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!
“Nice place,” Lavren remarked, his dark humour slowly returning after the terrors of the night’s sleep. They had returned to the chamber where the blood stained the floor and when the spirits had not appeared, they had turned eastward. Passing though another blood stained shrine chamber, they had taken doors that led west into a passage and at the southern end of that passage, they had found the chamber in which they now stood.
A portcullis that had rusted open barred the western end of the chamber that opened onto the passageway while the room curved around to the south and then back to the west. Throughout, skeletons were chained to the walls, seemingly having died from terrible tortures and injuries. Though they had entered warily, fearing more undead such as they had faced in the crypt below the Keep, the skeletons remained unheeding and unmoving of the presence of the companions. In the eastern wall stood an iron door with a stone minotaur’s head protruding like a gargoyle from the lintel. Small runes were engraved around the edges of the door but no sign of any handle or way of opening it could be seen.
“Perhaps some magical trigger opens the door,” said Telkya as she examined the runes by the light of Litiraan’s wand. “We need to know more of this place before we come back here. Let us move on.”
“Agreed,” answered Lavren. “Whatever opens this door is not here.”
“Or perhaps part of it is,” said Dulvarna. “The Book of Wrath Unveiled that we found on the altar of the Shrine of Baphomet. If that were the book that the ghosts spoke to us of then we need to find the three other items to trigger whatever should happen here. Perhaps the door opening is part of that.”
The others looked over at Dulvarna with sudden realisation. They had all forgotten the book they had recovered from the altar of the shrine the night before. The night’s dreams had driven such thoughts from them. Lavren looked down at the black gloves he now wore which they had found in the chest next to the bed of the gnoll priestess. Litiraan was convinced that they were enchanted with the power of the Shadowfell and so refused to where them. Lavren had no such compunctions.
“You may be right,” said Enlishia. “Regardless, we have no need to stay here.”
“This way,” rumbled Erlmoor and he started off down the western branch of the room towards another set of double doors.
The doors emerged into a corridor leading south from the place that the ghosts had called the Proving Grounds. Erlmoor turned left down it and the others followed the dragonborn’s lead. The passage ended at a set of double doors made of dark wood with iron ring handles set in them. He leaned his sword against his shoulder and grabbed one ring while Dulvarna seized the other. Together, they turned the iron rings and pulled the doors open.
A hot blast of damp air washed over the six companions as the doors opened. The room beyond the doors was carved from black rock while here and there, pillars formed of piled bodies stretched from floor to ceiling. Gibbering mouths, darting eyes, and squirming arms that ended in taloned hands moved within the strange and terrible columns of flesh. As one, the forms within the pillars let loose a mournful howl.
“Our nightmares have become real,” said Enlishia as she drew back her bowstring and started forward into the chamber.
“Mine were much worse,” said Lavren as he started forward after her, sword in one hand and wand in the other.
For the moment, Dulvarna seemed rooted to the spot, unable to drive her feet forward to walk into the nightmare that now faced her. Enlishia and Lavren meanwhile, passed through the first chamber beyond the doors and moved southward through an archway into another chamber beyond. Litiraan followed them, clutching his own sword and wand and Telkya went after her brother leaving only Erlmoor and Dulvarna still in the doorway.
“Come, friend, this is reality not dreams,” rumbled the dragonborn as started forward. “Our blades can make reality bleed far better than they can in our dreams.”
The dragonborn turned left towards an eastern chamber and as he looked back over his shoulder, he saw Dulvarna smile and turn to follow him. They passed into an irregularly shaped room to the east and saw that another archway opened to the south of this chamber and led into another shrine. Atop the altar which was carved with bull’s heads and minotaurs, sat a large golden bell, engraved with glyphs.
“The bell,” said Dulvarna. “The second of the treasures the ghosts said we must recover.”
She started forward but as she did so, the pillar nearest the altar gave forth a terrible roar. From within its flesh burst a huge demonic figure that was familiar to both woman and dragonborn. It was orange-furred and ape-like as the one at the shrine the night before had been. It roared and turned its terrible red eyes upon the two intruders. Elsewhere, Dulvarna heard another roar and knew that at least one other demon had come forth to battle them. Then all the pillars began to scream with rage and the very air around the terrible structures of flesh warped. Dulvarna felt herself wrenched forward and was suddenly standing next to the pillar from which the ape-demon had emerged. The terrible creature roared and fixed its red eyes on her as it raised its terrible clawed hands to strike her down. Dulvarna looked back, expecting Erlmoor to be rushing to her aid but the dragonborn was gone, apparently hurled from the chamber and leaving Dulvarna alone.
Enlishia heard a roar erupt from the pillar behind her and turned just as a demon burst from the closest pillar in the entry chamber. Though it walked on two legs, the creature that emerged seemed more beast than biped. Its arms were too large for its body and ended in enormous claws while sharp tusks jutted from its lower jaw. In its eyes an unholy fire burned while its skin was an angry shade of crimson. With another roar, it rushed at Enlishia, lashing out with one of its clawed hands. The ranger ducked and leapt back a step, desperately trying to draw back her bow. Then, the pillars began to scream in rage and the air around them began to warp.
Enlishia glanced over her shoulder and saw Telkya and Litiraan vanish before her eyes and retreated another step from the demon before her. She drew back her bow and loosed an arrow at the creature and before it had struck home, she was reaching over her shoulder for another shaft. As the first arrow drove into the demon’s shoulder, she loosed a second that pierced its left arm. The creature roared and rushed towards her but Lavren was still beside Enlishia and he raised his wand. The elf uttered a curse in elven and black, crackling energy seared into the demon’s left side, driving it off balance. It staggered to its right and then lurched towards the ranger and the warlock with carnage in its eyes. Enlishia panicked and reached for another arrow but she new she could not loose it in time.
When the nauseating warping of the pillars stopped, Litiraan found himself standing beside Erlmoor near the first of the pillars close to the doors to the entry chamber. The pillar roared, almost as though it were reacting to the return of these two interlopers and from its writhing flesh, it disgorged another of the crimson-skinned demons. The creature turned on the spot and lashed out at Litiraan, catching the disorientated wizard on the side of the head and slamming him into the pillar. Other roars resounded around the complex of chambers as more terrible demons erupted from the pillars of flesh.
Light exploded before Litiraan’s eyes but he reached out for the pillar with both hands nevertheless, keeping hold of sword and wand as he did so. Using hands, blade and wand, he pushed himself away from the pillar and reeled back towards the entryway where the double doors stood open. Leveling his wand to where he thought the demon was, he mumbled a spell and loosed a silver bolt. A scream from the many mouths of the pillar told him that he had struck the unsightly column of flesh and not the demon he had hoped to hit. As his eyes cleared, he saw the demon turn its red eyes towards him but then Erlmoor roared and for a moment, Litiraan was spared.
Erlmoor rounded the pillar and roared again, spraying acid over the demon and forcing it to recoil. He raised his voice in a chanted prayer to Lathander then and brought his blade down to cleave open the demon’s shoulder. The red-skinned creature roared its anger and leapt back beyond the reach of the dragonborn’s next blow. Litiraan silently thanked Corellon for the dragonborn’s intervention and felt some hope return. But then he remembered that Telkya had vanished.
Telkya reeled as she reappeared between two of the pillars of flesh with Dulvarna just ahead of her. An ape-like demon much as the one they had slain in the shrine faught the warrior woman and was pressing her back. A moment later, Telkya heard roars from the pillars next to her and knew that her own doom had come to claim her.
A crimson skinned demon burst from the pillar to Telkya’s right first and she ducked as a clawed hand swung out but she was too slow. The claw struck the back of her head and sent her staggering forward into the archway that led through to the shrine. She turned, raising her sword, as another demon burst from the other pillar and leapt at her. This creature, too, swung out with a clawed hand but this time, Telkya was quicker and ducked under the blow. She stabbed her sword into the armpit of the demon on the left and then leapt back towards Dulvarna.
Telkya wondered for a moment whether she was right to draw her enemies towards Dulvarna’s blade. She could be dooming them both. Just as quickly as the doubts arose, she decided that this was her only chance. Even with all the help that Corellon could give her, she could not slay two demons alone. Telkya looked back over her shoulder and saw Dulvarna dart forward and twist around the back of the ape-demon. She slashed across one hamstring but before she could slash the other, the beast turned and slammed a shovel-sized claw into the warrior woman’s shoulder, sending her reeling. It lashed out with its other claw and Dulvarna ducked. Wounded and dazed, Dulvarna lifted her blade and faught on.
The demon leapt at Enlishia but even as it did, she heard a roar from the pillar behind her and knew what was coming. Another of the crimson-skinned creature burst forth from the flesh there and leapt at the ranger. A claw lashed out and Enlishia ducked, the huge limb stirring her short hair as it passed over her head. The demon in front of her saw its chance and rushed at her, leading with its shoulder. The creature slammed into the ranger, driving the breath from her and forcing her back towards her other enemy. At the last, Enlishia ducked and twisted away to her right just as the demon behind her, reached out for her. She turned on the spot, put her back to the wall next to an archway that led eastward into the shrine chamber and let loose an arrow.
