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<blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 430976" data-attributes="member: 2323"><p><strong>[PLAIN][Realms #195] Beyond Disease's Door[/PLAIN]</strong></p><p></p><p>Draelond considered Finian's statement for a moment, pondering the alternatives - if in fact, there were any. "You forget, my half-elvish friend, about the rule of somewhat large, marginally-dexterous men in bulky armor, working in tight spaces, getting a little skittish about performing feats with *maybes* attached to them," he said with a smirk. "But it DOES seem like the best approach."</p><p></p><p>"What else can we do at this point?" Kirnoth added. He looked across the trap at Finian and then onward down the stairs behind him. "I think we have to plow ahead."</p><p></p><p>Ruze shook his head with a frown. "I really do not think we should just jump through that thing unless as a last resort," he said, eying the area with the triggering rune that Kirnoth had pointed out.</p><p></p><p>Draelond paused and pondered the Battleguard's cautioning words before adding,"But it seems that the need to press forward eliminates a long list of other options."</p><p></p><p>"Could you walk on the walls with the slippers?" Finian suggested, pointing to his purple and crimson silk footwear. "Perhaps I could toss the slippers back to each of you and then you can get over the rune."</p><p></p><p>"We don't know the trap's detection radius," Ruze pointed out. "Or even what triggers it. Mayhaps, lets try to pass a torch over the glyph and see it that sets it off."</p><p></p><p>"And get caught in blast when it goes off?" Finian grimaced. "I don't think so."</p><p></p><p>"Good point, Finian," Kirnoth said with a nod.</p><p></p><p>"Hmm... Kirnoth, me thinks I may be able to nullify this elemental if it originates from Evil," Ruze said, rubbing his goateed chin. "What do you think?"</p><p></p><p>The elf shrugged. "I must admit that I know little of divine magicks, my friend," the mage admitted. "I'll defer to your knowledge of such things."</p><p></p><p>Ruze looked as though he were hoping for more endorsement of his idea. He sighed and stepped into the front rank. He reverently clutched his silver holy symbol. "Well, it's at least worth a try," he said and closed his eyes in prayer. "Shaharizod, my Queen, bless me with thy virtue to erase this glyph of evil that blocks thy servants to thy task at hand.'</p><p></p><p>He felt the warm tingle of holy energy fill the core of his being and he gestured outward with a forceful sweep of his arm, directing the power into the trapped stair. For a moment the air in the stairwell seemed charged with the divine and then it gradually dwindled away.</p><p></p><p>"Did it work?" Ledare asked.</p><p></p><p>"Well, Kitten, there really is no way to know until we jump," the cleric told her. "Hold for a moment whilst I grant some additional protection." The Battleguard bowed his head again and touched Ledare's shoulder. "My Queen," he intoned, "grant Ledare thy protection."</p><p></p><p>He then looked to the big fighter. "Draelond you are next," he said, holding his open palm outward in a gesture of benediction."Grant this lumbering oaf some protection, my Queen, for he needs it." He winked at Draelond and the warrior grinned back before turning to face the trapped section of stair.</p><p></p><p>"I'll go first. If I make it..." Draelond stopped and cleared his throat." ...WHEN I make it, then it then should be a breeze for the rest of you."</p><p></p><p>"No," Ruze told him. "Let me go first. If there's some sort of mishap, you'll need my healing powers on the other side."</p><p></p><p>He looked around at the others and nobody argued.</p><p></p><p>"Kirnoth I fear you and I go on Faith alone so that I have some curative abilities to give if they become necessary." Ruze and the elf nodded at each other and the Battleguard took a deep breath. "Well, no time like the present." He crouched, brought his arms back and muttered a little prayer that would have made the temple clerics cringe with horror, "My heart is pure, my feet are light, please don't freeze me tonight!"</p><p></p><p>And then he jumped.</p><p></p><p>At mid-leap, the trap was triggered, filling the stairwell to either side of the trigger step with frozen death. Fortunately, the Battleguard was lighter on his feet than his portly physique would have suggested and he was able to twist his body around to avoid the brunt of the magical onslaught. He landed with precision on the step beside Finian with his entire right leg coated in ice.</p><p></p><p>"Not good," he grunted, teeth clenched against the pain. Immediately he and the Archer began breaking away the ice and tending the wound as best they could. When that was done, the trap had reset itself, and Ruze beckoned to Draelond. "You're next," he said and the big man flexed and jumped.</p><p></p><p>Like Ruze, he triggered the trap and managed to avoid most of the damaging hail of ice. However, he landed poorly, twisting his ankle and tumbling face-first down the stairs. Finian lept aside with near balletic grace; Ruze was directly in the falling warrior's path and both men fell downward, clanking and grunting with each impact. Draelond managed to extricate himself from the tangle about ten feet down, but Ruze fell all the way to the bottom where he lay panting in the chill foyer before a pair of closed iron doors.