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!
The companions rested in the eastern end of the chamber for a few hours while Telkya tended their wounds and then examined their way forward. Doors led out of the room to the north and south at the eastern end of the room and after some debate, they opted for the southern portal. This led them into a winding passage that turned left and right before turning east and opening into a wide chamber with its floor, ceiling and walls covered with thick, rich earth. Before them, the companions saw a dense thicket that reached from floor to ceiling, forming a wall that would force them to turn to the right or to the left. A dim yellow glow filled the room, and the thickets were dense enough to block vision. Their vines were covered with long, sharp thorns making them a barrier to passage as well as to sight.
“We go this way,” Erlmoor announced and started forward down the right hand path.
He had not gone far when he paused as he saw a creature around the corner ahead of him. It had brown skin similar in texture to tree bark and was dressed in a ragged grey tunic and breeches. It had a short sword on its belt and as the dragonborn started forward, it drew the blade and then shrank away to the north. Once it had retreated a certain distance, it seemed to blend into the vines and thorns its stood next to and vanished.
“Arboreans,” Erlmoor called out as he recognised the rarely seen forest creatures.
Then he paused as he saw a horse-sized bore covered in thick, bristly hair. Its muscled legs pawed and stamped as it saw the paladin and its great tusks quiver with bloodlust. Slowly it turned towards Erlmoor and he knew that it would charge.
“A boar!” he called out to the others. “They have a boar as well.”
Litiraan rushed forward to aid Erlmoor, raising his wand and his sword as he reached the area of tangled vines and roots in which Erlmoor now stood. He moved forward slowly to stand at the dragonborn’s left shoulder and made ready as best he could for the boar’s inevitable charge. When it came, the beast charged in a fury of hooves and tusks, grossing the ground between it and Erlmoor in a heartbeat. As it reached the dragonborn, he stepped to one side and as it lashed out with its horns, he leapt back. Frustrated, the boar backed up a few steps and snorted, sizing up its foe. Erlmoor raised his sword and prepared to meet its next surge forward.
Dulvarna looked nervously toward the left hand passage past the thicket before her but then decided that Erlmoor needed her aid more. She rushed forward to where Litiraan stood and then surged into battle, raising her sword above her head and then bringing it down on the boar’s back. The beast squealed and snorted and moved back another step, out of reach of its foe’s dangerous blade. It regarded the dragonborn and the warrior woman with fierce eyes and pawed at the ground as it prepared to charge again.
Telkya looked to the left and the right but quickly made up her mind. She raised her sword and took her amulet in her left hand before starting off down the left hand passage.
“This way,” she called back to Lavren and Enlishia. “We may be able to come around behind the boar.”
The elf maid rushed off down the narrow left passage that snaked around to the left and then left again, doubling back toward the west wall of the chamber. A buttress of stone formed the left wall of the passage as it doubled back and hid her companions from view. The passage widened and turned right ahead of her then and as she turned right, she saw movement. There, a few steps away to her right, stood a brown-skinned man-like creature in a tattered grey tunic and trousers. With a start, she turned toward the creature, recognising it as an arborean as Erlmoor had though she had no way to know whether it was the one that the dragonborn had encountered.
“More enemies!” she called back to the others. “Use fire against the arboreans. They fear and loath it.”
“I have no fire,” Enlishia said as she rounded the corner and nocked an arrow to her bow. “Only this.”
The ranger raised her bow to aim at the creature and as she did, Lavren rounded the corner and raised his wand. The forest creature stepped back as it realised that it was outnumbered and Lavren moved to stand beside Telkya. As he did, he saw beyond the elf maid and the arborean, a hunched crone clad in tattered garb who had been moving away but now turned back to face the companions. She wore dusty robes and seemed to be muttering, hissing and moaning to herself.
“A hag,” Lavren hissed quietly. “A manifestation of all that is dark and terrible in nature.”
Telkya nodded as her husband identified the creature and raised her amulet. The hag hissed and started back toward the companions. The hag rushed past the arborean to the right and crossed the open space into which Lavren and Telkya had ventured. Then it turned and let out a terrible howl that struck Lavren like a hammer blow. He was thrown back, past Telkya and toward the arborean that still stood with its blade held ready. The creature stabbed its blade into the elf’s thigh and he reeled away from his enemy, dazed and wounded.
Erlmoor stepped forward and struck at the boar, cleaving his sword into the beast’s side and driving it back and away from him. Behind the dragonborn, Litiraan sensed the battle was all but won and as he had no way of loosing a spell at the creature that would not hit his friends, he turned away and headed back to the entrance to the chamber. Hearing the sounds of battle, he turned north and rushed after Enlishia, Lavren and Telkya.
The boar, meanwhile, pawed the ground and rushed at Erlmoor but again the paladin leapt back and to the left and the beast’s terrible tusks gored at nothing but air. Lavren plunged her blade into the creature’s left flank as it swung its head back and forth and with another squeal, it retreated. The beast regarded its enemies with a fierce desperation in its eyes and pawed the ground as it prepared itself for one final charge. Then, suddenly, Dulvarna sensed movement to her right and looked back over her shoulder. There, another brown-skinned arborean rounded the corner, this one dressed in long, grey robes as tattered as its companions clothes had been. In its right hand, the creature wielded a scythe and it came forward with a stern determination.
“More enemies behind us,” Dulvarna called to Erlmoor.
“Then we had best kill this boar quickly,” the dragonborn answered.
Telkya loosed a bolt of golden divine energy from her amulet toward the hag but the creature stepped to its left and the bolt flew past to strike the wall beyond. Enlishia moved forward and raised her bow, loosing two arrows quickly. One drove into the hag’s shoulder, drawing a screech from the crone but the other streaked past, clattering into the wall behind the creature. Lavren, finally recovered from the hag’s assault, rushed at the arborean that had wounded him. He feinted to the left and then drove his blade into the creature’s right hip. It staggered back and slashed out with his own blade to try and keep the fierce elf at bay. Lavren paid its sword no mind and came forward again in a rush.
Erlmoor rushed at the boar again but as he started forward, he felt a sharp pain sear across the bottom of his back. He turned and looked over his right shoulder to see that a second scythe-wielding arborean had rushed at him and wounded him with its scythe. He growled at the brown-skinned creature and then leapt at the boar, driving his blade into the creature’s skull. The beast lashed out with its tusks one last time as Erlmoor leapt away from it and then it slumped to the earth floor and died. With a roar, Erlmoor turned on the spot to face his new enemies and raised his blade again.
The hag crossed the open space to rejoin the arborean and as it did, it turned and howled at the companions again. Lavren and Enlishia were hurled against the west wall and reeled away along it while Telkya was hurled back into the passage between the wall of the thicket to the south. The arborean rushed after Telkya, stabbing its blade into her shoulder and driving her back into the south wall of the passage. She cried out and as she did, a silver missile streaked past the arborean and struck the west wall. Looking to her right, Telkya saw that her brother had come to aid her and knew that she would not fall to her bark-skinned foe.
Dulvarna turned to face these new foes and as she did, a tunic-clad arborean wielding a short sword, appeared as if from nowhere a few feet away. It rushed at her and stabbed out with its blade but she swept her own sword across and knocked its weapon aside. She twisted Aecris back up and across and slashed the blade across the creature’s chest, tearing its tunic and the bark-like skin beneath. Then another of the scythe-wielders rushed into the battle, slashing out with its long weapon and tearing a painful wound in Dulvarna’s left shoulder. She cried out, falling back a step as she did but her enemies kept coming toward her and she realised that these foes would be harder to slay than the boar had been.
Telkya lashed out desperately with her sword and thought for a moment that her blade would drive into the arborean’s side but at the last, the creature parried with its own blade. Beyond the arborean, Lavren and Enlishia had recovered enough to loose arrows and black bolts of energy at the hag and from the screeches she heard, Telkya judged that the creature was being hurt further by their attacks. Then the hag howled again and both were thrown back along the wall again beyond Telkya’s sight. Seeing its foe’s distraction, the arborean came at the elf maid then and though she parried as best she could, again its blade snuck through, piercing her hip this time. She fell back into the wall and Litiraan hurled another silver bolt from his wand but still the creature kept coming. Telkya began to doubt her victory then, wondering if this strange creature would in fact defeat her.
Erlmoor roared at the new foes before him, spraying acid from his mouth that seared the robes and skin of the two scythe-wielders. Erlmoor surged forward, lashing out left and right with his blade but each time, the scythe-wielders before him met his blade with their own blades ot the shafts of their long weapons. To the right of the dragonborn, the sword-wielder rushed at Dulvarna and drove its blade into her hip, forcing her back a step. She came back forward almost at once, her blade dancing back and forth before her until she leapt at her foe and thrust Aecris into the arborean’s thigh. It staggered and reeled back a step, dragging its wounded leg with it. The scythe-wielders came forward in a fury next, both slashing their weapons at Erlmoor. The paladin parried desperately, somehow managing to keep both at bay for a few moments more.
“Do we hold here?” he asked Dulvarna as the arboreans drew back for a moment.
