Medriev's FR Keep on the Shadowfell - Concluded Nov 7

[Medriev]

Chapter 19 - Clearing the Path (Part 1)

Dulvarna opened her eyes and looked up into the serious eyes of Sister Linora. Dark memories of wandering souls and an endless grey plain faded quickly into the deeper recesses of her mind and she turned her head slowly to regard her companions, all five of them, standing beside the hard stone altar on which she lay.
“You must rest a while,” said Enlishia. “We will take you back to the inn.”

Slowly, they moved Dulvarna over to a litter and carried her solemnly back through Winterhaven where a cold rain was falling as the streets darkened at the end of another day. They had secured four rooms now, no longer sharing the loft dormitory and Enlishia had agreed to share with Dulvarna to tend to her. Lavren and Thira shared their own chamber while Erlmoor and Kel slept alone, enjoying their solitude. Salvana Wrafton watched the grim procession nervously as the companions carried their fallen leader up the inn’s stairs.
“Some wine, called Lavren. “We will be back down.” Grateful for something to do, the innkeep rushed off to busy herself preparing the inevitable wine jug for the elf and his hooded companion. She glanced back up from her duties as the last of the companions passed up the stairs, wondering if they could truly save the town from whatever darkness gathered over the Keep.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 19 - Clearing the Path (Part 2)

“We have struck at the heart of the enemy now,” said Thira as they reached the top of the steps down into the dungeons beneath the ruined keep. “We must descend to the deeper levels again and keep them on the run.” It was a dull, drizzly day but the rain was a little warmer now. Spring was not far away, even in the mountains, and the weather would soon warm towards summer.
“And if enemies yet lurk on the upper level,” rumbled Erlmoor. “We could be attacked as we retreat. None of us would have welcomed that when last we were here.”

“Agreed,” said Dulvarna. “We cannot take the chance that enemies yet lurk on the upper levels. And besides, our battle with the hobgoblins has proved our vulnerability. We will go west from the guard room and then east until we have cleared the path for us to attack the deeper level again.” Dulvarna felt comforted by this decision as soon as she had made it. She still saw images of the grey plain in her dreams and occasionally when she was awake. For the first time in her young life, fear had taken hold of her, and she doubted her own skill in battle. Slowly, she led the companions down the steps.

The westward passage from the goblin guard room turned north and before widening into a long, narrow chamber. Doors were set in the northern and western walls, and iron doubled doors stood to the east. Faint bloodstains streaked the floor between the western door and the northern door.
“I hear goblin voices,” said Enlishia quietly. “To the north, beyond the door.” Drawing weapons, the six companions started forward.

Lavren was first to the door, pulling it open with one hand while leveling his wand with the other. A goblin stood to the right of the door in the chamber beyond and turned suddenly as the elf opened the portal. Lavren spat a curse at it in elven and loosed crackling black energy into the chamber. The goblin was struck and sent reeling while Thira came up behind the elf and with a word, loosed flame into the room beyond the door. Two more goblins were engulfed in flame but standing next to a blood-stained rack used for torture, a hobgoblin turned to face the doorway. Pulling two hot pokers from the brazier beside him, the hobgoblin charged at the door, waving the makeshift weapons before him. As he reached the door, the hobgoblin swung out with both pokers and Lavren ducked back as the red hot iron passed close to his face. He looked back desperately towards his companions and was thankful that Dulvarna was rushing forward. The warrior woman pushed the elf aside and plunged her blade into the hobgoblin’s shoulder, all but severing his arm. The torturer cried out and dropped one poker as its left arm dropped uselessly to its side.

A crossbow bolt clattered against the doorframe and another nicked Lavren’s neck. The elf ducked back as his companions came up behind him. He tried to push the hobgoblin back, shoving his shoulder into the creature but it refused to yield and instead stabbed at him with the poker it held. Lavren leapt back, darting out of the way, as did Thira, both leaving the way clear to the door for their companions. Thira loosed a silver bolt wildly from her staff that struck the door frame and hobgoblin stabbed its poker into Dulvarna’s leg before withdrawing into the chamber beyond the door. Dulvarna grimaced through the burning pain and rushed after the hobgoblin, jabbing her blade into his thigh. The torturer, clad in black leather armour and wearing a leather mask that hid his face, staggered and lashed out wildly with the poker once more. Crossbow bolts struck the walls either side of the door from goblins to the left and right who had been burned by Thira’s flame. Dulvarna paid them no heed for behind her, her friends came through the door and the goblins stood no chance.

Kel surged into the chamber beside Dulvarna, pulling her hood back as she came and swinging out with her morningstar. The hobgoblin fell back before her and Erlmoor surged into the room to flank Dulvarna on the other side. He roared and breathed acid on the hobgoblin before slashing out with his sword. The torturer fell back another step and then flinched as Lavren appeared behind him and loosed black, crackling energy from his wand. The blast flew high and struck the doorframe in front of the torturer but the creature knew that its plans were unraveling.

Suddenly, the hobgoblin roared and surged at Kel, seizing the drow and dragging her along the wall away from the door. Dulvarna twisted to the left and slashed her blade into the hobgoblin’s back as it dragged Kel away from her. A cage with spikes protruding inside stood further along the wall and Dulvarna realised quickly that that was the torturer’s goal. He never made it there for through the doorway where Dulvarna had stood seared a silver bolt from Thira’s staff. It drove through the hobgoblin’s back and pitched it forward to land at Kel’s feet.

