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JollyDoc's Way Of The Wicked
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<blockquote data-quote="Joe Jolly" data-source="post: 7385846" data-attributes="member: 6870626"><p>22 Sarenith, 4718 - A Sister’s Keepsake</p><p></p><p>With their search of the catacombs exhausted, the companions returned to the surface of the necropolis and waited for Tardaesha’s body to reform. She was not at all pleased about the turn of events, and was barely mollified when her companions told them they had dealt decisively with the shining children. She remained sullenly silent as they returned to the search.</p><p></p><p>Three large mausoleums stood in the northern section of the necropolis. One was crafted of green marble, the entrance carved to mimic the maw of a ravenous lion. Another was constructed of pale granite and decorated with numerous bas-relief carvings of nautical scenes from the Grand Campaign, and the third was of gray basalt, and unlike its sister buildings, was plain and functional in design. Chiseled above the entry arch was the phrase, “The Living Make Their Plans; the Dead Watch, Amused.” </p><p>“I like this one,” Tardaesha said as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.</p><p>The interior was empty and bare, save for a ten-foot diameter carving of a medusa face upon the floor with crossed eyes. No sooner had Tardaesha strode to the center of the building than she vanished in a flash of light. The others stood looking at one another for several moments before Kelvin shrugged.</p><p>“I guess we don’t have much choice.”</p><p>One by one, they each stepped into the middle of the medusa carving and vanished as well. </p><p></p><p>The Knot found themselves in a great, domed chamber that was home to hundreds of funerary urns of every description, housed in niches along the walls. The domed ceiling high above was decorated with images of Taldan aristocrats engaged in passionate debate, locked in duels, or poring over great tomes together. A carving of a medusa's face decorated the floor in the room's center, flanked to the sides by two trios of stone sarcophagi. An archway opened into a large pillared hall. Katarina looked down at the medusa carving upon which they’d appeared. She noticed immediately that there was a keyhole in its right eye. Examining it more closely, she also saw a starburst indentation in the left eye, a thin slot in the mouth and an oval indentation in the chin.</p><p>“Looks like this is where we’ll place the different key items once we have them all,” she told the others. “I hate fetch quests.”</p><p></p><p>The massive hall beyond the archway hosted a vaulted ceiling, supported by huge pillars of marble running down its center. The walls were lined with vaults, stacked in columns of eight. Lavish murals occupied the stretch of wall above the vaults, depicting naval confrontations between Taldan and Qadiran ships to one side, and Taldan ships and what appeared to be ghost ships to the other. The dominant ship in the painting appeared in both battle scenes, its mainsail proudly flaunting the mocking medusa; a handsome figure clad in archaic captain's uniform gripped the rigging in one hand while he rallied his sailors by waving a falcata over his head. The man had thick white hair and a long beard divided into three braids. Shortly after the companions entered the hall, a shimmering, ghostly figure drifted down from the representation of the captain. He drifted down to float just a few inches above the ground before a set of stairs and addressed the Knot in a deep, commanding voice.</p><p>“It is apparent that none of your assembly is of the blood, so I must conclude you are thieves. To avert my righteous vengeance and leave in peace, answer me these three questions. First, what was the name of my flagship? Second, how did my first darling wife die? And third, why is my eldest son's body not here with us? All the information you need is within this chamber. I give you ten minutes.”</p><p>He faded away a moment later.</p><p></p><p>“Unless I miss my guess,” Kelvin said, “that was Pasco Voxus Adella, a great naval commander in the Taldan navy. The first part of his riddle should be easy enough.”</p><p>He walked to the murals and examined the nameplate of the flag ship captained by Adella.</p><p>“The Harlot,” he read. </p><p>“I suppose the next two won’t be so simple,” Tardaesha muttered.</p><p>“Perhaps not,” Kelvin shrugged. “Let’s spread out and see what we can find.”</p><p>An inspection of the many interment vaults revealed that the bodies buried in the hall consisted of Adellas from all three clans. The pillars themselves bore inscriptions as well—memorials to Adellas whose bodies were lost at sea or on the battlefield, or were otherwise unavailable for burial in the tomb. After several minutes, Kat called out from the far side of the hall.</p><p>“I found something!”</p><p>She had discovered three vaults laid side by side. The inscriptions upon them read:</p><p>“Pasco Voxus Adella, 4112–4171” and “Annavale, Beloved Wife, 4120–4138.” Pasco's second wife was buried there as well—“Eudocia, Beloved Wife, 4130–4192.”