The Sin Eater
01-21-11, 09:50 AM
Ranger Mission: Down Under
'Comb Mountains have been a natural barrier between Empire’s Radasanthia barony and the Rangers’ Concordia. With the only passage through the mountains heavily guarded by the Empire, the Rangers need to seek alternative routes through the mountains. There is a rumor that almost a millennia ago, in the time of Demon Wars, the dwarves dug their tunnels deep beneath the Comb Mountains. Your mission is to scout out these passages and discover whether or not they are passable for a larger number of soldiers. But be aware; there’s a good possibility that a number of creatures made their lairs during the centuries the tunnels were without upkeep.'
After two days of thorough searching, Thomas William Braelrain had finally found what he wanted: a crevice large enough to allow large numbers of soldiers pass through. He had been hired as a freelancer by the Corone Rangers to find a suitable passage way through the Comb Mountains. Since all the usual paths through and over the mountains were guarded by the so-called evil Empire, this was there only option. The Rangers and the Empire had some quarrel; the latter thought the former to be corrupt or whatnot, and the former just didn't want to loose its reign. Or wait, shouldn't that be the other way around? Anyhow, Thomas had no little interest in politics and civil wars.
He had already been planning to go the mountains to investigate the rumors of demon infestation. Demons were is his main and most of the time only interest and the rest of the world could go to hell when he was hunting one. Well, if the world would literally be going to hell then he might get involved, but that was 'bout it. Nevertheless, when he had heard the the Rangers were looking for a freelancer he hadn't wasted the opportunity to earn some extra cash and perhaps even gain a better reputation. He needed to explore the Comb Mountains anyway, so it wouldn't distract him from his main task to search for demonic influences.
So there he was, standing at the entrance of a dark shaft which hopefully led deep into and out of the mountains, allowing the Ranger's little boy club to get to the other side. Tom decided not to waste any more time and just go in and hope for the best. Luckily he had thought of bringing enough torches with him to last to the end of his little expedition. If not, then he was sure he would find some along the way. He had done some background research on the mountains and it appeared to be an ancient Dwarven dig site, so there would probably still be some equipment laying about.
As he lit a torch and entered the gloomy cave he noticed a flow of air.
'Lucky me,' he thought, 'if there's an air stream then that means I've entered a larger network of tunnels.'.
Without giving his eyes any time to adjust to the darkness Tom quickly paced deeper into the subterrane. The atmosphere was somewhat damp and he could hear the slow, constant dripping of water. Moist was a good sign as it might mean there were underground rivers, perhaps a branch of the Niema river. If that was the case then his job for the Rangers would be an easy one as he could just follow its course and probably end up on the other side of the mountains. In additino, an underground river was probably the most effective way of transporting goods or troops through a large mountain. There was also less chance of getting lost as even a branching river had a lot less options then the countless shafts the Dwarves had probably dug. That reminded Tom of something: he had to draw a map. After he placed his torch on the ground supported by some rocks, he grabbed an empty piece of paper from his backpack and draw an 'S' and a slightly curved line which symbolized the start of the cavern and the shaft he was in.
As he reached down to pick up his torch he noticed something distressing. He hadn't seen it before because his eyes hadn't adjusted yet, but now he could clearly see numerous white horns scattered on the ground. He instantly recognized their slightly curved shape, they were not of any harmless ungulate specie but of demon origin! Though perhaps not of the actual demon lords, these horns were without any doubt from Orcs, Goblins or any other equally evil creature. As always, Tom had brought his Necronomicon with him but while it might help him identify the specific creature, he decided not to waste time to do so.
'These are probably old,' he reasoned, 'perhaps remainders of the Demon Wars.'
Just to be sure he grabbed two spiky horns and put them in his backpack. As his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness he could now clearly see the shape of the cavern. As far as he could tell, the cave went on for quite a while and didn't seem to branch as of yet. It was a slightly curved passage way so he couldn't see the entrance anymore. Other then the scattered horns he couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary, just a lot of rock and a few cave mushrooms.
