#orcs just have larger and sharper teeth or fangs

[thelien-art]

Just a small Maedhros sketch

[wizardsnwookies]

TPR071618 - In the Serpent’s Coils

Galumak opened the door to a the smell of death and the flicker of a dozen torches in a distant chamber. A hall stretched from the back of the small open room that stood before them into a larger chamber. A clocked figure prostrated themselves before the looming stone visage of a twelve foot serpents, it’s head was that of a woman with her eyes wide and mouth agape. Fangs hung from the top row of teeth and seemed to shine with a terrible life.

“Looks like we found our necromancer.” Raam brushed a hand against one of the three wooden slab tables lined up neatly in the center of the room. Although made of new wood, they appeared older due to a dark staining. A reddish brown hue that was unmistakably dried blood. 

Raam kept his voice low, eyes straight forward on the figure in the distance. “You two ready?”

No answer was offered. Instead, Galumak pulled out the shortsword he had pilfered from the assassin’s corpse. He could feel the magic pulsing through the hilt, traveling up his arm. Guiding him, allowing him to strike true. He strode boldly into the hall, followed by his companions. As they broke the threshold into the larger chamber, the figure slowly rose to his feet and turned to face them.

“You have proven quite bothersome.” The face underneath the cowl was shriveled and pale, though his eyes were bright with a youth that suggested age had nothing to do with his appearance. “Given your talents I am prepared to-”

“I’m done talking.” Raam thrust his palm forward and shot a blast of eldrich power that struck the necromacer square in the chest. Like a child’s doll being thrown against a wall, he flew backwards and struck the mighty stone alter before collapsing onto the floor with a pained groan. His eyes glared at them with a dark fury, a gravely voice muttered some magical spell and a shimmering veil appeared around him.

The air just in front of Raam’s face displaced as some dark object cut through it with tremendous speed. He was so focused upon preparing his next attack he almost missed the second projectile that followed in quick succession.

“TO YOUR RIGHT!” Lash tossed a ball of flame to the eastern wall, where shadows had collected where it met the floor. Something was growing out of the darkness, like smoke billowing from a pipe, only blacker, and thicker like ink. In the light of their flame, Lash watched as the smoke writhed into the air and collected itself, slowly taking shape to that of a ghostly figure. It had no legs that reached the ground, but it had long spindly arms with fingers like the legs of a spider. And they were reaching out towards Raam.

Forewarned by his companion, Raam through out his arm just as the smokey figure reached him. It’s hands struck his gauntlet and dissipated into smoke once more. Through the armor, Raam felt a chill that rippled through his bones, like a blast of winter. The hellfire in his blood quickly chased away the cold. Turning, he countered the creature with a blast of eldrich power that sent it hurtling towards the wall. It struck the packed earth and exploded into wisps of darkness.

Galumak pressed the tip of his blade into the invisible barrier and thrust all his might into it. It refused to budge or even bend at his might, allowing the dark priest to stand and reach for a mighty hammer left leaning at the side of the alter. The head was made of heavy stone and carved into the face of a serpent. Hefting it in one hand he dropped the veil and sent the hammer crashing into Galumak’s chest.

Pain exploded through his body, he stumbled backwards doubled over, grinding his teeth. Through strained eyes, he watched as the priest readied for another attack. He wouldn’t be given the chance. Pushing through the pain, Galumak rose and plunged the blade straight through the man’s exposed mid-section. The hammer that had been held at the ready aloft fell to the damp ground with a sickening thud. The priest fell only when Galumak withdrew his blade, eyes wide in utter shock. He had thought himself like unto god, his mortality all too evident now.

“You OK?” Lash examined Raam’s arm, where the ghost-like being had connected with him had withered the armor. It was dry and brittle, the skin underneath was even redder than usual.

“Fine, thanks for the heads-up.” He took a step towards the priest before a flash of dizziness overtook him. Suddenly he felt as though he had not slept in days, and his legs could barely hold his weight.

“You are not ‘fine.’ Here...” Lash caught him as he fell, lifting him onto their shoulders before placing a hand on his chest. The room filled with the smell of damp grass after a fresh rain, and though there were no windows, warm sunlight fell upon the Teifling. Slowly, he felt a pleasant warmth shoot through his body, strengthening his legs, and filling him with vigor.

“I have no idea what that thing was, but all it had to do was touch you to do some serious damage. Best we take a rest before pushing forward.”

“Yes...that sounds wise.”

“Galumak?” Lash turned back to find the half-orc standing in front of the 12 foot obsidian statue that loomed upon the altar. In his hands, the serpent hammer was gripped tightly though still as if some repulsive object. In one smooth arc. Galumak swung the hammer wide, striking the statue on the side of the Naga’s gaping mouth. The obsidian shattered and large chunks were sent crashing onto the floor. 