The shaft drove into the leg of the closest demon but it was barely slowed and leapt towards her. Lavren raised his wand and uttered a curse, loosing a bolt of black, crackling, eldritch energy at the other demon. The blast struck the demon in the chest but it did not even falter. Instead it laughed, a terrible, menacing laugh that promised death to all it mocked. The two demons leapt forward together as Enlishia nocked another arrow to her bow and Lavren raised his sword. Then the pillars of flesh opened their mouths and disgorged streams of acid. A burst of acid struck Enlishia’s left arm and as pain seared up the limb, she screamed and fell back against the wall behind her. The demon to her left was upon her a moment later but his claw flailed wildly, striking the stone above her head. She had survived, she realised dimly through the dizzying pain of her wounded arm. The only question was for how long.
A stream of acid struck Litiraan’s left arm as he raised it to protect himself and he fell back into the doorway as pain tore through him. Two streams struck the demon but it seemed to ignore the acid and roared as Erlmoor ducked one stream only to be hit by a second from the southern of the chamber’s two pillars. Erlmoor channeled the pain into rage and roared back the demon as the terrible, crimson-skinned creature rushed at him again. The creature lashed out with its left arm and the dragonborn ducked under the clawed hand that reached out for him.
Beyond the pillar, Litiraan raised his shaking left arm despite the pain of the burned skin and flesh. He pointed his wand at the demon and uttered a spell that unleashed a curtain of flame to engulf the demon. As the fire burned the crimson-skin of the demon, Erlmoor leapt back and began to utter his own prayer. As the flames cleared and the demon began to roar his defiance he held his sword up with one hand and reached out with the other. Searing ribbons of light engulfed the demon and it screamed then in true pain as the divine power of Lathander touched its Abyss-spawned flesh. It turned its head and fixed Erlmoor with its piercing red eyes, promising a painful death to the dragonborn for the pain that he had inflicted.
Telkya was still retreating towards Dulvarna when the mouths of the two flesh pillars in front of her opened and began to spray acid. More spayed from the pillar behind her and though she held up her arms to protect herself, it did her no good. The burning liquid seared into the flesh of her arms, splashed her face and tore into her back as the pillar behind her, close to where Dulvarna faught the ape-demon, vomited forth its own terrible bile. She looked up as tendrils of vapor rose from the flesh of her right cheek and drew some satisfaction from the fact that the demons before her were cringing and cowering themselves as the acid struck them. They roared in pain and as another roar joined them from behind her, Telkya knew that the ape-demon had been similarly wounded. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that Dulvarna’s right arm had been blackened and burned by the acid but the warrior woman was gritting her teeth and holding her sword up before her. Then another roar drew Telkya’s attention back to the demons she faced and grimly, despite the pain she felt, she raised her sword to defend herself.
The demon from the left came first and leapt upon Telkya in a fierce fury, slapping her to the ground with its clawed hand and then plunging its fiercesome teeth into her arm as she tried to defend herself. Telkya heard her acid-burned arm break with a loud crack and cried out as more pain lanced up to her shoulder. Desperately she shuffled backwards along the floor as the second demon came forward and as it brought its clawed hands down, she leapt to her feet and beyond its reach. It lunged at her with its teeth, apparently sensing that she was badly hurt. Telkya was still quick enough, though, to leap back again and the demon’s teeth slammed into the wall as it was thrown off balance. Telkya’s voice sang out in a prayer to Corellon and as it reached a conclusion, her blade glowed brightly and she stabbed at the unbalanced demon. The blade drove into the creature’s side and it reared back while a glowing radiance enveloped Telkya and gave her back a small amount of her strength. She raised her voice in another healing prayer as she retreated towards Dulvarna and felt another sting of pain as the bone in her arm cracked back into place and began to knit back together. The pain of her burns began to fade and some strength returned to her. Dulvarna glanced over at her and Telkya smiled. The warrior woman smiled back and then turned back to her demon enemy.
Dulvarna roared her own defiance and rushed at the ape-demon, her blade weaving back and forth in a dance to deceive the creature’s fiendish mind. As her blade moved left, Dulvarna suddenly darted right and brought Aecris with her, driving the greatsword into the demon’s hip. It staggered and fell back against the wall behind it. Dulvarna came forward after it and slashed out with her blade, cutting into the beast’s belly, leaving a deep and bleeding wound. The ape-demon roared in pain and anger and lashed out with a huge backhand that smashed Dulvarna hard into the wall of the archway. As she still gasped for breath, the demon came forward and smashed down with its other fist onto Dulvarna’s chest. Pain exploded through her body and she felt ribs crack beneath the huge blow. The demon roared its triumph and raised both fists for a killing blow. Dulvarna lay at its feet, helpless to prevent her own doom.
Lavren reeled backwards as the crimson-skinned demon rushed at him and struck him forehand with its clawed hand. He reached out to the wall next to him to steady himself and felt a wave of nausea assail him. He struggled through the urge to vomit and pushed himself upright just as the terrible flesh pillars began to scream in familiar rage once more. Lavren looked over at Enlishia just as the air began to shimmer around her and then in an instant, both the ranger and the demon she had been fighting had vanished.
Lavren returned his attention to the demon that shared the chamber with him and raised his sword. As he did so, he saw two arrows drive into the side of the red-skinned creature and throw it to the right a step. Enlishia had to have reappeared in the entry chamber, he realised, and as he leapt back to put his back against the wall, he knew he had a chance to fell this demon as it stood alone against he and the ranger.
Hastily, Lavren hissed a curse in elven and loosed a bolt of crackling black energy from the wand in his left hand, infused with the power of the Shadowfell that flowed through the gloved he wore. The bolt seared into the demon’s chest and sent it staggering back away from the elf. He stepped forward and loosed another bolt, this one of eldritch fire but the demon was not strong enough to resist a second spell. The bolt seared through its breastbone and pierced whatever dark ember served the creature as a heart. The demon let forth one last anguished roar and then fell forward to land at Lavren’s feet. The elf smiled to himself and rushed through the archway into the entry chamber. His arrival was greeted by a fiercesome roar even greater than that of the demon that had just fallen. Enlishia glanced towards Lavren as she retreated into the archway and Lavren stopped, sword and wand wavering in his hands as he looked upon the might of the ape-demon, shifted by the pillars as the companions had been.
Erlmoor felt the nauseating shift as the pillars screamed in rage and found himself a heartbeat later facing an archway with an altar beyond it. On the altars sat the glyph-covered, golden bell and before it, Litiraan had appeared, seemingly as dazed as the others. Erlmoor started to call out to the elf but as he did so, a demon appeared before him and roars filled the air behind him. He turned on the spot and saw that her was surrounded. To his left, close to the flesh pillar against the eastern wall of the chamber, Telkya and Dulvarna had appeared but they were beyond his reach. For now, the dragonborn stood alone.
Erlmoor ducked as a claw lashed out towards his neck and felt the tearing weapons whistle through the air above his head. He rose quickly but as he did so, another demon rounded the pillar next to him and backhanded him across the face, sending him reeling. Another struck him across the back, its claws driving his armour into his flesh and spinning him back towards the other demons. More claws lashed out, one grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the slavering maw of one of the demons. Erlmoor pushed out with both elbows and freed himself leaving the jaws of the demon to snap shut on empty air.
“Take the bell and get it out of here,” Erlmoor called out to Litiraan desperately and the elf heard him.
Litiraan reached out for the bell and grasped its bone handle, carefully avoiding the sharp, steel spikes set along its length. Even as he grasped it, the spikes seemed to change position and stab outwards, driving themselves into his hand as though to secure themselves there. Litiraan’s blood flowed down over the bone handle and he cried out but he knew he had to escape with the bell and turned to flee westward, staggering out of the altar chamber.
Erlmoor saw the elf leave and smiled to himself before raising his voice in prayer to Lathander. He thanked the Morninglord for Litiraan’s bravery and offered up his own life to save his companions from this terrible place. As his blade glowed brightly, he plunged it into the chest of one of the demons and with a terrible roar, the creature stumbled backwards and fell against the archway that led into the altar chamber. The other demons roared their anger and moved forward to bring down the troublesome paladin once and for all but then Telkya and Dulvarna joined the battle.
Telkya raised her left hand high and chanted a prayer to Corellon that brought down a column of divine light upon the nearest demon. The creature roared and spat as the divine fire burned it and then Dulvarna rushed at it with her blade raised above her head. Aecris came down and split the creature’s shoulder, driving down into its chest but still the demon would not fall. With a roar that mixed pain and defiance, the creature turned its terrible gaze on this new foe and prepared to smite her with its terrible claws.
Enlishia raised her bow and nocked an arrow as the ape-demon towered over her but she knew that she did not have enough time. A club-like fist swung out and she ducked but when the other fist came in from the left she was too slow. The claws struck her shoulder, tore into the flesh and spun her around into the archway that led southwards out of the room. Despite the pain, Enlishia raised her bow and took aim at the demon, but then the pillars of flesh began to scream in rage again and the ranger braced herself for what she knew was coming next. Trying desperately to root herself to the spot through force of will alone, Enlishia saw and felt the air around her warp and this time, she did not move.
