to remain calm, saying, "Assuming there are any spells of use to us
in that book, we will consider trading you a spell scroll for it."
Aristo was happy to hear it, considering he had expected that he
would have to copy the spells given to him out of one of these morons'
spellbooks. A scroll was more than he had expected. It would, after all,
make things easier, since they would only have to exchange Jimar's
spellbook for the scroll.
When Q'karu reappeared clutching a scroll to his chest, Aristo tossed
him the spellbook and snatched the scroll when the fat man let it drop to
grab the tome. Akeereol was quick to lay his grubby hands on the book,
and the two half-rate mages fell to a tugging match to see who would claim
this prize. Q'karu proved himself the stronger and more massive,
retaining his hold on the book.
Aristo, meanwhile, muttered a quick spell over the scroll which would
allow him to understand its contents. Looking around for a convenient
light-source, Aristo found that the room was lit by a glowing lantern.
The strange thing was that it was not burning anything, instead the lamp
itself was shedding magical light. Aristo got a kick out of the idea.
How apropos.
The scroll turned out to have two spells on it, one which would cause
whatever it was cast on to glow indefinitely, which explained the strange
lamp. The other spell would allow the recipient to crawl over walls and
ceilings like a spider, which appealed to Aristo. He could make use of
these spells, and already his mind was coming up with bizarre ideas on
just how he could make use of the latter spell.
Eventually, having managed to study the contents of the spellbook,
Akeereol looked at Aristo for a moment, possibly considering the chances
of overpowering this elf and seeing what other goodies he had on him. But
seeing the expectant half-grin on Aristo's face, he soon thought better of
it. Instead, the tall mage announced, "We find this trade to be
equitable."
"Agreed, then," said Aristo, only slightly disappointed when the two
humans did not reconsider having a magical duel. But only slightly, since
these two would not have been worthy opponents.
One on these days he was just going to have to find a worthy opponent
and have himself a wizardly duel. Ever since he had become an apprentice
mage, Aristo had dreamed of exchanging sorcerous blows with some powerful
opponent, and seeing how much destruction they could wreak in the process
of trying to slay one another. Ah, but to be able to throw balls of fire,
bolts of lightning, and other highly destructive spells. It appealed to
the pyromaniac in Aristo.
"Well, then," commented Ari, stuffing the scroll into his pack and
seeing how absorbed these two were in the spellbook, "I shall take my
leave of you, and allow you to continue your more scholarly pursuits."
They were barely aware of him as they poured over the contents of the
spellbook. Aristo did consider setting their room on fire, but then
decided against it, deciding that they would not be worth the effort.
Closing the door on his way out, Aristo continued on his way down the
passage, keeping his ears peeled in case the two boobs decided to try and
attack him from the rear. But the door remained close, and he went on his
way around a corner and into a room.
Kneeling next to a door in one wall, Aristo paused to listen for
anyone who might happen to be on the other side. However, his pointed
ears failed to detect any noises of consequence. The door led him into a
smaller room, boring and inconsequential.
Aristo headed down the passage exiting the opposite wall, but did not
get far when he heard footsteps approaching from ahead. Since someone or
something was coming from ahead, Ari ducked back into the small room in
order to give them a proper welcoming surprise, hiding against the wall
next to the passage, sword in hand.
Soon goblins started tromping past him. Never having much cared for
the annoying little floppy-footed buggers, Aristo cracked one of the first
ones on the back of the skull with his sword, just to get the runt's
attention. After all, it would not speak well of them if they failed to
observe his presence in this small room.
His attempt to get their attention worked admirably, for the one he
tapped on the back of the head fell on its face, its skull split wide
open. The others surrounded Aristo, who stood passively in the corner.
The goblins became slightly unnerved as he ignored their threats.
Aristo commented in their crude tongue, "I have greater things
calling for my attention than your insignificant presence. But if you
truly wish for me to slay you, I shall be more than glad to oblige."
The goblins stupidly sneered and attacked. Aristo avoided two of the
quicker ones and cut down the nearest pair, deftly twisting between their
falling bodies and slaying a third. As a fourth fell into a pool of his
own blood, the remaining pair got smart and backed off, retreating through
the door. Not wanting them to get away without something to remember him
by, Ari flipped his dagger, grasped it by the tip of the blade and sent it
spinning into the back of the slower goblin. The last goblin fled into
the dark, heartless passages.
