Stackman's Adventures (Chapter thirty-two)

[bsftcs]

A Watery Experience

Being the thirty-second chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which the reason for the perpetual bad breath of the members of the Gael Serran Scuba Divers’ League is explained and in which the party has an underwater tourist photo session.

Save for the bubbling sound of the occasional exhaling of the party members and the eternal soughing emanating from the conch shell no sound was heard as the party started their descent to the bottom of the lost sea. The valkyrie was enjoying the picturesque scenery as best she could trying to ignore the bad smell assailing her nostrils and the bad taste in her mouth coming from the oversized conch shell through which she was breathing. One major disadvantage to Buckly’s underwater breathers was the fact that it was impossible to scrape all the remains of the living conch from the shell. When they began to rot the smell was somewhat hard to cope with.

The party reached the ocean floor and started looking in awe at the dilapidated but still marvellously intact city ruins before them. It was Collasium, the fabled sunken city. They walked around for a bit posing by the marble pillars and lavish hallways while the warlock took photographs of with her polaroid camera for posterity. The bard found and looted Talrik’s sunken treasure.

On the warlock’s portable minimap there were four white dots in the vicinity. Two dots represented Talrik’s treasure chests and the other two represented levers allowing entrance to the indoor parts of the underwater city. The party swam to the north-westernmost dot since they knew this was the entrance they had to use. They climbed through a hole to the basement of a building, flipped the lever and found themselves inside the hallways of a complex of what used to be government buildings in the city of Collasium.

From the small entrance room (room A on the Collasium map at Xignal’s Site) the party came to the entrance hall (room B). The enterior of the lavish marble building was exceptionally well preserved by the water. The party half climbed and half swam through thick strands of sea weed. The interior was lit up as if it were bright daylight by luminous starfish. Through a stairwell to their left the party made their way to the sewer maintenance shaft to (room C). Apparently the city sewerage was in a very poor shape since it had allowed the city to be flooded to such a degree. Hopefully the people responsible for the negligence had long since been fired.

In this room they met the timid mermaiden Sarellia. Having assured her they were not going to hurt her they were able to lead a surprisingly good telepathic conversation with her. She told the party of the city and gave them a glowstone which was what the old Collasians had used as keys. She also opened the sewer grate for them.

For now the party went further to the west. At the end of the partially crumbled hallway the party came to a locked door. Apparently they were not able to use the glowstone on it, so they went back and turned their attention towards a door to the west. Operating a switch the door opened and the party came to a round hall. An impertinent mermaiden there made a comment on the way the adventurers looked wearing the underwater breathers. The widely read mermaidens of Collasium had spent very long time scouring the city for magic books and they were all carrying some for low level spellcasters and others to buy (as explained on Page eight of the Best Tips).

To the west of this hall were two other interconnected rooms. The northernmost of these was once a hall of magnificent splendour. There were two treasure chests here: One situated by a crumbled pillar and one atop a beam spanning the width of the hall was a treasure chest. The party found another glowstone here. They then went back to Sarellia and swam through the sewer.

The bard came across a treasure chest which he opened. Inside was a book. The zenmaster immediately recognized the book as the Tome of Water – one of the four Tomes of Creation. Swimming upwards the party came through a hole in the floor of a majestic room. Only a small part of the room was submerged. The valkyrie immediately took off her helmet and eagerly breathed the stuffed air. Two flights of stairs led to a wide balcony. They were in the library (room D). Shelves of books lined the walls, but only the magic books had not been destroyed by the water because of the thin rubber coating on the pages as demanded by the official standards of the League of Sorcery.

On the balcony stood a treasure chest. Inside was, among other things, the first Tablet of Cet. The valkyrie put her underwater breather on again and
tThe party jumped into the water and made their way to a corridor to the east. Here they encountered Anephas’s oracle Ala-Shakahn. The mermaiden told them of the purpose of the Tablets of Cet and of the prophecy. She was also so kind as to give them a scroll containing the first part of the prophecy. The second they would find eventually. The prophecy was just as vague as the predictions of Harespia, and the party payed no particular attention to the contents of the scroll.

At the end of the corridor there was a room (room E) where waited a giant cage crab. The assassin disposed of it and operated a switch on the north wall. The door to the south opened. It was the door that they had previously found to be locked. The party made their way back to the entrance hall.

NPCs encountered:

Sarellia reacts to following words:

Crystal, Cet, Kerah, Magic, Pyramid, Angel, Lord Cet, Dark Lord, Key, Library, Collasium, Blood, Pharaoh, Shrine, Tablets, Mermaid, Creatures, Children, Sarellia, Mermaids, Oracle, Lost City, City, Evil Pharaoh, Divine Magic, Evil One, Book, Sacred Tablets, Books.

With "Collasium" being the word which promts her handing over the glowstone and with "Oracle" as the word which prompts her opening the sewer.

Ala-Shakahn reacts to following words:

Tomb, Cet, Anephas, Kerah, Prophecy, Mortal Hope, Pyramid, Dark Lord, Fate, Scroll, Collasium, Light, Pharaoh, Tablets, Oracle, Lost City, City, Allies, Crusade, Sunken City, Pyramid Tomb, Lord.

With "Prophecy" being the word which promptse her handing over the prophetic scroll. Once she has handed over the scroll and answered to the word "Tablets" she will stop the conversation and leave.

[ 11-27-2003, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: bsftcs ]

[Wyvern]

Another great chapter, bsftcs!!!

it was impossible to scrape all the remains of the living conch from the shell Eeeewwwww!!!! (icky icky icky - I'll never be able to wear those conch shells again without thinking of this! lol!!!

Wow - the literary contributions are abounding on the board lately!!

Wyv