3. Under the well

Under the well

  • F

    Two thumbs up!

  • ?

    Very very good writing, I love reading this stuff 😃

  • F

    Wow. This is the sort of sh*t that makes D&D so awesome. Good stuff.


  • Under the well - X

    _Breathe. I only have to breathe to live. Or stop to die. Breathe. For days i had been chained to the floor, lying on my own dried blood. Feeling a constant taste of blood im my mouth. Old wounds that burst open whenever the interogation continued. Breathe.

    The officer arrived again, this day like all the others. But this day he had a message. We where to be moved. Where? I do not remember the name. Hands grabbed the chains and i was dragged away. Away from the others. That was the last i saw of them. I do not know what happened to them but the gods know, i do not wish them the same fate i had to endure.

    We travelled. For how long i do not know. Wich ways or direction, i do not. Karbeh, Yurana, Sasha and the girl in blue, i learned that her name was Raila, was there aswell, when we arrived to a great underground city. Raila seemed to have some kind of relations to them, the Drow, aswell did Yurana. She had switched side and joined forces with the Drow.

    We where brought to some kind of huge altar. The Drow woman and Raila spoke to eachother. I know not what they said but it must have been an order to interrogate me more. That was what she did. Forcefully and painfull but not to the point that i lost conciousness. Over and over again. Sometimes she would stop and talk to someone, just giving me hope that it was over then start again. It felt as if my life where sucked out of me.

    I could not move by myself when the Drow woman shouted an order. I was dragged to me feets and held there, if they had let go of my i would have falled to the floor. The woman lifted my head and smiled. She pointed at the large altar and i thought my time had come. Death. Peace. No more pain. How wrong i was. I had not seen the true face of pain before the layed me in that structure. Lightnings went through my body. Fire and ice. I tried to crawl away but my body did not work. I could not move. I felt only wave after wave after wave of new intensified pure pain roll over me, through me, in me. It felt as if the inside of my body turned out side in a morbid dance of disfigurement. It felt as if my bones would burst and shatter inside, small fragments slicing and slashing on their way out. It felt as if i was torn apart, evry limb drawn away piece by piece. It felt as if i was slowly crushed under a immense weight. I can not in words describe the true pure pain. But when i lost awareness, consiousness, i was more than ready to embrace death and the silent calm sleep it would bring.

    I can not recall much after this. Only bits and glimpses. I must have been unconsiousness for days. My next clear memory is that i am in chains. Me and Karbeh was dragged along as a group of Drow moved. It hurted, evry stone made new cuts. But it was nothing compared to before. I almost did not feel it. I remember voices… Familiar voices. I remember Rith. Giving her freedom in trade for mine and Karbehs. I remember pieces of the journey to the surface.

    I remember the sun rising shortly after we surfaced. I remember the beutiful blue sky. I remember feeling a chilly breeze against my skin. I remember Arianerias motherly smile.

    I remember, I had survived_


  • Under the well - IX

    _Voices. Strange voices. Dark voices, light voices, unknown voices. A face. A darkskinned face, looking at me like i was just a bug. A darkskinned face, looking at me as if i was an annoyance. A darskinned face, looking at me with cold elvenlike eyes. With no compasion, with no feelings. Just hatred. And disgust. It spoke to me, a soft smooth voice in a strange tongue. It sounded motherly, warm and welcoming. Not at all like the face it was coming from. It said something, the cold face with the soft voice. My world went dark.

    Voices. Strange voices. Dark voices, light voices, unknown voices. A face. A stroke against my cheek. Gruff the dwarf. "Are ye alright, lass? They beat te fark out´o all of us" A collar around my neck, a rag around my hip. It took me a while to comprehend the situation. Gruff, even in the darkness his old wounds and bruises where visible, dried blood surrounding them. He helped me to sit up. A pen. We where all there. Locked in a pen like animals. We were not even let out to relive ourself wich added to the already existing stench of old infected wounds and sweat. Other prisoners where there. Some living, some dead. For days, perhaps a week we where there, fed only a watery soup and a piece of bread. If we where lucky enough to be fed at all. The guards mocked us. Pouring out the soup or throwing it on us. The laughs. Always theese cold laughs. They did not care wether we lived or died in there. Yet, the hell had just begun.

