The band came around the last bend in the corridor of conjured "prisoners" to the final alcove. It was set a bit more distant from the rest and appeared a bit larger. The corridor ended with a raised platform that appeared to be of the natural stone of the surroundings.
Fen noted with his magic sight still in effect, that the platform radiated some form of powerful magic. But that was relatively ignored at the odd sight within the final chamber.
A demon, for sure. It was small, not more than a foot long, purple and red scaled with four horns, two sticking straight up and two sticking rather perpendicular to its head. Its thin long arms were crossed across its chest and its similarly skinny legs, ending in two-toed clawed feet were also casually crossed. It was reclined against the wall, obviously relaxed. It had a thin barbed tail wrapped around a two-pronged pitchfork that couldn't have been more than 3 feet long. It was "holding" the pitchfork with its tail and using the prongs to pick at its many pointed teeth that protruded from every angle of a roudn circle of a mouth.
A bit away from it, toward the center of the alcove was a puddle of steaming water. The wisps of steam seemed to be coelescing a few feet above it, just billowing, formign a small cloud of mist/steam/fog, in mid-air.
The creature pulled the pitchfork out of its mouth and looked at the party casually with hollow black eyes.
"Zzzixzik ZAK? Zak ak!" it said in what sounded like annoyance.
Receiving no response from the confused party, it raised its voice and its abyssal inquiries became more annoyed...or forceful...or something.
"ZAX! Zik zix? Zizzz!"
"Sorry scree. We don't speak demon." Duor said offhanded.
Then the party began to hear, very weak at first and then gaining volume a low "sssssss" as the last of the water evaporated and flowed into the cloud.
"Ssssssssshhhhh" the sound came again longre and marginally louder. Two parts of the cloud seemed to darken into what appeared to be darker grey ovals of "eyes" within the cloud.
"No way." said Duor at first.
A slice of mist darkened below the "eyes" and widened open into what looked like a mouth "howling".
"Shhhhhhhahhhhhsssss..." came the sound again.
Now the little demon got to its feet and shouted its incomprehensible language at the cloud. It took the pitchwork in its clawed hands and jabbed in the direction of the cloud. The mist seemed to float away from the demon.
"That...is that...?" Haelan asked uncertainly.
"It can't be....can it?" Fen was the next to ask...anyone.
"I'm...not sure...but if it is..." Alaria said studying the cloud of mist.
"What?! What's everyone talking about?!" Festus said with some irritation.
A portion of the cloud slowly began to take form. Two long pointed ears formed to theside of a small flatish head. The eyesw took a more definite shape and long wisps of steam seemed to form "eyebrows" that almost looked like they floated off of the face. A long hooked nose elongated off the face and the mouth became more fully formed.
"Meeeeeessssssssshhhhhh" the face said weakly.
"Mister Meesh!?!?" Braddok said in complete surprise, not knowing from where in his memory this name came forth.
"What's a Meesh?" said Festus, still in the dark.
"Mihhhssssstrihhhhsssss hehhhlpssss Meeeeeessssshhhhhh..." the face managed to say before the diminutive demon jumped forward and stabbed the cloud with the pitchfork.
There was a cry of apparent pain from the mist and a loud "HHSSSSHHH!" as the cloud completely dispersed and plopped down to the floor in a splash of steaming water.
The puddle just laid there for a moment before, again, slowly, wisps of steam began to rise from it and again start to form the small cloud.
"We need to get him out of there." Alaria said.
"Him who?!" Festus said.
"Mister Meesh!" Haelan said as if it was the obvious answer. Then realizing the satyr had not been with them during the excursion to Dragonbone Isle, the daelvar explained in brief. "A steam mephit that we encountered when we first encountered Tresahd. He was enslaved by him but helped us get that crystal orb, and this mystic pearl we were after...and he was set free!
"Why is he here, Alaria? We have to help him." Haelan said in his pleading way, to the magess.
"We will Haelan...I'm just not sure how right now. To act rashly could prove fatal...even with so small a demon." Alaria answered.
"It would seem the dark wizard conjured him again. No doubt to punish him for his betrayal." Erevan said dispassionately.
"Could be another trick, though." Duor said. "Demons are demons after all. Might be another illusion to bait us into a trap."
