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<blockquote data-quote="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 1706" data-attributes="member: 202"><p><strong>Keep of the Borderlands -part twenty-five (session 6)</strong></p><p></p><p>The four adventurers moved back into the long hallway past the wight room. At the end was a right hand turn and stairs leading up. They each readied their weapons and climbed the flight of steps. Around another corner they came to a sturdy oak door. Brigit tromped up to the door, being the first to reach it, and started looking about for traps. While she was scanning the edges of the door and its latch she could hear faint sounds on the other side. She described them as groaning and shrieking, muffled as though they came from a far distance. This didn't exactly fill any of her friends with confidence.</p><p></p><p>She finished up her search for traps, declaring the door clean. It was also unlocked. She and Jeremiah stood side by side at the door and opened the latch. The portal led into a cavernous tunnel, twenty feet wide with vaulted ceilings. The walls were rough hewn and a sooty black. A strange ore ran through the rock in blood-like veins. Milo shivered, this place was evil. The tunnel stretched off to their left and turned a sharp corner to the right of the door before it continued straight ahead. They couldn't see anything or anyone down either hall. They hoped that they had arrived unnoticed.</p><p></p><p>They could see another door to the right, just another ten paces in. Figuring it to be a good place to start as any, they approached the stout door. Brigit once again searched for traps, putting Milo's lesson to good use. She found none and was about to try the handle before Milo stopped her. He moved past Brigit and placed one pointed ear to the rough wood of the door. Inside he could hear muffled voices. They sounded human, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He informed his friends and they prepared for a hostile encounter.</p><p></p><p>Milo moved back to stand with Mazi as Jeremiah and Brigit approached the door. Brigit raised up a steel-clad boot and kicked in the door. Four men in deep black robes waited for them. They were prepared for the intrusion, as one raised a finger, pointed at Jeremiah and shouted, <em><strong>"DIE!"</strong></em> A stunned look appeared on Jeremiah's face and he fell backwards, stiff as a post. He lay on the floor with his eyes wide open, staring unseeing at the ceiling. One of the other men jumped at the prone barbarian. He brought his mace down on Jer, bruising his arm.</p><p></p><p>Another of the robed men pointed at Brigit and chanted a profane litany. Brigit shivered and a wild look came to her eyes. She looked as if she were about to flee for a split-second before she shook off the effects of the spell cast on her. The fourth robed man sprang at the dwarf, swinging his mace. She let the blow ring off her shield and swung her axe around to end his life. Milo wasn't sure if she was still shaken by the fear spell recently cast on her or not, but he noticed that her grip slipped on the axe. She almost lost hold of the weapon as her swing went wide.</p><p></p><p>Milo held back to allow Mazi room to attack the priests. She leapt over Jeremiah's body and stabbed at the man that clubbed her friend. He yelped in pain and shrunk away from the fast-moving long sword. Behind her Jeremiah was coming to. He shook his head and groaned as he struggled to his feet. Milo was relieved to see that the Word of Power was a lesser version and not capable of truly killing.</p><p></p><p>The same fell priest that spoke at Jeremiah pointed at Brigit. Again he shouted, <em><strong>"DIE!"</strong></em> Brigit glared at him and shouted herself, <em>"Put a cork in it, wizzie. I'll get to ya soon enough!"</em> With that she side stepped a blow aimed at her skull and whipped her axe around. The magically sharpened blade sliced into her attacker and spilled his lifeblood. He sank to the ground with his hand over the deep wound, he died in seconds. Brigit didn't wait to see the result of her blow. She carried through to the mace wielding man that was attacking Jeremiah. He had just swung at the now standing barbarian and didn't see the axe flying towards him. A sickening crack could be heard as Brigit severed the man's spine. He dropped his mace to the ground and fell, the light of life fading from his eyes before he reached the floor.</p><p></p><p>Mazithra and the fourth priest circled each other. She speared her sword at the robed man, tearing at the cloth but not piercing his flesh. He swung down at her exposed arm and scored a hard blow. She withdrew, her arm already turning purple from the impact. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Milo had been biding his time to get in a shot at the dark priest that started it all. He brought up his crossbow and aimed carefully at the black-clad human. When the opportunity presented itself, he fired. His bolt sped from the crossbow and planted itself deep into his skull, right between his eyes. Milo crowed with his critical blow.