Crossbows clicked and a bolt struck Lavren in the shoulder while another drove into Kel’s in the leg. The drow yanked the bolt out with gritted teeth and rushed at the crossbow wielder close to her right who had wounded her. Her morningstar swung out and struck the creature on the shoulder, spinning it around on the spot. It looked to its shoulder and frantically tried to brush at the mark of Lolth on its shoulder. Behind the wounded goblin, another began firing a crossbow from within an iron-barred cage in the southwest corner of the room. Kel glanced towards this new foe and marked his position before turning back to finish the goblin before her. Suddenly, from the right, the goblin that had been crouched along the wall next to the torture device, surged at her and drove its spear into her thigh. Kel gasped and turned a fiercesome gaze on this second new foe.

Erlmoor charged the other crossbow wielder and Enlishia came into the chamber behind him, her bow ready with an arrow nocked. She twisted around behind the dragonborn and loosed an arrow into the goblin with the crossbow, driving it back a step. It staggered, a fearful look on its face, and then a black, crackling bolt of energy from Lavren’s wand seared through its neck and felled it.
Dulvarna charged into battle beside Kel, her blade weaving a dazzling pattern before her. She lashed out as the goblin before her tried to follow her movements, and drove her sword into the goblin’s leg. It staggered and stepped back from her while the goblin beside it threw down its crossbow and drew a short sword from its belt. It stabbed out once but Kel sidestepped the blow and smashed her morningstar into the goblin’s face. Its skull exploded and it collapsed on the floor before the dark elf. Erlmoor rushed past Kel towards the door of the cage in the corner of the room. Enlishia came behind him, circling to the left and loosing an arrow into the cage to drive into the shoulder of the goblin there. The creature threw down its crossbow, drew forth a sword and stabbed through the doorway at Erlmoor, the blade piercing the dragonborn’s forearm.

Behind Erlmoor, Dulvarna swatted aside the spear thrust of the goblin before her and raised her blade to strike at it but before she could, the goblin was struck in the side of the head by a bolt of black energy. Hurled into the wall at its left and horribly burned, the goblin fell to the chamber floor unmoving. Dulvarna rushed forward towards the cage but as she reached it, a silver bolt struck the goblin within and sent it reeling backwards. The warrior woman strode into the cage and plunged her blade into the goblin’s chest before it even had chance to recover. The goblin fell with a gasp to the floor of the cage and died there.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 19 - Clearing the Path (Part 3)

“Now they are beaten,” said Erlmoor. “And we can turn our attention elsewhere.” He grunted as he tightened a strap on the armour Enlishia had taken from the torturer and was now putting on. It bore an enchantment and was too valuable to leave behind despite its last owner.
“Finally,” said Thira. “As I’ve said all along, we’ve no time to waste on goblins if Ninaran’s letter told the truth. We must return to the lower levels and defeat the evil that has hold here before it is too late.”

Dulvarna nodded finally, knowing that her companions spoke the truth. Together, they turned away from the torture chamber and headed back to the guard room at the bottom of the steps. They turned south and west and passed through the maze where the rune traps still marked the floor. Then, at last, they descended the steps to the chamber where Dulvarna had fallen and the hobgoblins had been slain. Dulvarna drew her sword as she reached the bottom of the steps and behind her, the others followed suit, fearing attack. As they emerged into the torchlight of the chamber, their fears were realised as two hobgoblins growled from the edge of the well as they entered.
“Password,” snarled one of the creatures.
“This is my password,” snarled Dulvarna in response, raising her sword.
“Intruders!” called the hobgoblin and all became motion.

A hobgoblin with a bow appeared from the passage opening to the right and fired an arrow towards Enlishia. The shaft drove into the ranger’s shoulder but she turned and darted along the wall without heeding it, firing an arrow from her own bow as she ran. Lavren followed her, loosing purple rays from his wand wildly and cursing his nearest foe as he ran. His bolts flew wide of the hobgoblins but they ducked nonetheless. Kel charged past Dulvarna as the two soldiers beside the well recovered. With her morningstar held across in front of her, she shoved herself into one of the hobgoblins and pitched him backward. The creature staggered, reached desperately for the front of the dark elf’s robes and then fell headlong into the well. The remaining hobgoblin lashed out with its flail, whipping the weapon across Kel’s back and sending her staggering away. Turning to face the hobgoblin, she raised her morningstar to defend herself.

At the far end of the chamber, two more hobgoblins darted into the northern chamber where the companions knew a cage had housed a huge spider when last they had come here. Erlmoor rushed past Kel and started after the hobgoblin only for another to step across and block his path. He slashed out with his blade and the goblin drew its own sword swiftly and parried the dragonborn’s blow. It slashed out a riposted and drew blood from the dragonborn’s sword arm. He stepped back to size up his foe anew.

Dulvarna shoved her shoulder into the side of the remaining hobgoblin beside the well but this creature had braced its feet well and would not topple as its companion had. It growled and turned on her, slashing out with its flail and forcing her back. She came in at the goblin with her sword up before her. To the right, she saw another archer enter the chamber but no sooner had she seen the newcomer than Thira rushed past her. The tiefling rushed to Erlmoor’s side, lowered her stave and loosed flame to engulf the two hobgoblins. Two more hobgoblins came from a door to the left, rushing towards her and Dulvarna felt a cold dread take hold of her as she watched the battle unfold in this chamber exactly as it had when last they were here.

