Medriev's FR Pyramid of Shadows - Concluded Nov 1

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Hungry Dead (Part 1)

The companions retreated beyond the doors that had led them to the gas room and the maze where Dulvarna and Thorn had fallen, each consumed by their own grief. Telkya and Lavren consoled each other as both shed tears while Enlishia and Erlmoor sat grim-faced against the passage wall. They slept fitfully in turns, tended to their wounds and then a ate a small breakfast of dried meat and hard trail bread. Erlmoor decided when they were ready to move on, rising stern-faced to his feet and turning eastward to face the passage that had led form the doors.
“We go on or we die here and shame the sacrifices of the fallen,” he said grimly and slowly, the others rose and gathered up their weapons and belongings.

The dragonborn led them slowly along the passageway toward the stairs but had barely gone more than a dozen steps when he stopped. He held up his hand to halt the others and then raised his sword.
“Something comes,” he hissed and behind him, the others made ready for battle.

Enlishia came forward to stand beside the paladin, an arrow nocked to her bow, while behind her, Lavren held forth his wand and Telkya her amulet. Suddenly, two figures emerged into the passage ahead from the stairway that led down to the lower level. One was short and cloaked in shadow while the other was seemingly clad in a long cloak and robes.
“There you are!” called a familiar voice suddenly as the short figure turned toward the companions. “But where are Dulvarna and Litiraan?”

Erlmoor growled and stepped forward but as he did, he recognised the diminutive form of the halfling, Rendil Halfmoon, from the Halfmoon inn in the Seven Pillared Hall stepped into the light of the torches that Lavren and Telkya held. Behind the halfling, stepped forward a tall elf with dark skin and long, flowing white hair. Erlmoor growled again as he recognised Gendar, the drow who owned a curio shop in the Hall. He had seemed a predatory and mercenary individual when the companions had first met him and Erlmoor liked him little.

“Rendil!” Telkya exclaimed. “What brings you here?”
“We came seeking you,” answered Gendar. “There have been many changes in Thunderspire since you left and Paldemar returned and wrought vengeance upon any who had consorted with you.”
“The inn?” Telkya said, with a growing sense of dread.
“Destroyed in the battle,” Rendil answered sadly. “Paldemar attacked us first, slaying my aunt when she tried to defend the place. I held him off with the blade craft and magic I learned from the elves when I was young…….and then the Mages of Saruun came to drive out the renegade. They fought with each other, hurling spells back and forth while wreaking destruction as they did. Gendar’s shop was razed to the ground.”

“And was Paldemar defeated?” Erlmoor asked.
“Surely all the Mages of Saruun must have driven him off at least,” Lavren added.
“And so they did, in a way,” Gendar said. “Paldemar retreated without being vanquished and told all that he had only visited to the Hall to wreak his revenge on those who had aided you. He retreated into the Underdark, seeking my kin who dwell below the mountains.”
“To do what?” Erlmoor rumbled. “He would not be any more welcome amongst drow than he would be elsewhere.”
“He seeks allies,” Telkya said in sudden realisation. “Whatever threat he has mustered against Sunset Hill is not enough. He seeks allies to join him in conquest.”
“Then we must stop him,” Enlishia said. “Once we have aided Sunset Hill, we must return to Thunderspire and pursue Paldemar.”

The others nodded their agreement and as the four surviving companions looked at Rendil and Gendar, they found that the drow and the halfling were nodding too. They sought revenge on the Red Wizard for the destruction he had brought down upon their home and would travel with the adventurers.
“Now that we are agreed,” Lavren said. “You must tell us how you came to be here and we must tell you dark tidings of Litiraan and Dulvarna.”

And so the companions with their new allies sat down in the corridor close to the stairs and grimly told their tales, Telkya relating the fall of her brother and of Thorn and of Dulvarna while Rendil told how he and Gendar had set out to find the companions after the attack on the Seven Pillared Hall. They had followed Rendil’s recollections of Paldemar’s map and when they had reached the clearing in the Hullack where the adventurers had battled the bandits, the pyramid had arisen around the pair and trapped them as it had Dulvarna, Erlmoor and the others. They had explored the lower levels, following the trail of slain enemies that the companions had left behind them until the stairs had led them up to the third level and their chance meeting with those they had sought.

