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 southern chamber of the elves’ complex where they found three beds and a table on which they could eat small amounts of the meagre rations of dried meat and trail bread that remained to them. They ate in silence as tiredness overtook them and slept in shifts, warily watching the doors to the chamber lest the Master, whatever it might be, should come looking for its fallen servants. As they made ready to leave, Thorn voiced the fear in the minds of all.
“Could this Master be another shard of Draxius?” he said as the companions crossed the ice corridor walking on bedding that they had stripped from the quarters of the winter elves.
“Perhaps but I think we face a creature of ice or snow,” Telkya said. “The elves of the north are said to sometimes serve dragons and other powerful overlords.”
“I have heard this as well,” Enlishia said. “Far to the north where the ice never melts, men, dwarves and elves are changed by the cold and the snow. Some serve any creature that can grant them protection against the enemies that surround them.”
“Then we face a dragon,” Erlmoor rumbled. “Good. I had hoped to face another of my evil kin soon.”
“We know not what we face,” Dulvarna answered. “But I agree it is likely not Draxius. The foulspawn likely guarded him which means we have to return that way once we have dealt with whatever lurks beyond this place.”
The others nodded and looked ahead into the northeast chamber where they had found the only passage onwards the night before. They drew forth their blades and wands and totems and amulets and then stepped cautiously into the hallway which was cold but free of ice on the floor. It led east a little way, still lit dimly as though from some radiance within the walls themselves and then it widened and turned north before turning back to the west. At its end stood a pair of dark, wooden doors limned with frost. As they neared the doors, the air around the companions seemed to grow colder and bite at their skin. Their breath emerged as little clouds of frost as they exhaled and when Dulvarna and Erlmoor reached out to the iron ring handles of the doors, they felt searing cold that seemed to almost burn them. Quickly, they pushed the doors opened and revealed a chamber that appeared to be a cave of ice, with two pools of freezing cold water and great columns of ice that rose to the ceiling. A great pile of treasure occupied a far corner and resting beside it was a white dragon.
“There, in that corner!” the Head of Vyrellis uttered in a piercing whisper. “That amethyst! You must get it for me.”
Lavren moved past the others and leapt down into the freezing cold water. It only came up to his knees but he felt the chilling cold penetrating to his bones and knew he could not stay in the pool for long. He waded to the far side, stepped out onto the shore and made his way to one of the ice pillars. The dragon’s lips seemed to curl and its eyes widened as it contemplated what the elf would do next. Only when the warlock raised his wand and loosed a blast of black energy did the dragon snarl as it realise it faced a threat. The blast from Lavren’s wand struck the left foreleg of the dragon and drew a roar of anger in response.
Thorn leapt into the pool next and shifted to his wolf form as he reached the shore of the second pool. He stalked around behind Lavren, seeking the best way to attack the dragon while behind him came Enlishia, an arrow nocked to her bow. She waded through the pool and stepped onto the far bank with her bow drawn back. She let fly the arrow and it plunged into the dragon’s left flank, drawing another roar of anger from the wyrm. Erlmoor and Dulvarna came through the pool next, moving left behind one of the pillars as they tried to move closer to the dragon and then Telkya came after them, following them behind the pillar to hide from the dragon’s terrible breath.
“You have chosen death then,” the dragon said in a loud voice. “So be it.”
The dragon beat its wings and took flight, sweeping forward over the centre pool. A wave of dragonfear came before the wyrm and left Thorn, Erlmoor and Dulvarna, reeling and stunned. Before they could recover, the dragon drew in a deep breath and then loosed a cloud of icy cold from its jaws that engulfed the companions. Telkya threw herself against the pillar and avoided the dragon’s terrible breath and Dulvarna recovered enough from her fear to throw herself to the ground. Lavren, Thorn and Erlmoor were seared with cold and frozen where they stood for a few, vital moments.
Lavren managed to raise his arm and loose a bolt of black energy into the dragon’s chest but the wyrm’s breath had weakened him and the creature barely faltered. Beside the warlock, Thorn stood petrified by the first dragon he had ever faught and so Enlishia came to his aid, loosing an arrow and then a second that drove into the side of the dragon’s neck, drawing another roar of anger from the creature. Erlmoor and Dulvarna similarly stood frozen with fear at the size of the dragon which surely measured forty feet from nose to tail. Next to them, Telkya circled around the pillar and raised her amulet to call down a column of divine light. The dragon banked to its left as it hovered over the pool and the prayer’s power descended next to it, leaving it unharmed. It roared again and swept to the left to land on the shore of the pool in front of Enlishia. She shrank back and the wyrm lashed out with its claws. One claw struck the ranger in the side and spun her toward the other but at the last, Enlishia ducked and the dragon’s other claw swept over her head.
Lavren shook off the effects of the dragon’s breath weapon and turned toward the creature, raising his wand as he did so. He loosed another bolt of black, eldritch power that seared into the dragon’s back leg. It roared again and turned toward the warlock and as it did, Thorn rushed at the dragon’s right flank. He leapt, his wolf claws and teeth seeking purchase on the wyrm’s side but the beast twisted around and the druid wolf slid to the floor of the cave without drawing blood from the dragon. Sensing a momentary reprieve, Enlishia scrambled backward along the shore of the first pool and then raised her bow, loosing one and then a second quickly. One glanced along the neck of the dragon, drawing blood, but the other flew over the creature and clattered into the roof of the cave.
Erlmoor roared his defiance as he finally drove away his fear and then charged at the dragon with his blade before him. As he reached the wyrm, he breathed acid from his mouth that seared the side of the creature’s neck and then he swung out with his blade, a prayer on his lips. The dragonborn’s sword drove into the side of the creature’s neck and drew a spray of blood that drenched Erlmoor and the icy floor of the cave. Dulvarna rushed forward and came at the dragon from the other side of Thorn, her blade lashing out into the back of the wyrm’s right foreleg. It staggered for a moment and then beat its wings as though it would take flight again. A searing ribbon of light leapt out from Telkya’s amulet then and struck the dragon’s back, drawing another roar of anger. Then it beat its wings more fiercely and tried to take flight. Dulvarna, Erlmoor and Thorn all leapt forward, slashing at the dragon with blade and claw but still it managed to take flight and swoop back over the wider, second pool, where it hovered.
The companions turned to watch the dragon retreat and as it reached the centre of the icy pool, Erlmoor saw the water swirl and reach out toward the wyrm’s body. In a heartbeat, ice crystals started to form near the dragon’s wounds and the paladin realised with horror that the freezing water was healing the dragon.
“Strike at it now!” he called to the others. “The water is healing it.”
The companions needed no second bidding with Lavren loosing a bolt of black energy almost at once. It flew past the dragon but by then, Thorn had already shifted back to his human form and was uttering an evocation. Thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled around the ceiling above the dragon and a bolt of lightning flashed down to strike the wyrm. Still it hovered above the centre of the pool and the water and ice surged around it. Enlishia raised her bow and fired but her first arrow bounced off the scaly flank of the dragon. She nocked a second arrow and fired again but this missile flew over the dragon’s back into the dark recesses at the far end of the cavern. Erlmoor put up his sword and chanted a prayer while holding out his left hand. Ribbons of light burst forth but as they did, the dragon beat its wings and they flew underneath its scaled belly. Dulvarna sheathed her sword and unshouldered her bow, nocking an arrow to it quickly and firing. The arrow drove into the dragon’s chest but still it hovered above the churning water. A bolt of light from Telkya’s amulet flashed past the wyrm and then it roared in triumph as the water fell back into the pool and the worst of its wounds were healed. The dragon turned, regarded Telkya with a predatory eye and then swooped toward her.
As the dragon reached the shore of the pool it swept out its left claw and Telkya ducked under it but before she could recover, the right claw lashed in at her. She leapt back and the sword-like talons swished through the air in front of her. Lavren turned to face the dragon and loosed a bolt of black energy into its flank, drawing another roar of anger from it. Thorn shifted to his beast form and rushed around the southern side of the pool, behind one of the pillars to aid Telkya while Enlishia raised her bow and took aim. She loosed one arrow and as it drove into the back of the dragon’s neck, she loosed another that tore into its flank. Erlmoor roared and rushed around the pool and the pillar at its southern end with his sword again in both hands. He passed Thorn and rushed toward the dragon, his fear now forgotten. Behind him, Dulvarna raised her bow again and loosed an arrow into the wyrm’s side which drew the dragon’s gaze toward her. As the creature turned its head, Telkya retreated along the shore toward Lavren and raised her amulet to unleash another bolt of divine light. The blast seared into the side of the dragon’s head and drew forth a screech from its mouth that seemed to be its first sign of real pain. It beat its wings and dived forward after the elf maid.
Telkya scrambled backward until she reached the pillar behind her and then ducked as the dragon landed on the shore of the pool and lashed out with its claws. One claw struck the ice pillar above her, dislodging chunks of ice that fell down upon her but as she rose, the second claw swept in and this time, Telkya could not leap back. The huge talons tore into her side, flinging her against the pillar and with a loud crack, one Telkya’s ribs broke. She cried out and Lavren lashed his wand toward the dragon, hurling another black bolt into the creature’s chest. It roared its anger but as it did, Thorn charged around the pillar and leapt at the wyrm. It spun around and struck out with its right foreleg, smashing the druid wolf to the floor of the cave. Enlishia’s bow sang from behind the dragon and two more arrows drove into its back, drawing another roar of anger from it. It half-turned but then it saw another flash of movement as Erlmoor charged into battle beside Thorn. The dragonborn’s blade struck the creature’s right foreleg with a crash of thunder and the dragon staggered to its left. With a cry, Dulvarna shouldered her bow, drew her sword and charged along the shore to meet the dragon and as the creature reeled, trying to face all of its enemies at once, Telkya slid around the pillar toward Lavren and safety.
The dragon lunged at Dulvarna, biting at her left arm and dragging her toward it as its dagger-like teeth tore into her flesh. With a wrench that tore more of her flesh, Dulvarna pulled herself free and raised her blade. Behind her, Lavren looked toward Telkya to see that she was alright and at a nod from his wife, he raised his wand and moved away along the shore of the pool. He hurled a bolt of black energy into the dragon’s flank and the creature roared and reared back on its hind legs. A heartbeat later, Thorn leapt at its right side but the dragon landed back on all fours and turned, knocking the druid wolf away. An arrow flew past the dragon’s head and it turned to its left again just as Enlishia loosed a second shaft that drove into the wyrm’s chest. It roared and as it did, Erlmoor rushed at it from its other side and plunged his sword into its flank. Dulvarna rushed at it from the front but her blade skittered off the scales of the dragon’s foreleg and drew no blood. The dragon snarled at the warrior woman as it stepped back until its hind legs were in the water and then a bolt of light from Telkya’s amulet flashed past its head. Slowly, it turned its gaze upon the elf maid who should have died and screeched for the second time. It snapped out at Dulvarna again, who leapt away, and then it beat its wings and took the air once more. Erlmoor, Dulvarna and Thorn rushed at the dragon before it could take flight but only Dulvarna’s blade struck home and the dragon swept away over the pool once more.
The dragon flew to the northern edge of the pool where it met the cave wall but still the companions assailed it. A bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand seared into its back as it retreated but at the wall it turned and after a sharp intake of breath, it unleashed more icy cold from its mouth. The freezing blast was aimed at Lavren and Telkya but the warlock leapt to his left and hurled himself to the floor to avoid the frigid dragon breath. Telkya was not so lucky and though she raised her arms to protect herself, still the ice tore at her limbs and slowed her body. She staggered and Thorn howled before starting to circle to pool to reach the dragon once more. Enlishia came forward to stand beside Telkya, firing an arrow as she did. The shaft drove into the dragon’s left foreleg and was followed by a second that bounced off the wyrm’s thick scales. Erlmoor rushed after Thorn while Dulvarna again sheathed her sword and raised her bow to let fly an arrow. The missile flew past the dragon and struck the wall behind it but still the dragon roared, sensing its own defeat. A moment later, a bolt of light from Telkya’s amulet seared its flank and it screeched for a third time. The elf maid would not die and neither would any other of these troublesome creatures, the dragon realised, and it knew then that it was doomed.