Fen confirmed that while there was magic active in the alcove and the body of the puddle of water gave off a slight dweomer of its own, it was no greater or more foreboding than that of fairies or other magical or elemental creatures.
"Well, what're we waiting for then. Let's destroy this tormentor and free him again!" Braddok said and without awaiting consensus, stepped into the alcove, his magic blade before him.
As the blade passed the boundaries of the magic circle inscribed around the alcove the enchantments of the blade and the circles flashed angrily with/around each other. Braddok felt a tingling around him as his body passed the sorcerous perimeter.
"ZAZK!?" said the tiny demon in complete surprise and turned toward the invading warrior.
Braddok swung his blue-glowing blade with expert precision but the demon, due to size or magic or demonic nature, was preternaturally fast! It lept up to the wall of the alcove, crouching there just fine, jabbing its pitchfork menacingly at the large human, "Zz-ing" and "Ak-ing" angrily.
Fen, knowing that they were in "it" now, rushed forward, his leaf-tip spear blazing with the natural energies of the Green and stabbed at the creature on the wall.
It, again, easily avoided the blow, leaping clear across the alcove to the other wall and scurrying higher toward the ceiling.
"Everx zar!" came Erevan's voice from behind the two men and blue-green shards of energy flew between them and smacked into the small demon. The impact flung it to the floor at the back of the alcove.
Before the creature could recover, Braddok and Fen were upon it striking deep into the creature. In a small burst of purple and black flames and highpitched "ZZZzzzzeeeeeee", there was nothing left of it but a small blackened patch of stone and the three foot long two-pronged pitchfork of cold black iron.
The party watched, in concern as the cloud of mist again formed and lowered itself to the remaining moisture on the floor. The three foot tall humanoid with small wisps of steaming wings laid there on the alcove floor looking, weakly at the party.
"Meeessh ihssss freeeee onsssse more. Meeessh thhhhankssss the mihssstrissss."
"No thanks are necessary Meesh." Alaria replied.
"Meeessh." the mephit corrected quietly.
"Yes. Right, sorry. Meeessh." Alaria corrected her pronunciation of his name, recalling his general annoyance about it at their first meeting.
"What does it...do?" Festus asked in wonder. He'd never seen a "mephit" before...or even heard of one for that matter.
"It's an elemental creature of water vapor and air...hot air...steam, to be precise. It is not of this world." Erevan explained.
"Can help him, Haelan?" Braddok said, looking at the apparently weakened and frail form of the mephit.
"I...well...I don't actually know." Haelan admitted. "I've never tried to heal anything that wasn't...you know...a real person."
The mephit's wispy eyebrows seemed the slant into a furrow. "Meeessh ihssss reeeeal." the creature was trying to convey its annoyance, but it was so weak it finally just slumped where it had half-laid during his reformation and looked at the floor.
"We're sorry Mister Meeessh. Of course you are. Let me try." Haelan said, feeling sincerely sorry at insulting the poor trapped thing. "This shouldn't hurt at all..." (I hope, thought Haelan.)
The daelvar Hilltender knelt beside the frail mephit and attempted to invoke his goddess' blessing of healing. The pressing evil of the place weighed down upon him, but he felt the glimmer of a connection to his beloved Hill Mother.
Unfortunately, that glimmer was just about all he could perceive and the slightest, faintest of faint feminine voices came to the halfling's mind, *My graces do not extend to such as these, my gentle one.*
"I...I can't?...Faerantha says I can't." Haelan said in utter surprise. "I'm sorry Mister Meesh."
"Meeessh!" the mephit said with more force this time.
Erevan was examining the pitchfork with his magical sight and could determine nothing inherently enchanted about it. Though a residual aura of blackness surrounded it...and the space where the demon had been vanquished. Hearing the halfling's defeat, "Perhaps Fen can help." the elf suggested offhanded.
"He is a creature of the elemental planes, Fen. Maybe your order's affinity for those energies could be more useful." Alaria posed. Her concern for the mephit was now replaced with her innate curiosity at the working of Fen's druidic magics which, from all she'd observed, worked rather differently than her own.
The druid shrugged and decided to give it a try, though technically (he kept to himself) it was not a creature of this world and thus not, specifically, within the Balance. He quietly incanted a spell of healing which, to his utter surprise, seemed to morph in his mouth even as he spoke...the healing energies were not forthcoming, but a flow of water manifested instead.
