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 second thread of my continuing solitaire campaign. It continues where my Keep on the Shadowfell story hour left off with the same PCs. For those who are interested, the PCs at the start of this adventure are as follows:
As usual grateful for any comments or feedback and hope others enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed playing and writing this. Anyway, here is.....
Chapter 1 - Into the Mountain (Part 1)
A swirling thunderhead of black clouds, rumbling thunder, and bright flashes of lightning obscured the peak of the mountain ahead of the travelers. They had turned aside from the Immerflow Valley where an ancient road headed further up into the mountains and followed an equally ancient cobbled path beside a stream that locals called the Khel. At the top of the vale, the stream disappeared into the rock and there, ahead of the small group was a wide gateway carved into the mountainside. Whatever doors had once barred had been long since broken down and had rotted away but the gate was no less impressive for their absence. A bull-headed creature with the body of a man was carved into the stone on either side of the high gateway, each holding a huge sword in a downward, guard position with the point between its feet. The gateway itself was easily the height of eight men and from either side, the bull-headed statues glowered menacingly.
“The Minotaur Gate,” said the dark haired warrior woman who led the group. She pulled a torch from her belt and struck a light to it. A tall elf lord called light to the tip of the wand her held and at the back, a black-scaled dragonborn lit his own torch.
“Shall we go in,” said a woman near the back of the group. She had short, brown hair and carried a sword on her back and a bow over one shoulder.
“I think we shall,” answered Dulvarna, the warrior woman who led the group. She started forward and the others followed her into the darkness.
They followed the wide passage a short way into the mountain but then it splintered into numerous other passages. A wide tunnel with several smaller tunnels leading off it seemed to cut a path towards the mountain’s deep centre. They followed the wide tunnel a little way further on until Dulvarna raised her hand to halt the companions behind her. Light spilled from a partially open door a short way down one of the side passages and as the six companions stopped and listened, they heard coarse laughter and guttural voices from the side passage.
“You’re ours now, halfling,” said one voice. “We’ll easily get ten gold for you!”
“That’s a shame,” another voice responded. “Cause I’m worth twenty. I’ll buy myself if you let me go.”
“Hobgoblins,” growled Erlmoor, drawing his sword quietly. “Just what we came here for.”
Each of the six drew their weapons or implements of power and together, the group started forward. Dulvarna put down her torch on the floor outside the doors, and with her sword leaning against her shoulder, she pulled open the double doors to the side chamber with one hand. Within, four hobgoblin warriors faced a halfling who was crouched on the floor between them and a hobgoblin shaman in clad in furs and a skull headdress.
“Intruders!” called the shaman and the hobgoblins turned towards the door just as Dulvarna rushed into the room with her sword held high in two hands now.
Dulvarna reached the first hobgoblin and twisted to the left, drawing her blade across the left of the warrior’s abdomen and twisting him around towards her. Light flared from the doorway as Telkya raised her holy symbol and a beam seared into the first of a row of huge tuns against the east wall. It blasted a hole and sprayed dust into the air. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from the doorway that drove into the hobgoblin’s side and forced it back into the room. Enlishia darted through the doorway, firing an arrow as the came, the shaft flying the length of the room to clatter against the wall beyond the halfling. The hobgoblin drew his flail from his belt and lashed out at Dulvarna, catching her right arm and spinning her backwards against the west wall of the chamber. He snarled and moved forward menacingly as though to finish her.
“Kill them all,” snarled the shaman from the back of the chamber as he advanced. “Teach them the price of interfering with Bloodreaver business.”
“I’ll look forward to that,” sneered Lavren as he entered the chamber. “Because interfering with Bloodreaver business is precisely what we’re here for.” The elf spat a curse at the first hobgoblin and loosed crackling black energy into the warrior’s side, spinning him away from Dulvarna. Then, with snarls and roars, the three remaining warriors came forward with shields raised and flails twirling above their heads.
Dulvarna parried the flail of the second hobgoblin as it reached her and glanced left as Erlmoor charged into the room. His blade lashed out and the wounded hobgoblin ducked back beyond the dragonborn’s reach. The paladin roared and sprayed acid over the gathered hobgoblins and as they retreated, Dulvarna rushed forward, lashing out with her sword. A flail parried her blade and twisted it aside but she tried to recover and drive her blade into the wounded hobgoblin. He turned, sensing the attack and held his flail over his head, two handed to parry the blow. As he stood there, silver bolt flew from the doorway and drove through his body from one side to another before jolting the shield of the hobgoblin behind. The struck warrior opened his mouth in one last gasp and then collapsed to the floor of the chamber.
Enlishia saw her chance and loosed an arrow through the gap into the shoulder of the hobgoblin behind the one that had fallen. The shaman shoved that hobgoblin aside and surged into the gap himself, throwing out a hand and uttering a short, guttural chant. A wave of force struck the four companions, hurling Dulvarna back against the south wall of the chamber and throwing Enlishia from her feet and dumping her out into the corridor beyond the doors.
Lavren turned to see if Telkya had been hurt by the shaman’s spell but she was nowhere to be seen. He looked towards the barrels and saw a faint, fading cloud of light motes there, the telltale sign of an eladrin’s teleport. He drew his sword and rushed towards the barrels and as he neared them, he concentrated on a spot beyond them, behind the hobgoblins. He felt the dizzying sensation of rushing forward and then appeared where he had willed himself, just behind the shaman. He glanced to his right and saw that Telkya had appeared just beyond the barrels. She turned to him and winked and Lavren smiled back. He turned then and with a curse, he loosed black, crackling energy into the back of the nearest hobgoblin. The creature cried out and turned with a hiss towards this new enemy. It nudged its neighbour and together, the two hobgoblins started towards the elf.
Dulvarna shook the confusion from her head and pushed herself to her feet. She raised her blade unsteadily and concentrated on getting her breath back. As she did so, Erlmoor slashed his blade left and right while praying loudly to Lathander. His sword glowed with divine light but each time it struck at the shaman, the hobgoblin met the blade with his gnarled staff. The warrior woman looked around for Lavren and Telkya and wondered where they had got to but then she saw a commotion behind the first rank of hobgoblins and knew the answer. Cursing the reckless elf, she started back to join Erlmoor in battle once more. From the right, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt that struck the shaman in the shoulder while Enlishia, similarly dazed, reentered the room. She leveled her bow and loosed an arrow at the shaman but the hobgoblin docked to its right and the arrow clattered harmlessly against the far wall of the chamber. The shaman roared and struck out with its staff, uttering another incantation as he did so. Lightning crackled along the stave and as it struck Erlmoor’s shoulder, it sent the dragonborn reeling.
“Arte you learning yet?” sneered the shaman. “The Bloodreavers punish any who interfere in their plans.”
Lavren ducked one flail and then parried the second with Lifestealer low and to his left. He lashed the sword back around and slashed it across the left shoulder of the hobgoblin above his shield. The hobgoblin raised his flail above his head and brought it down but Lavren raised his blade crossways over his head and met the descending flail. The ball flew on downwards and whistled past the elf’s nose as he moved his head backwards out of its way. He twisted his blade to the right, throwing the hobgoblin’s flail down and to the right while moving his blade up again to meet the other hobgoblin’s weapon. He twisted his arm back in a desperate parry, keeping the other flail at bay. Telkya rushed in then on Lavren’s left and the hobgoblin leapt back a step to meet this new threat. The elf maid turned and flashed a beautiful smile and a wink at Lavren. His heart soaring, he turned back to his own foe and pushed forward.
Dulvarna and Erlmoor had each flurry of attacks parried as they tried to push the shaman and the other hobgoblin warrior back into the chamber. Silver bolts from Litiraan’s wand and arrows from Enlishia’s bow flew past the hobgoblins but none struck home and the shaman sneered broadly at the enemies before him. The shaman lashed out with its stave and Erlmoor ducked low under the blow but at the same time, the hobgoblin facing Dulvarna surged forward. The warrior shoved its shield into Dulvarna’s sword and twisted it down and to her right while bringing its flail down in a high overhand blow. Dulvarna ducked back but she was not quick enough and the spiked ball cracked painfully into her shoulder. Beside her, Erlmoor stabbed out low with his blade but the shaman leapt the blow and danced backwards.
“If you yield now, you’ll be worth more when we sell you on,” sneered the shaman. Erlmoor responded with a growl and rushed at the hobgoblin again.
Telkya looked over at Lavren and then retreated from the hobgoblin she faced, confident he could keep both from her. Raising her silver star amulet of Corellon, she uttered a prayer and called down a column of searing light on the hobgoblin she had just been battling. She grasped her sword firmly in her right hand and her amulet in the other and prayed fervently. The light came down and the hobgoblin cried out as it seared his flesh. The creature staggered and fell back towards the front of the room.