    Someone came. Perhaps an officer of some kind. Screamed at the others. Gave them orders. Maythor and some of the others demanded to know why we where held here. They got a poisened dart as reward.

    Someone came. Someone came surrounded by guards. A woman. The officer was with her. She gave him orders. She gave him orders, then looked directly at me. I remember the stare. It was as if she did not want to do this. The guards entered the pen and dragged me out. I was tied to the floor and the woman stood above me looking down. It was as if she did not want to do this, but not as if she was reluctant. She was… Disgusted. She was disgusted about having to touch me. She slowly doned a glove. Then the world shook and my ear rang from the hard slap. She asked about why we where here. My silence bought me another slap. And again. And again. Until i answered her questions satisfactionary.

    Yet, the hell... had only begun_


  • Under the well - VIII

    _"Scout ahead!" was the order Adam gave me an Karbeh before he returned to his conversation with the girl in blue. I hope he noticed my cold look, this is not the place to flirt with women! I was almost happy to leave, stringing my bow and eat my ranson of dried meat. It was all we had left, dried meat. I was so hungry. It felt like i had a large hole in my stomach. I traded my water ranson with Karbeh for more meat before we set out to scout the area ahead of us.

    "Rock. 1. Stonethrow. Ahead. Right" Karbeh signaled with her hand as we moved alternately, working our way forward.

    "Hollow. Wall. Watch. Rubble" I signaled back when safely hidden behind the rock Karbeh found. I have to remind her that she is smaller than me. I watched Karbeh as intently as i scouted forward, listening for any sounds in the darkness except my own breathing. I saw Karbeh hide in the hollow i saw. "What is she doing? why does she not signal to me?" i was thinking. I decided to wait a little bit longer. Still no signal. I was just about to crawl to a crack in the ground ahead of me when suddenly!

    "5.Enemy. Get. Others. Quick. Quiet" Karbehs hand was moving fast, to fast for me to see clearly. She had to repeat herself. I knew it had to be very importent for her to be so exited, almost nervous. I quickly backtracked to get the others, reporting that five enemys, or at least five of something spotted. More undead perhaps.

    I led the group to the location on Karbeh, and we all saw why she was so tense. Elves…. There where elves, standing guard on a small island, with a stone bridge leading to it, in the lake. Elves with darks, close to black skin and white hair. Nefiri whispered with anger "Drow!"

    I saw Karbeh, tremmbling in anger, almost as if she was in a rage. I saw what she was doing. I knew it was too late. I screamed anyway. I had not even inhaled until she fired her first arrow.

    We where unprepaired. We had no formation. We where to spread out. It all went very fast. We where completly overrun by a larger nummber of Drow. The last thing i remember is that i turn around, after sliting a throat, and i see Daving over a dead Drow, digging out his weapon. He never saw the Drow comming from behind. Just as little as i saw the one behind me.

    My world went black._


  • Under the well - VII

    _We all watched when Yurana took the bandage of her arm. Thanks to Sams and Nefiris exellent skills with herbs, she could use her arm like normally. But this fact also showed there must have been little more than a week since the battle with the remnant. It felt like a month. And it brought ill news with it. Our food and fresh water was depleting to fast. We had already started to ranson but we knew it was futile. We would not have enough food and water for the journey back. But still, we pressed on. Our hope of seeing the sun rise again diminished, but still, we pressed on.