One of the hobgoblin archers loosed an arrow at Thira that struck the tiefling in the shoulder. Enlishia determined that the archer would be her next target in that moment and aimed an arrow at the creature. She let the arrow fly and knew at once that the missile would fly wide of the mark. The arrow clattered into the stone of the chamber’s northern wall. Beside her, Lavren spat a curse at the hobgoblin for wounding his lover and then called fire from within the archer. Its clothes burst into flame and the hobgoblin staggered back into the passage entrance as it desperately tried to extinguish itself. Behind the archers, another hobgoblin entered the chamber then and each of the companions glanced towards the newcomer and knew what a terrible foe it would be. It wore a wolf skull on its head to mark itself as a shaman and it carried a staff that crackled with eldritch power. It strode towards Erlmoor and struck out with its staff, forcing the dragonborn to twist right and parry desperately.

At the well, Kel’s morningstar was parried again as the hobgoblin kept both she and Dulvarna at bay. It lashed out with its flail and this time struck Kel across the face, sending her reeling away from the blow. She heard a scrabbling sound behind her then and glancing over her shoulder, she saw the other hobgoblin emerging from the well. It stood atop the rim of the well and leapt down upon her, the haft of its flail cracking down on her skull. The dark elf felt warm blood on the back of her neck and collapsed at the feet of her enemies.

Erlmoor smashed aside the sword of the hobgoblin before him and plunged his own blade into the creature’s chest. It gasped and fell before him. Glancing into the northern chamber, the dragonborn saw that the hobgoblin there was struggling with the releases for the heavy bar that kept the cage closed. It shouted something, perhaps calling for aid, and then continued its struggle. Erlmoor turned to face the shaman and raised his sword again.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 19 - Clearing the Path (Part 4)

At the entrance, Dulvarna weaved her blade back and forth before her and then struck low at the leg of the hobgoblin before her, driving her blade through the warrior’s knee. It staggered and stumbled back towards the well. She smashed the hilt of Aecris into the face of her enemy and forced him back to the very edge of the well. A dazed look filled the eyes of her enemy and for a moment he seemed about to fall but then, just as he seemed he would topple, the hobgoblin recovered and righted himself.

An arrow drove into Thira’s leg and she cursed, loosing another silver bolt at the archer to strike him in the chest. The hobgoblin reeled but as it did so, its companion loosed an arrow that drove through the tiefling’s arm. Thira staggered as the pain of her wounds began to sap her strength. Enlishia saw Thira’s plight and swiftly loosed one and then a second arrow, both striking the nearest archer and driving it back towards the north wall. Lavren loosed crackling black energy that hurled the hobgoblin back against the wall. Its neck snapped with a loud crack and it fell to the floor next to its shaman.

The shaman looked down at its fallen archer and gestured with its staff, loosing a wave of force that struck Erlmoor first and then struck Thira before washing over Kel’s broken body and hurling her against the south wall of the chamber. Erlmoor and Thira were knocked from their feet as were two of the hobgoblins, the last archer and the warrior who had felled Kel. Thira lay still where she had fallen, as did the hobgoblin archer, while Erlmoor and the hobgoblin warrior rose wearily from where they had fallen. The wounded hobgoblin charged half-heartedly at Dulvarna but found his flail parried easily by the warrior woman’s sword. Erlmoor for his part, roared his defiance, breathing acid upon the shaman and then slashing his blade across his enemy’s chest. New strength coursed through the dragonborn and the shaman retreated until its back was to the chamber wall.

Beside the well, Dulvarna ducked another clumsy swing of a flail and then brought her own blade across low, opening up the belly of one hobgoblin and burying the sword in the hip of the other. The first pitched over backwards and fell into the well while the second staggered and almost joined its companion. An arrow drove through its neck then and finally pitched the hobgoblin over the edge of the well to join its comrade.

Lavren loosed black, crackling energy at the shaman and struck it in the shoulder, keeping it on the back foot. It lashed out with its stave but Erlmoor ducked the wild swing and slashed out with his blade only for it to be parried by the shaman. Dulvarna was beside him then, her blade slashing out to nick and cut the shaman even as her blows were parried.

Behind Erlmoor and Dulvarna, Enlishia leapt over Thira’s fallen form, feeling a twinge of guilt that she could not stop and aid the tiefling. She skidded to a stop in front of the entrance, nocked two arrows to her bowstring and loosed them into the chamber. The shafts parted in mid flight, one striking one hobgoblin at the spider cage and the other striking another. Both hobgoblins were pierced through the throat and fell next to the cage. The remaining hobgoblin looked to the half-lifted iron-bound bar as it slid back into place to keep the cage shut. Grimly, the warrior raised its sword and charged at the ranger.

Lavren rushed to Thira’s side and felt for her pulse. It could still be felt but its was weak and fading. Hastily, he pulled strips of cloth from his pack and began to bind her wounds while drawing forth the arrow shafts that had pierced her. He wondered if he had the skill and if Thira truly had any time left.

