Hollow Henry

In Henry's experience leading up to the Hollows, stoners were remarkably slow and lethargic creatures. His experience with stoners that day however, was painting an entirely different picture. The little dudes were quick. They'd realised pretty quickly that breathing their smoke wasn't working on him, so they'd started sprinting out of it to try and cut his ankles instead. He was taking swipes at them, but they kept getting out of the way. Hamish wasn't responding to any of his messages, which definitely wasn't a good sign. He hoped he wasn't just searching the mist for his friend's gear.

Another stoner darted from the black smoke with a sharpened pick at the ready. Henry heard him coming before he saw, so he was already prepared to take another swipe. The tip of his blade bit into the little man as he tried to dodge out of the way, slicing cleanly along his cheek and through the strap of his gas mask. It revealed a less than human face. It was close, but his nose was too flat and his mouth a little too wide. The stoner screamed at Henry, revealing several rows of razor sharp teeth. It tried to run, but could keep its balance through the wild coughing and hacking it couldn't avoid. After only a few steps, the stoner fell to the gravel fast asleep. The bubbling echoed through the canyon again, this time closer than it was before. He scooped up the gas mask and pressed it to his face. The unconscious stoner was sent into his Temple. The conscious guards would know what to do with it. He was curious about the creature and what he carried. Another pop rang out, and a stone the size of an engine block zipped past his head. He wasted no time in running in the direction it came from. Whatever was throwing boulders would be better used inside his Temple, he thought.

The stoners scrambled away from whatever they were standing by as he got closer. They weren't very brave little creatures. He found what looked like a large shell with a mounds of dried tar sticking out all around. The mound facing him was the only one that was uncovered, and black smoke spewed from the opening. He quickly secured the cap that hung from it by a chain. The tar had enough shape to allow him to twist the cap into place. The whole contraption sat on wheels and a coal fire burned beneath it. He heard it start to bubble again, so he quickly sent it into his Temple without the fire.

ALERT:

Players in the vicinity.

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Where are you?

Please tell me you're still alive

I'll try and find you

Never mind, they got me

I don't know where they're taking me

Andy can track, wake that bastard up

Henry saw the messages all come in at once. That meant they were out of range before they hit the ground.

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

I'm in range big guy

Talk to me

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Henry!

It's good to see you man

It's so cool how you're in my head like that's so cool

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

What?

Where are you?

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Not bad man, not bad at all

How are you?

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

You're not being very helpful

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Thanks man, you too!

Henry rolled his eyes. The smoke must have been getting to the big man. He was amazed his tier 1 friend was still awake in the first place. He summoned a T1 ping-crystal from his Temple. The players raided 3 of the T1 crystals and 1 of the T3 versions from LongJohn's ring. They were saving the ping-crystals for an emergency, and Henry thought the situation counted as an emergency. He crushed the crystal and waited for a response, but nothing came. He considered using the T3 crystal, but it might be a bit of a waste.

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

Are you safe at least?

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Yeah man!

These guys are great

Henry somehow doubted that last statement. It looked like Hamish was safe enough for the time though. They were dealing with a kidnapping rather than a murder this time it seemed.

The ‘Fragile’ Henry:

I'm going to get reinforcements

I'll be back to get you soon big guy

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

Bring some snacks

I'm starving

With a thought, he twisted into his Temple. Again he felt a wash of relief as the warm breeze hit him. His stamina was on the rise again thanks to his trick with his Temple air, yet nothing quite compared to stepping into warmth out of the rain. Things were busy in Henhole. The guards were gathered about everyone he'd sent back, along with a tied up and wriggling stoner. The only one awake yet was Andy. He was greedily gulping water from a bucket with a discarded water-skin in the grass next to him. The man must have been thirsty. Henry joined him, and helped the man to his feet.

“Where's Hamish?” He asked in a hurry.

“He's still out there, but I think he's alright,” Henry offered with a calm tone. “I'm gunna need some help I think.”

“That smoke was strong stuff,” Andy groaned. “I don't know if I can stay on my feet out there.”

Henry held up the stoner's gas mask. “One step ahead of you,” he said, tossing it to his friend.

“So you've got a plan, gim guessing,” Andy asked, looking over the old and worn mask. “Because I hardly even know what hit us.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Henry laughed. “Didn't some wise guy say something about plans not surviving contract with the enemy?”

“Something like that,” Andy sniffed. “So we just wing it then. Alright, I can get behind that.”

One of the guards caught his attention when he approached. “My lord,” he said, standing at attention. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear that you plan to go after the enemy.”

Henry and Andy shared a curious look with each other. He wasn't sure where the ‘lord’ title was coming from, but he wasn’t sure he minded too much.

“That's correct,” Henry said cautiously. “Is there something we should know, soldier?”

“It's only a rumour, my lord,” the guard said nervously.

“It's more than the nothing we've got,” Andy offered.

The guard nodded, not wanting to meet either of their eyes. “It's just that. Some of the older guards in Therven used to tell us stories about the caves beneath the Forest of Callister. They say the stoners have camps there because they're drawn to an old dungeon.”

Andy raised an eyebrow. “An old dungeon you say?” He asked with a little too much excitement.

“Like I said sir, just a rumour,” the guard said with his palms forward. “Nobody ever found anything but stoners and monsters down there. People go looking, but not a lot come back.”

“So you’re telling us we can find Hamish in the caves, but we'll probably die looking for him?” Henry asked, scratching his chin.

