Continued from Part 1…
Once they reached the entrance to the sewers Algor and Merrick had to use their blades to pry the rusted gate to the sewers open… So much for Karnok sanitation doing their jobs right? They lit their torches and descended into the rank sewers. Sludge covered every surface, and the light of their torches made it glisten and appear to move constantly. The stink of the Sewage of thousands of people was almost too much to bear, but the prize at the end promised to be well worth dealing with the smells.
As they made their way down tunnel after tunnel they came across the alcove marked as the entrance to the vault on the map, and Algor spoke the ancient Jalldoonian phrase written on the map. As the wall slowly slid open it revealed a staircase twisting off into blackness, and as the group descended Toron wondered aloud “ You know we’re going to have to fight something down here right?” as Merrick nocked an arrow into his bow, and Algor gripped the sword hanging from his belt. As time stretched on it became apparent that this stairway went quite some distance underground, and as the party descended Algor and Toron entertained Crowfoot with stories of their adventures. Once they finally reached the bottom of the stairs they stood at the entrance to a long hallway as Algor checked the map “This is it the beginning of the Vault of Karnok. The Map ends here” he said, but quickly added “Watch out for traps” as he searched the wall next to him. Glistening in his torch’s light Algor could see a small copper handle which he turned 3 times, and a slight hiss traveled down the hallway as either side lit up warmly with torches. “Gaslight!” Toron exclaimed loudly as he put out his torch “Thank the Great Slime we’ll at least be able to see down here right son?” he asked Crowfoot as he went off to look at the carvings on the wall. Algor ran his fingers along an ancient carving of what appeared to be an ancestor of a Bog Giant as they walked down the hall, and after a short time, they came to a fork with a door to the left and a door to the right. Merrick looked at Toron “we’ll go right you lads go left” he said as he opened the door to the right.
As the two Slimes headed down the left hallway they came to a room that had a strange pattern on the floor with two openings on the far end. Algor took a step in and immediately regretted his actions as the entire room started spinning closing off the way they came. Algor grabbed Toron and dashed through the opening on the far right side of the room before the spinning wall closed them off entirely. As they picked themselves up they saw they were in a cavernous room with tunnels leading off in many directions with statues dotting the floor in strange poses. “I don’t like this Al” Toron said with a grimace as he inspected the statue closet to him. Algor had seen something like this before “Toron, I don’t think these are statues…these are people turned to stone! There must be some kind of enchantment in this room” he said as he took his shield from his back and rolled it out to the middle of the room. Sure enough, a beam of light shot out of the ceiling and turned the metal of his shield to stone. Algor decided to try inching along the perimeter of the room “If I get stoned go and get help buddy” he said to Toron before he started out. As he passed he could see each “tunnel” leading off the room was just a walled off dead end until he got to the opening directly across from the entrance which lead to what appeared to be a door made entirely out of gold. Having crossed the room safety he signaled for Toron to make his way over, and soon they were both before the golden door. Algor pulled the map from his belt, and as he unrolled it pointed at a picture on it “looks like we found the door to Reliquary Toron” he said as he read the writing next to the picture of the door. He spoke the password written on the ancient map and the door swung open with a loud clang as it hit the wall.
They couldn’t believe their eyes as they got their first glimpse into the fabled lost Reliquary, there were items piled up everywhere “it’s going to take a year to go through all this stuff Al” Toron said as he picked up a jewel-encrusted goblet and turned it around in his hand. Algor wasn’t paying attention as he was drawn to a large chest in the corner “you hear that sound?” he asked Toron and he held his ear to the chest. Toron listened closely “it sounds like a Slime!” He exclaimed as Algor opened the chest. His eyes grew wide as he picked up a tablet made of living slime out of the chest, and there was two more them in the chest along with a parchment. Algor looked at Toron”… these can’t be…. this…this can’t be what I think it is …can it?” he asked bewildered as he grabbed the parchment which read “Gift from the Slime Kingdom for safe keeping: The Slime Tablets of Creation.” Algor’s head swam as he held something most Slimes only thought to be legend, but he was brought out of his revelry by the sound of a wall collapsing at the entrance to the room as he recognized the evil trio coming out of a hole in the wall outside the room as Master Boshak’s evil minions Jelgon, Delgon, and the Slime Fiend himself. The evil Slimes had apparently tunneled through the walls to get at them “ How did you jerks find us?” Algor asked as the Slime Fiend stepped forward “Alllllllllgooooorrrr I can find you any placccccccccceee you go, and we’ve been following you sinccccceee the Cemetery” it hissed.
