Story HourPost your ongoing tales from your campaigns, and read those from others for inspiration. Lots of other RPG boards post "Story Hours", but this is where it started!
“This is the place,” said Dulvarna with a wary glance towards the duergar trading post in the east wall. Rendil Halfmoon has directed them to the shop before them, a structure seemingly built from a stalagmite mound in the eastern half of the cavern. It was called Gendar’s Curios and Relics and was said to be run by a drow exile. Dulvarna led them cautiously through the doorway into a rambling shop filled with shelves of random treasures and curios ranging from amulets to daggers to the dried limbs and heads of creatures known and unknown. Larger items including a golden structure of revolving spheres set on frames stood on the floor of the outer chamber while through it all, at the back of the room, the companions saw a counter, behind which stood a dark skinned male elf poring over a scroll spread out on the counter. He wore a patch over one eye and looked up to regard the newcomers as they entered. His face cracked into a truly predatory grin as he saw the adventurers enter his shop.
“Welcome, strangers,” he said then. “To my humble establishment. And how can I assist you today?”
“Where do you get these treasures?” asked Telkya, her curiosity genuinely aroused by the strange shop.
“People bring them to me,” answered the dark elf. “I am always on the look out for new curios to sell and folk are always looking to buy the treasures of the Labyrinth.”
“And who brings them to you?” persisted Telkya. “Few travel the Labyrinth simply seeking treasures to bring back to you.”
You’re right of course,” the drow responded. “But people can be motivated to seek out such things. You, for example, are likely not here to discuss the wares I sell but have some other purpose in coming here.”
“We seek duergar,” said Lavren then. “And would know if they inhabit the Horned Hold. They have some things that are not theirs.”
“Indeed,” answered Gendar. “And something that I desire as well. Perhaps we can aid each other.”
“Perhaps we can,” said Erlmoor. “Does that mean they can be found at the Horned Hold.”
“They can,” Gendar answered. “And one of them has something that I once possessed, a skull scepter. I will pay for its safe retrun.”
“How much?” Lavren asked at once.
“Three hundred gold,” answered the drow just as quickly. “No more no less. If you refuse I will find someone else to recover it. From you if necessary.”
“Don’t threaten us,” Enlishia snarled in response. “I dislike dealing with drow as it is. How will we know that you will pay?”
“You will not,” answered the dark elf. “But since you seek the duergar anyway I give you a chance to make some gold. As I said, if you refuse or take the scepter for yourselves then I will send others to recover it. Plenty come through here seeking gold. Someone will take on the task.”
“We will do it for you,” Erlmoor answered. “Though I too mislike your threats. Know that we are called the Defenders of Winterhaven and it would take powerful sellswords indeed to take anything from us.”
“Fair enough,” said the drow, nodding. “Bring me the scepter and you shall have your gold but if you’re not back here in a tenday, I’ll be hiring the next likely band to come through here to find it in your stead.”
The companions nodded and as one, turned to leave the curio shop. They crossed over the eastern side of the cavern to the duergar trading post and walked inside as though they were customers. Barring the door behind them, they headed for the passage at the southern end of the back room. Litiraan conjured light to an unlit torch and together, the six companions started back out into the darkness.
The map led them southward through the tunnels beneath Thunderspire Mountain until they took a side branch that led eastward and bent across a bridge that spanned a deep chasm. They stopped on the bridge and marveled at the deep abyss beneath them and the stone span that crossed it before Dulvarna led them on into the darkness. They turned south as the map directed a little way beyond the chasm and followed a narrower way that soon led them out onto the chasm edge and followed the abyss with a steep drop on their right and a high cliff on their left. The path wound along the edge of the chasm for several hundred feet, before rounding a corner to reveal several large bastions clinging to the side of the chasm. Two bridges spanned the chasm’s depths, linking the bastions together. The path ended at the nearest fortress, where a portcullis blocked the way. Two orcs were visible behind the portcullis, keeping watch.
Dulvarna rushed forward and grabbed the portcullis bars with both hands, seeking to wrench the thing open. She saw hinges that indicated that it apparently did not rise or lower but swung outwards and so she pulled towards her, seeking to strain and break the hinges or the stone that held them. The portcullis creaked and seemed to give a little but would not come free. Telkya moved to stand at Dulvarna’s shoulder, chanting a prayer as she went. A ray of light lanced out and struck one of the orcs behind the gate, drawing a hiss of pain from the creature as it took up a spear to defend the hold. Erlmoor charged past the priestess and lent his own strength to the efforts to pull the portcullis down but still it would not move. The orcs rallied to the gate then, jabbing spears through the bars and driving one into Dulvarna’s shoulder. Still she held firm to the portcullis. Enlishia moved out to the left and began firing arrows through the bars at the orcs within. An arrow pierced the shoulder of one orc and sent it reeling away from the gate but it recovered quickly and came back with its spear in its hands.
Lavren joined the ranger against the cliff wall, furthest from the chasm edge and cursed at the nearest orc in elven. With another word, he loosed black, crackling energy from his wand that seared between two of the orcs and struck the far wall of their chamber. Litiraan joined Lavren and Enlishia next to the cliff wall and loosed a silver bolt into the orc nearest the gate but, though he recoiled, the creature came back quickly, jabbing forward with his spear. Another joined the battle at the gate and jabbed its spear through into Erlmoor’s side. The dragonborn roared his anger and strained all the more at the portcullis. The dragonborn moved aside as another spear stabbed at him and then with another roar, he showered the portcullis and the orcs beyond in a spray of acid. The orcs shrank back but then came forward, their spears stabbing through the bars again. Dulvarna and Erlmoor fell back from the bars, wounded by spear points but as Enlishia loosed another arrow into an orc and Lavren hurled more crackling black energy through the bars, they charged back to the gates and tried again to hurl them down. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand but two more spears stabbed through the bars into Erlmoor as he charged back in. The dragonborn let out a roar of pain and staggered away from the gate, bleeding. Dulvarna tried to pull down the gate once more but then backed away beside Erlmoor as Telkya loosed searing light to keep the orcs at bay.
An arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove through the throat of one of the orcs and felled him at the gate while the others stabbed at Dulvarna and wounded her yet more even as she retreated. Another orc came to the gate to replace the one that fell while Lavren loosed black eldritch energy into the chamber to try to keep the foul creatures at bay. Litiraan called flame from his wand that seared though the portcullis bars and burned the orcs within but still they were unbowed. Each put aside his spear and pulled loaded crossbows from their backs. The weapons clicked and bolts flew forth, one driving into Lavren’s leg, another nicking Telkya’s cheek and another striking the cliff wall next to Litiraan.
Telkya prayed again and called down a column of light that burned the skin of one of the orcs close to the gate while beside her, Erlmoor began his own prayer. Searing ribbons of light engulfed the same orc and sent it reeling away from the portcullis. A crossbow bolt narrowly missed Telkya but Enlishia and Lavren answered with arrows and terrible, searing black energy. The orc staggered back and reached for cloth at its belt to bind its wounds but even as it did so, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt into its side that spun it back towards the gate. A hail of crossbow bolts was the orc response which wounded Enlishia and Lavren but they paid the small hurts no mind. Then, a whirring sound filled the ledge and all looked towards Dulvarna. Above her head, she twirled her sling, a weapon she rarely used. She let loose a missile that struck the stone next to the portcullis and orcs jeered in response.
“I think I need a bow,” she announced and the others could not help but smile.
Erlmoor lent his own sling to the barrage while the orcs answered with crossbow fire. A bolt nicked Telkya again while she sent searing light in amongst the orcs. Enlishia split the skull of the reeling and wounded orc with an arrow and felled him beside his companion while Lavren seared another with his black flame. Litiraan conjured two rays of ice from his wand, one of which froze only the bars of the portcullis while the other struck the shoulder of another orc behind the gate. Telkya staggered back as a bolt struck her in the shoulder and Lavren reeled back against the cavern wall as he was struck in the hip. Telkya’s response was to raise her voice in prayer and loose a ray of golden light into the nearest orc. Enlishia loosed an arrow into the chest of the same orc and then Lavren unleashed a crackling, black bolt that seared through the orc’s head and felled it beside its companions.
The orcs seemed to waver then but still they unleashed another barrage of crossbow bolts. Another struck Telkya while one clattered into the stone beside Lavren. The elf looked down at where the missile had struck and smiled to himself. Telkya unleashed another bolt of light that struck an orc and Erlmoor finally found accuracy with his sling, loosing a stone with the whirring weapon to strike the same orc in the leg. It hissed its pain and staggered back from the gate. A crossbow bolt nicked Lavren’s shoulder and drove the smile from his face. He cursed the orc who had wounded him and loosed crackling black energy at his foe. It struck the shoulder of the orc and sent it reeling backwards. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt at the same orc but the missile struck the bars of the portcullis and ricocheted down to the floor of the inner chamber. Another bolt struck Telkya then and Litiraan cursed loudly, looking anxiously at his sister. Telkya turned towards him and half-smiled but he saw the strain on her face and knew that her strength was weakening. She began another prayer and Litiraan tried to banish his worries as his sister faught on.