In short order, a gallon or so of water had sprouted from his hands and streamed "into" the mephit's shape. Meeessh's face took on its more fully round form, as did its belly and in a moment, the mephit stood of its own accord and looked at its rejuvenated shape.
"Mhyyyy thanksssshh druid...mhy many many thankshhh. Meeessh ihs muchhhh behtter!" the mephit hissed in approval. He jumped into the air, his small wings that looked as though they should not support his flight, fluttered quickly, leaving trails of steam as they did so. The mephit hissed what was presumed to be a giggle and did a back flip in mid-air. 'Muhhhhch behtterssshhhh!"
"Now, Mister Meeessh, if you are up to it. How did you arrive here? I thought you'd returned to your own home plane?" Alaria began her inquiry.
"Nahhhhstyyy mahhhhsssster sssssummonssss Meeessh againsssshhh. Hurtsss Meeessh fohhhr trehhhcherysss. Lockssss up wihhhhth nahhhhstyyyy demonsss. Hurtsss Meeessh mahnyyy timessss shhhhh." Meeessh explained obviously pained by the memories of his recent plight.
"Meeessh hehlpsss mihssstrissss ahnd frehhndsssss. Helpsss desssstroyssss nahsssty mahssster." Meeessh said as he alit in front of Alaria. "Meeessh hehlpsss."
"Great so we've got a meeshphit guide now!" Festus joked.
"MEEESSH!" the mephit corrected, looking up at the satyr in annoyance.
"Uh...yeah...Right. That's what I said." the satyr looked down at the mephit in confusion.
"Nevermind!" Alaria said, wantign to get back to business. "Meeessh, can you tell us what this plpatform is or does? Is there any other way out of this dungeon? We're trying to get to Nor Gorthok...Find what it is Tresahd is holding here that might be dangerous to our world."
"Nothin' here that I can see." Duor said from around the platform. The dwarf had been going over the walls and floors carefully, searching for some hidden passage or doorway.
Erevan confirmed that he, too, could find no mundane way out of the place.
Meeessh pointed at the platform and hissed, "Thihsss ihsss waysss out. Nahsssty mahssster cohhhmesss ahnd gohhhhsss thhhhrough thihhhsss."
Alaria now took some time to examine the platform. There were indeed arcane marking around the edge of it. She had seen them before. Though of a much smaller scale, the magess was certain they were similar to the runes and sigils of the teleportal platform they had used in Daenfrii to bring them to the Feldmere...Manat's star, Alaria wondered, how long ago was that?! She realized what had been a few weeks seemed like an eternity...even not taking into account the "weeks" they'd spent in the dimensional folds of Gorathgraard.
The mephit went a flit up to the edge of the platform, beside Alaria.
"Do you know where it goes, Meeessh?" Alaria asked.
"Brohhht Meeessh frohhhmm nahsty mahsters hahhhll. Meeessh dohesn't knohhh where thaht ihsss. Meeessh wahs hhhohhhm! Ihn the mihhhssstsss. Hhhhappy Meeessh. Tohhhsssty hhhhot! Then wihth nahsty Tresssahhhd ahgain. Ihn the cohhhld stohhhn hhhahhhll. Poor Meeessh."
"How long ago was that, Meeessh?" Braddok inquired.
One of the memphit's wispy eyebrows rose at the warrior in a questioning look. The memphit merely shrugged, leaving two streams of steamy rising off of them.
"Were there other demons...or any kind of guards in the cold stone hall?" Alaria asked, gently.
Meeessh seemed to be thinking about this and finally answered that he had not seen any. His demonic tormentor had been conjured when he was already here in this alcove.
"What about other wizards or evil priests?" Fen asked.
A flash of comprehension flashed across Meeessh's steamy face. "Ahhhh, whihhhzzzzahdsss...yehsss. Ssssseverahl buhlack rohhhbsss...ssshhh. Wihth wuhhhite fasssesss...ssshhh."
This caused some concern among the party. Black robes with white faces? Could the mephit mean the bone-masked faces of Endoren priests? Given Tresahd/Desaarthal's plan to bring the monstrous dragon-mother, Shaarzak to the realms, and their limited contact with/information from the Endoren priest of undeath in Shafton, it made sense the wizard would need some help from the unholy order.