</p><p></p><p>The Battleguard gasped.</p><p></p><p>The doors were covered with ornate sculptural reliefs of tormented faces in various stages of disease and decay. They seemed to rise up out of the black iron surface of the door their eyes pleading with Ruze to end their suffering. As he stared at them he saw strange black symbols were appearing and disappearing on each of the faces' foreheads, flickering in and out too quickly for his eyes to discern them. Noxious green light was spilling out from beneath and between the two doors. The place stank of evil.</p><p></p><p>"Are you alright?" Draelond called down the stairs and Ruze got awkwardly to his feet.</p><p></p><p>"I don't think I'll be dancing any time soon, but I'll live," the Battleguard grunted.</p><p></p><p>Kirnoth jumped next, avoiding the blast entirely as he went. He landed gracefully and turned to look up at the Janissary. "Come on, Ledare," he assured her. "There's nothing to it."</p><p></p><p>"Easy for you to say, Kirnoth," she grumbled. "Finian, toss me those slippers."</p><p></p><p>They didn't do her any good, unfortunately. She jumped through, triggered the spell and, like both Draelond and Ruze managed to avoid the worst of the damaging ice. And like Draelond she landed poorly and went careening down the stairs. Again, Finian dodged, and this time, he was able to shove Kirnoth out of the way as Ledare went sliding passed him on her armor-plated back. She managed to grab Draelond's hand and so avoided the ride all the way to the bottom.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"No traps," Finian announced after he'd finished examining the doors. "But these doors certainly look familiar."</p><p></p><p>"They do?" Draelond muttered.</p><p></p><p>"We saw a similar door in the tomb of an ancient Aphyx priestess," Kirnoth explained. "That's where the Scrolls of Vector were hidden away."</p><p></p><p>"And it's the same as the door to the main temple in the catacombs beneath Barnacus," Ruze reminded.</p><p></p><p>"Can anyone make out those symbols that keep fading in and out on their foreheads?" Ledare asked. The others shook their heads.</p><p></p><p>"It's too fast," Ruze said.</p><p></p><p>"Ready to proceed?" Finian asked and they brandished weapons, nodded, and threw open the doors.</p><p></p><p>The iron valves opened onto a hexagonal chamber with 10-foot-high walls that arched to 15 feet in the center of the room. The chamber was illuminated by a to-foot-high, 10-foot wide archway that glowed with a swirling green mist. Six black stone statues stood in the corners of the chamber, their heads nearly scraping the ceiling, their feet treading upon a field of broken skulls.</p><p></p><p>Finian, Kirnoth and Ledare recognized the hulking orc-like carvings for what they were. They'd seen them in the frescoes of Mogrelden's tomb and the Plaguebringer, Heurist, had even named them for Finian - Mendicants.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jon Potter, post: 430976, member: 2323"] [b][PLAIN][Realms #195] Beyond Disease's Door[/PLAIN][/b] Draelond considered Finian's statement for a moment, pondering the alternatives - if in fact, there were any. "You forget, my half-elvish friend, about the rule of somewhat large, marginally-dexterous men in bulky armor, working in tight spaces, getting a little skittish about performing feats with *maybes* attached to them," he said with a smirk. "But it DOES seem like the best approach." "What else can we do at this point?" Kirnoth added. He looked across the trap at Finian and then onward down the stairs behind him. "I think we have to plow ahead." Ruze shook his head with a frown. "I really do not think we should just jump through that thing unless as a last resort," he said, eying the area with the triggering rune that Kirnoth had pointed out. Draelond paused and pondered the Battleguard's cautioning words before adding,"But it seems that the need to press forward eliminates a long list of other options." "Could you walk on the walls with the slippers?" Finian suggested, pointing to his purple and crimson silk footwear. "Perhaps I could toss the slippers back to each of you and then you can get over the rune." "We don't know the trap's detection radius," Ruze pointed out. "Or even what triggers it. Mayhaps, lets try to pass a torch over the glyph and see it that sets it off." "And get caught in blast when it goes off?" Finian grimaced. "I don't think so." "Good point, Finian," Kirnoth said with a nod. "Hmm... Kirnoth, me thinks I may be able to nullify this elemental if it originates from Evil," Ruze said, rubbing his goateed chin. "What do you think?" The elf shrugged. "I must admit that I know little of divine magicks, my friend," the mage admitted. "I'll defer to your knowledge of such things." Ruze looked as though he were hoping for more endorsement of his idea. He sighed and stepped into the front rank. He reverently clutched his silver holy symbol. "Well, it's at least worth a try," he said and closed his eyes in prayer. "Shaharizod, my Queen, bless me with thy virtue to erase this glyph of evil that blocks thy servants to thy task at hand.' He felt the warm tingle of holy energy fill the core of his being and he gestured outward with a forceful sweep of his arm, directing the power into the trapped stair. For a moment the