Dulvarna cursed as badly as she had ever cursed as she loosed another sling stone and this time, the missile found the chest of an orc and knocked the creature backwards. Elation filled her as she reached for another missile and for a moment she reconsidered her decision to buy a bow. She shook her head. She had the gold and knew how to fire a bow. She would go to the trading post as soon as they returned to the Seven Pillared Hall. Beside Dulvarna, Erlmoor loosed a stone and demonstrated himself another candidate for buying a bow, although Dulvarna suspected he could not shoot one. The stone he fired struck the stone beside the gate and ricocheted to struck the ledge at Litiraan’s feet. The elf jumped back in shock but beside him, Lavren and Enlishia held firm. The ranger loosed and arrow from her bow that struck an orc in the chest. Lavren sent purple rays searing through the bars and struck the same orc as Enlishia had wounded. Litiraan added his own enchantment to the barrage and the orc staggered as though suddenly weary. Crossbow bolts struck the stone around the companions or flew out over the abyss but none came near to striking a target.
“They are all but beaten,” Dulvarna called out and she charged at the gate.
Telkya loosed a ray of light at an orc and sent it reeling as Dulvarna grabbed hold of the bars and Erlmoor loosed sling stone as he hesitated in deciding whether to join the warrior woman. One of the orcs shot Dulvarna with his crossbow from close range, the bolt driving into her side. She staggered but still pulled on the gates. Enlishia loosed an arrow at the orc and Lavren unleashed black, crackling energy but both flew wide of the mark. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand struck the creature and it screeched in pain but held firm at the gate. The other two orcs took up their spears again and stabbed at Dulvarna. A spear pierced her hip and she staggered back with a gasp, blood pouring down her leg. She rushed at the gates again with the last of her strength and heaved at them and with a loud crack, the portcullis was torn from its hinges. It clattered to the ground beside Dulvarna, who twisted out of the way of the heavy metal gate and beyond it, the orcs panicked.
Telkya unleashed light from her amulet while Erlmoor threw down his sling and charged with a prayer on his lips. He drew his sword, which now glowed brightly, and drove it into the chest of an orc. The creature gasped and fell beside its companions. Enlishia rushed after Erlmoor, firing an arrow from her bow as she ran and behind her came Lavren and Litiraan. Black energy felled another orc and the last bolted for double doors in the eastern wall of the room beside the chamber’s fireplace. Dulvarna rushed after him, catching the orc at the doors and slashing her blade across the back of one of its legs. It stumbled and fell against the double doors as it tried to pull them open. Telkya rushed into the room, loosing light from her amulet but striking only the half-opened doors and Erlmoor followed her.
The dragonborn drove his blade into the orc’s shoulder and the creature slumped forward. An arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into its left shoulder and then a blast of black, crackling energy spun it around it face its pursuers. It reached out desperately for the half-open doors but as it did so, Litiraan completed his spell and a silver bolt of energy seared through its chest, piercing its heart and felling it where it stood. Telkya rushed up and pushed the double doors shut.
“We are in no state to go wandering blindly,” she said firmly. The others could not disagree.
Dulvarna led them through the double doors once they had tended to their wounds. A wide hallway with doors off it in every direction lay beyond the doors and the ring of hammers striking anvils came from the southern end of the hall where double doors seemed to lead to another chamber.
“Check the side rooms,” said Dulvarna quietly. “And be careful.”
“An armoury here,” Erlmoor hissed from the northern door to the left of the double doors.
“A barracks here,” Telkya whispered. “For the orcs by the smell of it.”
“And a well here with a door to the south,” said Erlmoor as he drew up behind Dulvarna near the western door and the southern double doors.
“The southern doors it is then,” said Telkya as she joined the others from the barracks room to the east.
“Maybe for most of us,” said Lavren. “But I for one think I’ll go through the well room. We should end up in the same place.”
“Or you hope you will,” rumbled Erlmoor. “The rest of us are going through the double doors. Good luck.”
The others glanced over at Lavren with nervous looks, hoping as he was that he wasn’t walking into a trap. Telkya winked at him and he winked back and at a nod, they flung both sets of doors open. Lavren and the others all saw the same thing – a large furnace burning loudly the far side of a large chamber, stoked by an orc at the bellows. A dwarf with sooty black skin and a stiff, rust-coloured beard worked at an anvil nearby, beating a glowing blade into shape. Racks full of recently finished weapons lined the walls while orcs stood on guard near the two doors that led out of the chamber.
Dulvarna rushed at the duergar at the anvil, her blade swinging out as she reached him and cutting into his shoulder. He spun against the anvil, spilling the hot blade he had been working on but keeping hold of his hammer. Dulvarna looked right and saw that another duergar had been working at an anvil in the western portion of the room where Lavren had entered. This gray dwarf was now looking aghast at the warrior woman and her blood stained blade. Enlishia came into the room behind Dulvarna, loosing an arrow into the nearest orc. The creature wheeled around, reaching for a huge axe on its back as it spun.
Lavren stopped in the doorway and realised that he had made a big mistake. The orc at the bellows turned towards him as did the duergar working at the anvil and another orc at a door in the southwestern wall. He cursed the duergar and uttered a spell quickly, loosing purple rays of fire at the nearest orc and duergar but both flew high and wide to strike the far walls of the chamber. Lavren stepped back as his enemies turned towards him but as he did so, a fierce, roaring form, clad in armour and black scales surged past him. With a roar, Erlmoor rushed into the chamber ahead of the elf and sprayed acid from his mouth. He slashed out with his blade and struck the anvil, driving the duergar away from it. The dragonborn looked back over his shoulder at Lavren.
“Well who else was going to save you from yourself,” he snarled and Lavren could only shrug in response.
Telkya rushed into the chamber behind Dulvarna, chanting a prayer as she ran. Light lanced from the amulet in her left hand to strike the orc that Enlishia had already wounded and send him reeling away. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt towards the orc as he came into the room but it flew wide and struck double doors in the southeastern wall. Dulvarna slammed the hilt of her sword into the duergar’s face and Enlishia fired wildly at the orc again. Finally, the orc drew his axe and snarled its anger at the companions. It started forward with deliberate steps, barely flinching as Telkya called another bolt of light from her amulet to strike its chest. Litiraan hurled a more accurate bolt of silver fire into the orc’s chest but still it kept coming though its flesh was burned and it bled from several wounds. Suddenly, with a roar, it charged at Telkya with its axe raised and the elf maid desperately tried to raise her sword.
Lavren stepped into the room behind Erlmoor and hurled black energy from his wand but again it flew wide and struck the wall above a torch close to the southwestern door. Erlmoor lashed out with his blade, praying loudly as he did so and as the blade glowed white, it cut deep into the duergar’s arm. The gray dwarf fell across his anvil and then twisted away to avoid any killing blow that followed. Erlmoor roared his derision and pursued his enemy, stepping forward. The orcs, meanwhile, drew axes from their backs and moved to attack the newcomers. Lavren turned towards them and wondered whether, even with Erlmoor beside him, he had not taken on more than he could handle.
Dulvarna lashed out again at the duergar as the dwarf turned to face her but then her foe vanished. She turned left and right and then felt a hammer blow narrowly miss her right leg. She turned around and the dwarf was there but as she turned, the orc charged, coming at her from behind. She twisted to one side but its axe cut painfully into her shoulder blade and forced her to turn on the spot to face both of her enemies. In the northeastern corner of the room, Dulvarna thought she saw a door open but nothing emerged and so she turned her attention back to her enemies. It was only when a bone-like quill clattered into the stone next to the forge that she knew another duergar was in the room.
“They can become invisible,” Dulvarna called to the others. “Another lurks close to the orc.”
Lavren raise his sword in his right hand as the orc came at him, seeking to parry its huge axe as it brought it down towards his head. He deflected the blow to one side but the blade still tore down his left arm, tearing cloth, scoring leather and then cutting the flesh beneath. The elf cried out and drew back but as he did so, he heard the duergar chanting as he retreated from Erlmoor. Suddenly, Lavren’s sword grew painfully hot and the skin of hiss hand began to smoke. He wanted to drop the sword but knew he could not stand defenseless before the axe-wielding orc he faced. He gritted his teeth and looked to Erlmoor who was looking down at his own sword in puzzlement more than pain. The dragonborn roared his defiance and Lavren took heart from that. The second orc ran at Erlmoor then raising its axe high and bringing it down. The paladin raised his sword and in a spray of sparks, blade met axe and held it at bay. Once more Erlmoor roared his defiance but as Lavren parried another axe blow, he wondered still how long the two of them could last without aid.
