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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6135086" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>“Well met! I’m Jorine Wareye of Clan Millorn and these are Grellfin Flintflindercandle and Oller Pennyteller.”</p><p> </p><p>The first person she pointed out was a halfling who loomed almost freakily over his whole group. He wore heavy armour and his shield bore a symbol which identified him as a follower of Heironeous, Longhelim’s god; I wasn’t sure but he was probably another paladin; the other looked like a thief, notably by the large amount of lockpicks, pouches and little tools spread over his clothing.</p><p> </p><p>She continued:</p><p> </p><p>“These others are retainers and cohorts: Kalelia, Rendles, Reuben, Verane, Ernest and Zooten.”</p><p> </p><p>We introduced ourselves and then I asked:</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse us, but what are you doing here? I am sure you know just how dangerous this place is. No, something else first: how did you get here? It’s supposed to be impossible to get through the Firestorm. There’s a sizeable Ragesian army out there who have been trying to do exactly that for months. I mean, good for you and your ingenuity in doing the impossible but still……”</p><p> </p><p>Jorine smiled proudly:</p><p> </p><p>“We’re treasure hunters! There’s a fortune in there just waiting to be picked up! Think of it! The last known palace of the Emperor! The spoils of his conquests will be in there! The riches of the world! The treasure vault will be enormous! And to top it all off, there is the Torch of the Burning Sky! We have a person who is very interested in buying that!”</p><p> </p><p>I was finding it difficult to believe all this; yet in a way it did make perfect sense. There should be a huge treasure vault in this place; but I was still completely in the dark as to how they managed to get here!</p><p> </p><p>John interjected at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I am sorry but the Torch must go to the Resistance! The fate of several countries depends on this.”</p><p> </p><p>A crafty look appeared on the gnome’s face:</p><p> </p><p>“Well, if we give you a clear run to the Torch, we get to keep ninety per cent of anything else we find in the treasure vaults.”</p><p> </p><p>I sputtered: “Ninety percent? Are you mad? Fifty fifty!”</p><p> </p><p>Only to be followed immediately by John with:</p><p> </p><p>“Done!”</p><p> </p><p>I turned on him, muttering:</p><p> </p><p>“John, what are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head at me:</p><p> </p><p>“Faden, get your priorities right. We’re here for the Torch. Nothing else.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim joined in at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, we accept your deal.”</p><p> </p><p>Jorine grinned and nodded. Then she said:</p><p> </p><p>“Look at our wagon. See how it’s been treated? That red coating is alchemical and protected us from the fire storm. It cost a pretty penny, let me tell you but it will be worth it as soon as we get to the vaults.”</p><p> </p><p>I just shook my head, finding it difficult to believe that it was that simple but I couldn’t argue with their presence in front of my eyes. Then another thought struck me! If it ever became known to the Ragesian high command that a group of Sindarian gnome treasure hunters managed to get this treatment for their wagons and penetrated the firestorm, then heads would roll, literally. Someone really wasn’t doing their alchemical research properly.</p><p> </p><p>Jorine continued:</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll separate. That way we can cover more ground. Don’t forget our deal now!”</p><p> </p><p>Then she returned to her group:</p><p> </p><p>“Oller, check the entrance.”</p><p> </p><p>As I mentioned previously, the path on which we had been travelling actually led into the maw of the bear; but there were also a pair of double doors at the back of the maw, barring the way into the interior.</p><p> </p><p>While the locksmith was checking this doorway, we did a little cantrip on the equipment worn by the orc skeleton; both his armour and shield were spiked and magical; his axe was also magical. It all went into Victor’s magical bag. By this point Oller announced that the entrance was safe and both groups approached the entrance, into the bear’s jaws, metaphorically of course.</p><p> </p><p>Just as we were about to enter into the complex, something in me rebelled; maybe it was my mercantile background or just being a dwarf but I approached John:</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure about this deal? Ninety to ten? I realize we are only here for the Torch but…..they’re obviously not. Also, what happens if the Torch isn’t actually here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Look Faden, we’re here for the Torch and nothing else; but, if you want to try to re-negotiate the deal, then go ahead; just make sure you don’t antagonize them; I suspect we’ll have enough enemy inside to keep us more than busy.”