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[Laufey]

The old man softened, and nodded. "Have we? Aye, and plenty of it. Nary an eve goes by without us losing another hand to the night. I swear, if we could just get a few moments of uninterrupted digging done..." he trailed off, and his eyes sparkled, "Say! You wouldn't be willing to do a little service for me, would you? You could do a lot worse than working for ol' Charleston Nib."

Ah, another of my favorite quests!

Jade frowned. "Magical treasure? I was under the impression that no one knows what's to be found there? Why are you so sure?"

"Old mister Nib would never admit it, but that is mainly because he doesn't wish to jinx the dig. From what I could decipher in the ancient writings, the final room contains 'the plate that provides bounty, leading food unto god'. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what that means. Obviously the item under all that dirt and rubble is enchanted such that it 'provides bounty.' Whether it's through increased crops or good hunting I care not. Regardless, an object of that age and enchantment should command a hefty price and I intent to see that it does. You can be a part of it if you wish."

Yeah, right.

"What did you intend?" Branwen asked Jade, her tone demanding.

The fightress grinned. "Simple. I won't touch the hapless old man in charge. We'll just slay that slime after our little job, and get his pay anyway. If the gold's a bluff, we're still doing the world a favor."

Ah, I like that.

"Oh yes," Xzar nodded, "But that Eldoth Kron really does play a delightfully slimy Fzoul Chembryl. And the leading couple was nice too, with Miss Silke as Bara Chest and Sir Garrick as Neverwinter Jones. I got his autograph this morning, you know. And once back in town and I reanimate her, I’ll have the matched pair!"

Now, that makes a lot of sense.

Around the chamber, her ready party dealt with the berserk commoners without breaking much of a sweat. Branwen knocked one to the floor with her shield, then summoned her spiritual hammer and crushed the prone man’s skull. Kagain ripped open one’s intestines with his axe while the shovel banged tinnily on his helm, and then drug him to the floor with the hook. Montaron amputated one’s leg with his enchanted shortsword, and when the man fell he hacked open the throat with a wicked laugh. Xan, who had gone greenish in the face from the rancid air, out of mortal terror if nothing else made use of his magical moonblade, which sliced through the shovel like butter, and opened the miner from collar to crotch. Edwin broke one of his precious nails when the last miner banged his shovel against the quarterstaff where he held it, and swore in cracking Thayvian, but Xzar drove the Revenant’s dagger right into the crazed fellow’s temple, lobotomizing him with a twist of the wrist and a giggle of glee.

Just one minor nitpick there...if you want to properly lobotomize somebody, you need to insert your dagger into his forehead, not his temple. Never mind me, it's really only a minor detail, but I thought you might want to know all the same.

“…The tribe that lived here must have worshiped Kozah and the destruction he brought. The artifact that lies within this stone sarcophagus must be what has caused all of this bloodshed. Surely that artifact is cursed beyond belief! Please make sure it is within its proper place and we will seal the entrance. It’s best that it never sees the light of day.”

But I suspect somebody will bring it out all the same...

Charleston sprang up from his campsite far away, but couldn’t make anything out in the new-fallen darkness. Soon, however, he saw what they all did. Xan nearly fainted, Montaron stopped short of hacking through Gallor’s neck, and the others emitted gasps of disbelief. A ghostly figure appeared in the midst of the gravelly pit, seven feet tall; its figures were blurred but basically humanoid in shape, an armored humanoid at that like some spectral knight; most prominently of all it carried a flaming sword.

As I said...

The other six all turned to Montaron. “Idol?” the halfling blushed. “Oh…that ‘idol’. I thought Nib said we shouldn’t idle in the chamber, ye se, and…”

Ah, so it was Monty.

All was quiet for a moment, everyone looking at Xan, who remained petrified “Ah…” Edwin smiled, “I suppose that takes care of that. Perhaps the forest-frolicker’s innate pansy-magic or his unstylish robe’s abjurations simply disp-“

Xan’s eyes rolled back into his head until only the whites showed, and his mouth opened. “Rrrackne dall’a osa KOZAH!” His head turned, and turned, and turned, and kept turning, making an impossible complete rotation. “YOU ARE ALL DOOMED!” he bellowed, and force-vomited his morning gruel right into Edwin’s face.

LOL! Excorcist time!

The possessed elf dashed into the darkness, chanting the unfathomable refrain with the punctuating “KOZAH…..”. A minute later, several sounds echoed back. The energy hum of the moonblade whizzing through the air, and the hissing of magical burn as it sliced flesh open, followed by Charleston Nib’s bloodcurdling scream, cut short with a bone-crack, and then a full minute of wet chewing.

Or is it the Blair Nib project?

“We never come back,” Jade stated like the finality of a death-knell. Montaron broke from their shared, frozen shock, and looted Gallor with practiced efficiency, catching up in moments while the others bolted, winding their way out of the rocky ravine. They dashed northeast across wooded fields, overland to Beregost with dire fervor, and did not stop to camp that night until the moon was high.

The elven enchanter possessed by the forgotten god loped its way north at an animal speed. The large game it passed instinctively fled, but even the fleet deer the aberration hunted down, slaying and devouring them with monstrous speed and appetite. But it was drawn, either by the god’s hunger for means of power or for some fusion with the Greycloak, to the scent of magic, and thus the strongest such source within many leagues. The High Hedge.

Very atmospheric, and I fear for that poor wizard fellow in High Hedge.

[Arcalian]

I like Jade.

"Oh yes," Xzar nodded, "But that Eldoth Kron really does play a delightfully slimy Fzoul Chembryl. And the leading couple was nice too, with Miss Silke as Bara Chest and Sir Garrick as Neverwinter Jones. I got his autograph this morning, you know. And once back in town and I reanimate her, I’ll have the matched pair!"

Heh. I think Safana woulda made a better Bara Chest.

The possessed elf dashed into the darkness, chanting the unfathomable refrain with the punctuating “KOZAH…..”. A minute later, several sounds echoed back. The energy hum of the moonblade whizzing through the air, and the hissing of magical burn as it sliced flesh open, followed by Charleston Nib’s bloodcurdling scream, cut short with a bone-crack, and then a full minute of wet chewing.

“We never come back,” Jade stated like the finality of a death-knell. Montaron broke from their shared, frozen shock, and looted Gallor with practiced efficiency, catching up in moments while the others bolted, winding their way out of the rocky ravine. They dashed northeast across wooded fields, overland to Beregost with dire fervor, and did not stop to camp that night until the moon was high.

The elven enchanter possessed by the forgotten god loped its way north at an animal speed. The large game it passed instinctively fled, but even the fleet deer the aberration hunted down, slaying and devouring them with monstrous speed and appetite. But it was drawn, either by the god’s hunger for means of power or for some fusion with the Greycloak, to the scent of magic, and thus the strongest such source within many leagues. The High Hedge.

HOLY (expletive)!