The dragon turned for what it knew would be a last attack and swept along the pool toward its southern shore. As it reached the end of the pool, it turned toward the eastern shore and let loose it icy breath again. Dulvarna, Telkya, Lavren and Enlishia all staggered back with the force of the icy blast and felt their limbs stiffen as the fierce cold took hold of them. Still, Lavren raised his wand and loosed a bolt of black energy that seared past the dragon and still, as Thorn leapt at the dragon’s back legs, Enlishia raised her bow to let fly an arrow. One shaft and then another drove into the dragon’s flank but they lacked the power of Enlishia’s full strength as she struggled to make her cold-numbed limbs obey her. Erlmoor rushed around the pool behind the dragon following Thorn and with a huge swing, he slashed his blade into the side of the wyrm’s back. It roared again and as it did, Dulvarna rushed at it from the front, lashing out with her blade with as much strength as her freezing arms could muster. Her sword drove into the dragon’s left foreleg but still the dragon hovered above the pool, sorely wounded but defiant. A bolt of light flashed past the wyrm’s head from Telkya’s amulet and again the creature turned toward the elf maid, amazed that she still lived. With a roar, it beat its wings and turned away from the others but as it did, they surged forward and Erlmoor plunged his blade into the creature’s flank. It screeched again but still managed to fly out over the pool, determined to finish Telkya before it died.
The dragon swept down on Telkya and lunged with its neck, taking the elf maid in its jaws and biting down on her. She cried out and as she did, the dragon threw her down on the shore where she lay unmoving. Lavren cried out and lashed his wand toward the creature, hurling a bolt of black energy that flashed past the wyrm. A blur of black fur passed in front of Lavren then as Thorn rushed at the dragon’s flank and leapt, only to be swatted aside by the desperate creature. The dragon roared in triumph this time and Enlishia retreated before it, firing arrows as she did, none of which hit the creature. Erlmoor roared his own anger as he rushed to aid Telkya, kneeling beside the elf maid and uttering a healing prayer. Dulvarna let out her own guttural cry and rushed around to face the dragon again. As she reached the wyrm, it surged forward and she raised her blade, bracing it with both her hands. As the dragon reached her, she lunged, driving the blade into the creature’s chest and finding its heart. The creature screeched for the last time and as Dulvarna spun aside and tore her blade free, the creature swept low over Telkya and then plunged head first into the shallow pool close before the doors to the chamber.
The companions made their way back westward from the dragon’s lair, through the ice chambers of the elves and then they turned south down the passageway they had previously passed. It ended after a little way at double doors that opened into another long hallway that widened a little way in and then ended in arched double doors with vigilant sentinels carved into the archways beside the portals. As Dulvarna and Erlmoor drew close to the arched doors, they transformed before their eyes into the gaping maw of a devil or demon and the sentinels suddenly came to life as demonic warriors with vicious spears. One stabbed at Dulvarna but as she lashed her blade out to parry, it passed through the creature’s weapon.
“The sentinels are illusions,” she called out to the others. “But the maw I am not certain of. We should go back and try another way.”
“If the maw is an illusion then we can pass through,” Enlishia said. “We should go on.”
“Agreed,” said Lavren. “We should go on.”
“We cannot,” Dulvarna said firmly. “We go back and seek the way southward from the foulspawn chamber.”
When the companions came to the chamber of the demonic faces they found the corpses of the foulspawn lying where they had fallen and the mouths of the faces silent and motionless once more. The double doors at the southern end of the hall led into another chamber with two doors that led southward. Dulvarna opened the western most door and revealed a chamber holding three statues. The closest statue was of a tiefling in plate armour and carrying a greatsword while the other two statues depicted orcs. One wore the robes of a shaman or wizard and the other carried a two handed axe and wore armour of metal scales. To the south, the companions all heard the ragged breath of some large creature.
Suddenly, an arrow shot out of the shadows behind one the statues and drove into Dulvarna’s thigh. She staggered back and as numbness began to spread around the wound, she came to the horrible realisation that she had been poisoned. Dulvarna reached down and yanked the shaft from her leg despite the searing pain and then raised her sword before rushing into the chamber. She saw her enemy almost at once, a robed figure with a bow in her hands and a quiver at her belt. Writhing snakes were her hair and her eyes were a pale yellow. Dulvarna rushed at the creature, lashing out her blade as she reached her, but the creature leapt back beyond the blow. Erlmoor came into the chamber next and circled left behind one of the statues to come at the creature from the other side. Enlishia came in behind the dragonborn and as she did, she saw the archer’s companion, a huge humanoid with pale brown skin wearing only a loincloth and wielding a huge, spiked flail. It was just stirring into motion as the ranger entered the room and she recognised it at once.
“An ogre warhulk!” she called to the others. “Beware its flail for it has terrible strength.”
Enlishia raised her bow and loosed an arrow that drove into one of the ogre’s huge arms and then fired again. Her second arrow clattered off the ogre’s thick hide and fell to the floor as the lumbering giant slowly raised the heavy chain and spiked ball of its flail. Behind Enlishia, Telkya rushed into the chamber and moved to aid Dulvarna, stepping between two of the statues and loosing a bolt of divine light at the archer. The bolt flashed past the creature and seared into the wall of the chamber next to it. Lavren moved past Enlishia to block the ogre’s path to the ranger and then loosed his own bolt of energy at the archer. The black blast of eldritch power seared into the archer’s side and hurled her back against the wall but she hissed her defiance in response.
“The archer is a medusa,” he called out. “Beware her gaze for that is how these statues were made.”
A moment later, the ogre burst forth from the far end of the chamber, smashing apart one of the statues as it lumbered forward. It lashed out with its flail at Dulvarna who ducked under the heavy weapon and the spiked ball smashed into the statue behind her. Stone splintered and fell down on Telkya and Dulvarna and as it did, the medusa’s eyes seared with golden light. Thorn came into the chamber and immediately recognised the peril, ducking behind the statue that Erlmoor stood behind. Lavren, Telkya and Dulvarna could not avert their eyes in time and felt their limbs begin to slow a moment later. Dulvarna roared her defiance and slashed her blade across the front of the medusa’s legs, forcing the creature back against the wall again. The medusa hissed again, its snake hair joining it defiantly, and Dulvarna felt her limbs stiffen even more as the effect of the creature’s terrible gaze took hold. Still the warrior woman faught on and from around the statue came Erlmoor with his blade before him.
The dragonborn roared and sprayed acid over the medusa and the ogre before lashing out with his blade to keep the medusa at bay. Enlishia crossed the room and circled behind the paladin before raising her bow and firing at the medusa. An arrow drove into the creature’s side and then a second followed, finding its mark an inch away from the first. The medusa gasped and lurched to the left as though seeking the protection of the ogre. Then Telkya raised her amulet again and called forth a searing blast of light that lanced out and struck the eyes of the medusa. Suddenly blinded, the creature staggered and fumbled with its bow as it tried desperately to reach the ogre and the protection of its huge flail. Lavren loosed another bolt of black energy from his wand that seared into the ogre’s chest and in response, the creature roared, turning its attention toward the warlock. It raised its flail over its head and brought it down overhand toward the elf but at the last, Lavren leapt back and the spiked ball smashed into the stone floor of the chamber where he had stood a moment before.
Behind the others, Thorn shifted into his wolf form and bounded forward between Erlmoor and Dulvarna. As he reached the archer, he leapt and seized the creature’s arm in his mouth, tearing at the flesh with his teeth and claws before letting go. The blinded medusa hissed again and retreated to stand beside the ogre before raising her bow to loose another arrow. With unerring aim despite her lack of sight, the medusa let fly the shaft and it drove into Dulvarna’s shoulder, throwing her back into Telkya who stood behind her. Again the numbness spread from the wound but Dulvarna roared a second time, voicing a defiance that she no longer felt. She lashed her blade to her right into the ogre’s leg as she faught the stiffness in her limbs and the poison in her blood. As her blade struck the ogre the creature roared and Dulvarna felt a new strength flow through her. Her arms and legs seemed to free themselves from the influence of the medusa’s gaze and her courage returned.
Erlmoor rushed to Dulvarna’s side as her saw Telkya and Lavren shaking off the effects of the medusa’s gaze. He lashed out with his sword but the medusa ducked instinctively and the sword struck the stone wall above her head. Behind the others, Telkya ducked back behind the nearest statue and loosed another bolt of divine light into the ogre’s side as it raised its flail again. It cast about for the enemy that had struck it and instead settled its gaze on Dulvarna. A bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand flashed past the huge creature and then it swung its huge flail out toward the warrior woman. Dulvarna ducked and the spiked ball struck the tiefling statue for the second time, smashing the stone greatsword in two. Thorn bounded forward before the ogre could recover and leapt at the creature only for it to swat him aside with its elbow.
The medusa retreated again away from Erlmoor’s blade, its blindness gone and with its aim as true as it ever had been, it raised its bow and loosed an arrow. The shaft drove into Dulvarna’s hip and threw her back a step before, a moment later, the now familiar numbness began to spread from the wound. The warrior woman staggered and swung a huge blow at the ogre. The creature stepped back and Aecris clove through nothing but air while Dulvarna tried desperately to recover from her latest wound. Meanwhile, Erlmoor stepped around the corner into the southern alcove that the medusa had retreated into and lashed out with his blade. The medusa ducked again and again, the paladin’s blade struck the stone wall next to the snake-haired creature. Behind the dragonborn, Enlishia loosed an arrow and then a second at the ogre but both clattered harmlessly off its thick hide. Telkya circled around the statues to stand beside the ranger and called down a beam of light that seared the ogre’s back and shoulders. It roared and raised its flail and as it did, Lavren loosed another bolt of black energy that tore past the creature’s head. The ogre lashed out with its flail toward Dulvarna and again the warrior woman ducked. The spiked ball smashed into the tiefling statue for the third time shattering part of the statue’s leg into shards of masonry.
Thorn snarled and leapt at the ogre for a second time, seizing its arm for a few moments before being shaken free. He fell with a yelp and rolled onto his legs as the ogre raised its flail above its head. Behind the huge creature, the medusa retreated further into the southern alcove and loosed an arrow into Erlmoor’s shoulder. The dragonborn roared in response and then lashed out with his blade, channelling all of his strength into the sword. It clove into the medusa’s left side and spun her against the wall beside her. Still she hissed her defiance in chorus with the snakes on her head but still the dragonborn pressed forward.
Behind the paladin, Enlishia loosed more arrows and this time, two found their marks in the ogre’s flesh, driving into its side and drawing another roar of anger. Telkya hurled another bolt of divine light into the creature a moment later and then Lavren hurled a black bolt of energy into the creature’s shoulder that drove it back a step. Again it roared and again it lashed out toward Dulvarna but this time, the warrior woman was not quick enough. She tried to duck but the flail came in lower and slammed into her side, smashing her back into the tiefling statue. Her head exploded in paid as it struck the stone of the statue and as she heaved in a ragged breath, Dulvarna felt the agonising pain of several cracked ribs. Thorn growled and leapt at the creature to distract it, tearing at its legs with his teeth and claws but he could not help Dulvarna. Slowly, the warrior woman raised her blade and, with wheezing breaths, she stepped forward to attack the ogre one last time.