“Where do we go now?” Gendar asked once the storytelling had ended.
“We go east from here,” said Lavren. “For behind us lies death. Are you ready for battle for that is what we face.”
“We are,” Rendil answered. “My sword has been little used of late but I was trained by the elves in sword magic when I was young and we lived in Mistledale.”
“And I learned wizardry before I left Sschindrylyn deep beneath the earth,” said Gendar.
“Then we go on,” said Lavren, rising to his feet. The others followed suit and together, the six companions set off down the passage, past the stairways leading up and down and on into the darkness.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Hungry Dead (Part 2)

The passage turned right some way further on and then ended at a set of double doors. Erlmoor went forward to open them and Rendil went with him, drawing a longsword from his back that he wielded with two hands. The pair pushed open the doors and at once, the nauseating stench of death wafted from the darkness beyond the portals. Gendar conjured light to the end of the staff he held and Telkya raised her torch. As the companions peered ahead, they saw that the ceiling of the chamber beyond the doors was barely high enough for Erlmoor to stand upright, and the darkness seemed almost malevolent in its intensity, hardly driven back by the light of staff and torch.

Enlishia raised her bow and made her way warily into the room ahead of the others. She crossed the floor, looking left and right and aiming her bow as she did. Niches in the wall to her right held dry bones and the scraps of funeral wrappings but apart from the oppressive darkness, the chamber seemed empty.
“It is a tomb,” she called back to the others. “And the dead are bones and dust.”

The others made their way slowly into the room after the ranger as Enlishia crossed to double doors in the south wall. She reached out for one of the iron ring handles and turned it but as she did, she heard a creak. Looking around, the ranger saw the north western doors slam shut in the face of her companions and other doors to the north east swing open. She heard squeaking as though rats had suddenly awakened and before her, in an alcove cut into a stone structure in the middle of the chamber, appeared a robed figure with flowing red eyes.
“A wraith,” she cried out as loudly as she could. “Undead lurk in here.”

Outside the doors, Lavren dived forward and tried the iron handles but the doors seemed to have locked themselves. Handing his torch to Gendar, he drew a dagger from his belt and inserted it into the log, moving it around until he heard a satisfying click. The elf turned the handles of the doors again and flung them open before rushing into the chamber to aid Enlishia. Rendil followed and then Gendar and Erlmoor came after them, the dragonborn turning left to circle around the other side of the central stonework toward the north eastern doors. Telkya came last into the chamber and as she reached the companions, she threw down her torch, drew her sword, and turned around, searching the room for the undead enemies that Enlishia had seen. Suddenly, a rat with rotten flesh and fierce red eyes leapt from the alcove to her right and plunged its teeth into her leg. She cried out and lashed downward with her sword, striking the stone beside the creature. Other unseen rats squeaked in response to the elf maid’s pain and then, from the alcove across from Enlishia, the wraith came forth.

Enlishia ducked as the undead creature lashed out at her with a shadowy, insubstantial arm. She retreated toward the others and began loosing arrows, one after the other. They passed through the creature but each shaft drew a moan of agony from the creature. Lavren turned away from the others and moved to stand just behind Enlishia, shouting a curse and a spell as he came. A bolt of black energy lanced out from his wand and seared past the wraith as it started toward Enlishia again. Rendil rushed to face the wraith, his blade before him, moving past Enlishia and Lavren. He seemed to utter something under his breath and as he slashed his blade out at the wraith, it burst into green flame. The sword clove into the wraith’s side and the creature howled recognising somewhere deep down in what remained of its mind, fell elf magic that it despised. The wraith hissed and abandoned its advance on Enlishia, instead turning on the halfling and his terrible sword.

Behind the elves, Gendar leapt back as the rat attacked Telkya but then the battle training he had been given as a young drow reasserted itself. He raised his staff, uttered a spell and loosed a bolt of blue energy toward the rat. The undead creature squealed and leapt to one side, leaving the drow’s magic missile to strike the stone where it had been standing. The drow cursed and Telkya frowned at him before turning her attention back to the rat and its needle-sharp teeth.