Delgon changed shape into his Villainous full body form as his brother Jelgon formed a large sickle, and the Slime fiend raised his hammer in his skeletal arm as the Evil ones charged forward. At the same time Toron jumped into the air and formed a shield as Algor slid his arm through the straps on his friend’s new form and drew his sword. The Slime Fiend landed a hard blow to Toron’s shield form “damn this guy hits like a rampaging giant Al!’ he yelled as Algor rolled out of the way of Delgon’s wild swing of his Brother/weapon. Delgon managed to grab Algor’s sword from his hand, and as the prince recovered from his roll he noticed a large axe leaning against the wall across the room. Breaking into a full run he grabbed the axe, and as he did it started glowing with green energy. The slime Fiend ran up and quickly turned into a puddle as Algor swung the axe at him, but once he took his full form again Algor landed a brutal kick that sent him flying out the door. Delgon stood glaring at Algor as he caught his breath, and he tightened his grip on Jelgon’s handle ready to strike until they all stopped at the sudden screams of thousands of creatures flooding down the hall in front of them. “DUNGEON DEMONS!!!!” Toron yelled as he formed a grappling hook which Algor tossed up to the ceiling and quickly climbed up, but it was too late for the Slime Fiend as he was enveloped by the Red creatures with their glowing purple eyes. Algor looked on in horror as they swarmed over the Fiend’s body, but then became even more horrified as he saw the Fiend devouring the Demons crawling all over him. As the Fiend took on the color of the Dungeon Demons the remaining creatures retreated down a hallway with a few of them running directly into the beam turning them to stone in the room before the Reliquary. The Slime Fiend charged forward throwing his hammer at Toron, and the power of the blow knocked both him and Algor loose from the ceiling. Algor landed on a pile of golden trinkets as Toron rolled into barrel laying on its side. Jelgon was slithering across the room in a flash as he wrapped himself around the barrel, and smiling he smashed it into a shelf which rained splinters and artifacts down upon poor stunned Toron. As Delgon and the Slime Fiend backed Algor into a corner the Prince noticed an engraving on the long axe he held, as he read the ancient script a large explosion of light emanated from the axe knocking the evil thugs back. Algor swung with the axe and severed half of the Slime Fiend’s torso causing the creature to retreat in his puddle form out of the room. As Delgon stumbled about dazed from the blast Jelgon ran to his brother’s side, but Toron had pulled himself from the rubble he had been buried in and hopped into Algor’s hand as a cannon. As Delgon’s head cleared he looked up just in time to see a giant cannonball of slime flying at his face which only knocked him out even further leaving Jelgon to drag his helpless brother out the tunnel they had entered from as quick as he could.
Toron hopped to the floor “well Al, let’s see where this tunnel goes shall we?” he chuckled as he started off down the tunnel the evil Slimes had made. Algor quickly stuffed the Slime Tablets of Creation into a sack and filled up another few sacks with intriguing items before running after Toron. They found the tunnel lead almost to the entrance of the sewers, and had skipped all the traps along the way. Algor laughed “Those idiots, they made getting all the loot out of that reliquary much easier than it would have been otherwise, and did you see that cut I got on the Fiend man?” he asked Toron“ Yeah Al, I did,but he’s going to be furious about that next time we run into him you know?” Toron replied with a frown. As they were leaving the sewers they came upon Crowfoot, Merrick, and a detachment of the Emperor’s personal guards who ran over to them with excitement. As the Slimes told them all what happened the Emperor himself pulled up in his lavish carriage “ Algor my boy! You’re undamaged as usual eh son? He asked giving Algor a hug. Algor slapped the Emperor on the shoulder “Always sir” he said with a smile. The Emperor looked at Toron “ Master Smelg, how much is the boy’s father paying you to look after him these days? Not enough I’d wager eh?” he laughed as Toron replied “It’s never enough is it Titus?” with a chuckle. Algor explained everything to the Emperor, and they agreed that a thorough inventory of the Reliquary was in order. The Emperor sent for more guards as he paid Merrick and Crowfoot to remain quiet about what had transpired in the sewers, and made his way down to the reliquary with a few of his guards in tow. Algor whistled a soft tune, and in a heartbeat, Ziggy was there by his side. He slipped a note to his father the King of the Slimes to make his way to Karnok immediately, and as he sent the Slug home he started off to the Faulty Compass to rest while he awaited the arrival of his father as his mind swam with the legends of the Tablets. The Lost Reliquary of Karnok had at last been found, and Prince Algor added another notch to his long list of achievements.
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