In the alcove, the medusa retreated further until her back was against the south wall of the chamber and she had nowhere else to go. Desperately, she hissed at Erlmoor and her eyes glowed again with the golden fire that had nearly finished Dulvarna. Erlmoor raised his arms to shield his eyes and behind him, Dulvarna managed to do the same. Thorn dodged to the right behind the ogre and the huge creature itself, instinctively shielded its eyes.
“Curse you all,” the medusa snarled as she realised that her gaze had had no effect.
“And curse you too,” Erlmoor answered as he stepped forward to finish the creature.
In the main chamber, Dulvarna summoned what strength she had left and lashed out with her blade toward the ogre’s side. At the last, it brought its flail down and turned Aecris aside with the weapon’s handle. Next to Dulvarna, Enlishia’s bow sang out and an arrow drove into the ogre’s leg. A second followed but this clattered off the creature’s thick hide and fell to the floor of the chamber. The creature roared and raised its flail as a bolt from Telkya’s amulet seared into the its side and then a black bolt flew past it to strike the southern wall. The ogre brought its flail down toward Dulvarna a moment later and, though the warrior woman raised her blade to parry, the strength had fled from her limbs and the spiked ball smashed Aecris aside. The ball smashed down onto the side of her head and then crashed onto her shoulder, smashing her collar bone as it did. Dulvarna cried out and then collapsed to the floor, Aecris falling beside her.
Thorn snarled and leapt at the creature, seizing its arm again and tearing at the flesh until the ogre swung the limb and flung the druid wolf against the tiefling statue. Enlishia loosed an arrow and then a second into the ogre’s chest with a furious look of anger on her face while beside her, Telkya held up her sword and charged at the ogre but as she did, she glanced down at Dulvarna. Her friend’s eyes were open and with an obvious effort, the warrior woman flashed the elf maid a smile. Telkya smiled back and then rushed onward at the ogre, determined to buy her companion time enough to recover.
In the alcove, Erlmoor heard Dulvarna cry out but he dared not turn away from the medusa to see the fate of his friend. Instead, he stepped forward after the medusa as the creature raised her bow and loosed another arrow that drove into his hip. He faltered but then slashed his sword across into the archer’s leg, spinning her away to her right. The dragonborn felt no poison in this wound and wondered if the medusa’s supply of venom had run out. Then the medusa threw back her hood and shook loose the snakes on her head and the paladin snapped his mind back to the foe before him. She hissed at him and then the snakes began coiling forward, their forked tongues tasting the air and their needle-sharp teeth questing for his flesh.
Telkya rushed at the ogre with a prayer on her lips and as the sword in her right hand glowed brightly, she slashed it at the creature’s arm. The ogre turned toward her and lashed out with its flail entangling her sword in the weapon’s chain for a moment and throwing it aside. The huge creature snarled through yellowed teeth at the elf maid and raised the flail to strike down this new troublesome foe. At that moment, a black bolt of searing energy tore into the ogre’s back and with a roar of anger, it spun around, lashing its flail out at all who surrounded it. Telkya was smashed back into the wall behind her as the spiked ball struck her in the side and then swept around toward Enlishia and Thorn. The ranger ducked low and avoided the swing while Thorn leapt back and Lavren threw himself behind the tiefling statue. Again, the spiked ball smashed into the statue and the head of the stone warrior splintered into a thousand pieces. Thorn leapt an instant later, his jaws tearing at the ogre’s groin and drawing a terrible howl of pain from the creature. The wolf druid let go before the ogre could swat him away but the damage was done and the huge creature staggered back as blood poured down its legs.
In the alcove, the medusa darted to its left, trying desperately to gain the protection of its ogre guardian once more. As it did, the snakes on its head snapped out at Erlmoor and as he raised his arms to protect himself, two sunk their teeth into his flesh. He felt the numbness of the poison at once from these wounds and knew her had to strike down the terrible creature as quickly as he could. He spun on the spot and lashed out with his blade but, with seemingly renewed agility, the medusa ducked and the paladin’s sword swung over her head. Erlmoor cursed and turned to face his enemy as the numbness in his arms subsided but despite this, he knew he could not fight on for much longer.
With a guttural roar and a surge of strength that she mustered from the deepest recesses of her soul, Dulvarna leapt to her feet and plunged her blade into the ogre’s side as it still reeled from the wound that Thorn had inflicted. It roared but then an arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into its throat and the sound became a gurgle of blood that gushed from the creature’s mouth and neck. It staggered again and then fell backwards atop the ruins of the orc statue that it had smashed to reach the companions. A final gasp escaped its lips and then the ogre died.
The companions surged toward the medusa then, Telkya hurling a bolt of light from her left hand that flashed past the creature’s head. Lavren loosed a bolt from his wand that seared into the medusa’s side and threw her toward the southern wall and then Thorn leapt over the ogre’s body to rush at the creature from behind. Desperately, the medusa retreated to the southern wall, her eyes glowing brightly once again. Only Dulvarna threw her arms in front of her face in time while Lavren threw himself against the tiefling statue to protect himself. The others felt their limbs stiffen almost at once but still they fought on.
Dulvarna rushed to aid Erlmoor, her blade above her head as she reached the medusa. She brought Aecris down and the sword clove into the medusa’s shoulder, shattering her collar bone. Erlmoor plunged his blade into the creature’s side and as the medusa staggered, Enlishia’s bow sang again. An arrow drove into the creature’s chest and as the medusa gasped, another followed. With a final hiss, the archer fell back against the wall and then slid down to end in a sitting position at its foot. One by one, the snakes on the medusa’s head fell still limp and as the last one stopped moving, the medusa died as her ogre guardian had.
Dulvarna looked to her left once the creature had died and there, she saw another pair of arched doorways with carved snakes beside them as guardians. A problem for later, she decided at once.
The companions rested before the second gate for several hours, tending to their wounds and eating small portions of the meagre rations that remained to them. When they were ready to go on, they stepped forward and examined the arched gate in more detail. Dulvarna approached the doors warily, expecting some form of attack but when none came, she reached out and touched the portals. As she did so, a great voice boomed out.
“Let those who embrace the darkness of ignorance walk forward,” it said. “Heedless of all knowledge. The blind and deaf fear no danger, for the Keeper of the Way shall guide their steps.”
“Close your eyes and cover your ears,” Thorn said. “Then you will pass through the gate.”
Dulvarna did as she was bade and kicked out at the doors with her foot. As she did so, the others saw the carved snakes come to life and poise themselves to strike at the warrior woman.
“They are illusions,” Enlishia whispered to the others. “We cannot warn her lest she not pass through.”
Sure enough, Dulvarna’s booted foot passed through the apparently solid doors and, though she stumbled, she stepped through the portals as though they were not there. The others put away their weapons and implements and closed their own eyes while covering their ears with their hands. They walked through in turn and each passed to the other side. Beyond the gate was a long chamber with two sets of double doors leading north and another set leading south. Dulvarna and Erlmoor tried the northern doors but found them unyielding and so the companions turned south, pushing open the doors there with ease. Drawing their weapons, the band made their way south into a corridor that led east to west. A little way to the west, the passage bent south and, after stopping for a few moments, Dulvarna took this path.
After a short way, the southern passage led them into a scene that could come only from a fevered dream or a madman’s imagination. The stone passage ahead merged with a grey material that glistened wetly as though the walls, floor and ceiling ahead were made of flesh. A trail of thick, sludge-like violet slime puddled on the floor while several side passages branched off the main one, each seemingly made of the same, grey flesh.
“There is danger here,” said Lavren as he made his way forward past the others.
The elf turned to the right to avoid the slime on the floor ahead of the companions and found that the western passage turned south again quickly. Cautiously, he raised his wand and rounded the corner while from somewhere ahead he heard voices. Behind him, the others started forward warily into the flesh-like tunnels but they had barely taken a step when from around a corner ahead came a large lizard-like creature with a pointed head and no eyes. Its skin was tan with black stripes and it stood up on powerful back legs while sharp claws tipped its forelegs. It opened its toothed mouth and let forth a howling bellow that threw the companions back on their heels and tore through their heads like a thunder clap. All but Enlishia and Lavren were left staggered and dazed.
“A destrachan,” Enlishia announced from behind the others. “A beast that can imitate sounds or use them as weapons.”
The ranger pushed past the others as they recovered form the terrible howl and raised her bow, loosing an arrow and then a second. The first clattered into the corridor wall beyond the destrachan but the second drove into its foreleg, drawing a pained whimper from the creature. Dulvarna raised her blade and staggered forward unsteadily to meet the destrachan, shaking her head as she did to rid herself of the ringing in her ears. Erlmoor followed but he too was unsteady and still too dazed to attach the creature when he reached it. Suddenly, from behind the two warriors, Lavren cried out as a huge, slithering, snake-like creature rounded the corner to the south of him and made its way forward. Its mouth was a huge beak and around this terrible maw, four tentacles were arrayed, each tipped with a vicious hook-like claw.
“A grick comes this way,” Enlishia called to Dulvarna and Erlmoor. “We are outflanked.”
Thorn shifted to his wolf form but he too remained dazed by the destrachan’s bellow and could only stand and shake his black-furred head instead of bounding to meet the grick. Telkya staggered forward, blade and amulet in hand to protect Enlishia from this new enemy but as she reached Lavren, another creature burst past the snake-like monster. This newcomer was humanoid and wielded a greatsword and Telkya had fought its like before.
“Foulspawn!” she called out. “There are foulspawn here as well.”
The foulspawn warrior leapt at Lavren and lashed out with his blade, cutting into the elf’s right shoulder and spinning him away along the passage wall. Another of the creatures leapt past the grick after the first and thrust its blade into Lavren’s thigh forcing him back another step along the wall of the passage. He cried out and retreated but raised his wand as he did so. With a shouted incantation, he hurled two purple bolts at the foulspawn, one striking each of the creatures in the chest and hurling them back a step. They recovered quickly, though, snarling their derision at the elf before coming forward again.
In the main corridor, the destrachan howled again, throwing Erlmoor back while Dulvarna threw her arms over her head to protect her ears. The others were also thrown off balance as they felt the sound sear through their heads like hot knives. Dulvarna glanced back at the others and then slashed her blade low beneath the destrachan’s body and cut across its back legs, drawing another whimper of pain from the creature. Beside Dulvarna, Erlmoor swung his blade clumsily at the creature but it leapt back and avoided the blow. The paladin cursed but as he did, the ringing in his head stopped and he raised his blade to attack the destrachan again, hoping against hope that it would not howl again.
In the western corridor, the grick slithered forward across the slime on the floor and then lunged at Telkya. She leapt back but one of the creature’s tentacles wrapped around her and dragged her toward the beak-like maw. Behind her, Thorn bounded forward but even in wolf form, the druid was still stunned by the howls of the destrachan and could only watch the grick, seeking an opportune time to strike at the creature. Enlishia raised her bow, seeking a clear shot at the grick or the foulspawn but Lavren, Thorn and Telkya blocked her aim.
“We have to fall back,” she called to the others but as she said the words, she realised that Telkya was helpless in the grasp of the grick and she could only hope that Thorn heeded her words.
The foulspawn warriors came on in a fury then, lashing their blades across Lavren’s belly and chest and forcing the elf back and away from his wife. He retreated as Enlishia had bade him with tears in his eyes as he saw Telkya struggling in the tentacles of the grick. He waited for the howling of the destrachan again, fearing that he and his companions were doomed in this place of madness but the howling did not come.
