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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1478321" data-attributes="member: 6294">"The Hallowed Hills" by Miguel Duran (WotC Cliffhanger) - Part 6Sirdros wakes from a dream of sunlight and warmth to a reality of darkness and cold.He lies on a stone altar, before a banner of his deity, Pelor.The remembers the Sun God's realm: golden sunshine and eternal summer."Rest easy, my son." A warm hand touches his cold brow, "It will take some time for you to reacclimatise to this mortal realm.""Abbot ... Gerrard ..." the elf priest struggles to form the words, "Cold.""I know, my son." The Abbot draws a blanket over his body, "You have left the warmth of our lord Pelor's court to return to us.""I ... heard you ... calling. ""I read the invocation." Gerrard touches the fragments of a scroll. "Nothing more.""The others?""They are healed, and await you.  You may join them once you feel strong enough.  For now, you should rest."Sleep steals over the elf, and he sinks into darkness, filled with dreams of light.It is not until the next day that he is able to rise and go to the others.  He moves slowly, his vision feeling strangely dim in this dark, drab world.  His welcome is muted, but sincere, whether it be a clap on the shoulder from the Padre, or a teary smile from Twinkle."I'm ready to go back." He tells them, taking a deep breath. "Others of my faith are still in there.""You know they're almost certainly dead." The Padre offers, "It would be safer to seal the tunnels."Sirdros shakes his head,"That is not our task."And thus they return to the caverns, venturing past the corpses of the ghouls, and into a narrow but high tunnel.  This twists and turns, forcing them to move in single file and often plunging one adventurer or another into darkness as those members carrying torches move around a bend.And then suddenly there is a flurry of activity above them, and what they take at first to be bats drop out of the darkness toward them.  It is only as the creatures come within their light that they see the long mosquito-like noses and hear the high-pitched buzz of the wings: these are no bats."Stirges!" the Padre curses, "Don't let them land on you!"Easier said than done: several of the creatures alight on Anastria and Briar, each attempting to plunge their needle-like proboscis into the flesh of the women.  Some succeed, and Anastria goes white as more than a pint of blood is drained from her body.  Swaying badly, she ignores the foul creatures, scrabbling instead in her pack for her potion of bear's endurance, which she drains as eagerly as the stirges drain her blood.Fortunately for the elf woman, the other adventurers are at hand, not at the other end of a rope.  They move quickly into action, attacking the creatures that have settled upon her and Briar.  Mantreus' magical missiles prove particularly useful in this regard, for he can target them on the beasts without risk to his friends.Despite this, and despite the potion, Anastria is white and trembling by the time all six of the stirges have been slain.  Anaemic and faint from the loss of blood, she sags against the tunnel wall, barely able to hold onto consciousness.After checking that Briar is in no imminent danger of death, the Padre gives Anastria a hard stare, before laying his hand on her shoulder and speaking the words of a spell of restoration.  Perhaps St Cuthbert senses his priest's reluctance, for the magic flows weakly, barely strengthening the elf woman at all."This is ridiculous." The priest confers with Sirdros and Mantreus, "We've barely gone a hundred yards further than last time, and we've got to head back again.  I'm pretty sure that potion is the only thing keeping her alive.""Briar is weak, too." Sirdros agrees, "Though not so sorely.  Twinkle and yourself as well."The Padre waves off the concern."I'm fine." He insists. "Let's get back to the monastery."</blockquote>

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