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Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4857709" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 58</p><p></p><p></p><p>Surina believed in the cause of Order, and the virtues of “civilization” that her god, Erathis, represented. It was that fundamental belief that had drawn her to the Seven-Pillared Hall, and to Vhael’s banner. She would have come here even without the need to rescue the captives, not because of the evil that this place represented, but because the Well of Demons was a wellspring of <em>chaos</em>, of the disorder that she had fought against since her conversion eleven years past. </p><p></p><p>So when the sea of grasping hands parted, and a fiend straight out of the Pit began to emerge, it was to Erathis that she prayed. </p><p></p><p>It was another of the ape demons, the barlgura, indistinguishable from the other two that they had already faced and defeated. As it emerged from the pillar, jaws slavering eagerly even before it saw her, she tore free from the grasping hands and staggered toward the altar-stone. As the demon’s feet landed upon the floor behind her she reached for the golden bell. Her hand closed around the bone handle, but even as she started to lift it a terrible pain pierced her flesh. Reflexively she loosed her grip, and saw thorns, stained with her blood, running down the length of the bone shaft. As she watched, they retracted back into the handle. </p><p></p><p>There was no time to do anything more, as the demon struck her from behind. A heavy arm smashed across her shoulders with the force of an iron club, and she was falling, hard, the edge of the altar cracking her in the shoulder before she slammed into the cold stone of the floor. </p><p></p><p>Carzen thought he was doing an admirable job at keeping the demons at bay, under the circumstances. </p><p></p><p>The evistros threw themselves upon him in a blind, furious rage, relying upon numbers and sheer aggressiveness to overcome him. He drove the first back with a solid thump of his shield, and met the second with a stroke of his sword that forced it to veer or accept decapitation. But the demons were only hindered for a moment, and their claws were like little daggers, digging under the scales of his armor to leave small gashes that bled freely. If they got a good grip on him, he’d be torn to pieces in seconds. </p><p></p><p>Gez tried to help him, lunging at the one Carzen had cut, but the demon suddenly lashed out at him with a claw, and the soldier was forced to dodge back or lose half his face. </p><p></p><p>Vhael had faced the first two demons head on, but before he and the evistros could come to grips Gral intervened, blasting the pair with two <em>icy rays</em>. His first ray missed, but the second sliced the evistro across the hips, flash freezing it. The demon fell forward and landed snarling upon the floor, struggling to overcome the debilitating effects of the dwarf’s spell. The other bent low and then sprang up, claws extended toward Vhael’s throat. The warlord calmly held his ground until the demon came within reach, and then brought his sword down in a stroke that struck the demon solidly in the torso. The blow would have cut most creatures in two, but the evistro merely spun in mid-air, landing in a snarling, vicious heap next to the dragonborn, claws ripping at his side. Vhael grimaced as one claw found purchase and bit through the chain links protecting his hip, stabbing into his flesh. He slammed the hilt of his sword down into the demon’s face, hard enough to have cracked the skull of a mortal man, but again doing little more than enraging the demon yet further. </p><p></p><p>“Aid Surina, if you can!” Vhael urged Gral, but the dwarf had his own problems, as the demon he’d immobilized regained its feet and came stalking forward, eyes burning with hate as they fixed upon him. </p><p></p><p>Surina knew she was in trouble. She sprang up quickly from the floor before the barlgura could reverse its momentum and fall upon her, putting the altar between it and her. The barrier did little to slow the demon, which sprang upon, inadvertently knocking the golden bell flying as it hit the artifact with its foot. It slashed at the warlock with its claws, but this time she was able to dodge under the strokes, the razor-sharp edges passing close enough to scrape lightly against her scaled hide. </p><p></p><p>The dragonborn was dedicated and fearless, but she was smart enough to see that the demon was stronger, faster, and tougher than she was. And as if the odds weren’t bad enough, she saw an evistro demon appear in the chamber through another passage that opened behind it. Behind her, the pillar had started babbling again, the noise scraping at her consciousness like a dull knife. </p><p></p><p>It was time to get out of here. </p><p></p><p>She ran, avoiding another claw sweep, ducking low to seize the golden bell—by the mouth this time, not the handle—and charging toward the passage toward the others. They were fighting demons of their own, but Surina’s faith preached the way of cooperation and unity of purpose. It was a dictum she had often ignored in her solitary crusade, but right now it was the only way to survive. </p><p></p><p>With the bell clutched against he chest, she surged ahead. She felt hands grabbing at her as she passed between the two pillars warding the passage mouth, but she thrust through them, growling a threatening roar. Then she was through, and she saw Gral and Vhael fighting for their lives directly in front of her. Shifting the bell into the crook of one arm, she lifted the other and summoned her magic. </p><p></p><p>But before she could unleash her power, one of the pale while hands, straining to its limit, closed around her ankle. It pulled with the inexorable strength of the fell magic that animated it, and the warlord fell forward, the bell falling out of her grasp to clatter loudly as it rolled across the floor of the room. </p><p></p><p>Shifting, she was able to twist around just enough to see the barlgura suspended above her, descending from a leap that would crush her under its hairy body.