"You mean there's gonna be undead around here too?!" Haelan said with some concern. The memory of his triumphant clashes with undead since their time in Shafton helped to calm his fears a bit...but undead and demons...AND a dragon?! The daelvar really was not sure he was up for what probably lay ahead.
"Be stalwart my hairfooted friend." Braddok said reassuringly and clapped his large gloved hand on Haelan's shoulder.
The daelvar looked up at the warrior with a forced smile.
"Well, we can't get out the other way...again. Can I just suggest, you know, as a formal Stormrider member, that we stop cutting off our avenues of retreat?" Festus piped. He received several looks from the party. "You know, just as a precaution."
"A wise strategy, indeed, friend Festus. I must concur." said Braddok.
The satyr smiled widely at receiving some affirmation from the swordsman.
"So...how's this thing work? We ain't got some old elf to send us on our way, this time." Duor said, rubbing his bearded chin, and careful not to get onto the platform before anyone else.
Alaria had been examining the runes and with a bit of luck (QUITE a bit), believed she had found the activation phrase among the arcane writing.
Unwilling to "take a break" in the demonically evil pressing dungeon, the companions steeled themselves to whatever might lie ahead.
One by one they stepped onto the platform. Alaria and Mister Meeessh beside her were the last.
"Ready?" Alaria asked tentatively. She wasn't certain she, herself, was.
Grim nods from her companions, who all held weapons at the ready, told her it was "now or never."
"THREZAS KAZKREL!" the magess shouted and in a flash of violet light, the party disappeared.
***
The succubus, Athrizz, had been listening to the goings-on at the end of the hall with great interest. She heard the command word of the teleportal platform and saw the flash of purple light.
A smirk formed across her beautiful face as she calmly stepped over her "binding circle" and out of her alcove "prison" into the corridor.
Yes, Athrizz grinned to herself, this information was sure to glean her quite a bit of favor with the Overseer...perhaps even warrant her release..or at least one or two of the companions' souls to play with. That warrior was a handsome one.
In a billowing column of acrid smelling smoke the succubus, also, disappeared from the dungeon corridor.
Fen noted with his magic sight still in effect, that the platform radiated some form of powerful magic. But that was relatively ignored at the odd sight within the final chamber.
A demon, for sure. It was small, not more than a foot long, purple and red scaled with four horns, two sticking straight up and two sticking rather perpendicular to its head. Its thin long arms were crossed across its chest and its similarly skinny legs, ending in two-toed clawed feet were also casually crossed. It was reclined against the wall, obviously relaxed. It had a thin barbed tail wrapped around a two-pronged pitchfork that couldn't have been more than 3 feet long. It was "holding" the pitchfork with its tail and using the prongs to pick at its many pointed teeth that protruded from every angle of a roudn circle of a mouth.
A bit away from it, toward the center of the alcove was a puddle of steaming water. The wisps of steam seemed to be coelescing a few feet above it, just billowing, formign a small cloud of mist/steam/fog, in mid-air.
The creature pulled the pitchfork out of its mouth and looked at the party casually with hollow black eyes.
"Zzzixzik ZAK? Zak ak!" it said in what sounded like annoyance.
Receiving no response from the confused party, it raised its voice and its abyssal inquiries became more annoyed...or forceful...or something.
"ZAX! Zik zix? Zizzz!"
"Sorry scree. We don't speak demon." Duor said offhanded.
Then the party began to hear, very weak at first and then gaining volume a low "sssssss" as the last of the water evaporated and flowed into the cloud.
"Ssssssssshhhhh" the sound came again longre and marginally louder. Two parts of the cloud seemed to darken into what appeared to be darker grey ovals of "eyes" within the cloud.
"No way." said Duor at first.
A slice of mist darkened below the "eyes" and widened open into what looked like a mouth "howling".
"Shhhhhhhahhhhhsssss..." came the sound again.
Now the little demon got to its feet and shouted its incomprehensible language at the cloud. It took the pitchwork in its clawed hands and jabbed in the direction of the cloud. The mist seemed to float away from the demon.
"That...is that...?" Haelan asked uncertainly.
