The Devil's Dreams, Chapter Five

[Ail]

Eustace tries to follow Alain as well as he can. His immediate objective is to find Theophile. If he can see him, he will discharge both rays at once.

Does he notice Toddlestone falling?

[ewancummins]

Not only does Eustace notice Toddlestone fall, he sees Everline collapse to the cavern floor!

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio can feel the blood running down his greaves, and just as he readies his spear to strike back, he sees Everline collapse. Though too weak to curse, his mind races with the worst Luktar vulgarities as he tries to rush to her side and chant a healing prayer.

[Ail]

please, suspend Eustace's action (see OOC thread)

[ewancummins]

Dorgio's desperate prayer wrestles Everline from Death's reaching grasp. The girl gasps, and sits up.

[ewancummins]

Benn rushes forward to Join Alain and Rotwang, dodging past the monsters that close in on his position. Several monsters give chase.

Dorgio is struck from behind, and staggers forward from the force of the blow.

Multiple rat-demons rapidly converge on Eustace, cutting the monk off from the rest of the party! The whole southern end of the cavern is now packed with the foul creatures. The frenzied monsters tear the monk's robes to shreds, and painfully scratch his flesh- but he somehow survives - for now.

Eustace, trapped by the ghastly horde, blurts out a desperate prayer for speed.

Eustace's allies suddenly find themselves moving with preternatural speed! Toddlestone splashes through the pool and across the cavern with amazing alacrity.

Alain and Zandor enter the darkened tunnel mouth...

[ewancummins]

Eutsace hastily lights a firepot and tosses it into the mass of monsters in the stream-tunnel. Some of the demons are splashed with fire and burned. The creatures retreat a dozen more more feat, hissing in irritation. They still block the stream-tunnel further back. The monk remains surrounded, cut off from his comrades, and vastly outnumbered.

[ewancummins]

Thom-

Strange hues dance before your eyes. The cavern spins round madly. The horrid noises made by the rat demons grow louder and more shrill. The din rises and blends into an otherworldly piping music. The ground beneath your feet feels like a bowl of shifting custard.A queer sensation of lightness comes over you.

[ewancummins]

in the pool-cavern
With the fungoid held close in her arms, Everline rushes to catch up with Alain and Zandor. She can feel the Circle's presence in her mind, a pulsating psychic mass somewhere beyond the darkened tunnel mouth.

Alain is the first through the darkened passage, with Zandor at his back.


...

....a moment later, through the dark, cold tunnel

Alain rushes into the smaller cavern beyond the tunnel entrance, eyes wide open for danger. His glowing coin-necklace provides ample light, and he takes in the scene in an instant. The cloaked man from the road, his face covered in a pale yellow mask, holds a knife to Lady Weathermay's white neck. The woman has been stripped of adventuring gear, and wears only the dress she had on the day before, now much stained and torn. She looks confused or dazed. The man from the road edges backward, towards a dirty curtain that hangs from ceiling to floor on the rear wall of the cavern. A few feet away from the masked man and his hostage, two of the brutish minions hold Gauderic in their claws. The young man struggles but is unable to break free. He cries out-

''No, wait, no!"

Zandor takes a step towards the masked man, his rapier at the ready. The musician hestitates. He flicks his eyes from Alain back to the man with the knife.

Everline bursts into the cavern, almost colliding with Alain. She has just a second to look over the scene, before she falls to the floor, overcome with weakness. The pulpy fungoid clings to her body.

[ewancummins]

The small cavern

Alain grabs the fungoid, and hurls it at the masked man's head!

The villain is ready for an attack, though. He suddenly releases Gennifer and jumps behind the curtain. The fungoid misses him by inches, and becomes entangled in the drapery. Alain has a just a very brief glimpse of his enemy ducking into a tunnel behind the curtain, before the cloth falls back in place to block his view of the fugitive. Alain hears a sharp crack, like a clay pot or glass jar being shattered. A light flares through a hole in the curtain.

The Weathermay girl stumbles forward, dazed and confused.

Zandor lunges towards one of the monsters holding Gauderic.
His sword scrapes along its side- a flesh wound. The monsters fling Gauderic to the floor and set upon Zandor and Alain! One moves to grab Zandor's sword arm, but the minstrel runs it through. The other leaps towards Alain with its clawed hands outstretched, but he dodges it.

Toddlestone enters, grabs Gennifer, and pulls her back into the tunnel connecting this cavern with the larger cavern. Rotwang does the same with Everline.

[ewancummins]

the big cavern/pool-cavern

Benn rasps out a prayer for rain. Sheets of pure water fall roaring from the ceiling. The demons near Eustace scream and thrash in the downpour. They are melting away in clouds of thick vapour!

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain moves to pull the curtain down so as to get a good look inside, but he will move to the side the curtain to for stall any attacks the villain may have readied in response to him pulling the curtain down to take a look inside . He will try to secure any possible "cure" if the villain has fled like a coward .

[ewancummins]

Alain smells smoke and feels cold as he grabs the curtain.
The cloth falls. The dark tunnel beyond is choked with rapidly growing brown mold, and shrinking pools of liquid fire!

Alain's fingers are numb from the sudden blast of cold!

[ewancummins]

Zandor dispatches the lantern-eyed monster with two quick thrusts.

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain starts looking around the room for "cures" and possible ways to put out the fire from range in the room with the rapidly growing mold .