</p><p>“So his first wife died at the age of 18,” Kelvin mused. “Young. No indication of how she died. Let’s keep looking.”</p><p>It was Roger who found the next clue.</p><p>“This is interesting,” he said as he peered at the inscribings on one of the pillars.</p><p>“Pasco Voxus Adella II, 4138–4156, The Sea Reclaims Its Own,” he read.</p><p>“That explains why his body is not here,” Kelvin said, “and perhaps more. Look at his birth date...4138. The same year Pasco’s first wife died, which would imply she died in childbirth.”</p><p></p><p>When Pasco’s ghost reappeared several minutes later, Kelvin gave the three answers.</p><p>“Good,” the spirit intoned. “One should know of those who came before, and tread reverently. Disturb not these three tombs before you and I shall not vex you further.”</p><p>He then faded away into nothingness. </p><p></p><p>_________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Beyond Pasco Adella’s hall, the companions came upon another tomb, which was divided into two chambers. A marble fountain, the basin of which resembled a huge shell, sat near the entrance to the each chamber, its waters cascading from between the fingers of reclining mermaids. The chambers beyond the fountains were empty, save for a single sarcophagus at the far end. One fountain bore the inscription “Brotherhood,” while the other read “Fellowship.” The sarcophagus in the first chamber was inscribed, “Commerce Is King, and Courage His Queen.” The second one read “Courage Is King, and Commerce His Queen.”</p><p></p><p>The first sarcophagus proved to be empty save for a necklace of gold with a small globe of crystal suspended from it. Within the crystal was a human finger bone. A bronze plaque on the sarcophagus itself read, “Vespacio Voxus Adella, 4349– 4401.” The other sarcophagus was also empty, save for another a necklace of gold with a small globe of crystal suspended from it. Within that crystal were three human teeth. A bronze plaque on that sarcophagus read “Vincenzo Voxus Adella, 4349–4401.”</p><p>“Ah yes,” Kelvin nodded. “The twins. The story goes that their hatred of each other was so intense that, even after they destroyed one another, they could still not be buried together. I suppose this is all that’s left of them. Still...,”</p><p>Kelvin concentrated on the two reliquaries for a moment.</p><p>“I sense they both contain strong magic,” he continued. “They will protect their wearers from intense cold.”</p><p>“I’ll take one,” Dakota said, snatching Vespacio’s reliquary and hanging it about her neck. </p><p>“If no one objects,” Roger said, “I’ll take the other. You can never be too careful.”</p><p>He hung the Vincenzo’s reliquary around his own neck. As he did so, Dakota felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. It passed quickly and she shrugged it off, admiring her new bauble as they left the tomb.</p><p></p><p>_______________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p></p><p>A wide flight of stairs descended down into the earth. After a few steps, thick white mist filled the stairwell, obscuring further vision. Three circular tiles were set into the floor inside of the archway at the head of the stairs; each tile depicted a different medusa's face—one howling in rage, one mocking with a forked tongue, and one with crossed eyes. As the companions approached the stairs, the disembodied spirits of four women materialized and swooped up from the mists, swirling about them, disconcertingly whispering a few repeated phrases in their ears:</p><p>“Are you of the blood?” “Have you come to pay your respects, cousin?” “Is his name still spoken?”</p><p>When it became obvious after several minutes of this that the phantoms seemed to be nothing more than harmless annoyances, Kat ignored them and studied the three medusa tiles. She quickly determined that each tile could be depressed. She looked over her shoulder questioningly at Kelvin and Tardaesha, but both of them just shrugged. Sighing, Kat reached down and pushed the image of the howling medusa.</p><p></p><p>There was no obvious change to the stairwell besides a slight roiling of the mists. The companions cautiously descended the steps, the flighty spirits yammering along behind them. Soon, the mists cleared as the stairs ended in a chamber. Flickering light danced on the walls of the room, thrown from fat, black candles in silver fixtures wrapped around supporting pillars that rose to the ceiling. Frescoes covered the walls, all depicting a handsome, red-haired man of noble mien engaged in acts of heroic prowess: single-handedly dispatching a cohort of fearsome demons, speaking movingly to an adoring throng, and leading a column of Taldan soldiers toward an enormous mob of Qadiran infantry. On a raised dais in an alcove on one wall, an elaborately carved mahogany coffin, decorated with motifs of vines and eyes, sats on a stone base. At one edge of the raised dais, a rough stone pillar rose halfway to the ceiling. The pillar was painted white, obscuring the carvings on its surface. Carved at the base of its north face was the inscription: “Ursula, 4191–4222.”