hem! - Part 2 nto he ound

To their horror the others had to agree. The figure that had emerged most recently still wore fragments of coarse garments similar to those worn by Murran the refugee. Their skin was slightly scaly and their features distorted but they were still most recognisably human. The other creatures that attacked them showed no sign of a human past they were totally and utterly monstrous.

While Darkhawk and Colloran aided by Ako and Jodotha forced the creatures back with their weapons Trimus struck out with his staff to clear some space for him to cast spells. Targeting the creature that had cast the fireball spell Trimus launched a trio of magic missiles. The creature roared in pain and died. Jodotha's nimbleness and the strong armour of the others prevented the creatures from doing more than inflict a few scratches on the companions. Slowly their foes were being whittled down. A sword thrust here, a two handed smash there and soon only three creatures were left. The two that had emerged from the mound last were amongst them, the companions having held back from striking them. Using the flat of their blades Colloran and Darkhawk managed to knock the final three creatures senseless.

"What now?" asked Trimus as he bandaged the wounds of his companions and smeared goose fat on his burns.
"I will try to heal them." Said Ako. He first tried a remove curse spell on the woman but nothing happened. He then took his staff of healing and pressed it to the woman's forehead and summoned a cure disease from it. The woman screamed and thrashed about on the floor for a moment as the spell took effect. Then before their eyes the woman's eyes changed from multifaceted insect like orbs to human eyes. The scales faded on the skin until she appeared almost normal.
"Watch out!" shouted Trimus as a beetle like creature fell out of the back of the woman's neck. It twitched briefly before expiring. "It appears that this is how the villagers were corrupted." Said Trimus poking the thing with the toe of his boot.
Ako repeated the spell on the man and again the scales faded and the eyes returned to normal. However the third, more heavily altered creature did not respond to the spell favourably and died.
"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Ako of the woman but he got no answer, just a dumb almost lifeless stare from the woman.
"Hungry." Stated the man "Food."
"It seems that what little wits these villagers possessed before they were captured has been stolen from them." Mused Trimus. "We should take them back to the village to see if familiar surroundings stir anything inside them."
Ako agreed with Trimus, but first he cast another spell upon the stricken villagers. "Not even a dispel magic or a remove curse seems to affect them. It is sad, but I do not have the powers to restore their wits."

They returned to the village where Ako cast the last of his healing spells before, watched over in turns by Colloran, Darkhawk and Jodotha they rested overnight.

The following day they returned to the mound which appeared much as it had the night before. Moving swiftly towards the mound they encountered three more of the heavily modified creatures. Ako, Darkhawk and Colloran moved in and attacked while Trimus and Jodotha stood back, Jodotha using his crossbow to great effect while Trimus launched a volley of magic missiles that together finished off one of the creatures. Apart from a minor wound to Colloran, the encounter went well for the companions.

They peered in through the entrance that led to a passage that sloped upwards gently. To Jodotha's surprise he could see gold coins embedded into the walls and floor of the passage. He bent down to try and get them out but the floor was tightly compacted and after working away with his dagger he could only extract a few of the coins with a great deal of effort. Reluctantly he sheathed his dagger in his boot and followed the others deeper into the mound.

The passage ended after about fifteen feet and opened into a large roughly hemispherical chamber. Passages similar to that they had just walked along led north, east and west while others rose steeply to the northeast and northwest.
"It seems we have a number of choices." Said Colloran.
"North". Said Jodotha confidently.
"Why? Do you see tracks or hear noises?" Asked Darkhawk.
"No. I just picked one at random." Said the rogue leading the way into the north passage. "It may be best if I lead, I can then check for traps and see if I can hear anything before you lot come traipsing along."
The others agreed and let Jodotha go a little way ahead, but never out of the range of the light gems. Halfway along the passage he stopped and signalled for the others to join him.
"The coins may not have been worth collecting but these certainly are." He pointed at a small collection of gemstones, half buried in the cave wall. The spent a few moments picking them out with daggers while Trimus kept watch. In the end they collected three good-sized stones, an opal, a topaz and a ruby.

The passage opened into another bowl shaped chamber, but this was slightly smaller than the first. Again passages led off to the north, east and west but none this time slanted upwards. Jodotha signalled for silence. Four of the insectoid creatures were standing by the north passage, talking in a strange language comprised of clicks and whistles. They moved into attack. Colloran and Trimus throwing daggers while the others drew swords. Again the battle was over swiftly with just a minor wound to Colloran and a gouge in Darkhawk's armour where one of the creatures broke their jaw. Searching the body revealed nothing but again the floor and walls contained a scattering of coins. They were about to leave when Trimus noticed something strange in the ceiling. He poked at it with his staff and a potion bottle, a ring and a scroll fell out of what appeared to be a rotting backpack cemented into the ceiling. Jodotha dived full length on the floor and caught the bottle before it hit the ground. Trimus took a sip of the potion and put the vial in his pack along with the scroll and ring.
"The potion is one of plant control. I was unable to determine the ring's enchantment while the scroll contains a number of spells. I will read those later to fin out what they are." Said the mage haughtily.