As the warping cleared, she saw that Lavren had not moved either and that Litiraan now stood beside her with a golden bell clutched in a sticky, blood-soaked hand. The ape-demon had vanished but in its place, in the corner of the room behind the closest howling pillar, stood a bemused and wounded crimson-skinned demon. Enlishia raised her bow and fired but the demon recovered from its confusion quickly and ducked behind the pillar. The arrow smashed into the wall and shattered leaving the demon to emerge with a vengeful roar.
Lavren raised his wand and uttered a powerful fey curse that assailed the demon with terrible dreams. It began to bite and claw at the empty air, tearing open its own flesh as it did so and slamming into the walls next to it. Suddenly, the demon howled and leapt at Lavren, lashing out with one of its claws to strike the elf’s left shoulder. The warlock was spun sideways into the wall of the archway but he kept his feet and turned on the spot to face the demon again. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt of energy from his free hand into the side of the demon and drew its gaze but then he retreated back through the doorway to the chambers and out into the corridor beyond.
“We have the bell!” he called out as loudly as he could manage with his pain-wracked voice.
“We have the bell!” Lavren echoed and then Enlishia took up the call.
“We have the bell!!” the ranger called out. “We can leave this place!”
If anyone heard them then, they gave no sign.
Erlmoor heard his companions calling and smiled to himself. The warping had not moved him this time, nor had it shifted two of the demons that stood close to him. He grinned at his enemies and raised his sword to defend himself. The ape-demon had reappeared beside the paladin’s two opponents in front of where Telkya had been standing and Erlmoor had turned a sardonic smile upon this new foe too. Now that Litiraan had taken the bell, the dragonborn was determined to make sure the rest of his companions escaped this terrible place even if he did not.
The first demon came at him in a rush of flailing claws and gnashing teeth but he ducked each mighty swing of the deadly clawed fists and leapt back to evade the vicious teeth. The other demon came forward then from the paladin’s right then before he had chance to turn and the creature bore him to the ground. A claw grabbed his cheek and tore it open while teeth ripped into his shoulder while questing for his neck. Desperately he tried to pull himself free until he finally surged to his feet with the last of his strength and shoved the demon away by raising his arms.
Erlmoor raised his voice in what he fully expected be his last prayer and as his blade glowed brightly, he struck out at the demon before him, cutting a deep wound across its belly. Divine energy flowed along the blade and gave a small amount of strength back to its wielder but Erlmoor knew that it would not be enough to save him. He retreated towards the altar chamber seeking to lure the demons after him and away from his friends but as he did so, he saw a shimmer of bright light out of the corner of his eye. Glancing back, he saw Telkya appear in the archway with sword in hand.
“That ape thing nearly cornered me,” the elf maid said with a smile.
She raised her sword above her head with both hands then and began a prayer to Corellon that would infuse the sword with his divine power. The blade glowed brightly and then faded to a shimmering luminescence as Telkya lowered it and held it before her, ready to face the demons. From around a corner in the shrine chamber came Dulvarna, her own blade held up before her. She came forward to stand beside Erlmoor and looked over at the dragonborn.
“Time to go, my friend,” she said. “We have the bell.”
“After you,” said Erlmoor and then the two turned back to face the demon onslaught as they retreated.
The ape-demon came forward in a fierce rage, still pained by the belly wound that Dulvarna had given it. One huge claw slashed out and she ducked but the other slammed Dulvarna back against the corner of the archway. She gasped as her breath fled her lungs but twisted away as a clumsy blow intended to kill her smashed the stone above her head. Then, the mouths of the twisted pillars of flesh opened and disgorged acid once more, spraying burning liquid on all around.
Enlishia ducked as a spray of acid shot out towards her and it seared the wall behind her but Lavren was not so lucky. He tried to dodge aside but as he turned, acid burned his right arm and he cried out in pain, almost dropping his sword. The pillar nearest the door sprayed its own acid and this time, Enlishia was burned in the leg by a spurt of the foul liquid and she stumbled before her demon foe. Only the fact that the demon had been burned across its back by acid and still writhed in pain, saved her from death. Desperately, the ranger pushed herself to her feet and darted for the doorway where Litiraan waited with the bell.
Lavren looked at the demon and made his own decision to leave a heartbeat after Enlishia had done. He concentrated on his fey nature, reached out to the eaves of Cormanthor beyond the mountains and disappeared into a cloud of silver motes. He reappeared next to the first of the flesh pillars that the companions had seen and rushed through the open doors and into the passage. He had passed Litiraan before he stopped and looked back to see if any of the others were following. Only then did Lavren think of poor, sweet Telkya, still trapped somewhere amongst the demons and the terrible pillars. He cursed his selfishness and started back towards the doors but then he saw the way that Litiraan’s shoulders had slumped. He had already given up what little hope he had had left for his sister. Then, beyond Litiraan, Lavren saw the demon rushing at Enlishia.
Enlishia was holding the terrible wound in her leg when she glimpsed a red flash of movement ahead of her. She looked up as the demon surged around the pillars and reached out to close the doors but she knew she would be too late. She ducked back as a claw slashed out and it gouged only the black wood of the door next to her. The demon lunged, its teeth snapping but again Enlishia drew back and its teeth closed on nothing but air. Desperately, she scrambled backwards but the demon kept coming and the ranger knew that she did not have enough strength to evade the creature for long. Only when Litiraan hurled a ball of flame into the entry chamber to burst behind the demon did Enlishia dare to hope that she may live.
Telkya watched as the demons came forward in a tide of red skin and fur. Erlmoor ducked under a flailing claw but then the demon was upon him and its teeth sank into his throat. The dragonborn sank to his knees, gave out one last strangled roar and then fell beneath the demon’s onslaught. The second red-skinned demon rounded the nearest pillar and leapt over the fallen Erlmoor to lash out at Dulvarna. Its claw swung high and she ducked easily and as it followed with its teeth, she elbowed it in the face and kept it at bay.
“I can save him, you cannot!” Telkya called as if sensing Dulvarna’s indecision.
The elf maid uttered a prayer to Corellon for healing then and reached out with her left hand towards Erlmoor’s fallen form. Her hand glowed with a golden light and the light reached out to Erlmoor and closed the tear in his neck. Telkya saw the dragonborn’s eyes open as he lay behind one of the crimson skinned demons and her heart sang.
Dulvarna looked down and saw the dragonborn move and she too felt miraculous hope return to her. She stabbed her blade into the thigh of the nearest demon and leapt back, beyond the reach of the ape-demon. The red-furred creature roared its anger at its enemies and allies alike as its enemies retreated. Then the eyes of the faces embedded in the howling pillars glowed with a terrifying energy and struck Dulvarna as though with a huge blow. She was driven back by their unholy power into the altar chamber, truly beyond the ape-demon.
When the eyes of the faces in the pillars glowed in the entry chamber, they decided upon Litiraan as their enemy and drove him further back up the corridor from the doors. Enlishia leapt back from the doors as the demon turned its gaze towards Litiraan for a moment and in the time she had, she raised her bow and fired. The first arrow drove into the creature’s chest and the second, loosed before it could take a step, drove through its throat and felled it.
Enlishia let her bow clatter to the floor as she pulled cloth strips from her belt pouch to bind her wounds. Lavren began to do the same, leaning against the corridor wall with his wand in his teeth and his sword leaning against the stone beside him. He looked up after a few moments.
“We have to go back for them,” he said.
“Agreed,” said Litiraan. “But we leave this accursed bell here.”
Enlishia and Lavren nodded their agreement and Litiraan began the painful task of prizing the bell from the grip it had on his hand.
The two demons leapt into the archway and rushed at Telkya. A claw lashed out and slammed her into the wall to her right while another came up under her chin and sent her reeling back into the altar chamber. She heard a roar then and knew that it was not made by a demon. Behind the two red-skinned creatures, Erlmoor rose with his blade in his hand. He plunged its point into the spine of the nearest of his enemies and as it sank to its knees, he drew his blade back. He swept his sword across as the demon knelt facing Telkya and clove its head from its shoulders with one blow.
Telkya leapt forward as the remaining red-skinned demon roared in anger and plunged her own, blade, still shimmering with the blessing she had placed on it, into the creature’s side. It roared again but as it did so, Dulvarna rushed towards it and plunged her own blade into its belly. It staggered back towards Erlmoor who raised his blade for the killing blow, but then the ape-demon roared. It lashed out with a single, huge fist and drove the dagger-like claws into the dragonborn’s back. Erlmoor gasped and fell forward onto the stone floor between the feet of his demon foes. Dulvarna and Telkya cried out but then the pillar behind then in the altar chamber began to bite at Telkya with its many mouths and both women were forced to leap clear.
Enlishia skirted the northern wall of the entry chamber and rushed into the eastern archway to where she hoped she would find her companions. The ape-demon stood over the fallen form of Erlmoor but was desperately trying to free itself from the snapping teeth of the faces within the pillar next to it. The ranger raised her bow and loosed an arrow into the red-furred beast’s side. It roared in anger and pain but before it had even found the source of this new torment, Enlishia loosed another arrow that drove into the side of the creature’s neck.