Erlmoor reeled as the shaman struck out with the last of his strength and connected the end of his staff with the dragonborn’s chin. He smashed his own sword hilt into the shaman’s face then and as the creature fell back against the wall, he plunged his blade into the hobgoblin’s throat. The shaman fell beside the archer against the north wall. Dulvarna leapt over the fallen shaman and charged into the northern chamber, meeting the last of the hobgoblins as it charged towards Enlishia. Dulvarna drove her blade through her enemy’s breastbone without pausing and then rushed up to the cage.
“The spider must die,” she said. “It can’t stay here.”
“That can wait,” called back Lavren from the outer chamber. “We have dead of our own out here.” He looked down at Thira as her pulse faded beneath his touch and felt tears fill his eyes.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 20 - Partings and Meetings (Part 1)

“Sister Linora will not raise a drow and a tiefling,” said Enlishia once the spider had been slain. “Chauntea would not permit it.”
“You’re right,” said Lavren. “So we have to take them elsewhere. Like as not we would find a cleric in Arabel who would raise them for our gold.”
“And perhaps we would not,” Dulvarna replied. “We all grieve for our companions but they would be no more welcome in Arabel as they are here, perhaps less so. If we went to Hillsfar we may get the aid we need but by the time we returned, what would remain of Winterhaven.”
“Nothing,” rumbled Erlmoor. “They fell here so we should bury them here.”
“And then we go on,” Dulvarna stated simply. “We have no time for retreat now.”

The others nodded grimly and then cast around for a place to inter their fallen companions. Eventually, they settled upon building cairns for them in the upper ruins and made their way out of the dungeons to bury their dead.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 20 - Partings and Meetings (Part 2)

Dulvarna looked down grimly at the two stone cairns they had raised over their companions and then called out to the others.
“It is time we returned to the dungeons,” she said.

Her three companions put down their half eaten breakfasts and gathered their weapons and belongings without murmur or complaint. The pale light of dawn was barely creeping over the mountains to the east but it was time, they all knew, to take revenge on the slayers of Thira and Kel. Grimly, they strode down into the dungeons, passing through the maze of runes in silence and descending the stairs to the bloody well chamber where they had suffered so much. Only then did Dulvarna draw forth her sword as she turned into the eastern passage out of the room. Another well chamber lay to the eat with a barrack chamber to the north, a passage leading south and another passage leading east. Dulvarna took the eastern way without a second though and led them into the eastern passage. Within, double doors opened to the north while another hall led southward. Dulvarna turned southward, her blade held high before her and Enlishia at her side, an arrow nocked to her bowstring.

They cautiously made their way perhaps halfway down the southern corridor before a flagstone shifted beneath Dulvarna’s feet and ahead, an iron portcullis slammed down, sealing the passageway ahead.
“Watch behind,” Dulvarna called back to Lavren and Erlmoor before sheathing her sword and setting to work to bend the bars of the iron gate. Enlishia added her own strength to the effort and within a few moments, one of the bars snapped with a loud crack. Dulvarna drew her sword again and led the companions through into the hallway beyond.

Not far beyond the iron gate, the passage opened into an irregularly shaped chamber dominated by a massive oaken table. The table was scarred with burns and dagger cuts while several mugs and crumpled parchments lay scattered the table’s surface. Lavren moved to the table to examine the parchments but no sooner had he done so than the two doors to the chamber slammed open. A tall hobgoblin followed four smaller hobgoblins out of the southern chamber while three others emerged from the door to the east.
“Don’t kill ‘em,” the tall hobgoblin called to the others in Common. “We cam sell ‘em to the Bloodreavers as slaves.”

Lavren lashed out his wand and loosed black, crackling energy at the eastern door, startling the hobgoblins and stunning them for a moment. From the southern door, the huge chieftain charged forth with a roar towards Dulvarna while from the astern door, a hobgoblin charged at Lavren. This warrior spun a flail above his head and knocked a chair aside with his shield. The spiked ball of its flail came down and struck Lavren’s shoulder as he twisted aside, tearing his flesh painfully as it was pulled back. Enlishia loosed an arrow at the hobgoblin and gave Lavren a moment’s breathing space to draw back from his enemy. He only had a moment though, for a heartbeat later, two more hobgoblins rushed around the table, one coming at him and the other following its chieftain in its charge at Dulvarna.

Erlmoor met the newcomer with a roar and a shower of acid that seared into the flesh of its face and felled it where it stood. He slashed out with his blade and drove the flail wielding hobgoblin back a step and with another roar, he halted the other for a heartbeat. The reprieve was only momentary, though, for an instant later, another hobgoblin had charged n with a sword in its hand and elf and dragonborn faced two enemies once more. Two more came from the eastern room and pushed their companions forward from behind while Lavren drew forth the sword that he had named Lifestealer and prepared to defend himself. He glanced back over his shoulder, half expecting to see Thira there with her stave, but of course, the tiefling was nowhere to be seen. With guttural growl of his own, the elf turned back to his enemies, cursing the hobgoblin before him in elven. Then he struck out with his blade.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 20 - Partings and Meetings (Part 3)

The chieftain stabbed out with his spear and Dulvarna dodged left to evade the thrust. She raised her blade but as she did so, the hobgoblin to the left of the chieftain gasped and fell to its knees. Enlishia’s boot struck its chest and pitched it over backwards as the ranger darted past Dulvarna and joined the battle, her bow left in the corridor behind her. The warchief looked down at his fallen minion and as he did so, Dulvarna darted forward and slammed the hilt of Aecris into his face. The hobgoblin staggered back, his nose streaming blood. Just as Dulvarna felt the joy of a small victory, a chair was kicked over to her left. She tuned and saw that one of the hobgoblins from the eastern chamber, having found his way blocked to Erlmoor and Lavren, had circled around the table to get at her. Cursing under her breath, the warrior woman raised her bloodstained blade, ready to meet this new enemy.