</p><p></p><p>Tardaesha approached the coffin, which was sealed with three brass locks. She smashed the locks with one swipe of her sword, and then threw open the lid. No sooner had she done so than the four spirits began to shriek and wail. Then a floating, ghostly figure emerged from the white pillar. Its visage constantly shifted between that of a comely, smiling human and a desiccated corpse. Around it the phantoms began to swirl, their shrieking becoming more and more frantic. The creature reached out one rotting hand and plunged it into the chest of Grumblejack, who’d come to stand alongside Tardaesha. The ogre groaned and his skin went pale. The whirling phantoms lashed out at him and his flesh began to shrivel and blacken. Tardaesha shoved Grumblejack behind her, out of reach of the undead horror, swinging her sword at it as she moved. The blade passed through the creature, but it still wailed in obvious pain. From behind Tardaesha came the twang of Dakota’s bow. A quartet of arrows struck the apparition and impaled its incorporeal body. Dak had prepared for just such an eventuality, coating several of her shafts with a specially prepared salt that allowed them to partially exist on the same ethereal plane as ghosts. Kelvin followed this by sending a volley of force missiles at the creature, the magic of which also existed simultaneously in two dimensions. Grumblejack, while still in obvious distress, growled in anger and charged back into the fray. His huge sword was no more effective than Tardaesha’s, and for his effort he received a backhand from the ghost, which left him weakened and groveling on his knees. Tardaesha leaped to his defense once more, slashing at the spirit to keep it at bay while Hugo blasted it with his own force missiles. The ghost staggered but kept coming. Suddenly, a spherical flash of light appeared in the air around the thing, and as it tried to move towards the companions, it found itself trapped.</p><p>“That should hold it for awhile,” Kelvin nodded in satisfaction, “though not forever. Come on. We’d best get about our business here and then be gone before my spell expires.”</p><p></p><p>_________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>The tomb contained a few baubles, and Kat found a hidden door (triggering an electrical trap in the process) which yielded even more valuables, but there was still no sign of the chalice they sought. With no choice but to return the way they’d come, the companions headed back up the stairs. Seeing no better option, Kat depressed the cross-eyed medusa tile at the top of the flight, and the mists shifted and roiled once more. </p><p></p><p>That time, when they descended the stairs, the Knot found themselves in a small, sad little vault that contained numerous small coffins. The dates on the lids showed that none of the occupants had lived past the age of six. Beyond this was a chamber in which a large rug of Qadiran design featured prominently in the center. Ice caked two stone doors on either side of the room, and as the companions entered, both doors lowered abruptly, letting frigid cold blasts of air into the room. Two large, insectile creatures followed.</p><p>“Wait!” Dakota called. “You are Hellspawn! Look! We bear the mark of Asmodeus. We mean you no harm. We are looking for an ancient artifact.”</p><p>“We are bound here,” one of the ice devils croaked, “and sworn to protect this place. May the Lord of Hell see fit to forgive us for slaying his chosen, if you are truly who you claim to be. Perhaps you can ask him on our behalf when you see him.”</p><p></p><p>Both of the fiends threw their arms open wide, and the air around them crackled as four more of their kind were summoned from Hell. The devils began hurling ice and hail in all directions, and erecting walls of solid ice to divide the companions. It was a formidable display, but for those who’d already felt the chill of the grave as the Dannister vampires had, it was merely a distraction. The Nessian Knot cut through the fiends like hot knives through butter, sending them back to Hell to answer for their transgressions. </p><p></p><p>___________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Beyond the room where the ice devils had held their vigil, lay a virtual charnel house. Large arched niches filled walls, and various bones were mortared into them in artfully arranged patterns. Each was packed with the jawless skulls of countless humans, and each skull had a name painted on its surface, along with dates of birth and death. A ragged hole in the ground dropped into what appeared to be an even deeper cavern.</p><p></p><p>In one corner of the room, a skull bearing the words “Thrasillus Daellum Adella, 4321–4418” still had its jawbone attached. Dakota removed the skull from its niche, revealing that it had an exquisite oval ruby etched with the symbol of the cross-eyed medusa clenched between its teeth. </p><p>“Thrasillus‘s voice,” Kelvin nodded. “Only one more clue to find.”