Lavren came up behind Enlishia and with a string of curses in elven, he loosed black, crackling energy at the creature. The ape-demon knew its doom too late and looked towards the western archway just as the black, eldritch energy seared into its chest of out of its back. It looked down at the wound stupidly for a few moments and then keeled over onto its back. Litiraan rushed past them into the chamber and turned towards the southern archway where the last red-skinned demon had hold of Dulvarna’s arm in its teeth. Even as he looked, Litiraan saw his sister appear beside Dulvarna and drive her blade up into the demon’s throat. With a gurgle, the demon staggered and then fell backwards to lie next to Erlmoor.
Dulvarna rushed to the dragonborn’s side, dragging him beyond the reach of the terrible mouths of the pillars. She felt for his lifebeat and paused for a moment before looking up at the others and nodding.
“He lives,” she announced, before turning him onto his side to begin binding the terrible wounds that the ape-demon had inflicted on Erlmoor’s back. After what had seemed like an eternity, victory finally belonged to the Defenders of Winterhaven.
Thought I would add a quick note here for those who are in the process of running, or are thinking of running this module. This encounter was the first in Thunderspire that for me raised the serious possibility of a TPK. The random element of the pillars coupled with the powerful demon enemies makes the encounter hugely unpredictable and potentially very dangerous. The 6 PCs here only just survived so if DMs are running this with smaller groups then I'd recommend caution. As I quickly discovered, more danger was to follow......
Telkya looked nervously towards the double doors to the to the west and fingered the blade of her sword as she did so. She disliked watching alone but had insisted on taking her turn as everyone needed as much rest as they could after the battle with the demons and the terrible pillars. Now, they had withdrawn their camp to the gnoll’s shrine complex, though none camped in the altar chamber itself, and the doors were barricaded to the west with the table and chairs from the southern room.
Telkya looked down the corridor to towards the southern chamber where Erlmoor, Lavren and Litiraan slept. Though she had taken her reverie earlier in the night, she had still not discerned how she truly felt about Lavren. He was a wild free spirit, a kindred to her own when she had the chance to get away from her brother, but she was still not sure whether she could allow him to court her. He had mentioned Sumith and called her an old friend but Telkya was sure that there was more to it than that. A roguish elf such as Lavren, who had made a fey pact that was now forbidden in Cormanthor surely had other lovers in his past. Sumith was surely one of them but Telkya was surprised that she had not heard the name before. House Strongbow was influential and the dalliances of its young scions would surely be the talk of the Elven Court. It seemed that House Strongbow had ways of keeping such matters quiet. Telkya mentally added this to her list of worries about Lavren. She would not be some brief dalliance for the elf that would be forgotten in a year or a decade. Telkya furrowed her brow and looked back to the western doors.
As she did so, the elf maid felt rather than heard a terrible roar from beyond the barred portals. As she leapt to her feet with her sword in hand, a huge minotaur barrelled through the doors and into the corridor. Telkya raised her sword but without heeding her, the minotaur rushed through the elf maid, leaving a cold feeling that pierced her heart. She glanced at the door and saw that the doors and the furniture used to barricade them were untouched by the minotaur’s passage. Whatever the creature was, it had passed straight through the wood as it had passed through her. Telkya turned around to her the left to follow where the minotaur had gone and found that it had rushed into the chamber where the gnoll priestess had slept. There, it stopped before Dulvarna who slept on the bed and Enlishia who slept on the floor. Raising it huge fists to the ceiling, the minotaur let forth a tormented wail of rage and anguish. Dulvarna and Enlishia jerked awake and stared at the creature but no sooner had it finished its tortured wail, it vanished as if it had never been.
“What was that?” Telkya gasped as she stepped into the room.
“I have no idea,” answered Enlishia groggily.
“Well let us hope it does not come back,” said Telkya.
Dulvarna and Enlishia nodded their agreement and smiled comfortingly at Telkya. Nervously, the elf maid made her way back to her position just inside the double doors and sat back down. She spent the rest of the night with her gaze fixed on the doors and her ears keenly listening for the sound of any more disturbances but none came.
Dulvarna and Erlmoor pulled open the double doors to the chamber and revealed a ten foot wide room. Jet black curtains hung from hooks set into the ceiling, forming a wall ahead of the companions. They had returned to the chamber of blood where they had met the ghosts that morning and turned westward this time, turning aside to the north to the double doors that they had just opened.
“This chamber makes no sense to me,” Erlmoor rumbled in his deep baritone. “These curtains must hide something.”
The dragonborn started forward and raised his blade. He lashed out at the curtain ahead of him and cut it down. Beyond was a wide chamber with stout square pillars that were covered on each face by mirrors framed in brass. Leering, demonic faces were carved along the top of each frame and Erlmoor immediately felt a sickly sense of foreboding in his stomach. As Erlmoor paused, Enlishia raised her bow, nocked an arrow to its string and weaved her way through the group. She strode out across the floor of the chamber, raising her bow as she did so, ready for any threat.
Lavren started forward just after Enlishia, glancing warily towards the nearest pillar and the mirrors that adorned it. Each showed only pure darkness rather than a reflection of the room and the companions as they moved forward. Lavren sensed some terrible power within the mirror and tried to turn away but he was too slow. A sudden nausea ceased him and the chamber spun around him. As his vision cleared, he found himself in a dungeon-like chamber lit by dim, magical light. At the far end of the chamber, a gnoll with golden fur crouched but looked up as the elf appeared. The gnoll snarled and reached out for a spear that lay next to it. The creature rose with a crazed look in its eyes and Lavren raised his wand, uttering a curse and loosing black, crackling energy towards the creature that was apparently his his cell mate.
“The mirrors are enchanted,” shouted Litiraan as he saw Lavren disappear. “We cannot look at them! Destroy them if you can!”
Even as he said it, Litiraan glanced towards the nearest mirror without thinking and, though he turned away as quickly as he could, he felt the room spinning with nauseating speed around him. Suddenly, the chamber was gone and he stood in a dimly lit chamber facing a wild gnoll with golden fur. The creature rushed forward and the elf raised his wand to loose a bolt of magical energy.
Dulvarna rushed at the nearest pillar with her blade held before her and her eyes averted but as she reached the mirrors, she looked up and was drawn to the blackness. The room around her swirled and suddenly she stood in a dimly lit chamber with a gnoll before her. She raised her blade and charged, slashing Aecris across the chest of her foe and sending the creature reeling.
Telkya raised her hand to send searing light towards the mirror but as she looked up to her target, she saw the utter blackness in the mirror and felt the world spinning around her. She appeared next to Litiraan and Lavren in the dimly lit prison and loosed her bolt of light as soon as she saw the ravenous gnoll. The creature staggered back as the bolt struck it and then Erlmoor appeared in front of Telkya. He roared his anger and defiance at the fate that had brought them here and then charged the gnoll. The paladin’s blade sang out, clove into the gnoll’s shoulder and with a yelp, the creature leapt back. It raised its spear and snarled at Dulvarna and Erlmoor.
Enlishia appeared beside Telkya a heartbeat later and the trap was complete. She raised her bow towards the gnoll but quickly realised that she could not get a clear shot at the creature. Looking around at the others, she smiled weakly and then looked the walls over for any sign of a way out. There was none.
The gnoll roared furiously and stabbed out with its spear at Dulvarna but just as the point seemed about to pierce her side, she glanced it aside with Aecris. Lavren closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before vanishing into a shower of light motes. He reappeared behind the gnoll and with an uttered curse, he loosed black, crackling energy into the creature’s shoulder. The gnoll roared again and spun on the spot to regard this new threat. As it did so, Litiraan appeared next to Lavren and loosed a silver bolt of magical energy into the creature’s chest. The gnoll staggered and Dulvarna stabbed her blade towards it. At the last, the gnoll twisted around again and Aecris only nicked its back but it was desperately wounded and weak now. Still, it would not yield.
The gnoll roared one last time and then Telkya appeared behind it with her sword in her hand. She stabbed out with the blade, driving it into the gnoll’s back and out through its belly. With a strangled gasp, the creature collapsed to the floor between Dulvarna and Telkya. The companions were alone in the darkness.
“No way in and no way out,” said Enlishia finally as she finished searching the walls of the prison chamber. “Only those accursed mirrors can bring you here and only the gods know how we could get out.”
She looked around at the others but they had long since given up. The gnoll had died perhaps as much as five hours ago. They had no wood for a fire so the five companions sat around the light of Litiraan’s wand disconsolately eating the meagre trail rations that they carried everywhere with them.
“So we just wait?” Enlishia asked. “Sit here until the food runs out and then watch each of us die one by one.”
The others looked up at her and then turned their attention back to the trail bread and dried meat that they were eating. Their shoulders slumped and Enlishia felt the sudden urge to cry out, to protest to the gods at the unfairness of the fate they had been dealt. They had come so far and faught so bravely and yet it would end like this. They would die in a sealed dungeon, undone by the magic mirrors that had trapped them. Turning, Enlishia stalked away to the far end of the chamber, close to where the gnoll lay dead. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts but as she walked, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She needed to be alone as well so that the others did not see here crying.