    The darkness had not become lighter nor darker. It was as night on the surface, slightly dimmed at best. We passed more underground lakes and rivers, but no one dared to drink from it after what had happened to Karbeh and Yurana. We did not need any wild magic to play its mischeif on us in this otherwise shadow of no magic. It was enough that our minds continued to play tricks on us. I to have seen a girl, dressed in blue, following us. Only in the corner of my eyes and when i looked at the spot, nothing. Others say the same, but it can not possibly be so. Would someone follow us here? Where is here? How deep are we? How far can it be left? Karbeh was so busy asking me theese questions she almost didnt see a girl, dressed in blue, until she walked into her.

    The girl plain blue clothes was standing before us. This time she was no illusion! Not trick on our minds! She was there. Standing and looking at us as if we where guests in her house she where suprised to see. Her pale skin and white flowing hair seemed bright in the dark. She said she had followed us. She said she was curious. She said she only observed, for now.

    Adam took her in of course, explaining why we where here and what we expected to find. It must have been the lack of sleep and food. I would never trust someone like her with information like that. Is it not a little odd that a girl would follow us all this time unscathed? Even so, we could not leave her there by herself. She joined us, and we pressed on. After a long dark passage, we emerged in another great underground cave. This however, wore marks of being inhabited. There was tracks after boots in the moss…

    We had reached The Underground_


  • Under the well - VI

    _It didnt move, it just stood there. It just tood there, mocking us, challenging us with its eyeless stare as we carefully approached it. I had my bow drawn and arrow ready, ready to send it flying through the air towards the remnants skull. I just waited for the signal. "NOW!" screamed Adam, he was already rushing against it and so did the others, Sam, the Troffs, Gruff, Yurana and Sasha.

    Karbeh, Davin, Nefiri and I let our arrows fly almost exact same time. I followed its flight while my hand moved to the back of my waist to my quiver and it was as if time slowed down. I had a new arrow on the string and was just about to draw my bow when i watched in horror how our arrows shattered against the remnants white skull.

    I remember sending a pray to my luckystar to aid my aim as i fired my second arrow. Gruff already lay on the ground, his face wrinkled in pain. Sams armor was torn apart at the side of his waist, revealing a deep gash. The remnant threw Yurana through the air, slamming her hard against the ground. Her arm was bent in an unatural angle toward the rest of her motionless body. It all went so fast yet i experienced it as if we where in water. We released another salvo of arrows. Again they where shattered against the hard white surface of the remnants skull. But this time my hand moved not towards my quiver.

    I reached to my thigh. That is where i kept my special arrows. In the corner of my eye i could see karbeh reaching for one of her aswell. Belthor where hit hard by the remnant and smashed into the cave wall. He almost seemed to hang there a bit before falling to the floor and remained motionless. I had my bow drawn, ready to send the arrow away. An arrow with a smal container instead of an arrows head. It contained fluids that would be set on fire when smashed. The others let their arrows fly, but i waited just a little while more. My sight narrowed, like i was watching through a tube. The sounds of pained screams blurred out. The only thing that existed was me, the arrow and the remnant. I held my breath, and let the arrow fly.

    I knew it would hit its target the moment before i let go of the bowstring. The arrow flew, spinning around to keep stability, and hit the remnant in its right eyeless socket. Its head engulfed in flames and it lost balance, stummbling backwards letting its guard down just enough for Sasha and Adam to strike at its ribcage, sending shattered bones up in the air.

    The remnant was slayed._


  • Under the well - V

    _"Sound. Front. 1 Stonethrow" Karbehs hand moved fast as we talked to eachother using handmessages. I nodded at her, sending the sign for her to support me with arrows if needed as she went back, swift and quietly, to tell the others to get ready for combat. I sat on my knee taking a deep breath sending a glance after her. The darkness had receded a little but from where the dim light came i do not know. We must be very deep now. Strange animals, worms and maggots are crawling slowly up and down the walls and stalagmites. We found a strange moss before, growing in this desolate place, that almost seemed to glow by itself. But the mind plays tricks on you here. You think you hear things, see things. Last "night" Sasha belived she saw another woman, dressed in blue, watching us. I saw Karbeh give the signal that they where ready and i proned, slowly making my way towards the wall to follow it, hiding in its nisches and indentations towards where the path turned left. To where Karbeh and i heard the strange sound of stone against stone.