Litiraan found his aim at last as he loosed another silver bolt from his wand and watched it sear into the hip of the shaman. The bold hobgoblin staggered and lurched to the left just as Enlishia loosed an arrow from her bow. The shaft pierced his right arm and threw him backwards. The shaman lashed out wildly and Erlmoor simply leaned back to evade the swing. He lunged forward then while the shaman was still off balance and plunged his blade into the hobgoblin’s chest.
“You’ll be selling no one here,” snarled Erlmoor into the hobgoblin’s face as the last light faded from its eyes.
Lavren ducked left as one flail descended towards him and then raised his sword to parry the second only for the ball to loop over his raised blade and strike him painfully on the shoulder. He twisted his arm free and looked over his shoulder for aid from Telkya. She loosed a beam of light from her star amulet but the hobgoblin it was intended for ducked to one side and the divine fire blasted a hole in the wall next to it. Telkya uttered a decidedly unladylike curse in elven and drew a shocked look from Lavren before she began to utter another prayer. Lavren hoped it was a good one. They needed all the help they could get, divine or otherwise. Even as the thought passed through his mind, Lavren saw a flash of silver light behind his enemies and another hobgoblin fell beside the shaman. Suddenly, the way was clear for Dulvarna and Erlmoor to come to his aid. Who needed Corellon, Lavren thought to himself. Steel and muscle would serve him greater here. An arrow drove into the back of the hobgoblin before him, pitching the warrior forward a step. Lavren lashed out at the hobgoblin and then darted back as it lashed out angrily with its flail, roaring as it did so. The spiked ball smashed into his side, piercing his leather armour and cracking at least one of his ribs. The other hobgoblin swung his flail high at the elf’s head and Lavren ducked beneath chain and ball easily. Then, Erlmoor and Dulvarna came upon the hobgoblins from behind and Litiraan appeared beside Telkya in a shower of white light motes. The hobgoblins died quickly then in a hail of silver and white light and a terrible onslaught of bloodstained blades.
“What is this place?” Dulvarna asked the halfling once they had tended to their wounds and Telkya had checked that the halfling was unhurt.
“Pleased to meet you too,” came the answer. “I am Rendil Halfmoon and I live here. This is the Labyrinth, the untamed region in the depths of Thunderspire Mountain. We’re not too far from the Seven Pillared Hall where my home is. Adventurers such as yourselves should be able to easily find employment in the Hall, if that’s what you’re looking for. Just stay on Brugg’s good side – you don’t want him or the Mages of Saruun to pay too much attention to you, if you know what I mean.”
“You live here?” questioned Enlishia. “Why would you live here?”
“Many do,” answered Rendil. “Well, not here, in the Seven Pillared Hall, as I said. Thanks so much for helping me. Come with me to the Halfmoon and I’ll buy you an ale or four. It’s the best inn – well, the only inn – this side of the Labyrinth.”
“Why are you here then, if you live in this Hall?” rumbled Erlmoor.
“Those hobgoblins grabbed me a few hours ago,” answered the halfling. “I was tailing them ‘cause they were hanging around my family’s inn yesterday. I wanted to figure out what they were up to, but they caught me.”
“The Halfmoon’s your inn then,” said Dulvarna with a smile. “I think we’ll take you up on those ales then.”
“Room and board as well, if you want it,” the halfling said then. “And if you want to find more of those Bloodreavers like you said, I can help you out. I can tell you how to find the Chamber of Eyes. I’d like to see someone teach those slavers a lesson.”
“We might just take you up on that,” said Telkya.
“Then you’d best follow me,” said Rendil, rising to his feet. He started towards the doorway, waving the others to follow him. They gathered up their weapons and gear and started after the halfling.
Beyond the side passage, the wide passage into the mountain was dimly lit by green light from copper lanterns. Rendil led them onwards as the passage turned left and then right and then left again while descending steadily into the heart of Thunderspire. Eventually, the path leveled out and emerged into a mighty chamber. A stream bisected the wide cavern and seven stone pillars connected floor to ceiling, perhaps once stalactites and stalagmites. At the heart of the chamber, just to the east of the stream stood a statue of a minotaur on a stone platform while everywhere, creatures great and small, more varied than any that would be seen on the streets of Arabel wandered between various stone buildings that were scattered across the floor of the cavern. Various side openings seemed to lead to other residences and businesses and were just as frequented as the others.
“Where is your inn?” Enlishia asked.
“Over there,” answered Rendil, gesturing towards the southern wall on the western side of the stream.
“And what of the other places here,” said Litiraan. “What do they offer?”
“they are traders mostly,” answered the halfling. “This is a trading outpost for the most part but others, less desirable folk, live in other parts of the mountain.”
“We go to the inn and then we find the Bloodreavers,” rumbled Erlmoor. “We want no trouble here.”
“Very sensible, master dragonborn,” said the halfling, starting across the open space towards the inn. “Very sensible.” Lavren and Telkya started after the halfling and the others followed.
“You faught well back there,” said Lavren to the elf maid once they had moved ahead of the others.
“As did you,” she answered with a smile.
The Halfmoon Inn was a large building that sat against the side of the Hall and seemed to serve as a trading post, taproom and inn. Rendil quickly introduced them to his aunt, Erra Halfmoon who ran the inn and soon had rooms arranged for them upstairs. They took seats near to the fire for the dark of the mountain was cold and as soon as they had done so, ale began to flow as Rendil had promised. The six companions ate well and drank their fill of ale before retiring to rooms upstairs and sleeping for the first time under the mountain.
“We should explore the Hall first,” said Lavren over breakfast as he shoveled a mouthful of meat that he hoped was bacon into his mouth.
“Agreed,” said Telkya and Lavren looked at her suspiciously then. Since they had left Winterhaven, the two had seemed to become closer with each passing day but still he had not yet discerned the relationship between her and Litiraan. Perhaps he should just ask, he mused, but then his thoughts were interrupted by Erlmoor’s rumbling voice.
“We passed a dwarf trading company,” the dragonborn said. “I for one would like to see what armour and weapons they have on offer.”
“And there is a trading post in the eastern part of the cavern, so Rendil tells me,” said Litiraan. “They are said to trade alchemical reagents that may be useful.”
“We have little time for brewing potions, alas,” said Dulvarna. “We shall visit the dwarves and see what they have to offer and then we shall seek the Chamber of Eyes.” None would argue with the warrior woman and so it was agreed. They all finished their breakfast in silence and then made their way out of the inn.
Two large stone friezes of stern dwarf faces adorned the façade of the Deepgem Company and as Erlmoor stepped inside the entrance chamber off the main cavern, he was not disappointed. Fine swords and axes hung in racks to left and right and several wooden dummies displayed finely wrought armour, some even carved with runes that indicated enchantments to protect the wearer.
“Too fine for my purse,” said Enlishia as she surveyed the wears of the place.
“Are ye sure?” said a dwarf who seemed to suddenly appear behind the counter. Enlishia looked over and saw that the dwarf had a long, black beard and bushy black hair and eyebrows. He regarded the six warily as if not sure what to make of them.
“She’s sure,” rumbled Erlmoor. “As am I. But I may be back once we have dealt with those we came here for.”
“Oh really,” said the dwarf. “And who might you be?”
“We’re the Defenders of Winterhaven,” answered Erlmoor, drawing curious glances from the others. “And we have work to do.” At that, the dragonborn turned and walked from the chamber while the others looked askance after him. One by one they filed out behind him and followed him back to the Halfmoon Inn.
Dulvarna led them up wide steps and into a large antechamber. If Rendil’s directions were right, this as the Chamber of Eyes, the lair of the Bloodreavers. She looked ahead and saw two fearsome-looking statues of winged demons squatting on either side of a stairway leading up to double doors to the right. Inscribed upon the doors was an image of a great eye with multiple eye stalks, as well as a symbol of a circle with a crossbar rising out of it. Heaps of rubble were scattered across the floor, and to the north a balcony overlooked the room.
“Shht,” hissed Lavren, holding up his hand. All six companions paused and as they stopped, they heard high, rasping voices and the footsteps of several creatures beyond the double doors.
“Goblins!” Telkya hissed. “We should try the balcony.”
“Why not bluff our way in?” Enlishia whispered. “Goblins are stupid enough to fall for it.”
“Worth a try,” said Dulvarna with a shrug. Enlishia strode forward and banged on the double doors loudly.
“Let us in,” called Enlishia. “Khurbok sent us.”
“Really?” came a goblin voice in reply, speaking perfect Common. “We weren’t expecting anyone.”
“Does Khurbok usually send warning?” Litiraan called out.
“Not usually,” answered the goblin. “But then word is he’s dead so I doubt he sent you.” The goblin barked something then in its own tongue.
“I don’t think they’re going to let us in,” said Lavren, drawing his wand and his sword.
“Agreed,” said Dulvarna, drawing her sword.
