Adventure Tales The Ring...Part 2

From Redwall MUCK Wiki


Here our ...mostly...heroic party ventures forth to recover a lost family heirloom. Will they survive their encounter with the bandits?

Players are Rorgan the sea otter, Lee the otter, Raziel the wildcat, and Vannon (me) the fox. All npcs were played by me.

The party set out early the next morning, using the map the stoat gave them as a guide. The treck is long, and take them through some of the lesser traveled back roads of Mossflower. Around noon they reach Beggars Pass, a road winding through a small valley, covered in thick pine trees. There is no sound other than the wind and pattering of a light rain. The clouds above obscure the sky from view, giving the day a cold, bleak, and foreboding atmosphere. If the bandits are still in the area, they shouldn't be 'too' far away.

Raziel treads along the soggy earth, his paws leaving prints in the dirt road as he walks. The wildcat wears his cloak, the black hood up, though the grey cast of the sky makes his fur blend right in. "Well...I assume this is the place. It's a good sign that we haven't been filled with arrows yet..."

Lee follows quietly, not really caring one way or the other about the rain. He watches the forest intently, breaking his silence after awhile. "I tell ye wot, I never heard no tell o' no "Bandit's Road" or wotnot."

Rorgan shakes his head, following along with his bow out and an arrow on the string. "Aye, neither have I. I guess I learn new locations all the time." He says, scanning the landscape.

Just up the road a little ways a grey furred fox materializes out of the bushes after a brief trek of scouting ahead. Vannon is fairing better from his injuries but still walks with a limp. Unable to replace his clothes yet the fox's vest hangs unbuttoned and with several tears in it. The only article of clothing that isn't in need of repair is his hat. "Hey guys, there is a camp off to the side of the road just a little ways ahead. I don't see any beasts but...best to come prepaired yah?"

Raziel nods, and draws his sword with his right paw, still holding his spear with his left. This, apparently, qualifies as 'prepared'. "Hopefully, they're not too far. But knowing bandits and their love of ambushes, I'm sure they're close..."

Lee draws his sword. "I would wager they be all around us by now..."

Rorgan draws his arrow back a bit more. "Aye, I would bet they're surrounding us, but how t' draw them out.." He narrows his eyes and looks around, bring his bow up to the ready so he is able to shoot an arrow within a split second if he needs to.

The fox grins, "Well, first we need to get to the camp. One step at a time right?" Vannon gestures for the party to follow. He leads them off through the bushes until they come across an encampment set up just below the road way, hidden from the view of any travelers by a set of thick trees. Below the camp a small creek lays frozen over. Off a little ways is a small cave dug into the side of the valley, also below the road way. It seems large enough to accommodate two beasts at a time. The camp its self is a collection of sleeping bags, chests, boxs, and supplies, all thrown about and torn apart. A cooking pot lays turned over near a smoldering fire pit, its stew spilled out over the ground.

Raziel squints as he approaches, using the tip of his spear to prod the various scattered remains of the camp. "...I've never known bandits to destroy /this much/ of their own property, just to throw off a mark. Somebeast may have gotten here first." The wildcat's pale eyes scan the area over, looking for any sign of the bandits - or tracks from their attackers, if there are any.

Lee looks over the remains. "Somethin' aint right here..."

Rorgan shakes his head. "Aye, yore right, but where could they have gone? Mayhaps they moved camp after ambushin' the stoat." He cautiously walks through the remains, prodding at random supplies and things with his footpaw. "But why destroy their things....?"

Vannon crouches low over the camp fire. He picks up a paw full of dirt and lets it slid through his fingers, "They didn't." There are indeed tracks of clawed foot paws leading away from the campsite towards the cave. Over the noise of the wind it is just possible to make sounds coming from the cave entrance. It's hard to place entirely what the sound is, but its rhythmic, like drums.

Raziel frowns as he follows the tracks, his ears flitting to focus on the sound. "In here." The striped feline stands outside the entrance, sword and spear at the ready. "Oh, good. Now we have to hunt down bandits from something even worse..."

The entrance to the cave is narrow at first but soon widens out. Even in the poorly lit space it is apparent that the cave turns from Earth to beast placed rocks down the line, going from a circular shape to square, if a bit lop sided. The floor becomes a miss match of broken cobble stones and fallen debris, the walls are made with white brick stone as is the ceiling.

