NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4505060" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 11 - Restless Guardians (Part 1)“Well?” said Dulvarna, standing back from the tree trunk that she had been working on since they had risen that morning. Now one end was honed into a point and partly clad in metal with spear shafts bent along the point and tied to the trunk further back. Other ropes formed handles on each side of the trunk so that the whole could be carried comfortably between four people.“Impressive,” said Lavren with his usual winning smile. “Any goblins’ll run a league before turning to fight us.”“Very good,” Erlmoor rumbled. “Where’d you learn to make siege engines then? They didn’t teach you that in Eveningstar.” The dragonborn was genuinely curious for he had served the same temple as Dulvarna in the small village west of Arabel where they had grown up and there had been precious little chance to learn siege craft there.“Makes sense really,” Dulvarna answered. “We’ll need support as we take it in. Kel and Thira should stay back and protect us. Some of the goblins might not run.” Her attempt at humour was forced and the others sensed it. They had checked the upper ruins once more at sunset the day before when they had cut down the tree that had become the ram and there were no other ways in. A passage, long caved in, lay to the west so anything beyond the wall was long dead or….something else.“I’ll be ready,” answered Thira.“As will I,” said Kel with a nod.The wall crumbled at the second blow and as it did, it revealed that it was thin and had obviously been hastily constructed. A stale, musty smell burst from the passage beyond and as she held her staff up to illuminate the dark passage, she looked down at the ruined wall in horror. Claw marks were gouged into the other side of the stones.“Something was imprisoned here,” she said nervously.“Then it’s likely still there,” Kel added.“We must be cautious,” Thira said and none the rest merely nodded, staring into the shadowy darkness ahead. Dulvarna started forward, her sword held before her while behind her came Erlmoor, his own sword held ready. Lavren followed with his wand held ready and Enlishia came behind him with an arrow nocked to her bow. She had replenished her quiver from the supplies that the goblins had gathered and was confident that she carried enough for any battle. Thira and Kel followed, the tiefling wearing the head of the hobgoblin chieftain on her belt both as a grisly trophy and so that they might claim their reward from the elves when they returned to them.Dulvarna moved ahead down the tunnel and emerged into a a round crypt that held two stone sarcophagi and heaps of shattered pottery. Faded frescoes on the wall depicted a group of ancient nomadic nobles. A half-dozen couples lay on beds of fur and used hide saddles as pillows while they ate grapes to the accompaniment of a satyr’s double flute. Dulvarna waited for her eyes to adjust to the shadowy dark and felt rather than saw something move to her right. She turned, sword before her and dimly saw a horribly rotted corpse lurch from its bier and shamble towards her. To her left another corpse lashed out at her with a corrupted first and struck her shoulder. Zombies, she realised with horror. Animated corpses created using foul rituals that obeyed their creator to kill and consume the living. Others rose on their own, corrupted by dark energies from the Shadowfell, and slew all living things that crossed their paths.“Zombies,” she cried out. “The dead walk in here.”From beyond the     circular crypt, seemingly coming from down a passage that led diagonally out of the room to the south west came an inhuman screech as though some dark creature, perhaps darker than the corpses that flailed at Dulvarna, were in pain or wrathful. Dulvarna worked her blade back and forth to keep the zombies at bay and prayed that whatever was coming would not come quickly. Her prayer could not have been heard for moments later, into the chamber swept another dead thing clad in tattered dark robes and with pale red lightning playing about its fingertips. It paused in the corridor entrance and began chanting in some foul, dark tongue. Dulvarna had never seen its like before in the tomes she had read in the temple where she had been raised but she knew it was a terrible thing and she began to pray silently once more.</blockquote>

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