Take them with you to the temple.
"It's just around this corner, I just now it this time," Grom says as he trots ahead. He's been saying the same thing for the past hour but you're enjoying Dr Tally's company so are more than happy to let Grom take his time. "Aah, what did I say?"
Grom steps into the road with a wide grin on his face as you lay eyes on the heart of the Slab for the first time. The Golden Temple is a squat stone building surrounded by decaying wooden structures that form another of the strange caverns unique to the Slab. The stone is grey and rough hewn but the double doors on the front gleam with a golden light and almost sing with a pure energy that brings a smile to your face.
"They're beautiful," Dr Tally gasps
"That they are," Grom agrees. "Take your time looking around. I'll just wait over here. Don't wander too far from the temple or you'll get lost...AARGH!"
You all spin around at Grom's anguished cry to find the dwarf pointing a shaking finger at a finger staggering out of the dark. It moves with a jerking motion that puts you in mind of a puppet dancing on strings. As it enters a pool of light shining through a crack in the roof you get a closer look. Rags hang from bones picked clean long ago and a ragged shirt flaps open to reveal the skeletons empty rib cage.
"Bones," Grom stutters before taking an automatic bite of his sausage. The skeleton lets out a ghastly groan and Grom takes an involuntary swallow, choking on the morsel in his mouth. He gasps and grips his throat but Dr Tally rushes to him and slaps him on the back. Grom coughs and a lump of gristel flys from his mouth hitting the skeleton right in the sternum. It staggers backwards, tripping over a crate and collapsing into a pile of bones. The doctors rush forward to dig through the mass, exclaiming as they lifted each bone in turn. "Kevin!" A robed figure shouts as they leap out from behind a curtain. A deep hood hides their face but they're body trembles in anger. "You will rue the day you crossed Ruby the Necromancer! Rue I tell you!" The strange figure flees and you hear her wailing as she dissapears into the Slab. "That was my last sausage," Grom says rubbing at his throat. "We've never had a chance to study an animated skeleton," Dr Tally says as she and the other doctors start collecting the bones. "This will be an excellent addition to our library." She cradles the skull and the jaw wobbles as whatever lifeforce contained within attempts to talk. "We will have to be careful but this is too valuable a chance to pass up." You go to help but a sound draws you to the temple doors. At first you're unsure what it is but as you get closer you hear the music coming from within. It's unlike any song you've heard before but at the same time it reminds you of everything and as you listen you feel your body lighten and your mind begins to wander, traveling back to the place you were before, when you were a tiny soul adrift upon an ocean of light, embraced by all of creation, unified with the one. "It's magical, isn't it?" Dr Tally asks from your side and you see from the smile on her face that she just experienced the same thing you did. "Normally I end the tour at this point," Grom says from behind you. He has his ticket book out but he closes the cover and tucks it back into his satchel. "But since I like all of you I'll guide you out for free." "My team and I still have to treat our patients. Maybe the two of you would like to help?" Dr Tally asks and you quickly nod. "Be nice to do something nice," Grom agrees as the doctors gather their bags. He holds out a square of paper to you with a drawing of the temple doors on it. "A memento of the tour. If you flip it over you'll see the insignia of my Ma's brewery. Show that to any dwarf and they'll help you any way they can." You thank Grom for bringing you safely through the Slab but he lets out a chuckle. "Haven't gotten you out yet. I should have warned you that not everyone makes it out in one piece. But we've got the doctors so if anything falls off they'll be able to sow it back on." Grom slaps you on the shoulder. "Lets go and smear mouldy cheese on a few elbows and then I'll take you to the greatest pub in all of Nostvary. You'll love the Axe, it's got a real earthy charm." You give the temple a final glance before leaving the cavern. The doors gleam and the song builds somewhere deep in your soul, a treasure that you take with you when you leave.
"Bones," Grom stutters before taking an automatic bite of his sausage. The skeleton lets out a ghastly groan and Grom takes an involuntary swallow, choking on the morsel in his mouth. He gasps and grips his throat but Dr Tally rushes to him and slaps him on the back. Grom coughs and a lump of gristel flys from his mouth hitting the skeleton right in the sternum. It staggers backwards, tripping over a crate and collapsing into a pile of bones. The doctors rush forward to dig through the mass, exclaiming as they lifted each bone in turn. "Kevin!" A robed figure shouts as they leap out from behind a curtain. A deep hood hides their face but they're body trembles in anger. "You will rue the day you crossed Ruby the Necromancer! Rue I tell you!" The strange figure flees and you hear her wailing as she dissapears into the Slab. "That was my last sausage," Grom says rubbing at his throat. "We've never had a chance to study an animated skeleton," Dr Tally says as she and the other doctors start collecting the bones. "This will be an excellent addition to our library." She cradles the skull and the jaw wobbles as whatever lifeforce contained within attempts to talk. "We will have to be careful but this is too valuable a chance to pass up." You go to help but a sound draws you to the temple doors. At first you're unsure what it is but as you get closer you hear the music coming from within. It's unlike any song you've heard before but at the same time it reminds you of everything and as you listen you feel your body lighten and your mind begins to wander, traveling back to the place you were before, when you were a tiny soul adrift upon an ocean of light, embraced by all of creation, unified with the one. "It's magical, isn't it?" Dr Tally asks from your side and you see from the smile on her face that she just experienced the same thing you did. "Normally I end the tour at this point," Grom says from behind you. He has his ticket book out but he closes the cover and tucks it back into his satchel. "But since I like all of you I'll guide you out for free." "My team and I still have to treat our patients. Maybe the two of you would like to help?" Dr Tally asks and you quickly nod. "Be nice to do something nice," Grom agrees as the doctors gather their bags. He holds out a square of paper to you with a drawing of the temple doors on it. "A memento of the tour. If you flip it over you'll see the insignia of my Ma's brewery. Show that to any dwarf and they'll help you any way they can." You thank Grom for bringing you safely through the Slab but he lets out a chuckle. "Haven't gotten you out yet. I should have warned you that not everyone makes it out in one piece. But we've got the doctors so if anything falls off they'll be able to sow it back on." Grom slaps you on the shoulder. "Lets go and smear mouldy cheese on a few elbows and then I'll take you to the greatest pub in all of Nostvary. You'll love the Axe, it's got a real earthy charm." You give the temple a final glance before leaving the cavern. The doors gleam and the song builds somewhere deep in your soul, a treasure that you take with you when you leave.
Parent Plot
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