“For now we do,” Dulvarna answered. “And we hope that the others come to aid us.”
Telkya was also hoping for aid as she raised her sword again and uttered a prayer to Corellon. She stabbed out with her blade and drove it into the side of the arborean before her. As the sword struck home, a surge of healing energy passed along it and into Telkya, restoring some of her strength and spirit. To the north, Enlishia and Lavren resumed their assault on the hag, the ranger loosing two arrows, one of which drove into the creature’s side. Lavren loosed more black energy but the blast flew wide of the hag as his first had. Then the hag howled again and the elf and the ranger were hurled painfully into the north wall of the chamber.
The arborean before Telkya seemed to smile as it heard the hag howl again and then rushed at the elf maid with its blade before it. It stabbed out with its sword but Telkya dodged to the left and slapped the blade away with her own weapon. To her right, Telkya heard Litiraan chant another spell and this time, a curtain of flame seared from his wand. The fire engulfed the arborean, burning its clothes and the skin beneath but also tore into the thicket to the elf’s right. From beyond the thick thorns and vines, the hag screeched as the flames reached her too and for the first time since the battle had begun, Telkya smiled.
Erlmoor surged at the two scythe-wielders, feinting at the one to his left and then sweeping his blade across into the side of the other arborean. The creature fell back but as it did, the sword-wielder rushed at Dulvarna and drove its blade into her thigh. She staggered back a step but then lashed her blade low into the creature’s left leg, sending it reeling back from her. The scythe-wielders rushed at Erlmoor a moment later, slashing their weapons high and then low to cut wounds in the dragonborn’s right thigh and left hip. He roared and staggered back from his enemies while they kept coming forward and parried desperately, hoping as Dulvarna had hoped that aid would soon come.
Telkya loosed a bolt of divine power from her amulet that narrowly missed the fire-scarred arborean and the creature took another step back as though it pondered retreat. Beyond the creature, Telkya saw Enlishia rush into the open space again and turn her bow on the hag. The ranger loosed two arrows quickly and the hag screeched as they drove into her chest and belly. Lavren came forward to join his friend, turning his wand on the hag and this time, the bolt of black, crackling energy he loosed, drove into the hag’s chest. The crone gave one final screech of pain and anger and then fell to the earth floor. The arborean seemed to panic then but gestured with its left hand as though reaching down and raising something from the ground. Moments later, thorn-covered vines burst forth from the ground and seized Lavren, Litiraan and Telkya, their spikes piercing their flesh and their powerful fronds holding the three companions in place. The bark-skinned creature turned and fled around the corner of the hedge maze, rushing east and then vanishing from sight as it blended into the green background of the thickets.
Erlmoor chanted a prayer to Lathander and as his blade glowed brightly, he struck out at the scythe-wielder before him, slashing his blade into the creature’s shoulder. A surge of healing energy flowed up the sword and into the dragonborn, restoring some of his strength but then the arboreans came forward again the paladin and the warrior woman were pushed back onto the defensive. A scythe tore into Erlmoor’s shoulder and drove him back but beside him, Dulvarna held firm, holding her enemy at bay. Still, the assault was furious and both Dulvarna and Erlmoor began to wonder whether the time to retreat was at hand.
Telkya and Litiraan struggled against the vines that held them and could not break free but Enlishia, unhindered, started after the fleeing arborean. She reached another open space to the east with a square pool at its centre and heard the sounds of battle to the south. She started to turn the corner but as she did, the burned and wounded arborean appeared beside the thicket next to her and stabbed out at her with its blade. The sword plunged into the ranger’s right thigh and she twisted away while reaching for an arrow to nock to her bowstring. To her left, she saw Dulvarna and Erlmoor fighting fiercely against three arboreans and knew that she had to slay this one so that she could go to their aid.
Erlmoor looked back as he heard movement behind him and saw Enlishia face to face with another arborean. Realising that his friends were not far away, he summoned all the strength he had left and raised his sword above his head to strike a mighty blow. The blade came down and clove into the shoulder of the arborean before him. The creature collapsed to the floor and dropped its scythe though it was not slain and reached out quickly to recover the weapon.
The sword-wielder came at Dulvarna in a rush again but she was ready and parried each of its sword thrusts before countering with a sweep across the arborean’s chest. Dulvarna swept Aecris on and as the scythe-wielder that Erlmoor had felled tried to rise, her blade clove into its left arm and sent it lurching to the right. The creature hissed and lashed out wildly at Dulvarna, the scythe’s point driving painfully into her left thigh. She staggered and fell back, wondering if retreat was truly the only choice now, but then she heard Enlishia’s bow sing behind her and knew that she and Erlmoor had to hold.
Enlishia leapt back from the arborean she faced and loosed an arrow into the creature’s chest. It lurched back and as it did, the ranger nocked another shaft to her bowstring and fired. This arrow drove into the creature’s throat and burst out the back of its neck. The arborean seemed to gasp and hiss and then it collapsed to the earth floor of the chamber.
The arboreans came forward again and a scythe drove into Erlmoor’s side, forcing him back and away from his enemies. The dragonborn roared and spun around, his blade singing out but slashing through nothing but air. The sword-wielder rushed at Dulvarna but she parried its sword thrusts with typical skill and then countered. As she came forward, a silver bolt flew behind the creature and both she and the arborean looked to the west from which the bolt had come. There stood Litiraan, his wand in hand, and another spell on his lips. Dulvarna smiled and slashed her blade across the bark-skinned creature’s belly forcing it back as she drove her blade on into the side of the scythe-wielder next to it. The creature still managed to lash out with its scythe and gouge another wound down Erlmoor’s arm from shoulder to elbow. As the dragonborn reared back, Telkya arrived in the southern corridor behind Litiraan and loosed a golden bolt of energy that seared past the sword-wielder’s back. The arboreans wavered for a moment but then the other scythe-wielder lashed out with its weapon, driving the point into the side of Erlmoor’s chest. With a gasp, the dragonborn fell before his enemies.
Lavren cursed the arborean sword-wielder from the southern passage and loosed a bolt of black energy that seared into the creature’s side. The creature was thrown to the floor where it lay unmoving, its sword fallen from its grasp. Litiraan loosed lightning from his wand that seared into both of the remaining arboreans. One of the scythe-wielders collapsed next to its fallen companion and the last began to waver as it realised that it faced six enemies alone. Dulvarna rushed at it then, moving to stand over Erlmoor’s fallen form to protect him from further harm. Her blade sang out and clove into the arborean’s left arm sending it reeling away.
Telkya rushed forward to aid Dulvarna, slashing her blade at the arborean while uttering a healing prayer. She held her amulet towards Erlmoor and a tendril of golden light reached out to touch the dragonborn. His eyes opened at once and began to drag himself back into the northern passage so that he could rise to his feet. As he did, the arborean suddenly lurched forward as an arrow drove into its back. Another drove into the thicket next to the creature and as the companions looked, they saw Enlishia coming forward down the passage behind the arborean. The creature flew into a rage then, lashing out with its scythe and driving the point into Dulvarna’s hip. She fell back a step and the arborean came forward but then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck it in the side and kept it at bay. Erlmoor rose beside Dulvarna with a roar and the creature knew then that it was beaten.
The dragonborn rushed at the creature and slashed at with his blade, the steel tearing into the creature’s arm. Litiraan appeared behind the creature in a shower of light and stabbed at it with his blade while Dulvarna thrust her blade into its belly. The arborean staggered and as it did, Telkya leapt forward and drove her sword through its throat. With a hiss, it collapsed amongst its companions and the battle was over.
Once they had tended to their wounds, the companions found a passage leading south out of the maze chamber close to where the final battle with the arboreans had taken place. The corridor led a short way south and then ended at double doors. Dulvarna and Erlmoor raised their swords and held them against their shoulders and then each reached out for the iron ring handles of the doors. They pulled open the portals at the same time and revealed a wide, square chamber. The floor was thick, loamy soil, and a wide pit with sharply sloped sides had been dug to dominate the centre of the room. On the sides and a the bottom of the pit were what looked like several masses of vines, rocks and soil, all pressed into clumps perhaps ten feet wide. Across the pit stood a creature with goat-like horns, holding a set of reed pipes and with a longbow slung over its shoulder.
Enlishia rushed into the chamber first and raised her bow as she looked down into the pit. There, the mounds of vegetation were starting to move, extending tendrils of vines and roots as though questing for prey. She looked over at the goat-horned creature and recognised it as a satyr, a capricious and sometimes violent woodland creature. Enlishia nocked an arrow to her bow, intending to fire into the pit but as she did, the satyr reached for his own bow marking him as an enemy. She raised her bow and loosed an arrow that flew past the satyr to clatter into the stone wall behind it. She nocked and fired another arrow quickly but this too flew wide of the mark. The satyr drew an arrow from the quiver at its belt, nocked it to its bow and fired. Enlishia dodged to the right and the arrow struck the stone wall behind her. She reached for another arrow and raised her bow to fire again at the satyr.