Telkya rushed towards the balcony and desperately tried, to no avail, to scrabble up the wall that led up to it. Litiraan knelt down and to the surprise of all, began to try to pick the lock with the point of his sword. Dulvarna turned away and rushed towards the balcony while Erlmoor charged, shoulder first, into the double doors. Enlishia rushed to join the others at the foot of the balcony and Lavren turned away from the doors to follow her. The door to the right of the balcony opened and two goblins armed with small hand crossbows rushed out onto the raised platform.
Telkya drew back, praying to Corellon as she did so, and loosed a bolt of bright light from her holy symbol. It struck the wall neck to the head of one of the goblins and drew a surprised yelp from the creature. Litiraan turned away from the door as he heard Telkya chanting a prayer and rushed to help her. Raising his wand, he loosed a silver bolt from it that struck one of the goblins in the chest and hurled it back against the wall behind the balcony. Lavren retreated beside Telkya, cursing the nearest goblin and leveling his wand at the creature. He loosed a blast of crackling, black energy that seared into the goblin and hurled it back against the wall for the second time. Both goblins loosed bolts from their hand crossbows nonetheless but the shots were rushed and the bolts clattered against the stone between Telkya and Lavren. A blast of light from Telkya’s amulet struck the unwounded goblin and a silver bolt struck the other for a second time. Staggering on the balcony above, the goblins desperately tried to reload their crossbows but then Dulvarna climbed up beside them. She swept out her sword and panic possessed the goblins.
Enlishia drew back and began firing arrows up at the balcony, further panicking the goblins. A black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck a goblin again and the creature fell back across the balcony, throwing down its crossbow and fumbling for the axe at its belt. Dulvarna parried as the axe finally swept out at her and behind the first foe, the second goblin’s crossbow bolt shattered in the groove of the weapon as the hand crossbow jammed. Seemingly cursing in its own tongue, the goblin darted back through the door at the eastern end of the balcony and disappeared form sight. A bolt of radiant light struck the stone just behind the remaining goblin and then a silver bolt seared through its side and pitched it from the balcony to the floor of the chamber below. Dulvarna nodded her thanks to Litiraan and rushed off after her fleeing enemy.
Dulvarna dashed through the door and saw that the landing corridor continued through a switch to the left to another door at its far end. To the right, the fleeing goblin had darted down a staircase and as Dulvarna started down the stairs, she slashed out with her blade, cutting across the creature’s back and pitching it forward. From the left she heard a roar and a fierce, fur-covered goblin, twice the height of the one she had been pursuing rushed in at her. It swung out with a spiked morningstar and Dulvarna darted back two steps up the stairs to evade a bone-breaking blow. Dulvarna caught a glimpse of light behind her and glanced back to see Lavren appear from a shower of light motes.
“Trouble?” the elf half-asked.
“You think so,” answered Dulvarna with a sarcastic smile before turning back to her enemies. The goblin she had pursued lashed out with his axe and she pulled her body back out of the way. The goblin leapt from the stairs and toppled a chair in the chamber below as it tried to reach a doorway in the southern wall. Dulvarna turned towards the huge furred goblin, temporarily distracted from her prey and slashed her blade across the huge monster’s chest.
At his fourth attempt, Erlmoor crashed through the double doors into the hallway beyond his sword came up at once and he came face to face with a goblin warrior with an axe held ready. Erlmoor prayed, his blade glowed white and he swung the sword out, only for it to clash against the steel of a goblin axe. Enlishia appeared in the doorway behind him, an arrow nocked to her bowstring. She loosed the missile and it drove into the shoulder of a second goblin standing behind the one that Erlmoor faught. Erlmoor parried the goblin’s counter and twisted its axe down towards the floor but then the second goblin came forward, bringing its axe in from his right and driving it into his hip before he had any chance to parry. Erlmoor staggered and fell against the left wall of the corridor, warm blood running down his leg.
Dulvarna raised her blade to parry the high blow from the large goblin but at the last, the morningstar dipped and crashed into her ribs, hurling her back against the wall beside the stairs. From the top of the stairs, Dulvarna dimly heard elven words and then a black bolt struck the furred goblin and drove it back from her, allowing her to move down the stairs towards the chamber floor. Her goblin foe turned then at the bottom of the stairs and lashed out again with its axe but again, she ducked back and the goblin retreated past a table that dominated the centre of what seemed to be a guard room. Dulvarna turned back towards the huge goblin she faced and leveled her sword once more.
Telkya came down the steps behind Dulvarna, her sword in her hand. She recognised the huge goblin as a brutal bugbear as soon as she saw it and stabbed her blade into its shoulder, driving it back a step. Litiraan came to the top of the steps behind Telkya and loosed a silver bolt at the bugbear, only for it to strike the table behind the creature. Dulvarna leapt from the steps, weaving her blade in front of her before lashing out at the bugbear. It stepped back and toppled over a chair behind it. It growled a curse and roared at the goblin to its left which was still retreating towards the chamber door. Another roar answered the bugbear and Dulvarna knew it was Erlmoor. He was in the corridor outside and he was coming to aid them.
Erlmoor sprayed acid over the two goblins before lashing out with his sword to cut it across the chest of the goblin on the left. He heard a thud and saw an arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into the shoulder of the other goblin and send it staggering back a step. Erlmoor parried a high axe swing from the goblin before him but the one with the arrow in its shoulder came back surprisingly quickly. Its axe swung in at his right side and though he brought his blade down, he could only deflect it downwards into his thigh. He gave a roar of pain then and fell back against the wall of the passage. Pushing himself away from the wall, he came back at his enemies once more.
The bugbear swung out with its huge morning star, smashing it into Dulvarna’s left arm as she raised her blade to parry. She fell back against the wall of the room and held her blade up, expecting a killing blow. To her amazement, the bugbear retreated into the chamber and gave her a chance to recover. It also gave Lavren a chance to squeeze past Litiraan and make his way down the steps. The elf uttered a curse in elven and loosed a black, crackling bolt that flew past the bugbear and struck the far wall of the chamber. The goblin in the chamber reached the door then and peered out into the corridor. It called something in its own tongue to the bugbear and then sheathed its axe to draw forth a small hand crossbow from its belt. Telkya leapt to the floor of the chamber and stabbed at the bugbear but the huge creature just swatted the blade aside. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt of energy from his wand that struck the bugbear in the right shoulder and Dulvarna charged across the room at the creature. The goblin raised its crossbow in a panicky way, moving his aim from Dulvarna to Telkya and then to Lavren. As it made up its mind, another draconic roar filled the corridor behind it.
Erlmoor plunged his blade into the hip of the goblin facing him and drove it back further from him. It lashed out with its axe and he ducked back to evade the swing. As he did so, two arrows flew past the other goblin and it snarled its amusement despite the wounds it had already suffered. It swung its axe at the dragonborn and he brought his blade down to parry the blow, close to his right leg.
Dulvarna stabbed out at the bugbear and nicked its leg above its knee only drawing a wrathful roar from it. It slashed out with its morningstar before she could recover and struck her painfully in the chest, cracking ribs as it did so. The blow sending her reeling backwards and as it did so, the bugbear barked a command at the goblin, who shrugged off a blast of black energy from Lavren’s wand and obligingly loosed a bolt from its crossbow. The bolt drove into Dulvarna’s neck and as she felt blood fill her throat, blackness took her.
Telkya panicked as Dulvarna fell and stabbed out at the bugbear desperately. Again her blow was swatted aside with almost casual ease and she knew that she would likely fall beside Dulvarna very soon. Litiraan loosed another silver bolt from the top of the stairs that struck the bugbear and drew another angry roar from it but it barely staggered as it was struck. Their only hope lay in Erlmoor now. If only he could reach them in time.
Erlmoor lashed out with his blade and cut into the shoulder of the goblin before him driving it back further. It lashed out low with its axe and cut into his already wounded right thigh. The leg buckled and almost gave way beneath him. An arrow struck the other goblin just as it swung at him and he dodged away from the creature’s weakened swing easily. He slashed out with his blade and cut the throat of the goblin before him while it was still unbalanced from its own swing. It fell back on its behind, blood spurting from its neck. Dropping its axe, it reached up to stanch the flow but it was hopeless. An arrow took the other goblin in the throat then and felled it. Erlmoor roared his triumph, kicked over the dying goblin before him and rushed down the corridor towards the sounds of battle.
Telkya backed away towards Lavren and began to pray, her star symbol held up before her. The bugbear leapt forward just as a column of light descended upon it and seared its flesh. Its back singed, it rushed at the two elves at the bottom of the stairs. A silver bolt struck it from the top of the stairs and it faltered but it staggered on to reach its foes. The bugbear lashed out wildly with its morningstar forcing both Telkya and Lavren to duck under the blow. Lavren stabbed his sword into the creature’s left side and then Telkya drove her blade into the creature’s lung on the other side. With a gasp, the bugbear toppled and fell.