Lee keeps his sword at the ready, watching the cave closely. "I 'ave a bad feelin' 'bout this..."

Rorgan sets himself up a good distance from the entrance to the cave, positioning himself so that nobeast is blocking his line of sight. "Be ready mates. This doesn't look good at all..."

Vannon leaps into the hole, drawing out his bow. The archer fox is regretting not being able to replace the arrows he lost at the Fang and Claw yet. In total he has, maybe 19 arrows to launch. "Lovely...just so you know, I charge double if I get die." The fox continues inward. As the party moves deeper into the earth the air becomes warmer. The path way continues in various states of disrepair, sometimes branching off to the side. It is impossible to suspect that there something lives down here but the occasional lit torch on the wall gives evidence that something does, in fact live here. As they move deeper the sound increases in volume. It is most certainly drum beat aided by what appears to be the noises of some beast or large groups of beasts. Howling, hissing, and chanting.

The sound of drums, chanting, and bestial howling comes to a crescendo as the party nears their destination. Eventually the wall to the left breaks way, literally, into a large spacious cavern. It is obviously beast made but has suffered from the march of time. A large spacious room, perhaps the hall of a keep at one point, lays before them, tilted to the side, there is a large crevase with no bottom at the far end spreading through the earth and the room. Part of the floor at the other end has caved in, forming a large pit with spikes set around it to keep something in. Holes have been carved into the walls for living quarters, and door ways. The far wall is decorated with loot, gold pieces, and various furature all surrounding a very large thrown.

On the thrown sits the biggest, fattest red scaled lizard one has ever seen. The morbidly obese lizard is dressed in a fox pelt cape, in one paw he has a gold scepter, on the other paw he wears the ring the squirrel hired the party to retrieve. Before him are about, a hundred or so lizards of varying shapes, sizes and colors, all wearing very tribal gear, lion cloths, bone armor, not one carries a weapon made of anything but stone. Between them there is a group of four beasts, possibly the bandits, a fox, two weasels, and a ferret. The are on their knees until a muscular green lizard forces the fox toward the pit. "No! Please!" the vulpine's terrified cries can be heard from here.

Raziel stares as they approach the large cavern, his slit-pupiled eyes gleaming in the relative darkness. "This...is bad," he whispers, as he clutches his spear tightly. "How are we supposed to fight that many lizards?" They had best decide soon, before the fox meets a grizzly fate...

Lee glances around. "Oh my..." he whispers. "We 'ave ta get outta here, an' come back with help..." He regrets coming now, if he dies, what will his wife do?

Rorgan narrows his eyes. "Mayhaps I should stop that lizard before he tosses the fox.." He begins drawing his arrow back further, waiting for somebeast to tell him whether he should shoot the lizard.

In the next moment the fox is tossed into the pit. He lands witha startled gasp and quickly gets back to his feet, "No! no no no nonononononon!" He yipes in fear as he tries to climb the sides of the pit but the walls are just too tall and too steep. Breathing heavily the red furred vulpine turns around as dozens, then hundreds of scorpions come pouring out of every crevasse in the pit. They are large, each the size of a beasts head, and jet black. Vannon turns away as the fox makes one final, loud scream which is quickly drowned out by the roar of a hundred plus lizards shouting in delight.

Lee turns away. "Oh Lord...'ow ghastly. We need ta kill that lizard, any ideas?"

Raziel growls, and weighs his options. "We get the ring, or we get nothing. Four of us, a hundred of them. That's twenty-five each. It can be done, right?" The wildcat...really doesn't wait for a response. He's already trying to sneak closer to the lizards while they are distracted by the spectacle...

Rorgan coughs a bit loudly, still kneeling with his bow ready. "I need a target, but I'm willin' t' take him out right now." However, he sighs when he notices the wildcat creeping forward while he is talking.

Lee frowns. "I dont like those odds, meself."