"It can't be....can it?" Fen was the next to ask...anyone.
"I'm...not sure...but if it is..." Alaria said studying the cloud of mist.
"What?! What's everyone talking about?!" Festus said with some irritation.
A portion of the cloud slowly began to take form. Two long pointed ears formed to theside of a small flatish head. The eyesw took a more definite shape and long wisps of steam seemed to form "eyebrows" that almost looked like they floated off of the face. A long hooked nose elongated off the face and the mouth became more fully formed.
"Meeeeeessssssssshhhhhh" the face said weakly.
"Mister Meesh!?!?" Braddok said in complete surprise, not knowing from where in his memory this name came forth.
"What's a Meesh?" said Festus, still in the dark.
"Mihhhssssstrihhhhsssss hehhhlpssss Meeeeeessssshhhhhh..." the face managed to say before the diminutive demon jumped forward and stabbed the cloud with the pitchfork.
There was a cry of apparent pain from the mist and a loud "HHSSSSHHH!" as the cloud completely dispersed and plopped down to the floor in a splash of steaming water.
The puddle just laid there for a moment before, again, slowly, wisps of steam began to rise from it and again start to form the small cloud.
"We need to get him out of there." Alaria said.
"Him who?!" Festus said.
"Mister Meesh!" Haelan said as if it was the obvious answer. Then realizing the satyr had not been with them during the excursion to Dragonbone Isle, the daelvar explained in brief. "A steam mephit that we encountered when we first encountered Tresahd. He was enslaved by him but helped us get that crystal orb, and this mystic pearl we were after...and he was set free!
"Why is he here, Alaria? We have to help him." Haelan said in his pleading way, to the magess.
"We will Haelan...I'm just not sure how right now. To act rashly could prove fatal...even with so small a demon." Alaria answered.
"It would seem the dark wizard conjured him again. No doubt to punish him for his betrayal." Erevan said dispassionately.
"Could be another trick, though." Duor said. "Demons are demons after all. Might be another illusion to bait us into a trap."
Fen confirmed that while there was magic active in the alcove and the body of the puddle of water gave off a slight dweomer of its own, it was no greater or more foreboding than that of fairies or other magical or elemental creatures.
"Well, what're we waiting for then. Let's destroy this tormentor and free him again!" Braddok said and without awaiting consensus, stepped into the alcove, his magic blade before him.
As the blade passed the boundaries of the magic circle inscribed around the alcove the enchantments of the blade and the circles flashed angrily with/around each other. Braddok felt a tingling around him as his body passed the sorcerous perimeter.
"ZAZK!?" said the tiny demon in complete surprise and turned toward the invading warrior.
Braddok swung his blue-glowing blade with expert precision but the demon, due to size or magic or demonic nature, was preternaturally fast! It lept up to the wall of the alcove, crouching there just fine, jabbing its pitchfork menacingly at the large human, "Zz-ing" and "Ak-ing" angrily.
Fen, knowing that they were in "it" now, rushed forward, his leaf-tip spear blazing with the natural energies of the Green and stabbed at the creature on the wall.
It, again, easily avoided the blow, leaping clear across the alcove to the other wall and scurrying higher toward the ceiling.
"Everx zar!" came Erevan's voice from behind the two men and blue-green shards of energy flew between them and smacked into the small demon. The impact flung it to the floor at the back of the alcove.
Before the creature could recover, Braddok and Fen were upon it striking deep into the creature. In a small burst of purple and black flames and highpitched "ZZZzzzzeeeeeee", there was nothing left of it but a small blackened patch of stone and the three foot long two-pronged pitchfork of cold black iron.
The party watched, in concern as the cloud of mist again formed and lowered itself to the remaining moisture on the floor. The three foot tall humanoid with small wisps of steaming wings laid there on the alcove floor looking, weakly at the party.
"Meeessh ihssss freeeee onsssse more. Meeessh thhhhankssss the mihssstrissss."
"No thanks are necessary Meesh." Alaria replied.
"Meeessh." the mephit corrected quietly.
"Yes. Right, sorry. Meeessh." Alaria corrected her pronunciation of his name, recalling his general annoyance about it at their first meeting.
"What does it...do?" Festus asked in wonder. He'd never seen a "mephit" before...or even heard of one for that matter.