Dulvarna weaved her blade before her and retreated towards the southern wall of the chamber. Suddenly, she thrust her blade towards the orc but as the creature moved its axe down to parry, she twisted the heavy blade in her hands and swung it across to slash into the ribs of the duergar. An arrow flew past the orc and struck the wall behind Dulvarna’s right shoulder before clattering to the floor. The warrior woman cursed under her breath. Already they were hard pressed and it was likely that Lavren and Erlmoor faced still greater odds. She cursed again and then danced forward to battle her enemies.
Lavren momentarily considered whether it was disloyal to retreat but then the burns that now covered the palm of his right hand throbbed and he knew he could not fight one with he sword. He ducked back through the doorway and called forth witchfire to engulf the orc that he had faced. Flame seared the orc and sent it staggering back into the chamber for a few moments. Erlmoor took his chance and smashed the hilt of his sword into the orc’s face, sending it staggering back and away. Then he turned on the other orc as it came at him with its axe.
Telkya called a column of light down on the orc that Dulvarna faught and watched as the divine fire burned its flesh. It staggered but kept its axe high to defend itself as Dulvarna came at it with a flurry of blows. The duergar meanwhile, darted right towards the forge and lashed out with its hammer but Dulvarna stepped back and twisted to parry the low swing with her blade. The orc rushed at her from the other side but she twisted away and his heavy axe struck the floor where the warrior woman had been standing moments before. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand seared past the orc then and drew its attention back towards the doors but then the second duergar, invisible until now, appeared behind Dulvarna. He lashed out with his hammer as the woman leapt out of his reach.
Erlmoor parried the axe of the orc to his left and then pushed the enemy away from him as he turned to deal with the other. Dimly, he saw the duergar smith moving around to stand before the forge and heard the dwarf begin chanting again. The gray dwarf extended his hand and a searing bolt of flame lanced out to strike Erlmoor in the chest and hurl him backwards against the door frame. The orc came at him then, slashing his axe out wide and driving the blade into the dragonborn’s left leg. Erlmoor roared his anger and pain for all to hear. The other orc started forward but Lavren was quicker, loosing black, crackling energy into the creature and keeping it back from Erlmoor while the dragonborn recovered from the double blow. Erlmoor nodded his thanks to the elf, pushed himself off the door frame and stepped forward to meet his enemies again.
Dulvarna turned slowly on the spot, weaving her blade before her and daring her enemies to come forward. They watched her, the two duergar and the orc, circling and moving back and forth as she moved. She darted at one of the duergar and then the orc before finally driving her blade into the hip of the other duergar. The gray dwarf fell back, staggering and Dulvarna followed, raising her blade over her head and bringing it down on the skull of the dwarf. She turned back to face her other two foes but even as she did an arrow drove into the orc’s chest. It staggered back, falling sideways over the anvil before righting itself. Then a second arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove through its neck and it fell to the floor, gurgling its last breath as blood filled its throat. Telkya loosed light from her amulet that struck the wall beside the last duergar and then she charged at the gray dwarf with her sword in her hand. A silver bolt struck the wall above the head of the dwarf and it cringed, putting its back to the wall and holding its hammer before it. With a steely determination in its eyes, the duergar gave a guttural snarl and prepared to face its death.
Erlmoor intoned a prayer loudly in his deep baritone as he parried axe blows to the left and to the right. Finally, as his sword glowed with a golden light, he thrust it at the orc to the left, driving the tip into the orc’s side above its hip. The orc snarled and fell back and Erlmoor slashed out with the sword to cut deep into the flesh of the orc’s shoulder. The orc reeled back from the dragonborn and lashed out with its axe only for Erlmoor to step back himself beyond the orc’s reach. He ducked left as the duergar near the furnace loosed another bolt of fire at him and then raised his blade crossways above his head to parry the axe blow of the other orc. Another black bolt from Lavren’s wand flew past the wounded orc and kept it back for a moment but then it hissed and snarled its defiance and came back at the dragonborn once more.
Dulvarna stabbed her blade into the leg of the duergar as an arrow clattered into the stone above the dwarf’s head. Telkya came at it from the other side, driving her blade into the shoulder of the gray dwarf and a silver bolt struck the stone beside it. The duergar let out a guttural roar and rushed at Telkya, smashing his hammer across her arm as she raised her blade to parry the blow. She cried out and fell back and as she did, the duergar vanished. Telkya felt a rush of air past her left side and then the dwarf was gone.
Dulvarna cast around looking for the unseen duergar and then started towards the orcs that Erlmoor faught. No sooner had she done so than she felt a hammer whoosh past her back and she knew that the duergar was now behind her. She slashed her blade across the back of the nearest orc and then turned on the spot to face her duergar enemy, visible once more. Telkya rushed at the dwarf from the other side and, cornered once more, the dwarf raised his hammer and snarled his defiance.
Lavren saw Dulvarna slash at the wounded orc and felt his hopes soar once again. His companions were close and would soon come to his aid. Focusing on the orc, he uttered a spell and loosed more black, crackling energy but this time he found his mark. The bolt seared into the orc’s chest where it’s heart should be and with a gasp, the orc fell to the floor, smoke rising from its ruined chest. Erlmoor roared in triumph and rushed at the remaining orc, driving his sword into the creature’s shoulder. It fell back from the fury of the dragonborn and for the first time, even the duergar beside the forge seemed worried. Desperately, the duergar chanted an incantation and hurled a bolt of fire at the dragonborn. The flame struck the black-scaled Erlmoor in the chest and sent him staggering back from the orc. The orc cackled at this small victory and came forward to finish his foe.
Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand that seared into the duergar and the dwarf roared in anger and pain. He spun on the spot and swung out with its hammer to strike Telkya in the hip and send her reeling back and away from him. Dulvarna came at the duergar from the other side and drew the dwarf’s attention while Enlishia loosed an arrow that clattered into the anvil beside the dwarf. Then, Telkya rushed in at the dwarf again and drove her blade into the dwarf’s shoulder blade. The duergar staggered but then spun around to rush at the priestess one last time.
Erlmoor parried the orc’s flurry of blows and then stabbed out with his sword again, driving the tip into the creature’s thigh. Lavren moved into the room behind him and began to hurl black energy at the duergar close to the forge. His first bolt struck the mantle of the wide forge but within moments, the elf was aiming another at the gray dwarf. Erlmoor snarled at the orc before him and silently promised it the same fate as its companion. A bolt of fire flew past his head and he knew the duergar smith was worried now. With a smile, he parried the orc’s axe and advanced.
Litiraan loosed a silver bolt over the head of the duergar as the dwarf rushed at his sister again. She raised her sword to parry but the dwarf’s hammer struck her shoulder a painful blow. The dwarf smiled for a brief moment but then it let out a long gasp. Looking down, it saw the point of Dulvarna’s sword protruding from its chest and then, with a look of resignation it slid off the blade to the stone floor. Telkya stopped for a moment, panting while she nodded her thanks to Dulvarna and between them, Enlishia ran, her bow in her hands. The ranger turned as she passed the anvil and aimed her bow at the duergar smith. She let fly the arrow and watched with satisfaction as it drove into the dwarf’s shoulder with a dull thud. Lavren saw the arrow strike and hurled his own bolt of black energy towards the smith. It struck the dwarf in the chest and drove him back a step. A searing bolt of light struck the duergar then and he staggered, uncomfortably close to the forge. The dwarf reached one hand out to the mantle to steady himself and then pushed away from the stone with a roar of defiance.
“You shall never take me!” the gray dwarf cried out. “Urwol, son of Urdek dies here or his enemies die around him.”
“So be it,” Erlmoor answered from the doorway as he parried another axe blow. “Die here then.”
The dragonborn smashed the hilt of his sword into the face of the orc before him and stepped forward but as he did so, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand. It seared through the throat of Urwol, son of Urdek and felled him beside his forge. The orc lashed out at Erlmoor desperately, seeking to escape now, but there was no way through. Dulvarna was upon the orc a moment later, driving it back with a blow to the shoulder and then an arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into its chest. The orc staggered and with a word, Lavren hurled a bolt of black energy that seared through the orc’s skull and finally ended the battle.
For those who are following this (if any are!) from this point on I decided to remove the Raise Dead ritual from 4E. I've always found it very difficult, in its various previous forms, to fit into D&D beyond the obvious game balance reasons. At this point, I'm not convinced that even these reasons justify it in 4E. Death needs to be a threat in the world and realistically, if everyone with 500gp (at Heroic Tier) could pay to come back from the dead, the game worlds (FR and Greyhawk for me) would look a lot different IMHO.
Anyway, from here on in, death will be very real and very final for our six heroes.
“We should rest here,” said Telkya as she surveyed the blood-soaked chamber. “The duergar cannot be allowed to reclaim this hold else we will have to battle through it again when we return.”