Vannon snorks, "Seriously? You guys want to go down there? No amount of gold is worth this trouble, even the pile...just...sitting...down there." the fox looks torn, having to leave that much gold behind, he shakes his head, the drop down to the room is about fifty feet, the lizard 'king' is on the opposite side of the room from their vantage point, down the hall though there does appear to be some stairs. Vannon watches as one of the weasels is lined up for a grizzly execution, "Sorry guys but this is too deep. We need to cut and run while we still can and..." his ears twitch to the sound of foot claws against stone coming from the hallway they came from, "Blast it..."

Raziel is almost down the stairs by now, and by now, his blood is pumping. All he has to do is carve a path into the lizards while they're distracted, and hope the others don't abandon him. Shouldn't be too hard, right? They're just lizards. He crouches right behind the assembled lizards, sticking to the shadows, adjusting his grip on his weapons...

Rorgan shakes his head. "Fine, I'll do this myself." He lets the arrow fly, watching the shaft shoot through the air into the throat of the lizard standing behind the weasel. He smiles to himself as the shaft hits its mark. Direct hit....

The room goes dead silent. All eyes stare in shock as the lizard staggers into the pit before him. Then all heads turn towards the parties vantage point. A low, deep throat-ed growl of anger starts to fill the air. The fattened lizard in the thrown stands up, pointing a meaty claw at the otter while shouting in a language that you do not know. As one large mass the lizards converge on the stair way and the party, they also begin to climb the wall in an effort to reach them, and they climb very well. "I hate you so much right now." Vannon says to Rorgan as he lets loose an arrow into the crowd.

Rorgan's eyes widen. "Oh stars..." He mutters, going into a loop of shooting arrow after arrow into the crowd of lizard, his arrows hitting their mark in various areas on the upper bodies of the lizards. He yells to Raziel, "Help us here!"

Vannon shouts, "Rorgan!" as a small group of lizards comes down the hall. One of them takes an arrow to the chest from the fox but the other manages to tackle Rorgan. Not a good idea in retrospect. Both go flying over the edge of the cliff and land with a loud CRACK on the stone floor.

The otter simply lays on the ground under the lizard, his eyes closed and with no visible signs of breathing...

Raziel stares. He didn't expect that a reaction like that. Luckily, most of the lizards are too focused on the otter and the fox to notice the cat in the shadows. Which suits him just fine. The wildcat leaps into action, cleaving through numbers of lizards with relative ease. Since he's much taller than most, his spear has a longer reach than theirs - and it would be hard to keep up with the cat anyway, spinning his spear like a quarterstaff and swinging his sword at the same time. An odd style, to be sure, but it seems to work for him. He is, however, quite alarmed when he sees his companions fall from the overhang. "Oh...dear."

Lee remains in the shadows as well, he draws his bow, and notches an arrow, trying to aim for the King, but unfortunately another lizard gets in the way, keeling over with an "Eep!" when Lee's arrow hits him.

The archer fox growls as he launches arrow after arrow into the mass of lizards below. He then turns his attention to the hall before them, the stair well, where a drove of lizards is coming after them. "I...hate...each...and...every last...one of you." He says coldly, launching an arrow after every pause. There are just...so...many. And Vannon is running low on arrows. Raziels efforts do have some added benefit though. A sizable group of lizards turn to face him...and the prisoners! The bandits are engaged in a fight for their lives melee with the lizards around them.

After the initial shock of having a dual-wielding wildcat dropped into their mix, the lizards are actually starting to put of a fight, through sheer numbers. Raziel is holding his own, but... "Some assistance would be nice!" He growls as he kicks a lizard in the chest, sweeping the beast entirely off his feet.

Lee frowned. He ignored the brawl below him for now, notching another arrow and aims for the king. He lets the arrow fly, and...

In blind rage the lizard king is shouting and yelling at his people, where to go, who too attack. His orders are cut short as the arrow pierces his chest. The lizard clutches at the arrow potruding from his chest. The wound isn't a fatal place to be shot, stumbling backwards into the pit out of shock prove much more lethal though. The lizard king makes a series of howls and terrified yelps as the scorpions ignore their previous catch, swarming around, and on top of him...