</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim had also approached us and had overheard the conversation. He nodded but as I approached the gnomes, I noticed that he kept quite close to me.</p><p> </p><p>The three gnomes were talking quietly together.</p><p> </p><p>“…….right, we will go right and clear the place out. There’s supposed to be a lift to the upper stories so let’s make sure to keep an eye out for that. Now, these are the spells I have available…….”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped when she saw me approaching.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes…… Faden, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, my name is Faden; Jorine, I have a couple of requests. I am collating accounts of what we are doing for posterity and of course, I will include you in them, unless you specifically forbid me to do so; also, I am fascinated by your alchemically treated wagons. I hadn’t realised it was possible to do that to a wagon so it could travel through fire like that; may I take a sample of the formula? Finally, I would like to re-visit the deal we made. I realize that we said yes initially, but I would like to propose an eighty twenty share with exclusive rights to the Torch if it is here; otherwise, sixty forty in your favour if the Torch is not here.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at me closely and then whispered with her companions briefly.</p><p> </p><p>“Generally a deal is a deal but in view that the arrangement you offer is more detailed and takes into account circumstances as to what would happen if we cannot find the Torch, then we accept your offer. As for the sample, well, possibly, but let’s leave that until the end shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>I still wasn’t happy with the deal but I had been negotiating from a position of weakness as John had accepted the previous deal on our behalf; still eighty twenty plus the Torch was a better deal than ninety ten and we had clarified the position if the Torch was not around.</p><p> </p><p>Once we had finished, I returned to the others. Longhelim was already there; he had gone back as soon as he realised that the gnomes were going to the civilized about this. I arrived just as I heard Victor asking:</p><p> </p><p>“Felix, do you have that spell that allows us to be immune to paralyzing magic; you know, the one that also stops us from being grabbed by huge creatures?”</p><p> </p><p>The priest replied:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I have two of those; I will put them on both you and Longhelim.”</p><p> </p><p>Finally, I put up the spell the allowed me to see beings that had made themselves invisible and then we were ready. Various other spells were still working, such as the defences against fire and the spell that allowed Victor to fly so the quicker we managed the better.</p><p> </p><p>The doors in the maw of the giant bear skull were opened, revealing a large chamber. Opposite our entrance doors, on the far wall, a small tunnel led to a small, dark door. It was difficult to tell what it was made out of as the only light at this point was the flickering red from the flames outside. We lit some torches and our attention was immediately captured by the walls. These were covered in elaborate murals depicting military scenes. I couldn’t tell from this distance, but usually they celebrated glorious moments from someone’s military history. There were also two large statues of female goddesses standing on top of a pile of bear and dragon skulls; each was wielding a sword. The statues were made of sandstone while the swords were made of marble with red veins and they were flanking the small tunnel which led to the door. I assumed they were some sort of guardian deities; they looked very menacing. Finally the floor was strewn with the ubiquitous layers of bones.</p><p> </p><p>The whole area gave me a creepy feeling; it was almost certain that those bones were going to rise to form skeletons again; the main question was; what kind of skeletons? No matter what my concerns were though, we had to go on. So, John and Oller Pennyteller from the Clan, carefully stalked into the room. Oller edged his way along the left wall while John carefully took a more central path, directly towards the door. He was checking each flagstone very carefully and everything was going well until he reached a point just adjacent to the stone statues, coincidentally at the entrance of the little hallway leading to the silver door.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as he reached there, he must have tripped some hidden magic as the bones immediately began forming into skeletons and the two stone statues began to move, extricating themselves out of their small hill of dragon and bear skulls and striding towards our collective, swords swinging ominously.</p><p> </p><p>As they advanced towards us so smoothly, something began to nag at the back of my mind: stone statues, the movement and suddenly I realised:</p><p> </p><p>“Victor, Longhelim, those are constructs! Stone golems! Very strong, difficult to hurt and impervious to almost all magic! Be very, very careful!”