Chapter 4B-That was before

“I think that should do it,” the Captain muttered.

The rope certainly looked secure enough. Shady tested his weight on it. It held without too much creaking. After all, the Captain had a bit more experience with ropes than he did, being a seaman. An amnesiac seaman, but a seaman nonetheless.

Still…

“You go first,” Shady commanded.

The Captain leaned back against the wall and prepared to slide down the rope.

I still had some points left over from last time I leveled up. Just enough, in fact, to add another language to my arsenal. It occurred to me that since I had “Dragon” as a favored enemy, it would make sense to be able to understand what they say. Especially with the backstory I was working out.

It suddenly dawned on Hans that he could speak Draconic.

“Stupid squishy. I will pommel you!”

“Mmmmpph”

“C’mon Carl, hurry up. I want a few prods.”

A muffled voice shouted something that sounded like “tallyho!” (Honestly?! Spell check underlines “yay” but not “tallyho”?)

The rope began to oscillate a bit. A large figure suddenly burst through the lava, sliding down the rope. Realizing what was about to happen, Hans began to struggle even harder.

A few fingers managed to get a bit of wiggle room before the Captain landed heavily on his back.

“MMMPPPHHHH!!!”

Struggling to catch his breath, Hans turned his head to watch everyone’s reactions. The Captain immediately pulled out his bottle of acid and his six-foot-long lance that he somehow managed to carry everywhere.

“Seems sturdy enough. John?”

If there was anything deadly down there, then this should eliminate all of the useless people in one fell swoop, as long as he sent Drake next.

John slid down the rope.

He ended up going faster than he wanted, but at least he had the benefit of a soft landing.

Hans was pretty sure he had heard something crack that time. Hopefully nothing too important. The Captain was getting pummeled, and John wasn’t exactly a powerful person (or group of people, if you recall). A moment later Drake slid carefully down the rope and began hurling spells a little less than carefully.

The Monk, not waiting for Shady’s approval, spun down the rope, using it only as a guide for his fall.

Hans saw penguins on that one. He floated happily with them for a moment, free of the recent pain before reality rudely interrupted.

“They keep sending people down,” said a gravelly voice in Draconic (of course, everyone sounds gravelly in Draconic). Kurah! Grab the one that’s tied up and let’s get out of here!”

The kobold that had been the dealer dashed to the inert Hans and cut him loose, hauling him into a fireman’s carry.

Shady did not plan on being shown up by a freakin’ bird in a robe (played by his younger brother, as a matter of interest). He would use the rope to pull himself down. That way he could go faster than gravity would otherwise allow. He could roll to absorb the momentum at the bottom. Then he would pop back up, daggers in hand.

He leapt off of the edge and pulled on the rope. To his surprise, there wasn’t any weight on the bottom end. Thrown completely off balance, he held onto the rope, allowing it to catch his weight.

Amnesiac seamen aren’t actually as good with knots as they think they are.

A silhouetted figure flew into the room, landing directly on top of a surprised Kobold by the unfortunate name of Ce’kerú Kurah (meaning “Green Fool”. Kobolds are given tribal names chosen by the chief. Carl was the name of an adventurer that the chief had once cleverly crushed with a rock).

Hans decided that he was having a very bad day.

The kobolds were losing. Leaving Kurah behind, the rest of them fled for their lives. Kurah scrambled after them as soon as he had his breath back.

“Oh, look!” the Captain said, smiling. “We won’t have to leave the rope behind!”

Shady was about ready to kill him.

And for the first time ever, he forgot to check for traps (I almost said tarps. Heh heh).

Bob fingered his red shirt as he walked forward to the next room. Suddenly a rock fell seemingly from nowhere and, failing his reflex roll, Bob was crushed flat.

Okay not really. But that’s how Star Trek would have done it.

Hans didn’t really want to watch the ensuing violence (nothing permanently damaging), so he staggered into the next room.

“Roll for reflex.”

“Um, okay”

The rock came from nowhere. Hans barely had time to jerk to the side as is smashed to the ground, dealing him a glancing blow.

Shady broke off of some particularly nasty verbal abuse and, seeing Hans on the ground, promptly checked for traps.

What he saw made him freeze.

“No one move,” he whispered.