The bandits don't fair so well in their fight, unarmed, and out numbered. They are quickly swarmed by the lizards around them. One weasel simply dissapears under the mass of enemy claws, teeth, and stone work weapons. The other weasel makes an attempt to flee with the ferret but is tripped and pulled back into his pursuers. "No Mercy! don't leave meeeee!" The ferret Mercy though hardly gives the weasel as second glance as she make a bead line for the crevasse, really the only place left to run too. Up top Vannon reaches for an arrow and cringes when he grabs thin air. "Lee...I'll take back everything I have ever said about you if you still have arrows on you." He says, getting his bow ready to club the next lizard coming up the stairs.

Miraculously, Raziel is notices the lizard king fall amid all the confusion, and starts beating, slashing, and spearing his way over there. He's not leaving without the ring. He runs as much as he fights, keeping the lizards from piling up on him, wincing as their stone weapons chip and leave dents in the metal plates on his arms and legs. But...the scorpions will be problematic. He'll cross that bridge when he finds it...

Lee begins notches yet another arrow. "Raz, I can't hold 'em off forever!"

As more and more lizards realize their fearless leader is missing, and once they realize that he won't be coming back, the lizards begin to lose some of their coherence. Those around Raziel still attack but much more hesitantly than before after watching him slaughter his way towards the pit. As Vannon clubs his second lizard, he sees that the lizards coming up the walls and up the stair way have lessened. Many of their enemies are starting to dart back into the safety of their homes. The situation is still...bleak at best, but the breathing room is noted and appreciated.

Lee takes the chance to launch a couple more arrows, sending two more lizards to the Scorpion pit.

Raziel keeps fighting tooth and claw - sometimes literally - as he approaches the pit. Still, he has to find /some/ way to distract the scorpions. As he watches two more take arrows, however, an idea strikes him. "Actually...that's a great idea." The wildcat swings his spear in a broad arc, knocking a couple more lizards into the pit as well, giving the scorpions something to swarm other than the king. Now, he just has to figure out how to get the ring, with minions still attacking him...

Uptop the fox swings his bow again like a club, CRACK. He stares in shock as his bow snaps in half over the head of some lizard. There are ten, maybe twelve coming up the stairs, another six coming down the hall way they came from. "Time to go Lee." The fox yelps to the otter before he tackles one of the many lizarads coming up the wall before them. The lizard makes a paniced and startled cry as Vannon uses him to shield himself from the fall he is about to recieve. The fox rolls off the enemy as they touch ground. Again, not the smartest idea to jump fifty feet to his possible death, he is certainly feeling the pain of every wound he has recieved from the Fang and Claw up till now as he lands.

Lee nods. He calls out. "Raz, I suggest ye come on!"

Raziel growls, "I AM WORKING ON IT!" The wildcat has an idea - but it's not excellent. He can drop down into the pit, snag the ring, and use his spear to pole-vault back out...probably. It'll be risky, to say the least.

Lee begins to back his way to the cave, still shooting at lizards. "Lissen, y' two, I be leavin', I gotta wife!"

Getting into the pit (and landing on his feet) is easy for the wildcat. Grabbing the ring off of the already fat lizard's scorpion-sting swollen hand...slightly more challenging. Getting back out while scorpions begin swarming around you, and irritable lizards crowd the edge of the pit...not recommended under any circumstances. But, the combination of mortal danger, catlike agility, and creative spear-usage is enough to launch Raziel out of the pit, and send him careening into the lizards at the edge, knocking all involved prone. "OW."

Jumping from the ledge is turning out to be a very, very poor decision for Vannon. He managed to roll to his feet somehow, and managed to not break every bone in his body, "I...I can't believe that worked!" The fox shouts. Then realizes he has landed in a group of angry, hostile, lizards...unarmed, and separated from his friends. "Crud." He says as he dodges out of the way of a lizard trying to jump on him. "RAZ!" the fox shouts when he backs himself into a corner next to His prone sea otter companion. There are ten maybe more lizards surrounding him and about as many converging on the wild cat. They all hesitate to attack, not wanting to be the first to be slain by these horrible death dealing monsters.

Lee starts to run low on arrows, much to his chagrin. "I won't be able ta keep this ledge to the cave free of lizards for much longer!"

Raziel knows better than to hesitate. Before he even gets up, he throws his spear at the lizards, and rolls to his feet, brandishing his sword. The cat moves in a flurry of steel and claws through the attacking lizards, retrieving his spear as he sprints back over to Vannon. When it becomes clear that he won't make it in time, he throws his spear once more; at the lizard pursuing the fox.