</p><p> </p><p>Both Victor and Longhelim were at the front and the former spared me a glance and nodded. Then they both stepped into the room. They were quickly followed by Grellfin Flintflindercandle, the gnome paladin and several of the halflings. As soon as I finished calling out to the others, I moved into the hallway myself just in time to see a horde of skeletons swarming the front of the group. There were at least two dozen of them but several quickly burst into sherds from the power of Grellfin, who brandished his holy symbol at them. He had the same powers as Felix and Longhelim. While getting rid of the skeletons was useful, the major danger were the golems and Victor moved quickly to confront one while Grellfin moved to block the other before they reached the less combat orientated members of the group.</p><p> </p><p>Victor strode past two skeletons which he dropped with a pair of swift swings and then began to fence his sword in that strange manner which seemed to weave a defensive shield in front of him. The golem swung her marble sword at him but it was parried with heavy clanks of the supernatural wood from the Forest of Innenotdar.</p><p> </p><p>John had scampered back to the safety of the near wall but he was still embroiled with a couple of skeletons until they exploded into sherds again. This time it was Longhelim who sent them back into whatever hells they had come from. His ability was a little stronger than Grellfinn’s so there were no more of them after he brandished his symbol. Then he strode forward to join Grellfinn and confront the other golem; unfortunately, the gnome did not seem to be as expert in defence as Victor for the golem struck him heavily a couple of times and he was visibly staggered, with blood pouring out of deep wounds made by the stone sword. To add insult to injury, it had also breathed a nasty noxious substance from its mouth which made its attackers move at a much slower pace. This did not affect Longhelim due to Felix’s magic but it certainly did affect Grellfiin, who desperately tried to scramble out of the way. </p><p> </p><p>I did have one piece of magic that could work against golems; although they were incredibly tough and impervious to all magic cast directly against them, they were susceptible to spells which did not affect them directly. So, I cast a little piece of magic on the floor beneath the feet of the golem facing Grellfinn; I made it slippery, like ice. Golems were known for many things but physical dexterity was not one of them. At first, nothing seemed to happen but then the statue attempted to move and its feet slipped, sending it crashing to the ground. This gave the two paladins a much greater chance of striking it as well as curtailing its own offensive capability.</p><p> </p><p>Drudge had moved to the far side of the room and was firing arrows relentlessly at the golems but unfortunately, most of them bounced off although the cold of his arrows seemed to be leaving a series of white frozen patches on it.</p><p> </p><p>At that point, Jorine cast a speed spell which countered the golem’s gas effect as well as affecting Longhelim and Victor. The latter was methodically demolishing his opponent while weaving his defence; his blows were chipping off great chunks from the surface of the statue. John had bravely leaped to the other side of the enemy, thus distracting it and allowed Victor to aim his blows even more accurately. The statue was finding it difficult to concentrate on both enemies. A couple of Clan Millorn halflings had also courageously stepped up to Victor and were helping him! Brave souls indeed!</p><p> </p><p>The other statue was still on ground, making little attempt to get up but still striking at Grellfin while prone. The paladin was not very good at dodging blows. Felix had to move over to heal him several times. Then I saw that the golem had breathed the slowing gas again so I had to cast my remaining speed spell to counteract its effects.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, there was a shattering sound as Victor struck a final blow against this enemy and it crumbled into sandstone; without wasting a moment, he moved to the other. By this stage, it was also looking very chipped and with a combination of blows from everyone it finally crumbled.</p><p> </p><p>The atmosphere became far more relaxed. The two groups had shared a victory at arms and that crossed many barriers. We healed everyone and then prepared to go deeper into the castle via the dark door.</p><p> </p><p>As we looked at it, initially, I thought it was iron, judging by the colour but I was staggered to see that that it was actually a deep brown; there was only one metal that was deep brown: Adamantine, the hardest and rarest of all metals. Dwarven merchants travelled hundreds of miles and waited years to find or trade a small bar of the stuff and here was a whole door made out of it! I determined that if possible, I would find a way to get this door out of here and take it with us. I didn’t mention it to the others though, as I could just imagine Longhelim’s answer to that. I did see the gnomes looking at this door with the same awe as I; obviously, they recognized it as well.