Lavren feinted to the left, drawing his enemy’s shield down and then slashed his blade back and high to cur into the hobgoblin’s shoulder. The blade struck bone and the hobgoblin cried out and drew back from the elf for a moment before lashing out low with its flail. Lavren leapt but the blow still struck his left leg and all but pitched him over on the floor at his enemy’s feet. The elf staggered but regained his footing, holding Lifestealer before him to fend off the next attack.

Behind Lavren, Dulvarna ducked a spear thruat only to find the warchief had duped her and brought another thrust in from the right that pierced her shoulder. Pain assailed her and she staggered back towards Erlmoor whose back was to hers. She glanced to the right, wondering if they would yet need the escape route that the entry corridor offered but then dismissed the thought. They had promised revenge for Kel and Thira. The hobgoblins must pay. Diving in low, she drove her blade into the thigh of the hobgoblin and as he fell back, she plunged her blade into his shoulder, The warchief staggered and for a moment seemed about to fall before the hobgoblin seemed to force himself to recover and raise his spear and shield once again.

Erlmoor ducked left as a sword slashed at him and then drove his sword forward into the chest of the hobgoblin before him. The creature fell to the floor and the dragonborn stepped over him to meet the flail-wielding warrior behind. The spiked ball of the flail lashed out but the dragonborn ducked under the wild swing and continued to advance on this new enemy.

Dulvarna rolled to her left as the warchief’s spear came at her again but at the last, he adjusted his thrust and drove it into her shoulder. She cried out as the point drove in and scraped against bone. Enlishia jabbed her blade at the hobgoblin and it withdrew the spear to parry the ranger’s thrust, giving Dulvarna a chance to recover. She thrust out with her own blade, driving it into the hobgoblin’s hip. The warchief staggered back, its spear still out to its left where it had parried Enlishia’s blade. It tried to bring the weapon back across but it was far too slow. Dulvarna’s blade thrust at it again, piercing its breastbone and its heart beneath. With a gasp, the hobgoblin staggered and fell to the floor before Dulvarna. A flail swung at her then and she ducked the wild blow before coming up in front of the two remaining hobgoblins that she and Enlishia faced. Dulvarna grinned and winked at Enlishia. The hobgoblins came forward and the two women met them with steel.

Erlmoor slashed with his sword while praying to Lathander but just as the sword glowed bright with the divine power of the Morninglord, the hobgoblin ducked under the blow. As he did so, he slashed out with his flail, the steel ball at the end of its chain striking the dragonborn painfully on the thigh. Erlmoor roared and the hobgoblin drew back a step. The hobgoblin to Erlmoor’s left also faltered and Lavren took his chance. His blade lashed out, cutting across the hobgoblin’s belly and then driving through its throat as the elf stepped forward.

Enlishia feinted to the left and then drove her blade into the belly of one of the remaining hobgoblins. The creature gasped, gurgled as blood filled its mouth and then fell to the floor of the chamber. Beside her, Dulvarna drove back the last they faced while to her right, Erlmoor slashed his blade across the belly of the foe that remained there, driving it back and wounding it. Dulvarna’s foe came back at her suddenly then and in a heartbeat, the hobgoblin had lashed out with its flail and struck her head with the spiked ball. She reeled back and away and the other hobgoblin took heart from this. It surged at Erlmoor, lashing out with its flail to strike him in the side.

Lavren spat a curse at the hobgoblin and rushed at his enemy with his blade in hand. She lashed out at the hobgoblin but the creature ducked the wild swing. Erlmoor surged forward beside the elf but his swing was equally wild and the hobgoblin ducked it just as easily. The enemy lashed out with its flail but chain and ball whistled over the head of Erlmoor just has his blade had passed over the hobgoblin an instant before. Lavren stepped forward and smashed his sword hilt into the face of the hobgoblin, knocking it back. Erlmoor slashed at its throat with his blade but it ducked, falling to its knees as it did so.

Behind the dragonborn and the elf, Enlishia slashed out with her blade, drawing blood from the arm of the hobgoblin above its shield but still the creature roared its defiance. Dulvarna’s blade struck its other arm and it fell back a step, knowing that it was likely doomed but refusing to yield. Desperately it lashed out and struck Dulvarna on the shoulder, driving her back a step in turn. For a moment there was stalemate but then Lavren plunged his blade into the belly of the foe he faced and as its life force flowed into him he turned with a fey curse on his lips. The hobgoblin faltered and Dulvarna rushed at it, her blade slashing out and drawing blood once more. Erlmoor followed and the hobgoblin fell back, lashing out one last time at Dulvarna. The spiked ball struck her head, she saw light and then darkness and then collapsed to the floor beside her enemies. Erlmoor, Enlishia and Lavren pressed their attacks and the hobgoblin retreated until its back was to the west wall of the chamber. Then, Erlmoor plunged his blade into the hobgoblin’s chest and finally ended the battle. Only then did they hear the cries of the hobgoblins’ prisoners.

“Help us,” came a familiar voice from the eastern chamber. Erlmoor knelt beside Dulvarna while Lavren went to the aid of the prisoners.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 20 - Partings and Meetings (Part 4)

“Litiraan,” said Lavren as he stepped into the eastern chamber. “Telkya. When last we saw you, you were to return to Cormanthor.” The elf lord and his companion had aided the adventurers in the Hullack Forest and guided them to the Ashen Tower. It was the two elves as well who had allowed Micor and Ilar to accompany the companions to their ultimate ruin. Both elf leaders now had their hands and feet bound and were crouched on the floor between two beds. Lavren rushed to free them from their bonds.