"It's an elemental creature of water vapor and air...hot air...steam, to be precise. It is not of this world." Erevan explained.
"Can help him, Haelan?" Braddok said, looking at the apparently weakened and frail form of the mephit.
"I...well...I don't actually know." Haelan admitted. "I've never tried to heal anything that wasn't...you know...a real person."
The mephit's wispy eyebrows seemed the slant into a furrow. "Meeessh ihssss reeeeal." the creature was trying to convey its annoyance, but it was so weak it finally just slumped where it had half-laid during his reformation and looked at the floor.
"We're sorry Mister Meeessh. Of course you are. Let me try." Haelan said, feeling sincerely sorry at insulting the poor trapped thing. "This shouldn't hurt at all..." (I hope, thought Haelan.)
The daelvar Hilltender knelt beside the frail mephit and attempted to invoke his goddess' blessing of healing. The pressing evil of the place weighed down upon him, but he felt the glimmer of a connection to his beloved Hill Mother.
Unfortunately, that glimmer was just about all he could perceive and the slightest, faintest of faint feminine voices came to the halfling's mind, *My graces do not extend to such as these, my gentle one.*
"I...I can't?...Faerantha says I can't." Haelan said in utter surprise. "I'm sorry Mister Meesh."
"Meeessh!" the mephit said with more force this time.
Erevan was examining the pitchfork with his magical sight and could determine nothing inherently enchanted about it. Though a residual aura of blackness surrounded it...and the space where the demon had been vanquished. Hearing the halfling's defeat, "Perhaps Fen can help." the elf suggested offhanded.
"He is a creature of the elemental planes, Fen. Maybe your order's affinity for those energies could be more useful." Alaria posed. Her concern for the mephit was now replaced with her innate curiosity at the working of Fen's druidic magics which, from all she'd observed, worked rather differently than her own.
The druid shrugged and decided to give it a try, though technically (he kept to himself) it was not a creature of this world and thus not, specifically, within the Balance. He quietly incanted a spell of healing which, to his utter surprise, seemed to morph in his mouth even as he spoke...the healing energies were not forthcoming, but a flow of water manifested instead.
In short order, a gallon or so of water had sprouted from his hands and streamed "into" the mephit's shape. Meeessh's face took on its more fully round form, as did its belly and in a moment, the mephit stood of its own accord and looked at its rejuvenated shape.
"Mhyyyy thanksssshh druid...mhy many many thankshhh. Meeessh ihs muchhhh behtter!" the mephit hissed in approval. He jumped into the air, his small wings that looked as though they should not support his flight, fluttered quickly, leaving trails of steam as they did so. The mephit hissed what was presumed to be a giggle and did a back flip in mid-air. 'Muhhhhch behtterssshhhh!"
"Now, Mister Meeessh, if you are up to it. How did you arrive here? I thought you'd returned to your own home plane?" Alaria began her inquiry.
"Nahhhhstyyy mahhhhsssster sssssummonssss Meeessh againsssshhh. Hurtsss Meeessh fohhhr trehhhcherysss. Lockssss up wihhhhth nahhhhstyyyy demonsss. Hurtsss Meeessh mahnyyy timessss shhhhh." Meeessh explained obviously pained by the memories of his recent plight.
"Meeessh hehlpsss mihssstrissss ahnd frehhndsssss. Helpsss desssstroyssss nahsssty mahssster." Meeessh said as he alit in front of Alaria. "Meeessh hehlpsss."
"Great so we've got a meeshphit guide now!" Festus joked.
"MEEESSH!" the mephit corrected, looking up at the satyr in annoyance.
"Uh...yeah...Right. That's what I said." the satyr looked down at the mephit in confusion.
"Nevermind!" Alaria said, wantign to get back to business. "Meeessh, can you tell us what this plpatform is or does? Is there any other way out of this dungeon? We're trying to get to Nor Gorthok...Find what it is Tresahd is holding here that might be dangerous to our world."
"Nothin' here that I can see." Duor said from around the platform. The dwarf had been going over the walls and floors carefully, searching for some hidden passage or doorway.
Erevan confirmed that he, too, could find no mundane way out of the place.
