Grant - Turn 56

"Well it's living," declares Grant whose Life Detection crystal is glowing when he holds it in the direction of the lump Zanthia is pointing to, "whatever it is!"

Something leaps up from their right and behind them. The left lump also rises up and each is a huge white beast, looking a lot like a great tiger, pure white in colour and with almost tusk-like lower incisors. It appears they use the snow for camouflage and were lying in ambush.

Each measures some ten to eleven feet in length with extremely muscular physique and vicious looking claws protruding from their paws. Beren's mind considers the claw he now wears and the fact that it looks like it came from one of these things.

Grant wastes no time and calls up his 'Warrior' power to envelop the party as Beren releases a Fiery bolt from the end of his fingers to strike one of the beasts in the flank. The creature backs off a little and snarls as smoke rises from the area of burnt fur and blackened flesh, hunger however seems to overcome its fear and it starts to move in again. Garthrana pulls out one of her scrolls and starts to chant.

Grant grunts with effort and hacks across the snout of the beast which has just taken a huge chunk out of his thigh. It yelps in pain and Zanthia follows up his blow with a desperate stab into its throat, twisting the blade as its fur and the snow rapidly turns red. An already bloodied Angua brings her axe down heavily into its back to make sure of the kill with a terrible cracking sound.

Beren meanwhile has been having a hard time with the creature that attacked him and managed to knock his spear to one side. He now lies in the snow trying very hard to avoid having his throat ripped out. Garthrana meanwhile has managed to persuade the last of the beasts to retreat after her Fireball exploded into it. The smoking and somewhat blackened beast limps off across the wastes and she is able to come to the aid of Beren.

The creature on Beren is the largest of the three and has made a real mess of the shaman's shoulder and right arm. Garthrana fists her spiked gauntlets its side to draw its attention away from Beren, only to have it turn on her and swipe its claws right across her right thigh. Angua pulls her axe out of the beast she has slain and moves with Grant to help the other two. This last beast takes numerous blows before eventually the battering takes its toll. Beren gaining his revenge on it by pulling the claw from around his neck and using that to rip across its belly, spilling its guts.

"You know," says Beren as he bandages his own shoulder, "this was perhaps not the best way to come." He looks across to Grant who is attending to the wound on his own thigh, "It would seem that your gods are not shining on us on this day."

"We won didn't we," says the dwarf, "and with the help of my 'warrior' power though victory would have been even swifter if my Summon Beast had worked and that thing had not managed to get me before I could have started berserking people."

"Well how about healing us then," says Angua but Grant seems to be keeping from using more of his power at the moment incase more beasts attack. "I suspect you had something to do with making us come this way," adds Angua with a knowing look on her face as she downs her potion of strong heal.

"Look I assure you," declares Grant to the group, but especially to Angua, "that it really is in our best interests to seek out the Bearded ones."

"Here you are," says Angua as she hands her magical Cloak of Everwarmth to Garthrana. "What about you?" asks the mage as she wraps the lovely warm apparel about her. "You'll see, just don't be alarmed," replies the dwarf as she strips and drops down on all fours. Garthrana is impressed by the transformation that sees Angua now in wolf form, the fur protecting her from the cold.

"Come on," calls out Grant, someway ahead of the group and holding his Life Detection crystal firmly ahead of himself. The crystal suddenly starts to glow again but the source is certainly not as large as the tigers. It seems that Grant's summon beast, whilst not powerful enough to bring something as strong as the Snarlth Tigers to him has brought forth the next available creature in the area… a small snow hare… possibly supper…

"How much further?" asks Zanthia as she wipes the snow from her face. "Well we've been going two days," says Beren, "so according to the tribe we should be upon it so.."

"It's wonderful!" interrupts the cry from ahead.

It is Grant and he is stood at the top of a slope that leads down into a narrow valley. As the others join him, he points to the right, where at the base of one of the huge peaks stands two giants…

The figures appear to be carved from the stone face of the mountain itself and stand some ninety feet tall. Though covered mostly in snow it is still possible to see that they resemble long-bearded dwarves in full battle armour and both holding two-handed warhammers. The hammers are crossed and directly below where they cross it is possible to just make out the top of a large tunnel entrance, the rest of the tunnel obscured by a huge snow drift.

The quiet of the valley is broken by an echoing roar off to the left.

Zanthia cast Farsee and reports, "I can see at least two Snarlth Tigers apparently having an argument with a mother Tiger and her one… two… three… four… five…. er I think that's another one… yes… six cubs. They are about three hundred yards away along the valley to the left."