“And if the duergar come while we rest?” questioned Dulvarna as she carried a small chest of gold coins from a side room into the main chamber. In her other hand she held a skull-capped scepter. “We would be hard pressed to repel them if they came upon us as we slept.”
“And if we bar the doors?” suggested Lavren. “We could hold them at bay as the orcs held us at the gate.”
“And if they come in numbers,” said Litiraan. “With magic or a battering ram. How will we hold them then?”
“These dwarves had magic,” Telkya said with a winning smile and a wink at Lavren. “And a battering ram is no more than a big log.” The others looked at her and could argue no more. Dulvarna let out a resigned sigh while Lavren’s face split in a wide grin.
“Erlmoor and Litiraan, gather weapons and thick wood to bar the doors,” said Dulvarna finally. “The rest of us will deal with these bodies and gather what food we can. Be quick and tarry not for our enemies could come here at any time.”
“Urwol must be busy,” said Rundarr, tearing a mouthful of the hunk of meat he held in his hand while leaning over to the duergar chieftain beside him. He noticed with horror that he had spat a small chunk of the meat into his companion’s beard as he had spoken but if Murkelmor noticed, he did not show it.
“E’s always busy,” snarled the duergar chief then, gesturing vehemently with the hunk of rothé meat he held in his own right hand. “S’why you’re here. If I left South Gate to Urwol e’d have ‘em all forging warhammers and none watching the gate.”
“Want me to send for ‘im?” snarled Rundarr as he put down the hunk of meat he had been eating and raised his tankard with his right hand. He took a long gulp of the bitter mushroom ale as he waited for the reply.
“Nah,” answered Murkelmor. “But send someone fer ‘im mid morning. He should know that when’s I sends a summons, I expect ‘im to answer.”
“E’ll like that,” answered Rundarr with a broad grin. “’Specially if e’s bin up all night at the forge.”
“I’m sure e’ will,” snarled Murkelmor through his next mouthful of meat. “An’ I’m sure ye’ll enjoy tellin’ ‘im.” Rundarr smiled in response and Murkelmor had his answer.
The companions took the southeastern double doors out of the forge when they woke the next morning, leaving the other door, the one that faced the chasm, barred against anyone who may cross on the bridge that presumably lay beyond it. The southwestern doors opened onto a wide passage that bent right a little way along and then proceeded straight on before ending at another set of double doors. All drew swords, and readied spells and prayers as Dulvarna reached out for the double doors and pushed them open but beyond them was another hallway that forked, a left passage leading south and a right hand way leading south west. Dulvarna took the left hand passage after only a moment’s hesitation, pausing to throw open a door to the left. Within lay a barracks with five beds and a fire blazing in a fireplace in the far corner but it was otherwise empty and without a second glance, Dulvarna turned to the double doors that marked the end of the left hand passage. She sheathed her sword and strode forward unarmed and grasped the iron ring handles of both doors. Turning them, she threw them open and revealed an expansive chamber that appeared to be a dining hall. Three large tables were arranged on the floor, and against the far wall a fire crackled in a large fireplace. Two grey-skinned dwarves sat at separate tables, finishing their meals while near a small door to the east stood a man wearing tattered clothes and carrying a tray of dirty dishes.
Dulvarna rushed right towards one of the duergar, drawing her sword as she ran. She lashed out with her blade and sent the duergar spinning from his seat at the table and tumbling to the floor. Telkya followed Dulvarna into the chamber, drawing her sword and uttering a prayer as she came, she extended a hand and loosed a bolt of light at the other duergar, toppling him from his seat at the far table before the fire. He roared as he rose to his feet.
“Who dares disturb Rundarr, son of Roleth,” he bellowed and draw a warhammer from his back. The dwarf charged around the table, toppling a chair as he came and rushed at Telkya. She raised her sword but the dwarf smashed his hammer down on the arm that held the blade and then swept the weapon in from the side, smashing it into Telkya’s ribs. With a gasp, she staggered and reeled away from the duergar.
Enlishia came into the room behind Telkya and immediately darted right, loosing an arrow into the shoulder of the burly gray dwarf. Rundarr paid the hit now mind and simply continued to batter at Telkya’s defenses as the priestess desperately defended herself.
“Another enemy lurks behind the door,” called Telkya then, looking towards the door in the southwestern corner of the room. As the others looked, it slammed shut and they knew at once that more enemies were coming to join the battle.
Litiraan came into the room next, loosing a silver bolt from his wand that struck the duergar called Rundarr in the hip but again he paid the wound no mind. Lavren darted left as he entered and hurled a bolt of black, crackling energy towards the duergar only for the missile to strike the table next to the dwarf. The elf cursed him in his own tongue but then Erlmoor charged into the room with a roar and Telkya was no longer alone.
Dulvarna thrust her blade into the shoulder of the duergar before her and forced the dwarf back but Telkya retreated from the other dwarf. She prayed as she drew back and loosed a bolt of light that struck the wooden table next to the dwarf and then cursed her inaccuracy as Lavren had. Rundarr came forward, his warhammer raining blows on Erlmoor now but the dragonborn was ready and parried each one. Enlishia loosed an arrow that flew past the dwarf and clattered against the far wall and at that, the duergar that Dulvarna faced roared its anger and surged forward. Its hammer struck the warrior woman’s arm painfully and she retreated a step but as she did so, Lavren and Litiraan both uttered their own spells. A silver bolt struck Rundarr from one side and a black bolt of crackling energy struck him from the other. For the first time, the duergar reeled and staggered back a step. Erlmoor roared, spraying the duergar in acid and then thrust his blade into the dwarf’s shoulder, forcing him further back. The duergar snarled his anger and the dragonborn answered but both knew that the other would not break. Only hammer and blade would settle the battle.
Telkya called down a column of light to sear the gray dwarf but at the last the duergar moved aside and the light descended beside him. Rundarr roared his defiance and lashed out at Erlmoor but the dragonborn stepped back and the dwarf’s hammer struck his thigh as he did so instead of shattering skull or collarbone as the duergar had intended. Enlishia loosed an arrow at the dwarf and the duergar ducked, evading the missile but also retreating from Erlmoor for a moment. The dragonborn surged forward but as he did so, more roars came from the double doors. More duergar were coming.
Dulvarna lashed out at the dwarf she faced but her blade struck only the table beside the duergar and as she tried to pull Aecris free, the dwarf brought his hammer down on her right arm. She cried out and drew back as pain lanced up her arm. She heard shouts from behind her and knew that more dwarves were coming into the chamber behind them. Dulvarna dared not look back as she yanked her sword free and parried the next blow from the duergar. As she did so, an icy ray struck the wall above the dwarf, freezing part of the stone and she knew Litiraan was trying to aid her. She wanted to turn and thank the elf but instead she could only parry the next hammer blow from the gray dwarf.
Lavren loosed another black bolt at Rundarr but this time struck the west wall of the chamber as the bolt flew wide of the dwarf. The duergar flinched nonetheless and Erlmoor surged forward, slashing out with his sword only to have it parried by the hammer of the mighty gray dwarf. Behind the dragonborn, Telkya felt sudden pain as a quill drove into her back. She staggered forward, fell to her knees and then, with a gasp, she fell to the floor of the chamber. Another quill flew past Erlmoor and drove into the wood of the table next to him and the companions knew then that they were surrounded. They would triumph or die in this chamber.
Dulvarna surged forward, weaving her blade before her and then striking only for the duergar to parry. She thrust her blade in low but again the dwarf met her blade with his hammer. She cursed the skill of her enemy then while also, deep down, feeling some admiration for the dwarf. She saw Erlmoor step back and half parry a blow from the duergar her faced but the hammer struck the dragonborn’s hand nonetheless and must have hurt him though he showed no sign. Dulvarna turned her attention back to her own foe as the fierce dwarf came at her once more. She parried desperately but the duergar’s warhammer came down painfully on her shoulder.
Enlishia turned as three more duergar entered the chamber behind her. She loosed two arrows in quick succession, one striking the stone beside the double doors and the other driving into one of the dwarves and forcing it back a step. One of the dwarves rushed through the doors and charged at Lavren. The elf rushed to draw forth his sword and leapt back as the duergar swung its hammer out at him. Litiraan turned towards the doors then and loosed flame from his wand that filled the northern end of the chamber and the hallway beyond the doors. The duergar in the hallway ducked back, using the doors as cover but the dwarf that had charged at Lavren was seared by the flames and driven against the east wall. Lavren came forward with his sword and began to drive the duergar back.
Erlmoor feinted left and then slashed his blade around to come in from the right. The duergar parried but then the dragonborn twisted his blade away from the dwarf’s hammer to cut up from below and into the thigh of his foe. The duergar roared his anger and as he did so, he grew larger, his muscles bulging and his legs growing thicker. He roared again but this time the sound seemed to shake the very walls of the stout stone chamber. Erlmoor stepped back from the monstrosity that Rundarr had become and then rushing back in to battle his now-huge foe.