“We were heading for Cormanthor again,” said Litiraan once he was free of his bonds. “But we were attacked to the west of here by hobgoblins. Those who were not slain were taken.”
“We heard that most were taken to a place they called Thunderspire,” Telkya put in. “We were brought here to be ransomed to Khurbok. They only laughed when we told him he had been slain.”
“We are going to Thunderspire next,” said Dulvarna from the doorway, her wounds covered in blood-soaked bandages. “But first we have enemies to deal with here and could use two more blades.”
“You have ours,” answered Litiraan. “Until Thunderspire at least.”

The two elves rose slowly, Litiraan supporting Telkya as she rose. Together, they gathered up their possessions and weapons which lay in a chest at the foot of one of the beds. Then, once all were ready, the six companions made their way out into the main chamber and then northward, back through the bent portcullis. Dulvarna held her sword before her in both hands and led them to the double doors that they had passed earlier in the in the east-west passage. Leaning her sword against her shoulder, she gently opened the doors.

Beyond a short hall opened into a wider, torch lit chamber. A figure peeked around the corner, looking down the hall. The figure was the size of a man but with big pointed ears protruding from under its helmet. The hobgoblin screamed out in its own tongue and then ducked out of sight to the east.

Telkya rushed down the hallway first, her sword in one hand and her holy symbol in the other. Darting left out of sight for a moment at the far end, she chanted a prayer and a ray of light lanced out from her amulet towards the hobgoblin that had first sounded the alarm. Lavren rushed after her, drawing his wand from his belt as he ran. He emerged into a chamber whose west wall was stacked with crates and boxes of provisions. He turned beside Telkya and uttered a fey curse at the hobgoblin who now retreated towards a double doorway in the eastern wall. One of the doors stood ajar and the sound of more goblin voices came from within. Lavren’s bolt struck the hobgoblin in the shoulder and drove it back another step. Erlmoor rounded the corner then and smashed the hilt of his sword into the hobgoblin’s face. It staggered back further until it reached the door and then it darted through it, slamming the portal shut behind it.

“It went east,” said Erlmoor as Dulvarna and Litiraan entered the chamber. “And it sounds like there’re more with it.”
“There usually are,” answered Dulvarna as she rushed the doors and slammed her shoulder into them. They burst open to reveal another hallway at the end of which the wounded hobgoblin now waited with a flail in its hand.

Enlishia joined Dulvarna at the doorway and sent an arrow down the hall within. A voice called out in goblin once more and from deeper within the chamber and to the north came answering cries. Telkya looked towards the northern wall of the entry chamber and saw another pair of double doors there. Holding her sword before her, she rushed over and slammed her shoulder into them. The bar inside cracked and the doors fell open. Within, a group of hobgoblins with swords and shields waited, ready to charge. Telkya stepped back.
“There’re more this way,” she called to the others.
“There usually are,” Dulvarna answered again.

Lavren rushed to aid the elf maid, calling forth two purple rays from his wand as he reached her. One struck a hobgoblin and hurled it back into its companion behind it before it dropped to the floor, slain. The other lanced out towards another hobgoblin but that creature ducked the bolt, evading its deadly power. Lavren put away his wand then and reached for his sword as the hobgoblins that remained began their charge.

Erlmoor glanced once towards the northern doors, wondering if his companions needed his aid and then decided they did not. He charged into the eastern hallway towards the hobgoblins that he knew must be waiting beyond the wounded one he could see. As the passage widened into a chamber, he saw four hobgoblins gathered there, two with flails and shields, another with a familiar skull headdress and a fourth with a bow, standing in the southeastern corner. Erlmoor saw the archer level his bow at the dragonborn and then threw himself against the south wall as the arrow was let fly. The projectile whooshed past the left side of his head and the dragonborn roared his annoyance. Then he raised his blade as his enemies came at him.

Telkya stepped back as a hobgoblin charged at her but still felt its blade drive into her thigh. She staggered, fearing for a moment that she would sink to one knee but then she regained her footing and struck out with her sword to keep the goblin at bay. Even as the goblin stepped back, a silver bolt of energy seared through its chest and sent it sprawling to the floor of the hallway. It did not get up and Telkya turned for a brief moment to not her thanks to Litiraan.

Erlmoor reeled as the spiked ball of a flail struck his chest but looking to his left, he knew, too, that the shaman wearing the skull headdress was advancing with a stave that crackled with power in its hands. The shaman came forward but instead of striking at Erlmoor, the hobgoblin almost casually gestured down the hallway to the west. There Dulvarna and Enlishia advanced but as they did so, a wave of force as powerful as the fiercest ocean wave hurtled down the corridor towards them. They both ducked back from the doors and crouched down, letting the wave wash over them. Then, they both rose and started down the hallway to aid their friend. Dulvarna charged at the shaman, leading with her blade and weaving it back and forth while Enlishia threw down her bow at the doorway and drew her blade before also charging. The hobgoblin met both blades with its stave while stepping back to give its warriors chance to attack. A flail lashed down close to Dulvarna but wide but the warrior woman knew from bitter and recent experience that the next blow would likely not be so clumsy.