The destrachan leapt at Dulvarna, lashing out with its claws but she leapt back in turn and avoided the viciously sharp weapons. She stabbed her sword at the creature in response, driving the blade into the creature’s shoulder before it could leap away. It staggered and as it did, Erlmoor brought his blade down on the creature’s back. A thunder clap sounded as the sword struck the destrachan and the creature fell forward onto the slimy floor. Erlmoor retreated then and Enlishia stepped forward, finally able to aim at one of her enemies. The ranger let fly one arrow that flew over the prone destrachan and clattered into the wall but her second shaft drove into its side, drawing a screech of pain from the monster. Still it struggled to rise and so Dulvarna moved forward to strike it down. As she did, she saw a panel in the eastern wall of the passage beyond the destrachan slide aside and from it emerged another foulspawn warrior. The battle here was far from over.
In the western corridor, the grick dragged Telkya toward its fiercesome mouth and bit down on her arm. She cried out and Lavren started to go forward to aid her again. Thorn snarled at the elf and then leapt at the grick, seizing one of its tentacles in his jaws, tearing at it until his muzzle was covered in blood. He dropped to the floor then, shaking his head as the ringing in his ears assailed him once more but he had done enough. The grick’s grip loosened and Telkya twisted her body and dropped free of the tentacle that held her. She smiled for a moment but then the foulspawn surged forward, their blades slashing at her from her right. The elf maid raised her sword and parried one high blow but as she did, the sword of the second foulspawn lashed in low and cut her above the kneecap. She cried out again and staggered away from her enemies.
“Follow me,” Lavren cried, reaching out for his wife’s arm but the destrachan’s howl still dazed her and her hand fell limply from his grasp.
The elf retreated anyway but lashed out with his wand, shouting another incantation that hurled a black bolt of power at the nearest of the foulspawn. It flashed past the creature and struck the wall behind it. The foulspawn warriors hissed and snarled at Telkya, who stood as defiantly as she was able, before three enemies. Then the grick and the two warriors surged forward to finish the troublesome elf.
In the main corridor, the destrachan awkwardly climbed to its feet and then lashed out with a claw at Dulvarna as she came forward. The warrior woman raised her arms to protect herself and the creature’s claw lashed across her forearm. She raised her blade to finish the destrachan but at that moment, the third foulspawn leapt at her, driving its blade forward and into her thigh. She gasped and fell back a step and Enlishia’s bow sang behind her. An arrow flew past the destrachan and then a second flew forth, driving into the creature’s throat. It let out a long gasp and then fell dead at Dulvarna’s feet. The warrior woman turned from the lizard-like creature as it quickly began to disintegrate into slime and lashed her blade across at the foulspawn. The warrior brought its blade down and met Aecris with his own sword pointing toward the floor, keeping the enchanted blade at bay. Dulvarna drew her sword back and retreated a step, sizing up her enemy as he raised its own blade to come at her again.
Behind Dulvarna, Erlmoor decided that his friend did not need his aid at the moment and turned away, moving between Enlishia and Lavren to meet the foulspawn in the western passageway. He uttered a prayer as he lashed his blade across and as it began to glow, it clove into the side of one of the warriors. The creature fell to its left against the wall, winded and weakened for a moment but as Erlmoor moved to strike at it again, the other warrior interceded, blocking the dragonborn with parry after parry. Beside the foulspawn, the grick lunged again and lashed a tentacle around Telkya, driving the hook at the end of it into her back. She cried out and Thorn leapt at the creature, trying to prize the tentacle from the elf maid. His teeth and claws tore at the limb but the grick turned and shook the druid wolf free. As Thorn landed on all fours, Telkya twisted in the grick’s grasp and dropped free of its tentacle again but the destrachan’s howl still rang in her head and for a few moments she could only stagger away from the serpentine creature. A foulspawn leapt at her from the right, plunging its sword toward her side and Telkya lowered her blade and parried. Suddenly, the ringing in her head vanished and she backed away from the grick and the foulspawn warriors. The other foulspawn lunged at her and again Telkya parried with her sword while Erlmoor lunged at it. The dragonborn’s sword plunged into the creature’s shoulder and it fell back from the elf and the paladin, wounded and bleeding.
Seeing his wife holding her own at last, Lavren retreated into the main hallway and raised his wand toward the warrior that Dulvarna faught. Shouting out a curse and then a spell, he unleashed a blast of black, eldritch energy at the foulspawn. The bolt seared into the creature’s chest and threw it back a step but it came back with a fierce snarl a moment later, lashing its blade from left to right at Dulvarna. The sword cut into the side of the warrior woman’s thigh and she staggered back and away from the creature. Behind her, Enlishia’s bow sang out again and two arrows clattered off the scaly armour the creature wore and landed on the floor at its feet. The foulspawn stamped on the shafts with a sneer of derision but the distraction was enough for Dulvarna, who lashed her blade across the creature’s belly to cut open a shallow wound there. The warrior growled in response and raised its blade as it came forward once again.
In the western hall, the foulspawn came forward at Erlmoor with renewed ferocity, forcing the dragonborn back, step by step. He countered once, lashing his blade low at the foe before him but the creature met his sword with its own and held him at bay. Refusing to be denied its prey, the grick lunged at Telkya for a third time and lashed a tentacle around her, driving the hook at the end into the middle of her back. She cried out and then fell limp in the creature’s grasp as blood poured down her back. Lavren cried out in grief and Thorn leapt at the creature, tearing at its body but still it held onto the dying elf maid. The foulspawn roared in triumph and surged at Erlmoor, forcing him back another step. He parried a thrust from one but the other drove its blade into his hip and almost took his left leg from under him. The paladin staggered and retreated further while behind him, Lavren looked from Dulvarna to Telkya and back again as indecision seized him.
At last, the warlock made up his mind, deciding that to help Dulvarna was to help Telkya and with furious anger, he loosed another blast of black, eldritch energy at the foulspawn. The creature moved to its right and the bolt flashed past it and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor beyond. The warrior snarled at the elf in derision and then rushed at Dulvarna with its blade before it. It brought the sword up over its head and down toward the warrior woman but Aecris met the blow and turned it aside. Two arrows drove into the foulspawn’s belly as it wrestled blade to blade with Dulvarna and as it staggered from the missiles, the warrior woman threw her enemy back. She lashed her blade across, tearing another wound in the creature’s belly before it could react and the foulspawn fell back another step, bleeding and stunned.
In the western passage, Erlmoor parried high and low with a prayer on his lips before twisting the blade of the warrior before him aside. He plunged his sword forward into the belly of the creature and as it cried out, the sword glowed brightly and healing energy flowed into Erlmoor from it. Lavren and Telkya also glowed for a moment and in the grick’s grasp, Telkya’s eyes flicked open. She began to try and wriggle free but as she did, the creature dragged her closer and bit down on her throat with its beak-like mouth. Blood sprayed forth and Telkya fell limp in the creature’s grasp once more. Thorn growled and leapt at the creature but it lashed out a tentacle and slammed the druid wolf into the wall before he reached its body. The foulspawn roared in triumph again and together they rushed at Erlmoor, each feinting one way and then slashing its blade into the dragonborn’s sides. He gasped and staggered back another step, blood pouring from him, but still he let forth his own roar of defiance, reminding the foulspawn that he was not yet beaten.
Lavren hurled another bolt from his wand that flashed past the foulspawn and as he did, he heard an odd sucking sound from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that a wall of the grey flesh had formed seemingly in an instant across the passage which the companions had followed to the terrible place where they now faught.
“We’re trapped here,” he called to the others as they fought desperately.
“Then we’d best fight our way out,” Enlishia answered as she looked over at the newly-formed fleshy wall.
She raised her bow but as she did, a green vapour began to seep from the grey wall next to her and she stopped to cough as the burning gas entered her lungs. As her coughing subsided, the ranger raised her bow and took aim at the foulspawn before loosing an arrow. The shaft flew wide of the mark and drove into the fleshy wall of the corridor beyond the creature but Enlishia had already nocked another arrow and let fly. The second shaft drove into the creature’s shoulder as Dulvarna another flurry of attacks. The foulspawn staggered back a step and Dulvarna raised her blade over her head and brought it down toward her enemy. At the last, the creature raised its own sword and parried Aecris bare inches from the top of its skull. Its knees bent and it took another step back but still it forced the sword aside.
In the western corridor, Erlmoor followed his roar by rushing at the foulspawn with his blade above his head. He brought it down on the enemy before him, the sword tearing down the side of the creature’s head and severing an ear before smashing into the shoulder of the foulspawn. The creature fell to its knees and Erlmoor swept his blade across and decapitated it where it knelt. Despite the searing vapour that surrounded him and burned his throat, Erlmoor roared and sprayed acid on the remaining foulspawn and the grick, forcing both to shrink back from him.
The grick turned way, dragging Telkya with it and plunging its terrible beak into the elf maid’s belly. Thorn growled and leapt, tearing at the creature’s flank but still it refused to release its prey. Telkya’s blood cascaded to the floor and tears flowed freely down Lavren’s cheeks as he watched his wife die. Angrily, he lashed out with his wand and again a black bolt flashed past the foulspawn that Dulvarna fought, barely aimed by the warlock. The warrior lashed out wildly with his blade, cutting into Dulvarna’s shoulder and slamming her into the flesh wall beside her. Enlishia’s bow sang and two arrows drove one after the other into the foulspawn’s chest. The creature staggered back with the force of the missiles and as it did, Dulvarna pushed herself away from the soft, grey wall. She lashed out high with her blade before the foulspawn could recover and clove through its neck, taking its head from its shoulders. It collapsed beside the destrachan and Dulvarna started down the corridor, seeking another way to aid her friends.
The grick finally threw down Telkya and lashed out a tentacle toward Thorn. The appendage wrapped around the druid wolf and raised him from the ground while the hook at its end, drove painfully into his flank. He growled and twisted in the creature’s grasp while biting and clawing at it but it would not let go of its new prey. The remaining foulspawn sensed victory and with a roar, surged at Erlmoor, feinting left and then slashing its blade in from the right to cleave into the dragonborn’s side. He grunted and fell against the flesh wall beside him as the noxious vapour seared his body from the inside.
Lavren rushed to Erlmoor’s side helping him up from the wall and then lashing out his wand with his left hand. A bolt of black energy lanced out to the foulspawn’s shoulder and threw it back a step but it barely stopped its attacks, coming back a moment later, snarling and hissing. Behind the others, Enlishia realised that she could not aid them with her bow and instead rushed off after Dulvarna, determined to find another way from which to attack the grick and its companion. She passed Dulvarna a little way down the corridor and turned right into another westward leading passage which she felt sure would lead them around behind their enemies. Dulvarna followed but more slowly, binding a strip of cloth around her wounded body as she limped over the slime and into the side passage. The two companions heard the sounds of battle almost at once and knew that they had found the right way.
Erlmoor raised his blade wearily as the foulspawn came at him once again, parrying its attacks with what he knew to be the last of his strength. As he fought, he prayed and then looked down at Telkya with satisfaction as he body glowed with divine light. As Telkya’s eyes flicked open, the dragonborn smiled and then rushed at his enemy, clashing blade on blade two keep the creature away from the wounded elf maid. Dimly, he heard Thorn cry out as the grick tore at him with its beak but he knew he could not help the druid directly. All he could do was to fight until he fell and buy Dulvarna a little more time to come to their aid. With a growl, Thorn dropped to the floor beside Erlmoor and the dragonborn nodded his appreciation of the druid wolf’s efforts before driving his foe back another step. Then Telkya rose beside Erlmoor, lashing her blade out at the foulspawn before ducking past the two combatants to get away from the grick. She uttered a healing prayer with her back against the wall and her blade before her and then she leapt forward to join the paladin in his desperate battle. Erlmoor smiled and roared hin his own triumph then but as he did, his strength finally failed him. The foulspawn drove his blade toward the dragonborn’s chest and Erlmoor’s parry was too slow. He knocked aside the creature’s blade but only drove it downward into his belly. He felt searing pain as the blade pierced his flesh and dimly, knew that his sword had fallen from his spent grasp. He staggered back from his enemy, fell into the wall and then collapsed at Lavren’s feet as blackness took him.