air in the stairwell seemed charged with the divine and then it gradually dwindled away. "Did it work?" Ledare asked. "Well, Kitten, there really is no way to know until we jump," the cleric told her. "Hold for a moment whilst I grant some additional protection." The Battleguard bowed his head again and touched Ledare's shoulder. "My Queen," he intoned, "grant Ledare thy protection." He then looked to the big fighter. "Draelond you are next," he said, holding his open palm outward in a gesture of benediction."Grant this lumbering oaf some protection, my Queen, for he needs it." He winked at Draelond and the warrior grinned back before turning to face the trapped section of stair. "I'll go first. If I make it..." Draelond stopped and cleared his throat." ...WHEN I make it, then it then should be a breeze for the rest of you." "No," Ruze told him. "Let me go first. If there's some sort of mishap, you'll need my healing powers on the other side." He looked around at the others and nobody argued. "Kirnoth I fear you and I go on Faith alone so that I have some curative abilities to give if they become necessary." Ruze and the elf nodded at each other and the Battleguard took a deep breath. "Well, no time like the present." He crouched, brought his arms back and muttered a little prayer that would have made the temple clerics cringe with horror, "My heart is pure, my feet are light, please don't freeze me tonight!" And then he jumped. At mid-leap, the trap was triggered, filling the stairwell to either side of the trigger step with frozen death. Fortunately, the Battleguard was lighter on his feet than his portly physique would have suggested and he was able to twist his body around to avoid the brunt of the magical onslaught. He landed with precision on the step beside Finian with his entire right leg coated in ice. "Not good," he grunted, teeth clenched against the pain. Immediately he and the Archer began breaking away the ice and tending the wound as best they could. When that was done, the trap had reset itself, and Ruze beckoned to Draelond. "You're next," he said and the big man flexed and jumped. Like Ruze, he triggered the trap and managed to avoid most of the damaging hail of ice. However, he landed poorly, twisting his ankle and tumbling face-first down the stairs. Finian lept aside with near balletic grace; Ruze was directly in the falling warrior's path and both men fell downward, clanking and grunting with each impact. Draelond managed to extricate himself from the tangle about ten feet down, but Ruze fell all the way to the bottom where he lay panting in the chill foyer before a pair of closed iron doors. The Battleguard gasped. The doors were covered with ornate sculptural reliefs of tormented faces in various stages of disease and decay. They seemed to rise up out of the black iron surface of the door their eyes pleading with Ruze to end their suffering. As he stared at them he saw strange black symbols were appearing and disappearing on each of the faces' foreheads, flickering in and out too quickly for his eyes to discern them. Noxious green light was spilling out from beneath and between the two doors. The place stank of evil. "Are you alright?" Draelond called down the stairs and Ruze got awkwardly to his feet. "I don't think I'll be dancing any time soon, but I'll live," the Battleguard grunted. Kirnoth jumped next, avoiding the blast entirely as he went. He landed gracefully and turned to look up at the Janissary. "Come on, Ledare," he assured her. "There's nothing to it." "Easy for you to say, Kirnoth," she grumbled. "Finian, toss me those slippers." They didn't do her any good, unfortunately. She jumped through, triggered the spell and, like both Draelond and Ruze managed to avoid the worst of the damaging ice. And like Draelond she landed poorly and went careening down the stairs. Again, Finian dodged, and this time, he was able to shove Kirnoth out of the way as Ledare went sliding passed him on her armor-plated back. She managed to grab Draelond's hand and so avoided the ride all the way to the bottom. "No traps," Finian announced after he'd finished examining the doors. "But these doors certainly look familiar." "They do?" Draelond muttered. "We saw a similar door in the tomb of an ancient Aphyx priestess," Kirnoth explained. "That's where the Scrolls of Vector were hidden away." "And it's the same as the door to the main temple in the catacombs beneath Barnacus," Ruze reminded. "Can anyone make out those symbols that keep fading in and out on their foreheads?" Ledare asked. The others shook their heads. "It's too fast," Ruze said. "Ready to proceed?" Finian asked and they brandished weapons, nodded, and threw open the doors. The iron valves opened onto a hexagonal chamber with 10-foot-high walls that arched to 15 feet in the center of the room. The chamber was illuminated by a to-foot-high, 10-foot wide archway that glowed with a swirling green mist. Six black stone statues stood in the corners of the chamber, their heads nearly scraping the ceiling, their feet treading upon a field of broken skulls. Finian, Kirnoth and Ledare recognized the hulking orc-like carvings for what they were. They'd seen them in the frescoes of Mogrelden's tomb and the Plaguebringer, Heurist, had even named them for Finian - Mendicants. [/QUOTE]
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