Still reeling from the lecture received from Princess Leigha the Bold of Moldena, as well as the battering received from the skeleton warriors, the adventurers trudge back up to the top of the ruins to wake Kristov from his slumber.
As they approached the stairs, the trio heard the harpies’ screeches and the cries of their companion.
Just moments earlier, Kristov was sleeping peacefully next to his trusted donkey, when they were startled awake by the sound of large flapping wings. Quickly rising to his feet, Kristov was surprised to see the two surviving harpies bearing down
The larger of the pair screamed at him in a broken voice, “Sister! Where is our sister?!”
Kristov lied to the monster saying, “I know not creature. She flew away after we encountered you all.”
The harpy looked at him quizzically, baring her fangs and claws at him before hissing, “Then why sister not return to nest?”
Kristov, now fully awake, looked at the bird monsters slyly before confidently saying, “I saw her fly to the northwest with my spyglass.” He holds the looking glass aloft and points toward the cliffs, “No doubt she is there now. Best you leave now to find her before my companions return.”
The harpies ponder his words before screeching and taking off in a cloud of feathers but not before leaving a heap of dung in their wake.
As the team races out the front of the ruined tower to save him, Kristov is shocked to see the third harpy seemingly alive still. “Yee gads,” he exclaims. “I knew you were performing a ritual but how could you bring that thing to life.” The undead harpy merely looks at him with its milky dead eyes as Faus beams over his handiwork.
“No time for that,” Jabbles says. “We have good news and bad news. How do you feel about spirits and the promise of great treasures?”
“Well, I like one of those,” Kristov said ruefully.
The goblin perks up at this and almost squeals with delight as he says, “The good news is that there is some cursed treasure we can have. But the bad news is that ghost lady won’t let us touch it until we kill a demon.”
At the mention of the princess, Jabari growls and says, “Or we could just kill the ghost princess.” “Noooo!” Jabbles yells, “Don’t list to wolf-man.”
The party ponders the idea for a moment before Kristov speaks up, “At least with demons it gives you something physical to attack. I’m not sure how we could kill a ghost.”
Jabari smirks and says, “I do like it when I can hit things.”
With the plan of action settled, the adventurers set forth back into the tunnels below the ruins. Leaving Faus and Jabari at the ruin-inscribed door, Jabbles takes Kristov to the treasure room. “Shhhh,” the goblin says. “Princess-lady sleeps here. We can’t touch the silver until she says so.”
Looking around the room, Kristov sees a pile of silver next to a tomb and a small chest in a corner. “Cursed?” He asks the goblin.
“Cursed” Jabbles says as he nods in affirmation.
Heading back to the others, they are met with a prod from Faus.
“We’ve killed a lot of skeletons just to leave everything here,” the deformed sorcerer says. “These ruins should keep the demon from escaping, so we can retreat if we need to.”
“Say a word to your gods if you need to,” Jabari says as he steps through the doorway. The hulking wolfkin leads the party down a dusty hallway, noting that he can see footprints in the dust motes. Strangely, it seems the footprints lead only one way, deeper into the ruins.
The group quickly finds another set of doors, only this time the doors are made of iron. With a grunt of effort, Jabari pushes the heavy iron doors aside and steps into a large chamber. As soon as he does, torches alight around the room, showing a hexagonal space that slopes downward toward a pit. Littered across the space are the skeletons of previous adventurers.
“Well I guess we know why none of the footprints lead back,” Faus says.
Stealthily making his way to the edge of the pit, Jabari looks down to see if he can make a bottom to the hole but is only met with inky darkness. However, he starts to hear a growl after a few moments, soon a small breeze wafts upward, and he smells the stench of carrion. Shortly thereafter, a bright light grows mostly until the wolfkin sees a demon flying out of the darkness.
Looking much like a giant-sized wolfkin, the demon has reddish skin, misshapen dark fur all over its body, large bat wings on its back, claws for hands, and two broken horns on its head. All across its body are scars and wounds healed over from countless battles.
The demon looks around the room and beings to laugh. “Not much of a meal this time to disturb my slumber,” it says.
The adventurers begin to pace around the room, taking up as defensive of positions as they can. The demon stares at them before settling his gaze upon Jabbles and Jango.
“The goblin and the wolf might make a tasty appetizer before I have the rest of you for a meal,” the demon says with a laugh.
Notching an arrow as his wolf mount begins to growl, Jabbles calls out of the massive demon. “You — red-wolf-thing! Why you eat Jabbles? Why not leave this place?”
The question makes the demon laugh even more.
“Why leave when tasty morsels such as yourselves present them to me from time to time? No reason to return to Churmog when I get everything I want right here.” The demon says.
Kristov calls out to the beast, “Why even come to our plane in the first place?”
The demon responds, “I was called here through a portal at the behest of the wizard Zygofer. He bid me fight an army, so I did. It wasn’t until that damn princess, and her riders wore me down that I became trapped here.”
He then lurches forward on his bat wings and roars in the face of Jabbles, who is overcome with fear and cowers against the wall as Jango moves to protect him.
Faus speaks up at this point, causing the demon to avert his gaze from the goblin. “More likely, you are trapped here and cannot return. But worry not, we will return you there shortly.”
