The Caverns of Kalte – Attempt 1, Part 8

And we’re back.

Lone Wolf had just failed what was pretty clearly a test of his ability to spot a hidden door or passage of some kind.  Goodness knows what kind of loot or Plot Tokens (TM) have been missed, but there is no choice other than to continue on.

I (safe in my obliviousness) now reach a narrow stone door with (surprisingly) a peephole fixed into the middle.  Since in every almost every movie of this kind a peephole means that on the other side there’ll either be someone taking a shower or committing a murder, I gleefully have a look.

My hopes of scandal are shattered when I simply see a cell which contains see 3 sleeping Doomwolves and the outline of an Ice Barbarian’s back as he stands in or near the doorway.

My Kai skills tell me that the Doomwolves are ‘sleeping deeply’ and there is a slim chance that I could sneak past them, kill the Ice Barbarian and then slam the door behind me.

Crazy idea, you say?

I say :

However, it was not crazy enough, in fact, because as I try to slip into the cell, I confront the Ice Barbarian’s ‘pupilless eyes’ as they stare at me, and the Doomwolves are stirring.

Project Aon link – Ice Barbarian

In for a penny, in for a pound, I say!

Rejecting the impulse to flee, I stand and fight, hoping my glowing magic sword will carry the day.

In a small piece of good news, the cell is small enough that each my foes must meet me one at a time ;

Lone Wolf : Combat Skill : 27, Endurance 22

Doomwolf 1: COMBAT SKILL 15   ENDURANCE 24

Doomwolf 2: COMBAT SKILL 14   ENDURANCE 23

Doomwolf 3: COMBAT SKILL 14   ENDURANCE 20

Ice Barbarian: COMBAT SKILL 17   ENDURANCE 29

• I defeat the first foe, while losing 2 Endurance.
• I defeat the second foe, while losing 1 Endurance.
• I defeat the second foe, while losing 3 Endurance.
• I defeat the Ice Barbarian, while losing 3 Endurance.

Final Endurance after the battle : 13.

Take it away, Billy :

I drag the Barbarian’s body into the corridor to search it for loot.  I find a Bone Sword (a mere sewing needle compared to my Sommerswerd) and a gold bracelet.  However, my trusty Sixth Sense puts together the Barbarians’ lack of fondness for ornate jewelry and other relevant points and deduces that the bracelet is some kind of mind control juju best left alone.

I move along the corridor, and spy another short corridor (to my left) leading to a closed door.  Never one to leave the possibility of loot behind, I creep down to the door.

Peering through the spyhole in the wall, I spot a man in a cloak kneeling in the centre of a pentagram (!) on the floor.

Project Aon link – Man in pentagram

If I remember the role-playing games of my youth, this guy is either protecting himself from demons or is a demon himself (or both, I suppose).

This dude leaps to his feet, and claims to be Tygon, a merchant from Ragadorn.  He claims to have been captured and is now awaiting an audience with Vonotar.

Since I remember the city (!) of Ragadorn, I take this opportunity to quiz him appropriately about the city.  When I ask him the ruler of the city, he replies “Killean the Overlord”.

What did you say, Lex Luthor?

I have no idea why this faker didn’t pick a city that he actually knew something about, but there you are.

(Aside : My Healing skill has now restored my Endurance to maximum.  As many have said, the Sommerswerd / Healing combo makes Lone Wolf the equivalent of Arnold Schwarzenegger in an 80s action movie).

I leave this interloper (interestingly, without making any further queries about his identity or humanity (or lack thereof)) and proceed down the corridor.

I see another cell, and a glimpse through the spyhole shows an old man huddled in a corner, covered in blood and dirt which doesn’t quite obscure the stars and crescents on his blue robe.

That outfit sounds awfully familiar….

 

Base Stats : CS : 17, E : 20, GC 14

Modified Stats : CS : 27, E : 22

Weapons : Sommerswerd (+8 CS), Mace

Backpack : Meal (x2), Healing Potion (+3 E), Laumspur Portion (+5 E), Laumspur Potion (+4E), Rope

Special Items : Map, Crystal Star, Shield (+2 CS), Sommerswerd, Padded Waistcoat (+2 E), Blue Stone Triangle Pendant, Diamond, Ornate Silver Key

Kai Rank : Guardian

Kai Disciplines : Camouflage, Animal Kinship, Tracking, Hunting, Sixth Sense, Healing, Mind Over Matter

Final Paragraph : 254