“This is a forlorn hope but I must say it,” said Lavren as he stared into Telkya’s eyes. His keen elven vision picked out every beautiful feature of her slender features and her eyes were pools of deepest blue-green. They sat at the edge of the light in a shadowy alcove as they had done many times since the terrible captivity had begun. For the first time, Lavren and Telkya had shared more than just furtive glances and had found that they truly did enjoy each other’s company. They shared a passion for stepping beyond the boundaries of their ancient culture but Lavren found that with Telkya’s rebelliousness there was also an innocence that her found entrancing. She for her part had found him to be unusually sensitive beyond his brash and roguish exterior. The fact that they were doomed had brought an urgency to their conversations and they had discovered more about each other in the days of captivity than some elven couples discovered about each other in years of courtship.
“Though the last of the rations are all but done,” Lavren continued softly. “I must tell you that you have become the dearest thing in this world to me. I truly love you and would have you be my wife in spirit if not in fact for you are the only priestess here and cannot bless your own union.”
Telkya returned Lavren’s deep and piercing gaze while her heart fluttered at the words that he had just spoken. Never had anyone confessed love for her and now, the elf that she had come to love herself had asked her to be his wife. A sadness settled on her heart then that this marriage would not be a true one as her suitor rightly said and that it would last only for whatever days remained to them in this terrible place.
“I would be your wife even if we stood on the edge of the Abyss itself and endured our last moments together,” answered Telkya. “I love you too, Lavren Strongbow.”
Suddenly, she gave a shocked scream and Lavren panicked, wondering what had provoked such a reaction. She was looking over his should and as he glanced around, he saw that an unarmed gnoll had appeared in the chamber just a few feet from where he and Telkya sat. From around the corner, Erlmoor roared and rushed at the gnoll, drawing his blade as he charged. Even as he reached the gnoll, the companions all felt a nauseating spinning as the chamber around them seemed to blur and twirl. Then it vanished altogether and the companions found themselves sitting in the once-curtained entrance to the chamber with Erlmoor and the gnoll, standing amidst them with blade and claw ready.
Lavren leapt to his feet and looked left and right. The chamber with the mirrored columns was spread out to his right but all the mirrors had been smashed. Two gnolls stood a short bow-shot away and immediately turned towards the new arrivals. One had viciously sharp claws much as the one that Erlmoor faught did, while the other wore a headdress of bone. The elf knew that he had seen such before and that the headdress denoted a priest of Yeenoghu, the foul gnoll god. Looking to his right, Lavren saw that he was behind the gnoll that Erlmoor faught and so he drew his sword and move to stab at the creature.
The others leapt to their feet with similar surprise, amazed that they had escaped their terrible prison but conscious too that they faced enemies who could just as easily condemn them to death or captivity. On the other side of the gnoll from Lavren, Enlishia unshouldered her bow, nocked an arrow and retreated back through the open double doors to the chamber. Dulvarna leapt up beside Erlmoor, drew her sword and lashed it into the gnoll’s shoulder. Yelps and whoops filled the chamber to the north and around the corner from the western wing of the hall ran a hyena the like of which none of the companions had ever seen before. This beast stood almost as tall as a man at the shoulder and its mouth was so large that it seemed exaggerated. Its teeth were like thick daggers, its eyes blazed with green fire and spittle that smoked as though it were acid dripped from its jaws. The beast’s black hide was striped with dark green, and a ridge of curving spikes jutted from its backbone. With yelps that sounded like canine laughter, the terrible creature rushed at Litiraan as he leapt to his feet.
Litiraan drew his sword as he got to is feet and stabbed out at the hyena, keeping it at bay for a moment. Beside him, Telkya leapt up and drew her own blade, stabbing it into the beast’s shoulder and forcing it away from her and her brother for a little longer. Behind her, the gnoll facing Erlmoor recovered from its confusion and leapt at the dragonborn, slashing a claw into his shoulder. Beyond the hyena, the other unarmed gnoll growled and rushed at Telkya with ferocious speed. As it reached her, Telkya ducked the first claw attack but the creature lashed at her with its left claw and struck her across the face, spinning her away to her right towards Lavren.
Another gnoll rounded the corner from the western part of the room and this one held a long, black bow with an arrow nocked to its string. The gnoll raised the bow and fired, loosing the arrow towards Lavren who saw it too late. The black shaft drove painfully into his shoulder and twisted him away from the gnoll that he had been trying to attack with his sword. Erlmoor roared and slashed his blade across the chest of the gnoll and drove him back towards Lavren but the elf had decided upon a new enemy now. Turning towards the gnoll archer, he prepared a curse but before he could unleash it, the gnoll priest advanced towards him, raising a huge flail in its right hand. The creature blocked his view of the archer and he stepped back, deciding to use his curses upon this new foe. Behind the priest, he saw another archer emerge from the western part of the chamber but he paid the creature no mind. Retreating until his back was against the south wall of the chamber, Lavren unleashed his curse upon the priest and loosed back, crackling energy from his left hand. The gnoll ducked to the right and the eldritch blast struck one of the ruined mirrors on a stone pillar behind the gnoll.
Enlishia loosed her arrow towards the gnoll that Erlmoor faught but it drove into the leather shoulder armour that the gnoll wore without piercing its flesh. She loosed another shaft quickly but this flew past the gnoll and Telkya before clattering into one of the pillars of the chamber beyond. The ranger cursed and reached for another arrow from her quiver. The gnoll glanced towards Enlishia then and Dulvarna took her chance, driving her blade into the creature’s arm and forcing it back a step. The gnoll snarled its defiance despite the fact that it was surrounded as it knew that its companions had come to aid it. Then it leapt at Dulvarna with its claws slashing out before it and the warrior woman was forced back in turn as she evaded the furious attack.
The hyena leapt at Litiraan while the elf desperately raised his sword to fend the beast off. The hyena paid it no mind and seized the elf’s sword arm, dragging it down and tearing open the flesh between hand and elbow. Litiraan cried out as he felt searing acid enter the wound and burn his raw, bleeding flesh. With his sword arm hanging down to one side he retreated from the gnoll until he stood against the south wall as Lavren did on the other side of the chamber entrance. Uttering one of his most powerful spells, Litiraan called forth a globe of orange flame that coalesced in his hand. He hurled it beyond the hyena and watched as it exploded, showering flame over his enemies. The hyena yelped and leapt clear of the burst but one of the archers and both the gnolls beside the hyena were burned by the flames. Telkya looked over at her brother and winked before retreating to stand beside Lavren. As she did so, she stabbed out to her left with her blade and drove it into the back of the leg of the gnoll that Erlmoor faught. The creature snarled and looked back over its shoulder at her but it knew it could not turn away from the dragonborn and warrior woman that it faced.
Litiraan looked over at his sister with pride and then looked down at his right arm as the pain of the acid lanced through him again. He thought he could see the white of bone through his ruined flesh and almost swooned at the prospect. Deciding to concentrate on his enemies, he looked up, just as the archer that his flames had seared advanced around the nearest pillar. The gnoll raised his black bow and fired leaving Litiraan no chance. The arrow drove into his left leg and threw him back against the wall as red blood flowed all too swiftly from this new wound. Another archer appeared around the other side of the pillar, raised his bow and loosed an arrow. Litiraan dodged to the left but the arrow drove into his right shoulder, sending more waved of pain through the limb. Nausea and dizziness assailed the elf as he fell back against the wall. As blackness took him, he hoped with all his heart that Telkya and Lavren would be happy together.
Erlmoor roared his defiance and thrust out with his blade, driving it into the thigh of the gnoll before him and forcing the creature back. From his left, more gnolls and a huge, black hyena were coming and he knew he had little time to defeat this first enemy. He saw the headdress-wearing priest rush at Telkya and land a glancing blow on her shoulder that drove her back. They did not have much time, the dragonborn decided. This gnoll had to fall quickly or they would all be overwhelmed by these newcomers. Lavren ducked away from the priest and loosed more black energy from his left hand that seared into the gnoll to drive it away from Telkya for a moment. It was a reprieve, Erlmoor knew, but it would not be a long one. He looked back to the foe before him and as he did, an arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into the creature’s side. A second arrow flew between the dragonborn and his foe but Dulvarna was already advancing again. She came forward fiercely, feinted left and then brought her blade across high from the right. Aecris clove through the gnoll’s neck and sent its head spilling to the floor while its body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Erlmoor had no chance to acknowledge his companion’s success as the hyena leapt at him and seized his left arm.
As the gnoll priest came forward again, Telkya jabbed her blade out into its shoulder and then leapt back along the wall beside Lavren. The remaining unarmed gnoll leapt towards Dulvarna but she was ready for it and ducked back beyond the reach of its vicious claws. Telkya looked for her brother beyond her companions but Erlmoor’s huge form blocked her view of her brother. She prayed to Corellon that he faught on and would survive the battle.
