The Crisis surreptitiously--well, as surreptitiously as a
ship could manage, anway--docked at Lucrehold an hour or so after sundown. Several warehouses stood on the island's
southwest corner, along with outbuildings filled with apparatus for making
olive oil. Harrigan's notes indicated
that the secret entrance was hidden beneath a tun in one of the warehouses.
"I think it's this one," Feruzi said, turning the
map around and squinting. "Or . . .
maybe that one."
A quick reconnoiter of the warehouse revealed two entrances:
a wide set of double doors, probably for wagons, and a side door for pedestrian
traffic. Both appeared to be locked, but
neither were obviously guarded.
"So, any witchcraft about?" Chopper asked. Feruzi rolled her eyes but cast a spell to
reveal magical auras. None were in
evidence. "I'm inclined to kick
down the big doors," Chopper continued, "but I assume I'll be vetoed,
so let's just go the other way."
Leila unlocked the door.
It was dark and quiet inside.
Chopper peered into the room nearest the door, discovering numerous
dusty scrolls and ledger books.
"Witch room," he whispered.
"Or, you know, accounts payable.
One o' those." The next door
opened into a long room divided into stalls by low wooden walls, perfect for
taking cover should any shooting be required.
Large barrels and ceramic amphorae were stacked within the stalls,
filling the air with the smell of oil, wine, and beer. Following Harrigan's notes, they located
their specific tun of rum in the easternmost stall.
Feruzi stared at it in horror. "We can just move it, right? We don't have to drink it?"
"Er, we don't HAVE to," Chopper said uncertainly,
looking at Ezikial.
"This much rum, even he might not survive," Reiko
said. "I know that's not putting
much faith in his drinking abilities, but still . . ."
"I could go get Rosie and Grok," Leila said.
"Is it possible for a man to die of happiness?"
Chopper asked. "Surely there's some
sort of hidden catch hereabouts. Or a
handcart." Searching around revealed
nothing. Shrugging, Chopper hefted his
axe and laid into the barrel, chopping a hole and letting the rum pour
out. Sandara grabbed a mug, filled it,
and passed it to Ezikial, then filled one for herself. With the barrel mostly empty, they were able
to heave it aside, revealing a trap door that opened on a rusting iron ladder
descending into a rough-hewn tunnel that ran north and east and terminated in a
dank room. A stone statue depicting
Besmara stood in an alcove. It was once
painted in bright, gaudy colors, but most of the pigment had flaked off,
revealing green stone. Blue-green flames
danced along the statue's sculpted hair.
Moving on, they discovered a number of vaults--some with
niches in the walls that turned them into crypts. The floor had subsided, allowing a pool of
dark water to form. Four
barnacle-enrusted corpses with glowing red eyes rose out of the water as they
approached. Mist seemed to rise from
them, obscuring the room. Chopper cursed
and a great deal of flailing about ensued, ending with the draugr sent to their
final final rest and Chopper rather scratched up and disarranged. Sandara helpfully cast some healing spells to
restore his equilibrium and remove the after affects of too much undead mauling.
The traditional post-combat wrap up revealed a secret door
in one of the burial niches, leading into another long tunnel leading north and
east. This one ended in a small, damp
cave, this one laid out like a hall of sorts, with evenly spaced torches
filling the place with disturbing shadows.
A collection of jagged metal heaved itself upright, extending an arm
that ended in an enormous cannon barrel.
"Hello, my lovely!" Ezikial announced, charging
forward. The cannon boomed and Ezikial
went flying through the air, landing flat on his back, covered in blood. "Chopper!" he said
indistinctly. "I simply MUST have
one!"
"What, am I going to deny you a pet?" Chopper
demanded as Reiko charged past him to engage the golem. Her katana blade scraped along the creature's
chassis, leaving a surprisingly massive dent and knocking loose what might have
been several vital parts. The cannon
golem sputtered and clanked ominously as it switched targets, winding up for
another blast.
Chopper threw an axe at the golem, drawing its attention. He grabbed his crotch suggestively. "Oy, fullmetal ugly! Suck my nuts and bolts!" Strangely, the golem seemed to find this
insulting. It gave a metallic-sounding
screech and headed toward Chopper while Sandara frantically tried to heal
Ezikial. Another boom and Chopper was
flat on the ground.
A hail of bullets hit the golem, causing its torso to drop
free of its legs with a horrible grinding noise. The top half tried to pull itself along, then
fell to the floor as the alchemical magic powering it faded.
"Well," Reiko said as Sandara scrambled after
Chopper, "If they didn't know we were here before, they do now."
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