Aristo recovered his dagger and daintily wiped the foul-smelling
goblin blood from his weapons before resuming his stroll down the long
passage from which the goblins had emerged. This brought him into a large
chamber, which another passage exiting through the opposite wall under a
stairway leading upwards. As such, this stairway failed to capture Ari's
attention, leading in the wrong direction as it did.
There was not much in this room except for the ever-present useless
litter and detritus casually strewn about the floor. This also was of no
consequence to Aristobulus, so he continued on his way down the passage
set in the other wall.
This passage, however, went on only for some dozen paces before
ending at a door. As Aristo approached the door, it burst open. He could
make out two or three figures silhouetted by torch-light as arrows shot
out of the door. One of these was deflected by his armor spell bare
inches from the tip of his nose.
Irritated at this unexpected event, Ari cast his web spell as another
arrow whistled past his head. The sticky mass of webs entrapped the
annoying figures ahead, only to instantly catch on fire as the highly
flammable webs formed around the torches held by the fools trapped within
it. There came cries and shouts of pain from the resulting cloud of
thick, black smoke. Aristo backed off as the webs burned and scorched
those trapped within their confines.
When the smoke started to clear, Aristo strolled forwards to get a
closer look at those who would have turned him into a (briefly) living
pin-cushion. He saw three figures, all badly charred from the wonderful
pyrotechnics, struggling to their feet and feebly gripping their blackened
weapons.
The two larger figures lashed out and narrowly missed Aristo, who was
surprised that they would still be willing to engage in battle,
considering the condition they were in after the fire. But never one to
disappoint those bent on getting themselves killed, Aristo returned the
favor, his sword and dagger flashing in the light of the last of the
burning webs.
Aristo's sword was deflected by the burnt but serviceable ringmail
worn by one fellow. The smaller of their number swung a charred
quarterstaff at Ari, only narrowly missing him. The quarterstaffer swung
again, this time hitting Ari's protective magicks which fragmented the
remains of the wooden staff. Ari dealt the fool a backhanded blow with
his sword before returning his attention to the burly fellow in the
ringmail armor.
This chap fell back before Aristo's assault, attempting to find an
opening in Ari's defenses. He eventually succeeded, dealing Aristo a
painful sword-slash which shattered the elf's protective wards. Highly
irritated, Aristo knocked the sword from his opponent's hand and slashed
open his throat, growing even more irritated as blood spurted onto his
tattered clothing.
Aristobulus then turned his attention to the last of the trio of
humanoids, who shortly lay dead on the floor with his fellows. With luck,
these three would now be happy, being rather dead. Obviously, if they had
not wanted to die, then they would not have bothered to attack Aristo in
the first place, now would they?
This led Aristo to the question that frequently crossed his mind,
that being that if there were so many violent folks wandering through
these tunnels, and they kept getting themselves into so many fights, how
was it that they could persist in keeping their numbers so large? By all
reason, they should have long ago been wiped out by the frequency with
which they were slain. This made no sense to Aristo.
Of course, it was possible that they mostly left one another alone
and were here for the sole purpose of attacked Aristobulus and getting in
his way. Now this thought was something Aristo could not help but agree
with, since to him there was too much logic in it to bother arguing with.
After all, was not the entire world against him? Everyone he could ever
remember meeting had wanted something or other from him: money,
assistance, his life, and so on. It just made too much sense.
Considering this, Aristo peered closer and the suicidal fools who had
attacked him for no apparent reason. Doing so, he saw that they were
humans. How offensive. It was just typical for humans to run around
attacking everyone they met. Were they not as war-like as orcs?
Shaking his head at the stupidity of the world, Aristo pulled a
bandage from his dwindling supply and bound the unpleasant wound in his
leg.
Looking around, he saw this angled room had two other doors. But as
for the room itself, there was not much left here due to the still-flaming
webs. Aristo stepped through the door in the more-or-less opposite wall,
only to find himself in a small room little more than ten feet on a side
and with no other visible exit. Curious, he made a quick search of the
room, but could discover not secret panels or concealed doors.
Figuring this was as good a place as any to rest, he took a couple of
the boards leaning against one wall and braced the door closed, checking
to make certain that it was secure so that no one would come along and
bother him. He did so hate having his sleep disturbed. This done, he lay
down and fell asleep, curled up in his enchanted cloak.