</p><p></p><p>___________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>The hole in the floor led down to a rough-hewn chamber whose ceiling was barely above head height. The floor was strewn with dust and gravel. Four passages branched off the main chamber. With Dakota in the lead, the companions chose one of the tunnels at random. It didn’t go far before ending in another, smaller cave. A lone figure stood still and silent in the center of the room. As the companions approached, she lifted her head and turned slowly to face them. She was a frightfully pale, and dark-haired woman, wearing a soiled, old-fashioned gown and with what looked like tears of dried blood caked on her cheeks. She spoke in a tremulous voice.</p><p>“Are my daughters unharmed? Have you come to rescue us?”</p><p>“That’s an interesting pendant you’re wearing, my Lady,” Kelvin spoke casually, noting the medusa-head charm that hung from the woman’s neck. “Where did you come by it?”</p><p>“I was all but betrothed to a king,” the woman replied absently. “We must find my daughters. It seems I’ve been here for months, but they only just arrived. You must takes us from this place of death.”</p><p>“Where are your daughters?” Dakota asked.</p><p>“Come,” the woman said, brushing past the others in the passage, “I will take you to them.”</p><p></p><p>The companions followed cautiously behind the woman as she moved back into the main cavern, and then down another of the side passages.</p><p>“You realize she’s a vampire?” Tardaesha whispered to Kelvin.</p><p>“Of course,” her brother said. “She’s also quite insane. Be vigilant.”</p><p>The vampiress led them to a small chamber. Cowering in one corner, too frightened to make a sound, were two brown-haired women in their early twenties. They wore filthy peasant dresses and clutched one another in terror. Beside them was a pallet of soiled blankets, chunks of doubtful-looking meat, and a plain clay jug. A lone candle sputtered fitfully next to them.</p><p>“Come, my children,” the vampire said. “These kind souls will lead us from this place.”</p><p>The women rose hesitantly to their feet and came to their “mother’s” side. Tardaesha and Dakota looked at one another knowingly, then each of them looked directly into the eyes of the two scared women.</p><p>“We will do exactly that,” Dakota said to one of them, “if you ask your mother to be so kind as to gift us that lovely amulet she wears.”</p><p>“Give them your amulet, mother,” the girl said mechanically, turning to the vampire.</p><p>The undead matron turned and looked at the girl quizzically. Then her eyes flared red with rage, and she shrieked as she hurled herself towards Dakota. Tardaesha stepped in front of her and slashed across her belly. The vampiress whirled towards her and forked her fingers as she spoke arcane words. Instantly, Tardaesha simply vanished. She then turned back towards Dakota and began another spell, but Drax was faster. He didn’t know what had become of his mistress, but if nothing else, he would avenge her. He hurled his own magic at the vampiress, causing her bones to shatter within her flesh. She screamed in agony and collapsed in a heap, still struggling to drag herself towards Dakota. Dak casually aimed her bow and fired an arrow through her skull from less than a foot away. </p><p></p><p>________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Dakota followed the misty form of the vampire back to her coffin. As the vapor filled the inside of the sarcophagus and began to reform a corporeal body, Dak snapped the head off of one of her arrows, and drove the splintered shaft through the woman’s heart. When she returned to her companions, she found Tardaesha waiting for her.</p><p>“I...,” Dak started, at an unusual loss for words, “I was...concerned.”</p><p>“No need,” Tardaesha smiled. “I’m unharmed. She merely sent me to some sort of other-dimensional maze. Took me a bit to find my way out.”</p><p>“Thank you!!!” </p><p>The two girls wept with gratitude, clutching at the hem of Tardaesha’s garments. </p><p>“There is no telling what she would have done with us if you hadn’t come along!”</p><p>“Probably the same thing that my sister and I are about to do,” Tardaesha grinned, baring her fangs. </p><p></p><p>___________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>With the last two keys in hand, the companions returned up the misty stairs to the main tomb once more. As they stepped into the chamber, however, Tardaesha’s eyes suddenly went wide in alarm.</p><p>“Dakota, watch out!”</p><p>Dak turned just in time to see Roger charging at her, his blade raised for a killing strike. Reflexively, she snapped off an arrow at him, taking him in the shoulder. It was enough to throw off his swing, and he only grazed her across the brow instead of severing her head. He lifted his blade again, but then Tardaesha slammed into him, and as he staggered back, she swung her own sword at his neck. Instead of decapitating him, however, she merely struck the grisly amulet that he had claimed from the tomb of the twins.