Lavren cried out as Erlmoor fell, lashing out with his wand and hurling a bolt of black energy into the chest of the foulspawn. It staggered back and from somewhere behind it, a bow sang out. An arrow thudded into the creature’s chest and it lurched forward. Another arrow flashed past its head and drove into the flesh wall next to Telkya and a guttural cry that the companions knew could only be Dulvarna erupted behind the grick. Blood sprayed from the creature’s back as Dulvarna lashed her blade into the monster’s body and Thorn, Telkya and Lavren felt their spirits soar.
Desperately, the grick lashed a tentacle around Thorn again and dragged him toward it. The druid wolf clawed and bit at the appendage, tearing at the flesh of the creature and slowly loosening its grip. Behind him, Telkya rushed at the foulspawn and plunged her blade into its side with a prayer on her lips. She reached out the amulet in her left hand toward Erlmoor and a burst of divine light reached out to touch the dragonborn. His eyes flicked open and more divine light bathed him, healing his wounds and restoring his strength. The foulspawn, realising its peril, turned on Telkya fiercely, lashing out left and right with his sword only to find an apparently delicate elven blade blocking each huge blow. A moment later, a bolt of black light seared into the creature’s side and its sword fell from suddenly lifeless hands. The foulspawn let out one last hiss and then collapsed beside its companion.
Dulvarna rushed at the grick, lashing her blade into its back and with a roar, Erlmoor rose before it and drove his own sword into the front of its snake-like body. Still it bit at Thorn with a ferocious appetite, tearing at the wolf druid’s flank with its beak mouth. Thorn’s strength began to face though he still clawed and bit at the creature but Telkya came to his aid as he had come to hers. She raised her amulet and loosed a bolt of light into the grick’s head, driving it back and loosening its grip on Thorn. Its serpentine body weaved unsteadily and then a bolt of black energy tore into it and it fell forward onto the slimy floor.
“The hidden door back in the corridor offers a way out,” Enlishia called to the others having seen the door that the foulspawn had used as she ran to catch up with Dulvarna.
Enlishia turned away from her slain enemies and rushed back to the main hallway. She crossed into a short corridor beyond the hidden door that the foulspawn had used and began to run her fingers along the far wall seeking a trigger for the second hidden door that she knew had to be there. She found the trigger within a few heartbeats and pushed the stone stud that caused the far wall of the passage to slide open. Dulvarna rushed into the passageway a few moments later and the two companions paused, waiting for the others to follow.
“I thank you for saving me,” said Erlmoor to Telkya before starting after the others but no sooner had he rounded the corner into the main passage than Thorn and Lavren began coughing again. An instant later, both collapsed on the floor of the western passageway.
Telkya knelt beside Thorn and uttered a healing prayer that mended some of the damage to the druid’s seared lungs and as he woke, she moved to tend to Lavren, despite the burning in her own throat and chest. Thorn shifted into his human form and rose, looking down at the husband and wife with real concern. His face had half-shifted into the sharpened features that betrayed this werewolf ancestry but still he regarded his new friends with a worried look.
“Go after them,” Telkya said. “We will come after you.”
Thorn did as he was bade and behind him, Telkya uttered another healing prayer. Thorn reached the hidden side passage and stepped inside, waiting for the two elves to follow. They came after what had seemed like a few minutes but was in fact barely a few seconds. As Telkya entered the passageway, she pressed a stud protruding from the wall and the stone slid back into place, sealing out the noxious vapours beyond. Thorn smiled at the two elves and together, the three companions went to join the others.
At the beginning of this encounter and as part of the previous one, the PCs had to contend with the Gates of Agony which, as written, I found to be an extremely frustrating but ultimately harmless obstacle. I also could not see how the dungeon dwellers would use the three gates at the same time in order to pass through to their inner chambers. I therefore amended the encounter so that the Gates could be opened one at a time by a character facing the challenge. Other DMs may disagree but this is how I decided to resolve this potentially annoying interlude.
A passage led eastward from the maze of flesh-like corridors and the companions rested in its entry before making their way onward. When they were ready to go on, they followed the eastern passage in a serpentine course that led them left and right before ending at double doors leading eastward. Dulvarna pushed opened the doors onto a wide chamber filled with howling winds that swept past the doorway. Before the companions, a rushing vortex of energy whirled around the centre of the room and within the vortex could just be seen the form of a humanoid figure. Before Dulvarna could take a step into the room, a figure appeared before her, seeming to be the same tiefling as had appeared when the companions had first come to the pyramid, the being they now knew as Draxius. He appeared insubstantial as he had before and spoke before anyone could react.
“Not all of us appear as we did,” Draxius said. “One of us has become an abomination. Kill us three times and win your freedom.!”
The image began laughing and slowly faded away until all the companions saw was the terrible room beyond. Enlishia raised her bow and rushed past the others, battling through the winds until she had passed through into the centre of the chamber. There, she a being more terrible than anything else she had ever beheld before. It had once been a man, or perhaps a tiefling, for two small, twisted horns grew from its oversized, bulging head. Its skin was grey-blue and while its upper body seemed to be that of a man, its lower body ended in several, long, ropey tentacles. In place of arms, it had two long tentacles that ended in cruel barbs and was chained by these to two stone menhirs that held it in place.
“We have found the abomination,” she called to the others though she doubted they had heard her through the howling winds.
She nocked an arrow to her bow and took aim at the chained creature as it began to manically strain at its bonds. A shower of light brought Lavren to the ranger’s side and as soon as he saw the creature, he raised his wand to hurl a spell at it. Before he could, the creature cried out as it summoned all of its strength and snapped the bonds that held it.
“That is a shard of Draxius,” Lavren said in amazement.
“So it would seem,” Enlishia answered. “And it seems angry.”
Dulvarna burst through the vortex next, moving toward the dais on which the abomination stood with her sword raised. Erlmoor came next and then Thorn and Telkya followed, the druid already in wolf form. Thorn rushed up the single step onto the dais to challenge the abomination while Telkya appeared as Lavren had, in a shower of light on the far side of the dais from her husband. The freed creature lashed out with a tentacle and hurled Thorn back off the dais and toward the swirling winds. It lashed out with its other tentacle a moment later and struck Erlmoor in the chest, flinging him back into the vortex. Enlishia raised her bow and then paused as she looked from one menhir to the other.
“The vortex is fed by the menhirs,” she called to the others. “If we topple one then it will end.”
She looked toward Dulvarna, who nodded, and then she made her way past Lavren to where she could clearly aim at the abomination. She raised her bow and fired but the arrow flew past the creature and into the vortex where it swirled away as it was snatched by the powerful winds. She loosed another shaft and this one flew straight and true, only to bounce harmlessly off the blue-grey skin of the creature.
Lavren slammed his shoulder into the menhir and began pushing on it but just as it started to shift, the abomination lashed out with a tentacle and threw the elf back into the vortex. Dulvarna moved to lend her own strength to the effort but as she stepped toward the menhir, the room shifted suddenly and nauseatingly around her. Suddenly, she stood before the doorway through which she had entered the room as though she had never battled through the winds.
The prismatic vortex battered Erlmoor and he fell to the stone floor of the chamber, bruised and shaken. He rose again at once and battled through the winds to emerge by the dais once more, heading toward the menhir that Lavren had tried to topple. He heard a growl from Thorn as he was sucked into the terrible winds but then a moment later, the druid emerged in human form and rushed over to the menhir where Erlmoor stood. He shoved his weight against the stone and it moved a little more away from vertical as though it were about to topple. Telkya circled around the dais and lent her own strength to the struggle but still the stone would not fall and the abomination had at last seen what the companions were doing. It lashed out with its tentacles and struck Telkya and Erlmoor, hurling them both back from the dais and into the swirling prismatic winds.
Shouldering her bow, Enlishia moved to aid Telkya, throwing her body against the menhir and pushing with all her strength. It moved further away from the vertical and then toppled with a loud crash next to the abomination. The vortex faded to a whine before dying away altogether and Lavren turned back toward the dais, raising his wand toward the abomination. He loosed a black bolt of energy into the side of the creature and it roared in anger lashing out a tentacle toward the elf. From the end of the appendage, a bolt of prismatic energy lanced out and struck the warlock in the chest, throwing him back a step toward where the vortex had been.
From the doorway, Dulvarna rushed forward but circled to the right as she did, seeking to come at the creature from the opposite side to her companions. Erlmoor rushed forward himself from where he had been thrown and leapt atop the dais, lashing out with his blade as he did so. The abomination twisted and parried his blade with the barb at the end of one of its tentacles and then shrank back as the dragonborn roared and sprayed acid from his mouth. Thorn shifted to wolf form and leapt atop the dais, snapping at the flailing appendages of the creature but as he lunged, the creature twisted away from him. Behind the druid wolf, Telkya circled around the dais, uttering a prayer as she did so and then stopping to brandish her amulet. A column of burning light descended on the abomination, burning its ugly blue-grey flesh and drawing another roar of anger from it. Suddenly, the creature whirled around, lashing out in every direction with its tentacles and hurling Enlishia, Thorn and Lavren back from it. A tentacle lashed out at Erlmoor but he ducked under it and thought for a moment he had escaped. As he raised his blade to strike at the creature again, another tentacle lashed in from his right and threw him back off the dais.
Enlishia recovered quickly, and unshouldered her bow as she circled around behind Telkya. When she decided that she was beyond the abomination’s reach, she raised her weapon and fired an arrow and then a second, one after the other. The abomination spun and swatted aside the first shaft but the second drove into the side of the creature, causing it to spin around, seeking the source of this new pain. As its eyes fixed on Enlishia, a bolt of energy from Lavren’s wand seared into it and it roared in anger once more, turning its gaze toward the elf. It lashed out with a tentacle and loosed another blast of prismatic energy that struck Lavren in the chest and threw him back toward the north wall of the chamber. The creature seemed to exult for a moment but then Dulvarna rushed onto the dais and plunged her blade into its side.
Erlmoor roared and circled around the dais before rushing at the creature from the opposite side. With a huge thunderclap, his blade clove into the creature’s back and knocked it face down on the stone. Thorn circled around toward the east wall and Telkya made to follow but as she did, the chamber swirled around her and she found herself standing next to the north wall. The priestess recovered quickly and rushed after Thorn anyway. As she reached him, she uttered a prayer and raised her amulet to hurl ribbons of light toward the abomination’s eyes. At the last, it twisted away and the light flashed past its eyes to strike the far wall. The creature turned toward Telkya but in that moment, it warped and then vanished only to reappear close to the southern wall.
The creature reeled as though dazed for a moment and then lashed out a tentacle toward Dulvarna, loosing a bolt of prismatic energy that struck the unaware warrior in the side. She turned toward the creature and it lashed out its other tentacle, hurling another bolt that struck her in the chest. She staggered backward as pain assailed her but then raised her blade, ready to rush at the creature again. From the far side of the room, Enlishia’s bow sang out and an arrow flashed past the abomination to strike the southern wall. A second arrow flew a moment later and drove into the creature’s shoulder, throwing it back toward the wall. It roared its anger and then lurched forward on its tentacled legs toward Dulvarna. As it neared her, it lashed out with a tentacle that struck her in the side and spun her off the dais toward the western wall.
Dulvarna spun with the force of the blow and then rushed at the creature with her blade before her. She ducked under a lashing tentacle and plunged her sword into the creature’s flank drawing another roar of pain and anger from it. On the dais, Erlmoor held out his sword and from it streamed ribbons of light that tore across the chamber to strike the creature in the chest. It fell back and as it did, Thorn rushed in from the creature’s right to tear at the tentacles beneath its torso. The abomination seemed to stagger and a moment later, a column of flame, called down by Telkya, descended from the ceiling and engulfed the creature. It lashed out a tentacle at Thorn but the druid wolf ducked under the flailing appendage and once again, the creature roared in anger and pain.
