Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale

by Blackdrag-rose

Marsh of Chelimber: Bog and Temple

After taking some time to rest and recover from fighting the lizardfolk, and taking down Sess'sth, the group departed from Sleyvas' hut and used the other half of the recall potion they had used previously to return to the chamber that they had killed the King in, only to head through the door he had been guarding. Sure enough it allowed them to enter what looked like a bog, a nasty place that stood between them and the temple that held the Water Stair, their true destination since it seemed to be the only way to get into the Onyx Tower so they could face the Lady. Rain found that the area seemed to be more dead than what they had passed through to get to Sleyvas the first time, while at the same time it appeared that the only foes she and her friends needed to worry about were the husks that were wandering around, but they kept their guards up. There was no way of knowing whether or not another type of enemy might be lurking in this place, guarding both the temple and the Onyx Tower from intruders, but for right now they focused on clearing out the husks that were currently in front of them as they sought a path.

With no actual set path it was far too easy for them to get lost, clearing out dead ends of husks so they couldn't be used against the Baldur's Gate, though with how many husks they tore down Rain was almost positive that they had either been the towns people or an army that had been drowned at one point.

"Husks, husks, and more husks... it sure seems like an army was drowned here and their bodies were raised by the dark power of the Onyx Tower." Rain commented, where she slashed one of the husks apart before moving out of the way so she didn't get hit by the poison that erupted from it's body, while at the same time her friends did the same thing, while those that were in the distance fell due to Adrianna's spells.

"I was expecting more enemies, especially since we're getting closer to the Tower." Kromlech said, though that was when he and the others noticed a large scaled creature that looked like a cross between an armadillo and a snapping turtle, or at least that was what it looked like to him since it was similar to a landshark that pulled itself out of the ground, "Huh, a bulette... well, we were hoping for new enemies and one has shown up."

Rain found that there was actually a second bulette hanging out in the area and that they were tougher than the foes they had fought so far, as their scaled hides allowed them to tank more damage than all of the husks they had cut down, not to mention they seemed to push through their spells as well. As such they had to be more careful in how they approached the creatures, since they seemed like getting hit by them could deal some serious damage to them, or at least to all of her friends since her armor seemed to be designed to keep her safe, a gift from the dwarves to their valued savior. With that in mind they carefully moved around the bulettes and cut them down, confirming that it wasn't an easy feat given what they had dealt with before this point, but after taking both out the group made sure to heal their wounds with some of the potions they had gathered. If these things were the guardians of the temple it meant they were on the right track and that they had to be more careful than when they fought the lizardfolk who had been guarding the path to Sess'sth, especially since all of them were convinced that more than two would be disastrous for them.

The challenge came when the bulettes dug into the ground and disappeared for a time, leaving them to guess where the beasts would show up next, though it made Rain wonder what in the world might be waiting inside the Onyx Tower, not to mention making her glad that they were doing this since it would save the people of Baldur's Gate.

As they moved deeper and deeper into the bog, seeking the temple that would allow them to enter the Water Stair, not to mention the Onyx Tower eventually, Rain found that not only was the number of bulettes increasing, but so were some of their sizes, as a few were larger than the ones before them. Such a thing meant that they had to face the larger ones with everyone working together, instead of breaking into groups to deal with their foes, though it was while they were fighting one of them that Rain spotted the temple off in the distance, meaning it was closer that they initially assumed. Of course it had a massive bulette guarding the entrance, which roared and challenged them to battle without delay, causing Rain and her friends to lash out at the beast while avoiding being hit by either it's clawed feet or the teeth that would snap them in half if it grabbed them. Fortunately the guardian beast seemed to be dumber than those that came before it, allowing Rain and the others to deal some great damage to it's body before it even reacted to what they were doing, especially since it collapsed after a few moments and allowed them to relax a little as they stared at the old marble temple.

"If this was the guardian of the temple, I almost don't want to know what's inside it." Vahn remarked, though what really worried him was whatever was guarding the Lady of the Tower, since they were going to be far worse than what might be in the temple, since the difficulty of enemies seemed to grow as he and his friends got further along in their unexpected adventure.