Telkya fell back from the doorway, holding forth her holy symbol and praying to Corellon as she did so. The elven god answered her prayer and sent a searing light out from her amulet to strike on of the hobgoblins in the northern hallway. The goblin gasped and collapsed with a hole through its chest from front to back. Lavren stabbed out with his word and retreated into the chamber beside Telkya. The two hobgoblins that remained followed with their swords before them.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 20 - Partings and Meetings (Part 5)

In the eastern chamber, Erlmoor roared and covered the three hobgoblins nearest him in a spray of burning acid. He lashed out at the shaman while praying to Lathander then and with a glowing blade, he cut deep into the hobgoblin’s shoulder. A arrow drove into the side of the dragonborn’s leg then and he realised that he had been foolish to ignore the archer. Glancing right, he saw that a table blocked his path to this enemy and he could do nothing about it’s barrage until he had dealt with the foes before him. With a roar, Erlmoor turned his attention back to that task.

A sword stabbed into Telkya’s shoulder and she fell back before the hobgoblin that she faced. She staggered but then Litiraan came to her aid with a silver bolt. The hobgoblin was hurled across the room and through the northern doorway before landing beside its fallen comrades in the corridor.
Erlmoor came forward but even as he did so, the shaman began chanting and then lashed out with its stave to strike the dragonborn in the chest before he could raise his blade to parry. Blue lightning lanced into him and danced down his body and up to his neck. He staggered and reeled, helpless before his remaining enemies. Enlishia and Dulvarna slashed out with their blades, each wounding the shaman and forcing it back from the dragonborn. The shaman staggered seemed about to fall but his soldiers would not allow it. One darted forward and lashed out with a flail, catching Dulvarna’s arms and almost wrenching Aecris from her grasp. The warrior woman wrenched her hands free but glancing towards Erlmoor she knew that he was all but helpless. As she watched, the archer nocked an arrow to its bow and she knew that Erlmoor had no chance.

Lavren ducked a wild swing from the last hobgoblin and then plunged his blade into its belly. It gasped, staggered and then fell before the elf. He leaned back and glanced around the corner and quickly judged the corridor that way too crowded for him to aid his companions. Instead, he leapt over the fallen hobgoblins before him and rushed up the northern hallway, his blade before him. The corridor opened quickly into a wide barracks with beds against the north and west walls and another piled of crates and barrels along another hallway to the east. The sounds of battle were now behind him and to the east and the elf realised then that he had found a way to join the battle from behind the hobgoblins. Sheathing his blade and reaching for his wand, he started forward down the eastern hall.

Erlmoor paused for a moment, gathering his breath and slowly shaking off the effects of the shaman’s powerful stave. Alas, his enemies would not wait while he recovered and as he stepped back from the battle, an arrow flew in from the right, pierced his neck and plunged him into impenetrable darkness. A hobgoblin stepped over the fallen dragonborn and lashed out with its flail at Enlishia who ducked under the swing but the hobgoblins were triumphant now and at a roar from their shaman, they surged forward. Dulvarna ducked a flail that was swung at her and slashed her blade across the shaman’s chest again. The hobgoblin fell back a step but Enlishia pressed the attack. It raised its stave but was too slow and it could only watch as the ranger’s blade pierced its ribs and drove through its heart. The hobgoblins roared again, in grief and anger this time, and surged forward anew.

Telkya and Lavren entered the room from the north as the hobgoblins surged forward but only the archer saw them arrive. The hobgoblin turned towards them and raised its bow as Lavren leveled his wand and uttered a spell. The hobgoblin’s clothes began to smoke but the witchfire did not take hold but the archer was distracted as he loosed his arrow. It nicked Telkya’s cheek before clattering against the wall beside Lavren. Litiraan rushed into the chamber beside Telkya and filled the room with flame that erupted from his stave. The hobgoblin before Enlishia staggered forward almost meeting her blade as the fire seared its back.

The hobgoblin lashed out with its flail but Enlishia only had to leap back to evade the swing. She slashed out with her blade while Dulvarna, beside her, punched the hilt of her sword into the face of the hobgoblin she faced. Beyond the hobgoblins, both women saw Telkya loose more searing light from her amulet to strike the archer while Lavren turned his wand towards Enlishia’s opponent. Black, crackling energy darted out at the hobgoblin, striking him in the back and pitching him forward to land on the stone floor beside Erlmoor at Enlishia’s feet. The archer turned his bow on Lavren as the elf drew nearer to it. An arrow struck Lavren in the shoulder but the elf paid it no mind, simply yanking the shaft free of his shoulder and continuing his advance towards the hobgoblin. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand struck the hobgoblin the leg and drove it back into the corner of the room. Fear filled its eyes and it threw down its bow, reaching for the blade at its belt. Its end was near, as was the end of the last of its fellows.