Telkya rushed into the chamber behind Enlishia and circled around the opposite side of the pit. She raised her amulet and loosed a bolt of golden light into the satyr’s side that drove it back from the edge of the pit. With a roar, Erlmoor charged into the chamber and circled around to the left, passing Enlishia and rushing to meet the satyr with his blade. At the same time, Litiraan circled around the other side of the pit until he stood beside Telkya. He raised his wand and uttered a spell that hurled a silver bolt toward the satyr. It struck the creature in the shoulder and drove it back another step from the pit edge. A moment later, a crackling bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand struck the satyr and the creature reeled toward the south wall of the chamber. Lavren smiled for a moment but then two tendrils of plant matter lashed out from the pit and seized Telkya by an arm and a leg. Sharp thorns drove into the elf maid’s skin and she cried out as suddenly, the tendrils jerked her forward and she plunged down the slope into the pit.
Dulvarna cried out and rushed into the chamber, hurling herself headlong down the north slope of the pit. As she reached the plant creature, she lashed out with her blade, hacking at the vines and fronds that made up the body of this strange creature. Across the pit, a door, unnoticed by all, opened next to Enlishia and from it emerged one of the robed arborean scythe-wielders. It lashed its scythe out of the doorway and drove the point into Enlishia’s right leg, forcing the ranger back against the east wall of the chamber. As the ranger staggered, two fronds lashed out of the pit from another of the plant creatures. One struck the wall next to her but the other lashed into her side, tearing at her flesh and sending her reeling. Desperately, Enlishia tried to retreat but as she looked to the left, she saw more movement in the pit and behind the first arborean, another scythe-wielder came forth. The creature swung out its scythe and Enlishia leapt back, just beyond the reach of its terrible weapon.
Enlishia raised her bow and loosed an arrow into the nearest arborean before retreating away from her enemies along the edge of the pit. She looked back toward the satyr and saw that the fey creature had turned its bow toward Litiraan and loosed an arrow at the wizard. The shaft drove into the elf’s left arm and threw him back into the wall. In the pit, meanwhile, Telkya stabbed and slashed her way free of the plant creature’s body and began to retreat up the slope. She held her blade before her and knew that the creature would attack her again before she could get free. She looked around for aid and saw Erlmoor moving along the far edge of the pit. The dragonborn paused as though sensing her gaze and then charged at the satyr with a roar.
The paladin reached the satyr before the creature had chance to react and slashed his blade across and up into the creature’s belly. It gasped and staggered back, its legs all but giving way beneath it and before it could recover, a silver bolt and a black bolt of energy seared into it, throwing it back against the south wall of the chamber. It looked pleadingly at Erlmoor for a moment and the dragonborn shook its head.
“You have chosen poor allies,” he growled and the satyr scrambled away from him.
Telkya scrambled back up the slope desperately but as she did, two tendrils lashed out to seize her, one around her leg and the other around her throat. Sharp thorns drove into her flesh and blood poured from her wounds. She gasped and gagged as blood filled her throat then merciful blackness took her. The creature dragged the elf maid’s lifeless body into its own and enveloped her with thorns and fronds for a second time. Dulvarna cried out and lashed out at the creature but though her blade tore at the fronds, leaves and thorns, it seemed to do no harm. Again the warrior woman cried out and as she did, both Lavren and Litiraan let out strangled cries of their own. Telkya was surely lost to them and her brother and husband were consumed with grief.
The arboreans came forth from the side chamber they had occupied, one rushing along the edge of the pit toward Enlishia. It lashed out with its scythe and she leapt back again but still the vicious weapon caught her left arm and spun her into the wall. Tendrils lashed out from the pit, one tearing across Enlishia’s abdomen and another tearing open her throat. Blood flowed down the ranger’s body and she staggered as a wave of nausea and pain assailed her. Finally, she fell to her knees and collapsed as blackness took her.
The second arborean rushed along the northern edge of the pit toward Lavren and Litiraan while the satyr leapt desperately away from Erlmoor. It raised its bow and fired an arrow into the dragonborn’s left arm but the paladin paid it no mind and came forward again. His blade sang out, clove through the satyr’s neck and beheaded the creature where it stood. Its body toppled over to its left and slid down into the pit. The dragonborn looked back along the pit edge and saw that Enlishia had fallen. He raised his blade and rushed off around the southern edge of the pit and then along the eastern edge to meet the arborean that stood over his friend.
Lavren and Litiraan turned toward the pit and loosed silver and black bolts of arcane power into the plant creature that had consumed Telkya. The creature lashed out with its tendrils and enveloped Dulvarna, thorns tearing at her arms and legs as it drew her into its body. The warrior woman fell amidst the vines, fronds and leaves but kept hold of her sword and lashed out with all her strength at the creature. The fronds around her fell back as her sword cut through them and she pulled herself free of them, clambering away, back up the sloping pit wall.
“We have to get away from here,” she called to the others. “Telkya is lost to us.”
Erlmoor heard his companion’s shout and glanced to his left, seeing the truth of his friend’s words. He had no time to contemplate retreat, though, as the arborean leapt over Enlishia and lashed out with its scythe. He brought his sword down and met the scythe with a strong parry. He roared his defiance but as he did, tendrils lashed into his legs tearing into his flesh and dragging him from his feet. He slid down the pit side and into the mass of another of the plant creatures. As he looked up, another of the arboreans was rushing at Lavren and Litiraan and the dragonborn knew that defeat was at hand.
“Get all you can away from this place,” he roared to Dulvarna on the pit’s northern slope but he had no idea whether she heard him as the plant creature consumed him.
Lavren met the arborean at the northwest corner of the pit and raised his blade but the creature swept its scythe in low and slashed a deep wound across the front of his right thigh. He looked down into the pit and saw that the plant creature had moved toward Dulvarna leaving Telkya’s broken form to roll free. Lavren looked desperately for signs of life but could see none and felt tears filling his eyes. He leapt away from his arborean enemy and lashed his wand to the left with a guttural cry. Purple bolts of energy lanced into the pit and seared into two of the plant creatures and for the first time, the one that had felled Telkya seemed to shrink back.
Beside Lavren, Litiraan tried to drag his brother-in-law away from the pit as he moved towards double doors in the western wall of the chamber. He reached the doors and hurled them open but as he did, he turned and uttered a spell that loosed a curtain of flame into the plant creatures in the pit. The creature that Dulvarna fought, lashed out wildly at the warrior woman and wrapped two thorn-covered tendrils around her body. Dulvarna twisted and ducked out of the plant creature’s grasp before lashing her blade into the creature, tearing it in half. The vines and fronds fell back lifeless and Dulvarna clambered out of the pit. She reached down and dragged Telkya onto the ledge beside her before pulling a potion from her belt.
“Help your sister,” she said to Litiraan as she held out the potion vial.
As the plant creature enveloped him, Erlmoor roared again, spraying acid onto the creature’s fronds. He lashed out with his blade as the creature recoiled and tried to free himself but still, several vines held him fast. Others snaked out to securely hold him and he felt thorns pierce his side painfully as he struggled. He felt the creature moved across the floor of the pit Tendrils lashed outward from close to where the dragonborn was held and he knew that the creature sought more of his companions to join him as its prey.
Litiraan watched as both of the remaining plant creatures slid across the pit floor toward the western edge. One lashed out two tendrils at Dulvarna but the warrior woman ducked under the thorn-covered appendages. The other creature lashed out fronds at Litiraan and while he ducked one, another struck the side of his leg and tore open the flesh there. He reeled away and looked down into the pit just as Erlmoor burst forth from the back of one of the creatures with a roar. A burst of golden, divine energy flashed out from the dragonborn as he freed himself and as Litiraan reached out for Dulvarna’s potion, he felt movement at his feet. Looking down, he saw poor bloodied and broken Telkya open her eyes and smile weakly.
Litiraan smiled back and found himself filled with a new determination that the companions would not be defeated here. He raised his wand and loosed an amber orb of flame into the pit that burst over the two remaining plant creatures. Further along the edge of the pit, Lavren saw Telkya’s eyes open and filled himself with a determination similar to Litiraan’s. He cursed the arborean as it came forward, attacking its mind but the plant creature ignored the assault and kept coming toward him.
Dulvarna rushed past Lavren and met the arborean blade to scythe as it rounded the corner of the pit. Her blade danced before her and then she struck out but the plant creature brought its scythe down and parried. Suddenly, Litiraan sensed movement to his right and turning, he raised his blade and parried the descending scythe of the other arborean as it tried to slash at him. The elf threw his blade to one side and pushed the arborean back a step but it came forward again quickly. Litiraan raised his blade but as he did, a tendril lashed out and seized him around the waist. Thorns drove into his body and blood flowed down to his waist but then another tendril lashed out and seized the elf around the neck. He gasped and then the tendrils jerked and he was dragged into the pit.
