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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4907755" data-attributes="member: 143">Thanks Richard, too many words that start with "warlo" I guess. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I'm working on a new novel that I may publish as an e-book someday. But breaking into the world of professional publishing just seems impossible these days. * * * * * Chapter 77A somber quiet hung over the company that made its way out of the Well of Demons.  Jaron held onto Yarine, all but supporting her weight against him, while Beetle did the same for Rendil a few paces back.  Gral and Carzen bore the stretcher that supported the heavy weight of Vhael’s body, leaving Mara in the van, scouting ahead, a torch held high in one hand, the other resting on the hilt of her longsword.  Jaron still remembered the first sight of Vhael, lying motionless upon the floor, the half-fiend gnoll standing over him, fighting off the wildly darting form of Beetle with surges of black magic.  Jaron hadn’t even gotten a chance to use his sword; Carzen and Mara had surrounded the creature and cut him down before he was able to get into position to help.  Yarine and Rendil had been in bad shape, but they had survived.  They had been too late for Vhael, however. They were in better shape now, though Jaron knew that a long trek awaited them, back to the Seven-Pillared Hall.  While they had defeated their enemy in that final battle in the dark ritual chamber, all of them had been left wounded, with a number of the wounds quite serious.  Yarine, though greatly weakened, had been able to use her curative abilities to treat those worst off, enough so that they could regroup and seek out a secure place to rest.  While the death of the gnoll warlock seemed to mark the last of the major threats in the Well of Demons, and they found no more chambers beyond that final one where they’d killed him and his fiendish allies, they’d still retreated to a room they could fortify to rest, and still kept careful watch against any creatures that might wander by, looking for weakened prey.  Gral suspected that the grim reputation of the Well kept most predators away, but they’d gone through too much to take chances now.  The companions went through their tasks efficiently, as though hearing the orders that Vhael used to give them, when they’d set up their campsites before. But no new enemies had emerged to threaten them, and they’d survived to greet another “day” in the Labyrinth.  The supplies that Carzen and Gral had brought from the Hall were all but gone, but the carcass of the dire boar had provided them with meat, which combined with wood smashed from the gnoll furnishings gave them a hot meal.  What they did not eat they smoked over the remains of the fire, using a sack of rock salt carried by Gral to preserve the meat for the walk back.  Carzen said the rites for Gezzelhaupt, who they interred under a cairn of stones in one of the side chambers.  Gral insisted that Vhael’s body be brought back, for burial under the rites of his people, and none of them had complained.  The dwarf had prepared the body for travel himself, cleaning his wounds and wrapping him in heavy cloths.  When it came time, Carzen took up his end of the stretcher without a word, and they set out again. They left without sacks of gold or other rich treasures; they hadn’t come for those, and in any case they hadn’t found much more than the few coins carried by the gnolls.  Carzen now wore the gnoll warlock’s cloak, which Gral indicated was magical, and they’d found one other item of note, a silver key on a throng around the creature’s neck.  Beetle and Jaron had looked around some, but they did not find anything that it might have unlocked.  In any case, even Beetle wasn’t much interested in lingering longer to search the complex more thoroughly.  They were leaving the complex and were nearly back to the main passage when Mara lifted a hand in warning.  Carzen and Gral laid their burden down, while Jaron assisted Yarine to the wall, making sure that she was all right before he rushed forward. The halfling wasn’t much surprised to see the robed figure standing there at the intersection, quietly waiting for them.  The stranger did not appear to be armed, but his cowl concealed his face in shadow, even when Mara pointed her torch in his direction. “Who are you?” Mara asked.  The figure shifted slightly, but made no threatening movements.  Mara repeated the question, more demanding, a hint of threat creeping into her words.  She started to take a step forward, but Jaron caught her, lifting a hand to touch hers.  She glanced down at him in surprise, but didn’t move to stop him as he walked past her toward the stranger. “I guess these are yours,” he said, holding up the black goggles that had given him nightvision.  “You may keep them,” the stranger said, shrugging as if the potent magical device were inconsequential.  “What about the halflings from Fairhollow?”“They were returned to the Seven-Pillared Hall safely.  The way is clear; no creatures will obstruct your journey there.”Mara seemed to belatedly make the connection, and lowered the tip of her sword, just a fraction.  “Why didn’t you just tell us who you were, before?”The cowl shifted, and while they couldn’t see the stranger’s eyes, they could feel the weight of his stare upon them.  “Little is as it seems, in the Labyrinth.  You do not need to know the intricacies of our inner dealings; suffice it to say we have our own… concerns.”“You wanted us to strike down that demon-worshipper, Maldrick,” Mara said. “We paid a heavy price,” Carzen added. “Why appear to us now?” Mara asked. “There is one more thing that I need.”Gral came forward, and as he stepped up next to the fighters, he drew out the chain that held the silver key.  He held it up in his hand, but didn’t move any closer to the stranger.  “What does it unlock?” the dwarf asked. “Secrets,” the other replied.  He lifted a hand slightly, and the key flashed between them, traveling from the dwarf’s hand to his, then quickly vanishing into the folds of the stranger’s robe.  He regarded them silently for another heartbeat, and without warning just suddenly vanished. “Invisible?” Carzen asked. “No, I believe he’s gone,” Gral replied.  “Some sort of dimensional travel, matter-teleportation.”“Well, good riddance,” Carzen said.  “Fat lot of good his kind did for us, back there.  We’ve got a long way still to go, and regardless of what that guy said, I don’t want to spend a minute longer down here than I have to.”  He walked back to the stretcher, waited for Gral to take up his end before lifting it with a grunt.  Mara lingered a moment longer, staring at the corridor where the Mage—if indeed that was what he had been—had disappeared.  “Are you all right, Mara?” Jaron asked.  The fighter started slightly, and looked down at him.  “Yeah,” she said.  “Go get your friend, Jaron.  It’s time to get back.”</blockquote>

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