Ghosts of Gauntcliff Chapter Four

[ewancummins]

JUERGIN

"Gruz like gold, Yay!"

Juergin snatches the bottle after hopping up and grabbing at it a couple of times. Dark One's voice vibrates through the glass.

"Trapped. Corked like a spider. Be careful when you open it."

Juergin sees a cork stuck in the top of the bottle.

[steveflam]

"I can open the cork or smash the bottle, Dark One."

[steveflam]

JUERGIN

"Gruz like gold, Yay!"

"Gruz, but you have to help me with little boy and fat man, ok?"

[Adam]

Benn carefully proceeds down the stairs after the light, ignoring the sound of the trap door slamming behind him.

"In for a penny, in for a pound..." he mutters.

[ewancummins]

BENN


Benn makes his way down the stairs, the boards creaking and the whole frame swaying with his every motion.
When he at last reaches the floor, he sees that the guide moth has flown a little distance away, to the edge of an open pit about three feet in diameter.

[ewancummins]

JUERGIN

"Gruz like gold, Yay!"

"Gruz, but you have to help me with little boy and fat man, ok?"

'"Okay. You gots gold."


Dark One's voice sound hollow from within the bottle. "Uncork it or smash it--I'm not sure what you should do. You have to decide."

[Adam]

Benn makes his way to the edge of the pit, peering over carefully and ready to dive back if something attacks or springs out at him.

[steveflam]

"Well wish us all luck, my friend. Stand back, Gruz. I'm smashing the bottle."

Juergin smashes the bottle on the floor.

[ewancummins]

BENN

Benn makes his way to the edge of the pit, peering over carefully and ready to dive back if something attacks or springs out at him.

As Benn nears the pit edge, he notices a faint blue shimmer coming from within the hole. When he gets to the edge and looks down, he sees the bottom of the pit curves upward like an overturned bowl. It seems to be fashioned of blue glass, and Benn sees the distorted image of green fields and azure skies through the floor. If he looks up, he sees nothing but blackness and the vague outlines of high stone arches--nothing to cast this reflection.

[ewancummins]

JEURGIN

"Well wish us all luck, my friend. Stand back, Gruz. I'm smashing the bottle."

Juergin smashes the bottle on the floor.

All the creatures except Gruz, the Chief, and one other flee at the sound of breaking glass.

Dark One roils up out of the shards.

"Free. Thank you, Juergin."


Gruz whimpers.
"That bad thing, like the Dodds."

[steveflam]

"Your welcome, Dark One. Now Gruz, you promised to help me, I need help now. This is my friend Dark One. Dark One, this is Gruz my new friend. Dark One, Jonas and Benn are around here somewhere. I need to find Jonas first. Can you help? Oh my friend I am so happy to see you!"

[ewancummins]

"Your welcome, Dark One. Now Gruz, you promised to help me, I need help now. This is my friend Dark One. Dark One, this is Gruz my new friend. Dark One, Jonas and Benn are around here somewhere. I need to find Jonas first. Can you help? Oh my friend I am so happy to see you!"

Dark One crawls onto Juergin's right side. The itch immediately ceases. The shadow slides over the boy's shoulders like a protective mantle.


Gruz hops away from Juergin and Dark One. He looks down at the gold coins in his left hand. A string of drool falls from his open mouth onto the floor. He looks up again and says, "Okay, me help."

The Chief and the third little monster draw near.
The Chief says. ''I want gold too. Lots of gold. You promised!"

Dark One whispers in Juergin's ear. "I was trapped soon after I entered this place. The shadows are thick here, thicker than in your world. See how weakly shines your candle. Our enemy is a creature of gloom. Be wary, he could be hiding anyplace, waiting to strike at you."

[steveflam]

"Thank you, Gruz and Chief. Now. I need Jonas the little boy and his father the fat one. Can you lead me to where the fat one is?"

[ewancummins]

"Thank you, Gruz and Chief. Now. I need Jonas the little boy and his father the fat one. Can you lead me to where the fat one is?"

The Chief turns to the third monster, a scrawny beast in a robe of ratskins.
"Smezel, uh....Open the door. We go see Fat One now."

[Adam]

Benn looks back and forth between the moth and the blue dome. He reaches for something nearby, a pebble or something similar, and drops it down into the blue glass.