Litiraan reeled back as the next duergar into the chamber hurled a quill from his red beard at him that drove painfully into his shoulder. He felt numbness spread from the wound and the arm grew limp as the duergar rushed in at him with its hammer in its hands. The heavy weapon swung out and struck Litiraan’s other arm as he raised it to protect himself and he staggered back, reeling from the pain in both his limbs. Another quill zipped past the elf’s ear and then a second duergar rushed in from the right. The dwarf’s hammer lashed out crosswise and smashed into Litiraan’s side with an audible crack of a rib. The elf gasped as the wind was driven from his lungs and scrambled desperately back from the foes he faced. He looked down at his sister and knew there was little time to save her
Dulvarna glanced over her shoulder and knew that she too had little time if she was to aid her companions. She gave a guttural cry of sheer fury and raised her sword over her head. She brought the blade down in a huge blow that was aimed at the head of the duergar she fought. At the last moment, the dwarf moved and raised its hammer but Aecris smashed through anyway, missing his head by half a hand-width and cleaving through his collarbone and into the shoulder beneath. The dwarf staggered and lashed out wildly with his hammer as he began to retreat from the fiercesome warrior woman before him. Dulvarna plunged her blade forward above the duergar’s hammer and pierced his heart. With a rattling gasp, the dwarf staggered back, fell to his knees and then fell forward on the stone, his hammer clutched tightly to his chest.
The huge creature that was Rundarr surged forward at Erlmoor and slashed out with its hammer, knocking the dragonborn back across the floor and off his feet. The paladin went to rise but a second, devastating blow to his chest smashed him back down again. He tried to rise again, praying softly as he did so but the huge dwarf-creature was unforgiving and stepped forward to stand over him, raising its hammer for a killing blow. As the duergar did so, Erlmoor’s blade glowed white and he drove it upwards into Rundarr’s groin. Blood gushed forth and with a roar, the duergar staggered back from Erlmoor allowing the paladin to leap to his feet and let out his own powerful roar. Suddenly, he noticed movement at his feet and looking down, he saw Telkya stir a little as some of the white glow from Erlmoor’s blade drifted over her. She opened her eyes and smiled faintly and hope returned to the paladin as he rushed at Rundarr once more.
Enlishia retreated from the advancing duergar and loosed an arrow deep into the shoulder of one of the dwarves that then shattered to send splinters of wood deep into the flesh of the duergar. The dwarf fell back against the wall dropping one hand from the haft of its warhammer. Litiraan took his chance and retreated from the duergar, loosing a silver bolt from his wand as he backed away. The missile of eldritch energy struck the wall beside the gray dwarf and the duergar snarled at it as though it were an enemy itself. Taking up his hammer again, the dwarf came forward.
Lavren retreated from his own foe, uttering powerful curse as he did so. The dwarf staggered then lashing out at invisible enemies with its warhammer and grasping its head with the other as terrible visions assailed it. The elf loosed a black bolt then that struck the wall next to the duergar. The duergar flinched and then threw himself to the left in a delayed reaction that only slammed him against the wooden door in the east wall. Lavren looked to the left and a sudden movement drew his eyes downward. There, under the table next to him, the man who had been carrying the tray of dirty dishes when they had entered the room cowered. He held a finger to his lips and looked meaningfully at the duergar as the dwarf recovered and started forward.
The two duergar rushed past Telkya’s fallen form and rushed at Litiraan and Enlishia. The first, wounded by Enlishia’s arrow, swung his hammer weakly and struck the wall beside the ranger but the second came on in a terrible fury, lashing out with his hammer. The blow struck Litiraan’s shoulder and drove him back until he bumped against the table and had nowhere else to go. He reached for the sword on his belt and prepared to make his last stand and die beside his sister if he had to. Then he saw a blur of movement as Telkya rolled over on the ground with her sword glowing bright with divine power in her hand. She stabbed out with her blade, driving the sword into the leg of the duergar who had struck Litiraan. She leapt to her feet and with a roar the duergar turned on her. Telkya flashed a smile and a wink at her brother and his heart soared. In that moment, Erlmoor was struck in the chest by Rundarr’s hammer and smashed back across the chamber towards the door. He lay where he fell, unmoving, and Litiraan’s fleeting hope for victory was dashed. Desperately, he plunged his sword into the shoulder of the duergar and held him at bay for a moment. But it could only ever be a moment and then his own doom would come.
The duergar hurled a quill from its beard at Lavren and then rushed at him as the missile drove into the bench next to the elf with a thud. The man beneath the table let out a squeal that he quickly muffled with a hand and Lavren looked down, distracted just as the dwarf reached him. The elf twisted aside at the last moment, realising his peril and as he did so, the duergar’s hammer struck his shoulder a glancing blow. Lavren leapt back, leveled his wand and with a word, loosed another black bolt, this one more accurate than the last. The searing eldritch fire drove through the duergar’s chest and hurled him back against the wall at his back. He fell to the floor then like a broken doll and lay still. Lavren turned towards the centre of the room and saw that Erlmoor had fallen and that Rundarr was a huge monstrosity grown from his previous form. All sense of triumph died within the elf then and he leveled his wand at the huge duergar
Enlishia drew her sword and lashed out at the duergar she faced but the dwarf parried expertly, twisted its hammer and struck her a glancing blow on the hip. She retreated towards Dulvarna and as she did so, Litiraan ducked towards her and a warhammer struck the table behind the elf. Enlishia looked over her shoulder and saw Dulvarna circle around the far end of the table and rush at the back of the huge Rundarr. She raised her sword above her head and struck the dwarf’s back a huge blow that actually drove the huge duergar forward a step towards Telkya. Rundarr twisted around to face this new threat while behind him, Telkya retreated and knelt beside Erlmoor while uttering a healing prayer. Golden light washed over the paladin and he opened his eyes. His right hand reached for his blade and slowly he began to rise. As he did, he saw Rundarr’s warhammer smash into Dulvarna’s shoulder and send her reeling. A second blow struck her in the chest from the other side and sent her flying back against the west wall of the chamber. Gasping for breath, the warrior woman struggled to raise her sword as the huge gray dwarf stepped towards her.
Litiraan and Enlishia faught desperately side by side, striking out with their swords when they could but for the most part parrying urgently. Litiraan drove back his own foe with a stab to the shoulder and bought himself enough time to bind the poisoned quill wound in his own shoulder. Still the numbness was spreading and weakening him reminding him that he could not stand and fight for much longer. Suddenly, he heard Rundarr roar again and saw that Lavren was chanting as unseen jaws tore at the huge duergar. The gray dwarf raged towards Dulvarna but even as he did so, Erlmoor rose slowly behind him. With a roar of his on, the dragonborn charged, his sword leading. He plunged the blade into the base of the duergar’s spine and drove it in up to the hilt until the point burst out of the dwarf’s belly. Rundarr, son of Roleth roared one last time, looked down at the blood soaked steel protruding from his belly and then fell forward, sliding off Erlmoor’s blade to strike the floor hard. He lay there unmoving and died in a growing pool of his blood.
The two duergar that remained panicked then, one disappearing before Enlishia’s eyes and the other fleeing back through the open double doors. Dulvarna rushed after the duergar as did Telkya who unleashed a bolt of light at the dwarf she could see. The bolt struck the back of the gray dwarf’s shoulder and spun him into the passage wall but he continued his flight. Enlishia loosed an arrow after the dwarf while Lavren and Litiraan took a different course, darting through a door in the western wall and into the side chamber there. Both thought that it would bring them into a position to head off the fleeing dwarf but as they emerged from the other door in the side chamber they saw that they were too late. Across a large ruined hall, double doors were being opened by unseen hands and they could only open onto the chasm.
Erlmoor joined the pursuit with his sword in his hands but the dwarf continued his flight. The dragonborn lashed out with his blade and caught the duergar’s shoulder blade with the tip of his sword but still the dwarf did not stop. Lavren and Litiraan entered the ruined hall just as the dwarf they could see crossed the hall before them and rushed through the double doors. Beyond them a bridge crossed the chasm and he started across but he was not quite fast enough. Dulvarna burst into the chamber through double doors on the far side and rushed to catch the dwarf, her blade in her hands. As she reached the doors that led out onto the bridge the second duergar reappeared next to her and lashed out with its hammer. Dulvarna was struck soundly on the back of the head and in a shower of blood, she collapsed before the doors.