Enlishia moved along the eastern wall and then turned to raise her bow. She aimed for a heartbeat and then let fly an arrow, reaching for another before seeing if the other had struck its target. The first arrow flashed past the abomination and clattered into the far wall and the second followed a moment later, hitting the creature but bounding off its thick skin. The ranger cursed her poor luck but then a bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand seared into the abomination and it roared again. It lashed out at Dulvarna, striking her in the side and throwing her away from it but it seemed to be faltering now. Its flesh still smouldered from the fire that Telkya had called down and it bled from half a dozen or more wounds. Dulvarna rushed back at it defiantly and lashed her blade into the tentacles that held up the creature’s body. Again the creature roared and again it faltered.
Erlmoor crossed the dais and leapt down onto the floor of the chamber, rushing at the abomination. His blade glowed as he swung it and as it struck the creature’s side, a burst of golden light exploded from it. Erlmoor and those around him felt new strength surge into them and with a growl, Thorn leapt at the abomination. It twisted away and lashed out a tentacle to keep the druid wolf at bay but as it did, a blast of light from Telkya’s amulet flashed past its head, reminding it of the other enemies it faced. The creature lashed out at Thorn and struck him in the chest, throwing him back toward Enlishia before turning around to face Dulvarna. The creature’s other tentacle lashed out and threw the warrior woman back toward the dais. The creature roared again but this time, it was clear that it was defiant and triumphant. It refused to be beaten and would make the companions suffer before they felled it.
Enlishia loosed another arrow and then a second but both flew past the twisting form of the abomination. A black bolt from Lavren’s wand flashed past the creature and struck the southern wall and again the creature roared its defiance. It lashed out at Erlmoor, smashing the dragonborn in the chest and throwing him back onto the dais. He stumbled up the step onto the platform but kept his footing and raised his blade before him. Dulvarna paused for a moment to get her breath back and then rushed at the abomination again. Her blade sang out and the creature turned, parrying the sword with one of the barbs on the end of its tentacles. Erlmoor followed his friend, rushing at the creature and lashing his blade into its body. The creature swayed backward and Thorn rushed in from its right. The abomination twisted away from the wolf druid as he leapt but the dodge moved it into the path of a bolt fo light from Telkya’s amulet that struck it in the chest. Again the creature roared and again its wrath followed.
The creature lashed out with its tentacles hurling Erlmoor and Dulvarna back onto the dais. Enlishia loosed two more arrows that flew past the twisting abomination and then Lavren hurled a bolt of energy that seared into its chest. It swayed backwards and then raised its tentacles to unleash a swirling vortex of howling faces. The vortex spun out from the creature and assailed all around, sending Dulvarna and Thorn reeling away as terrible images tore through their minds.
Erlmoor roared and rushed at the creature, thrusting his blade into its side as he reached it. It roared in response and reeled backwards itself. Telkya felt the room shift around her but as she appeared next to the eastern wall, she hurled another bolt of light at the creature. The blast flashed past the creature’s body and it lashed out angrily at Erlmoor. Its tentacle struck him in the chest and the barb drove into his flesh as it flung him away. He landed on the dais, tried to stand and then collapsed on the stone, blood pouring from his side. The abomination lashed out with its other tentacle at Thorn, hurling a bolt of swirling prismatic energy at the wolf druid. It struck him in the face and threw him back across the floor. He landed hard and lay unmoving where he had fallen.
Two more arrows from Enlishia’s bow flashed past the creature and then a bolt from Lavren’s wand flew past it to strike the wall behind it. Sensing victory, the creature seemed to smile before lashing out a tentacle to strike Dulvarna and hurl her into the fallen menhir. She smashed into the stone and lay there, bleeding and unmoving as the three companions who still stood looked on in horror. Telkya rushed to the dais and knelt beside Dulvarna and Erlmoor while uttering a healing prayer. She reached her hand out to the dragonborn and as light flowed from her hand to the dragonborn, his eyes opened. She smiled down at him but then looked up as a flash of light burst from the abomination. A prismatic bolt seared into Lavren and with a cry, he staggered back from the menhir he stood beside. Telkya knew that the next bolt would be aimed at her and raised her eyes to look straight at the creature that was somehow a part of Draxius the Neverdying. The creature vanished for a moment before reappearing next to the southern wall and then light flashed out from the creature’s tentacle. Telkya threw herself forward over Erlmoor’s body and the bolt seared over her head to strike the northern wall behind her. Somehow, the elf maid managed to smile as she moved to kneel next to Dulvarna and began another healing prayer.
Enlishia drew and loosed arrows as rapidly as she could, knowing that her life depended upon it. She had seen three of her companions fall and knew that only she could bring the creature down now. Two arrows flew past the creature but two more found their mark and the creature roared again in pain giving the ranger some hope. She saw Lavren hurl another bolt of black energy from his wand and this too struck home, forcing the creature back against the wall. It answered by lashing out with a tentacle and hurling another bolt of colourful prismatic energy at the elf. It struck Lavren in the chest and he fell back another step toward the centre of the dais. With a roar, Erlmoor rose to his feet on the dais and for a moment, hope returned to Enlishia. The dragonborn rushed across the floor and lashed out with his blade, cleaving deep into the abomination’s belly. It roared and swayed, seeming as if it would fall but then it righted itself, despite the blood that poured from the terrible wound it had suffered. On the dais, Telkya prayed over Dulvarna while on the floor of the chamber, the creature lashed out at Erlmoor.
Despite the pain he felt, Erlmoor ducked under the first tentacle that was swung at him but as the second came in from his left, he knew he would not be quick enough. It lashed into his side, the barb raking his flesh between the plates of his armour and then he felt himself hurled across the chamber toward the dais. Somehow he kept his footing and managed to roar his defiance at the abomination but he knew in his heart that he had the strength for only one more charge at the creature. He looked toward Enlishia and saw the ranger disappear before his eyes as the strange shifts in the chamber moved her closer to him. She appeared next to Thorn and then rushed up beside the dragonborn. The ranger raised her bow, aimed and let fly, nocking a second arrow before the first had found its mark. She let fly the second and then cursed as both missiles clattered into the wall behind the creature. A black bolt of energy from Lavren’s wand lanced out over the dragonborn’s head and struck the wall close to where the arrows had struck and the paladin cursed. The abomination would surely have its revenge.
A tentacle lashed out toward Erlmoor a few moments later. Hurling the dragonborn into the southern menhir. His head cracked back and as blood poured from his skull, blackness took the paladin for the second time.
Dulvarna rose to her feet on the dais and looked around her. Erlmoor had fallen again and Thorn lay unmoving where he had been thrown. She knew that she could not reach the abomination before it attacked again and so she sheathed her sword and pulled her bow from her shoulder. Nocking an arrow to the string, she took aim at the creature as it flailed about with its tentacles, seeking enemies. Dulvarna took aim at the creature’s head, drew back the string and let fly. As soon as the arrow flew from the string, Dulvarna knew that she had never before performed such a shot. It flew straight and true, past the flailing tentacles of the warped creature, and drove into the abomination’s left eye. The arrow buried itself up to its fletching into the socket, the point driving into the tortured brain of the monster. It cried out and then fell over onto its back where it lay twitching for a moment. Then, into the silence, it spoke in Common with its last breath.
“I am Galaghard, son of Galaghard,” it said. “I should not be here.”
“That creature claimed to be Galaghard, son of Galaghard,” said Lavren as the companions made ready to leave their resting place in the western passage entrance overlooking the wide hall where the vortex and the abomination had nearly laid them low.
“Which would make him Draxius’ father, Galaghard II of Cormyr,” Dulvarna concluded as she buckled her sword onto her back.
“And yet he held a key,” said Enlishia, pulling the mithral key that she had found in the ruins of the northern menhir from her pouch. “Which means he must also be Draxius.”
“He was Draxius,” Vyrellis spoke up from Lavren’s belt. “Whoever he claimed to be.”
“So did his curse run through his family from his grandfather to his father and down to him,” said Erlmoor. “Or are the grandfather, the father, and the son, one and the same.”
“That cannot be,” Enlishia said with some indignation. “The annals of Cormyr tell of no king who ruled for so long or a curse that runs through the royal line.”
“And yet we have met and battled those who claim otherwise,” Thorn said quietly. “Perhaps we will learn more on the third level. We can ascend now, can we not?”
“We can,” Dulvarna answered. “But we must go northward. The burning gas and the walls of flesh lie behind us.”
With that, the warrior woman rose and stepped into the vortex chamber, heading for the northern double doors that seemed to be the only other way out. The others rose behind her and followed. When they reached the doors, Erlmoor and Dulvarna raised their swords and pushed the portals open to reveal a passageway that led north and then bent to the right a little way in. They led the companions in and turned the corner and then turned another corner back to the north again before the corridor opened up into another wide chamber that looked like a camp of refugees from war. Several small buildings crafted from scrap wood, crumbling stone blocks and other debris had been erected in the chamber. The statue of a strange, four armed creature carrying several weapons stood in middle of the room in an open square between the makeshift buildings. Two men came forward from the square dressed in ragged peasant clothes, one with the bandaged hands and face of a leper and the other with an apparently useless third arm growing from his right side.
“Welcome strangers,” said one in a rural Cormyte accent. “Come to our chapel and be welcomed by us all.”
“I mislike this,” Telkya said to the others quietly. “The statue looks like a foulspawn and these folk cannot have survived here for long without allies.”
“Agreed,” Lavren said softly from behind his wife. “We should be cautious and whilst I have no desire to hurt these people, they are surely allied with something that means us harm.”
“And if they are not?” Erlmoor rumbled quietly over his shoulder. “They could need our help to escape this place.”
“We cannot trust them, paladin,” Thorn said sharply. “Telkya is right about the statue and the alliance they have likely struck. We are in danger here as we are everywhere else in this place.”
“Agreed,” said Dulvarna. “Make ready your weapons, prayers and spells. There will be battle here before long.” The warrior woman turned to the two men and shook her head.
“This is a dark place,” she said to them. “And we have no wish to stay. If you will let us pass, then we will bring down this place and set you free.”
“We are free,” the second man answered. “But you must meet the rest of us to see the nature of our freedom.”
“Then you shall remain free here and we shall go on in peace,” said Erlmoor, starting off to the left toward a passage entrance in the western wall of the chamber.
Enlishia rushed after the dragonborn and reached the passage entrance ahead of him. She turned to put her back to the chamber wall and raised her bow lest any pursuit come. The others followed, passing between the wall of the largest of the ramshackle buildings and the southern wall of the chamber. They heard shouts from behind them as they reached the passage entrance and two more human figures appeared around the northern end of the large building a few moments later. The three armed man appeared to the east and moved warily down the gap between the building and the wall.
“You cannot go until you have spoken with Medragal,” he called out.
“Tell Medragal we are sorry but we cannot tarry,” Erlmoor called back and then he led the companions into the western passage.
Enlishia loosed an arrow and then a second over the heads of the small crowd before ducking into the corridor after the dragonborn A four armed foulspawn armed with the familiar bone daggers appeared behind the three humans who had now gathered to the north and the companions that remained looked at one another.
“We still go,” Thorn said firmly and ducked into the passageway after Enlishia and Erlmoor.
Lavren and Dulvarna followed and then, as more foulspawn appeared to the east and to the north, Telkya finally turned away and followed her companions.
The western passage led the group back to the chamber of three gates and they made their way back through the western doors that they had come through. Passing the slain medusa and ogre and the chamber of demonic faces, the adventurers turned east and made their way at last to the staircase that led up to the third level of the pyramid. At the top of the stairs, a corridor led east to west and another staircase led upward across the passageway.