</p><p></p><p>Mazithra and the last priest were still locked in combat. His mace came down again, bruising Mazi's shoulder. She danced back a half step and rotated her arm, loosening the muscle that was brutally assaulted. Before she could engage the mage, Brigit moved in behind and buried her axe head into his back. The priest coughed blood and then fell with a thump to the floor. Brigit hauled her axe out and spat on the corpse.</p><p></p><p><em>"Good riddance, finger-wiggler"</em> She muttered.</p><p></p><p>Mazi massaged her shoulder as she moved further in the room. There were four cots, a desk, and some shelves in the room. She looked over the books on the shelves, hoping to find some useful spells or formulas. She grumbled in disgust on finding the grotesque nature of the volumes. They outlined various rites and rituals of the evil persuasion. She tossed the book she was perusing back onto the shelf, complaining about the contents. Brigit walked to the shelf, pulled out her tinderbox, and lit a spark to the dry, dusty pages before anyone could say anything. </p><p></p><p><em>"If they be evil, they're better left unused by anyone."</em> was all she said to the party's perplexed looks. </p><p></p><p>Milo shrugged and stooped down over the body of one of the priests. They had nothing but an amulet around their necks. He felt revulsion when he focused on the devices. He couldn't bring himself to even touch one. He left the amulet where it was and searched through the robes. He found nothing, not even a copper piece. </p><p></p><p>By then the smoke from the books was filling the room. They decided to leave and shut the door behind them. The shelf was isolated and not likely to start a major fire. Even if one started, the materials in the room would burn themselves out upon the rock floor.</p><p></p><p>They turned down the left hall. Milo noticed that the red veins of ore seemed to pulse in the rough black rock. A few paces further a branch opened to the left. Down the new tunnel they could see the light of day. They figured that they were looking out at the final cave opening in the gorge. They continued down the main hall. The cavernous path branched in a "Y" further down. Deciding to stay with consistency, they chose the left branch. The hall continued on for a few paces before veering sharply to the left, almost a switchback in the huge tunnel. There was a caved in passage leading off to the right before the sharp turn. Just looking at the rubble Milo guessed there were tons of rock blocking the way. Brigit told them it was likely an old deadfall trap for some escaping force, that or an earthquake long ago.</p><p></p><p>Down the tunnel to the left they saw the hall open into a large cavern. The vaulted ceilings were even higher than in the great hall. They could see a dais at the end of the hall with a grand throne. Milo could see the sparkle of jewels from the other end of the throne room. Lining the walls were skeletons, standing with swords. They appeared to be guardians of some sort. At the time they were still. Milo didn't trust that, he knew as soon as they set foot in the room, or approached a skeleton, or approached the throne, whatever, that they would spring to life and attack. Milo hated undead, really.</p><p></p><p>Milo loved jewels more than he hated undead though. He volunteered to investigate the throne and risk the chance of the skeletons attacking. There were six on each side of the room, evenly spaced and ominous looking. The other three stayed near the entrance as Milo tread softly into the throne room proper. There was no reaction from the skeletal sentries. He approached the dais cautiously, still nothing. He put one foot on the raised platform-</p><p></p><p>The room burst into life. All at once the skeletons lurched forward, their swords lifted. Milo groaned. The skeletons looked around the room, spotting the trespassing halfling as well as his companions. Six moved towards Milo and the other six turned towards the others.</p><p></p><p>Jeremiah gave a battle cry and ran at the two closest skeletons. His great sword bit into white bones, causing shards and chips to fly in all directions. The first skeleton he cleaved to pieces at its waist. Jer recognized the single spine as a weak point to exploit. He swept through the first skeleton and into the second, likewise severing it in two at the waist. Both skeletons tumbled to the ground, inert piles of bones.</p><p></p><p>Milo said a silent prayer and lifted his hand as he had against the wight. The light shone from his palm again and some of the skeletons slouching towards him opened their jaws in silent screams. A couple of the skeletons approaching his friends did likewise. Six of the undead constructs turned immediately and made for the only exit in the room.