</p><p> </p><p>John went forward and checked to see if the door was trapped; then he attempted to pick the lock and after some time, he gave up.</p><p> </p><p>“This lock……..I’m not sure but however it’s made, it’s beyond my expertise.”</p><p> </p><p>Oller went forward and began to pick the lock; as with John, it took him some time; he swore a lot when things were not going well. I didn’t know gnomes had such a colourful vocabulary. Jorine had the grace to look a little abashed and whispered to Longhelim:</p><p> </p><p>“The words…..they help him concentrate……really.”</p><p> </p><p>Finally, Oller stepped back:</p><p> </p><p>“Right, you son of a…….” then he seemed to realize just who was watching him and he verbally retreated:</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, I mean, it’s open now, ready.”</p><p> </p><p>Victor replaced Oller and began to push the doors. They refused to budge. Then I saw him begin to strain further; still they refused to budge. Finally, he put his sword away and gave it his all; the doors finally swung open. There were some snapping noises as they did so and when I glanced into the room, I could all see some strange mechanism that had been attached to them; unfortunately, it was now broken.</p><p> </p><p>It was difficult to say what was beyond initially, except that something was happening there, since there were eerie flashes of some sort from beyond; John sent in his invisible friend with a torch, flying around. It revealed a room; actually it was some sort of reception hall really; hugely impressive.</p><p> </p><p>The flashes of light drew the eye first; they were ribbons of flame that appeared randomly in mid air. I wasn’t even sure what sort of magic that was; in fact I had almost given up in trying to work out what sort of magic was doing what in this place; it was all new. In an odd way, I was enjoying the experience of seeing what was possible if enough power was available.</p><p> </p><p>The combination of the torch and the ribbons of lit up the ceiling, which showed a huge mural of a bear chasing enemies in the countryside; obviously another allegory and further confirmation of the Sindarian obsession with all things ursine. Stains, like dried blood seemed to have fallen on the floor from this mural.</p><p> </p><p>Apart from that, we the other major feature of the room were the doors. A quick survey revealed four pairs of double doors: one each on the left and right walls while the wall facing us had one pair on the floor level and another pair above; two sets of steps running along from the ground on the far wall led to a balcony just in front of the upper pair of doors.</p><p> </p><p>Jorine turned to us and whispered:</p><p> </p><p>“Right: as we discussed, we’ll go right, you go left. Let’s make sure we clear this level before going up to the next one. Good luck!”</p><p> </p><p>With those words, she and her group moved south. They were all remarkably quiet, even the paladin in heavy armour. They were obviously relying on stealth, unlike us.</p><p> </p><p>We moved to the left.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6135086, member: 6692807"] “Well met! I’m Jorine Wareye of Clan Millorn and these are Grellfin Flintflindercandle and Oller Pennyteller.” The first person she pointed out was a halfling who loomed almost freakily over his whole group. He wore heavy armour and his shield bore a symbol which identified him as a follower of Heironeous, Longhelim’s god; I wasn’t sure but he was probably another paladin; the other looked like a thief, notably by the large amount of lockpicks, pouches and little tools spread over his clothing. She continued: “These others are retainers and cohorts: Kalelia, Rendles, Reuben, Verane, Ernest and Zooten.” We introduced ourselves and then I asked: “Excuse us, but what are you doing here? I am sure you know just how dangerous this place is. No, something else first: how did you get here? It’s supposed to be impossible to get through the Firestorm. There’s a sizeable Ragesian army out there who have been trying to do exactly that for months. I mean, good for you and your ingenuity in doing the impossible but still……” Jorine smiled proudly: “We’re treasure hunters! There’s a fortune in there just waiting to be picked up! Think of it! The last known palace of the Emperor! The spoils of his conquests will be in there! The riches of the world! The treasure vault will be enormous! And to top it all off, there is the Torch of the Burning Sky! We have a person who is very interested in buying that!” I was finding it difficult to believe all this; yet in a way it did make perfect sense. There should be a huge treasure vault in this place; but I was still completely in the dark as to how they managed to get here! John interjected at this point: “Look, I am sorry but the Torch must go to the