Dulvarna parried the scythe of the arborean as it swept high towards her throat but then the creature swept the blade around and down to drive the point into the warrior woman’s thigh. She cried out and staggered back before slashing her blade across to drive the scythe away. She looked back and felt her spirits rise as she saw Telkya rise to her feet at the pit edge. The elf maid closed her eyes and vanished in a shower of light motes, appearing a moment later on the southern edge of the pit. She rushed around to the eastern edge, hoping against hope that Enlishia yet lived. Dulvarna saw her run and admired her courage. They would not fall here, the warrior woman decided. They could not.
Erlmoor decided similarly in the pit and abandoned all efforts to strike at the plant creature. Instead, he turned and clambered up the sloping northern edge of the pit. A tendril lashed out at him but he threw himself low against the slope and the appendage swept over his head. He moved to the open northern doors and then turned back to the pit, uttering a prayer as he did. He held out his blade and a ribbon of divine fire burst forth, searing into the plant creature that had imprisoned him and burning away some of its fronds and vines. The dragonborn roared his defiance one more but then he realised that he could not see Litiraan. The elf had been taken by the plant creatures as his sister had been.
Lavren looked left and right and realised that he stood alone against the arborean that advanced along the western edge of the pit. Uttering a fey spell, he vanished and then reappeared against the northern wall beside the doors and not far from where Erlmoor now stood. He raised his wand and summoned fey wolves to arrack the closest of the plant creatures in the pit, the jaws of beasts tearing at the fronds and leaves of the creature. It shrank back toward the south and as it did, Lavren’s gaze followed it. It was then that he saw Litiraan, imprisoned within the other plant creature. The monsters in the pit had claimed another of the group’s number and the others had left Litiraan behind.
Dulvarna saw her companions gathered near the northern doors and realised that this was their only hope. She raised her blade above her head and brought it down heavily onto the shoulder of the arborean before dancing around to her left toward the doors. The creature’s knees buckled but did not give and the creature raised its scythe. Behind the creature, the other arborean rushed along the western edge of the pit and charged at Dulvarna. It lashed out with its scythe and drove the point into Dulvarna’s hip, spinning her into the wall behind her. Tentacles lashed at the ledge in front of Dulvarna but fell short of her and she moved left along the north wall toward her companions. She looked down at the potion vial that was now in her belt once more and knew that she would need it if she was to escape this terrible place.
Telkya rushed to Enlishia’s side, a healing prayer already on her lips. She uttered the prayer and divine light snaked out toward the fallen ranger. As it touched Enlishia, she opened her eyes and slowly began to move. Telkya rushed on and through the northern double doors out of the chamber.
“We have to go,” she called to the others, her voice breaking. “We cannot gain victory here.”
Erlmoor looked toward the northern corridor and then rushed forward to aid Dulvarna. He uttered a prayer and forced a part of his remaining strength into his blade as he drove it forward into the side of the arborean that the warrior woman yet faced. He thrust his blade deep into the creature’s body and as it reeled away, he drew back as well. Beside the dragonborn, Lavren raised his wand and loosed ribbons of eldritch fire at the nearest of the plant creatures in the pit. It vines and fronds withered and blackened in the fire until the creature was nothing more than a husk and lay unmoving on the northern slope of the pit. Lavren watched the creature die and then rushed into the northern passage after his beloved Telkya.
Dulvarna saw the plant creature die and reached for the potion at her belt. She unstoppered the vial with her teeth and drank the healing draught quickly before raising her blade and summoning the last of her strength. She lashed out her sword and cut a deep wound across the neck of the arborean before her, sending it reeling away. It fell over the edge of the pit and slid down to lie beside the burned remains of the plant creature. The warrior woman leapt to the left to stand beside Erlmoor on the northern edge of the pit as the last arborean rushed at them both, swinging its scythe out before it. Dulvarna met the weapon with her own blade and forced it away from her but as she did, a tendril from the last plant creature lashed across her left leg and almost swept her from her feet. She cursed and looked around to see where her friends were. She saw Enlishia rise to her feet and rush around the pit to the safety of the northern passage and she knew that she had done all she could to save her companions.
Beside her Erlmoor retreated from the arborean and broke away to reach the safety of the northern passage,. Telkya raised her voice in prayer and called a column of divine light down on the remaining plant creature in the pit but it was too little and too late, Dulvarna knew. Litiraan was lost to them now and could not be saved and so Dulvarna drew back from her enemy and then turned and fled to the safety of the northern passage. The battle was over and the companions had lost one of their number. They fled northwards as black grief consumed them.
This encounter is very tough in my opinion and the PCs here were lucky to get out having lost only one of their number. Admittedly I had added an extra arborean to account for 6 PCs facing it but even without this it would have been hard to get through.
I played the decision to retreat as a pragmatic one that the PCs would take but looking back on it, I'm not sure it entirely fits the character of all of the group. Lavren certainly would take a pragmatic view but Dulvarna and Erlmoor would be less likely to. Anyway, I decided that the PCs would retreat to avoid losing more of their number and thus, a very likely TPK was avoided.
The companions eventually stopped and rested in the chamber with the tilting floor, each one throwing themselves down on the floor and letting grief consume them. At first, once Telkya realised that Litiraan had not followed them, she wanted to go back, but Lavren held her back until she collapsed, broken, into his arms. All slept fitfully for a few hours with two keeping watch in turns and when they rose, they were all decided that they would turn north from the chamber away from the terrible plant creatures. Dulvarna led them through the north door in silence and when they emerged onto the rope bridges over the water-filled room that the harpies had guarded, she turned east without speaking. The companions climbed the stairs into the ettin’s chamber with the pit of corpses at its centre and there they stopped, for before them stood a man with bushy dark, shoulder length hair and a wild-looking beard. He knelt beside the fallen ettin, apparently examining the corpse. He wore a fur-trimmed tunic of deerskin and trousers of the same hide. At his belt hung a short stick, tied with bones and bird feathers while in one hand, he held up a long scythe.
“An arborean?” Telkya asked from behind Dulvarna.
“I think not,” answered the warrior woman.
“Fear not,” said the man as he turned to regard the newcomers. His nose was flat, his features bestial and his eyes were a bright green.
“I am no enemy but a lost traveller much as you are,” the man continued. “My name is Thorn Valerian and I am one of the few druids who still guard the Hullack Forest.”
“Well met, Thorn,” Dulvarna answered. “I am Dulvarna of Eveningstar and my companions are called the Defenders of Winterhaven.”
“How came you here?” Enlishia asked.
“I tracked a bandit named Gharash Vren,” Thorn answered. “My circle had been petitioned by the Lord of Sunset Hill to find Vren and his band. She offers a purse of gold for the man’s head.”
“And this place entrapped you as it did us?” Telkya asked though she already knew the answer.
“It did,” answered Thorn. “And now I know of no way to escape and no way to find Vren. Your work?”
As he asked the last, he gestured down to the blackened corpse of the slain ettin and the bloated bodies of the insect-like creatures in the pit.
“Yes,” Dulvarna answered. “And now we have returned here to seek another way. Terrible plant creatures lurk to the south and have slain one of our number. You are welcome to travel with us for we too seek a way out of this place.”
“I am grateful to you,” said the man sternly. “And if we find Vren within this place and live to claim the bounty of Lord Kelana Dhoram then we will share it between us.”
The companions decided to go north again from the pit chamber so as to keep moving away from the arboreans and their servants. A long passage led north from the room toward double doors at its far end but before it reached the doors, a passage branched off to the right and double doors opened on the left. After a moment’s indecision, Dulvarna turned aside into the right hand passage.
“We shall not take a chance on leaving enemies behind us,” Dulvarna said as she started down the side passage and the others nodded their agreement.
The passage ended after perhaps twenty feet at a staircase that descended before the companions. As Dulvarna descended the stairs, she saw that they disappeared into murky water that covered the floor of an oddly covered chamber that opened up before her. Three other stairways led out of the chamber and a platform floated atop the water on the eastern side of the chamber. A heavy door stood in the wall beside the platform and two hulking, reptilian creatures rose from the water near the middle of the room. Around them, three smaller figures swam and as Dulvarna reached the bottom of the stairway, they turned toward her and hissed.
Dulvarna raised her blade high and then waded out into the water to her left, ready to meet the blackscaled creatures in the middle of the pool. Enlishia waded into the pool behind her with her bow above the water level which came to just higher than her waist.
“Lizard folk,” she called to the others. “Fierce fighters and used to water.”
“They haven’t seen me fight yet,” Thorn called back from the steps as he came forward.
Enlishia nocked an arrow to her bow and loosed it at a greenscale lizardfolk near the north wall. The shaft drove into the creature’s shoulder and the first splashed of red blood stained the water. She loosed a second arrow but this time, the water rippled around her and threw off her aim, the arrow clattering into the wall behind the creature. The shaft splashed into the water close to her enemy and the ranger cursed that she would not be able to recover the shaft. Since entering the pyramid, she had recovered all of her spent arrows to keep her quiver full and every one lost was a blow to her.
Telkya leapt into the water next to Enlishia and loosed a bolt of golden light toward the nearest of the black-scaled creatures only for the divine fire to hiss into the water to the right of the lizardfolk warrior. It hissed its derision but a moment later, Lavren jumped into the water at the base of the steps and loosed a black bolt of energy that seared into the blackscale. The creature reared back, roaring its anger and pain at the warlock.