</p><p></p><p>Two skeletons made their way to Milo's position on the dais. They swung their swords at the nimble halfling. Both missed as Milo dodged and weaved. Two others attacked Brigit, one sword made it past her shield and bit into her armor. The rusty blade came back with her blood. Brigit grimaced and hacked at the offending skeleton. She aimed for the neck, her axe skimming clean through the neckbone. The skeleton's head flew off its body and landed some feet away, spinning on the rock floor. The body fell to a pile at her feet. She pressed her attack on the other skeleton, but her axe found no purchase on its skinny bones. </p><p></p><p>It occurred to Milo that they would do better with something a little more blunt against these undead, as he watched Jeremiah slice into another skeleton. The skeleton collapsed as Jeremiah maneuvered his sword past its guard and into its spine. The great sword didn't cut all the way through this time though. Jer grunted in frustration as the blade lodged into the skeleton's spine and he lost his grip. </p><p></p><p>Milo focused on his current situation. The two skeletons were pressing in on him and he felt slightly unprotected. He chanted a protection against evil and felt the power surge through his body. The skeletons attacking him seemed unable to land their blows, almost shying away from his presence.</p><p></p><p>Near the entrance Mazi was waiting for the fleeing skeletons. Jeremiah had already destroyed one of them, but five more were on the way to the hall. Her blade was a blur as she attacked each of them as they shambled by. She missed only one but her long sword reduced another to a pile of whitened bones. The skeletons seemed oblivious as they continued on. </p><p></p><p>Two passed close enough to Brigit for her to make a couple of opportunistic attacks. She hacked at the skeletons that Mazi had wounded and watched them crumple to their own separate heaps. She turned back to the skeleton that was not fleeing and slashed down on its arm, severing the limb at the shoulder. The skeleton continued on, using its good arm to wield its rusty weapon.</p><p></p><p>Jer lost precious seconds as he wrenched his sword out of the spine of the fallen skeleton. Up on the dais Milo switched to his short sword. He recognized that his crossbow would have even less effect on these undead than the slashing weapon he was drawing. The skeletons continued to attack him, causing him to bound about wildly as he attempted to stow his crossbow and unsheathe his sword.</p><p></p><p>Near the entrance Mazi had pursued the fleeing skeletons. She reached one and slashed down at its retreating form. Her sword sliced through its ribcage, reducing the undead creature to another pile. One other skeleton remained to flee. Her sword snaked out to cut through its leg as it shambled forward. It didn't fall, but lurched with a pronounced limp, still trying to get away from the room in which Milo stood.</p><p></p><p>Brigit dispatched the last skeleton that faced her. She ignored the single arm wielding the sword and aimed for the tried and true weak point under the rib cage. The skeleton toppled to the ground in pieces, its sword clattering atop the bones.</p><p></p><p>At the other end of the throne room Jeremiah had finally recovered his sword and ran to assist Milo. He cut into one of the skeletons from behind. A few bones flew from the impact of his attack, but the skeleton remained standing. It turned to face the barbarian, swinging its rusty sword in his general direction. Jer easily avoided the blow but raised his sword to guard against any further attacks.</p><p></p><p>Milo moved in quickly to the other skeleton and scored a minor break on its leg. The skeleton attempted to return the attack but couldn't land a blow on Milo as he about moved swiftly. </p><p></p><p>Mazithra ran after the last fleeing skeleton as it limped past the entryway. She reached the stumbling construct and slashed down through its shoulder and ribcage, reducing another skeleton to a heap of bones. Brigit, upon seeing that all the nearby skeletons were destroyed, charged towards the two attacking Jeremiah and Milo.</p><p></p><p>She reached them a moment too late as Jeremiah's great sword turned one skeleton's skull to powder and completely demolishing the second's structure. All that remained standing besides the adventurers were small mounds of bones.</p><p></p><p>Milo grinned at his compatriots and gave a thumbs-up sign. He turned to the throne and got a closer look at the shining gems. Four large red jewels adorned the fancy throne. He drew his magic dagger and pried at the closest one. It popped easily from its setting into his open palm. He whistled as he looked over it. He concluded that it must be worth at least 400 gold if a copper. He passed it to Jeremiah and pried off the next red stone. He handed this one to Brigit. By the time he had the third stone pried Mazithra had made it to the dais. He handed that gem to the elf as she stepped up on the raised platform. The fourth jewel he kept for himself. <em>He may be roguish</em>, he thought to himself, <em>but he was always fair.