At the doorway, the goblin turned to flee but it was met by a roaring dragonborn. It slashed its axe into Erlmoor’s chest, knocking him back into Enlishia who was behind him and desperately sought a way past the wounded foe. A silver bolt struck the goblin in the back and pitched it forward while Erlmoor, his breath coming in ragged gasps, met it with his blade. The goblin skewered itself on the dragonborn’s blade and died there, face to face with its enemy.
Enlishia rushed past Erlmoor and knelt at Dulvarna’s side, desperately applying cloth strips to the wound in the woman’s throat.
“She will live,” said the ranger at last. “But only just.” The others breathed a sigh of relief.
Dulvarna led them back up the steps once the worst of her hurts had been tended and healed, turning right along the landing there until she reached another door. Leaning her sword against her shoulder, she turned the iron ring handle of the door and pushed it open. Within, two dwarves with dark grey skin and thick, black beards and hair turned towards the door. Telkya rushed at them before they had time to react, darting right with her blade before her while Enlishia darted left, loosing an arrow into one of the dwarves as she went. Dulvarna followed the elf and the ranger into the chamber, lashing out with her blade at the nearest grey-skinned dwarf and drawing blood from his forearm. Lavren appeared against the south wall of the room and cursed the nearest dwarf in elven before loosing a bolt of black energy that seared into the fireplace built into the north wall. Sparks burst from the flames and as the others shrank back, the first dwarf, wounded by Dulvarna, surged forward and slammed his hammer into the woman. She fell back into the doorway towards Litiraan who was at her back. The elf concentrated for a moment and burst into a shower of light motes that reappeared beside Lavren against the south wall. He loosed a silver bolt into the nearest dwarf and then spat the name of their kind.
“Duergar,” the elf sneered. “Dark dwarves who make pacts with infernal powers. Beware their hair and beards for they hide poisonous quills.”
“Good to know,” answered Dulvarna with a wink at the elf. From a corridor that led east from the room, the companions heard doors open and then voices, hobgoblin voices.
“More are coming,” rumbled Erlmoor from behind Dulvarna.
“Seems about normal,” answered Enlishia with a smile.
A tall hobgoblin with a wolf-skin headdress appeared in the entrance of the eastern corridor and called something over his shoulder in the goblin tongue. One of the duergar lashed a hand from its beard and hurled a sharp quill at Dulvarna that drove into her arm. She staggered back, feeling numbness spreading from the wound. She cursed and then the duergar was upon her, smashing her arm with his warhammer. She cried out and fell back into Erlmoor who now stood right behind her.
“Let my blade reach him,” he growled in her ear.
“It shall,” she answered in a whisper.
Telkya stabbed out with her blade and darted right to allow Erlmoor into the chamber. As she did so, Enlishia shouldered her bow and drew forth her sword. She drove her blade into the hip of the nearest duergar, the one who had hurled a poison quill, and drove him back from Dulvarna. The warrior woman in turn forced herself forward but as her left arm grew increasingly numb, her swing was slow and easily parried by the duergar. Black energy from Lavren’s wand seared over both duergar and then they came forward again. One swung his hammer at Telkya and as the elf ducked back and tried to parry, he caught her right hand a glancing blow. She recoiled and seemingly in anger, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt at the dwarf that seared into the side of the creature. The elf smiled at Telkya and Lavren looked from one to the other, wondering even in the heat of battle what connected the two. Then, he saw a leash of black energy snake out from the stave that the wolf-skin clad hobgoblin carried and wrap around Litiraan’s waist. The elf cried out and then was yanked towards the hobgoblin. Even as Lavren watched, another hobgoblin, a huge creature wearing scale armour and carrying a shield and spear, entered the room. He stabbed his spear into Litiraan’s side and all thoughts of jealousy were banished from the elf’s mind. Survival became more crucial and saving Litiraan was surely a part of that.
Erlmoor entered the chamber with a roar, driving his blade into the shoulder of the nearest duergar and praying as he did so. Lavren felt some strength return to her and parried the next hammer blow from the duergar she faced. Telkya darted right and held forth her holy symbol, loosing a bolt of light from it that missed the nearest duergar and seared into the mantle beyond both. Dulvarna and Enlishia drove back the farthest duergar with combined attacks and dancing blades, wounding the dwarf twice as it retreated. Meanwhile, Lavren sent a searing bolt of crackling, black energy into the other duergar that burned into its side and sent it reeling. It lashed out at Erlmoor but the dragonborn ducked back beyond its reach and roared his defiance.
Litiraan lashed out desperately with his sword as both hobgoblins came at him. The wolf-skin clad creature lashed out with its staff, chanting a dark prayer as it did so and conjuring blue lighting to the end of the stave. The elf ducked under the wide swing but as he did so, the other hobgoblin came forward and drove its spear into the top of his hip. He gasped and staggered back further, sorely wounded. Telkya stood beside him then, lashing out with her blade but even together, the two elves could not hold off the two hobgoblins for long. They glanced at each other and shared a brief look of compassion and what Lavren realised could only be descried as love. Lavren decided that he would ask Telkya what Litiraan meant to her if they survived this. Alas survival here was by no means certain for any of them. The elf drew his blade and rushed forward as Dulvarna and Enlishia drove their blades into the other duergar again. Both dwarves fell back and as they did so, the hobgoblins came forward.
The duergar before Erlmoor lashed out with its hammer and struck the dragonborn on his left arm above the elbow. The paladin paid the blow no mind but saw that Litiraan was drawing further back, trying desperately to summon what was left of his strength as the two spear wounds soaked his tunic in blood. The hobgoblin shaman prayed again and lashed out with a lightning tipped staff and again Litiraan ducked the blow but again, the huge hobgoblin’s spear came in at him. This time it drove into his belly and Litiraan gasped and staggered once more. This time, he dropped his sword, the blade clattering dimly to the floor as the elf’s senses quickly dulled. He sank to his knees, looked up once at Telkya and then fell forward on the stone floor of the chamber. Erlmoor roared and with a huge blow, he beheaded the duergar before him. It fell beside Litiraan to the blood-soaked floor.
Telkya cried out and loosed a searing bolt of light into the large hobgoblin while Enlishia came forward and plunged her blade into the side of the duergar before her. The dwarf gasped, staggered and collapsed beside his headless companion. Dulvarna surveyed the fallen dwarves while Lavren spat a curse in elven at the shaman. He raised his wand and loosed purple rays at both hobgoblins that struck them and threw them back a step. The shaman lowered his stave and uttered a dark prayer that loosed a wave of black energy across the room. It struck the companions and hurled them all backwards but Litiraan’s fallen form was hurt the worst of all. His already wounded body struck the west wall of the chamber next to Telkya with an audible crack and then fell like a broken doll to the floor. Telkya cried out again but before she could kneel to check on her companion, the huge hobgoblin rushed at her and drove his spear into her shoulder. She gasped and cried out again.
Erlmoor roared and sprayed acid at the two hobgoblins but both covered their heads with shields or furs to evade the acid. He lowered his blade to point at the shaman and then charged at it, uttering a prayer to the Morninglord as he came. His blade glowed bright and he swung it out but the hobgoblin ducked under the blow and the blade struck the stone behind the foe’s head. Dulvarna rushed at the same hobgoblin and stabbed out with her blade but the shaman dodged to one side to evade the blow. The shaman lashed out with his stave and Dulvarna similarly ducked but the blow glanced the top of her head and sent jolts of pain through her.
Lavren meanwhile, stabbed his sword into the leg of the big hobgoblin and then darted back to give Enlishia a chance. Only as he retreated did he realise how much he had left Telkya on her own, standing over Litiraan’s fallen form. The huge hobgoblin darted forward, feinted high and then drove his spear in low, into the belly of the elf maid. She gasped, staggered back against the wall and then collapsed beside her fallen friend. Enlishia loosed arrows into the room from the doorway and Lavren looked back helplessly at the two fallen elves. Even as he watched, the huge hobgoblin twisted his spear in his hands and drove it down into Telkya’s body. Lavren cried out, thinking that she was surely dead and loosed more black energy at the hobgoblin.
Dulvarna heard Lavren’s cry and surged forward, driving back the shaman with fierce blows to the shoulder and arm. The hobgoblin seemed to smile then and began to chant one of its dark prayers. Lightning wreathed its staff and it swung out, striking Dulvarna in the chest and throwing her backwards into Lavren. The large hobgoblin stabbed at her and she brought her blade down just in time to parry his spear but she was weakened and all but beaten. Erlmoor cried out a desperate prayer and as light engulfed his sword, he stabbed out at the shaman. His blade drove into the hobgoblin’s chest and with a gasp, the creature fell to the floor of the blood-soaked chamber.