</p><p>“That was inevitable,” she said as the others looked at her in confusion, including Roger. “I sensed that those baubles bore some residual curse from the death feud of the twins, but I was willing to let things play out in case they served some other purpose in this cursed place. Turns out I was wrong.”</p><p>Dakota looked down at the necklace she wore around her own neck, carefully removed it, then smashed it beneath her boot heel.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Joe Jolly, post: 7385846, member: 6870626"] 22 Sarenith, 4718 - A Sister’s Keepsake With their search of the catacombs exhausted, the companions returned to the surface of the necropolis and waited for Tardaesha’s body to reform. She was not at all pleased about the turn of events, and was barely mollified when her companions told them they had dealt decisively with the shining children. She remained sullenly silent as they returned to the search. Three large mausoleums stood in the northern section of the necropolis. One was crafted of green marble, the entrance carved to mimic the maw of a ravenous lion. Another was constructed of pale granite and decorated with numerous bas-relief carvings of nautical scenes from the Grand Campaign, and the third was of gray basalt, and unlike its sister buildings, was plain and functional in design. Chiseled above the entry arch was the phrase, “The Living Make Their Plans; the Dead Watch, Amused.” “I like this one,” Tardaesha said as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The interior was empty and bare, save for a ten-foot diameter carving of a medusa face upon the floor with crossed eyes. No sooner had Tardaesha strode to the center of the building than she vanished in a flash of light. The others stood looking at one another for several moments before Kelvin shrugged. “I guess we don’t have much choice.” One by one, they each stepped into the middle of the medusa carving and vanished as well. The Knot found themselves in a great, domed chamber that was home to hundreds of funerary urns of every description, housed in niches along the walls. The domed ceiling high above was decorated with images of Taldan aristocrats engaged in passionate debate, locked in duels, or poring over great tomes together. A carving of a medusa's face decorated the floor in the room's center, flanked to the sides by two trios of stone sarcophagi. An archway opened into a large pillared hall. Katarina looked down at the medusa carving upon which they’d appeared. She noticed immediately that there was a keyhole in its right eye. Examining it more closely, she also saw a starburst indentation in the left eye, a thin slot in the mouth and an oval indentation in the chin. “Looks like this is where we’ll place the different key items once we have them all,” she told the others. “I hate fetch quests.” The massive hall beyond the archway hosted a vaulted ceiling, supported by huge pillars of marble running down its center. The walls were lined with vaults, stacked in columns of eight. Lavish murals occupied the stretch of wall above the vaults, depicting naval confrontations between Taldan and Qadiran ships to one side, and Taldan ships and what appeared to be ghost ships to the other. The dominant ship in the painting appeared in both battle scenes, its mainsail proudly flaunting the mocking medusa; a handsome figure clad in archaic captain's uniform gripped the rigging in one hand while he rallied his sailors by waving a falcata over his head. The man had thick white hair and a long beard divided into three braids. Shortly after the companions entered the hall, a shimmering, ghostly figure drifted down from the representation of the captain. He drifted down to float just a few inches above the ground before a set of stairs and addressed the Knot in a deep, commanding voice. “It is apparent that none of your assembly is of the blood, so I must conclude you are thieves. To avert my righteous vengeance and leave in peace, answer me these three questions. First, what was the name of my flagship? Second, how did my first darling wife die? And third, why is my eldest son's body not here with us? All the information you need is within this chamber. I give you ten minutes.” He faded away a moment later. “Unless I miss my guess,” Kelvin said, “that was Pasco Voxus Adella, a great naval commander in the Taldan navy. The first part of his riddle should be easy enough.” He walked to the murals and examined the nameplate of the flag ship captained by Adella. “The Harlot,” he read. “I suppose the next two won’t be so simple,” Tardaesha muttered. “Perhaps not,” Kelvin shrugged. “Let’s spread out and see what we can find.” An inspection of the many interment vaults revealed that the bodies buried in the hall consisted of Adellas from all three clans. The pillars themselves bore inscriptions as well—memorials to Adellas whose bodies were lost at sea or on the battlefield, or were otherwise unavailable for burial in the tomb. After several minutes, Kat called out from the far side of the hall. “I found something!” She had discovered three vaults laid side by side. The inscriptions upon them read: “Pasco Voxus Adella, 4112–4171” and “Annavale, Beloved