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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Old One" data-source="post: 251739" data-attributes="member: 83">Session 17 (Part Two)Dance of the DeadMomentarily chastised by the dancing dead, the party paused to study the movements of the corpses.  They tried to discern some pattern or repetition to the steps…to no avail.  The swirling dead and their ghostly weapons jerked about, as if at the hands of a drunken puppeteer, in completely random fashion.They noted a variety of outfits and uniforms.  Dead wearing the dress of both the “Greens” and the “Reds” were well represented; many looked recently departed.  Half-a-dozen ancient looking corpses were dressed in gray leather armor emblazoned with a double-headed black eagle.  Sextus peered intently at them for several turns of the minute glass then whistled softly and nodded as one passed close by, “Imperial scouts, by their dress!”Quintus looked at Lew.  “Can you turn them?”The young priest presented his holy symbol and called upon the power of Osirian in a shaky voice.  Several of the dancers seemed to stumble, but the rest reeled on.  Clearing his throat, Lew tried again.“By the power of the Lightbringer, get thee gone!”Bluish-white light chased his thundering voice across the chamber and half of the apparitions wavered and winked out of existence.  “Again!” Sextus called.Confidence restored, Lew raised the sunburst of Osirian above his head and issued his holy directive a third time.  The power of the One True God filled the room again, banishing the remainder of dance macabre.  He strode into the chamber, calling for the others to join him and angling for the right edge of the large purple drape.  Rowan and Sextus followed close on his heels with Quintus and Rosë trailing.Lew grasped the curtain to pull it aside and a crackling wave of violet energy washed over him, leaving him stunned and slack-jawed.  A similar fate befell Sextus and Rowan a grain later.  Quintus and Rosë piled into the immobile trio from behind.  The barbarian’s arm brushed the fabric, but he somehow deflected the stinging slap at his consciousness.The hairs on the back of Quintus’ neck rose as he heard a scraping sound behind them.  Half of the dancers reformed and began whirling towards the immobile knot of the party.  Fear welled up in Rosë.  “Get out of here!” the barbarian screamed, scrambling forward madly.A translucent pugio punched into Quintus’s torso, chilling the sorcerer to the bone.  By pure force of will, he denied the hungry weapon his vitality and ducked away.  Lew shook off the effect and stumbled through the curtain just as the remainder of the dance reappeared.  Rosë put his shoulder into Rowan, knocking the drape aside and sending the stupefied ranger into the off-balance priest.Lew’s hip hit a pace-and-a-half high parapet that surmounted a narrow, square walkway around the midpoint of the huge dwarven statue.  The immobile stone acted as a perfect fulcrum, upending the priest.  Lew’s scream echoed loudly as he plummeted to the floor twenty paces below.Quintus deftly avoided another random weapon strike, grabbed Sextus and hurled his brother forward in Rosë’s wake.  The sorcerer ducked through the opening just ahead of the settling fabric.  Ten grains later, Sextus and Rowan shook their heads as their wits returned.  Sextus deadpanned, “I wouldn’t care to that again.”“Lew, are you alright?”  Rowan peered over the balcony at his friend’s feebly moving form.“O-o-o-w-w-w…”“Hold on, I’ll be right down!”Quintus put his had on Rowan’s shoulder as if to stop him, but the ranger shook it off.  “I’ll be right back, trust me!”Rowan quickly tied a harness, then deftly swung one end of the rope around one of the huge support pillars flanking the immense statue and caught it again.  Using the ropes to steady himself, he stepped onto the parapet and hopped out, his feet hitting the column.  So braced, he quickly shimmied to the ground level and over to Lew.“I-I-I don’t think anything’s broken…but it sure does hurt!”After checking his friend over, Rowan tied the harness around Lew and threw the rope up to Rosë and Sextus.  They quickly hauled him back up and Rowan quickly followed.(DM’s Note: There is just something about these guys and heights…be it pit, balcony or cliff…find one and they will find a way to fall off!  Fortunately, the falling damage was minimum...8 points on 3d6.)Once they were all together, they took stock of their surroundings.  Directly across from the curtain, around the balcony, was a set of double doors.  Down the right and left walls was a curious stone protrusion, about knee high and measuring a handsbreadth wide and two tall.  Fearing a trap, the party carefully examined the end closest to them on the right.  To their relief, they found that it was merely a stone-seating bench that pivoted down from the wall and provided a viewing gallery for the statue.They advanced cautiously down the right side and then to the double doors.  Rowan checked the portal for traps, and then slowly pushed them open.  The party found themselves midway down the long side of a fifteen pace by ten pace room.  Two small door were directly across from them and two more were centered on each of the short walls.A thick carpet – woven from violet, blue and white – covered most of the floor and several glowstones were embedded in the wall.  An ornately carved chair, the seat almost two paces off the ground, occupied each near corner and geometric tapestries graced each wall.  Quintus and Sextus looked at each other.  Mischievous smiles mirrored off the brothers’ faces.  Three grains later, each of the chairs was occupied by a Scipio.One of the far doors shimmered and the squat figure of the dwarf appeared, hand raised and violet fire blazing from his eyes.  A voice thundered, “You dare defile the High Holy Seats?”To Be Continued…Next: Doom?~ Old One</blockquote>

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