Dulvarna and Erlmoor charged the last hobgoblin together but he met their charge with parries and dodges. Arrows clattered against the wall at his back and while Lavren cursed him, even his most powerful incantation had no effect. When he saw his chance, he feinted left and then drove his spear into Dulvarna’s belly, felling her beside her companions.
Erlmoor roared and stabbed his blade into the hobgoblin’s leg but the burly creature seemed to pay the wound no mind. Suddenly, as Lavren completed an incantation, ravenous fangs appeared around the hobgoblin, snapping at its flesh wherever they could. They seemed bestial with the sharp canines of wolves or dogs and their ferocity was unrelenting. The hobgoblin leapt back to the door in the south wall of the chamber, twisted the handle to open it and ducked through, disappearing into the shadows beyond.
******
Enlishia watched the eastern passage with an arrow nocked to her bow while Erlmoor barred the southern door with the chieftain’s spear.
“They are both close to death,” said Lavren finally from where he knelt beside the two elves, tears in his eyes. “But we carry enough gold to save them if we can get them to priests in time. We cannot leave them to die here”
“You’re right of course,” answered Dulvarna. “Though I remember other discussions where you were less willing to offer up gold.”
“Then where will we go?” asked Erlmoor. “I doubt any in Thunderspire will offer to save two elves.”
“You’re likely right,” said Dulvarna. “Which means we must travel out of the mountains at least as far as Arabel to seek aid once more.”
“The Tymorans will help us for gold, surely?” said Erlmoor.
“Like as not they will,” replied Dulvarna. “We shall need litters to carry them out of here.”
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 1)
“There’s a shrine to Torm next to the Deepgem Company,” said Rendil Halfmoon when the battered band returned to his inn in the Seven Pillared Hall. “Phaledra will surely raise the elves if you have the gold.”
The six left the common room straight away and headed across the wide cavern to the western wall where the shrine was said to lie. Dulvarna saw the dwarf party first, a female with a large sword on her belt and four armed warriors, all with the grey skin of the duergar.
“Duergar are here,” she said to the others. “What brings them into this place?”
She lowered her end of Telkya’s litter to the ground and started towards them while Enlishia lowered the other end and unshouldered her bow. Erlmoor and Lavren put down Litiraan and started towards the duergar as well.
“What brings you here, duergar?” asked Erlmoor as they reached the gray dwarves. “We have met your kind in battle recently and it did not bode well for them.”
“Any battle here would end badly for you,” said the female duergar. “We are welcome here whilst you are strangers and the Mages rarely tolerate unruly behaviour.” Rendil had mentioned the mysterious Mages of Saruun as the rulers of the Hall and had intimated that they were to be feared.
“My friend merely asked you a question,” said Dulvarna. “Will you answer or not?”
“I have no need to explain my business to you,” answered the duergar. “Nor to I have time to stand and dally with you. If you wish to continue this conversation then seek me at the Grimmerzhul Trading Post in the east wall.”
At that, the duergar moved off towards the bridge over the river that divided the cavern in two, paying the companions no further mind. Enlishia made to nock an arrow to her bow but Erlmoor held out his arm and stopped her.
“Let them go,” he rumbled. “There’ll be time for them later.” They continued on to the shrine, drawing glances from others in the Hall as they went. Seemingly few risked confrontation with the duergar in this strange place.
The doors to the shrine were open and within was a hall no bigger than the shop of the trading company next door. At its far end, the wall was curved and enclosed an altar stone with the gauntlet symbol of Torm carved into the wall behind it. In front of the altar, three shallow steps descended to the shrine floor and benches for perhaps two dozen people filled the nave in two blocks to the left and right of an aisle. A side aisle led in front of the benches to a door in the south wall while before the altar knelt a priestess with close-cropped blonde hair in a chain jerkin and with a morningstar strapped to her back.
“Hail and well met,” said Erlmoor, setting down his end of Litiraan’s litter. “We seek the aid of Torm the True.”
“Torm only helps the deserving, the loyal and the obedient,” answered the priestess without rising or turning around. “Which are you, strangers to Thunderspire?”
“We are the survivors of a battle in need of aid for our fallen companions,” answered Lavren. “We bring gold to donate to Torm’s service but whether that makes us deserving, loyal or obedient, I know not.”
“Well spoken,” answered the priestess rising at last and turning to reveal the lined face of a middle-aged woman and streaks of grey in the front of her short hair. “You are loyal, for you did not abandon your companions to their fate and seek aid for them now. Not all act as you do in this world.”
“Will you aid us?” asked Erlmoor.
“I will,” answered the priestess. “I am Phaledra and you are welcome in Torm’s house.”
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 2)
“She wakes,” rumbled Erlmoor as Telkya’s eyes opened. Phaledra had applied sacramental unguents to the fallen elves all night while praying before the gauntlet altar behind them until, as dawn brightened the surface world somewhere above them, Telkya woke.
“My brother,” she said softly, reaching across to Litiraan. The realisation struck Lavren like a blow. The two were truly close and did feel love for each other because they were siblings. He could not help but break into a wide smile for so much more than the fact that Telkya lived and breathed again. Litiraan stirred as his sister’s hand touched his and his eyes too opened.
“The hobgoblins and the duergar are allied,” Telkya said weakly. “We must finish them and save our kin.”
“And so we will,” said Dulvarna, kneeling beside the elf maid. “Are they strong enough?” The last was asked of Phaledra, who now stood over the elves as they sat up warily.
“They should be,” answered the priestess. “Though they will suffer the effects of what they have been through for several days. Their souls went on beyond this life and were called back. No one can endure such trauma unaffected.”
“You have our gratitude,” said Erlmoor, facing the priestess. “Though my service is pledged to Lathander, my blade is yours to call upon whenever you may need it.”
Erlmoor bowed to the priestess and turned to leave the shrine. The others took their leave in their own ways and made their way out of the chamber. In the cavern outside they did not pause but crossed the cavern to the eastern passage and the hobgoblin lair that yet lurked in the darkness.
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 3)
The companions drew quiet as they neared the double doors at the end of the entry hall, thinking to surprise the hobgoblins they knew to be behind them. They had decided that this way would allow for the best chance of surprise for surely their enemies would not expect them to come from this direction, even if they expected them to return at all. Dulvarna drew her sword and the others followed suit and then they watched as their leader drew near to the doors, leaned her sword against her shoulder with one hand and reached out for the door handles. She turned one iron ring as Erlmoor turned the other and then both hurled the doors open.
Carvings of eyes covered the walls, floor and ceiling of the chamber beyond the doors. An idol of a horrible toad-like creature dominated the area while in the centre of the floor, chains were affixed to the flagstones, though no prisoners were chained there. A huge black wolf lay on the floor nearby, its ears back and its eyes on the door as the companions entered. It raised its head and issued a low growl of warning.
Suddenly, a hobgoblin appeared on a balcony above the southern side of the room and loosed an arrow that drove into Dulvarna’s shoulder. She yanked the arrow from her shoulder and charged at the dire wolf, slashing her blade across the beast’s shoulder. Litiraan followed her into the chamber and loosed a silver bolt from his wand towards the archer, forcing the hobgoblin to duck back. The sound of shouting came from the southern balcony as the wolf leapt at Dulvarna. She dodged aside and slashed out with her blade as she realised what the shouting meant. More enemies were coming!
Erlmoor darted right and rushed up the stairs to the southern balcony with his sword in his hands. Telkya followed him into the chamber, chanting as she came. A bolt of light flew from the amulet in her hand and struck the floor close to the wolf.
Outside the chamber, Lavren heard the shouting and turned aside, heading up steps to his left that he hoped would lead to the chamber where they had last entered the lair. He threw open the door at the top of the steps and surprised a hobgoblin who was just gathering up his bow in response to the alarm from the main chamber. The elf uttered a word of power and loosed a blast of black, crackling energy towards the hobgoblin. The blast flew high over the hobgoblin and struck the wall above its head. The hobgoblin leveled his bow and loosed an arrow that drove into Lavren’s arm and the elf ducked back out of the doorway.
Enlishia watched Lavren go and decided to attempt her own flanking maneuver. Turning right, she made her way down the southern passage, past a torch burning on the wall and a side passage to the end of the passage where a door led eastward. Hearing a small clattering sound, followed by a burst of coarse laughter and angry muttering, she nocked an arrow to her bow and ducked back around the corner. As more clattering and low, guttural voices reached her through the door, she leaned forward flung the door open. The room appeared to be a combination of kitchen, storeroom, and mess hall. Several barrels and a woodpile rested in the kitchen area, where a large cooking fire burned. Hobgoblins, goblins, and a pair of humans were gathered around battered old tables. The room’s occupants looked up in alarm and reached for their weapons.