</em></p><p></p><p>They searched the rest of the room, finding it to be rather bare for the apparent importance of the throne and the protected dais. The adventurers left the throne room and backtracked to the main cavernous hall.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Milo Windby, post: 1706, member: 202"] [b]Keep of the Borderlands -part twenty-five (session 6)[/b] The four adventurers moved back into the long hallway past the wight room. At the end was a right hand turn and stairs leading up. They each readied their weapons and climbed the flight of steps. Around another corner they came to a sturdy oak door. Brigit tromped up to the door, being the first to reach it, and started looking about for traps. While she was scanning the edges of the door and its latch she could hear faint sounds on the other side. She described them as groaning and shrieking, muffled as though they came from a far distance. This didn't exactly fill any of her friends with confidence. She finished up her search for traps, declaring the door clean. It was also unlocked. She and Jeremiah stood side by side at the door and opened the latch. The portal led into a cavernous tunnel, twenty feet wide with vaulted ceilings. The walls were rough hewn and a sooty black. A strange ore ran through the rock in blood-like veins. Milo shivered, this place was evil. The tunnel stretched off to their left and turned a sharp corner to the right of the door before it continued straight ahead. They couldn't see anything or anyone down either hall. They hoped that they had arrived unnoticed. They could see another door to the right, just another ten paces in. Figuring it to be a good place to start as any, they approached the stout door. Brigit once again searched for traps, putting Milo's lesson to good use. She found none and was about to try the handle before Milo stopped her. He moved past Brigit and placed one pointed ear to the rough wood of the door. Inside he could hear muffled voices. They sounded human, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He informed his friends and they prepared for a hostile encounter. Milo moved back to stand with Mazi as Jeremiah and Brigit approached the door. Brigit raised up a steel-clad boot and kicked in the door. Four men in deep black robes waited for them. They were prepared for the intrusion, as one raised a finger, pointed at Jeremiah and shouted, [I][B]"DIE!"[/B][/I][B][/B] A stunned look appeared on Jeremiah's face and he fell backwards, stiff as a post. He lay on the floor with his eyes wide open, staring unseeing at the ceiling. One of the other men jumped at the prone barbarian. He brought his mace down on Jer, bruising his arm. Another of the robed men pointed at Brigit and chanted a profane litany. Brigit shivered and a wild look came to her eyes. She looked as if she were about to flee for a split-second before she shook off the effects of the spell cast on her. The fourth robed man sprang at the dwarf, swinging his mace. She let the blow ring off her shield and swung her axe around to end his life. Milo wasn't sure if she was still shaken by the fear spell recently cast on her or not, but he noticed that her grip slipped on the axe. She almost lost hold of the weapon as her swing went wide. Milo held back to allow Mazi room to attack the priests. She leapt over Jeremiah's body and stabbed at the man that clubbed her friend. He yelped in pain and shrunk away from the fast-moving long sword. Behind her Jeremiah was coming to. He shook his head and groaned as he struggled to his feet. Milo was relieved to see that the Word of Power was a lesser version and not capable of truly killing. The same fell priest that spoke at Jeremiah pointed at Brigit. Again he shouted, [I][B]"DIE!"[/B][/I][B][/B] Brigit glared at him and shouted herself, [I]"Put a cork in it, wizzie. I'll get to ya soon enough!"[/I] With that she side stepped a blow aimed at her skull and whipped her axe around. The magically sharpened blade sliced into her attacker and spilled his lifeblood. He sank to the ground with his hand over the deep wound, he died in seconds. Brigit didn't wait to see the result of her blow. She carried through to the mace wielding man that was attacking Jeremiah. He had just swung at the now standing barbarian and didn't see the axe flying towards him. A sickening crack could be heard as Brigit severed the man's spine. He dropped his mace to the ground and fell, the light of life fading from his eyes before he reached the floor. Mazithra and the fourth priest circled each other. She speared her sword at the robed man, tearing at the cloth but not piercing his flesh. He swung down at her exposed arm and scored a hard blow. She withdrew, her arm already turning purple from the impact. Meanwhile Milo had been biding his time to get in a shot at the dark priest that started it all. He brought up his crossbow and aimed carefully at the black-clad human. When the opportunity presented itself, he