Almost immediately the wooden panel behind the alter fell away, revealing a long dark hall that led into a chamber lit with a faint glowing light. The three looked at each other in confusion.

“A secret door?” Galumak examined the hammer before dropping it to the floor. “Did I do that?”

“The head, look.” Lash pointed to a clean line that ran around the neck of the statue. The head, or rather what was left of it, had been twisted on this pivot to one side. They looked back at Raam. “Still thinking we rest first?”

“Yes. We take nothing to chance down here. Remember, it’s not just our lives we forfeit if we fail.”

Both Galumak and Lash found it hard to argue with that. After claiming a set of keys, the only object on the priest’s person, they retreated to the cells where they might regain their strength.

---

The eerie green glow had awaited them patiently, it’s luminescence barely more than that of a candle only steadier, unfaltering. The three could smell and hear water in the distance, but that wasn’t unexpected. It seemed everywhere they turned in this place water had either seeped up from the ground or had flooded in by the heavy rains. Why would this new chamber be any different?

Galumak led them forward, his shortsword held at the ready, head buzzing with the memory of several gulps of wine. The fire in his veins was numbed for the moment, he just hoped he hadn’t overdone it. Unless there was an even lower floor to this place, it would not be long before they met this Naga. He would need his wits about him.

The hidden path behind the altar did not curve or bend, but led directly into a cavernous chamber beyond. The closer they got, the easier it was to see in the faint light. Another underground lake filled most of the space, ornately carved pillars rising from the waters periodically, covered in a bio-luminescent moss that provided the strange green light. But there was something else glittering in the soft light, just out of the corner of his eye.

Treasure. An immense pile of coin and gems massed in a disorganized heap on a patch of dry land to his right as they entered the chamber. It sat upon a crumbling marble dais, bordered on two sides by more marble pillars marked with age. Despite the small number of them, their arrangement gave the impression of a temple frozen in time. This temple’s god, sat coiled in wait upon her hoard of tributes.

“So they come, like all the others to bask in my glorious presence.” Explictica Defilius, Naga of the Rushmores, God to the Serpant cult, rose up to peer down at the three adventurers. Black stringy hair hung from her scalp like lake weed, wet and glistening. Her womanly features were not entirely human, the eyes larger, sharper in the corners, and her cheek bones looked as they could cut diamond. The serpentine coils of her lower half were black as night, striped with a faint olive green and a pale underbelly. When reared up at her full height, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how this impressively terrifying monster could convince others she was a great deity.

“Don’t look in her eyes!” Lash cried out and cast their eyes to the ground. Their heart pounded in their chest, the terrifying grinning visage burned into the back of their eyes.

“More informed they are, smart. Are they smart enough to accept my mercy? Accept my gift?”

“‘They’ are here to end this blasphemy.” Raam stood defiant, eyes cast downwards as he reached for the scroll tucked into the sash around his waist.

“A pity, these humans are so frail. They would have been better servants.” Explictica hissed a collection of magical words as if they were a curse. A sudden spark flared before her, growing into a massive broiling ball of flame. It shot forward with tremendous speed, the heat becoming nearly unbearable. Just when Galumak felt he could not bare any more, relief fell over him and he watched as the flames struck an invisible barrier and followed egulfed it until the three of them were inside a large orb of fire.

Raam let the parchment scroll fall to the ground, the magical words of protection fading into nothingness leaving only a blank page. As the fire subsided he tossed a ball of sulfer and smoke. It passed through the barrier with ease, striking the Naga in a section of exposed underbelly. It barely left a mark, and Explictica only offered a toothy smile in response.

A jolt of searing pain shot up her coils, her head twisted and writhed in agony. She glared down at Galumak, his short sword dripping in blood from where it had plunged within the coils. With a horrific his she struck like a viper, such terrific speed made her appear as no more to a blur to Galumak. He threw up his shield blocking stopping the unhinged lower jaw from swallowing it entirely. However, the two large fangs that hung from the top row of teeth had managed to slip past the wooden barrier, burying themselves into his arm.

Lash lunged forward and lodged the end of their quarterstaff into the corner of the Naga’s jaw. Using it as a lever, they threw all their weight downward, prying the maw open painfully wide even for it’s unhinged state. The corners of the cheek tore, mixing blood with saliva and venom before leaking past the lips in a long line of drool that fell to the ground.

The two puncture wounds in his arm oozed with blood, but Galumak was relieved to find himself neither sickly, nor weakened. Somehow, Pan only knows how, the venom he knew had been pumped into his veins had been neutralized. The fire perhaps? The very thing that cursed him, could it have burned away the toxins that threatened his very life? That was a question for later. For now, he had an opening, and Galumak took it.