Erlmoor shook the hyena from his arm by slamming it against the wall beside him and as he did so, he looked down and saw Litiraan half-sitting, slumped against the wall. The elf’s eyes were closed and from the terrible wound in his arm and the bloodstain spreading from the wound in his leg, he knew that the elf was sorely wounded. Beyond him, Erlmoor saw an gnoll archer creeping into the corner of the chamber and raising his bow. The gnoll loosed the shaft and Erlmoor tried to duck back into the entryway of the chamber but still the shaft drove into his calf as he did so. The dragonborn roared his defiance and began a prayer to Lathander that he hoped might still save Litiraan. His blade glowed brightly for a moment and as it did so, Erlmoor brought it down on the hyena’s back. As the huge beast yelped and leapt away, white light burst out and touched Litiraan’s arm. The wound there seemed to close a little and the white bone was covered by new flesh. Slowly, without moving lest his enemies see, Litiraan opened his eyes and looked up at Erlmoor, smiling weakly. The dragonborn smiled back for a moment but then a second arrow drove into his side and he fell back into the entryway.
Telkya raised her sword and parried the huge flail of the priest as it came down towards her head. Lavren hurled more searing black energy into the gnoll’s side and drove it back from Telkya then, allowing her to retreat towards the eastern wall of the chamber where he now stood. The gnoll snarled its anger but even as it did so, an arrow and then a second drove into its chest from Enlishia’s bow. Dulvarna saw her chance and darted forward, swinging Aecris in a wide arc and cleaving the head from the gnoll priest as she had done with the first gnoll to fall. The priest fell in a crumpled heap beside its companion and Dulvarna turned on this new enemy. Her blade lashed out low and cut into the side of the gnoll’s leg drawing a yelp of pain forcing it to back away from the warrior woman.
The hyena came forward then, cackling terribly and Dulvarna stopped her advance as fear took her for a moment. Telkya and Enlishia felt it too but Erlmoor roared his defiance and as the beast came at him, he dodged backward and evaded its terrible jaws. He looked down to smile at Litiraan but the elf’s eyes were closed again and smoke rose from the wound on his arm as the acid continued to sear his flesh.
“Telkya,” Erlmoor cried out. “Your brother needs your aid!”
Telkya answered by raising her voice in a brief prayer. White light engulfed Litiraan and his eyes opened as the wound on his arm was partly healed once more. Erlmoor looked down at the elf and was pleased but then an arrow clattered into the wall beside him and he turned his attention back to his enemies. With a roar he breathed acid over the hyena and the gnoll that he and Dulvarna still faced and then began a new prayer to Lathander. His blade glowed with white light and he lashed out with it, tearing a wound across the hyena’s neck as it fell back before his acid breath. The beast yelped but as it did so, acid blood sprayed out of the wound. It covered Litiraan’s right arm and seared it anew sending the elf back into blackness for a second time while the spray struck Erlmoor’s face and neck. The dragonborn roared but the defiant sound was strangled off as the acid burned into his throat. He felt his breath fail him and collapsed to the left against the wall next to Litiraan.
Dulvarna felt the acid burn her left arm but paid the pain no mind until she saw Erlmoor slump to the left and collapse against the wall. Beyond him, Litiraan was slumped unmoving once more and she knew then that they were all in trouble. Three gnolls and the terrible hyena yet faught them and they had already lost two of their number. An arrow struck the wall behind her and Dulvarna glanced to her left to see that the two archers stood against the west wall and had chosen her as their next target. Risking a glance to the right, she saw that Telkya and Lavren remained as defiant as ever. Even as she looked, the warlock cursed the nearest gnoll and slavering fangs appeared around the gnoll, snapping and tearing at the flesh of the warrior. Telkya raised her left hand to the heavens and gestured downwards as she prayed. A column of searing light engulfed the gnoll, burning its flesh and searing its fur. It howled once and then collapsed to the ground, laid low by the two who had seemingly found happiness together.
Dulvarna turned towards the hyena and as she did so, an arrow drove into the beast’s neck. It yelped and staggered, almost falling. Dulvarna leapt forward and brought Aecris down on the beast’s head, splitting open its skull and felling it where it stood. She turned her fierce, vengeful gaze upon the two archers who stood next to the west wall and strode towards them. Desperately, they reached for arrows before throwing their bows aside and drawing axes with curved blades from their belts. One lashed at Dulvarna from the left and she parried too slowly, the blade tearing a gash from her shoulder to her elbow. The other gnoll came at her from the right and she moved Aecris over the meet the axe and parried solidly. Lavren came to her aid then, loosing black energy into the gnoll on the right and forcing it back against the wall. Two arrows drove into the other gnoll and hurled it back beside its companion and as Dulvarna came forward, both had fear in their eyes. Aecris sang out and lashed across the chest of one of the gnolls and it lashed out desperately with its axe to keep the warrior woman at bay.
Telkya surveyed the battle against the last gnolls quickly and decided that Erlmoor and Litiraan needed her aid more urgently. She rushed to her brother’s side and laid her sword beside him while laying her left hand on his chest. She uttered a prayer to Corellon and as golden light washed over him, his eyes opened. She smiled at him and turned to Erlmoor while glancing up at the battle against the last gnolls. Dulvarna was parrying their axes with typical skill while Lavren and Enlishia added magical and archery support. Even as she looked, an arrow from Enlishia’s bow took one of the gnolls through the throat and felled it where it stood. Dulvarna turned her fury on the last of the gnolls while Telkya began to pray over Erlmoor as she felt his heartbeat fade beneath her fingers.
Dulvarna felt the pain of the acid burn to her arm from the hyena’s blood fading and turned on the remaining gnoll. She lashed out with her blade and cut deep into its right arm as it tried to raise its small axe to parry. It lashed out wildly with sudden ferocity and caught Dulvarna’s shoulder, spinning her away. A blast of black energy struck the wall next to the gnoll as it howled its defiance and then it dodged to the right as first one arrow and then another struck the wall where it had been standing. Dulvarna thought for a moment that the gnoll would put up a defiant stand but then she heard Litiraan’s voice behind her chanting a spell. A silver bolt seared into the gnoll’s shoulder and drove it back against the wall. Around the pillar to Dulvarna’s right came Telkya and with the words of a prayer, the priestess loosed a bolt of golden light into the wall next to the gnoll. The gnoll lashed out once more with its axe but Dulvarna parried and from behind her came a familiar roar. Erlmoor had recovered. The gnoll died quickly after that, an arrow from Enlishia’s bow felling it.
“Fierce fighter,” Erlmoor rumbled as he looked down at the fallen gnoll.
“Maybe he faught for this,” said Dulvarna as she reached down and took something carved from black wood from the gnoll’s belt. It was a mask, carved to resemble the face of a fierce minotaur.
“It is Baphomet’s face,” said Litiraan. “This must be the mask we are looking for. We should go back to the gnoll hold and rest now that we have only one item to seek.”
“Agreed,” said Dulvarna. “We go back to the gnoll hold. But we go cautiously. It seems that there are more gnolls abroad here than those that dwelled in the eastern chambers.”
I felt that this encounter was also deserving of a note to DMs running or likely to run this adventure.
The PCs here fell victim quickly to the trapping mirrors close to the door of the chamber and, despite using the escape clause written into the adventure, I felt they would likely fall victim to them again. This could therefore have been a frustrating encounter so I decided that the gnolls, searching for their missing companion, smashed the mirrors in anger and frustration. This did, of course, make the encounter much easier and so the PCs only got xp for defeating the gnolls. I would advise DMs to look at this encounter carefully lest an annoying cycle of PCs being trapped result. There are only so many times that gnolls or other creatures can luckily happen by here before this gets implausible and boring!
Dulvarna looked over at the others who slept in the former quarters of the gnoll priest and debated whether to wake them. She felt sure that she had heard something from the shrine and anything that appeared there would likely bring trouble upon them but her companions had little sleep remaining to them this night and it seemed a shame to wake them. Drawing her sword quietly, she made up her mind and left the small chamber through the open doorway. Turning left, she made her way towards the shrine but before she had drawn near to the doors she stopped, sniffing the air. The smell of brimstone was unmistakeable and the last time she had smelt such here it had heralded the arrival of the first ape-demon they had faught.
“To arms! To arms!” she called out. “A demon is among us.”
Dulvarna retreated from the double doors to the shrine and raised her blade as she heard her companions begin to stir but even as she did so, a demonic form came through the doors as though it were a mere spirit. It was a small creature that resembled a goblin with dark red skin and large ears. It bore no weapons that Dulvarna could see and as she raised her blade, it raised its hands to show they were empty.
“I seek to aid you not to attack you,” said the creature and Dulvarna lowered her blade.
“Then you will not mind if I call my allies,” Dulvarna answered.
She called out to the others and then stood warily across from the creature with her sword still in her hands. When the others emerged from the side chamber, they also raised weapons and wands but Dulvarna put up her sword and waved for them to lower their weapons.
“This creature claims to wish to aid us,” she said. “Though I know not where it comes from.”
“It is a quasit,” Litiraan spoke up. “Likely a messenger and servant of some higher demon.”
“You are clever elf,” answered the quasit. “But as I said, I am here to aid you. Those I serve would see you prevail here.”
“And how will we know that we can trust anything you say or any aid you give,” said Litiraan. “You surely would serve your own ends and those of whatever you serve.”
“I do,” answered the creature. “But I am instructed to answer three questions for you in exchange for payment.”
“What payment?” asked Lavren.
“I will accept a hundred gold coins for each question,” the creature replied. “Or a portion of your life energy.”
“Then we will have no truck with you, demon,” Telkya spoke up. “If you would drain our lives then we can prevail without your aid.”