Lee is still backing his way slowly to the cave. He notches his very last arrow, and waits to fire.

The lizard that takes the first step towards Vannon is, surprisingly, not killed by Vannon. He collapses from the spear protruding from his middle, giving time for the fox to pick up the ax of some fallen lizard warrior. There are a lot of fallen warriors here in this corner. And a lot more still alive. As one the lizards descend upon the fox. He can see it now, the Vannon family curse turned out to be true after all. He really is going to be torn apart and eaten by some kind of monster. At the last moment a loud horn blast echoes through out the caverns, making the very walls shake. The lizards look up to the noise and back away from the fox, the wildcat and the otter. The stand there, glaring at them, but part to allow another lizard, red scaled like the chief, but skinnier, and more muscle, approaches the the wildcat.

Lee frowns. He considers making a break for it.

Raziel has his bastard sword raised in mid-swing when the chaos suddenly stops. The striped feline lowers his arm - but not his guard. "Who are you?"

Lee keeps his arrow trained on the new lizard.

The lizard looks very much like the previous lizard leader. He even shares some of his facial features. Pointing to the pit he speaks with surprisingly fluency. "He was my brother..." The lizard nods, "Now I am chief. Unlike my brother, I actually took time to learn your wood-land-ar speak." The new chief growls deeply, "Why are you attacking my people?"

Lee considers shooting the new chief.

Raziel growls right back. "Well, you seemed to be having a great deal of fun torturing those beasts - even if they were bandits. Furthermore, they, and by extension, /you/, took something that we were sent to return to its rightful owner." The wildcat casually strolls over to the dead lizard holding his spear, and plucks it out.

Over in the corner, not too far away Vannon gulps, "L-let's not upset the good lizard, shall we? Let's just take the ring and go." The newly ellected lizard chieftan tilts his head to the side, blinking surprise, "Ring? You ...did all ...this...for a RING?" There is brief pause as the lizard reguards them all as if mad beasts.

The lizard's eye twitches. These four beasts, came down here, slaughtered countless members of his people, killed their chief, not for honor, glory or even saving the bandits. He looks about the floor strewn with the fallen warriors of his tribe. All this...for a RING. "Go...go now...do NOT return." The lizard shouts something in his own language. The lizards exchange disbelieving glances with each other but after a tense moment, make an opening through their ranks for these crazy beasts to leave.

Lee was already backing out of the cave.

Raziel looks at the chieftain blankly. "Well...yes." The wildcat acts as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Perhaps he has a few screws loose... Tossing the ring up into the air and catching it again with his paw, the feline begins climbing up the path, motioning for Vannon to follow.

More like leaving Vannon to carry their fallen sea otter comrade. Vannon bends down to one knee, "Blast it all, Rorgan's DEAD!" The fox takes off his hat in respect, "I'm sorry lad, you truly were a great warrior and...wait..." He leans closer, "Nope my bad. He's breathing." Putting his hat back on the fox scoops up the otter in his arms, placing him over one shoulder. "Er, a little help Raz?" he says as he walks. The ferret Mercy, and only surviving bandit joins the wildcat by his side. She looks...shaken to say the least. Up top the lizards eye Lee angrily but do not follow him.

Raziel blinks at Vannon. "Oh. Yes. Of course." He'd momentarily forgotten about the otters amid all the fighting and /near death/. The wildcat helps pick Rorgan up, and carries him out with Vannon, keeping a silvery eye on Mercy as they go. She is a bandit, after all...

Lee backs out, keeping his arrow drawn.

The lizards follow the party for several passage ways until they simply vanish from around them. The ferret chitters nervously, always keeping an eye out behind them. The lizards seem to be good on their word though. They do not attack them again. By the time the beasts reach the outside world, darkness has fallen, embracing the world in a cold, winter chill. Mercy finely breaths a sigh of relief, "Thanks guys...if not for you I would be bug chow by now...or worse!"

Lee frowns. "Yer greed got ye in the mess in the first place!"

The feline growls, "Your thanks are unwanted. You and your former bandit friends are the only reason we're out here!"