“Return me? I am Quel’ Noth the Conqueror, and it took an army just to slow me down,” the demon said. “What can the likes you raggedy lot ever hope to do to me? Be polite, and I’ll kill you before I eat you.”
Looking more closely at Faus, Quel’ Noth asks, “What even ARE you? Might actually have to cook you first.”
Faus smirks and replies, “Nobody’s ever seen anyone quite like me big fella.” With that, he whips out his flute and begins to play a jaunty melody. The music envigorates Jabbles and brings him back to his feet. Curiously, it has the opposite effect on Quel’ Noth. The demon recoils in horror at the music and he flaps backward in the air and crashes into a column.
“Make it stop!” He bellows. “Stop that accursed music!”
Seeing an opening, Jabari leaps out and, with a mighty swing of his sword, buries the blade deep in the demon’s flesh.
“Quel’Noth eh? More like Quel-Nothing!” The wolfkin quips.
With the demon hunched over on the ground, the party now sees that his hide hangs loose from his body. Undoubtedly the devil had been starving for some time and was much more significant in the past.
Jabari rushes in and takes another swipe at Quel’ Noth, tearing into the monster’s belly. With a groan, the demon lurches forward and falls back into the pit as it dies, but not before saying, “Really? This is how it ends. Damn you Zygofer.”
The team rushes to the edge of the pit and hears a “squish” as the demon’s body eventually lands. At the point, the ruins inscribed on the walls burst forth with light, and the princess’s ghost returns to view.
“My champions!” She exclaims. “Strange though you may be, destiny has called you to the place to end our curse. My riders and I can finally know peace. May you use all you find in my tomb to the benefit of all.”
As her final words hang in the air, the light builds to a blinding crescendo before the room falls dark. Heading back to the princess’ crypt, the adventurers split up the mountain of silver and find a silver sarcophagus hiding in the chest again the corner.
Looking at her tomb in the center of the room, the group notices that it is larger than normal — especially for a human female. “Dare we open it?” Jabbles asks.
With a quick prayer to their various gods, the team lifts the lid off the tomb and peer inside. Therein lies the princess, almost mummified by the passage of time. Her kin had laid her to rest in a ceremonial gown with a crown of gold. However, once the lid falls off, her remains quickly turn to dust and fly away. All that is left is the princess’ spear, a mighty weapon still in good repair, albeit the haft is broken.
Kristov looks over the yari, and notes that it could be easily repaired. The business end of the weapon has three blades, one in the middle and two to the side. The pole of the spear ends in a metal cap.
“I could easily fix this in a town,” the peddler says, “Or we could take it to a smith.”
Jabari looks over at Jabbles and exclaims, “The goblin could use it perfectly just now. Just imagine the little guy using it as a lance as he rides his wolf.”
The goblin grins in approval and happily dances with the spear when Kristov hands it to him. Looking at the words inscribed in gold on the blade, he says, “This spear is extra fancy. It reads ‘Princess’ Pokey.’ Take a look.”
Faus looks over the inscription and sees that it actually says “Wolf’s Maw” but opts not to ruin the goblin’s run. “You’re right,” the sorcerer says. “A legendary weapon should have a good name. ‘Princess’ Pokey’ it is!”
As the team leaves the crypt, the ruins around them begin to shake, and the stones in the walls start falling down.
“Run!” Kristov bellows. The adventurers barely make it to the ladder to the outside as the ruins collapse around them. Unfortunately for Faus, his pet undead harpy Tinkerbell was not so speedy and was crushed during the escape.
“She’s up there killing angels now”, Faus says with a tear in his eye.
After splitting up their treasure, Kristov decides the next stop should be at The Hollows.
“It’s a fair-sized trading town, or so I hear,” he says. “If we follow the river, it might lead right to it.”
As the party continues, it only takes about a quarter of a day to find another traveler. Just off the starboard side of their canoe, they can see a large cog slowly making its way down the river. A human Ailander waves at them and beckons them to come alongside.
“Well met,” the man says. “I am Capt. Sertold of the Moon Apple. I’m making my way to the Hollows on a trading trip. What brings you out to these lands?”
Kristov, immediately warming to a fellow trader, informs Sertold of their exploits and makes arrangements to travel with the river captain until they reach the town.
While waiting on the others to load Kristov’s donkey, Jabbles stealthily searches around the cog’s top before finding a door to the small hold. Resting his ear against the door, he heads someone on the other side. “Who goes there,” Jabbles whispers.
The wolf rider hears a squeak from the other side. “Please,” a sad voice response, “I am just a simple goblin. I don’t want to make trouble. Please don’t let the human find me.”
Jabbles questions the voice, “Why you hide on boat? Why you no with clan?”
The voice responds, saying, “My name is Meroggha. My brother is hateful, but he is also clan chieftain. He threw me out and threatened to kill me. I’m just trying to escape.”
Jabbles perks up at the idea of another goblin to talk with. “Why not come outside, humans all think us the same. We tell sailor man that there was always two of us.”
Meroggha says he’s too scared and refuses to come out. Giving up after awhile, Jabbles promises to sneak his “cousin” some food in the night.
Meanwhile, with all their gear and spoils adequately stowed, the party casts off once again and enjoys a leisurely ride to their next adventure, unaware that their compatriot is hiding a stowaway….
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