"While I agree with you, we have to deal with them before they're set on their terrible mission." Rain said, which was on her mind at all times right now, that what happened to the dwarves in the Sunset Mountains would happen to the people of Baldur's Gate if they failed to stop the Lady's dark plans.

Adrianna, Vahn, and Kromlech glanced at each other for a moment before nodding their heads as they followed Rain into the temple without delay, where they found that the marble was only for the entrance as the lower level was just carved out of stone, with old pottery around them and a stone head with ruby eyes behind them. It was then that Rain had her first encounter with the minotaurs, tall humanoid bull creatures who didn't seem to wear anything other than loincloths, a fact that made her wonder why the beast races seemed to hate armor, and used it's powerful hands or horns in place of actual weapons. Fighting them seemed to be a simple matter of blocking their attacks and hacking into their body while an opening was exposed, targeting the limbs and chest to be exact while Shadow jumped onto their backs and tore into their exposed necks, which was useful when there were more of them. As they traveled Rain found that the minotaur did have armor in their possession, the silver full plate armor and the black half plate, where she made sure that her friends were outfitted first before adding all of the other pieces to what was inside her bag of holding.

Another thing they had were really good potions, the type that would greatly heal them or restore their mana, which gave them a good reason to collect them as well, though Rain found that her earlier thought about enemies getting tougher was false when thinking about the minotaur, as they were weaker than the bulettes. There were plenty of enchanted gear for them to take, weapons that were incredibly sharp or had elemental powers and armor that either protected them far more than an ordinary piece or had resistances, such as protecting them from poison, frost, or even fire. Adrianna made sure that anything not claimed by her or the others were stored away, sharing Rain's thoughts that once they got back to Baldur's Gate, or any safe haven, they could sell some of the items and obtain some money for the road, since there was no telling what would happen at the end of this journey. Rain was of the opinion that the four of them could continue with their travels, as she was sure that Jherek would have more work for them to do whenever they finally returned to Baldur's Gate and having a stable job with such a group had to come with some sort of benefits.

That earned a chuckle from the others, though they shared her thoughts, they worked well as a team and it didn't make sense to split them up once this adventure was over, though their fun was short lived as they discovered a spiral ramp that went down into the earth, with spikes around the summit, where Rain was sure it lead into an Elemental Plane.

"Your strength is great, as many enemies lie dead... to attack you is to die." a voice said, where they found that Sleyvas was standing nearby, which was odd when they considered the fact that he hadn't been with them throughout the journey to this point, though he held up a hand to stop them before they said anything, "I know of a secret passage to this point, one only my people can use, and knew of your approach due to wards placed on this place. This hole is the door to a world of water... hu-man shamans called it an Element Plane... Plane of Water. There is a similar gate in the Onyx Tower, so using this will allow you to enter the Tower... I have spell to get you in, but not to get back out... you will have to find a way out on your own."

"There's likely an Onyx Gate somewhere we can use." Rain commented, because if the Lady of the Tower was able to talk with the allies they had slain so far, through means that were still unknown to them, it meant there had to be a way for those very beings to leave the Tower safely, where she found that her friends agreed with her.

She did, however, know that this was the end of their journey, the Onyx Tower was within reach, meaning it was time for one last rest before they delved into what was likely the most dangerous place they will ever visit and face who knew what until they found the Lady, and whatever else the future held in store for them.

Comments

[badninja]

As the wise sage once said never split the party.

Edit

[Night_Moon60606]

well, into the Plane of Water...a place that is the very pinnacle in a lesson in extremes...when the waters of that endless ocean are not perfectly calm, they are whipped by fearsome storms that wash away entire islands. ships from many lands, navies and worlds are stranded there, never to return home. most of the locals live under the water and rarely surface, though when they do...

when dry land does not exist, displaced air breathers lash ships, rafts, anything that floats really, into large floating towns, and if you know what the hell you are doing, its possible to ply thee treacherous seas safely...off hand? yeah, Rain's party is doomed...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11536913 Actually, you don't visit the Plane of Water, or any of the Planes for that matter, in the first game. Rather you get to visit all four of them in the second game... the Water Stair is, in essence, just a portal to get the players into the Onyx Tower.