Wife, 4120–4138.” Pasco's second wife was buried there as well—“Eudocia, Beloved Wife, 4130–4192.” “So his first wife died at the age of 18,” Kelvin mused. “Young. No indication of how she died. Let’s keep looking.” It was Roger who found the next clue. “This is interesting,” he said as he peered at the inscribings on one of the pillars. “Pasco Voxus Adella II, 4138–4156, The Sea Reclaims Its Own,” he read. “That explains why his body is not here,” Kelvin said, “and perhaps more. Look at his birth date...4138. The same year Pasco’s first wife died, which would imply she died in childbirth.” When Pasco’s ghost reappeared several minutes later, Kelvin gave the three answers. “Good,” the spirit intoned. “One should know of those who came before, and tread reverently. Disturb not these three tombs before you and I shall not vex you further.” He then faded away into nothingness. _________________________________________________________________ Beyond Pasco Adella’s hall, the companions came upon another tomb, which was divided into two chambers. A marble fountain, the basin of which resembled a huge shell, sat near the entrance to the each chamber, its waters cascading from between the fingers of reclining mermaids. The chambers beyond the fountains were empty, save for a single sarcophagus at the far end. One fountain bore the inscription “Brotherhood,” while the other read “Fellowship.” The sarcophagus in the first chamber was inscribed, “Commerce Is King, and Courage His Queen.” The second one read “Courage Is King, and Commerce His Queen.” The first sarcophagus proved to be empty save for a necklace of gold with a small globe of crystal suspended from it. Within the crystal was a human finger bone. A bronze plaque on the sarcophagus itself read, “Vespacio Voxus Adella, 4349– 4401.” The other sarcophagus was also empty, save for another a necklace of gold with a small globe of crystal suspended from it. Within that crystal were three human teeth. A bronze plaque on that sarcophagus read “Vincenzo Voxus Adella, 4349–4401.” “Ah yes,” Kelvin nodded. “The twins. The story goes that their hatred of each other was so intense that, even after they destroyed one another, they could still not be buried together. I suppose this is all that’s left of them. Still...,” Kelvin concentrated on the two reliquaries for a moment. “I sense they both contain strong magic,” he continued. “They will protect their wearers from intense cold.” “I’ll take one,” Dakota said, snatching Vespacio’s reliquary and hanging it about her neck. “If no one objects,” Roger said, “I’ll take the other. You can never be too careful.” He hung the Vincenzo’s reliquary around his own neck. As he did so, Dakota felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. It passed quickly and she shrugged it off, admiring her new bauble as they left the tomb. _______________________________________________________________ A wide flight of stairs descended down into the earth. After a few steps, thick white mist filled the stairwell, obscuring further vision. Three circular tiles were set into the floor inside of the archway at the head of the stairs; each tile depicted a different medusa's face—one howling in rage, one mocking with a forked tongue, and one with crossed eyes. As the companions approached the stairs, the disembodied spirits of four women materialized and swooped up from the mists, swirling about them, disconcertingly whispering a few repeated phrases in their ears: “Are you of the blood?” “Have you come to pay your respects, cousin?” “Is his name still spoken?” When it became obvious after several minutes of this that the phantoms seemed to be nothing more than harmless annoyances, Kat ignored them and studied the three medusa tiles. She quickly determined that each tile could be depressed. She looked over her shoulder questioningly at Kelvin and Tardaesha, but both of them just shrugged. Sighing, Kat reached down and pushed the image of the howling medusa. There was no obvious change to the stairwell besides a slight roiling of the mists. The companions cautiously descended the steps, the flighty spirits yammering along behind them. Soon, the mists cleared as the stairs ended in a chamber. Flickering light danced on the walls of the room, thrown from fat, black candles in silver fixtures wrapped around supporting pillars that rose to the ceiling. Frescoes covered the walls, all depicting a handsome, red-haired man of noble mien engaged in acts of heroic prowess: single-handedly dispatching a cohort of fearsome demons, speaking movingly to an adoring throng, and leading a column of Taldan soldiers toward an enormous mob of Qadiran infantry. On a raised dais in an alcove on one wall, an elaborately carved mahogany coffin, decorated with motifs of vines and eyes, sats on a stone base. At one edge of the raised dais, a rough stone pillar rose halfway to the ceiling. The pillar was painted white, obscuring the carvings on its surface. Carved at the base of its north face was the inscription: “Ursula, 4191–4222.” Tardaesha approached the coffin, which was sealed with