The lizardfolk came forward then, the greenscale to the north leading the attack despite the arrow that still protruded from its shoulder. It rushed at Dulvarna as though the water was no obstacle and stabbed out at her with its spear. She twisted to face it and slashed down with her sword to drive the greenscale’s spear into the water to her left. One of the huge blackscales came next, rushing forward and swinging a massive spiked club at Dulvarna. The warrior woman ducked under the blow and then leapt back to try to stay beyond the creature’s reach.
Thorn leapt into the water next, wading straight toward the nearest of the blackscales. He halted a little way into the pool and raised his totem stick in his left hand. He waved it before him while uttering garbled phrases in a low mutter. The incantation reached its conclusion and a howling gust of icy wind swept around the centre of the pool between the two blackscales. The one before Dulvarna leapt away but the other creature roared in pain as the terrible wind savaged it.
The greenscale in the far northwest corner seemed to hiss at the druid then before swimming forward to stand just behind the two blackscales. The creature raised its left hand and began chanting its own incantation. Suddenly, the water around the companions began to grown darker and thick, cloying mud took hold of their feet. Dulvarna leapt free of the sticky mud but the others, apart from Erlmoor who had not yet entered the water, were stuck fast.
The second blackscale surged at Dulvarna a moment later, lashing out with its club as its companion had, only for the warrior woman to duck again and avoid the blow. Erlmoor rushed into the water to meet this second blackscale, roaring as he did so. As he reached the creature, he roared again and this time, spat acid from his throat, the dark liquid searing the skin of the nearest blackscale and the greenscale shaman behind it.
Dulvarna retreated beyond the reach of the huge blackscale’s club and then lashed out to her left, slashing her blade into the hip of the greenscale next to her. The creature reeled back, more blood staining the water around it. Enlishia loosed an arrow into the blackscale to try to keep it from advancing and then fired again but her second shaft flew wide of the creature and clattered into the far wall of the chamber. Telkya loosed a golden bolt of light into the same blackscale and then Lavren loosed a crackling black bolt into the chest of the other dark coloured lizard creature. Both reeled back but recovered quickly, surging through the water at the companions.
At the same time, the greenscale next to Dulvarna thrust its spear forward, driving its point into her thigh below the water. She fell back and it stabbed at her again but this time, she lashed her sword across and knocked the thrust aside. The blackscale’s club swept across at her next, striking her right shoulder hard and spinning her away from the greenscale toward Enlishia and Telkya. Then, suddenly, the water around the southern steps frothed and churned and Thorn was sucked under the water. The druid burst from the water a moment later right in front of the nearest blackscale and next to Erlmoor. Thorn rushed at the blackscale and as he did, his features warped and changed into those of a large, black bear. The bear that was Thorn rushed at the lizard creature and tore at its leg with its claws before spinning away and splashing down into the blood-stained water.
The lizard folk reeled back apparently as stunned as the companions were by the druid’s transformation. The shaman eventually reacted first, circling around behind the blackscales and the greenscale that Dulvarna had wounded to stand near the northwest corner of the room. It raised its left hand again and uttered an incantation that brought forth a cloud of noxious fumes from the dark water of the chamber. Telkya and Enlishia were engulfed and as their lungs burned they staggered and bent over, coughing painfully.
As Thorn the bear resurfaced beside the blackscale, the lizard creature turned toward the druid and lashed out with its club. The huge, spiked weapon struck only the water with a splash as the bear reeled back out of reach. Erlmoor started forward to take advantage of the distraction that Thorn was providing but as he did so, the water around the southern stairs frothed and surged again, sucking the dragonborn toward it. He resisted the pull of the water with all his strength and then leapt away to the blackscale’s right. As he did, he lashed his sword out to his right and drove it into the side of the lizard creature sending it staggering away from him. The blackscale turned and the second greenscale rushed around to its left to tackle Thorn’s bear form. It stabbed its spear into the bear once and then a second time, red blood staining the water around Thorn. The bear’s only response was a roar of anger and the greenscale stepped back before the wrath of the druid’s beast form.
Dulvarna surged forward at the greenscale and the blackscale, feinting at the smaller creature and then driving her blade into the belly of the blackscale. It roared in pain and staggered backward away from the fierce warrior woman. Behind Dulvarna, Enlishia recovered enough from the fumes to raise her bow and momentarily considered wreaking revenge on the shaman before instead, taking aim at the blackscale that Erlmoor fought. She raised her bow and loosed one and then a second arrow, both of which drove into the creature’s chest just below its left shoulder. The creature staggered back again and as it did, first a golden bolt from Telkya’s amulet and then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck its chest. The creature reeled back another two steps and then fell backwards into the water amidst a growing stain of its own blood.
The lizardfolk roared their defiance and surged forward as one then, the greenscale stabbing its spear into Dulvarna’s side and then into her hip and sending her staggering away from it. The remaining blackscale swung its club across before the warrior woman had chance to recover and slammed her back toward Enlishia. A moment later, the water surged around the southern stairway again and Thorn’s bear form was sucked beneath the surface. The druid reappeared in human form close to another stairway in the southern wall of the south-eastern part of the chamber. He started toward the nearest of the greenscales, raising his totem as he came. He uttered an incantation and again called forth the chill wind to assail the lizardfolk. This time, though, the greenscale nearest to the wind, dived under the water and avoided its biting cold. Then Thorn saw the shaman circling around the other greenscale and the blackscale before diving under the water to swim towards him. In that moment, he knew that he would fight a battle to the death with the magic-wielding lizard creature.
Erlmoor rushed at the remaining blackscale while raising his voice in prayer. His blade glowed brightly as he swung it at the lizard creature and it drove into the blackscale’s side, cutting a deep wound. The creature roared and reeled away from the paladin but as it did, the greenscale that had attacked Thorn rushed in from the dragonborn’s right. It drove its spear into his right thigh before he had chance to react and then stabbed again but this time, the paladin met the shaft with his blade, knocking it aside. Erlmoor turned back toward the blackscale and retreated but as he did, Dulvarna surged forward behind him and plunged her blade into the belly of the blackscale. It gasped, staggered back a step and then fell back into the water with a splash.
Finally fully recovered from the fumes, Enlishia raised her bow and loosed one arrow and then a second toward the greenscale that had wounded Dulvarna. Both arrows drove into the creature’s right side and sent it staggering back from the warrior woman. Telkya and Lavren both turned their attentions to the other greenscale, golden and black bolts striking the creature in the chest and driving it away from Erlmoor. The greenscale before Dulvarna smashed the butt of its spear into the side of the warrior woman’s head and then drove its point into her shoulder. She staggered back and away, her strength fading quickly.
In the southern part of the chamber, Thorn took on his bear form once more and surged at the shaman with a fierce roar. A rage took him over then and his claws grew longer as he lashed out at the lizard creature, striking its shoulder and spinning into the wall next to it. The shaman retreated along the wall and again called fumes from the water to engulf Thorn but in his bear form, he barely noticed the noxious gas. He surged forward again with a roar and the shaman retreated before him.
Erlmoor heard the bear’s roar and acknowledged it with one of his own before surging at the greenscale with a prayer on his lips. His blade glowed brightly and struck the creature’s side with a thunder clap that threw the greenscale off its feet and down into the water. There the creature flailed for a moment, its blood pooling around it but then it jabbed its spear towards Erlmoor’s legs. The dragonborn leapt back and the lizard creature rose from the water, driving its spear forward into the paladin’s right shoulder.
Behind Erlmoor, Dulvarna retreated from her enemy, trying desperately to get her breath back. As she did, Enlishia took her chance, and loosed two more arrows into the lizard creature. It snarled its defiance and came forward after Dulvarna anyway. It had barely taken a step when a bolt of golden light from Telkya’s amulet struck it in the chest and a moment later, a black bolt from Lavren’s wand followed. The creature stopped and staggered but then roared and lunged at Dulvarna. The warrior woman had recovered enough of her strength by then to react quickly and he blade swept left and right to knock aside the greenscale’s spear thrusts. It roared again, realising that it was doomed, and then dived forward for one last attack.
Thorn rushed at the shaman again, lashing out with his claws and slamming the lizard creature into the wall again. The creature staggered back, holding a spear in its right hand to protect itself, and then it dived to its left. There was a rush of water and the shaman vanished underwater and for a moment, he thought that the creature had escaped him. Only then did he see a dark shadow beneath the surface a few feet away from him and apparently across the entrance of what he knew from bitter experience, must be one of the pipes that dotted the chamber. With a roar, he started toward the battle that his companions faught but then suddenly turned aside toward the hidden shaman.