“Are you certain?” asked the quasit. “I am tasked with offering you this aid.”
“Take what you need from that,” Lavren said, tossing his pouch of gold to the floor at the quasit’s feet. “I for one will not turn down aid that can be bought with gold.”
Telkya glared at him and he deliberately avoided her gaze as the quasit counted out its payment in gold and tossed the much lighter pouch back to Lavren. No sooner had the demon done so than Litiraan spoke up.
“Where will we find the fourth item we seek to take into the Proving Grounds?” asked Litiraan and Telkya turned towards him, glaring furiously.
“It lies to the west of the chamber of spirits and south of the place of mirrors,” the quasit answered and Litiraan nodded in response.
“And what will happen when we place all the items in the circles at the same time?” Lavren asked.
“The Inner Sanctum will open and you will face the final enemies here,” the quasit replied.
“Will we find the last of the slaves here?” Enlishia asked.
“They are within the Inner Sanctum,” the quasit answered as it finished scooping Lavren’s gold into a sack that hung on its belt. “Farewell.”
A puff of sulphurous smelling smoke rose from the floor of the corridor and the quasit vanished. Telkya turned towards Lavren and Litiraan and glared at each in turn. Then she folded her arms and marched brusquely back towards the side chamber.
“This looks to be the place we seek,” Erlmoor rumbled as the group stopped before a pair of dark, wooden double doors that faced west. The companions had spoken little since the visit of the quasit and Telkya was determinedly ignoring the efforts of Lavren and Litiraan to speak with her. Dulvarna and Erlmoor looked back at their troubled group and with their blades held against their shoulders, they each reached out for an iron ring handle attached to one of the doors. They both pulled the doors back together and taking their blade sin both hands stepped forward into a chamber that seemed to hold a scene torn from the Abyss. They stood on a small stone platform overlooking two large pools of blood. A stone walkway divided the room and sat just above the surface of the pools while on opposite sides of the room, large bronze statues of snarling minotaurs faced each other. Each minotaur statue held a long, barbed whip, as if about to strike while a smaller minotaur statue stood beside the doors and beside another set of double doors further south along the east wall. Flanking the large statue on the far side of the room were two pedestals that rose out of the blood. On one rested a grey dagger-sized blade while on the other rested a matching hilt.
Lavren was the first to start forward, his wand in his left hand and his sword in his right. He moved past Erlmoor and Dulvarna and started down the steps into the blood pool. The blood came up to his waist and the metallic smell was almost overpowering. As he started to wade forward, he felt a burning pain around his legs and his waist and terrible nausea threatened to overwhelm him.
“The blood is poison,” he called back to the others through gritted teeth.
Despite this he strode forward and then he realised that he was not alone in the pool. The eerie magical light in the chamber showed a dark form close to him beneath the surface of the blood. As he watched, it began to move and he held up his wand and his blade, ready to defend himself.
“We have no choice if we are to retrieve the dagger,” said Dulvarna, starting down the steps.
She felt the same terrible burning and nausea as she waded into the pool and as she drew near to Lavren, she saw the same dark form moving beneath the surface. Raising her blade, she brought it down towards the creature but struck nothing but blood.
“Something dwells within here,” she called out but then she saw a more dangerous menace.
Beyond the walkway, the farthest minotaur statue was beginning to move, lashing out with its whip in each direction as if seeking any nearby enemies. Dulvarna looked nervously towards the nearest statue that could easily reach her with its whip and Enlishia, still back on the ledge, followed her gaze. Nocking an arrow to its string, the ranger raised her bow and loosed an arrow at the nearest statue. It drove into the bronze but still the minotaur construct began to move. Enlishia loosed another arrow but this shaft bounced aside and splashed into the crimson pool at the statue’s base.
Telkya closed her eyes and vanished in a cloud of light motes. She reappeared on the plinth next to the closest statue and lashed out at it with her sword. Her blade clanged off the bronze of the statue and struck the stone of the plinth. She cursed and looked up at the statue as it began to swivel at the waist.
Erlmoor rushed forward into the pool of blood and felt the same burning and nausea that the others had felt. He waded to join the others as quickly as he could and lashed out at the form moving beneath the water. His blade struck flesh and with a roar, a crimson skinned demon of the kind that had plagued the companions so terribly in the chamber of the howling pillars, rose from the blood pool. It lashed out with one of its claws and Erlmoor drew back, evading the blow. Then, the scourge that the bronze statue wielded cracked over the head of the dragonborn and he knew that he faced a more terrible danger.
The statue’s whip cracked out again and struck Dulvarna, dragging her from her feet to fall face down in the blood. Lavren was struck next and similarly pitched forward before Litiraan was dragged from his feet by the scourge and pulled towards the steps into the blood pool. The statue turned towards Telkya and struck her with the handle of the whip, pitching her from the plinth into the blood pool. The whip cracked again and this time, the red-skinned demon was struck and dragged from its feet. Litiraan pushed himself to his feet as the statue swivelled again and uttered the words of a spell that he had only penned to his spell book the previous night. He added a silent prayer to Corellon that the spell would work and then uttered the final phrase. As he had expected, the room around him twisted and vanished and he reappeared on the ledge between the two blood pools and next to the north wall. He reckoned he would be safe from the whips of the statues where he was and took a moment to pause and survey the scene so as to plan his next move.
Lavren saw Litiraan’s travelling spell take him across the chamber and could not help but be impressed. As he watched the whips of the statues lash out, he realised that Telkya’s brother had discovered a place where they could be safe from the terrible scourges. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and vanished into a cloud of light motes. An instant later, he appeared next to Litiraan with a wink and a smile.
“What do we do now, then?” he asked the elf.
“No idea,” answered the other. “I was hoping you might know.”
Dulvarna pushed off the bottom of the blood pool and rose to her feet, spitting out a mouthful of the crimson liquid as she did so. She glanced left towards the platform in the centre of the chamber, looked towards Erlmoor and nodded, and then darted left towards the place that she hoped would be their salvation. The demon lashed out as she fled but she ducked under the blow and struggled through the crimson liquid towards the central platform.
Enlishia nocked an arrow to her bow and leaned around the corner, taking careful aim at the nearest statue. After a moment she let the arrow fly and as she had planned, the shaft drove into the body of the minotaur stature and shattered, sending splinters into the intricate mechanisms that drove it. There was a grinding sound as the statue turned again and Enlishia nocked another two arrows to her bow before letting fly. The two shafts separated as they flew and drove into the shoulders of the statue. Another grinding sound came from the statue and then it stopped, its scourge falling loosely into the blood pool between Dulvarna and Erlmoor. Litiraan and Lavren looked back and smiled at the ranger and as she pulled herself to her feet in the blood pool, Telkya nodded her thanks.
“Destroy the other statue,” Dulvarna called out from close to the middle ledge. “It’s our only chance.”
Telkya turned away from the statue and waded towards the central set of steps that led up to the middle ledge. Erlmoor roared his own response and breathed acid on the demon in front of him before turning away after Dulvarna and Telkya. A claw lashed across his back but he paid it no mind as he surged towards the steps with the elf maid. He heard the demon roar its own defiance and surge after Dulvarna. The dragonborn opened his mouth to shout a warning but the demon was too quick and it leapt on Dulvarna before she had a chance to turn. The warrior woman fell forward and she and the demon splashed into the blood pool as a mess of flailing limbs.
On the middle platform, Litiraan made a decision and began one of his most powerful spells. As the words reached their conclusion, a glowing orange ball of flame flew forth from his hand and crossed the blood pool towards the statue. The construct lashed out with its scourge in each direction mindlessly, unaware of the fire that was coming for it. The fireball exploded against the statue’s belly and tore off a hunk of metal that splashed into the blood pool. Beneath, the mechanism that turned the intricate trap was exposed and the flames seared the gears and cogs too. Still, the statue turned and lashed out with its scourge as though it had barely been touched. Suddenly, a roar came from the blood pool beneath the centre platform and Litiraan looked down. From the pool, two demons were emerging and making for the steps before them, one close to the northern end of the platform and the other close to the southern end. Beside Litiraan, Lavren saw the new threat at the same time as Litiraan and raised his left hand to level his wand at the demon. With an uttered curse, he sent black, crackling energy towards the demon but the blast flew wide and the demon growled up at the two elves in response.
Dulvarna pushed off the bottom of the blood pool and pulled her feet underneath her before pushing off again more fiercely and throwing the demon back into the blood behind her. She emerged from beneath the surface and dived forward towards the centre platform only for the demon to recover its footing and grab at her. Claws tore down her back but she escaped the creature’s terrible grasp and grabbed the edge of the platform. With an effort that seemed to take the last of her strength, she hauled herself up onto the centre platform and lay there, gasping for breath and hoping that the demon would not follow her too quickly. She heard the scourge of the second statue crack out and she flinched but she was beyond its reach. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet and raised her sword, ready to meet her enemy beyond the poisonous blood pool.
