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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 637910" data-attributes="member: 1210">The PrisonerIt doesn't even remember why they put it in the cell so long ago.  It's never going to feed again.  If it goes back to the cell it will be caught by the terrible Lords.  They will do things to it, to its essence.  Even this- having this empty, hollow chest with no essence inside it- is better than that would be.  It has been here for how long?  It doesn't even know any more.  Thousands of years?  Tens of thousands?  It doesn't matter.  There is no escape out there.  It will wait here, in terrible gloom, until the ends of time.  It does not need food or drink, after all.  And then it feels something- a warmth around it, in its chest.  There are essences around it.  The party moves down the narrow tunnel, stooped over, almost crawling, Norman in the lead and walking comfortably.  They emerge in a small hollowed out area.  Within it is a strange creature- tall, almost skeletally gaunt, with a large hollow chest.  It sits in an aspect of desponancy and doesn't seem to notice them.  A faint, feverish light burns in the hollow sockets of its eyes.  "What is it?" whispers Norman fearfully.  It doesn't seem to hear him.  Lester and Sheva enter the chamber; the others are stretched out to the cells and even beyond the sealed door.  Suddenly the thing's bony head jerks and it seems to see them.  Hissing despondantly, the strange creature stands up.  A spark seems to flow from Lester to its chest, and for an instant it seems that a vaporous miniature Lester form is being drawn from the L's body.  Then the horrific moment passes, leaving the Elementalist's face white with strain.  Norman whips out a dagger and tries to move into position on the thing, thrusting eagerly at its lower body.  Sheva grasps her amulet of Coila and channels negative energy, trying to rebuke the thing, and she sees it flinch; but her clerical power is not well-developed enough for her to succeed.  She whips out the death knight's greatsword and swings, but her blow misses the monster entirely.  Lester pulls out Felix Optima Maxima and strikes the prisoner hard, but it still seems curiously despondant and disinterested in the entire proceeding."What's going on in there?  Do you need help?" calls Zeebo's voice from without.  In the hall beyond the locked iron door, Orbius is already casting one of the best spells he knows.  A good part of the party is telepathically linked with a spell; it gives enough information for his seeker missiles to streak off, through the hole shaped in the wall, into the cell, down the bolt hole, and into the terrible undead creature's chest.  With a loud boom, they blast it into oblivion."That thing tried to suck my soul or something!" Lester cries, visibly shaken.  "Man, I hope it had some treasure."A search turns up nothing, and the party briefly wonders who or what had imprisoned the strange thing, but there are no clues to be found.  Still, the bolt hole seems like a good place to rest.  It's a tight fit, but most of them can get in there together, and the entire row of cells seems safe enough too- assuming the ghostly elf doesn't come back.The party settles in...Next Time: The Leechwalkers!  Reth Fire-Scarred's fate!  And the power of high-level divinations- they let you get right where you want to be...Or do you?  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":eek:" title="Eek!    :eek:"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":eek:" /></blockquote>

Verification