fired. His bolt sped from the crossbow and planted itself deep into his skull, right between his eyes. Milo crowed with his critical blow. Mazithra and the last priest were still locked in combat. His mace came down again, bruising Mazi's shoulder. She danced back a half step and rotated her arm, loosening the muscle that was brutally assaulted. Before she could engage the mage, Brigit moved in behind and buried her axe head into his back. The priest coughed blood and then fell with a thump to the floor. Brigit hauled her axe out and spat on the corpse. [I]"Good riddance, finger-wiggler"[/I] She muttered. Mazi massaged her shoulder as she moved further in the room. There were four cots, a desk, and some shelves in the room. She looked over the books on the shelves, hoping to find some useful spells or formulas. She grumbled in disgust on finding the grotesque nature of the volumes. They outlined various rites and rituals of the evil persuasion. She tossed the book she was perusing back onto the shelf, complaining about the contents. Brigit walked to the shelf, pulled out her tinderbox, and lit a spark to the dry, dusty pages before anyone could say anything. [I]"If they be evil, they're better left unused by anyone."[/I] was all she said to the party's perplexed looks. Milo shrugged and stooped down over the body of one of the priests. They had nothing but an amulet around their necks. He felt revulsion when he focused on the devices. He couldn't bring himself to even touch one. He left the amulet where it was and searched through the robes. He found nothing, not even a copper piece. By then the smoke from the books was filling the room. They decided to leave and shut the door behind them. The shelf was isolated and not likely to start a major fire. Even if one started, the materials in the room would burn themselves out upon the rock floor. They turned down the left hall. Milo noticed that the red veins of ore seemed to pulse in the rough black rock. A few paces further a branch opened to the left. Down the new tunnel they could see the light of day. They figured that they were looking out at the final cave opening in the gorge. They continued down the main hall. The cavernous path branched in a "Y" further down. Deciding to stay with consistency, they chose the left branch. The hall continued on for a few paces before veering sharply to the left, almost a switchback in the huge tunnel. There was a caved in passage leading off to the right before the sharp turn. Just looking at the rubble Milo guessed there were tons of rock blocking the way. Brigit told them it was likely an old deadfall trap for some escaping force, that or an earthquake long ago. Down the tunnel to the left they saw the hall open into a large cavern. The vaulted ceilings were even higher than in the great hall. They could see a dais at the end of the hall with a grand throne. Milo could see the sparkle of jewels from the other end of the throne room. Lining the walls were skeletons, standing with swords. They appeared to be guardians of some sort. At the time they were still. Milo didn't trust that, he knew as soon as they set foot in the room, or approached a skeleton, or approached the throne, whatever, that they would spring to life and attack. Milo hated undead, really. Milo loved jewels more than he hated undead though. He volunteered to investigate the throne and risk the chance of the skeletons attacking. There were six on each side of the room, evenly spaced and ominous looking. The other three stayed near the entrance as Milo tread softly into the throne room proper. There was no reaction from the skeletal sentries. He approached the dais cautiously, still nothing. He put one foot on the raised platform- The room burst into life. All at once the skeletons lurched forward, their swords lifted. Milo groaned. The skeletons looked around the room, spotting the trespassing halfling as well as his companions. Six moved towards Milo and the other six turned towards the others. Jeremiah gave a battle cry and ran at the two closest skeletons. His great sword bit into white bones, causing shards and chips to fly in all directions. The first skeleton he cleaved to pieces at its waist. Jer recognized the single spine as a weak point to exploit. He swept through the first skeleton and into the second, likewise severing it in two at the waist. Both skeletons tumbled to the ground, inert piles of bones. Milo said a silent prayer and lifted his hand as he had against the wight. The light shone from his palm again and some of the skeletons slouching towards him opened their jaws in silent screams. A couple of the skeletons approaching his friends did likewise. Six of the undead constructs turned immediately and made for the only exit in the room. Two skeletons made their way to Milo's position on the dais. They swung their swords at the nimble halfling. Both missed as Milo dodged and weaved. Two others attacked Brigit, one sword made it past her shield and bit into her armor. The