Telkya entered the room through the far double doors, praying as she came. Light lanced out from the amulet she held and struck the left hand door that led out onto the bridge. Enlishia ran into the chamber next, pulling two arrows from the quiver on her back and nocking them to her bow. She took aim and loosed them but they flew past both dwarves and disappeared into the dark of the chasm beyond the doors. Litiraan crossed the ruined chamber to the centre and loosed a silver bolt out onto the bridge towards the furthest ahead of the dwarves but this too missed and was consumed by the darkness of the chasm.
Lavren appeared beside Litiraan, uttering a curse and a spell in quick succession before leveling his wand at the duergar. Two purple rays shot out, one striking the duergar on the bridge and searing through his back to burst out of his chest. He screeched and tottered sideways before falling over the side of the bridge and disappearing into the depths of the chasm. The other bolt struck the remaining duergar and threw him back against the open door beside him. Erlmoor charged into the room then with a roar and the last duergar bolted. Erlmoor’s blade rose and fell and the duergar fell in the doorway in a spray of blood.
“We should fortify this place as we did the last hold and post watches in both,” said Erlmoor once they had all tended to their wounds and Dulvarna had been wakened.
“Agreed,” said Enlishia. “We are too weak to attack the far side of the chasm but if we retreat we will likely have to fight through both holds once again. We camp here and cross the chasm in the morning.”
“Will you stay with us?” said Erlmoor directing the question to the man who had cowered under the table throughout the battle and the man and the woman who had hidden themselves in the kitchen to the east of the dining hall where they were now gathered. They said that they were from Arabel, taken in a goblin raid along the East Way several months ago. They nodded nervously but without enthusiasm.
“We will wait with you if that is your course,” said one of the men. “We could not seek to return to the Seven Pillared Hall alone.”
“Then it is settled,” said Erlmoor. “I will watch from the northern hall with Litiraan and Enlishia. The rest of you stay here.”
Dulvarna nodded her agreement and was grateful that Erlmoor had taken on the mantle of leadership while she lay propped against the head table. Her head wound was bandaged and her ribs would mend in time but she needed rest most of all. Laying her head back against her folded cloak, she let herself drift off into sleep.
Dulvarna was woken by the smell of frying bacon and felt refreshed almost as soon as she opened her eyes. She began to rise but pain lanced across her ribs and she winced, leaning against the table for a moment. Enlishia steered her towards a seat at the high table just as Erlmoor and Litiraan came in from through the double doors to the north. The men and the woman began bringing out platters of breakfast fare and soon all were eating heartily.
“All was quiet,” rumbled Erlmoor in between mouthfuls.
“Likewise here,” said Lavren.
“Then which way do we cross the chasm?” said Telkya. “They will likely have seen the end of yesterday’s battle from the far side so the bridge from the northern hold would give us a better chance of surprising our enemies.”
“Agreed,” said Lavren. “We could be picked off while still on the bridge if we venture forth from this hold.”
“The bridge there is narrow, we must remember,” said Litiraan. “I watched it for some of the last night and it would not be easy to evade attackers once we were crossing.”
“Fear not brother,” said Telkya. “Like as not our enemies will be too busy watching the southern bridge to pay any mind to the northern one.” Dulvarna and Erlmoor nodded then and it was decided.
When breakfast was done, the six companions led the three former prisoners to the gates of the northern hold and told them to flee northward if they failed to return or if anything troubled them. Then the six made their way to the barred doors of the northern hold that led out of the smithy. The fire of the forge was dying away now and the smell of death filled the place as the smith and his guards bloated and began to putrefy. In silence, the companions dismantled the makeshift bars that they had put on the doors and opened them. With blades and wands at the ready they made their way out onto the bridge.
They reached the single door at the far side untroubled by any enemies but found the single door at the other end of the bridge locked. Dulvarna slammed her shoulder hard into it and with a crack, the door fell inwards, hanging off one hinge. Within was a ruined chamber that bent around from west to south east with piled of rubble in the western half. Doors led out of the chamber to the south and southwest while double doors led to the north. Dulvarna led them along the wall to the left and opened the southwestern door. Beyond was a hallway that followed the outer wall of the fortress and then opened up in a foyer to the south. Two statues depicting stern-looking female minotaurs in ornate gowns stood in the southeastern corner of the room while two duergar stood beside double doors, accompanied by a pair of strange clockwork mechanisms that resembled crossbows on articulated legs.
Enlishia ducked into the room and darted left, loosing an arrow from her bow as she did so. It flew past the nearest duergar and the mechanical crossbow behind his to drive into the nearest minotaur statue. The duergar began shouting the alarm and behind the companions a door opened to admit another dwarf warrior into the ruined chamber. Litiraan turned and moved along the wall before loosing a silver bolt from his wand that struck the newcomer in the shoulder. One of the crossbows marched jerkily forward and loosed a bolt that drove into Dulvarna’s right arm. She fell back and ash she did so, the duergar before her charged with its hammer held high. The weapon swung out and Dulvarna raised her sword to parry it with a loud clang. A second duergar charged in then and his hammer came in low, too low for Dulvarna to parry. The hammer struck her ribs hard and winded her, forcing her back another step into the doorway.
Lavren moved to aid Litiraan, cursing the duergar in the southern doorway as he did so. He leveled his wand and loosed a bolt of crackling black energy at the gray dwarf. The bolt struck the enemy in the chest and hurled him back against the doorframe once more. Erlmoor rushed at the duergar then with his blade before him. He thrust the blade forward but at the last the duergar raised his hammer and parried the sword thrust. Telkya sent a bolt of light to strike the dwarf and it fell back into the chamber from which it had emerged.
Dulvarna slashed her blade across the chest of the dwarf before her and drove its point into the hip of the other gray dwarf. Both fell back for a moment and gave her some breathing space while the mechanical crossbow creatures stood back, their weapons loaded and ready to fire. Enlishia slashed out with her sword but the blow was parried and then a furious exchange of blows resumed as the duergar came forward again.
Erlmoor saw another duergar moving within the chamber, this one wearing robes under his armour. He extended his hands and uttered a chant that the dragonborn felt sure that he had heard before. Sure enough, a bolt of fire lanced out from the outstretched hand and seared into Erlmoor’s side, throwing him back from the doorway. The duergar before him smashed the hilt of his hammer into the paladin’s chin and sent him reeling. The duergar came through the door but as he did so, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand that blasted the gray dwarf back again. A bolt of black, crackling energy struck the doorframe next to the dwarf and Erlmoor surged forward with a roar. He sprayed acid into the room from his mouth and lashed out with his sword, forcing the duergar to parry desperately. The dwarf twisted the dragonborn’s blade aside and snarled as the acid seared his skin. He staggered back a step and Erlmoor pressed forward as light from Telkya’s amulet struck the wall behind his foe. Another bolt of flame struck Erlmoor then and halted his advance. He roared his defiance and pushed on nonetheless.
The duergar before Enlishia struck her leg with his hammer but she paid the painful blow no mind. She was more concerned with Dulvarna and even as she looked over to her companion she saw the warrior woman struck in the jaw by a hammer blow and sent reeling. Dulvarna spat out the blood in her mouth and then drove her blade in low, piercing the leg of the duergar just above the knee. The leg gave way and the duergar fell back from his fierce enemy. Enlishia meanwhile darted back to avoid a wild swing from her duergar foe and then leapt forward again, thrusting out with her sword. The point drove into the dwarf’s side and he fell back from her. The duergar lashed out with his hammer but Enlishia jumped back again evading the blow by mere inches. Dulvarna fell back as the hammer of the dwarf she faced struck her shoulder but as the dwarf came on she raised her blade and wove it in a dance before her. Suddenly, she darted forward, driving Aecris into the dwarf’s hip and forcing him back from her. The duergar staggered again and seemed about to fall but then he came forward again.
The duergar rushed at Erlmoor and smashed its hammer overhand into the base of the dragonborn’s neck. Gasping for breath, Erlmoor fell back and Litiraan loosed another silver bolt to keep the gray dwarf at bay. It flew high and wide and struck the wall beyond the dwarf and a moment later, a black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck close by. The duergar roared its defiance and came forward but then Erlmoor’s blade swept out and took its head from its shoulders. He roared himself then and charged into the chamber to meet the duergar magic-wielder within. Telkya followed him, praying as she went. Skirting the western wall of the chamber, she held forth her amulet and brought a burning column of light down upon the robed dwarf. Suddenly, the dwarf uttered an incantation and the chamber was suddenly filled with thick, noxious fumes. Telkya and Erlmoor bent over coughing while their enemy disappeared into the thick smoke. Blindly, they leaned on whatever furnishings they could feel nearby and waited, hoping and praying that the smoke would clear.
Enlishia slashed out with her blade at the duergar in front of her but his hammer came up quickly and parried. He twisted his weapon then and brought his hammer in low but Enlishia drew back, pulling her body out of his reach. Beside her, Dulvarna tried to duck but the hammer of the duergar she faced glanced off the top of her head and sent her reeling back. She slashed out wildly with her sword but the duergar ducked easily under the swing and moved forward for the kill with a broad, yellow-toothed smile on his face.