    It came around the corner so fast i stummbled and fell in suprise. It was tall, taller then even Sam. Its half rottened tunic moved calmly in the slight breeze that seems come from nowhere and evrywhere. It was tapping a bare skeleton finger against a bare skeleton chin as its hollow eyesockets "looked" at me. I frooze in fear from the eyeless gaze of this ancient remnant. I did not even notice the mass of other undead slowly making its way behind the remnant. Had not Nefiri, the elven healer, fired an arrow at it my life would have ended there. The remnant lost interest in me. Gave me enough time to get on my feets and escape to the others. i know i fired two arrows while running, both hit the remnant but made little or no damage to him at all. They flew straight thru his skeleton chest, only to make small slits in his ragged tunic.

    The remnant turned its fleshless skull towards us and screamed a wordless scream, soundless scream, but it made us chill into our bones. The undeads groans and moans together with our warcryes created a great tumult when we rushed towards them. The Troff brothers and Gruff chanting prayers to the great Moradin and Davin calling the natures powers to give us strength in the battle, we clashed with the undead minions! I saw Sasha severing the limbs of one zombie after another, i saw two of Karbehs arrows sticking out the back of a half decomposed head and i saw undead, cut in halves by the waist, flying in the air from wherever the dwarves slashed their axes. I saw Adam, moving fast and lithe like the wind, leaving a trail rottened body parts after him. I, myself, downed several with my fast and accurate arrows. Perhaps it was my frenzy, i do not know. But neither i or Karbeh saw or noticed what was waiting after the wall of undead flesh.

    The remnant…_


  • Under the well - IV

    _"where are the others!?" Gruff said while holding his axe infront of him, ready to strike down should any more of the undead arrive. We where standing in a tight ring, almost shoulder to shoulder. "Where is Bottesini?" someone asked. Another screamed Bacelars name. None of them had returned to Sams flickering torch. It was the only light we had now. Mine had been smashed when i threw myself to the ground, avoiding a small dog like thing when it leaped towards me. Others where lost in the darkness. "What will we do?" The question was met with silence. If not Bottesini and Bacelar returned soon we would go on. We knew there where risks with this. We knew that we may never again see the light of the sun. Adam Bromley cleared his throat and said that we should move on with his usuall supercilious manner. But his voice broke in the end and even if his expression seemed as if untouched by the battle and the loss of Bottesini and Bacelar i saw fear in his eyes.

    We pressed on, none of use where unhurt but we pressed on. Our stock of food was depleteing to fast but we pressed on. The lack of sleep made us sway and stummble but we pressed on. We stopped only when Davin the druid collapsed of exhaustion. Not that we had more strength, he simply stummbled and fell and did not bother to get up. If it would had happened to anyone else the result would be the same. Sam pulled him up on his feets….. And we pressed on.

    Finding a hollow we relised we had to rest. I remember standing looking at nothing in particular in the cave wall, my eyelids felt as heavy as mountains when someone said "Linah, sleep". Someone must have put me onto a bedroll, i can not remember i used mine, but when i woke up after what seemed like only an blink of an eye, a few seconds at most, a saw Mayhtors face with a warm smile on it, telling me that there was soup ready. And that my watch would begin soon. Every mucsle in my body ached. I felt aching muscels i didnt know i had and with a oncomming headache i prepaired to join Sam wich whom i shared the guard duty with that time. I do not remember when a fell asleep again. I only remember that Sam woke me up whispering that our watch would soon end, and that the others should not see me sleeping. The fool had let me sleep during the watch! In a tired blend of shame and anger for this i mummbled a thank you.