rusty blade came back with her blood. Brigit grimaced and hacked at the offending skeleton. She aimed for the neck, her axe skimming clean through the neckbone. The skeleton's head flew off its body and landed some feet away, spinning on the rock floor. The body fell to a pile at her feet. She pressed her attack on the other skeleton, but her axe found no purchase on its skinny bones. It occurred to Milo that they would do better with something a little more blunt against these undead, as he watched Jeremiah slice into another skeleton. The skeleton collapsed as Jeremiah maneuvered his sword past its guard and into its spine. The great sword didn't cut all the way through this time though. Jer grunted in frustration as the blade lodged into the skeleton's spine and he lost his grip. Milo focused on his current situation. The two skeletons were pressing in on him and he felt slightly unprotected. He chanted a protection against evil and felt the power surge through his body. The skeletons attacking him seemed unable to land their blows, almost shying away from his presence. Near the entrance Mazi was waiting for the fleeing skeletons. Jeremiah had already destroyed one of them, but five more were on the way to the hall. Her blade was a blur as she attacked each of them as they shambled by. She missed only one but her long sword reduced another to a pile of whitened bones. The skeletons seemed oblivious as they continued on. Two passed close enough to Brigit for her to make a couple of opportunistic attacks. She hacked at the skeletons that Mazi had wounded and watched them crumple to their own separate heaps. She turned back to the skeleton that was not fleeing and slashed down on its arm, severing the limb at the shoulder. The skeleton continued on, using its good arm to wield its rusty weapon. Jer lost precious seconds as he wrenched his sword out of the spine of the fallen skeleton. Up on the dais Milo switched to his short sword. He recognized that his crossbow would have even less effect on these undead than the slashing weapon he was drawing. The skeletons continued to attack him, causing him to bound about wildly as he attempted to stow his crossbow and unsheathe his sword. Near the entrance Mazi had pursued the fleeing skeletons. She reached one and slashed down at its retreating form. Her sword sliced through its ribcage, reducing the undead creature to another pile. One other skeleton remained to flee. Her sword snaked out to cut through its leg as it shambled forward. It didn't fall, but lurched with a pronounced limp, still trying to get away from the room in which Milo stood. Brigit dispatched the last skeleton that faced her. She ignored the single arm wielding the sword and aimed for the tried and true weak point under the rib cage. The skeleton toppled to the ground in pieces, its sword clattering atop the bones. At the other end of the throne room Jeremiah had finally recovered his sword and ran to assist Milo. He cut into one of the skeletons from behind. A few bones flew from the impact of his attack, but the skeleton remained standing. It turned to face the barbarian, swinging its rusty sword in his general direction. Jer easily avoided the blow but raised his sword to guard against any further attacks. Milo moved in quickly to the other skeleton and scored a minor break on its leg. The skeleton attempted to return the attack but couldn't land a blow on Milo as he about moved swiftly. Mazithra ran after the last fleeing skeleton as it limped past the entryway. She reached the stumbling construct and slashed down through its shoulder and ribcage, reducing another skeleton to a heap of bones. Brigit, upon seeing that all the nearby skeletons were destroyed, charged towards the two attacking Jeremiah and Milo. She reached them a moment too late as Jeremiah's great sword turned one skeleton's skull to powder and completely demolishing the second's structure. All that remained standing besides the adventurers were small mounds of bones. Milo grinned at his compatriots and gave a thumbs-up sign. He turned to the throne and got a closer look at the shining gems. Four large red jewels adorned the fancy throne. He drew his magic dagger and pried at the closest one. It popped easily from its setting into his open palm. He whistled as he looked over it. He concluded that it must be worth at least 400 gold if a copper. He passed it to Jeremiah and pried off the next red stone. He handed this one to Brigit. By the time he had the third stone pried Mazithra had made it to the dais. He handed that gem to the elf as she stepped up on the raised platform. The fourth jewel he kept for himself. [I]He may be roguish[/I], he thought to himself, [I]but he was always fair.[/I] They searched the rest of the room, finding it to be rather bare for the apparent importance of the throne and the protected dais. The adventurers left the throne room and backtracked to the main cavernous hall. [/QUOTE]
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