Litiraan rushed through the door into the side chamber and found a large room with three double bunks and a fire place. Two doors led to the west, and a third led to the east while a duergar retreated past the fire. Smoke filled most of the room and Erlmoor and Telkya were still rubbing their eyes to clear their vision but Litiraan could see the retreating robed duergar perfectly clearly. He loosed a silver bolt from his wand but at the last moment, the duergar darted aside and the bolt struck the mantle of the fire, shattering a portion of the stone. Lavren came into the chamber behind Litiraan, cursing the retreating duergar as he came. He leveled his wand and loosed black, crackling energy that struck the duergar in the side and threw him towards the fire. The gray dwarf reached up and grabbed the mantle to stop himself falling into the flames. He turned towards both elves and snarled a spell before bringing his hand down in a strangely fierce motion. Fire erupted from the dwarf’s hand then in searing balls of half molten rock. They pelted the four companions in the chamber who were knocked to the floor and forced to duck behind, beside and under the beds.
Only Erlmoor was too slow and as Lavren glanced at him, he saw the paladin struck hard on the head by a burning ball of rock. The dragonborn staggered, sank to his knees and then fell face forward on the stone floor of the chamber. Just as Erlmoor fell, Telkya’s sight returned and she dashed over to him, crouching low behind a bed as she tended to his head wound. She uttered a healing prayer and the paladin’s eyes flicked open. He let out a low rumble from his chest and pulled himself to his feet. Raising his sword, he rushed at the duergar.
Enlishia exchanged parries with the duergar she faced and then looked over anxiously to Dulvarna who was still reeling from the head wound she had suffered. The duergar feinted low then and as Dulvarna moved her sword slowly to parry, the hammer came up and struck the woman under the chin. Her head snapped back and she fell over backwards to land on her back in the doorway of the northern chamber. Enlishia looked from one dwarf to the other as they advanced on her snarling and wondered where her companions might be.
A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand struck the robed duergar, driving him back another step towards the fireplace and then a black bolt from Lavren struck another part of the mantle, splintering the stone. Erlmoor’s deep voice intoned a prayer to Lathander and as his blade glowed, he drive it into the arm of the dwarf. White light flowed up the dragonborn’s arm and then burst out from him in quick pulse, filling the room and seemingly passing through the walls. Light from Telkya’s amulet seared through the flames in the fireplace and struck the back wall and the duergar ducked away from Erlmoor again, chanting as he retreated. More noxious smoke burst from his hand and filled the chamber leaving the companions doubled over coughing and blinded. Unseen by them all, the robed duergar darted towards the eastern door.
Dulvarna opened her eyes as the pulse of divine energy washed over her from the neighbouring room. She still felt woozy but as she looked up, she saw that Enlishia was being driven back towards the doorway in which she lay. Her friend needed her aid and so Dulvarna focused and gathering all of her remaining strength. When she was ready, she pushed herself to her feet and raised her blade. The duergar looked at her in amazement and as they did so, she surged forward.
Litiraan loosed flame into the smoke without knowing whether he had come anywhere near hitting the robed duergar. He heard a door open close to the fireplace and as his vision cleared he saw that the duergar had gone but beyond the door, the strange contraptions with crossbows atop them were turning towards the open door. Lavren rushed to the corner of the fireplace and loosed a black through the doorway but he did not hear it hit anything.
Erlmoor rushed to the doorway to keep the crossbow constructs at bay with his blade and Telkya moved to follow him, uttering another healing prayer as she went. The nearest of the strange constructs turned towards the doorway as it sensed this new threat and then it retreated. Erlmoor burst into the corridor after the construct and both retreated before him. The robed duergar lurked in the southern foyer of the hall and from there he loosed a bolt of fire that struck Erlmoor in the shoulder. The dragonborn roared his defiance and the constructs seemed to shrink back before his wrath. He took up his blade and started after them.
At the northern end of the hall, Enlishia lashed her blade across the shoulder of the duergar she faced and forced him back for a moment. The dwarf lashed out with his hammer but she parried the riposte easily and twisted his hammer aside so that she could parry the attack of the other dwarf and keep him at bay long enough for Dulvarna to rejoin the battle. Enlishia shoved the duergar back from her just as Dulvarna rushed through the doorway, her blade held high. The duergar realised his danger too late and started to turn and raise his hammer but he stood no chance. The tip of Aecris drove into his throat while his hammer was still at waist level and the blade drove through his neck from one side to the other. With a gurgle of blood, the dwarf collapsed before Dulvarna and the warrior woman burst into the corridor triumphantly. The other dwarf began to retreat then and Enlishia knew that they had all but won their small battle. She saw Litiraan beyond the duergar loosed a silver bolt from his wand and as it struck the back of the dwarf, panic filled her enemy’s eyes.
The construct retreated before Erlmoor again and loosed two bolts quickly from its crossbow. One clattered into the wall beside Erlmoor but the other flew down the hall and drove into Litiraan’s back, jolting him forward a step. He gasped and staggered as blood seeped down his back within his robes. Lavren emerged into the corridor next, leveling his wand at the nearest construct and loosing a bolt of black energy that flew wide and struck the minotaur statue behind his foe. Erlmoor charged the two constructs, lashing out at one and scoring the metal of its body close to the crossbow. Telkya drew her sword and charged from the barracks room to join the dragonborn and together the two drove back the clockwork constructs until a bolt of flame struck the elf maid’s arm. She staggered and the construct before her retreated out of her reach.
Enlishia tossed her sword behind her and unshouldered her bow as she retreated back into the ruined room. She loosed an arrow at the duergar that Dulvarna faught and distracted him long enough for Dulvarna to half parry his hammer blow. The hammer glanced off her shoulder as the parried high and deflected it away and downwards. Litiraan loosed another silver bolt that struck the duergar in the side and the dwarf reeled away giving Dulvarna a chance to push forward at her foe. The warrior woman slashed her blade into the dwarf’s belly and as he bent forward she brought her blade back up and drove the point through the dwarf’s chin and up into his brain. The duergar buckled at the knees and collapsed beside his companion. Dulvarna drew out her blood and brain soaked blade and rushed off down the corridor to aid her companions.
A crossbow bolt from the retreating construct drove into Telkya’s shoulder and halted her jubilant advance. Lavren was chanting behind her but whatever spell he cast seemed to have no effect while Erlmoor was still pursuing the construct he faced. The dragonborn slashed out with his blade and tore out some of the mechanism that drove the construct and Telkya drove her own blade into one of the strange creature’s legs. With a clunking whir, the construct retreated past the minotaur statue and fired its crossbow. Erlmoor slashed out with his sword and swatted the bolt out of the air as it flew towards him before continuing his advance. Telkya made to follow him but as she did so, the robed duergar chanted a spell again and a bolt of flame seared her hip. She staggered again but Dulvarna rushed into battle then and slashed her blade across the face of the duergar and drove him back.
A bolt flew from the nearest construct and drove into Dulvarna’s stomach, halting her advance. She gasped and staggered, reaching one hand down to the wound. Erlmoor surged at the other construct, his blade lashing out and severing one of its legs. Still the clockwork creature tried to leap back from him. Lavren came forward then though and with an incantation loosed black, crackling energy at the construct. It seared through its body and shattered it where it stood, felling it in a shower of gears and metal. Telkya charged at the other construct, praying as she advanced. She lashed out with her blade and struck the top of the creature’s body and drove it back and as she did so, her blade glowed white and from her other hand she directed the white light towards Dulvarna. Divine healing washed over the warrior woman restoring some of her strength and driving the crossbow bolt from her stomach. She rushed at the robed duergar then, taking him by surprise. Her blade swept out wide and took his head from his shoulders as he tried to raise his warhammer.
The remaining construct retreated until its back was against the southern wall and from there it loosed one more bolt wildly before it was felled by Erlmoor’s blade after Lavren had struck it with a black bolt of eldritch energy.
When each had tended to their wounds and explored the side rooms off the hall and the barracks they found that they had two ways open to them. Double doors led west from a corridor that led out of the entry foyer while another pair of doors led north from the ruined hall. They opted for the latter as the least conspicuous route into the deeper hold and beyond the doors they found a curving passage that ascended stairs and then bent around to the west before ending at another set of double doors. With their blades leaning against their shoulders, Dulvarna and Erlmoor pushed the doors open.
Within, cold shadows seemed to cling to the long-ruined chapel that was revealed. In the centre of the room stood a damaged statue that depicted a fierce demonic minotaur. One arm had broken off and lay in pieces at the statue’s feet and portions of the ceiling had fallen in, partially filling several small chambers behind the statue. A rusty iron door stood in the far, western wall. Dulvarna moved into the room cautiously guided only by the light of Litiraan’s wand. As she passed close to the statue something moved ahead of her and suddenly, from out of the rubble lurched the body of a long-dead warrior in tattered black mail. Sunken flesh clung to its bones, and its lips had drawn back from its black teeth. It raised a rotting hand, revealing jagged claws as it hissed and attacked.
