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Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4894524" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>"Oh crap," of course, is a redacted version of Carzen's comments. </p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 74</p><p></p><p></p><p>A resounding cry echoed Carzen’s yell, as Mara rushed into the chamber, both swords drawn. She rushed past Gral, and past Vhael, who opened his jaws and breathed a cone of hot flames into the ruined face of the evistro. She came straight at the giant skeleton, which sensed her coming, and shifted its blow, driving the club down powerfully to greet her. The skeleton’s speed and strength seemed irresistible, but in the instant before the blow would have landed, Mara subtly shifted, twisting in mid-step into a pirouette like a dancer. The club missed her by scant inches, slamming into the floor with enough force to shake the entire room. Mara completed her spin and slid forward, her swords snapping up with the momentum of her body behind them. Both blades lashed up into the heavy leg bones of the skeleton, chopping away pieces that went flying out in every direction. The skeleton faltered, but only for a moment, and it snapped its club back, clipping Mara hard across the shoulder. The impact jarred her wounded arm, and her shorter sword shot away like a bolt like a crossbow, sliding across the room almost to the foot of the stairs. </p><p></p><p>Vhael tore the smoking remains of the evistro from his arm—the demon had not released its grip even in death—and tossed it to the ground. Even that movement was enough to send hot knives of fire through his body; it felt like the blow from the skeleton’s club had cracked a few ribs. But as he scanned the battlefield, taking in the tactical situation in an instant, the pain receeded to the back of his mind. </p><p></p><p>He started forward again, but only got one step before a surge of power caught the attention of everyone in the room. </p><p></p><p>The green radiance situated atop the far tier pulsed, echoed by the chanting drone, which rose to a harsh shriek. The green glow flared brightly, filling the entire chamber with sickly light, which maintained its brilliance for a heartbeat or two before fading back to its original level. </p><p></p><p>A woman’s scream accompanied the pulse, a sound of pure terror and agony that faded in the wake of the crescendo of the ritualist’s incantation. All eyes were drawn to the upper tier of the room, but it was impossible to see what was going on up there. </p><p></p><p>The brief interlude ended as quickly as it had begun, with the giant skeleton taking another swing at Mara, while the evistros continued their attacks on Carzen and Jaron. Vhael started forward again, but hesitated. </p><p></p><p>Carzen glanced aside and saw him, recognizing the warring pulls of duty that tugged at the warlord. “Go!” he yelled, finally knocking the evistro off his leg, smashing his shield into it as it tried to get its claws back into him. “We’ll hold them off!” Another heavy thud followed his cry, as the skeleton smashed its club into the floor again, narrowly missing Mara for a second time. The fighter darted through the skeleton’s legs, and took a chip out of its left knee with her sword before spinning back around to its left. </p><p></p><p>Vhael heard Gral behind him, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the chaos of the battle. “The success of the mission is the primary objective,” he said.</p><p></p><p>Vhael nodded, almost to himself, and turned around, heading toward the narrow space between the cauldron and the stone minotaur statue. </p><p></p><p>He’d only just reached the gap when the barlgura demon leapt over the iron cauldron, landing with a loud thump almost directly between Vhael and Gral. The ape-demon started to turn toward the dragonborn, but then Gral hit it squarely with a beam of icy frost, drawing its attention squarely upon himself. </p><p></p><p>This time, Vhael didn’t look back. The dragonborn ran across the chamber toward the staircase, focused on the voice that continued to croak chants from somewhere up above. </p><p></p><p>The melee continued to rage near the entrance of the chamber, as Mara, Carzen, and Jaron struggled to hold off the chamber’s guardians. The two remaining evistros proved frustratingly durable; while both bore numerous wounds, they refused to yield ground, pressing both the halfling and the human soldier with a relentless fury. The demons fought well together, shifting and trading places, giving their foes no clear target. Both Jaron and Carzen bore fresh gouges from their claws, but neither side seemed to have won a decisive advantage. </p><p></p><p>The same could not be said for Mara. She had singlehandedly held off the bonecrusher skeleton for a few precious seconds, and had inflicted serious damage on its legs, but the undead’s advantage in size, strength, and durability eventually began to tell. The thing continued to sweep its club around its ankles with wild vigor, and there was little chance that Mara could hope to evade it forever. She took one glancing hit that nearly knocked her sprawling, and a more solid impact on the backswing that knocked her roughly forward. She was forced to give up her own attacks in a desperate attempt to stay alive, diving to evade a follow-up swing that would have taken her head off, had it connected. She fell to the ground, trying desperately to regain her footing, as the creature lifted a skeletal leg, topped with a cloven hoof, and stepped forward to crush her under its bulk. </p><p></p><p>Gral did not attempt to flee before the barlgura’s furious rush; there was no place he could go to evade it in any case. He calmly focused his will and his magic, and a bright blue <em>shield</em> appeared between himself and the fiend, frustrating the initial swipe of its claws. His response pierced the ward as though it was not there and stabbed into the barlgura’s chest, draining still more heat and life from the angry demon. </p><p></p><p>The demon, however, would not be denied. Lunging forward, it engulfed the dwarf in its huge arms, bypassing the <em>shield</em> and dragging Gral into his grasp. Before he could do anything to attempt to escape, the demon dug its claws into his flanks and lifted him over its head. The demon’s purpose became clear as it retraced its steps back toward the cauldron, which glowed brightly from the heat of the raw substance roiling inside. Gral’s struggles came to nothing as the demon drew near to the edge of the huge vessel, and as it held him over the edge a twisting tentacle emerged tentatively from the boiling goop inside, coiling upward as if eager to take hold of the demon’s prize.