three brass locks. She smashed the locks with one swipe of her sword, and then threw open the lid. No sooner had she done so than the four spirits began to shriek and wail. Then a floating, ghostly figure emerged from the white pillar. Its visage constantly shifted between that of a comely, smiling human and a desiccated corpse. Around it the phantoms began to swirl, their shrieking becoming more and more frantic. The creature reached out one rotting hand and plunged it into the chest of Grumblejack, who’d come to stand alongside Tardaesha. The ogre groaned and his skin went pale. The whirling phantoms lashed out at him and his flesh began to shrivel and blacken. Tardaesha shoved Grumblejack behind her, out of reach of the undead horror, swinging her sword at it as she moved. The blade passed through the creature, but it still wailed in obvious pain. From behind Tardaesha came the twang of Dakota’s bow. A quartet of arrows struck the apparition and impaled its incorporeal body. Dak had prepared for just such an eventuality, coating several of her shafts with a specially prepared salt that allowed them to partially exist on the same ethereal plane as ghosts. Kelvin followed this by sending a volley of force missiles at the creature, the magic of which also existed simultaneously in two dimensions. Grumblejack, while still in obvious distress, growled in anger and charged back into the fray. His huge sword was no more effective than Tardaesha’s, and for his effort he received a backhand from the ghost, which left him weakened and groveling on his knees. Tardaesha leaped to his defense once more, slashing at the spirit to keep it at bay while Hugo blasted it with his own force missiles. The ghost staggered but kept coming. Suddenly, a spherical flash of light appeared in the air around the thing, and as it tried to move towards the companions, it found itself trapped. “That should hold it for awhile,” Kelvin nodded in satisfaction, “though not forever. Come on. We’d best get about our business here and then be gone before my spell expires.” _________________________________________________________________ The tomb contained a few baubles, and Kat found a hidden door (triggering an electrical trap in the process) which yielded even more valuables, but there was still no sign of the chalice they sought. With no choice but to return the way they’d come, the companions headed back up the stairs. Seeing no better option, Kat depressed the cross-eyed medusa tile at the top of the flight, and the mists shifted and roiled once more. That time, when they descended the stairs, the Knot found themselves in a small, sad little vault that contained numerous small coffins. The dates on the lids showed that none of the occupants had lived past the age of six. Beyond this was a chamber in which a large rug of Qadiran design featured prominently in the center. Ice caked two stone doors on either side of the room, and as the companions entered, both doors lowered abruptly, letting frigid cold blasts of air into the room. Two large, insectile creatures followed. “Wait!” Dakota called. “You are Hellspawn! Look! We bear the mark of Asmodeus. We mean you no harm. We are looking for an ancient artifact.” “We are bound here,” one of the ice devils croaked, “and sworn to protect this place. May the Lord of Hell see fit to forgive us for slaying his chosen, if you are truly who you claim to be. Perhaps you can ask him on our behalf when you see him.” Both of the fiends threw their arms open wide, and the air around them crackled as four more of their kind were summoned from Hell. The devils began hurling ice and hail in all directions, and erecting walls of solid ice to divide the companions. It was a formidable display, but for those who’d already felt the chill of the grave as the Dannister vampires had, it was merely a distraction. The Nessian Knot cut through the fiends like hot knives through butter, sending them back to Hell to answer for their transgressions. ___________________________________________________________________ Beyond the room where the ice devils had held their vigil, lay a virtual charnel house. Large arched niches filled walls, and various bones were mortared into them in artfully arranged patterns. Each was packed with the jawless skulls of countless humans, and each skull had a name painted on its surface, along with dates of birth and death. A ragged hole in the ground dropped into what appeared to be an even deeper cavern. In one corner of the room, a skull bearing the words “Thrasillus Daellum Adella, 4321–4418” still had its jawbone attached. Dakota removed the skull from its niche, revealing that it had an exquisite oval ruby etched with the symbol of the cross-eyed medusa clenched between its teeth. “Thrasillus‘s voice,” Kelvin nodded. “Only one more clue to find.” ___________________________________________________________________ The hole in the floor led down to a rough-hewn chamber whose ceiling was barely above head height. The floor was strewn with dust and gravel. Four passages branched off the main chamber. With Dakota in the