Desperately trying to re-align her bottom jaw, Explictica reared up high to protect her wounded face. In doing so, she once again exposed a large section of underbelly. Galumak’s blade drew across it with ease, spilling out fat and tissue and fountains of blood. The Naga screamed in a voice both human and inhuman, a high pitched screech that pained their ears. And then, she was gone. Where a towering serpent had been, now was a void of damp cavern air.

“Where-?” The three looked at each other, as if the other had the solution, though neither offered any at first.

“I can still hear her breathing.” Galumak leveled his sword, searching for something, any clue as where the vile creature had gone. Inside the orb of protection that still shimmered like a gossamer veil Lash, having assumed the form of a wolf, bore their teeth and growled at the empty air before them. Finally, it clicked for them all at once.

“Invisibility spell...” Reaching for the second scroll in his sash, Raam spoke with confidence he did not feel. There was little doubt as to what spell she had used, what he did no know was how powerful a mage she was. The scroll in his hands was strong indeed, but would it be enough to dispel her magic?

In the very instant that Raam had uttered the last syllable, there was a rush of air and a burst of energy through the area. A dark shadow immediately fell upon the grey wolf within the party, Explictica loomed before them, face only inches away from their snout.

“They must help me. They must attack their friends for their God!”

Within their wolf brain, Lash felt something wriggling its way into their mind. A tickle, an impulse. They watched it for a moment, noting how it moved, how it teased the senses and twisted the thoughts that were already there. This charm was not like others they had heard of. It acted like one of the species of lizards within the Dim forest. It snuck into the nest, devouring the eggs that had been laid before laying their own leaving the unsuspecting bird to hatch their young. Once born, the bird would be torn to pieces. Lash’s mind however, was less a sparrow, and more a hawk. A bird of prey that was far from helpless.

With a mind very much their own, Lash lunged forward and sunk their teeth into Explicticas exposed face. Flesh tore from her cheeks as she desperately pulled away, screaming and cursing in a slurred speech.

“You vile, insignificant, creatures!” Twice now, her magic had been thwarted by the teifling. The half-orc was strong, but her coils would crush him to dust. The elf changling would get their comeuppance for resisting her charm. But if she were to have any chance to do any of it, the spell-caster would have to be dealt with first.

Opening her jaw to it’s full size, Raam stared down the gaping maw. He saw the venom sacs just under her eyes, filled like over-stuffed pillows. The ends of her fangs glistened with venomous dew, and in the blink of an eye she struck. Pain shot through his arm, his veins burning as the poison was pumped into his body. But there was another burning within him. He could feel it swell. A dark retribution from his patron, always watching him. With a vengeful smile, Raam reached out and grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking the Naga’s face towards his. In his eyes, Explictica saw a fury and flame she had not witnessed in any mortal creature before. For the first time in her life, she knew fear.

“Who’s insignificant now?” Raam forced his lips to hers in a kiss of death, the blazing inferno that erupted from him engulfing the Naga’s entire head. The room filled with the scent of scorched flesh and incinerated hair. It was only a few seconds before her strained screaming fell silent, and the smoldering lump of flesh that had once been her head fell lifeless into the dirt.

---

Raam awoke to Lash, back to their elf form, shaking him violently by the shoulders. “Raam? You OK? That was amazing!”

“Wha-?” He tried to shake the fog from his mind but found it held fast. There was a gap in his memory that began when the fangs sunk into his shoulder. The rest was darkness. He looked down at his feet to the smoldering heap for answers, but it offered him none. “I...I don’t remember doing that.”

“What do you mean?” Lash examined his wound before laying a hand upon it. Once again a burst of lavender filled the air, warm sunlight fell upon them, and the poison was gone.

“I mean, I blacked out. I...I don’t know what happened. It’s strange.”

“You sent that thing to the King in Yellow, that’s all that matters.” Galumak wiped his blade clean of the dark blood that had coated it and sheathed it at his hip. “It’s done. This nightmare is over.”

“No, not yet.” Raam stepped towards the shore, staring deep into the unexplored cavern that lay ahead. “There’s plenty more of this place. We’re not done until we search through every last room.”

“Any cultists will have snapped out of her charm the moment you barbecued her.”

“True, but the Trogs weren’t charmed. Plus, we need to be sure there aren’t any more of the necromancer’s abominations left roaming around.”

“He’s right.” Lash nodded, only half listening. Their attention had been drawn to the large pile of loot left abandoned in the corner.

“Fine.” Galumak shrugged, taking out a bottle of wine from his pack. “We go through the rest of this place and weed out any stragglers.”

“After we loot the hoard, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

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