“Wights!” Dulvarna called out. “Ware their touch for they have the chill of the grave within them!”
Even as she shouted her warning she tried to raise her sword but was too slow and the wight that had risen before her slashed a claw across the top of her chest as it swept past her towards the doors. She saw another stirring in the rubble behind her and to the right and another close to the western wall. She raised her blade and charged the furthest wight. She reached the creature in three strides and slashed out with Aecris. The blade tore into the rotten side of the creature and it faltered as it tried to rise.
Behind Dulvarna, Telkya strode into the chamber, praying loudly to Corellon as she came. Divine light burst from the amulet in her hand and seared the undead creatures as they tried to rise, driving two of them back from the priestess to the far corner of the chamber. Erlmoor strode into the chamber and immediately turned left to clamber over the rubble towards the back of statue where he had seen movement. With a roar, he sprayed the wight there with acid and then lashed out with his blade, praying as he lashed out with his sword. The blade glowed brightly for a moment and then clove the shoulder of the wight that lurked there as it rose from the rubble.
Litiraan was next into the chamber and he strode past Telkya, uttering a spell as he came. Flame erupted from his wand as he leveled it at the wights and the undead creatures cowered back into the northwest corner of the room. Lavren moved into the chamber beside Litiraan, cursing the nearest wight in elven and then uttering an incantation. Black, crackling energy seared out from his wand and struck the nearest undead creature, hurling it back against the stone wall of the chamber. The two wights in the northwest corner hissed their hatred but would not come forward while Telkya still held her amulet in her hand.
Dulvarna heard a movement behind her and with a glance over her shoulder she saw another wight rising from the rubble in what was once an antechamber behind the statue. The creature lurched forward and lashed out with a clawed hand that tore open the back of Dulvarna’s shoulder and jerked her around towards the creature. Dulvarna raised her blade and retreated between the two wights but even as she did so, an arrow flew in from the left and drove into the shoulder of the wight that had just risen. Dulvarna glanced left and saw that Enlishia stood at the foot of the statue’s dais and was nocking another arrow to her bow. The other wight came at Dulvarna from the right and she turned her attention back to her enemies, retreating another step and parrying desperately but knowing now that aid was near. She slashed low at the legs of one of the wights but the creature leapt back out of reach and Dulvarna was forced to parry once more.
Telkya rushed up onto the dais to stand next to the statue and began another prayer, grasping her star amulet tightly as she did so. Light seared out and struck the wall next to one of the cowering wights and she knew then that her power over them was broken. They hissed now in derision at her ineffectual powers that had driven them back but failed to slay them. Together the two started forward. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand desperately but that flew just wide of the nearest wight and struck the wall behind the creature. Lavren loosed another crackling black bolt but this too missed the wights and struck the stone behind them. The wights came forward but instead of rushing at their attackers, they turned towards Dulvarna, seeking to surround the warrior woman and bring her down in a flurry of tearing claws. One clawed at her and then the other while the wights in front of Dulvarna rushed at her, tearing at her flesh. Enlishia fired desperately at the wights as Dulvarna spun around on the spot and slashed at them with her blade trying to keep them at bay. Blood poured from several wounds on the warrior woman’s body and with each swing her strength was visibly waning. She staggered and wight lunged in but at the last she parried, twisted on the spot and drove her blade into the belly of one of the wights behind her. The creature collapsed into a heap of armour and bones and Dulvarna retreated towards her companions.
In the chamber behind the statue where Erlmoor faught, the wight came at him fiercely and tore at his arm, opening a deep wound that rapidly numbed as the chill of the grave infected it. He fell back and lashed out wildly with his sword to try to keep the wight at bay. The creature paused for a moment and then advanced once more.
From the dais, Telkya knew she had to aid Dulvarna somehow and so she began a new prayer that would call down a column of searing divine light upon the wights. It descended on the closest wight to Dulvarna and seared the undead creature’s flesh until it shrank back against the iron door in the western wall but still it did not fall. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt at the same wight seeing what his sister was trying to achieve and as the magic burst through the breastplate of the wight, the creature collapsed into inanimate grave matter before the iron door. Lavren uttered his own incantation then and the next wight burst into flames and staggered as it tried to advance but it came on nonetheless. As the eldritch flames died the wight mounted the dais and lashed out a clawed hand at Telkya but the elf ducked back beyond its reach. Enlishia retreated from the dais and loosed one and then a second arrow into the creature but still it kept coming and Telkya fell back before it.
Erlmoor reeled again as one of the wight’s claws slashed his shoulder and he lashed out wildly again, too wildly he knew, with his sword. The creature stopped its advance for the instant it took his sword and then came on at him again and as the grave-chill spread from the wound in his shoulder he retreated a step, wondering how his companions yet fared.
Dulvarna ducked back from the slashing claws of the wight before her and then struck the creature a mighty blow in the side that caved in its armour and its ribs but still it kept advancing. She retreated towards Lavren and as she did so, Telkya leapt off the dais and loosed a beam of light from her amulet towards the other wight still in the main chamber. The divine flame missed and the wight hissed its contempt at the priestess but then Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand that seared through its chest and dropped it as a heap of bones and armour to the chamber floor.
The last of the wights started forward, still seeking Dulvarna but as it did so, Lavren cursed it in his own tongue and then loosed his familiar bolt of crackling black energy at the creature. It seared into the wight’s shoulder and halted it for a moment but then it started forward again only to be stopped once and for all by an arrow from Enlishia’s bow that shattered as it struck the wight and splintered within its body. The creature collapsed beside its companions as armour and bone.
The companions turned toward Erlmoor as the paladin was struck again by the claws of the last wight and reeled back from the alcove. Dulvarna started forward and staggered but still she circled around the western side of the statue to aid the dragonborn. Telkya went with her and as she scrambled atop the rubble of the western anteroom, she began to pray loudly. Light seared from the amulet in her hand but struck only the wall beside the wight. Erlmoor prayed fervently then, offering up a sacrifice to Lathander of his ability to heal in exchange for divine strength. His blade glowed with white light and he plunged it into the chest of the wight. The creature shrieked its tormented agony and the paladin retreated, seeking to bring it into the main chamber where his companions could reach it. The wight screeched again and followed him but Litiraan and Lavren were waiting for it. A silver bolt flew past the wight and struck the wall behind it but the black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck it full in the chest and hurled it back amongst the rubble scattering its armour and its bones amidst the ruin of its chapel.
“Dulvarna at least cannot go onwards or back from here without rest,” said Litiraan as the companions tended their wounds. Dulvarna had become pale as death and had all but collapsed once the battle was ended, her breathing now ragged and laboured.
“Litiraan is right,” said Enlishia, turning to the warrior woman herself. “You cannot leave here without rest and so we will all stay with you.” Dulvarna nodded without uttering a word.
“Bar both doors,” said Litiraan. “We stay here for the night.”
The others hurried to do as the elf bade while Dulvarna was laid on a bedroll near the dais and tended to by Telkya and Erlmoor in equal measure.
“What of the three from Arabel?” asked Dulvarna weakly at last. “They will leave as we told them if we do not return.”
“Then let us hope that they reach the Seven Pillared Hall without us,” said Enlishia.
“Or have more faith in our return,” put in Lavren.
When a fire was built from some of the wooden rubble of the chapel and the doors were barred, all six companions settled down to rest for the night. They cooked what meager rations they had and slept with one always on watch until they thought that the dawn had come to the world above the mountain.
“They are not coming back,” said Calder, the older of the two men, as they peered out warily at the bridge across the chasm. They had rested warily where they had been left near the gate to the Horned Hold but once several hours had passed they had returned to the smithy from which the six companions had departed.
“We should have more faith,” said the matronly woman Bessa who had seen more than sixty winters and seen many a warrior and adventurers go off to war or to seek his fate from Arabel where she had dwelled in better times. “They defeated Rundarr and they will defeat the others. I say we stay and wait.”
“Agreed,” said Arum who had cowered beneath the table in the dining hall as the battle had raged around him. “These will not fall as others have fallen here. They are powerful and not to be defeated easily. Even if they rest this day across the chasm they will fight on and return to us. Besides, would any of us wish to return through the darkness to the Seven Pillared Hall.”
Calder nodded slowly for he truly did not wish to venture back through the dark tunnels to the Seven Pillared Hall.
“We stay then,” he said. “But we restore the gates if we can and we bar the inner doors so that none can come for us.” He surveyed the hall for a moment.
“And we get rid of the dead,” he added, wrinkling his nose. The others nodded and together, the three former captives got to work.
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