Stackman's Adventures (Chapter thirty-four)

[bsftcs]

Ascent

Being the thirty-fourth chapter of Stackman’s adventures

In which a certain sea serpent is found unaware of the fact that the annual Collasium Mardi Gras had stopped many centuries ago and in which Stackman goes subaquatic.

From the main transit hub the party made their way to a room which, judging from the fountains and the layout, had probably been used for religious purposes in the golden age of Collasium (room M on the Collasium map at Xignal’s Site). From a circular pit in the middle of a floor a flight of stairs led up to a small basin with an inlet. On the wall above the basin there was a relief picture sculptured on a stone slab inserted in the wall. To the north and the south were corridors leading to sealed off rooms. These rooms were only accessible through the use of two glowstones.

The warlock cast the create portal spell and the party swam back to the revolving door (room F). They entered the west corridor from the revolving door and took the glowstone in the receptacle there. The warlock then teleported them back. (The locations of all three glowstones are posted by Bungleau, and the procedure for completing Collasium with less than three glowstones is posted by HammerHead. Both on Page seven of the Best Tips]).

Back in the ceremony room the valkyrie placed a glowstone in each receptacle thus accessing two similar rooms with an altar placed within a basin. On each altar was a switch. Operating the switches would cause the protrusion of a stone plate below the stone picture slab, which would then open revealing a hidden chamber. Inside the chamber the third Tablet of Cet was found in a treasure chest. The valkyrie retrieved one of the glowstones and the party jumped into the basin and swimmed through the inlet.

Through a small passage they came to a larger room in which they encountered the giggly mermaid they had previously caught a glimpse of. Now that they had retrieved all three Tablets of Cet she was not so giggly anymore. On the contrary: She was quite commanding and obnoxious. She demanded that the tablets be handed over to her, and judging from her manners it was quite obvious that she was one of Cet’s agents. It was really no surprise that Cet had minions in this place as well. What struck them, however, was her excellent disguise.

It turned out so that the mermaiden Vermoura was in fact not the mermaiden Vermoura but instead the sea serpent Urgussa. All very confusing indeed. What happened next was that the mermaiden who was not a mermaiden changed her guise in order to intimidate the warlock who was more than reluctant to hand over the stone tablets. Suffice it to say that her new attire did little to change the mind of the party. In a very short and quite uneven battle Urgussa was sent to the Great Tang Farm on the other side. Further down the path they found the Ring of Neptune in a treasure chest.

The party swam further through a series of corridors and collapsing rooms before making it to a flight of stairs leading directly into a wall. The wall gave way befor them and they found themselves back in the north corridor. They went back to the revolving door and placed the glowstone in the receptacle thus opening the door south of the revolving door. The party entered the south corridor and made their way to the back entrance. They flipped the lever and left Collasium.

In a flurry of bubbles the party members ascended towards the water surface too busy to notice a figure lurking behind a corroded marble pillar indolently fighting off a pack of lagoon piranha. It was Stackman. He eyed the adventurers intently as they broke the surface far above him – the sulight flickered vibrantly through the surface due to the commotion. Stackman had always though highly of Collasium for its beauty, but from a stacking point of view the dungeon was almost disastrous. Nothing to stack and no need for stacking in the first place since the water enabled the adventurers to scale any heights. Stackman smiled having seen his party through the city. He set off and started swimming towards the surface.

NPCs encountered:

Vermoura reacts to following words:

Secret, Cet, Anephas, Kerah, Library, Tablets, Oracle, Vermoura, Prize.

Vermoura will only engage in conversation if one, when encountering her, has not yet recovered all three tablets. Upon hearing the words “Anephas” and “Kerah” she will also stop any further conversation and start attacking.

[ 01-07-2005, 04:34 PM: Message edited by: bsftcs ]

[Bungleau]

Cool stuff... [img]smile.gif[/img]

I envy your ability to communicate all this so quickly and easily... and in a non-native language as well. I know that I would not be so prolific in any of the languages I speak (or otherwise abuse).

Looking for more...

[Wyvern]

Yay!!! Yet another chapter!!!

My head it begining to swim (ha ha) from the number of literary posts on the board recently - what a treat!!!

Hadn't thought about Collasium not being a good Stackman dungeon but indeed it is not.

Looking forward to reading more!!!

Wyv

[bsftcs]

Originally posted by Bungleau: Cool stuff... [img]smile.gif[/img] I envy your ability to communicate all this so quickly and easily... and in a non-native language as well. I know that I would not be so prolific in any of the languages I speak (or otherwise abuse). Looking for more...

Thank you for your kind praise, Bungleau.

*Bowing in appreciation*

I try to do my best. [img]smile.gif[/img]