Resistance! The fate of several countries depends on this.” A crafty look appeared on the gnome’s face: “Well, if we give you a clear run to the Torch, we get to keep ninety per cent of anything else we find in the treasure vaults.” I sputtered: “Ninety percent? Are you mad? Fifty fifty!” Only to be followed immediately by John with: “Done!” I turned on him, muttering: “John, what are you doing?” He shook his head at me: “Faden, get your priorities right. We’re here for the Torch. Nothing else.” Longhelim joined in at this point: “Yes, we accept your deal.” Jorine grinned and nodded. Then she said: “Look at our wagon. See how it’s been treated? That red coating is alchemical and protected us from the fire storm. It cost a pretty penny, let me tell you but it will be worth it as soon as we get to the vaults.” I just shook my head, finding it difficult to believe that it was that simple but I couldn’t argue with their presence in front of my eyes. Then another thought struck me! If it ever became known to the Ragesian high command that a group of Sindarian gnome treasure hunters managed to get this treatment for their wagons and penetrated the firestorm, then heads would roll, literally. Someone really wasn’t doing their alchemical research properly. Jorine continued: “We’ll separate. That way we can cover more ground. Don’t forget our deal now!” Then she returned to her group: “Oller, check the entrance.” As I mentioned previously, the path on which we had been travelling actually led into the maw of the bear; but there were also a pair of double doors at the back of the maw, barring the way into the interior. While the locksmith was checking this doorway, we did a little cantrip on the equipment worn by the orc skeleton; both his armour and shield were spiked and magical; his axe was also magical. It all went into Victor’s magical bag. By this point Oller announced that the entrance was safe and both groups approached the entrance, into the bear’s jaws, metaphorically of course. Just as we were about to enter into the complex, something in me rebelled; maybe it was my mercantile background or just being a dwarf but I approached John: “Are you sure about this deal? Ninety to ten? I realize we are only here for the Torch but…..they’re obviously not. Also, what happens if the Torch isn’t actually here?” “Look Faden, we’re here for the Torch and nothing else; but, if you want to try to re-negotiate the deal, then go ahead; just make sure you don’t antagonize them; I suspect we’ll have enough enemy inside to keep us more than busy.” Longhelim had also approached us and had overheard the conversation. He nodded but as I approached the gnomes, I noticed that he kept quite close to me. The three gnomes were talking quietly together. “…….right, we will go right and clear the place out. There’s supposed to be a lift to the upper stories so let’s make sure to keep an eye out for that. Now, these are the spells I have available…….” She stopped when she saw me approaching. “Yes…… Faden, isn’t it?” “Yes, my name is Faden; Jorine, I have a couple of requests. I am collating accounts of what we are doing for posterity and of course, I will include you in them, unless you specifically forbid me to do so; also, I am fascinated by your alchemically treated wagons. I hadn’t realised it was possible to do that to a wagon so it could travel through fire like that; may I take a sample of the formula? Finally, I would like to re-visit the deal we made. I realize that we said yes initially, but I would like to propose an eighty twenty share with exclusive rights to the Torch if it is here; otherwise, sixty forty in your favour if the Torch is not here.” She looked at me closely and then whispered with her companions briefly. “Generally a deal is a deal but in view that the arrangement you offer is more detailed and takes into account circumstances as to what would happen if we cannot find the Torch, then we accept your offer. As for the sample, well, possibly, but let’s leave that until the end shall we?” I still wasn’t happy with the deal but I had been negotiating from a position of weakness as John had accepted the previous deal on our behalf; still eighty twenty plus the Torch was a better deal than ninety ten and we had clarified the position if the Torch was not around. Once we had finished, I returned to the others. Longhelim was already there; he had gone back as soon as he realised that the gnomes were going to the civilized about this. I arrived just as I heard Victor asking: “Felix, do you have that spell that allows us to be immune to paralyzing magic; you know, the one that also stops us from being grabbed by huge creatures?” The priest replied: “Yes, I have two of those; I will put them on both you and Longhelim.” Finally, I put up the spell the allowed me to see beings that had made themselves invisible and then we were ready. Various other spells were still working, such as the defences against fire and the spell that allowed Victor to fly so the quicker we managed the better. The doors in the maw of the giant bear skull