Vannon sets the sea otter down. He rubs at the wound to his leg and cringes. The fox is sore all over and covered in many different cuts, bruises, and bite marks, "Come to think of it. This ferret here IS the cause of all our problems." The fox says angrily. Mercy takes a step back from her 'rescuers'. "N-now wait a moment. That wasn't my fault. That was Jennings. He was the one who told us to camp here. He was the one who had us rob those farms down south. That was all his doing, not mine!" The fox tilts his head to the side, "Was Jennings the fox who got eaten by the bugs, or the weasels you left behind to die? Cause either way...they are all dead. So guess who gets to hold the bag for all the problems you caused us..."

Lee nods, his arrow still notched. "Ye are, me beauty."

Raziel can see where this is going...and he doesn't like it. He sets Rorgan down, and walks up to the ferret, intentionally getting in the way of Lee's shot. "Leave. Now. And so help me, if you ever steal a /bread crumb/ in the rest of your miserable days, I will hunt you down myself. Go."

The ferret nods, with out another word she darts into and through the bushes, heading north along the old road. Vannon only chuckles and shakes his head, "I would have took her to the guards for a bounty but...I guess it's for the best." The fox sighs, "Rorgan doesn't look so good. Shouldn't he have woke up by now?"

Lee frowns, finally lowering his bow. "Now why did ye do that? I was gonna threaten 'er for info."

Raziel turns back around his, expression neutral. "She was an underling. The only one that knew anything useful was Jennings, and he's quite dead now." The feline strides over to Rorgan, and takes a look. "He probably /should/ be awake by now...but I don't know anything about an injury like this. Cuts and stabs are about the extent of my knowledge, and that's just from watching other beasts work."

The fox casts his head into the air and whines, "Ah man, I really don't want to carry him all the way back to Redwall." The fox rubs his eyes, "Fine, I'll grab his feet this time, who wants the shoulders?"

Lee says, "I'll 'elp where I can."

Raziel shrugs. "I carried you, didn't I, Vannon?" The wildcat grabs the unconscious otter's shoulders without much trouble. "I'm starting to feel more like a pack mule than a cat..."

Epilogue...

Several hours have passed since Mercy left her 'rescuers' behind. Fools. How dare they threaten her like that? Her gang might be gone but it won't take long to replace them. Then she will make them pay. Make them ALL pay. The ferret is so preoccupied by her own thoughts that she fails to see the obstacle on the road and trips. As the ferret rubs her head the 'something' wraps itself around her legs and pulls her along into the woods with great force. The bandit ferret screams and kicks, leaving claw marks in the mud and dirt as she is pull off the side of the road and hoisted high into the air. Her eyes go wide when she spins around and sees that she is in fact being lifted up by the tail of the most unbelievably large snake. Broken arrows, old spear shafts, even bent metal swords stick out of the beasts green scaled back. The snake tilts its head to the side, regarding her a single blind eye. "Good evening..." Ageless hisses.

The ferret frantically flails her arms in the air, "W--wait! Wait! Stop! Stop!" she says until the snake isn't threatening to eat her anymore. He pauses, waiting for Mercy to continue, "Y-you don't want to eat me. I-if you spare me I can show you to where there is a whole nest of fat, tasty lizards." The snake ponders this, "Really?" the ferret nods, "Yes, hundreds of them!" Mercy says hopefully. Ageless nods, "Thankssssss you for the innnnfoooo." Then the snake opens his maw wipe below the ferret. "No wait! Wait! WAIT!" Ageless releases his grip on the ferrets leg...

Note from Dylan: This was a very fun scene to play in. Thank you to all the players who participated. Before I sign off, just a little info on the scene. No, Beggars pass and the lizard ruins don't physically exist, they were just made up for plot purposes.

We also employed the roll system here a few times, to see if Lee struck the lizard chief, to see if Raz made it through the scorpion pit, and one again to see if the New Lizard Chief let them go or continued attacking them.

Ageless also got to make a brief cameo simply to show that he is alive and doing well...ish. Why was there a snake out there in the middle of winter you ask? Cause I forgot to spoof the ferret making a plot point about it :D

Thank you for Reading

Poor Rorgan is going to have such a head ache when he wakes up...