Erlmoor roared and rushed at the greenscale before him, lashing his blade out and striking the creature’s shoulder, spinning it away to its left. The greenscale stabbed at him and he parried down and to his right but then the creature thrust its spear forward again and drove it into the dragonborn’s right leg. He staggered but did not fall and as he glanced back to see how Dulvarna fared, the warrior woman swept her blade up high and drove it into the side of the greenscale she faced, just below the creature’s armpit. It hissed its last breath and then collapsed sideways into the water. An arrow drove into the last greenscale as Erlmoor turned back to face it and then a golden bolt followed by a black, crackling bolt struck the creature. It looked down at its seared and wounded chest for a moment and then fell over backwards into the water.
The shaman realised that it had been found as Thorn shifted back from bear from into his not-dissimilar human shape. The druid raised his totem stick and uttered an incantation just as the lizard creature broke the surface to breathe. A chill whirlwind engulfed it then, bitter cold tearing at its head and forcing it to break the surface of the water fully. The shaman raised its left hand to respond with an evocation of its own but as it did, the water surged around it and sucked it under for a few moments. It surfaced in the same place and, realising its mistake, it swam away toward the northern steps. Only then did it turn and call forth the now familiar noxious fumes from the water around Thorn. The druid held his breath and ignored the burning in his eyes while staring defiantly at the shaman. It retreated another step towards the northern stairway but it was already too late for it.
Erlmoor waded through the water as quickly as he could and managed to reach the northern steps ahead of the shaman. Behind him came Dulvarna with her sword and Enlishia with her bow raised and an arrow nocked. The ranger let fly and the arrow drove into the greenscale’s chest. A second arrow followed a moment later, this one driving into the creature’s side. The shaman staggered, hissing its pain and anger but as it did, Telkya uttered a prayer to Corellon. A golden bolt of light seared out from the elf-maid’s amulet and tore into the greenscale’s side before bursting out of its chest. With a final gasp, it collapsed into the water.
After hearing from Thorn that the southern ways out of the chamber were blocked by water pipes, the companions decided the take the northern stairway out of the chamber. They rested for a moment on the steps and tended to their wounds before continuing on their way and as they did, some voiced questions that all had in their minds after Thorn’s display in battle.
“I had heard rumours that druids could change shape,” Erlmoor rumbled as the companions gathered up their belongings to move on. “But I had never seen it. Truly you are a fierce warrior in battle.”
“My beast from grants power but my bloodline gives more power still,” answered Thorn. “My line is descended from werewolves and it is this that grants me a fury in battle when I am wounded.”
“And does it ever possess you?” Enlishia asked. “As the wolf form possesses those cursed with it.”
“I always have control over my actions,” Thorn answered as he picked up his scythe from where it rested against the stairway wall. “But the battle fury is fierce in me as it is in all warriors.”
The druid started up the stairs and the others followed him, more puzzled now by their new companion, than they had been before.
At the top of the stairs, double doors opened into an L-shaped room that bent around to the right and ended at another set of doors. Dulvarna and Erlmoor led the group forward to this next set of doors and as they reached them, they held their weapons against their shoulders in a now familiar routine and each reached for an iron ring handle. They pulled open the doors together and revealed a great hall with five massive pillars lining its walls. Three heavy double doors led out, as well as two narrow passages but one set of double doors was almost entirely hidden behind a pile of rubble and debris. Several figures stood arrayed around the hall, steeling themselves for battle and a few moments after the companions had opened the doors, the centre set of double doors opened. An impressive looking dragonborn in a mail coat and with a large sword in his right hand stood framed in the doorway.
“So we have visitors,” he sneered.
Telkya moved past her companions and went into the chamber ahead of them, moving right to stand next to one of the pillars. She raised her amulet in her left hand and her sword in the other and uttered a prayer that loosed a bolt of golden fire into the chest of the nearest man. It seared through his ribs, and burst out of his back. The man’s mouth opened agape and he fell back onto the stone floor, dead. Dulvarna rushed at the man nearest her as he fumbled with the club in his hand. Her sword swept out high, clove through his neck and his head rolled to the floor. His body followed a moment later.
Erlmoor followed Telkya and Dulvarna into the chamber, rushing at the last of the three men who stood near the door. His blade swept out from right to left and clove into the man’s side before driving through his body and bursting out in a shower of blood on the other side. The man’s body fell to the floor of the chamber in two halves both of which were rapidly surrounded by pools of blood and gore.
“An impressive start, but no one has yet defeated Gharesh Vren,” the dragonborn snarled.
With that, he charged at Dulvarna and as he reached her, he roared, spewing lightning from his mouth. Dulvarna turned away but Erlmoor was struck in the side and sent reeling away towards Telkya. Vren lashed out with his sword then, slashing it high towards Dulvarna’s throat as she recovered from evading his breath weapon. She brought her blade up at the last moment and parried the blade over her head. Behind Dulvarna, Enlishia rushed into the chamber and stopped in front of the pillar that Telkya stood next to. She raised her bow, aimed and loosed an arrow that flew straight and true to drive into the shoulder of the dragonborn. It reeled back and staggered and as it did, it inadvertently avoided the second arrow that the ranger had loosed, which flew past its right shoulder. Then, a low growl came from the corridor from which the companions had emerged and Enlishia knew that Thorn was coming for the bandit that he hunted.
Thorn burst from the side corridor as a black wolf the size of a small pony and rushed at Vren in a fury of teeth and claws. He leapt as he reached the bandit and seized its left arm in his jaws, tearing at the flesh and refusing to let go. Lavren emerged from the side corridor behind the druid and moved to stand beside Erlmoor. He turned, raised his wand, and then cursed the bandit in elven. Black, crackling energy burst forth from his wand and seared into the dragonborn’s left side as he tried desperately to shake himself free of Thorn. The dragonborn lurched and staggered and finally, the druid in wolf form fell free of his enemy’s arm and the bandit raised his blade again.
Telkya moved to stand beside her husband, uttering a prayer as she came. Golden light lanced forth from her amulet and struck the dragonborn in his left side driving him back another step away from Dulvarna and Thorn. Dulvarna surged forward after the dragonborn and lashed her blade into the side of his left leg. He limped back a step but then raised his blade again and as he did so, the door to the north behind him opened as did another somewhere else in the wide hall.
“You should have finished me while you had the chance,” the dragonborn sneered. “My allies are coming.”
A man appeared to the right of the companions with a club in his hand but Erlmoor paid him no mind and rushed at the bandit. He chanted a prayer as he charged and as his blade glowed brightly, he swung it out from right to left and drove it into the side of the blue-skinned dragonborn. Again the bandit staggered and lurched back but this time, his armour seemed to glow and as it did, it mended itself. Vren smiled at the paladin and then raised his blade above his head to bring it down on Dulvarna. The warrior woman brought her own blade up and met the dragonborn’s sword, holding it just above her head. The bandit snarled at her and then reeled away.
“To me, men!” he called out. “Your leader still stands and fights here. Rally to me!”
From the northern door came a man with a crossbow in his hands and a club on his belt. He rushed to the nearest pillar and took cover there while loading his weapon. Another man with a club circled around to the north and moved to aid his dragonborn leader. Enlishia saw his approach and circled around to the right to stand just in front and to the side of Telkya. She raised her bow and loosed one arrow toward Vren that flew wide and struck the wall but then she turned her bow on the newcomer. She aimed and loosed an arrow toward the man with the club, the shaft driving through the man’s throat. He staggered back, reached up toward the shaft that had pierced him and then fell dead to the stone floor.
Thorn leapt at the dragonborn but the bandit leader seemed to have regained much of his strength. He leapt to one side and the druid in wolf form landed clumsily next to him. Another man emerged from the northern room a moment later with a bolt already loaded in the crossbow he carried. He raised the weapon, aimed and let fly, the bolt driving into Erlmoor’s right arm. The dragonborn roared in pain and turned his gaze to regard this new threat. Lavren loosed a bolt of black energy at Vren but this, too, flew wide of the mark and the dragonborn snarled his derision at the efforts of the companions. More club-wielding men came from the north and from the east and for the first time in the battle, all the companions feared that it was turning against them.
Telkya turned her attention to the newcomers in the chamber and raised her voice in prayer to call down a column of light to burn the nearest crossbowman. The light descended from the ceiling of the chamber and engulfed the man, searing his skin and sending him reeling back behind the pillar with his companion. Dulvarna surged forward at the same time, her blade dancing back and forth before her. She lunged forward to strike at the dragonborn’s hip but at the last moment, he lashed his sword across and drove hers aside. To the left, a man with a club rushed at Erlmoor but the paladin was ready and leapt back, slashing his blade across where he had been standing to meet the clumsy swing. He lashed out with his blade to cut the man down but with surprising skill, the bandit leapt back and parried with his club. Erlmoor snarled his own derision then but then Vren came forward once more.
The bandit leader came at Dulvarna with a furious assault but the warrior woman met each blow with her own blade and held the dragonborn at bay. One of the crossbowmen moved from the pillar to the north to another further east and then fired his weapon, the bold driving into Lavren’s thigh. The elf cried out and staggered back and as he did, a man with a club rushed at Enlishia from the right. The ranger retreated, raised her bow and loosed an arrow that drove into the man’s chest, piercing his heart. He fell back and collapsed onto the stone floor, his blood pooling around him. Enlishia raised her bow again and loosed another arrow, this shaft driving into the side of the head of another of the club-wielding bandits. He too, collapsed to the stone floor, dead beside his companions.