Erlmoor reached the archer and the hobgoblin threw down its bow in favour of the sword that it drew from its belt. It slashed at him and he parried the blow before roaring and spraying acid on the hobgoblin. The creature reeled back along the balcony and the dragonborn brought his sword in from the left to cut into the hobgoblin’s leg. A silver bolt seared into the side of the hobgoblin and drove it back another step. He looked down to nod his thanks to Litiraan and saw that Dulvarna and Telkya were driving back the wolf with sword and prayer but across from him, he saw a new threat. The chieftain had emerged onto the north balcony and was heading for the stairs.
“The chieftain comes,” he called out.
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 4)
Dulvarna looked up and nodded as she dodged another lunge from the wolf. Behind the chieftain came another archer, presumably the one who had sounded the alarm. This hobgoblin came to the edge of the balcony and loosed an arrow at Telkya, the shaft driving into her arm and forcing her back a step. She yanked the arrow free without flinching and loosed another bolt of light towards the wolf.
Lavren cursed the hobgoblin in elven and called forth flame with his wand that burst from the creature to sear its flesh. He charged then, his sword in his right hand and his wand in his left. He only hoped that there were no more enemies lurking close to this chamber.
Enlishia loosed another arrow into the closest hobgoblin and then darted back up the corridor towards her friends. The hobgoblins and their allies roared their anger and rushed after her and as she fled, she began to yell too.
“More to the south,” she called out. “More come from the south.” She turned as she reached the double doors, sharing a glance with Telkya who looked back at her shouts of alarm. Turning back towards her foes, she nocked an arrow to her bow but then thought better of it and tossed the weapon aside. Drawing her sword, she raised it to meet her enemies. An arrow flew from the far end of the corridor and drove painfully into her shoulder. Without a free hand to snap it free, she left the shaft there. Another arrow flew past her heads and clattered against the steps that Lavren had taken.
Dulvarna heard the warning shouts behind her and knew she had to finish the wolf quickly. Weaving her blade before her she darted left and then twisted on the spot to bring her blade around in a wide swing that clove into the side of the wolf, shattering ribs and piercing the lung beneath. The wolf snarled and bit at her but she dodged back just as the hobgoblin chieftain reached the bottom of the stairs. He hissed at her and stabbed out with his spear, feinting left and then driving it in from Dulvarna’s right and into her thigh. She cried out and staggered back, retreating before both foes now as the wolf wheezed forward, blood pouring from its ruined side. An arrow flew past Dulvarna and clattered into the wall behind Telkya as she completed another prayer. A bolt of searing white radiance lanced out from her holy symbol and drove through the wolf’s chest. With a yelp, the huge beast collapsed to the chamber floor.
Erlmoor slapped aside the blade of the hobgoblin before him and stepped towards the creature but even as he lashed out with his blade, a silver bolt struck the hobgoblin in the chest of pitched it from the balcony to the chamber floor below. Erlmoor looked around for another enemy and started forward along the balcony thinking to circle around to the other archer. Just as he started forward, s trap door opened on the ledge beside the toad-like statue and from it emerged a goblin with a small crossbow in its hand. The dragonborn roared as loudly as he could and charged the newcomer. His blade slashed out and caught the goblin in the shoulder as it threw aside its crossbow and reached for the short, jagged-bladed sword at its belt. Erlmoor roared again and saw that another goblin followed the first up the ladder from the trapdoor below.
Another arrow drove into Enlishia, piercing her hip this time but still she stood form. The hobgoblin archers were jostling in the corridor for the next shot. The ranger put away her sword, picked up her bow again and loosed an arrow into the lead hobgoblin. The shaft drove through the creature’s throat and threw it back into the next of its companions. The next archer shrugged its fallen companion aside and loosed its own arrow at the ranger but it only clattered off the corridor wall as Enlishia ducked back out of sight. Another loosed an arrow as she ducked out from the corner again but it flew harmlessly past her head. She ducked back, nocked another arrow to her bow and prepared to leap out and fire again.
Erlmoor drove his blade into the shoulder of a second goblin as it clambered out of the trapdoor but it rolled to its feet and came up with sword in hand. A man in black leather armour with a mace in his hand emerged next and the dragonborn stabbed at him as well, nicking his cheek as he clambered from the trapdoor. One of the goblins stabbed at the paladin but he parried the thrust and twisted the goblin’s sword out to one side. Another man clambered up to Erlmoor’s right and he slashed out at him then, missing his chance to attack the goblin. He drew blood from the man’s back but still the warrior got its his feet with a mace in his hand. Erlmoor roared, lashed out wildly with his sword and retreated back along the southern ledge to restrict the enemies he would have to fight. The men followed but the goblins knelt to retrieve their crossbows. They had other plans for him.
Telkya flinched as another arrow struck the stone next to the double doors and began praying again. She raised her holy symbol and loosed light from it that seared into the chieftain’s shoulder as he and Dulvarna parried each other’s blows. She looked to Litiraan who was already uttering another incantation of his own. The two of them, brother and sister, together with Dulvarna, would surely defeat the hobgoblin chieftain this time.
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 5)
Lavren slapped aside the hobgoblin’s sword and whipped his own blade across his enemy’s chest, drawing blood from a deep wound and forcing the hobgoblin back into the passage entrance. The creature stabbed out again but again the elf parried and moved forward for the killing blow. Plunging forward, he drove his blade into his foe’s belly and as the hobgoblin fell, he felt the creature’s strength flow into him from his sword and fey magic of his warlock powers fill his soul. He gasped as he transformed into a silver mist that moved along the corridor and then reformed into his elven form halfway down the hall. With sword and wand in hand, he moved cautiously along the hall until the sounds of battle grew louder and the corridor turned to the south. There, at the end of the southern passage, stood a hobgoblin archer, his attention fixed on the battle in the wide hall below him. Lavren turned towards this new foe and leveled his wand at the creature.
Enlishia ducked back around the corner of the passage and loosed one arrow and then a second into the chest of the next hobgoblin coming up the southern corridor. It fell back with both shafts through its breastbone and another stepped over its companion. This was the last archer, though, and Enlishia knew its accuracy was no match for hers. She ducked back around the corner as the hobgoblin started forward, seeking a better shot. The ranger waited for the hobgoblin to round the corner but it never did. Instead, she heard the twang of a bowstring and an arrow drove into Telkya’s shoulder blade from behind. The elf priestess reeled forward and staggered as Litiraan looked around to see where the shot had come from. Enlishia cursed her poor judgment, nocked an arrow to her bow and moved forward to the corner once again.
A small goblin crossbow bolt drove into Erlmoor’s thigh but he paid it no mind. Of more concern were the two human warriors he now faced, blade to blade at the corner of the narrow balcony. Erlmoor parried a mace swing and twisted the warrior away from him but as he did so, another goblin bolt drove into his hip and threw him off balance. Erlmoor lashed out with his blade anyway and struck the man under the arm, almost throwing him off the balcony and forcing him two twist awkwardly to maintain his footing. Erlmoor roared his defiance for all to hear and surged forward again.
Dulvarna feinted low and as the hobgoblin chieftain moved his blade down, she twisted on the spot and brought her blade up high. The sword came down with all the momentum of her spin and all the weight of its mighty blade. Had the chieftain not moved, it would have cloven his skull but although he did it still smashed through the collar bone of his left shoulder and almost severed his arm. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand seared into the chest of the hobgoblin and drove him back a step. With a panicked and pained grimace, the hobgoblin looked back over his shoulder, up the steps. With his spear held awkwardly in one hand, the hobgoblin stepped back and then darted away up the steps. He pushed his way past the archer at the northern doorway, jolting the hobgoblin so that his next arrow flew straight downwards into the floor of the lower chamber. The huge hobgoblin turned through the doorway but was met by an elven curse. A searing black bolt lanced out and struck him in the chest. He staggered back onto the balcony and as the archer watched helplessly, he pitched over backwards to land with a dull thump amidst the chains below.
Telkya ducked back through the double doors, a prayer on her lips and her amulet in her hand. She loosed a bolt of light from the symbol that struck the archer in the southern corridor in the shoulder and sent him reeling backwards. Enlishia ducked around the corner and loosed two arrows, both of which missed the hobgoblin and at that, the creature hissed its defiance at the ranger. Raising its bow, the hobgoblin loosed another arrow that drove into Enlishia’s leg and then retreated back a step down the corridor.
The goblins on the ledge looked anxiously at the fallen chieftain on the floor of the main chamber and turned their attention away from Erlmoor. One rushed across to stand before the toad-like statue and leveled its crossbow at Dulvarna. It let fly the bolt but the missile clattered harmlessly into the stone at the feet of the warrior woman. She pointed her blade at the goblin and then rushed up the stairs towards the archer who still stood in front of the northern doorway, stunned by the fall of his chieftain. Dulvarna’s blade lashed out and brought the hobgoblin back to its senses as it tore into his chest and spun him around to face her. The hobgoblin let his bow clatter to the floor and drew his curved sword from his belt. The archer lashed out and drew blood from Dulvarna’s cheek as she recoiled to evade the blow. A silver bolt struck the stone above the hobgoblin’s head and the archer visibly flinched. Then it heard elven cursed from the corridor to its right and it knew it was doomed.