Meeessh pointed at the platform and hissed, "Thihsss ihsss waysss out. Nahsssty mahssster cohhhmesss ahnd gohhhhsss thhhhrough thihhhsss."
Alaria now took some time to examine the platform. There were indeed arcane marking around the edge of it. She had seen them before. Though of a much smaller scale, the magess was certain they were similar to the runes and sigils of the teleportal platform they had used in Daenfrii to bring them to the Feldmere...Manat's star, Alaria wondered, how long ago was that?! She realized what had been a few weeks seemed like an eternity...even not taking into account the "weeks" they'd spent in the dimensional folds of Gorathgraard.
The mephit went a flit up to the edge of the platform, beside Alaria.
"Do you know where it goes, Meeessh?" Alaria asked.
"Brohhht Meeessh frohhhmm nahsty mahsters hahhhll. Meeessh dohesn't knohhh where thaht ihsss. Meeessh wahs hhhohhhm! Ihn the mihhhssstsss. Hhhhappy Meeessh. Tohhhsssty hhhhot! Then wihth nahsty Tresssahhhd ahgain. Ihn the cohhhld stohhhn hhhahhhll. Poor Meeessh."
"How long ago was that, Meeessh?" Braddok inquired.
One of the memphit's wispy eyebrows rose at the warrior in a questioning look. The memphit merely shrugged, leaving two streams of steamy rising off of them.
"Were there other demons...or any kind of guards in the cold stone hall?" Alaria asked, gently.
Meeessh seemed to be thinking about this and finally answered that he had not seen any. His demonic tormentor had been conjured when he was already here in this alcove.
"What about other wizards or evil priests?" Fen asked.
A flash of comprehension flashed across Meeessh's steamy face. "Ahhhh, whihhhzzzzahdsss...yehsss. Ssssseverahl buhlack rohhhbsss...ssshhh. Wihth wuhhhite fasssesss...ssshhh."
This caused some concern among the party. Black robes with white faces? Could the mephit mean the bone-masked faces of Endoren priests? Given Tresahd/Desaarthal's plan to bring the monstrous dragon-mother, Shaarzak to the realms, and their limited contact with/information from the Endoren priest of undeath in Shafton, it made sense the wizard would need some help from the unholy order.
"You mean there's gonna be undead around here too?!" Haelan said with some concern. The memory of his triumphant clashes with undead since their time in Shafton helped to calm his fears a bit...but undead and demons...AND a dragon?! The daelvar really was not sure he was up for what probably lay ahead.
"Be stalwart my hairfooted friend." Braddok said reassuringly and clapped his large gloved hand on Haelan's shoulder.
The daelvar looked up at the warrior with a forced smile.
"Well, we can't get out the other way...again. Can I just suggest, you know, as a formal Stormrider member, that we stop cutting off our avenues of retreat?" Festus piped. He received several looks from the party. "You know, just as a precaution."
"A wise strategy, indeed, friend Festus. I must concur." said Braddok.
The satyr smiled widely at receiving some affirmation from the swordsman.
"So...how's this thing work? We ain't got some old elf to send us on our way, this time." Duor said, rubbing his bearded chin, and careful not to get onto the platform before anyone else.
Alaria had been examining the runes and with a bit of luck (QUITE a bit), believed she had found the activation phrase among the arcane writing.
Unwilling to "take a break" in the demonically evil pressing dungeon, the companions steeled themselves to whatever might lie ahead.
One by one they stepped onto the platform. Alaria and Mister Meeessh beside her were the last.
"Ready?" Alaria asked tentatively. She wasn't certain she, herself, was.
Grim nods from her companions, who all held weapons at the ready, told her it was "now or never."
"THREZAS KAZKREL!" the magess shouted and in a flash of violet light, the party disappeared.
***
The succubus, Athrizz, had been listening to the goings-on at the end of the hall with great interest. She heard the command word of the teleportal platform and saw the flash of purple light.
A smirk formed across her beautiful face as she calmly stepped over her "binding circle" and out of her alcove "prison" into the corridor.
Yes, Athrizz grinned to herself, this information was sure to glean her quite a bit of favor with the Overseer...perhaps even warrant her release..or at least one or two of the companions' souls to play with. That warrior was a handsome one.
In a billowing column of acrid smelling smoke the succubus, also, disappeared from the dungeon corridor.