" Beren knocks back the flask of healing tea given to him by Jorcoss and stretches as slowly it begins its work on his arm and shoulder. Garthrana is attempting to attend to her own injuries but in gratitude for her saving him, the shaman uses his Faith Healing power upon her.

Zanthia is keeping a watch where the tigers are whilst Angua and Grant discuss plans of how to get down to the tunnel entrance they can see.

“Well I recommend that we try to avoid the tigers that Zanthia has seen at all costs,” says Beren as he attempts to make a herbal healing potion in his now empty flask.

“I mean the damage three of them did to us was enough - to fight that many, including a mother defending her cubs, which would no doubt be more vicious than those just hunting, is not something I want to rush into.”

Grant holds up his hands defensively.

“I’m not suggesting we go anywhere near them,” he explains, “Angua here thinks that we might be able to get down into the valley quite close to the mountainside.”

Garantha looks suspiciously at the wolf which growls back at her, “Don’t worry it looks suitable for two legs as well as four.”

The party follow Angua down the steep slope, Zanthia continuing to keep a watch on the tigers whilst Beren makes sure he has a Faith Shield active.

An area of crumbling ice is making the journey difficult and in an effort to lighten the mood and take minds away from the peril, Beren comments, “I have to congratulate you Grant on having a miracle so useful as ‘summon supper’, that hare was quite delicious. That said, I am grateful that my Bone of Eternal Marrow means that hunting for me at least, is largely unnecessary on this quest.”

“I wouldn’t mind trying your bone,” says Garthrana in all innocence, who then wonders why Grant starts guffawing and a smirk slides across Beren’s face. “I mean I’d like to give it a suck,” she continues, still not realising what other meaning the men of the party are putting on it only that Grant is holding his sides and is shaking uncontrollably with laughter.

“What? What’s so funny?” she asks as they continue making their way downwards, “I only want to taste it…”

“Impressive eh?” says Grant as he and the others stand in the drifts at the shins of the statues and look upwards.

“They are certainly magnificent statues,” comments Beren, “but before we enter I’d like to examine them to determine things like how long they have been standing there, whether they are a natural phenomenon, made by mortals or made by the gods.”

“Just look at the workmanship,” says Grant, “definitely dwarven.”

Beren touches the weather-worn surface of the statue and estimates that it is several thousand years old.

“Let’s not hang around out here,” suggests Zanthia, “they have not noticed us yet but it is only a matter of time.”

The breath of the party members hangs in the air in clouds as Zanthia is helped down the drift that almost completely fills the huge tunnel entrance.

Grant has lit a torch and is already examining the walls upon which are carved images of armoured dwarven figures in battle with what look definitely like huge dragons. They are also shown to be fighting humanoid lizard creatures with dragon-like heads, which from the scale of the dwarven figures Grant would estimate to stand some seven feet tall.

The huge tunnel continues off into the darkness the crackling torchlight cannot reach.

Angua keep moving off ahead, with Grant and the others eventually following.

The great tunnel travels some eighty feet into the mountain before it opens out into an impressive large chamber that measures some sixty feet across by some forty feet deep. In the wall ahead can be seen three large stone doors, each of which appears to have some form of ‘push in’ block jutting from them.

The carvings on the walls within the chamber show dwarves standing over the bodies of dead lizard creatures and dead dragons. On the doors however can be seen some form of dwarven runic carving which is also present in between them on that far wall.

Getting up close, Grant chips away at some of the ice that obscures some of the runes and tries to decipher them.

“Did you hear that?” asks Garthrana and Beren nods in reply.

Looking back down the long tunnel it is just possible to see the silhouette of a large tiger beast climbing over the drift into the tunnel.

Grant is oblivious to what is happening behind him and announces.

“On the door to the left are the words;

‘LIKE DEEP IN LONG’

On the door to the right are the words;

‘HARD BEHIND SIT SAFER’

Whilst the door ahead has carved into it;

‘WASTE SHEER ROT TIN’

In between the doors the runes read ‘You who enter it is clear, that failure is what should you fear. To reach this far your path has been true, but fail this test and it will become hidden to you. Enter a door, but the right one be sure. Be wrong and it will, potentially kill!”

“This next bit I’m sure I’ve translated correctly,” continues Grant, “but it doesn’t seem to make sense. It says ‘What you want is three birds and a fish if the true path is what you wish.’”

Angua has joined Beren and growls back to Grant, “I think you’d better hurry, as we’ve got company.”