Chapter 4 - Hidden Light and Brazen Darkness (Part 6)
Erlmoor glanced over at the goblins as they turned their attention to Litiraan and Dulvarna on the floor of the main chamber and smiled as he saw the fallen chieftain, lying broken amongst the chains. He parried one mace blow then but then felt a painful blow strike the top of his right arm before he could bring his blade back across to parry the second blow. The dragonborn snarled and lashed out with his blade, forcing the warrior back from him but missing him by several inches. The dragonborn glanced over at the far balcony just as black, crackling energy flew past the hobgoblin, crossed the room and struck the balcony behind Erlmoor.
“Can’t the elf be a bit careful,” he grumbled to himself before turning his attention back to his enemies.
Enlishia loosed an arrow and then both she and Telkya ducked to the left back into the main chamber. Telkya loosed a bolt of light at the hobgoblin that Dulvarna faught while the ranger turned back to the doorway, another arrow already nocked, waiting for the last archer. It came soon enough, loosing an arrow into Enlishia’s shoulder as it rushed past the double doors. The ranger fell back and coughed, blood filling her mouth. She was more sorely wounded than she had thought. She only hoped that her strength would last. Telkya looked over at Enlishia as blood began to run down her chin and began a healing prayer. Even as she did so, a goblin crossbow bolt drove into her side and almost knocked her from her feet. She staggered and leaned against Enlishia before pushing herself back to her feet and beginning her healing prayer once more.
Erlmoor reeled back again as a mace connected painfully with his forearm as he tried to parry the blows of both his enemies. He lashed out wildly again to drove them back but as he did so, flame filled the balcony before the toad statue and engulfed one of the warriors and one of the goblins. They cringed from the searing fire and Erlmoor took his chance. With a prayer on his lips, he feinted at the warrior wounded by the flame and then swept hiss blade back around to strike at his other foe. The warrior ducked but that only saved him from being beheaded. The paladin’s sword slashed into the side of the warrior’s skull, splitting it open and felling him where he stood. Divine power flowed out from the paladin then, restoring his strength and even reaching Telkya on the floor of the main chamber below. Erlmoor roared his triumph and then, uttering another prayer, he drove his blade into the chest of the other warrior as the paladin’s blade glowed with a golden light. The warrior fell beside his companion and Erlmoor turned towards the goblin before the statue. With another roar, he charged at the creature.
Telkya finished her healing prayer, her strength restored a little by Erlmoor’s prayer, above her on the balcony. Divine light reached out to Enlishia and healed the worst of the ranger’s hurts. She nodded her thanks to the elf and then loosed an arrow at the hobgoblin near the doors. The shaft drove into the shoulder of the archer but it simply turned its head aside tore the arrow from its flesh with its jagged teeth. It loosed an arrow but the missile clattered into the stone next to Enlishia. She smiled with an enthusiasm that she did not feel and the hobgoblin snarled back at her. One would die here, both knew, and both prayed that it would be the other.
Litiraan retreated from the balcony and loosed a silver bolt into the goblin that Erlmoor now faced. The creature had drawn its jagged sword and stabbed at the paladin but the dragonborn had swatted the small blade aside with his own, huge blade. Litiraan heard the click of a crossbow and turned towards the other goblin just as a bolt struck the floor close to his feet. He raised his wand towards the goblin and the creature shrank backwards. Nervously it glanced to its left as Erlmoor drove his sword into its companion’s belly and then hurled the goblin over the balcony to the floor of the chamber below. The dragonborn was upon the goblin a moment later and as it fumbled for its sword, Litiraan began another spell.
Telkya loosed a bolt of light from her amulet at the hobgoblin near the door and as the divine fire struck its chest she saw fear mixed with its pain for the first time. It turned its eyes towards Enlishia as it raised its bow again but it knew that the ranger would be quicker. It drew back its bowstring but as it did so, Enlishia let fly her arrow. The hobgoblin was transfixed as the arrow flew towards it and drove straight through its forehead and into its brain. It bow and the unspent arrow clattered to the floor of the chamber and it collapsed to the chamber floor.
Lavren leveled his wand again and began his most powerful spell, determined to bring down the hobgoblin this time. He uttered the incantation and as he completed it, the hobgoblin screamed and began to shrink from invisible enemies. It dropped its sword on the balcony before Dulvarna while clawing at its own face. Blood poured from self-inflicted wounds and then it reached the balcony edge. With a final scream, it fell over the stone balustrade and landed with a thump next to its fallen chieftain.
Dulvarna stepped over the sword of the fallen archer and rushed at the last goblin. Her blade slashed out and cut into the chest of the creature as it shrank back against the wall. A silver bolt of energy hurled it back against the wall and it lashed out with its sword one last time before Erlmoor swept its head from its shoulders.
“They have been sold,” said Lavren, reading the letter that they had recovered along with other treasures from the hold of the Bloodreavers. He read on. “Sixteen elves taken on the East Way, sold to someone who has signed themselves as Murkelmor Grimmerzhul.” They were gathered in Dulvarna’s room in the Halfmoon Inn and sorting through the chest of treasure they had brought back from the hobgoblin lair.
“How much did they pay?” asked Dulvarna as she held up a chainmail coat which seemed finely made but was incredibly light.
“A thousand gold,” rumbled Erlmoor, reading over Lavren’s shoulder. “A bit more than sixty each.” He turned away with a bitter grimace on his face. He tried a practice swing with the greatsword that they had recovered from the hobgoblins while Dulvarna began removing her scale armour to try on the chainmail.
“Any price would be too little,” said Enlishia. “We have to find this Grimmerzhul.”
“Perhaps we already have,” said Dulvarna. “The duergar we met this morning were from the Grimmerzhul Trading Post were they not. And we were invited to see them there.” The others nodded as they realised the truth of Dulvarna’s words.
“But first we shall rest and eat,” Dulvarna added. “We shall want to face them fresh and well fed.” The others nodded again and as Dulvarna tried some practice swings with her sword in the chainmail coat, the others rose to go down to the common room. Eventually, when she was satisfied that the armour would serve, she followed on behind.
The trading post was a sturdy building of grey stone carved into the cavern’s east wall. A sign above the door displayed an emblem of a hammer and manacles. The front door led to a counter, where two dwarflike creatures stood. They had skin of a sooty hue, bald heads, and stiff beards of rusty orange. “You don’t look like merchants or mages,” said one of the duergar in heavily accented Common. “”What’s your business here?”
“We seek Murkelmor Grimmerzhul,” said Lavren. “You know of him?”
“Can’t say that I do,” answered the same duergar. “We can ask around and see if we can get a message to him.”
“A message?” rumbled Erlmoor, and the others could tell that he was only just restraining himself. “Tell him we want to buy some elves.”
“Buy elves?” answered the other duergar. “Don’t know what ye’ve heard about this Murkelmor but we sell no elves in our clan.”
“Of course not,” said Telkya. “We must be mistaken. What do you sell here?”
“What ye see, elf,” answered the duergar. “Ye want to buy any of our wares?”
“A nice front,” snarled Telkya, starting forward suddenly. “Now tell us where we you take the slaves or I start smashing things.” She drew her sword from her belt.
The duergar reacted immediately, both reaching into their beards for the quills with one hand and drawing warhammers from their belts with the other. They opened their mouths to call out but Lavren began to curse them before they had chance. Purple rays lanced out from his wand, one striking the nearest duergar and the other striking the wall behind the other. Litiraan darted left and with an uttered incantation loosed flame from his wand as the duergar ducked down behind the counter. Telkya began chanting, loosing a searing bolt of flame at the nearest duergar and blasting him back against the shelves behind the counter. Erlmoor circled around to the left of the counter and with a roar, unleashed a spray of acid at the duergar. He draw his sword and lashed out but the dwarf brought up his warhammer and parried. Dulvarna ducked behind the dragonborn as the duergar lashed out at her but she drew her sword and parried the hammer. She twisted the hammer to one side and then brought her blade back but the dwarf, more agile than his form suggested, leapt back beyond the reach of her blade. An arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into the shelves above the counter and the duergar began shouting in their own tongue, presumably summoning aid.
The second duergar threw a quill from its beard that drove into Lavren’s arm and then turned to face Dulvarna and Erlmoor beside his companion. The other dwarf lashed his warhammer in low to strike Erlmoor’s leg painfully and force him back a step. The door beside Lavren opened then and another gray dwarf stood there, its warhammer at the ready. It lashed out and struck the elf’s already wounded arm, sending him reeling back from the doorway. A second duergar appeared beside the first as Lavren struggled to put some distance between himself and the doorway. He turned and loosed black, crackling energy from his wand that struck the lead dwarf in the chest. Litiraan moved to aid Lavren, loosing a silver bolt into the duergar and Enlishia turned her bow upon him but the dwarf came through the door undaunted anyway.