Continuing north they came to another room, similar in size and shape to the previous one though this had but two exits, leading east and west. Four more insectoid creatures emerged from the latter passage and attacked straight away. Ako and Colloran were struck before they could draw weapons, Colloran taking a nasty bite before his attacker was driven back by Trimus' magic missiles. Jodotha moved to help the injured paladin as Darkhawk joined the fray. Trimus spun around as he heard chittering behind him. To his horror he saw two more of the creatures coming up the passage through which they had entered the room. Before they could exit the passage Trimus cast a web spell that trapped them. Ako and Colloran, both weakened by wounds from claws and bites, were joined by Jodotha and Darkhawk and together they finished off those insectoid creatures that were attacking them. Jodotha then dispensed with those held in Trimus' web with a few well-aimed crossbow bolts. Trimus took out bandages and salve and heals the wounds sustained in the battle. His ministrations helped Darkhawk and Jodotha but he got careless and hurt Ako further.
"Sorry." Said Trimus as Ako stood and cursed at the pain in his arm.
"Sorry!" spat Ako. "Perhaps you should leave the healing to those better suited."
"Calm down, Ako." Counselled Colloran. "Trimus does a fine job and it means you don't have to burden your mind with so many spells."
"True." Admitted Ako, "I'm sorry Trimus but that really hurt!"

They took the western passage that turned sharply south to enter another room from the north. Just before the passage entered the room Jodotha held his hand out and signalled that they should stop. He pointed to the wall where the remains of a large leather pouch could be seen. Remembering what they had already found embedded in the walls Trimus was eager to start digging and dropped to his knees while the others kept a look out. He found two potion bottles and a cameo of an old woman painted with great delicacy. Jodotha and Darkhawk tested the potions and discovered that they were potions of antidote and invunrablity respectably.
"Hush!" said Ako from the end of the passage. "There are lots of creatures in the next room. Two of them are still recognisably human, I would like to cure them if I can. There are four more of the insectoid creatures and two larger ones."
"Ok Ako, you take care of the human like ones. I will deal with the others." Trimus was already mentally preparing a spell as he spoke.
Ako and the others moved in. Jodotha made an attempt to split the human like ones away from the others and succeeded but just as Ako was trying to cure them one of the larger creatures managed to get through the rogue's defences biting and clawing him badly. To everyone's horror Jodotha stood rooted to the spot as some form of paralysis took hold of his muscles. Trimus loosed a fireball into the heart of the other creatures. Four of them dropped dead straight away, the air being filled with the acrid smell of burning carapaces. Ako's attempts to cure the two humanoids failed and he was forced to kill them as they pressed forward to attack him.

One of the insectoid creatures started to drag Jodotha away into the darkness of a tunnel. Trimus swiftly cast a spell, vanished from where he was standing to reappear next to the paralysed rogue. Attacking with his staff he managed to delay the creature long enough for the others to come to his aid, but not before he was clawed and bitten by the creature.
"He has a potion of antidote in his pouch, it might be enough to relieve the paralysis." Said Trimus and Ako rummaged through the rogue's backpack. Uncorking the flask he poured most of the liquid down Jodotha's throat though some did spill over his cheeks. Jodotha gave a splutter and sat up, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "Thanks Ako, Trimus." He said, "There are few things worse than being paralysed."
"Take care of these creatures bites." Cautioned AKO, "It seems something in their spittle can paralyse you and I have little that can aid against such a calamity." They searched the room and collected a handful of coins and an assortment of small, semiprecious stones, which Jodotha added to the others. They then continued southwards, noting for future exploration the two passages to the southeast, one above the other.
The passage led into another roughly circular room, which contained two humanoid creatures. One was a woman the other a child. Both of the creatures were facing the wall, but it was difficult to see what they were doing. Ako cast a spell of protection about himself before moving towards the creatures.
"Whatever happens, don't attack them unless I say so." He said sternly. As soon as the creatures saw the cleric they stopped what they were doing and moved swiftly towards him. Ako used his staff to cure them and to his joy both responded positively, though like the previous victims they seemed to have suffered mentally from the transformations. Inviting the others to come in, Ako moved to the wall and started to examine it. Stuck to the walls were translucent, orange, ovoid forms, inside maggot like things could be seen twitching.
"Kill them." Muttered Colloran, "They are evil."
The others needed no second bidding and soon they were hacking and smashing at the egg cases. Small, half-formed creatures fell out. Most died swiftly after twitching and jerking on the now slimy floor but one, more developed than the rest scuttled towards the exit. Jodotha flung a dagger at it, transfixing it to the floor.