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4857709, member: 143"] Chapter 58 Surina believed in the cause of Order, and the virtues of “civilization” that her god, Erathis, represented. It was that fundamental belief that had drawn her to the Seven-Pillared Hall, and to Vhael’s banner. She would have come here even without the need to rescue the captives, not because of the evil that this place represented, but because the Well of Demons was a wellspring of [i]chaos[/i], of the disorder that she had fought against since her conversion eleven years past. So when the sea of grasping hands parted, and a fiend straight out of the Pit began to emerge, it was to Erathis that she prayed. It was another of the ape demons, the barlgura, indistinguishable from the other two that they had already faced and defeated. As it emerged from the pillar, jaws slavering eagerly even before it saw her, she tore free from the grasping hands and staggered toward the altar-stone. As the demon’s feet landed upon the floor behind her she reached for the golden bell. Her hand closed around the bone handle, but even as she started to lift it a terrible pain pierced her flesh. Reflexively she loosed her grip, and saw thorns, stained with her blood, running down the length of the bone shaft. As she watched, they retracted back into the handle. There was no time to do anything more, as the demon struck her from behind. A heavy arm smashed across her shoulders with the force of an iron club, and she was falling, hard, the edge of the altar cracking her in the shoulder before she slammed into the cold stone of the floor. Carzen thought he was doing an admirable job at keeping the demons at bay, under the circumstances. The evistros threw themselves upon him in a blind, furious rage, relying upon numbers and sheer aggressiveness to overcome him. He drove the first back with a solid thump of his shield, and met the second with a stroke of his sword that forced it to veer or accept decapitation. But the demons were only hindered for a moment, and their claws were like little daggers, digging under the scales of his armor to leave small gashes that bled freely. If they got a good grip on him, he’d be torn to pieces in seconds. Gez tried to help him, lunging at the one Carzen had cut, but the demon suddenly lashed out at him with a claw, and the soldier was forced to dodge back or lose half his face. Vhael had faced the first two demons head on, but before he and the evistros could come to grips Gral intervened, blasting the pair with two [i]icy rays[/i]. His first ray missed, but the second sliced the evistro across the hips, flash freezing it. The demon fell forward and landed snarling upon the floor, struggling to overcome the debilitating effects of the dwarf’s spell. The other bent low and then sprang up, claws extended toward Vhael’s throat. The warlord calmly held his ground until the demon came within reach, and then brought his sword down in a stroke that struck the demon solidly in the torso. The blow would have cut most creatures in two, but the evistro merely spun in mid-air, landing in a snarling, vicious heap next to the dragonborn, claws ripping at his side. Vhael grimaced as one claw found purchase and bit through the chain links protecting his hip, stabbing into his flesh. He slammed the hilt of his sword down into the demon’s face, hard enough to have cracked the skull of a mortal man, but again doing little more than enraging the demon yet further. “Aid Surina, if you can!” Vhael urged Gral, but the dwarf had his own problems, as the demon he’d immobilized regained its feet and came stalking forward, eyes burning with hate as they fixed upon him. Surina knew she was in trouble. She sprang up quickly from the floor before the barlgura could reverse its momentum and fall upon her, putting the altar between it and her. The barrier did little to slow the demon, which sprang upon, inadvertently knocking the golden bell flying as it hit the artifact with its foot. It slashed at the warlock with its claws, but this time she was able to dodge under the strokes, the razor-sharp edges passing close enough to scrape lightly against her scaled hide. The dragonborn was dedicated and fearless, but she was smart enough to see that the demon was stronger, faster, and tougher than she was. And as if the odds weren’t bad enough, she saw an evistro demon appear in the chamber through another passage that opened behind it. Behind her, the pillar had started babbling again, the noise scraping at her consciousness like a dull knife. It was time to get out of here. She ran, avoiding another claw sweep, ducking low to seize the golden bell—by the mouth this time, not the handle—and charging toward the passage toward the others. They were fighting demons of their own, but Surina’s faith preached the way of cooperation and unity of purpose. It was a dictum she had often ignored in her solitary crusade, but right now it was the only way to survive. With the bell clutched against he chest, she surged ahead. She felt hands grabbing at her as she passed between the two pillars warding the passage mouth, but she thrust through them, growling a threatening roar. Then she was through, and she saw Gral and Vhael fighting for their lives directly in front of her. Shifting the bell into the crook of one arm, she lifted the other and summoned her magic. But before she could unleash her power, one of the pale while hands, straining to its limit, closed around her ankle. It pulled with the inexorable strength of the fell magic that animated it, and the warlord fell forward, the bell falling out of her grasp to clatter loudly as it rolled across the floor of the room. Shifting, she was able to twist around just enough to see the barlgura suspended above her, descending from a leap that would crush her under its hairy body. [/QUOTE]
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