Stackman's Adventures (Chapter forty)

[bsftcs]

Delicious Flesh on a Spike

Being the fortieth chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which the party takes a culinary trip back through the places they have encountered during their adventures and in which they make their final battle plans.

(Expatiating also upon the fourtieth and fourty-first chapter of Bungleau’s Solo Warrior Saga).

Bent on exploring the whole map for the record the valkyrie led Stackman’s party back to the room (room J on the pyramid map at Xignal’s Site) leading to the last two unexplored sections of the pyramid. She could not help thinking of Missy Hissy. Why was she so agitated and what was it she had to do? Definitely this adventure was out of the ordinary – quite unlike anything they had previously experienced. She was certain that the ending of the story would also be far out of the ordinary. That made her uneasy. The great hoax, Stackman’s eagerness to establish their name at the Ironworks, and now suddenly Missy Hissy’s appearing alongside them! She felt that she and her party were closer than ever to discover the true nature of the Gael Serran, and how exactly the gods and demi-gods from the Ironworks Forum intervened and what roles they played. In essence she felt they were coming closer to the gods.

She shook her head trying to focus. ”Now for the immediate task ahead”, she thought and led her party westward to a room with a square hole in the middle of the floor (room P). Down below them was the second portal of Isis. Something instinctively told her that it was not the time to operate the portal just yet. The bard opened the treasure chests in the room. The valkyrie could not help but thinking how deft he was with his fingers. But then again that was what made him such a superb lutanist.

The party then took the north corridor from the room knowing that by taking the south they would fall through a trap door. Not that it mattered much since the two floors were connected by stairways, they just did not want to give Cet the pleasure of seeing one of his traps actually work. The party explored the rest of the rooms and corridors in the area and looted the treasure there. In the room with the portal of Isis the party discovered something odd. The area between the two columns behind the portal was sealed off as if by magic. It was impossible to go there although seemingly nothing was in their way. But the party knew better. They had always suspected that it was tinted Perspex concealing the area behind it as a part of the hoax.

Back in the square room (room J) the party went south. They came through another room and down a flight of stairs. Flames and blobs of molten lava suddenly danced around them. Assailed by the sudden heat the party hastily retreated until the warlock had equipped them with the lavawalk ability. Realizing that they were so close to the end but that two major conflict still lay ahead, the barbarian convinced the party that it was best to play it cool, calm down and take a break. And now they were at it they might just as well combine it with supper.

They spent an hour foraging. The warlock produced various delicacies from her magic backpack including fried moat piranha, vegetables à la toad, sushi colanth, boogre stew, one bruised ex-mermaid (Vermoura), and roast lich’s heart. The extra rat pie Bilbump had given them they did agree to discard, though. They took turns at walking to the volcanic cavern roasting the delicacies on a spike over the lava. The zenmaster would not eat much on account of his asceticism, but when the warlock produced a specifically juicy chunk of meat taken from the Mother of Crabs he yielded and ate it with relish.

At one point during the meal the assassin thought his fine hearing detected the sound of a sharp, tapering metal object ripping through flesh followed by the sound of an almost otherworldly wailing coming from the room with the great stack within the stack, but when only deafening silence followed he thought no more of it. When the meal was over, the bard played a few tunes on one of his flutes and the party went on.

They had come to the innermost sanctum of the pyramid. Cet’s hideout. This was where their adventures would come to an end. But not yet. To open the last door required not only unlocking the two locks using the champions’ keys, but also the door itself opening. To this end they would have to lure Cet out. This they could only do by operating the portal.

They explored the volcanic cave and in the east part they found a necklace – a ward of fire – placed on a ledge. To reach it, however, they would have to jump a number of stones of varoius height leading to the ledge. They did not have the patience for that right now, and besides they did not need the magic ward. The party went back towards the portal of Isis.

As they walked they went over their battle plans. (The way to approach the confrontation is dealt with in a post on Page eight of the Best Tips). When operating the portal Kerah and Cet would come in and have a confrontation. During this the game would often crash. It was therefore important that a save be made on the forehand. Operating the portal would also cause Cet to tell them that they would remain in the pyramid forever unless they were able to slay Kerah whom he would turn against the party. This was next to impossible since she kept regenerating. Thus they were prevented from leaving the pyramid before finally slaying Cet. That meant that any last minute errands to Brimloch Roon would have to be taken care of now. Furthermore: Since their’s was the unpatched version of the game they would never be able to reenter the pyramid after ending the game without being stuck indefinitely.

As to the battle where Cet would turn Kerah against them it was important that they did not use any spells since clicking the spell menu almost always crashed the game. That meant they would also have to refrain from healing Kerah after having cured her. Any healing to the party itself would have to be done by potions and scrolls alone. And last but not least it was a good idea for the warlock to have a flask of holy water ready in the ”give” menu, so that she was ready to cure Kerah when she would become thirsty. If Kerah was in the process of flying when that happened, that problem could easily be mended by jumping up towards here and giving her the water at the same time.

The adventurers were ready. Now their adventures entered the absolute final stage. Now they were bent on liberating the Great Stack for Stackman. They went down the corridor leading to the portal. Every sense was sharpened, every muscle was tense. But just as the party reached the portal room a barrier of flames went up in a blinding flash badly singeing the bard, who was walking in front, and setting his clothes on fire. He jumped back into the arms of the valkyrie with a scream of surprise. The valkyrie gently laid him down on the floor and while the rest of the party rushed to his aid with iceball spells the barbarian looked through the flame barrier just barely able to discern the figures on the other side, from which they were now cut off…

[ 07-02-2004, 04:46 AM: Message edited by: bsftcs ]

[Bungleau]

Nice! I wonder what's going on on the other side?

I suspect we'll find out later tonight... nice chapter, and a very nice cliffhanger!

[macoati]

Very well done...*grumbles again*...next chapter, please? *plaintive whimper*

[Bungleau]

Whoops! I planned a chapter tonight, but I'm out in Boston for the next two days, and I've got a really lousy internet connection (and it's not likely to get any better ).

Stay tuned for an update some time this weekend... perhaps earlier, but no later than then.

[bsftcs]

Well, it has no haste as far as I am concerned. Stackman accidentally got himself trapped in the firehound pit, so he needs all the time he can get to get out of there again.

[Wyvern]

oooo the suspense is terrible
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I hope it will last!

Great chapter!!!

[Bungleau]

Originally posted by Wyvern: oooo the suspense is terrible . . . . . . . I hope it will last! Great chapter!!!

Really? I can help... I mean, I can put off this chapter for another week or seven to let the suspense build....

Red... red... put down that knife... I was only kidding... Red... RED!!!

Ermmmm.... okay, no later than this weekend. Promise. [img]graemlins/angel.gif[/img]