Dulvarna lashed her sword out in a huge blow that shattered the top of the shield of the other remaining hobgoblin. The sword drove on into the warrior’s shoulder and only stopped when it struck bone. The hobgoblin cried out and fell back a step. The hobgoblin lashed out wildly with its flail and Dulvarna ducked as the chain and spiked ball whistled over her head. Behind the hobgoblin, white light and black, crackling energy struck the archer in the corner of the room at the same time, searing through its body. The hobgoblin crumpled in the corner of the chamber and the foe before Dulvarna realised that it was the last of its warband. A silver bolt struck the wall above its head and it cringed visibly but the real threat lay before it. Dulvarna’s blade nicked its hip and Enlishia came at it from the right. The hobgoblin staggered again as it backed up against a chair beside one of the room’s tables. It lashed out with its flail and struck Dulvarna painfully in the ribs but the warrior woman did not even flinch. The look of death was in her eyes and the hobgoblin could not escape. Then, searing light and a silver bolt struck it from behind and it fell at last to the stone floor beside its comrades.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 21 - The End of the Beginning (Part 1)

Dulvarna looked at the double doors in front of her and saw that a board had been nailed across both doors. Scrawled on the door in poorly drawn Thorass runes was the word Closed. They had camped in the upper ruins since the battle with the hobgoblins and Erlmoor and Telkya had ensured that all of their wounds were now healed but still, Dulvarna felt nervous as she eyes the double doors ahead of her. The hobgoblin tunnels remained uninhabited when they returned and the companions had ventured south to a wide chamber with double doors leading west and south. They had taken the western doors and had followed a passage around to the south until they had come to the doors that stood before them now.
“We should turn back,” Dulvarna said at last. “The last warning we found upon a door was the entrance to the pool chamber where Enlishia fell. It spoke truly so this one likely does as well.”
“Agreed, seldom are such warnings scribed in vain,” said Litiraan. “Even amongst the foul creatures of this place.”

The others nodded their agreement and the six companions turned away from the door. When they reached the chamber where they had turned aside, they turned to the southern doors and pushed them open. Within was a room that looked vaguely like a memorial. Dominating the western part of the chamber was a towering statue of a warrior in plate armour holding an outstretched sword. Across from the warrior, in the corners of the eastern wall, sat two statues of crouching dragons. To the south, an entryway led to a set of double doors while in the entryway stood four more statues of small, cherubic figures holding small vases above their heads.

Dulvarna held her sword up high as she stepped into the room, fearing a strap. No sooner had she gone a few steps towards the statue of armoured warrior than the doors to the north slammed shut, trapping Erlmoor and Lavren on the outside. The sound of large, heavy bolts sliding into place followed, trapping the four remaining companions in the room. On the western plinth, the huge statue twisted around and swept its sword in a wide circle towards Dulvarna. She ducked under the heavy, swinging stone blade and darted in close to the statue, slashing at the stone with her enchanted blade. She chipped one of the stone legs but still the statue swept its blade around towards her. Beyond the door, she heard someone slamming against the doors but from this side, the portals did not seem to move at all. Telkya sent searing light towards the statue but missed while Litiraan loosed a similarly wild, silver bolt. Enlishia began firing arrows into the whirling stone structure but they seemed to make no difference and soon, the blade swept around again to smash into Dulvarna and knock her from her feet.

Outside the doors, Lavren had already tried to force them open and failed and now, Erlmoor was bending down, attempting to release the locking mechanisms with the point of his sword. Lavren knelt beside the dragonborn and unwound a piece of wire from the hilt of his sword. Peering into the door’s keyhole, he began working at the mechanism while inside the sounds of battle raged on.

Dulvarna leapt up onto the statue’s dais and slashed a chunk of stone off the statue’s shoulder. Searing light from Telkya’s holy symbol followed, blasting away part of the statue’s knee. A silver bolt from Litiraan came next, searing through the torso of the statue and destroying it in a shower of masonry. Just as the statue fell with a crash, Erlmoor, tired of delicate methods, shouldered his way through the locked double doors, collapsing them in a shower of wood beside Enlishia.
“The room’s trapped then,” he said.
“Seems that way,” answered Telkya.
“Then we watch our step,” said Erlmoor.
“Right,” answered Lavren with a glance down at the shattered doors.

Enlishia started across the room, circling cautiously around the far side of the shattered statue. Suddenly, from the east side of the room, beyond the ranger, magical energy spewed forth from the mouths of the dragons. Enlishia darted back from the nearest statue, nocking an arrow to her bow while Dulvarna rushed to the edge of the southern dragon’s range.
Lavren rushed to Enlishia’s side and cursed the northern statue in elven without knowing whether his fey curse would work on animated stone. Leveling his wand, he loosed black energy at the dragon, shattering part of a stone wing. Telkya added her own searing light to the bombardment of the statue and then Litiraan struck it in the neck with a silver bolt of energy, almost severing the head. Erlmoor charged past Enlishia as she retreated but as they passed, the ranger loosed an arrow that all but shattered one of the statue’s legs. The magical breath still came forth from both dragons and this time, Erlmoor was struck and hurled back against the plinth of the shattered statue. The dragonborn shook his head, pushed himself back to his feet and charged the dragon statue again.

Dulvarna charged the southern statue once it had breathed its wave of magic. Her blade sang out and struck the nose from the creature. She looked to her left at another crash from that direction and saw that Lavren had shattered the northern dragon with another bolt of black energy. The elf started forward to aid Dulvarna and the others came behind him. Light from Telkya’s amulet struck the wall behind the statue and then a silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand struck the south wall to Dulvarna’s right. Erlmoor rushed to Dulvarna’s side in a moment, breathing acid on the statue with a roar and then slashed a chunk from the dragon’s wing. An arrow from Enlishia’s bow followed, driving into the stone of the dragon’s neck. Still the statue would not fall and then it breathed again, hurling Dulvarna from it and knocking Erlmoor back a step. Both charged back in as Lavren loosed another bolt of black energy and within a heartbeat the statue was nothing but dust.
“Destroy the others from here,” said Dulvarna then. “Only when all are gone do we venture into the southern hallway.” As she bound her wounds, the others destroyed the cherubic statues.