To Enlishia’s left, Thorn retreated from the battle, his wolf form rising to its back legs and then shifting until the druid stood where the wolf had, scythe and totem stick in hand. He raised the totem stick high above his head and uttered an incantation. As he did, thunder seemed to roll from just behind Gharesh Vren and the bandits that now faught beside him. The thunder boomed and as it did, lightning lanced out toward the bandits. Two of the club wielders were struck and hurled across the floor to lie unmoving amogst their companions. Vren and one of the crossbowmen leapt back as the lightning lanced out and avoided the terrible wrath of nature. The crossbowman let loose his weapon a moment later, the bolt nicking Erlmoor’s cheek and momentarily dazing him. He took a step back and as he did, a bolt of black energy seared across in front of him and struck the side of the bandit leader. As Vren reeled and staggered, Telkya came forward and loosed a golden bolt of light that flew past the dragonborn and struck the wall next to him. He roared his defiance and then Dulvarna rushed at him.
The warrior woman came in at the bandit leader with renewed fury, her blade darting left and right and for each parry that the dragonborn managed, another blow crept through. Dulvarna’s blade slashed into the bandit’s right hip and his left thigh while nicking his flesh in several other places to leave him bleeding and weakened once more. Erlmoor rushed at Vren next, feinting to the left and then bringing his sword in low from the right to drive into the dragonborn’s shoulder. As the bandit leader spun away, the paladin spun on the spot himself and slashed his blade into his enemy’s side. Vren roared and lashed out wildly with his own sword but Dulvarna met it with her sword, bare inches from her face, and then forced the dragonborn away. From somewhere a crossbow clicked and Lavren cried out again as a bolt drove into his hip. Enlishia’s bow sang and two arrows flew past Vren to clatter into the wall but beyond it all, Thorn’s voice was raised in another incantation. A chill, icy wind rose up around the dragonborn and Gharesh Vren staggered to his right. The wind gusted again, slamming him into the wall and he fell to the stone floor, his head trailing blood down the wall.
Another crossbow clicked and a bolt flew out to drive into the top of Erlmoor’s chest. The dragonborn gasped and reeled backwards, dazed and wounded. Lavren picked out the man who had fired the bolt and raised his wand, loosing a bolt of black energy toward the man that struck the pillar next to him. Telkya rushed at the man, slashing her blade at his head but he ducked and the sword struck the stone of the pillar as Lavren’s spell had done. Dulvarna rushed at the man in a fury, her sword plunging forward and driving into his shoulder. He fell back, throwing down his crossbow and fumbling for the club at his belt. Only then did the others hear Erlmoor’s voice raised in prayer. Dulvarna and Telkya both looked back at the dragonborn as he held his blade before him and down the blade flowed ribbons of light. They burst from the tip of the sword and seared into the crossbowman, tearing open his chest and bursting forth from his back. He crumpled to the floor of the chamber and died as his companions had.
There was a burst of sudden movement from behind the pillar to the east as the last of the bandits seemed to be fleeing. He rushed to the eastern set of double doors and pounded on them with his fist. Then the man began moving the rubble in front of the door frantically as though desperately trying to clear the floor before the doors.
“We have to stop him,” Enlishia said at once, raising her bow and firing at the man.
An arrow and then a second drove into the man’s back but still he kept working frantically. Then, a moment later, something slammed against the double doors and they fell outwards over the rouble, snapping in two as they did so. Onto the top of the sundered doors, leapt a huge, grey wolf creature that crouched on all fours but seemed otherwise man-like in shape. It turned to the right to the man who had freed it and snapped at his arm, tearing at the limb and dragging him toward it.
“Ignore the man,” Thorn called as he rushed forward. “The werewolf is a far greater threat.”
The druid raised his totem stick and uttered an incantation before raising the implement before him. A white blast of icy air shot out from the end of the stick and struck the werewolf in the chest but the beast paid the blow no mind. Lavren moved past the druid and loosed a black bolt from his wand that also struck the werewolf but still it concentrated its fury on the bandit that had freed it.
Telkya came forward next, calling forth a searing beam of light from her amulet that flashed past the werewolf and into the chamber behind it. Erlmoor and Dulvarna came forward with their blades raised but both held back, wondering how the battle with the crossbowman would end. Both paused to get their breath back while the werewolf faught the man that had released it. The crossbowman, meanwhile, retreated and then turned and fled toward the southern door beside Lavren. The elf lashed out wish his sword, cutting a wound across the man’s back but still he fled into the chamber beyond the door to the south and the werewolf began sniffing the air, seeking another victim.
Enlishia moved forward to stand beside Erlmoor and loosed one arrow and then a second into the fierce creature but still it seemed not to heed the wounds. Instead, it snarled and leapt across the chamber lunge at Lavren. Its teeth seized the elf’s right arm and dragged him toward it until he shook his arm free, tearing open a deep wound in the limb as he did so. Thorn called forth an icy wind behind the creature but it leapt at Lavren again and avoided the blast of frosty air. Lavren leapt back into the passageway that the crossbowman had fled down and loosed a blast of black energy from his wand wildly. It flew over the head of the werewolf and the creature paused, sniffing at the air as though deciding whether to pursue the warlock. Telkya loosed a bolt of golden light from her amulet that also flew over the head of the werewolf and it turned its head toward her for a moment before turning back towards Lavren and letting out a low growl.
Dulvarna charged at the creature then, raising her sword above her head and bringing it down on the werewolf’s back. It roared in pain and turned around to face the warrior woman. Erlmoor charged in behind Dulvarna, chanting a prayer as he came and thrusting his blade forward. It drove into the creature’s side with a thunder clap and the werewolf was thrown to its right to land on its side on the floor. To the south, the fleeing crossbowman opened another set of doors and slammed them shut behind him and was gone from the battle but still the werewolf faught on, struggling to get back to its feet.
Enlishia circled around to the double doors from which the werewolf and loosed two arrows at close range into its struggling form. Still it rolled to its feet and lashed out with its claws at Dulvarna and Erlmoor. The warrior woman ducked under the flailing limb of the werewolf but Erlmoor was struck in the side and sent reeling into his companion. Behind the others, Thorn shifted form again into a black wolf and leapt forward to meet the werewolf. He bounded at the creature but it leapt back out of the way and the druid’s wolf form landed beside the were wolf. As Thorn landed, Lavren loosed a bolt of black energy over him that seared into the werewolf’s side but still it focused its rage on Dulvarna and Erlmoor.
Telkya circled around to the left to stand beside Dulvarna and from there, she loosed a golden bolt of light into the werewolf’s arm. Still the creature paid no mind to any of the companions other than Dulvarna and Erlmoor. Dulvarna danced in at the creature but as she lashed out with her blade in a mighty swing, the werewolf reared back out of her reached. As it came down onto all fours again, Erlmoor charged in and with a huge overhead blow, drove a deep wound into the beast’s back. It roared and turned toward him but as it did, Enlishia loosed an arrow from where she stood next to the rubble pile and the shaft drove into the werewolf’s side. The arrow splintered as it pierced the creature’s body and the roared again in pain. It lashed out with both its claws and swatted both Erlmoor and Dulvarna away, sending them reeling. As the two companions staggered away, the werewolf raised its muzzle to the ceiling and let out a mournful howl. Then Thorn in his own wolf form leapt at the beast and it turned its attention back to the battle.
Lavren cursed at the creature from the southern passage and called forth invisible spectral beasts that snapped at the werewolf from behind with vicious, snapping jaws. Again the beast roared as more and more wounds were inflicted upon it. Telkya loosed another bolt of golden light into the creature and then Dulvarna and Erlmoor charged at it again. Dulvarna drove her blade into the beast’s side and for the first time it reeled unsteadily. Erlmoor drove his own blade into the creature’s left side and as he did, a burst of white light erupted from his sword. New strength flowed through him and Lavren but still the werewolf sensed that the dragonborn was wounded and rushed at him. It snapped out with its jaws but the paladin leapt back beyond its reach and as he did, two arrows drove into the beast’s right shoulder form Enlishia’s bow. It reared, snarled and then danced to the right as Thorn rushed in and snapped at the beat with his own canine jaws. The two beasts faced each other for a moment and seemed to share a sadness but then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand seared into the werewolf’s side and the moment was gone.
Telkya hurled another bolt of light into the creature from its right and then Dulvarna and Erlmoor charged at the creature, their blades slashing into its flesh. The werewolf snapped out at both but they leapt back beyond its reach only for it to leap at Erlmoor and seize his arm in its jaws. The creature shook the dragonborn to the left and then let go, hurling him into Thorn’s wolf form as it crouched next to the paladin. Enlishia raised her bow and fired one arrow after another, both clattering into the wall beyond the werewolf. Thorn leapt at the creature seized its left foreleg in his wolf jaws for a moment only for the savage creature to lash out with the limb and throw him aside. He rolled over on his back and the werewolf lunged forward, tearing at his legs with its own jaws. Only when a bolt of black energy struck the werewolf did it let go of the druid’s wolf form and then the creature snarled in wrath. It cast about left and right, desperately seeking some way to defeat the enemies that were killing it.
