VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 10:11:14 03/04/02 Mon
Author: Ravin and Marz
Subject: Going deeper underground
In reply to: Tristan 's message, "Horrors unspeakable" on 00:50:52 03/04/02 Mon

While Ravin's ears picked up the voices of the dead warning them to go back, his empathy picked up the terrors they had suffered in this place. Their torments became his. The agony he felt made it increasingly difficult to focus, and he found himself stumbling a few times. Isobel stayed at his side, steadying him when it was needed. Although he couldn't find the words to explain what he was experiencing at the moment, she seemed to sense his plight.

The thief gritted his teeth as he moved forward, trying to close himself off from the horror that engulfed him. His right hand tightened around the throwing knife he readied while the glowrod he held in his left shook slightly. Silently, Ravin cursed the abilities he was born with. He never asked for the visions and the empathy that nearly drove him insane at times. When they finally came upon the mutilated bodies of the dead, Ravin had to turn away from the grisly sight. Frantically, he begged the spirits of the deceased to leave him alone. He wanted to turn and run back up the stairs, but Marz insisted they move on.



Instead of being afraid of the voices that warned them to go back, Marz was aggravated because he didn't know how to shut the damn things up! Their panicked pleas were beginning to get on his nerves, making him swear under his breath. Thankfully, the ghostly voices ceased a little when they reached the bodies that hung everywhere.

Marz looked at the scene dispassionately since the deceased appeared to be members of the Sharm. Why should he give a shit about the deaths of such religious fanatics? No doubt, the bastards deserved the fate that had been handed out to them. Calmly, he walked over to the victim's valuables that were piled in a corner and filled a pocket with the coins he found. It was then that he noticed a tunnel leading to the east.

He returned to Tristan's side just as Rowan shouted out for the others to stop. Surprise crossed his face when his lover reached out to grip his hand tightly. "Since we made it this far, I think we should go all the way," Marz said, pointing out the tunnel to the rest of the group. He lowered his voice and spoke directly to Tristan then. "I'll understand if you want to stay behind."

After giving the dragon's hand a squeeze he released it then grabbed the glowrod from Jeremy's hand. "Those of you that want to go with me, follow along. The rest can return to the safety of the upper level." Marz withdrew his sword and moved forward, but was stopped by Ravin. The thief was unable to hide the pain in his eyes as he insisted upon taking the lead since he was better able to spot any traps that might be present.

Ravin focused his complete attention on the fairly wide tunnel before them. It appeared to slope downward, telling him that they would be descending deeper underground as they moved along. His eyes constantly panned the dirt walls, ceiling, and ground as he led the others forward. After about sixty yards, the group paused to peer down what appeared to be a passageway that branched off the tunnel on the left, but found themselves staring into a huge cavern instead that was lit by a purple fungi growing upon the walls. The massive area was littered with spiders of different sizes and shapes that were feeding on the corpses of more human bodies. After a moment it became clear that the huge cavern was a breeding ground for the creatures. Luckily, they were too preoccupied with their feasting to notice the intruders that watched them.

For once in his life, Ravin wished they had a mage present, who could annihilate the entire nest of spiders with a few large fireballs. He thought of Tristan and Saras then. The genie could command fire and the dragon was able to encompass a large area with his flame breath. Working together, they might be able to destroy the entire colony of spiders.

After whispering the suggestion to his comrades, Ravin turned away from the side cavern and moved further down the main tunnel. Eventually it opened into what looked like a small underground village; the entire area lit once again by the strange purple fungi growing on the walls. Stalagmites extended from the ground in a number of places, pointing up toward the ceiling that was over fifty feet high. A number of small wooden buildings had been erected around what looked like a hot spring, judging by the steam that rose from the water.

Ravin's jaw dropped when he saw a man walk out from one of the buildings and change into the shape of a large spider right before his eyes. He watched the creature make its way to the east where the ground steadily rose up to a hole that probably led out into the ruins above them. The thief blinked when he spotted more creatures step out from behind the distant stalagmites. They appeared to be half man-half spider, and wore sheathed swords across their bare chests.

Ravin's thoughts went back to the temple above them. Hadn't the sheikh said that it was a place of worship for shapeshifters? "I think we are looking upon the underground domain of a family of werespiders that can command normal spiders," the thief whispered. "Do we leave, and contend with them later since we'll no doubt run into them in the ruins, or should we try to destroy them here and now?"


Manspider Visual

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Forum timezone: GMT-6
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.