The companions took the humanoids east to the first chamber and escorted them to the safety of the woods before returning to the mound. They re-entered the egg chamber without encountering any more of the creatures. Noticing a bad smell emanating from the passage to the south they were not surprised to find it littered with half eaten beasts and humans. Searching the remains they made a startling discovery. A small golden crown, set with a number of small gems had been partly incorporated into the floor of the chamber. One of the bodies was still wearing a pack and inside was a pair of potions. Ako and Jodotha tested them finding that they were potions of fire resistance and healing respectively. Jodotha put the crown in his pack for safe keeping and led the others away from the noisome mess and back into the egg chamber.
"He took the crown from his pack and studied it for a moment.
"This certainly did not belong to one of the villagers." He said quietly. "I wonder where it could have come from."
"There is no time for that now." Said Trimus sternly. "We must continue and see if there are any more of the villagers still in a healable state."
Ako nodded in agreement and Jodotha wrapped the crown back up and put it back in his pack. They took the northeast exit from the chamber, a passage that though steep was rough and easy to climb. Jodotha led the way and when he got near the end of the passage he dropped into a crouch and waved his hand behind him to signal the others to stop. After a few moments he crawled back and whispered to the others.
"Something different in this one." An edge of tension coloured his voice. "There is a large maggoty creature in there."
"The queen?" asked Ako. "These are insect like creatures after all."
"I don't know." Snapped Jodotha. "As well as the maggoty creature there are two of the bigger warrior type creatures and four smaller ones. There is also a strange smell, I can't describe it, it may just be the effulgence of the large creature but we should beware."
Their presence had been noted however and as they reached the end of the passage the insectoid creatures jumped them. Ako, Darkhawk and Colloran held them back as Jodotha started to attack with his crossbow. Trimus meanwhile cast a spell. A cloud of vapour appeared in the room, just below the ceiling and the air turned cold, the breath of the fighters misting as they swung their weapons. As the final syllable of the spell was uttered a hail of ice slashed into the insectoid creatures. Three of the smaller creatures and two of the larger ones where beaten into a pulp by the fist sized chunks of ice. Darkhawk finished off the other insectoid creature with his sword before moving towards the large bloated mass of the other creature. It made a strange chittering sound and the strange smell that filled the chamber became much stronger. Jodotha and Trimus attacked from a distance, the rogue with his crossbow, the mage with daggers. Darkhawk, Ako and Colloran attacked hand-to-hand, Ako sustaining a wound from the creature's mandibles before Darkhawk finished the beast off. Sticky green fluid seeped from the creature's wounds giving a foetid odour to the atmosphere. Darkhawk was still cleaning his weapon on the jerkin of one of the fallen creatures when nine more emerged from the southeast.

Four of them were the larger type, three more were human in form while the west were the normal insectoid warriors. The creatures struck all Ako, Trimus and Jodotha before they could regroup. Ako attempted to cure one of the humans but he failed get a grip on the creature. Trimus cast a trio of magic missiles driving three of them back for a moment. Colloran stunned one of the humans while Ako eventually managed to cure another. Meanwhile Trimus and Jodotha were being bitten and clawed by the larger insectoid creatures. To Darkhawk's horror one of these larger creatures then cast a spell and two orange bolts of energy struck the fighter in the chest. Badly damaged, Jodotha climbed into a high level passage and drew his crossbow. From this vantage point he could see all that was going on and the contest seemed evenly balanced for the moment.
"We'll soon change that." He muttered and loosed a quarrel into the chest of one of the insectoid creatures. Two of the smaller creatures made for the rogues position and Jodotha but the rogue kicked out and knocked it back.
Darkhawk was under attack from several creatures including two new arrivals that had seemed to be sniffing the air as they entered. The party had been completely divided by now, each member fighting at least two of the creatures.