As such, he just started walking again. After about half an hour of walking, he finally reached the end of the cavern. Luckily, there appeared to be a small shaft on the right wall which hopefully led to another passage way. After marking the end of the cave on his map he crawled into the tiny opening. The shaft was so small he had to crawl on his hands and knees.
The ground was quite watery and he could feel water dripping in his neck.
'I must be getting closer to a river or well or something,' he thought, 'hopefully it's a fresh source of wa-'.
BAM! He had busted his head into something. As he brought up his torch to see what he had bumped into he suddenly saw the face of a horrendous monster.
“Yihaaah!” it screeched in a painfully high pitched voice.
“Waaaah!” he screamed back, scared shitless by its sudden presence.
In a reflex he tried to get up but his head could only go as far as the ceiling, resulting in another painful scream. The pain reflex caused his head now to go forward, right into the beast's head. The following headbutt made a dull sound. Smashing his face into an opponent's one was something he was quite used to, but the dark creature in front of him apparently wasn't and looked dazed. Without hesitation Tom grabbed its ugly head and smashed it into the wall. He thought he heard the sound of a cracking skill but just to be sure he smacked it a couple more times until he could feel it didn't resist anymore.
As he let go of the beast's skull it dropped to the ground and was without doubt as dead as it could be. His could feel his heart race as a madman and with a trembling hand he raised his torch over the creature's remains.
“Oh frack,” he said out loud, “this ain't no beast.”
It indeed wasn't. It appeared to be either a midget or child but clearly humanoid. It had an oversized head with little hair on it – and no horns either. Its tiny torso was covered in tattoos and a few scars, probably simply the result of its underground life. He figured that the small addendum between its legs meant that the thing was actually a boy, or a tiny man.
“Well, isn't this great,” he murmured as he recognized one of the boy/man's tattoos, “there are demons here for sure, that's the sign of a demon from the lower circles of hell.”
As his adrenaline level started to reduce he began to feel a rather nasty headache which would probably get a lot worse, but what would one expect after hitting one's head three times in a few moments. He checked for blood but luckily there wasn't any.
'Crap, why didn't I take some painkillers with me?'
He did have several types of herbs and some bandages on him, but they were of no use against headaches.
'Comb Mountains have been a natural barrier between Empire’s Radasanthia barony and the Rangers’ Concordia. With the only passage through the mountains heavily guarded by the Empire, the Rangers need to seek alternative routes through the mountains. There is a rumor that almost a millennia ago, in the time of Demon Wars, the dwarves dug their tunnels deep beneath the Comb Mountains. Your mission is to scout out these passages and discover whether or not they are passable for a larger number of soldiers. But be aware; there’s a good possibility that a number of creatures made their lairs during the centuries the tunnels were without upkeep.'
After two days of thorough searching, Thomas William Braelrain had finally found what he wanted: a crevice large enough to allow large numbers of soldiers pass through. He had been hired as a freelancer by the Corone Rangers to find a suitable passage way through the Comb Mountains. Since all the usual paths through and over the mountains were guarded by the so-called evil Empire, this was there only option. The Rangers and the Empire had some quarrel; the latter thought the former to be corrupt or whatnot, and the former just didn't want to loose its reign. Or wait, shouldn't that be the other way around? Anyhow, Thomas had no little interest in politics and civil wars.
He had already been planning to go the mountains to investigate the rumors of demon infestation. Demons were is his main and most of the time only interest and the rest of the world could go to hell when he was hunting one. Well, if the world would literally be going to hell then he might get involved, but that was 'bout it. Nevertheless, when he had heard the the Rangers were looking for a freelancer he hadn't wasted the opportunity to earn some extra cash and perhaps even gain a better reputation. He needed to explore the Comb Mountains anyway, so it wouldn't distract him from his main task to search for demonic influences.
So there he was, standing at the entrance of a dark shaft which hopefully led deep into and out of the mountains, allowing the Ranger's little boy club to get to the other side. Tom decided not to waste any more time and just go in and hope for the best. Luckily he had thought of bringing enough torches with him to last to the end of his little expedition. If not, then he was sure he would find some along the way. He had done some background research on the mountains and it appeared to be an ancient Dwarven dig site, so there would probably still be some equipment laying about.