“There is a fourth level, it seems,” said Enlishia.
“That way must lie Draxius’ sanctuary,” said Vyrellis. “There you will defeat him a final time and win your freedom. If only it were the same for me.”
“If we can find a way to free you once we escape this place then we will,” Enlishia answered solemnly.
Dulvarna looked east and then west and then east again before turning back to the west and leading the companions down a long hallway. The passage turned northward after a while and then ended at a set of double doors. In a now familiar routine, the adventurers made ready weapons and implements and spells and then Erlmoor and Dulvarna pushed the doors open. Beyond lay another short hallway that ended at another set of double doors. Dulvarna and Erlmoor moved forward and pushed these doors open and found before them a well-appointed study lit by two candle holders close to the doors. In the south east and south west corners stood statures of elegantly clad tieflings while a table piled high with books stood in the north east corner. Heavy, purple curtains hid the room’s north west corner but at the table sat a tiefling that could only be Draxius the Neverdying. He seemed younger than the images that had spoken to the companions but there was no doubt that it was him.
“That’s him!” shouted Vyrellis as if to confirm this. “That’s Draxius!”
Enlishia rushed into the chamber, raised her bow and fired, the arrow flying over the tiefling’s head and clattering into the wall. She nocked another shaft and fired again but this arrow flew wide of the mark and drove into the wooden table. Draxius began to scream in terror but by then, Telkya was already in the room and chanting a prayer. She raised her amulet and hurled a bolt of light that seared into the tiefling’s back and toppled him from the chair on which he sat. He clambered to his knees, seeming to reach out for the Telkya and then he fell face down on the chamber floor, apparently dead.
“Too easy,” said Dulvarna and as she did, a black wall appeared in the doorway, sealing the room and blocking all sight of Enlishia and Telkya.
“A trap!” she exclaimed a moment later as the realisation struck the others.
Immediately, Dulvarna raised her blade and struck at the wall but her blade only sent golden sparks across the surface of the barrier. Lavren watched the sparks, looking for some floor in the enchantment while Thorn and Erlmoor set about the wall with their own weapons. Sparks arced across the surface but still no flaw appeared as the companions began to wonder what had befallen Enlishia and Telkya within the chamber.
As soon as the wall had appeared, a thick green gas began to billow from the candle holders. Enlishia and Telkya began to cough and choke almost at once and as the ranger cast around, looking for another way out, she realised that she knew the poison that was killing them.
“Stranglemist gas,” she said to Telkya. “It will choke us unless we can stop its flow. Strike at the candle holders.”
The ranger raised her bow and began loosing arrows into the nearest candleholder while Telkya began hacking at it with her blade. Stone chipped away from the holders with each hit but the flow of gas showed no sign of stopping. The friends looked at each other for a moment as they realised that they could be doomed and then they turned their attention back to the task in hand. Enlishia fired volley after volley of arrows into the candle holder and Telkya chipped away at the stone while around the two, the green mist filled the room and thickened. The companions paused every few moments to cough as the gas tightened their throats and lungs, making it more and more difficult to breathe. Finally, as both felt their strength waning, an arrow from Enlishia’s bow shattered the stone stem of the candleholder and it collapsed into rubble on the floor. The gas flow stopped from that outlet at once but the other candleholder still spewed the noxious vapour into the room. Grimly, Enlishia turned her bow on the other candleholder and fired while Telkya made her way unsteadily across the chamber to hack at the other ornament.
In the corridor outside, Dulvarna, Erlmoor and Thorn hacked at the barrier, spreading arcs of golden energy across the black wall of magic. Still Lavren studied the patterns, focussing now on one corner of the enchantment where he thought he had seen a weakness. Suddenly, Erlmoor stumbled and struck his blade on the floor in front of the wall as the ferocity of the blows he had been striking began to weaken his limbs.
“Find the weakness, elf,” he growled at Lavren. “Else your wife will likely not come out alive.”
Enlishia staggered and coughed as she aimed her bow and the arrow flew out and clattered into the floor at the foot of the candleholder. She nocked another arrow but could only draw back her bowstring halfway before her weakened limbs let loose the shaft. It struck the wall behind the holder and Telkya looked over at her companion, truly worried that they would both die in the chamber with a false Draxius. The ranger raised her bow and loosed another arrow that nicked the stone of the holder and then she fired again, this shaft nicking the bowl of the holder. Telkya lashed out with her sword but in that moment, her strength failed her as well and her blade cut the air above the holder before striking the wall with a clang. Enlishia loosed another arrow that drove into the shaft of the candleholder and chipped the stone but as she drew back her bow to fire again, her breath rattled in her throat and she staggered. The arrow flew from the bow and skittered across the floor of the chamber to land close to Telkya’s feet.
“We have to hold on,” Telkya gasped. “The others will come for us.” Enlishia managed a smile in response and then raised her bow again.
Dulvarna struck at the barrier for what she felt was the hundredth time and again all she saw was the cascade of golden energy lancing across the surface of the night black magical wall. Thorn raised his scythe but as he did, Lavren held up a hand.
“Here,” he said, gesturing at the bottom left corner of the wall. “Strike here and it will shatter.”
Thorn brought his scythe around underarm and smashed it into the barrier where Lavren had pointed. Again, lines of golden energy cascaded across the wall but this time, in the corner where the druid had struck, the lines stayed as though the fabric of the barrier had cracked. Erlmoor stepped over and swung his sword with all his strength at the same point. The blade struck home and as it did, the golden lines spread across the wall until it shattered into shards of black, shadowstuff. The shards dissipated and the room, filled with green gas lay open to the companions. Enlishia turned toward her friends and managed a faint smile before, with a gasp, she collapsed on the floor of the chamber. Telkya staggered but reached an arm down to try and drag her friend out of the gas.
“Help me,” she gasped to the others and as one, they rushed into the chamber.
Telkya prayed over Enlishia until she woke and then sat back to recover from the choking gas herself. As she sat, leaning against the wall, she looked across the corridor to the opposite wall and saw a passageway leading east that had not been there when the companions had first come to the chamber.
“A passage has opened up,” she said to the others. “Perhaps the true Draxius can be found that way.”
“You may be right,” Enlishia said. “A trap and a misdirection to fool the unwary.”
“Then we go that way,” Dulvarna announced. “If you are both able.”
Enlishia and Telkya both nodded and rose slowly to their feet. Making ready their weapons, they stood ready until Dulvarna started off down the passageway. The others followed in turn, making their way down a short passageway until it ended at double doors. In a familiar routine, Dulvarna and Erlmoor put up their blades and pushed the portals open.
Beyond the doors, a narrow passage led crossways to the north and south. The walls of the place were black stone with hideous, tormented forms seeming to writhe within them. A horrifying, soul-wrenching shriek emanated from the trapped souls and at the sight of the companions, they pointed at them and banged on the walls, desperate to escape. As if in response to the agony of the souls, from somewhere ahead of the companions came a desperate wailing as of another spirit in torment and from the left, another wail answered the first.
“Some in this place may require Corellon’s comfort,” Telkya said as she raised her amulet and started forward. “Others may require his wrath.”
The elf maid stepped into the corridor and turned right, making her way to a corner where the southern passage turned to the left. As she reached the corner, she stopped suddenly and threw down the torch she held in her right hand. Before her, a skeleton advanced down the corridor, its feet clacking on the hard stone floor as it came forward. From its body spread four skeletal arms and in the bony hand of each, it held a rusty scimitar, each stained dark with old blood. As it saw the priestess, its mouth cracked open into a predatory grin and it raised its blades high. Telkya raised her amulet and began to chant the Litany to Banish the Undead. Light flared from her amulet and the skeleton raised its arms in front of its face. It staggered back around another corner to the east and vanished from sight but Telkya knew that it had not been slain.
“Undead!” she called to the others. “Skeletons and likely spirits lurk here.”
Lavren rushed to his wife’s aid, holding up his own torch and wand as he rounded the corner where she stood. He started down the eastern passageway but he saw no enemies and looked back to his wife quizzically.
“It has retreated,” Telkya said. “But it will return.”
Thorn bounded past the pair in wolf form and then Dulvarna came forward with her blade held ready. Then, the four companions heard a clacking sound from back toward the doors and looking back, Telkya saw another of the four armed skeletons advancing to meet Erlmoor. As it reached the dragonborn, the undead creature lashed out with all four of its scimitars’ gouging the paladin’s chest armour and cutting his arm. Erlmoor roared, spraying acid over the skeleton and as it stepped back, he slashed his blade across and into its ribs, shattering one of the bones there. From in front of Telkya came a growl and as she looked, the priestess saw another of the skeletons, or possibly the one she forced back, round the corner to attack the wolf druid. Its blades lashed down and with a yelp, Thorn retreated, blood matting the fur on his back and flank.
Enlishia stepped into the corridor and turned to face the skeleton that Erlmoor battled. She raised her bow and loosed an arrow that drove into the creature’s spine. As it staggered back, she nocked another shaft and let fly, this missile shattering another of the skeleton’s ribs. The creature took another step back but then Enlishia’s gaze was drawn to something else that was rounding a corner some way behind the four armed monster. It was the translucent form of an elf whose face was twisted in unimaginable torment. It hovered a little way above the floor and drifted silently down the corridor toward the battle at the doorway. Enlishia raised her bow again wondering what good it would do against such a foe but before she could draw back the string, another of the elf spirits burst from the wall to her right and lashed out at her. As the creature’s icy touch passed through her arm, Enlishia fell back, knowing that the time had already come to find out if her bow could harm the elf spirits.
Telkya looked to her left as the elf spirit burst from the wall and attacked Enlishia but found herself plagued by indecision. She did not know how she could help her companions from where she stood and the souls in the wall screamed inside her head, distracting her from the battle. She looked back to her right and saw Lavren holding his left hand up to his head, the wand he held and his enemies forgotten for the moment. Only Thorn, focussed on the bestial part of his nature, seemed to have been able to banish the screams. The wolf druid leapt forward with a growl, snapping and clawing at the skeleton he faced while it slashed at him with its rusty, blood-covered blades. Behind the druid, Dulvarna pushed past Lavren and rushed at the skeleton, slashing her blade low into the creature’s right leg and gouging a shard of bone from the limb. The skeleton staggered and as Telkya saw it step back, she realised what needed to happen.
“Enlishia, retreat through the doors,” she called out. “Like as not they will not follow.”
Enlishia looked back over her shoulder as Telkya called to her and knew the elf maid was right. In front of her, beyond the elf spirit that flailed at her, Erlmoor clashed blades with the skeleton again and then swept his own sword up into its ribs for a second time. The blade glowed brightly as it found its mark and three more of the undead creature’s ribs shattered. As it staggered back, Enlishia raised her bow, thrust it toward the elf spirit as a shield and then darted to her left through the doors. She turned to face the ghost as she passed the doors, raising her bow as she did to take aim. She leapt back beyond the ghost’s reach and then let fly the arrow, the shaft passing through the side of the spirit. The shaft clattered into the wall beyond the ghost but instead of despair, Enlishia felt hope. The ghost had flinched as the arrow had struck it, showing true physical pain beyond the torment of its existence. Her arrows could hurt the spirit and that meant that it could be slain.
Telkya saw Enlishia retreat and raised her amulet, chanting a prayer to call divine light down on the elf spirit. The column of light descended and the creature shrieked as the power of Corellon Larethian burned its insubstantial body. Lavren moved to stand beside his wife, throwing down his torch as he did and raising his want. He shouted a curse and an incantation in one swift cascade of words and a bolt of black, crackling energy burst from his wand to sear through the body of the ghost. Again the elf spirit shrieked as the magic tore at her form. Then the creature turned toward Telkya and lunged forward, letting out a terrible howl as it did so. The flesh of its translucent face seemed to shrink back and a leering, skull-like visage was revealed that chilled Telkya’s heart and shocked her utterly. She fell back against the wall and Lavren reached out a comforting hand to her.