lead, the companions chose one of the tunnels at random. It didn’t go far before ending in another, smaller cave. A lone figure stood still and silent in the center of the room. As the companions approached, she lifted her head and turned slowly to face them. She was a frightfully pale, and dark-haired woman, wearing a soiled, old-fashioned gown and with what looked like tears of dried blood caked on her cheeks. She spoke in a tremulous voice. “Are my daughters unharmed? Have you come to rescue us?” “That’s an interesting pendant you’re wearing, my Lady,” Kelvin spoke casually, noting the medusa-head charm that hung from the woman’s neck. “Where did you come by it?” “I was all but betrothed to a king,” the woman replied absently. “We must find my daughters. It seems I’ve been here for months, but they only just arrived. You must takes us from this place of death.” “Where are your daughters?” Dakota asked. “Come,” the woman said, brushing past the others in the passage, “I will take you to them.” The companions followed cautiously behind the woman as she moved back into the main cavern, and then down another of the side passages. “You realize she’s a vampire?” Tardaesha whispered to Kelvin. “Of course,” her brother said. “She’s also quite insane. Be vigilant.” The vampiress led them to a small chamber. Cowering in one corner, too frightened to make a sound, were two brown-haired women in their early twenties. They wore filthy peasant dresses and clutched one another in terror. Beside them was a pallet of soiled blankets, chunks of doubtful-looking meat, and a plain clay jug. A lone candle sputtered fitfully next to them. “Come, my children,” the vampire said. “These kind souls will lead us from this place.” The women rose hesitantly to their feet and came to their “mother’s” side. Tardaesha and Dakota looked at one another knowingly, then each of them looked directly into the eyes of the two scared women. “We will do exactly that,” Dakota said to one of them, “if you ask your mother to be so kind as to gift us that lovely amulet she wears.” “Give them your amulet, mother,” the girl said mechanically, turning to the vampire. The undead matron turned and looked at the girl quizzically. Then her eyes flared red with rage, and she shrieked as she hurled herself towards Dakota. Tardaesha stepped in front of her and slashed across her belly. The vampiress whirled towards her and forked her fingers as she spoke arcane words. Instantly, Tardaesha simply vanished. She then turned back towards Dakota and began another spell, but Drax was faster. He didn’t know what had become of his mistress, but if nothing else, he would avenge her. He hurled his own magic at the vampiress, causing her bones to shatter within her flesh. She screamed in agony and collapsed in a heap, still struggling to drag herself towards Dakota. Dak casually aimed her bow and fired an arrow through her skull from less than a foot away. ________________________________________________________________ Dakota followed the misty form of the vampire back to her coffin. As the vapor filled the inside of the sarcophagus and began to reform a corporeal body, Dak snapped the head off of one of her arrows, and drove the splintered shaft through the woman’s heart. When she returned to her companions, she found Tardaesha waiting for her. “I...,” Dak started, at an unusual loss for words, “I was...concerned.” “No need,” Tardaesha smiled. “I’m unharmed. She merely sent me to some sort of other-dimensional maze. Took me a bit to find my way out.” “Thank you!!!” The two girls wept with gratitude, clutching at the hem of Tardaesha’s garments. “There is no telling what she would have done with us if you hadn’t come along!” “Probably the same thing that my sister and I are about to do,” Tardaesha grinned, baring her fangs. ___________________________________________________________________ With the last two keys in hand, the companions returned up the misty stairs to the main tomb once more. As they stepped into the chamber, however, Tardaesha’s eyes suddenly went wide in alarm. “Dakota, watch out!” Dak turned just in time to see Roger charging at her, his blade raised for a killing strike. Reflexively, she snapped off an arrow at him, taking him in the shoulder. It was enough to throw off his swing, and he only grazed her across the brow instead of severing her head. He lifted his blade again, but then Tardaesha slammed into him, and as he staggered back, she swung her own sword at his neck. Instead of decapitating him, however, she merely struck the grisly amulet that he had claimed from the tomb of the twins. “That was inevitable,” she said as the others looked at her in confusion, including Roger. “I sensed that those baubles bore some residual curse from the death feud of the twins, but I was willing to let things play out in case they served some other purpose in this cursed place. Turns out I was wrong.” Dakota looked down at the necklace she wore around her own neck, carefully removed it, then smashed it beneath her boot heel. [/QUOTE]
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