As he lit a torch and entered the gloomy cave he noticed a flow of air.
'Lucky me,' he thought, 'if there's an air stream then that means I've entered a larger network of tunnels.'.
Without giving his eyes any time to adjust to the darkness Tom quickly paced deeper into the subterrane. The atmosphere was somewhat damp and he could hear the slow, constant dripping of water. Moist was a good sign as it might mean there were underground rivers, perhaps a branch of the Niema river. If that was the case then his job for the Rangers would be an easy one as he could just follow its course and probably end up on the other side of the mountains. In additino, an underground river was probably the most effective way of transporting goods or troops through a large mountain. There was also less chance of getting lost as even a branching river had a lot less options then the countless shafts the Dwarves had probably dug. That reminded Tom of something: he had to draw a map. After he placed his torch on the ground supported by some rocks, he grabbed an empty piece of paper from his backpack and draw an 'S' and a slightly curved line which symbolized the start of the cavern and the shaft he was in.
As he reached down to pick up his torch he noticed something distressing. He hadn't seen it before because his eyes hadn't adjusted yet, but now he could clearly see numerous white horns scattered on the ground. He instantly recognized their slightly curved shape, they were not of any harmless ungulate specie but of demon origin! Though perhaps not of the actual demon lords, these horns were without any doubt from Orcs, Goblins or any other equally evil creature. As always, Tom had brought his Necronomicon with him but while it might help him identify the specific creature, he decided not to waste time to do so.
'These are probably old,' he reasoned, 'perhaps remainders of the Demon Wars.'
Just to be sure he grabbed two spiky horns and put them in his backpack. As his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness he could now clearly see the shape of the cavern. As far as he could tell, the cave went on for quite a while and didn't seem to branch as of yet. It was a slightly curved passage way so he couldn't see the entrance anymore. Other then the scattered horns he couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary, just a lot of rock and a few cave mushrooms.
As such, he just started walking again. After about half an hour of walking, he finally reached the end of the cavern. Luckily, there appeared to be a small shaft on the right wall which hopefully led to another passage way. After marking the end of the cave on his map he crawled into the tiny opening. The shaft was so small he had to crawl on his hands and knees.
The ground was quite watery and he could feel water dripping in his neck.
'I must be getting closer to a river or well or something,' he thought, 'hopefully it's a fresh source of wa-'.
BAM! He had busted his head into something. As he brought up his torch to see what he had bumped into he suddenly saw the face of a horrendous monster.
“Yihaaah!” it screeched in a painfully high pitched voice.
“Waaaah!” he screamed back, scared shitless by its sudden presence.
In a reflex he tried to get up but his head could only go as far as the ceiling, resulting in another painful scream. The pain reflex caused his head now to go forward, right into the beast's head. The following headbutt made a dull sound. Smashing his face into an opponent's one was something he was quite used to, but the dark creature in front of him apparently wasn't and looked dazed. Without hesitation Tom grabbed its ugly head and smashed it into the wall. He thought he heard the sound of a cracking skill but just to be sure he smacked it a couple more times until he could feel it didn't resist anymore.
As he let go of the beast's skull it dropped to the ground and was without doubt as dead as it could be. His could feel his heart race as a madman and with a trembling hand he raised his torch over the creature's remains.
“Oh frack,” he said out loud, “this ain't no beast.”
It indeed wasn't. It appeared to be either a midget or child but clearly humanoid. It had an oversized head with little hair on it – and no horns either. Its tiny torso was covered in tattoos and a few scars, probably simply the result of its underground life. He figured that the small addendum between its legs meant that the thing was actually a boy, or a tiny man.
“Well, isn't this great,” he murmured as he recognized one of the boy/man's tattoos, “there are demons here for sure, that's the sign of a demon from the lower circles of hell.”
As his adrenaline level started to reduce he began to feel a rather nasty headache which would probably get a lot worse, but what would one expect after hitting one's head three times in a few moments. He checked for blood but luckily there wasn't any.
'Crap, why didn't I take some painkillers with me?'
He did have several types of herbs and some bandages on him, but they were of no use against headaches.