The guard blanched. “I'm afraid so, my lord,” he said with a polite nod.

“Of course,” Henry sighed. “And here I was thinking this mission would just be a long walk.”

He dismissed the guard, thanking him for the information. The two players went into Henry's house to get ready for the detour to their expedition. They called on the nervous guard to draw them a crude map of the area he described. He learned the guards name was Hettik, and he was an aspiring historian. He knew a good amount about Therveinian history, and its territory as well. The Callister Caves were deeper than they were long, according to Hettik. An ancient cult of ritualistic monks used to live in the forests above, until a famous wizard blazed through and destroyed everything. It gave rise to the land's name as well as the rumours of old dungeons and hidden things. The entire story was an incredibly tempting prospect for loot. It was only soured by the fact that Hamish was missing. The big man's respawn timer had several days on it, there was no question that they needed to try and save him. Henry just hoped it wasn't his turn to be rescued next.

The stoners would have taken what was left of their boat, along with the missing guard and Hamish. There was no sign of the missing guard when Henry was searching the canyon, he only hoped the man had survived somehow. Nobody knew what the stoners took prisoners for, which made their rescue all the more urgent. If the little creatures were eating them, they really didn't have a lot of time. Andy got himself equipped and prepared, and Henry stared jealously at the wyvern tooth necklace around his neck.

To decide who would get the fantastic item, each of the players tried it on to see who got the most useful effect. Andy won that competition by a landslide. For him, the amulet gave him infinite fire-aspected ammunition, along with halving the essence cost to go up each level. It turned him into a powerhouse that rivalled even Henry's potential.

For Hamish, the necklace was nearly debilitating. It would continuously feed his core power with the kinetic energy he stored. He could still only let the energy out in one burst though, and the necklace filled his capacitance almost immediately. The more energy he stored, the more painful it was for him to move. Plus it wouldn't do to have him setting off explosions every 10 seconds to release the pressure.

It gave Henry the ability to innately control fire. It was fun to play with for a few minutes, but he had no way to create fire. He could only manipulate the shape and direction of a fire that was already lit. He could make it burn hotter, but it wasn’t a magical heat, it was just the flame eating its fuel faster.

In the end, it made the most sense for Andy to take it. Henry would need to wait a little longer to experiment with the core of his being. He should have taken it as a sign to be patient, but he was nearly ready to feed any old thing in to see what would happen.

Henry really didn't want to go cave diving without proper armour, but it looked like there wasn't much choice. He briefly entertained the idea of trying to make something out of stone, but that was an obviously bad idea. He did make a few stone slabs before they left, in case he needed to summon something to protect himself with. Andy's old armour wasn't a very good fit, since he was a little slimmer than Henry. They still sowed the shoulder pads and belly guard to Henry's shirt though. It was the two of them against the unknown. They couldn't help but get a little excited, despite the circumstances.

They loaded onto an empty cart with a single feather-link hooked up. It would be a much faster way to travel, and the stoners were organised enough to be using something similar. They had technology, unlike the Goblins. It was clear they were dealing with something more than a bunch of monsters.

With a flex of his skill, they twisted into The Hollows. The downpour greeted them once again, this time without the foul black smoke. Andy sighed in relief and removed his gas mask.

“This thing smells like death,” he complained.

“Better than the alternative,” Henry laughed. “Unless you're Hamish. He seemed pretty happy.”

“That man has the chemical tolerance of a medical waste bin. They'll need more than the smoke to bring him down.” Andy joked back.

With the help of Hettik's map, they set off through the canyon. The ruins of the monk's compound wasn't far from the old bridge. It would have taken a few hours to walk, but the birds could run the distance in a quarter of that. The rain sting their skin as they pushed the bird to its limits. They didn't mind the pain though. With their high stats and racial traits, the sting was only a mild annoyance. It was a small thing, but Henry used that fact to remind himself of the strength he was quickly growing. It motivated him when he considered how far he'd already come. If anyone could get Hamish back in one piece, it was the two of them. Andy alone would be able to slip by their friend’s captors without being noticed. The stoners wouldn't know what hit them. All Henry had to do was touch Hamish once, then he could steal the big man away into his Temple. Considering they were winging it, he felt like they stood a good chance to succeed. All they had to do was find Hamish.

By the time the ruins at the edge of the forest peaked their stonework over the smaller trees, Henry was feeling inspired to kick some stoner arse. He sent the bird and cart back to Henhole. The beast had done good work and deserved a rest. They followed the map into the ruins until they received an alert to tell them there were players in the vicinity.

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

You guys took ages

Did you remember the snacks?

‘Slippery’ Andy:

Dude, shit up

Where are you?

‘Unstoppable’ Hamish:

You shut up

I don't know

It's dark and I'm hungry

Do you guys have any food?

The two searching players looked at each other and shook their heads.

“I see what you meant when you said he was being helpful,” Andy said sarcastically.

They kept searching until they found the unmistakable hole in the ground. It was as big as a football field, so there was no missing it. On the far side was a crudely built wooden staircase. It was glued together with the same solid tar that Henry had been growing all too familiar with. The stoners had to be down there.

They considered using another ping-crystal, but decided against it until they saw the inside of the caves. Andy said that he'd been into a lot of colossal caves, and the small radius of the T1 crystal might not cover it. They had the T3 crystal as a backup if they couldn't end up finding the stoner camp. With a significant degree of hesitation, they descended into the Callister Caves.