“It seems we have angered the ghost,” he said softly and Telkya nodded though tears rolled down her cheeks.
Erlmoor parried desperately as the skeleton came at him again, blocking one scimitar to his left and then another to his right. Then the creature raised its two upper arms and slashed both scimitars in at him, one from either side. The paladin, twisted and parried to his left but the scimitar to his right clove into his shoulder and spun him back a step into the corridor. He looked back at Enlishia and smiled before turning back to his foe and parrying again. To his right, he saw ribbons of light flash past the elf spirit and then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand tore through the ghost. As the spirit shrieked again, the dragonborn decided that his companions were holding his own. He parried another scimitar to his right and then swept his blade across toward the skeleton’s spine, a prayer of thunder on his lips. The skeleton leapt back with surprising agility leaving the paladin’s sword to sweep through nothing but air. The undead creature snarled and then came forward again.
Thorn snarled and leapt at the skeleton before him though he bled from several wounds that its vicious scimitars had inflicted. He snapped his jaws at the creature’s leg but at the last it drew back and moved the limb beyond the druid’s wolf jaws. To Thorn’s right, Dulvarna slashed at the skeleton’s other leg but again it retreated and the warrior woman’s sword struck only the stone wall. The skeleton stepped forward as quickly as it hand retreated and before Thorn could react, it plunged all four of its scimitars downwards and into the wolf druid’s back. He yelped in pain and staggered back until the wall of the corridor was behind him. Knowing he could not survive for much longer, Thorn began to seek a way to retreat from the battle.
Enlishia raised her bow and loosed another arrow and then another at the elf spirit, both tearing through its body and causing it to shriek in pain. The ranger reached for another shaft and nocked it to her bowstring but as she did, the second spirit, the one that had appeared around the corner to the north, burst through the wall next to its companion. It turned toward Lavren and Telkya and let out a terrible shriek unlike anything that Enlishia had ever heard. From the corridor, the ranger heard Telkya and Lavren cry out as the terrible voice pierced their minds and then, for a moment, there was silence. Trying to put the fate of her companions out of her mind, Enlishia raised her bow and took aim at the spirit before her.
Dulvarna watched Thorn start forward again despite the terrible wounds he had suffered and admired the courage of the druid but before he had taken more than two steps, he collapsed unmoving on the stone floor. Behind her, the warrior woman saw Lavren and Telkya stagger back around the corner as the elf spirit’s shriek tore at them and she wondered whether there could be victory in such a terrible place. Banishing such thoughts as best she could, Dulvarna raised her blade and moved to take Thorn’s place before the fierce skeleton. Weaving her blade before her, she sought an opening and when she saw one, she lunged forward, driving her blade though one of the creature’s ribs and out through its back. The skeleton staggered back but then lashed two scimitars downward to knock Aecris aside. The other two came in from left and right in quick succession but Dulvarna was ready and brought her sword across to meet first one and then the other blade. Then the skeleton drove its other two scimitars forward together in a double thrust and Dulvarna knew she could not keep both at bay. She swept Aecris across and knocked both away from her chest but one tore into her side as it flashed past her. The warrior woman gasped and staggered back but kept her blade before her, determined to keep her undead enemy from besting her.
In the doorway, Erlmoor found himself retreating step by step as the skeleton came at him with renewed fury. It lashed one blade into his arm as he tried desperately to parry and then, as he parried another blade to his left, another scimitar plunged into his hip. He roared and staggered back another step, looking back over his shoulder as he did to see where Enlishia stood. As he looked, the ranger raised her bow and loosed another arrow at the elf spirit in the corridor. Even as the ghost shrieked in pain, Enlishia drew, nocked and loosed another arrow toward her enemy. This shaft flew past the undead creature and clattered into the wall next to it, drawing a snarl of derision from the ghost. Then it lunged forward at Erlmoor and Enlishia, shrieking as the other spirit had done. The dragonborn fell back, reeling from the terrible shriek and with pain tearing through his head. When he stopped moving, Erlmoor realised that he and Enlishia stood in the north-south passage that had led them to the trapped gas room. From back down the corridor, the paladin and the ranger heard the howling of the other elf spirit and knew that their companions needed them but for the moment at least, they could not move.
Lavren held his wife up with one arm as they both tried to make their numbed limbs move after the shock of the spirit’s terrible shriek. Suddenly he saw movement and as he looked over Telkya’s shoulder at the corner, he saw the ghost float into sight. It lashed out a translucent arm at the elf maid and Telkya shrank back from the creature’s chilling touch. At last he felt strength return to his limbs and raised his wand as Telkya shrank back against the wall. At least they would fall together, Lavren thought grimly. What Corellon had joined, nothing could tear apart.
Dulvarna looked back toward the two elves and the ghost beyond them and knew that the battle was becoming increasingly desperate. She felt the voices of the souls trapped in the black walls tearing at her mind while blood flowed down her side from the scimitar wound she had suffered. The skeleton before her snarled as she parried another of its blows but then Dulvarna swept her blade around to the right and smashed it into the creature’s side. It lurched into the wall but then brought the two scimitars in its left arm sweeping down and into Dulvarna’s hip. The warrior woman lurched to her left and into the wall herself, the skeleton’s other scimitars sweeping down where she had been standing. Then she sensed movement to her left and, looking down, she saw Thorn, now in human form, stirring. His eyes opened and his face sharpened into the half-wolf features of his ancestry. For a moment, Dulvarna though that the battle was not yet over but then a terrible shrieking filled her head from the other end of the corridor. She looked past Lavren and Telkya and met the eyes of the elf spirit and knew that she faced her doom.
Enlishia managed to raise her bow and fire at the ghost at the far end of the passage, sending an arrow and then another through its insubstantial form. Still she could not make her legs move her forward to aid her companions. Beside her, Erlmoor stood similarly paralysed but softly, he was uttering prayers to Lathander to save their friends. As Enlishia raised her bow again, she saw the elf spirit pass from view only for the four armed skeleton that Erlmoor had faught to step across into the opening. It snarled at the ranger and the paladin and as it did, another of the creatures passed behind it and then moved to stand beside it. If they were to reach their friends, Enlishia realised, there would be a fierce battle. Suddenly, a shower of light motes lit up the dark corridor before the ranger and then another just in front of it. Telkya and Lavren appeared in the passageway and promptly slumped against the wall, as tired and shaken as Erlmoor and Enlishia were.
“We had to get out,” Telkya said in a weak voice, turning toward Enlishia with tears in her eyes. “We had to get out.” Enlishia could only nod as tears filled her own eyes. Dulvarna and Thorn were trapped beyond the doors and surely lost.
Dulvarna looked down at Thorn as he tried to gather the strength to stand and knew that she had to defend him for as long as she could. She lashed out at the skeleton, smashing more of its ribs and driving her blade into its spine. It staggered back a step and snarled as a chip of bone fell from its back but then it lashed its scimitars downward and though Dulvarna parried quickly, one nicked her left shoulder and another cut open her left arm. She fell back again, desperately trying to get her legs to move but they would not. The warrior woman nodded and silently thanked Lathander for the life that she had had, however short it had been. She would die here beside a druid of the Hullack in the fervent hope that her companions escaped this terrible prison.
Erlmoor raised his voice in prayer and propped his sword up against his right shoulder. Raising his left hand, he finished the prayer and from his outstretched fingers, poured ribbons of light. The skeletons in the doorway shrank back from the divine power and the ribbons seared between them to strike the black wall of the passage at their backs. Both raised their scimitars and snarled what might have been a challenge to the four adventurers that had escaped. Erlmoor tried desperately to get his legs to drive him forward but still they would not obey him and he knew that every moment he could not move took Thorn and Dulvarna closer to their end. Enlishia’s bow sang again and again, sending arrows along the corridor. One drove into the neck of one of the skeletons but still the creatures snarled at the helpless friends. Then, from down the corridor came another terrible shriek from one of the elf spirits and the four companions shrank back, fearful for the fate of their friends.
Dulvarna staggered back as the second ghost shrieked again. The sound tore at her mind and dimly, she felt a trickle of blood flow from her left ear. To her left, she saw a flash of flame engulf one of the ghosts and realised that her companions still fought for her despite the hopelessness. She smiled to herself as she parried another of the skeleton’s scimitars but then she heard the howl of the other ghost. She looked to her left and saw the creature lunging forward, its skin peeling back from its face and the white of its skull beneath. Dulvarna staggered again and from somewhere near the doors she heard a crack as another spell assailed her enemies. It would not be enough, she knew, and looked down at Thorn, who would die beside her. The druid shifted to wolf form as she watched and leapt at the skeleton but the undead creature danced back easily, beyond the reach of Thorn’s snapping jaws. Dulvarna roared in anger and surged at the skeleton, raising her blade above her head as she did so. She twisted around the thrust of a scimitar and then brought her blade down, smashing through the creature’s skull and cleaving into its neck beneath. The skeleton wobbled and then collapsed into a pile of loose bones. With faint hope suddenly returning to her, Dulvarna turned and roared at the ghosts that blocked her path to her friends.
“For Eveningstar!” she called out, and charged the translucent figures.
Erlmoor heard Dulvarna’s battle cry and knew that it signalled a last, desperate charge. He roared and forced his legs to move as he bade them. Raising his sword, he roared again and then charged at the skeletons.
“For Eveningstar!” he shouted, and around him, the others took up the cry.
Enlishia moved in front of the dragonborn, loosing arrows as she advanced that drove into the skeletons. From somewhere ahead of the companions, the elf spirits howled again and almost as though she stood near them, the friends heard Dulvarna’s battle cry die away into a scream of agony. The skeletons beyond the doors twirled their scimitars about them in anticipation of the renewed battle to come and one by one, the battle cries of the four faded as Dulvarna’s had. Telkya hurled a bolt of divine light from her amulet that flashed past the skeletons and then she turned to block Erlmoor’s path, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
“We have to go,” she said softly. “They died so that we might escape.”
The dragonborn paused and let his sword drop toward the floor. Behind Telkya, Lavren hurled another blast of eldritch energy into one of the skeletons and drove it back into the far wall of the passage. He turned back to look at his wife and the paladin, tears filling his eyes as well.
“We cannot leave them,” he said desperately. “Dulvarna has led us from the beginning.”
“And she has saved us now,” Telkya answered, her voice breaking.
“That she has,” Erlmoor said quietly. “That she has.”
The dragonborn raised his head to the ceiling and let out a terrible roar of grief, of anger and perhaps of promised vengeance. Then he turned away from the others and made his way slowly back up the passageway and away from his oldest friend.
Thorn shifted back to his human form and sat down beside Dulvarna, his back against the wall. His legs would barely support him and he knew that the battle was lost. He looked down at the warrior woman who he had known for only a few days and felt tears fill his eyes. She barely breathed now and blood flowed freely from her ears and from the deep wound in her side. Her eyes flicked open and she looked up at him, a strangely peaceful expression on her face.
“Did they go back?” she said softly.
“They went back,” Thorn answered, for the battle cries and the sounds of battle at the far end of the corridor had faded away.
“Do we join them now?” Dulvarna asked, nodding toward the tortured souls that still banged on the walls of the corridor.
“I think not,” Thorn answered. “I think the gods have another place kept for you.”
Dulvarna smiled and closed her eyes while Thorn looked over at the elf spirits that hovered at the end of the corridor, apparently watching the tragic tableau unfold before them.
“Finish it!” the druid roared, and as if to oblige, the ghosts came forward, howling as they came.
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