Ferrugineous Horrors

[DeeL]

The intrepid party had only begun their regrettable but necessary trespass into the manse of the Mage when they began to have problems.  At just about the time they found the abandoned badge of the Shining Guard - implying that one or more of the mightiest warriors in the kingdom had come this way and somehow lost his badge of office - but the twining vines that comprised the door showed a clear disposition to close.  Slowly enough that they could retreat - but once they were outside, the vines opened again.  

Tilford, the party 'lock specialist', rubbed his largish nose thoughtfully.  "I don't get it.  It's obviously a trap, but should they be this inviting?"

The gnomish wizard, Seebo Folkor, looked the viridian doorway up and down.  "I must disagree.  I think it's just a way for the Mad Mage to keep his guests to a minimum."

"Aye, the easier to feed his watchbeasts."  Grimjaws, the half-orcish 'rock specialist' frowned.  "I say we go  back and tell our hire he can spring for a teleporter scout first."

"You do that."  And with those words, Wes the Swordsman sauntered gamely through the doors.  Slowly they began to swing shut... and the others, as he had guessed they would, began to follow him, unwilling to let the obstinant swashbuckler face the danger alone - or earn the glory unshared.

No sooner had the doors snapped shut behind them than they heard someone approaching at a run.  Round the corner appeared a seasoned human warrior, wearing the armor of one of the Shining Guard and showing every sign of unbridled panic.  He saw the mercenary trespassers, and elected to give them only a passing glance and the warning, "Run, fools!" before hurtling at the viny gates with all his might.  The gates bowed outward, but did not give any further.

The unlikely band was about to ask him the cause of this distress when they heard, from the topiary maze from which the strange warrior had emerged, the sounds of stealthy stalking, an odd cadence of pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat coming closer.

The mercenaries looked at each other warily, then began to prepare.  Grimjaws unsheathed his massive double-axe and gave it a practice twirl, while Wes armed himself with his rapier-and-dagger combo.  He may have worn less armor than mighty Grimjaws, but he could pin a fly with the tip of either of his weapons.  

...pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat...

Tilford also went without major armor, relying on stealth for his defence, but his two trusty daggers always managed to find a weak spot in any barrier.  Seebo was subtler, relying mainly on illusion effects.  It was rare to face an opponent with a sufficiently keen sense of smell to pierce them, but he was prepared for that too.  

As for the strange warrior, he simply scrabbled vainly at the door.  The mercenaries noted the emptiness of the warriors scabbards as he bawled at them, "Why did this door have to be closed?  The guardians are bound to the manse!  We could have escaped!  We could have gotten away!"

Suddenly, he stopped and turned, his eyes going wide as his terrified gaze fixed on the entrance to the maze.  "THE GUARDIANS!  THE GUARDIANS!"

The mercenaries followed his gaze as the creatures pit-a-patted into view...











There were four of them.  Each the size of a large dog.  Their oddly jointed legs carrying them low to the ground.  Their bodies were little more than lumpen cylinders of scaly flesh, terminating in a long tail with what looked like a pair of flukes at the end.  Each of their heads bore a pair of long feathery antennae, and their integument was the brownish color of rust.

The warrior fairly bawled.  "You idiots!  Do you have any idea what kind of a bond I had to put up to get this armor?"

The mercenaries faces turned ashen as they began to back cautiously away...

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In the spirit of the 'Game Starters' thread, I just wanted to know if anyone has found a creative use for the humble rust monster.  Share your stories, please!

[DeeL]

::Ker---bump::

[Hibou]

Never have, don't know if I will. I like this story though.

[Epic Meepo]

I once ran a few adventures in a post-apocalyptic setting I created wherein a fanatical order of druids bred rust monsters. (In that world, rust monsters resembled giant cockroaches.) The druids were using rust monsters to slowly destroy the metallic relics of the Ancients, thereby ridding society of technology and its inherent evils. Prominent druids also wore belts made from rust monster antenae as symbols of their authority.