were opened, revealing a large chamber. Opposite our entrance doors, on the far wall, a small tunnel led to a small, dark door. It was difficult to tell what it was made out of as the only light at this point was the flickering red from the flames outside. We lit some torches and our attention was immediately captured by the walls. These were covered in elaborate murals depicting military scenes. I couldn’t tell from this distance, but usually they celebrated glorious moments from someone’s military history. There were also two large statues of female goddesses standing on top of a pile of bear and dragon skulls; each was wielding a sword. The statues were made of sandstone while the swords were made of marble with red veins and they were flanking the small tunnel which led to the door. I assumed they were some sort of guardian deities; they looked very menacing. Finally the floor was strewn with the ubiquitous layers of bones. The whole area gave me a creepy feeling; it was almost certain that those bones were going to rise to form skeletons again; the main question was; what kind of skeletons? No matter what my concerns were though, we had to go on. So, John and Oller Pennyteller from the Clan, carefully stalked into the room. Oller edged his way along the left wall while John carefully took a more central path, directly towards the door. He was checking each flagstone very carefully and everything was going well until he reached a point just adjacent to the stone statues, coincidentally at the entrance of the little hallway leading to the silver door. As soon as he reached there, he must have tripped some hidden magic as the bones immediately began forming into skeletons and the two stone statues began to move, extricating themselves out of their small hill of dragon and bear skulls and striding towards our collective, swords swinging ominously. As they advanced towards us so smoothly, something began to nag at the back of my mind: stone statues, the movement and suddenly I realised: “Victor, Longhelim, those are constructs! Stone golems! Very strong, difficult to hurt and impervious to almost all magic! Be very, very careful!” Both Victor and Longhelim were at the front and the former spared me a glance and nodded. Then they both stepped into the room. They were quickly followed by Grellfin Flintflindercandle, the gnome paladin and several of the halflings. As soon as I finished calling out to the others, I moved into the hallway myself just in time to see a horde of skeletons swarming the front of the group. There were at least two dozen of them but several quickly burst into sherds from the power of Grellfin, who brandished his holy symbol at them. He had the same powers as Felix and Longhelim. While getting rid of the skeletons was useful, the major danger were the golems and Victor moved quickly to confront one while Grellfin moved to block the other before they reached the less combat orientated members of the group. Victor strode past two skeletons which he dropped with a pair of swift swings and then began to fence his sword in that strange manner which seemed to weave a defensive shield in front of him. The golem swung her marble sword at him but it was parried with heavy clanks of the supernatural wood from the Forest of Innenotdar. John had scampered back to the safety of the near wall but he was still embroiled with a couple of skeletons until they exploded into sherds again. This time it was Longhelim who sent them back into whatever hells they had come from. His ability was a little stronger than Grellfinn’s so there were no more of them after he brandished his symbol. Then he strode forward to join Grellfinn and confront the other golem; unfortunately, the gnome did not seem to be as expert in defence as Victor for the golem struck him heavily a couple of times and he was visibly staggered, with blood pouring out of deep wounds made by the stone sword. To add insult to injury, it had also breathed a nasty noxious substance from its mouth which made its attackers move at a much slower pace. This did not affect Longhelim due to Felix’s magic but it certainly did affect Grellfiin, who desperately tried to scramble out of the way. I did have one piece of magic that could work against golems; although they were incredibly tough and impervious to all magic cast directly against them, they were susceptible to spells which did not affect them directly. So, I cast a little piece of magic on the floor beneath the feet of the golem facing Grellfinn; I made it slippery, like ice. Golems were known for many things but physical dexterity was not one of them. At first, nothing seemed to happen but then the statue attempted to move and its feet slipped, sending it crashing to the ground. This gave the two paladins a much greater chance of striking it as well as curtailing its own offensive capability. Drudge had moved to the far side of the room and was firing arrows relentlessly at the golems but unfortunately, most of them bounced off although the cold of his arrows seemed to be leaving a series of white frozen