Seeing Darkhawk suddenly stop in mid stroke Trimus feared the worst and he drew a wand. He paused for a moment trying to decide in which direction to fire then he uttered a word of command and a cone of icy blue light burst from the wand. Two creatures died instantly and another was badly damaged. Ako moved to aid Darkhawk but he was already being dragged off by two of the creatures.
"You go after Darkhawk I'll help the others." Shouted Trimus launching another salvo of magic missiles killing the creature trying to climb the wall towards Jodotha and badly wounding the one facing Colloran. Colloran finished this creature off before joining the others in a chase after Darkhawk and the remaining creatures. Ako was already there, fending them off while trying to reach the paralysed fighter. Eventually he gets through and cures Darkhawk but the fighter was still held by the insectoid creatures that were dragging him towards the egg chamber. Trimus and Ako follow, Darkhawk instead of trying to rise grabbed his amulet and changed form. No sooner had he done this but he was bitten again and lapsed once more into a paralysed state. Ako and Trimus threw hammer and dagger respectively. Both weapons hit. Ako grabbed Darkhawk ankle and removed the paralysis. The fighter, still in a prone position swung his claw up and disembowelled the nearest creature while Trimus finished the other off with another precisely thrown dagger. They returned to the others, where Trimus did what he could to clean and bandage wounds while Ako and Colloran cast what spells of healing they had left. Colloran took Trimus' potion of healing and Darkhawk quaffed Ako's similar potion. Jodotha meanwhile searched the room and found coins and a staff embedded in the wall.
"A staff!" exclaimed Trimus and ran to look. Carefully he dug around the staff with one of his daggers until he could drag it from the wall. He cast a swift spell of analysis upon it and discovered that it was a staff of striking.
"Can I have this?" he asked the others and they all nodded.
"You deserve it." Replied Ako. "You have shown great bravery in battle today."
"Should we continue?" asked Trimus. "My spells are sorely depleted."
"Every hour we delay means that more of the humans become completely transformed into insects." Said Ako solemnly. "We should continue on."
"In that case, we should make for the summit, the heart of the mound." Said Trimus. "Jodotha, you should lead, checking for any presence of the insectoid creatures as you go. We will follow behind awaiting your signal."

They climbed up to the high level passage and continued northeast along it. The way was sleep and even the nimble rogue was having difficulty keeping his feet as he climbed. Jodotha was so concerned about not falling back down the passage that he emerged into a chamber before he realised it. Inside was another of the large bloated slug like creatures guarded by one of the larger insectoid creatures, four of the smaller ones and a pair of mildly mutated villagers. All were tending things on the wall. Jodotha stepped backwards into the shadows and quaffed a potion of defence. Ako blessed the party before allowing Trimus to step forward. The young mage banged his staff upon the floor and summoned another ice storm. Again fist-sized chunks of ice pummelled the creatures. The large slug like creature was badly damaged and the large insectoid warrior was killed. Jodotha took one of his enchanted crossbow bolts and fired. The bolt sunk deep into the bloated abdomen of the largest creature killing it. Colloran and Darkhawk charged into the room shoulder to shoulder, Darkhawk's midnight blue armour contrasting strongly with the bright silver of Colloran's. Jodotha and Ako were not far behind with Trimus moving into a position from which he could cast spells or throw daggers. Darkhawk and Ako try to stun the humans while Colloran and Jodotha concentrated on the insectoid creatures. Jodotha's blade was a shaft of silver death, finding weak spots in the insectoid carapaces with ease. Colloran was more brute force than delicate finesse, his blade cleaved head from shoulders with a spattering of green fluid.

Breathing heavily after the exertions of the fight Jodotha searched the room finding an assortment of coins and a number of other, more interesting items. One of these was an ornate ring set with several large jewels.
"It's very gaudy." Sneered Trimus. "But I'm sure it will fetch a fair few coins."
A rotting pack in the floor contained a trio of potions. One had been broken but Trimus and Darkhawk tested the other two, finding that one was a potion of antidote and the other a potion of levitation.
Ako used his staff of curing on the first of the mutated villagers. The woman twitched and the transformation was reversed. He then pressed the staff to the next villager but nothing happened.
"I have drained my staff." He cried distraught at the loss of such a powerful item. "When re return to Lakeside House I must discover a way of recharging it."
"Let me try to remove the creature surgically." Said Trimus bringing out his sharpest dagger.
"I can't watch." Muttered Jodotha and the rogue turned his back on Trimus.
The mage sharpened the dagger still further on a whetstone before applying the point to the lump in the man's neck. No sooner had the dagger pierced the skin then the man started to convulse and twitch.
"Stop Trimus. It's not working." Snapped Ako.
Trimus pulled his dagger back and sat on his haunches. "What are we going to do?"
"I have a final cure disease spell memorised." Said Ako. "I will use that." Ako cast the spell and the man recovered, putting a hand to the back of his neck as he sat up.
They escorted the humans back to the exit and waited for them to reach the safety of the trees before continuing with their explorations.

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