A bolt of golden light from Telkya’s amulet struck the creature next and sent it reeling to its left. As it staggered, Dulvarna and Erlmoor rushed at it again, their blades singing out and cleaving into the flesh of the werewolf. Enlishia loosed more arrows, one driving into the werewolf’s shoulder and another flying past its head. It turned and roared, rushing at Erlmoor but the dragonborn leapt back beyond its reach. Thorn came in at it from the opposite side, his wolf teeth seizing its left back leg and digging in. The creature snarled and turned to face this new threat but before it could bite at him, the druid danced back out of its reach. A bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand flashed past the beast’s head and it staggered as its many wounds weakened it. Then, Dulvarna and Erlmoor charged in at the creature in one, final onslaught.
The warrior woman and the dragonborn drove their blades into the werewolf’s right side and though it turned to bite at them, it was slowing now and they leapt quickly back beyond its reach. The creature snarled at them but as it did, Enlishia’s bow sang out and an arrow drove into the beast’s throat. It gasped and let out a whimper just as a second shaft followed the first and buried itself in the werewolf’s neck. The creature reeled, staggered and then fell to the floor, dead.
“We have to chase down the bandit who escaped lest he bring more enemies down upon us,” said Thorn as the companions tended to their wounds and he began cutting off the head of the dragonborn bandit, determined to provide that the man had been slain as he had promised.
“Agreed,” rumbled Erlmoor. “There may be more bandits lurking beyond these rooms and if we rest here, they could come upon us unawares.”
“You are both right, though I mislike going after a fleeing enemy when we are wounded,” Dulvarna said. “Still, we have little choice.”
“Well I for one think that we can defend this place,” Telkya said, as she examined the fine suit of mail that Gharash Vren wore. “We need rest and should take it.”
“Agreed,” Lavren spoke up unsurprisingly as he started to remove the mail coat from the fallen dragonborn bandit. “We rest here and go on when our strength has returned.”
“Without wishing to deadlock us, I have to agree with Lavren and Telkya,” Enlishia said. “I am unwounded but the rest of you are, especially you, Erlmoor. We should not risk defeat by going into battle at less than our full strength.”
“Very well then,” Dulvarna said finally. “We will not argue over this. We rest here and go on as soon as we are able but we set watches out here and secure ourselves in the two western rooms.”
They rested for what they guessed was the remainder of the day with Lavren and Erlmoor sleeping poorly, their rest disturbed by dreams and fever. Despite this, the companions had no choice but to head south when they woke and so they entered the southern chamber warily. The double doors in the south wall of the chamber opened onto a short hallway that opened out into a wide hall that held four statues. The carvings depicted armoured heroes, standing in poses that suggested their prowess but as the companions entered the hall, they began chanting, such as might be heard as part of a divine ritual or a prayer service.
“We go through here as quickly as we can,” said Dulvarna.
She crossed the room and opened double doors in the south wall to reveal another short hallway that opened into another wide hall. Behind her, the others hesitated and Lavren, thinking the statues harmless, moved over to one that stood against the south wall.
“My servant is held by devils in my chapel,” the statue said, interrupting its chant. “Free her!”
Lavren leapt back in surprise and then rushed after Dulvarna. As he rushed down the southern hallway, he called out to the warrior woman.
“One of the statues spoke of its servant being held by devils in a chapel,” he called out. “We have to free her!”
“They chant an ode of praise to Torm, Ilmater and Bahamut,” Erlmoor called out as he started after the others. “Any who serves them is worthy of rescue.”
He rushed past Dulvarna into the southern hallway and saw a passageway leading east from the room.
“There!” he called. “The chapel must lie that way.”
Enlishia, Telkya and Thorn joined the others in the southern hall and together, they made their way warily to the east. The passage passed by a southern passageway and had double doors in the north wall before it ended abruptly in a stone wall to the east.
“There are doors here,” Dulvarna called out as she rushed toward the northern double doors. “Make ready!”
She pulled open the doors as Lavren reached her side and sure enough, revealed a chapel with two plain benches set across the room in front of the two companions, before a plain altar adorned with candles. A palpable air of divine power radiated from the room and before the altar knelt a young woman with long, auburn hair. She wheeled in surprise as the doors opened, her eyes wide with fear. At the same time, the Head of Vyrellis whispered to Lavren from the pouch at his belt.
“It’s here, somewhere,” the elven princess said quietly. “I can feel it.”
Erlmoor and Enlishia moved past Dulvarna and Lavren into the chapel, moving left and right, respectively along the outside of the two benches. Thorn and Telkya followed, each warily holding weapons and implements at the ready lest the woman prove to be a threat.
“Help me,” the woman pleased suddenly, rising to her feet. “Bandits brought me here as a prisoner and I escaped from them but now I am trapped her. If I go near the doors, devils appear and force me back.”
“It’s alright,” said Dulvarna as she moved into the chapel to stand close to Erlmoor. “We’ll get you out of here.”
The warrior woman looked around the chapel at the walls and at the altar, sensing the powerful magic in the room. As she glanced around, each time, her attention was drawn back to the doors through which she had just entered.
“Even I can sense the powerful magic here,” Dulvarna said at last. “The doors are the focus of the ward.”
Lavren stepped into the chamber and closed on of the double doors behind him. The woman at the altar gave a whimper of fear and he glanced over his shoulder to smile at her reassuringly. Then he turned back to the door he had closed to examine it.
“There are runes carved here that I may be able to dispel,” he said. “If not, smashing the doors will break the spell just as easily.”
Then, with his wand in his hand, the warlock began chanting in ancient elven as he stood in front of the closed door. Behind him, Erlmoor moved back toward the doors and pulled shut the other portal before raising his sword and smashing at the runes with the hilt of the weapon. The runes on the portal flared brightly as he struck them and then some of them vanished. Enlishia joined Lavren at the other door and began picking at the lower runes with her sword while the warlock worked his spells on the runes higher up.
“The altar may have some effect here as well,” said Telkya as she moved toward the plain stone block.
As she drew near to it, she began uttering a prayer to Corellon but before she had spoken more than half of the entreaty, a loud bang sounded from the doors, throwing Lavren and Erlmoor back. There, before the two companions, stood two red-skinned devils with bare, scaled heads, two wavy horns trailing back from their skulls and a sword and shield in hand. They wore black plate armour and snarled at the companions who had dared to summon them to this place.
Thorn raised his loaded crossbow from his belt and loosed a bolt that clattered into the stone beside the doorway while Dulvarna raised her sword and charged forward to aid Erlmoor. The warrior woman plunged her sword into the devil’s belly and the creature fell back against the doors with a gasp, to lie there unmoving. Lavren lashed out with his sword at the other creature but it parried skilfully and then reversed its blade to slash it across the top of the elf’s chest. The warlock cried out and fell back as Erlmoor came at the creature from its left. It parried again and again but as it did, Enlishia retreated, raised her bow and loosed an arrow. The shaft drove into the creature’s neck, just below its chin and the devil fell back dead beside its companion. At the altar, Telkya began chanting again but as she did, the same bang sounded and two more devils appeared, standing over their companions.
“Whatever it is you’re trying to do,” Thorn called to Telkya. “Don’t try it again.”
With that, the druid loosed another crossbow bolt toward the newly arrived devils but again the missile clattered into the stone. One of the creature lashed its sword into Lavren’s arm and sent him reeling back from the doors but the other fell quickly as Dulvarna plunged her sword into its chest. It fell atop its fallen kin while Lavren clambered atop one of the benches and loosed a bolt of black energy into the other devil. The blast seared through the creature’s chest and felled it atop the others.
Erlmoor stepped forward and hurled two of the devil corpses out of his way before starting to hammer on the runes once more. This time there was no flare of light and no runes disappeared but no devils were summoned either. As the dragonborn looked at the runes with a bemused expression, Enlishia came forward and began scraping off more with the tip of one of her arrows. Behind the others, Telkya began to chant softly and as she did, the flames of the candles guttered and died.
“That should make things easier,” she announced but the others paid her no mind, thinking that she had heeded Thorn’s advice.
“Thank you,” said the young woman as she moved over toward Telkya. “I am Danna.”
“And I am Telkya Strongbow,” the elf maid answered with a smile.
Dulvarna and Erlmoor held their blades ready as Lavren and Enlishia worked away at the remaining runes until suddenly, the remaining runes flared and vanished, leaving the doors unmarked. Lavren pushed them open cautiously but no devils appeared and he turned back toward the altar to announce his success to Danna. As he did, the young girl shifted form, wings appearing from her back and her plain woollen dress falling away to reveal a leather corset and underwear as her only other items of clothing. The revealed creature smiled in a leery way as it regarded the companions.
“I truly thank you for freeing me,” she said, and then vanished, leaving behind a faint smell of brimstone.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