Erlmoor brought his blade down beside the counter and smashed the collar bone of the duergar before him. The dwarf staggered and fell back his warhammer drooping in his hand. Dulvarna saw her chance, swept her blade out and beheaded the duergar. The other dwarf roared and lashed out with his hammer but Dulvarna drew back and the weapon only glanced off her sword hilt and bruised her hand. She ducked to her left to allow Erlmoor to round the counter next to her and together, the two warriors drove back the duergar.
The wounded duergar rushed to the right as he came through the southern door and lashed out with his hammer to strike Litiraan in the side and send the elf reeling away from him. The second dwarf came through the door and rushed at Lavren, lashing out with his hammer and bringing it down in a crushing blow on Lavren’s shoulder. The elf sagged and all but fell, his left arm falling limp at his side. Desperately, he tried to draw his sword from his left him with his other hand while retreating before the relentless duergar. He limped back from the gray dwarves and raised his wand as best he could, trying to conjure flames from within the gray dwarves but none would come. In front of Lavren, Litiraan drew his sword, slashing the blade at the wounded duergar he faced. The dwarf ducked and grinned, recognizing the wand in the elf’s left hand and knowing that Litiraan would likely rather use that than a blade.
Behind her brother, Telkya called a column of light down on the remaining duergar behind the counter and as the divine light burned it, Erlmoor and Dulvarna surged forward, the dragonborn chanting a prayer as he came. His blade glowed gold as he plunged it into the shoulder of the duergar and the gray dwarf fell back. Dulvarna thrust her blade in low, piercing the leg of the duergar just above the knee. The gray dwarf grunted as the leg gave way and he all but fell before his enemies. Behind him, the duergar heard the door open and he knew his leader had come. With a roar, he lashed out with his hammer but Dulvarna leapt back out of his reach. The gray dwarf glanced back over his shoulder, saw his leader enter the chamber and knew that he was saved.
“Ye came to see us then,” snarled the duergar female with shoulder length red hair as she strode into the room. The sword that she held in her hands had hung at her belt when last the companions had seen it and they knew at once that this was the same dwarf that they had met on the way to the temple of Torm. She lowered her sword and pointed it at Erlmoor.
“You shall be first to pay for this effrontery,” she snarled and with a word, she summoned a coiling stream of lightning that lanced out and wrapped around Erlmoor. With a pull of her hands, she dragged the dragonborn across the chamber in an instant until he stood before her. The dragonborn roared but he was helpless until he stood before the duergar, within reach of her blade.
Lavren continued his retreat, desperately working his wounded arm while binding the worst hurts there with cloth. Litiraan retreated with him loosing two bolts of blue white energy from his wand towards the duergar. A thin path of frost appeared on the floor of the chamber beneath each one before fading away and as one struck the wall near the end of the counter, it froze the stone. The other struck the duergar nearest the door and limned its left shoulder in ice. Telkya looked to her brother with admiration, having never seen him cast that spell before and then drew her sword. She charged the nearest duergar, praying as she advanced. Her blade glowed with divine radiance and for a moment, Lavren’s body glowed behind her as healing energy flowed through him. He glanced towards Telkya with a smile as he flexed his formerly wounded arm and then leveled his wand at the closest duergar.
Erlmoor feinted to the left and then brought his blade in from the right, deceiving the duergar female and landing a painful blow to her ribs beneath her left arm. She cursed and staggered and then looked up in alarm as Dulvarna drove her blade through the throat of the remaining duergar guard and came to join the dragonborn. The duergar, called Kedhira by those who knew her, looked to the left and mentally willed her warriors forward, for she would need their aid. As she looked, the duergar, both wounded, drove the elf and the brown haired woman back from the doorway. They would prevail, Kedhira decided and in her own tongue, she bound the dragonborn to her and then lashed out backhand with her blade, tearing into the top of the dragonborn’s chest. He staggered back and with a smile, Kedhira started forward.
Lavren came forward, renewed strength flowing through him from Telkya’s prayer. He leveled his wand at the nearest duergar and uttered a curse and then a spell. Black, crackling energy lanced out and struck the wall next to the gray dwarf he had aimed at. Beside Lavren, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand that struck the duergar that Lavren’s spell had missed. The gray dwarf reeled back against the door frame and Telkya and Enlishia surged forward at the same time. Telkya thrust forward with her blade but the other duergar parried the attack with his hammer while Enlishia slashed her blade towards the head of the duergar wounded by Litiraan. The dwarf recovered enough to duck under her blow and her blade struck only the door frame.
Erlmoor surged at the duergar female chanting a prayer as he came and as his blade glowed brightly, he thrust it into the gray dwarf’s shoulder. Dulvarna came in from the other side, her blade weaving a hypnotic dance until she thrust it towards the belly of the duergar. The dwarf darted left and Dulvarna’s blade jarred into the stone beside the doorway. Dulvarna cursed and stumbled forward only to be met by the hilt of the duergar’s sword punched into her face. Her nose broke with a crack and she reeled away, blood pouring down her face.
Lavren loosed another blast of black energy that struck the wall close to the nearest duergar. Litiraan loosed another silver bolt and again struck the duergar in the chest, forcing him backwards. Telkya drove her blade into the hip of the duergar before her but Enlishia again struck the stone above the head of the gray dwarf she faced. The duergar snarled their resentment and hatred and came forward again, one striking Telkya’s leg with his hammer and the other smashing the haft of his weapon in Enlishia’s chest and forcing her back. The elf and the ranger braced themselves for the next flurry attacks, parrying desperately as they waited for aid from Erlmoor and Dulvarna.
Erlmoor roared and surged forward, smashing the hilt of his blade into the face of the female duergar. Dulvarna followed the dragonborn forward and as the duergar reeled from his blow, she drove her sword into the dwarf maid’s chest. She staggered, sank to her knees and as she did so, Dulvarna drove her blade through her throat. Kedhira the duergar fell forward in a spray of blood to die at Dulvarna’s feet and together the warrior woman and the dragonborn turned away to aid their companions.
Another black bolt from Lavren’s wand seared into the wall beside the door and another curse escaped from the lips of the elf. Litiraan loosed another unerring silver bolt into the duergar closest to the door and Lavren glared at the wizard as though his poor aim were the elf lord’s fault. Suddenly, Erlmoor appeared in the doorway behind the duergar and plunged his blade into the dwarf’s back. With a gasp, the duergar fell to the floor at the feet of his enemies. Dulvarna rushed around from behind the counter and charged at the last duergar. The dwarf desperately tried to bring his hammer across from his right where he had parried Telkya’s sword but he was too slow. Aecris pierced his chest and drove through his left lung into his heart. He fell beside his companion.
“We should go, quickly,” said Enlishia, as they tended their wounds in the outer chamber of the duergar trading post. “Even here, and even with duergar, such attacks are likely not looked upon favourably.”
“We should search the place first,” said Telkya. “Let us not forget that we came here seeking our kin. I would learn their fate while we are here.” She immediately began searching the shelves while Litiraan moved into the room to the south, apparently a dining room. The others, excluding Enlishia, spread out to other rooms to search for clues. The ranger remained behind in the outer chamber with an arrow nocked to her bow, once she had barred the door to the trading post.
“I have a map and a letter,” Lavren called eventually from the southeastern chamber of the trading post.
“And a passage leads south from here,” Litiraan called from the southern end of the large back room that formed the heart of the trading post.
The companions gathered, Enlishia included at the southern doorway that opened onto a corridor that led away into the darkness.
“A way that leads deeper into Thunderspire,” said Dulvarna. “But where does it go to.”
“The southern way is named the Road of Shadows on the map,” said Telkya, leaning over the map with one hand on Lavren’s shoulder. “And this letter is also from Murkelmor Grimmerzhul. It requests provisions to feed new merchandise.”
“Then your kin yet live,” said Enlishia. “But where are they to be found?”
“The Road of Shadows leads to the Horned Hold, according to this map,” said Telkya, leaning forward over Lavren now. “Our kin must be there.”
“It would make sense for the duergar here to have a passage that leads them towards their kin,” said Dulvarna.
“Perhaps,” rumbled Erlmoor who had been silent so far. “But perhaps we should ask around the Hall first.”
The others looked to him, Telkya visibly slumping down to drape herself over Lavren’s shoulder. The moon elf tried to pay her no mind but the closeness of her distracted him from the matter at hand. He thought of Thira and how she would feel about him desiring someone else so soon after her death but he knew she would not mind. She was a creature of whim, fancy and desire as he was. She would understand.
“We will ask around,” said Dulvarna. “But we will be quick about it. If some react badly to what we have done here, we would do well to be away from the Hall when they do.”
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