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4894524, member: 143"] "Oh crap," of course, is a redacted version of Carzen's comments. * * * * * Chapter 74 A resounding cry echoed Carzen’s yell, as Mara rushed into the chamber, both swords drawn. She rushed past Gral, and past Vhael, who opened his jaws and breathed a cone of hot flames into the ruined face of the evistro. She came straight at the giant skeleton, which sensed her coming, and shifted its blow, driving the club down powerfully to greet her. The skeleton’s speed and strength seemed irresistible, but in the instant before the blow would have landed, Mara subtly shifted, twisting in mid-step into a pirouette like a dancer. The club missed her by scant inches, slamming into the floor with enough force to shake the entire room. Mara completed her spin and slid forward, her swords snapping up with the momentum of her body behind them. Both blades lashed up into the heavy leg bones of the skeleton, chopping away pieces that went flying out in every direction. The skeleton faltered, but only for a moment, and it snapped its club back, clipping Mara hard across the shoulder. The impact jarred her wounded arm, and her shorter sword shot away like a bolt like a crossbow, sliding across the room almost to the foot of the stairs. Vhael tore the smoking remains of the evistro from his arm—the demon had not released its grip even in death—and tossed it to the ground. Even that movement was enough to send hot knives of fire through his body; it felt like the blow from the skeleton’s club had cracked a few ribs. But as he scanned the battlefield, taking in the tactical situation in an instant, the pain receeded to the back of his mind. He started forward again, but only got one step before a surge of power caught the attention of everyone in the room. The green radiance situated atop the far tier pulsed, echoed by the chanting drone, which rose to a harsh shriek. The green glow flared brightly, filling the entire chamber with sickly light, which maintained its brilliance for a heartbeat or two before fading back to its original level. A woman’s scream accompanied the pulse, a sound of pure terror and agony that faded in the wake of the crescendo of the ritualist’s incantation. All eyes were drawn to the upper tier of the room, but it was impossible to see what was going on up there. The brief interlude ended as quickly as it had begun, with the giant skeleton taking another swing at Mara, while the evistros continued their attacks on Carzen and Jaron. Vhael started forward again, but hesitated. Carzen glanced aside and saw him, recognizing the warring pulls of duty that tugged at the warlord. “Go!” he yelled, finally knocking the evistro off his leg, smashing his shield into it as it tried to get its claws back into him. “We’ll hold them off!” Another heavy thud followed his cry, as the skeleton smashed its club into the floor again, narrowly missing Mara for a second time. The fighter darted through the skeleton’s legs, and took a chip out of its left knee with her sword before spinning back around to its left. Vhael heard Gral behind him, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the chaos of the battle. “The success of the mission is the primary objective,” he said. Vhael nodded, almost to himself, and turned around, heading toward the narrow space between the cauldron and the stone minotaur statue. He’d only just reached the gap when the barlgura demon leapt over the iron cauldron, landing with a loud thump almost directly between Vhael and Gral. The ape-demon started to turn toward the dragonborn, but then Gral hit it squarely with a beam of icy frost, drawing its attention squarely upon himself. This time, Vhael didn’t look back. The dragonborn ran across the chamber toward the staircase, focused on the voice that continued to croak chants from somewhere up above. The melee continued to rage near the entrance of the chamber, as Mara, Carzen, and Jaron struggled to hold off the chamber’s guardians. The two remaining evistros proved frustratingly durable; while both bore numerous wounds, they refused to yield ground, pressing both the halfling and the human soldier with a relentless fury. The demons fought well together, shifting and trading places, giving their foes no clear target. Both Jaron and Carzen bore fresh gouges from their claws, but neither side seemed to have won a decisive advantage. The same could not be said for Mara. She had singlehandedly held off the bonecrusher skeleton for a few precious seconds, and had inflicted serious damage on its legs, but the undead’s advantage in size, strength, and durability eventually began to tell. The thing continued to sweep its club around its ankles with wild vigor, and there was little chance that Mara could hope to evade it forever. She took one glancing hit that nearly knocked her sprawling, and a more solid impact on the backswing that knocked her roughly forward. She was forced to give up her own attacks in a desperate attempt to stay alive, diving to evade a follow-up swing that would have taken her head off, had it connected. She fell to the ground, trying desperately to regain her footing, as the creature lifted a skeletal leg, topped with a cloven hoof, and stepped forward to crush her under its bulk. Gral did not attempt to flee before the barlgura’s furious rush; there was no place he could go to evade it in any case. He calmly focused his will and his magic, and a bright blue [i]shield[/i] appeared between himself and the fiend, frustrating the initial swipe of its claws. His response pierced the ward as though it was not there and stabbed into the barlgura’s chest, draining still more heat and life from the angry demon. The demon, however, would not be denied. Lunging forward, it engulfed the dwarf in its huge arms, bypassing the [i]shield[/i] and dragging Gral into his grasp. Before he could do anything to attempt to escape, the demon dug its claws into his flanks and lifted him over its head. The demon’s purpose became clear as it retraced its steps back toward the cauldron, which glowed brightly from the heat of the raw substance roiling inside. Gral’s struggles came to nothing as the demon drew near to the edge of the huge vessel, and as it held him over the edge a twisting tentacle emerged tentatively from the boiling goop inside, coiling upward as if eager to take hold of the demon’s prize. [/QUOTE]
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