Enlishia moved to the edge of the platform by the door and took aim at the farthest statue just as its scourge cracked out again. She heard demonic roars beyond the centre platform but could not decide whether they were roars of defiance or of pain. Slowly, she took aim and then, letting her breath out, she let fly. The first arrow drove into the shoulder of the statue but before it had even struck, Enlishia had nocked another to her bow. She loosed this a heartbeat later and it too, flew straight and true, driving into the hip of the statue. The grinding that she had heard from the first statue before it stopped moving, filled the chamber as the mechanism of the far statue struggled to cope with the damage that had been done to it.
With an effort that she did not know she could muster, Telkya dragged herself out of the blood pool and up the steps to the centre platform. She heard the grinding from the far statue and knew that it too had been damaged by Enlishia’s unfailing accuracy with her bow. Telkya raised her left hand weekly and uttered a prayer, calling down a column of golden light that seared the statue. The construct ground more loudly for a moment and half-turned as the heat seized its innards but then it was still Telkya added her own thanks to Corellon for his aid and then turned to the left as a demon rose from the blood pool and started forward for the second time towards the steps at the southern end of the platform.
Even as Telkya turned, Erlmoor rose from the blood pool behind her and made his own way up the steps. As he crested the centre platform he let forth another roar of defiance and then started towards the southern steps where the demon would climb up from the pool. Raising his blade, the dragonborn uttered his own prayer, calling on the Morninglord to aid him. Ribbons of searing golden radiance engulfed the demon and it cried out the pain pierced it to its heart. Fixing the dragonborn in its gaze, it started forward again and began to climb slowly up the steps. Then the dragonborn heard a startled cry and a roar behind him and as he glanced back, he saw that the first demon, the one that had nearly felled Dulvarna, had climbed the steps behind Telkya. The demon lashed out with one of its claws and the elf maid ducked but then it lunged forward, seeking to seize her sword arm in its terrible teeth. Telkya stepped back and slammed the hilt of her sword into the side of the demon’s head. She had prevailed for the moment but Erlmoor feared that she could not lat long alone against such a foe.
At the northern end of the ledge, Litiraan loosed a wave of flame from his wand that engulfed the advancing demon close to the northern steps but the creature did not even break its stride. It reached the steps and climbed them quickly before rushing at the two elves with a roar. A claw struck the side of Litiraan’s head and sent him reeling while Lavren raised his sword and slashed it into the arm of the creature, turning its attention away from Litiraan for a moment. With a snarl, it started towards the warlock and Litiraan recovered but both elves knew that they were trapped against the wall. Their place of safety from the scourges of the statues had become a trap and without aid, it would be the place where they would fall.
Dulvarna watched Telkya fend off the demon for a moment while she gathered her strength and then she raised her blade and charged at the demon. She raised her blade above her head as she drew near and then brought it down, thinking to cleave open the demon’s skull. At the last, the creature turned towards her and her blade missed its head by a finger’s breadth cleaving instead into the creature’s shoulder. The demon roared and turned to face the enemy it had fought in the blood pool. From her left, Dulvarna heard Enlishia’s bow release and knew that the ranger was lending aid to Lavren and Litiraan. Grimly, she turned back to the demon before her and raised her blade, determined to finish her foe this time. She nodded to Telkya, signalling the priestess to withdraw and the elf maid did as she was bade but as she did so, she began another prayer. Golden light washed over Dulvarna and restored her strength while healing the worst of her hurts. The warrior woman nodded her thanks to the elf and turned back to the foe before her as the demon came at her, lashing out with its claws.
Erlmoor roared again at the demon before him and then uttered a short prayer to Lathander. His blade glowed with divine light as a portion of his own strength filled it and he swung out at the demon, tearing a wound across the creature’s chest and driving it back. Erlmoor stepped forward and uttered another prayer. Again his blade glowed and again it sang out but this time, the demon ducked under the swing. From a crouched position it snarled at Erlmoor and then leapt forward. A claw lashed out and struck the paladin’s hip, spinning him to his right and forcing him back in turn, away from his enemy. Demon and dragonborn roared then, challenging each other and defying each other, and knowing that only one would survive the battle.
Litiraan turned back to the demon and stabbed out with his sword, driving it into the creature’s hip. The demon snarled and turned, lashing out at the wizard with a clawed hand. He struck Litiraan’s arm above the elbow and spun him back into the wall for a second time. Lavren took his chance, darting in from the demon’s right and stabbing his sword into its side and then its thigh. The demon snarled again and turned back towards the warlock. Litiraan pushed himself off the wall and turned back towards the demon, preparing to do the same again and give his companion yet another chance to strike at their shared foe. As he turned, a second arrow drove into the demon and with a smile, Litiraan realised that he had been foolish to doubt himself and his companions. The demon would fall to the three that now faught it and the knife that rested on the two platforms at the far end of the chamber would be theirs.
Dulvarna leapt back as the demon came at her and then feinted to the left with her heavy blade. As the demon dodged, she reversed her swing and slashed Aecris into her foe’s right side. The creature lurched to the left and roared with pain as dark blood began to pour from the wound. To her right, Dulvarna heard Telkya praying once more and as golden light engulfed the elf, she knew that the priestess had been sorely wounded and was now healing herself. Then, with a roar, the demon came forward again and Dulvarna was forced to turn her attention back to her foe. A claw lashed out and she ducked under it while raising her blade to strike at the demon again.
Erlmoor raised his voice in a hymn to Lathander and as he did so, he stepped forward towards the demon he faced. His blade sang out and smashed into the creature’s shoulder sending it spinning around to the left as it did so. The creature roared but Erlmoor’s hymn was louder and as the others heard it, strength that had fled returned to them. The demon roared again as Erlmoor sang and, mustering a sudden recovery from its terrible wound, it leapt at the paladin. Its claw lashed out and tore into the side of Erlmoor’s throat, driving the hymn from his lips. The demon tried to bite at his arm but it met only the hard, scaled elbow of the dragonborn and was sent reeling back once more. Silently now, Erlmoor turned on the demon and promised it death with nothing more than his fierce eyes.
Litiraan leapt at the demon and stabbed his blade into the side of its chest before darting back. It turned towards him and he stabbed out again, driving his sword into the creature’s shoulder. The creature twisted around the blade and back-handed Litiraan across the side of the face, sending him spinning to the left and filling his mouth with blood. He turned back but he was too slow this time and the demon leapt upon him. Teeth found his throat and tore at it but as warm blood flowed down his neck, Litiraan saw Lavren drive his blade into the demon’s side. An arrow drove through the creature’s throat then and with a gasp, the demon let Litiraan go. It fell to its knees and then collapsed on the floor. Satisfied that he had played his part, Litiraan let blackness take him.
Dulvarna wove her blade in front of her as the demon looked for an opening and then she darted forward. The demon reacted quickly and dodged to the left, leaving Aecris to only graze its hip as it slipped past. The demon snarled and turned to slashed at Dulvarna but as it did so, Telkya’s voice rose in prayer again and the priestess drove her blade into the demon’s left side. The demon snarled and turned away from Dulvarna towards this new foe, but as it lashed out wildly at the priestess, she ducked and leapt away. The demon roared its defiance one last time and then Dulvarna and Telkya came forward together to finish their foe.
As Telkya’s blade struck her foe, a shower of light motes descended on Erlmoor at the southern end of the platform and the dragonborn felt new strength flow through him. Despite his torn throat, he found his voice and roared defiance once again. He rushed at the demon and lashed out with his blade but his enemy ducked under the blow. The demon leapt at the dragonborn, slashing its claws across his belly and then seizing his throat once again in its terrible jaws. Erlmoor pushed at the demon with all his strength and forced it away from him but it snarled and spat in response. The paladin staggered, sorely weakened and bleeding from his throat but raised his blade anyway. The demon roared its own defiance then, sensing victory and rushed forward once more.
Dulvarna darted forward and struck at the demon first, slashing her blade across its belly and driving it back to the bottom of the steps at the edge of the blood pool. Telkya stepped forward to finish the creature but as she did, an arrow drove through its throat from back to front and with a gasp, the demon fell backwards into the blood pool.
Telkya looked up at Enlishia and nodded her thanks before turning away from the top of the steps and rushing to aid Erlmoor. As she reached the dragonborn, she placed a hand on his shoulder and uttered a powerful healing prayer. White divine light flowed from her hand and washed over him, closing the wound in his throat and restoring his strength. The dragonborn roared again, his voice restored and his blade sang out after it as he advanced on the demon and drove it back. Dulvarna was beside him a heartbeat later and then behind him, Erlmoor heard Enlishia’s bow sing out. An arrow drove into the demon’s shoulder and then another pierced its side. It staggered and Telkya rushed at it with her blade before her. She stabbed at the demon’s shoulder but it twisted aside and she barely nicked its flesh but every wound was weakening the creature now. Again the demon staggered and this time, Erlmoor was the one who took advantage. The dragonborn stepped forward and drove his blade point-first into the chest of the demon. It opened its mouth but no air came forth and it slid slowly off the paladin’s blade to the floor.
Only then did the three companions remember fallen Litiraan and as the demon bodies began to smoke and collapse into the Abyssal ash from which they had been formed, they turned as one towards the northern end of the platform. There, Lavren was tending to the wizard’s wounds but Litiraan looked pale as death and the front of the white tunic he wore was stained red with blood down to his waist.
“He will live,” said Lavren as he looked towards the others. “But only just.”
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