patches on it. At that point, Jorine cast a speed spell which countered the golem’s gas effect as well as affecting Longhelim and Victor. The latter was methodically demolishing his opponent while weaving his defence; his blows were chipping off great chunks from the surface of the statue. John had bravely leaped to the other side of the enemy, thus distracting it and allowed Victor to aim his blows even more accurately. The statue was finding it difficult to concentrate on both enemies. A couple of Clan Millorn halflings had also courageously stepped up to Victor and were helping him! Brave souls indeed! The other statue was still on ground, making little attempt to get up but still striking at Grellfin while prone. The paladin was not very good at dodging blows. Felix had to move over to heal him several times. Then I saw that the golem had breathed the slowing gas again so I had to cast my remaining speed spell to counteract its effects. Finally, there was a shattering sound as Victor struck a final blow against this enemy and it crumbled into sandstone; without wasting a moment, he moved to the other. By this stage, it was also looking very chipped and with a combination of blows from everyone it finally crumbled. The atmosphere became far more relaxed. The two groups had shared a victory at arms and that crossed many barriers. We healed everyone and then prepared to go deeper into the castle via the dark door. As we looked at it, initially, I thought it was iron, judging by the colour but I was staggered to see that that it was actually a deep brown; there was only one metal that was deep brown: Adamantine, the hardest and rarest of all metals. Dwarven merchants travelled hundreds of miles and waited years to find or trade a small bar of the stuff and here was a whole door made out of it! I determined that if possible, I would find a way to get this door out of here and take it with us. I didn’t mention it to the others though, as I could just imagine Longhelim’s answer to that. I did see the gnomes looking at this door with the same awe as I; obviously, they recognized it as well. John went forward and checked to see if the door was trapped; then he attempted to pick the lock and after some time, he gave up. “This lock……..I’m not sure but however it’s made, it’s beyond my expertise.” Oller went forward and began to pick the lock; as with John, it took him some time; he swore a lot when things were not going well. I didn’t know gnomes had such a colourful vocabulary. Jorine had the grace to look a little abashed and whispered to Longhelim: “The words…..they help him concentrate……really.” Finally, Oller stepped back: “Right, you son of a…….” then he seemed to realize just who was watching him and he verbally retreated: “Ah, I mean, it’s open now, ready.” Victor replaced Oller and began to push the doors. They refused to budge. Then I saw him begin to strain further; still they refused to budge. Finally, he put his sword away and gave it his all; the doors finally swung open. There were some snapping noises as they did so and when I glanced into the room, I could all see some strange mechanism that had been attached to them; unfortunately, it was now broken. It was difficult to say what was beyond initially, except that something was happening there, since there were eerie flashes of some sort from beyond; John sent in his invisible friend with a torch, flying around. It revealed a room; actually it was some sort of reception hall really; hugely impressive. The flashes of light drew the eye first; they were ribbons of flame that appeared randomly in mid air. I wasn’t even sure what sort of magic that was; in fact I had almost given up in trying to work out what sort of magic was doing what in this place; it was all new. In an odd way, I was enjoying the experience of seeing what was possible if enough power was available. The combination of the torch and the ribbons of lit up the ceiling, which showed a huge mural of a bear chasing enemies in the countryside; obviously another allegory and further confirmation of the Sindarian obsession with all things ursine. Stains, like dried blood seemed to have fallen on the floor from this mural. Apart from that, we the other major feature of the room were the doors. A quick survey revealed four pairs of double doors: one each on the left and right walls while the wall facing us had one pair on the floor level and another pair above; two sets of steps running along from the ground on the far wall led to a balcony just in front of the upper pair of doors. Jorine turned to us and whispered: “Right: as we discussed, we’ll go right, you go left. Let’s make sure we clear this level before going up to the next one. Good luck!” With those words, she and her group moved south. They were all remarkably quiet, even the paladin in heavy armour. They were obviously relying on stealth, unlike us. We moved to the left. [/QUOTE]
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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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