    At least i got a good rest that "night". Blood and ash! For what happened next i needed it!_


  • Under the well - III

    _"I have lost track of time" i was thinking to myself. I could not say when we started our journey. Days ago. Perhaps a week. The constant darkness, except the little click of light our party consisted of rubbed away any sense of distance or time. The lack of sleep started to make evryone annoyed, disgruntled. We marched on very much in silence, hoping that Bottesini was not wrong when suddenly something happened that made evryone sharpen up. The sound of steps was heard. The sound flesh torn apart echoed around us from nowhere and from evrywhere. Karbeh and me was ordered to scout ahead and i must admit i was almost scared to death when i blended with the shadows, disappearing from the spot of light, before seeming so small but now so warm and welcomming, to find out what caused theese sounds.

    I quietly, thanking my elven boots, moved from rock to stalagmite, from a nische in the wall to a crack in the floor, tying to pierce the darkness. I could no longer see the others. The light eminating from the torches was quickly swollowed by the darkness, i could only hear them, their armors and low voices. i looked back towards them for but a second and was just about to move up from the crack when something almost stepped on me. The stench of rotting flesh rushed over me like a tidal wave and i could see a half decomposed foot lift of infront of my face, or drag itself is a better description. I could only quench a scream by biting my lips so hard i could feel the taste of my blood. The zombie did not notice me and as soon as it disappeared in the darkness i rushed as fast as i could without making a sound back to the group. Shortly after Karbeh arrived and by the look of her face she had seem something simular.

    We quickly breifed the group of what we had seen. Not had we finished until evry weapon was unsheathed. And lucky that. About the same moment we had formed up hell broke lose. Evrywhere i looked there where undead comming towards us. The magicly skilled lit the place up with magic light for us to see better, but it only hepled a little. They broke our lines. No matter how manny arrows i buried in the abomiantions they would not stop. I shot of arms, knees and parts of the faces but they just kept walking or dragging theirselves towards us. One came up behind me and would have smashed my head if it was not for one of the dwarves, i do not know wich, cut it in half with his axe.

    The battle went on for what seemed like hours. The last remnant of our line broke and we where seperated, fighting in small groups here and there. And just when we where about to loose all hope, we slayed the last of the living dead, and darkness once again ruled the battlefeild._


  • Under the well - II

    _After finding a location where we spent "the night", keeping guard two by two in turns, we pressed on deeper, reaching the tombs lower levels. Much of it where collapsed, visibility was bad due to thick layers of old dust moved by our steps. Even the air felt ancient and confined. Much rubble was in our way, some we cleared out very carefully, some we managed to squeese pass but we did not come far until we came to a complete stop where the proof had caved in. Had not one of us been able to change form to an umberhulk, digging through the rubble I fear the venture would have ended there. Perhaps it would have been for the better to be honest.

    We pressed deeper, leaving the tomb and its catacombs behind, or ontop, of us to emerge in a gigantic underground cave. We saw undergroundlakes and we could hear the sound of a raging river far away. Bottesini said that the lake could have something to do with the wild magic from the well and we went to the shores to investigate.

    This is where things started to go wrong. It turned out the lake was tainted with the wild magic. Bottesini ordered evryone to stay away from the water but it was to late. Karbeh had already been drinking from it. She startes to act strange, like she had lost her sanity, talking and muttering to herself about strange things. For some reason Yurana stepped forward and aslo drank water from the lake. The effects where the same. They both where mad! Insane! While Karbeh was talking without any sense, Yurana seemd to range from overly joyed to angry raged. More about what happened is a little blurry for me. Something hit me from behind and i was told i lost consiousness. Apparently the wild magic in the lake transformed both Karbeh and Yurana into random beings.

    Luckyly, the effects did not last long and we gathered ourselves to press on. Staying very far from the shores this time. We walked for what seemed like days in the thick darkness. The light from our torches did not lit the surrounding very well, as if the darkness around us sucked it in. Hungry and weary we found a spot, easily enough guarded to rest._