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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6704682" data-attributes="member: 9546">The Breaking of the Fellowship5 Lamashan, 4715 "Are you the boss of this place!?" Mazael shouted. "Because if you're not, then you'd best get out of our way or join the rest of the catapult fodder we left behind us!"The companions had made their way across the lake of broken stones after their battle with the sea drakes and the hobgoblin sisters. On the opposite side of the lake, a low stone shelf had formed a natural harbor. High stone ledges rose in tiers from the shelf, and a set of stone steps climbed from the middle to the topmost one. There, the chamber they found themselves in had worked stone walls rather than natural ones, and they were carved with figures being torn apart by beasts. The chamber was occupied."It will be a mercy given to you at the edge of my blade," a giant figure clad in full o-yori armor rumbled, "that you will never have to meet my mistress."The giant sat astride an even larger stone bull, grey mist flaring from its nostrils. A lone Withered Blossom warrior stood to one side, glancing nervously from his captain to the intruders. Before Mazael could respond, the great bull lumbered forward, and exhaled a vast cloud of cloying mist that enveloped the companions. When it cleared a moment later, where Mazael and Haroldo had stood were two very life-like statues of the two warriors. The giant samurai drew a katana from his back and flew through the air. When he reached the statue of Mazael, he struck its leg with his sword, sending a spiderweb of cracks through it. "Boris told you!" the goblin shrieked to his friends, hopping up and down and pointing at the statues. "Rock bulls no joke!""Let's see if stone burns!" Piotr growled.The sorcerer flung out his hands, and chains of fire sprang from his fingertips, arcing from the giant, to the bull, and to the hobgoblin. The giant seemed to ignore the flames, but his allies shrieked and snorted in agony as the fire wreathed them. Lucian followed this with three arrows into the bull's exposed flank, knowing they had to put the beast down quickly before it could breathe again. Zula sealed its fate with her thundercall, and the creature fell heavily upon its side, heaving one last gasp before it expired. The hobgoblin, its clothes still smoking, charged across the chamber, and when it reached the statue of Haroldo, swung its morningstar into the throat of the petrified blood-rager. A moment later, the stony facade fell away from both of the warriors, the effects of the gorgon's breath wearing off. Mazael immediately lurched to one side, off balance due to his broken leg, and Haroldo's hand went to his throat, horribly indented, his trachea crushed. Still, that didn't stop the war-priest from whipping Suishen around and disemboweling the Withered Blossom hobgoblin. And when Lucian finished off the giant with another salvo of arrows, revealing it to be another ogre-mage when it died, Haroldo grabbed his neck and squeezed, popping his airway back open and then shrugging his shoulders, as if nothing had happened. Lucian put away his bow and tended to Mazael's shattered femur. Within a few minutes, the companions were ready to proceed._______________________________________________________________Beyond the chamber, a short hall gave on to a magnificent stone bridge carved with enraged kirin devouring a bridal feast. Swift, dark waters flowed under the crossing. The bridge led to a stone ledge overlooking a cobbled stone plaza in a huge chamber. High above, a vaulted ceiling soared over the room, supported by great columns, some of which had collapsed. At one time, another stone bridge crossed the room from the ledge to the opposite wall, but the both the span and the enormous archway it led to had also collapsed, leaving a pile of shattered rubble on the floor below. Frescoes depicting blinded ettins pulling obscene creatures on vast golden wagons, surrounded by slaves averting their eyes, covered the walls in a riot of extravagant colors. A quartet of Withered Blossom warriors stood along the ledge, gazing down into the plaza below where a pair of hill giants picked among the rubble. The companions wasted little time on the rabble. By this point, they had become quite adept at anticipating the tactics of the hobgoblins, and they made quick work of the warriors, with Lucian picking off the giants while staying clear of the chunks of rock they hurled back at him. Afterwards, they made their way down to the plaza, where they found, beneath the overhang of the ledge, a swollen wooden door, and nearby, an archway leading to another corridor. Haroldo had no problem forcing open the stuck door, revealing a bare chamber with water slowly dripping onto the damp floor. A small, withered tree in a simple pot sat in the middle of the room."That's it," Lucian said, walking over to gently pick up the little bonsai. "Akumi's spirit tree. It's still alive, but just barely. We need to get it to sunlight soon."The oracle tucked the tree safely into his gear, melding it into his tree form.____________________________________________________________The corridor beneath the ledge led from the plaza to the remains of a broken bridge which lay shattered in the waters of an underground river. Across the torrent, an open archway beckoned. With all of the companions still flying by one means or another, crossing the water was no hindrance. Beyond the archway, innumerable columns depicting writhing oni feasting upon fleeing peasants supported a magnificent arched corridor, which vanished into darkness. Another small group of hobgoblins and giants stood staring down the corridor, as if watching for something. The companions caught them off guard, and quickly dispatched them, as they had done their predecessors. The pillared corridor stretched for over six-hundred feet, its floor worn smooth with heavy traffic, its walls covered in carvings depicting dragons punishing humans for their frailty and mortality. It finally ended in a broad, stone platform that overlooked a series of  crude stone steps that descended on the far side. The mangled, rotting corpses of hobgoblins littered the floor. As the companions approached, several large shadows detached themselves from area of the hole in the floor and advanced towards the corridor. As they stepped into the light, they resolved into a half-dozen hunched, reptilian beasts that loped on two clawed feet, their eyeless heads dominated by huge circular maws filled with jagged teeth.As one, the creatures opened wide their mouths, and trumpeting blasts, akin to Zula's thundercall multiplied six times over, hammered into the heroes. The results were devastating. Piotr and Lucian were blown back, and lay motionless upon the floor, blood pouring from their ears and mouths. For Gnome-Brr Phive, it was even worse. The little svirfneblin was hurled bodily into one of the pillars, his neck snapping audibly. He was left limp and lifeless, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. The others remained on their feet, but just barely. Only Boris was unscathed, his lightning fast reflexes having allowed him to dive for cover behind the pillars. Haroldo, bruises visible all over his body from the punishing sonic impact, hurled a fireball into the mass of creatures, his blood magic boiling, but it only managed to buy his friends a brief moment of respite. Mazael, unsteady on his feet, seized the medallion of Desna around his neck and channelled her healing power. Piotr and Lucian opened their eyes groggily, looking around in a daze. "Come on!" Zula cried. The Shoanti thundercaller ran groggily towards Lucian, scooping up Gnome-Brr Phive's body as she went. When she reached the oracle, she tapped him on the shoulder, then tapped Haroldo in turn."We'll meet you back at the waterfall!" she cried to Mazael, Piotr and Boris. Then the three of them vanished in a flash of white light. Mazael nodded, though Zula was already gone, and then turned back to help Piotr to his feet. That was when the creatures unleashed their destructive harmonics again. Boris dove for cover once more, holding his ears. When he peered out from around the pillar a moment later, his face went white in horror. Mazael and Piotr both were on the ground, terribly still, Suishen unattended nearby. Shaking his head, the goblin turned the ring on his finger and vanished. He then crept out from his hiding place, heading towards his friends. He had gone no further than a few feet when the creatures all turned their eyeless heads in his direction."Uh-oh," Boris whimpered.The monsters charged him, teeth and claws ripping and slashing. Boris dove forward, rolling out of the mass, bleeding from several wounds. He glanced down and saw the glazed, unseeing eyes of Piotr and Mazael. Brushing aside a tear, he grabbed Suishen.'Run, little one,' the sword spoke into his mind. 'A warrior knows when the battle is lost.'His face grim, Boris turned and ran.</blockquote>

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