Before Erlmoor could reach the northern doors, a rat leapt from an alcove to his right and plunged its teeth into his leg. He roared and lashed downward with his blade, cleaving the rat in half as it clung to its leg. The two pieces of the creature’s corpse fell at the dragonborn’s feet and he strode forward to the northern doors. He turned as he reached them and saw before him a rectangular room with half a dozen coffins in it. From four of them had risen half-rotten creatures that might once have been men of Cormyr but now wore old, stained plate armour. Each carried a shield on one arm, held a sword in the other hand and had flesh that was drawn and mouldering. In their eye sockets glowed a fierce green light and slowly, they started toward the paladin, raising their blades as they came.
“Battle wights,” he called back to the others as he recognised the foul undead and raised his own sword ready to meet them.

Telkya heard Erlmoor cry out as she slashed at the rat that scurried around her with her sword. The blade clanged against the stone floor and as the sound died away, the squeaking of more rats filled the chamber. From the alcoves to her left came more of the creatures, scurrying toward she and Gendar. One plunged its teeth into the dark elf’s foot and another bit at his leg. The drow cried out, trying desperately to fend the creatures off with his stave. He threw his torch down behind the creatures and waved his staff at the rats but still they came at him. The rat Telkya fought rushed forward and leapt, sinking its teeth into her arm as she tried to fend it off. She shook the creature free but its teeth had left a painful, angry wound in her sword arm. She slashed down with her blade again but again the rat was too quick for her and the sword struck only stone.

Rendil raised his sword again, another battle spell on his lips but then the wraith surged at him, moaning as it came. The halfling’s will broke and he fell back before the furious undead creature, stunned by the terrible sound of its torment. Enlishia staggered back beside the halfling, the pair passing Lavren and leaving him to face the creature alone. Numbly, Rendil saw Enlishia raise her bow and fire arrows to keep the rats at bay. One rat fell with a squeal, an arrow driven through it but the others kept coming and Rendil Halfmoon’s courage faltered again. In front of him, he saw Lavren facing the wraith with a steely determination as the warlock loosed another bolt of black energy from his wand. The blast seared through the creature’s incorporeal form and the wraith howled as though it had suffered pain. Trying to banish his fear, Rendil stepped slowly forward, passing Lavren and moving to protect his new companions. He raised his blade, called a spell to his lips and made ready meet his enemy.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Hungry Dead (Part 3)

Erlmoor staggered where he stood as he fought to keep the wights at bay while three rats scurried around him, biting at his ankles and legs whenever they could. Already he bled from a wound in his left leg and another in his side while the chill of the grave afflicted him and made his movements sluggish and laboured. Desperately, he roared and spat acid over the wights while shouting out a prayer from his rapidly numbing mouth. His blade swept out, glowing brightly as it did, and tore into the side of one of the wights, flinging it back and away from the dragonborn. As the wight recovered, hissing at the paladin, a bolt of light seared past Erlmoor and blasted into the creature’s chest, driving it back again. Looking to his left, Erlmoor saw Telkya standing ready with sword and amulet in hand and as he saw his friend, the dragonborn let out a roar of defiance. Then the wights came forward, two surging out of the room past the stalwart paladin while the other two came at him with their blades. He parried to his left but as he did, s blade swept in from his right and drove into his right hip, sending him staggering back. Again the dragonborn roared but this time in pain as he tried to draw back from his fiercesome enemies.

Enlishia dazedly tried to fend off the rat that had leapt from the alcove next to her while retreating toward her companions. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that Rendil was retreating himself as the wraith swiped at him with its shadowy arms. Another blast from Lavren’s wand tore through the creature and it shrieked in pain but still it flailed at Rendil. Weakly, the halfling lashed out with his blade, green flame igniting it again but the wraith paid it no mind. Only when Gendar loosed another silver bolt from his staff that struck the creature did it seem to falter. Slowly, the wraith seemed to shrink away from the halfling and the others and for a moment, Enlishia could not see why. Then a plate-armoured figure with glowing green eyes strode around the central stonework behind the wraith. Help was coming, the wraith had no more need to fight.

Erlmoor looked over his shoulder as the wights moved into the chamber toward his friends and knew he had to get back to them somehow. He also knew that his strength was fading, the wounds from the grave-touched swords the wights wielded numbing him quickly. Still, he shouted out a prayer and lashed out with his blade, striking the arm of the nearest wight and keeping it at bay for a few moments longer. From Erlmoor’s left, Telkya called down a column of burning, divine light onto the undead creature but still it did not fall. Hissing and snarling, the two wights surged at Erlmoor and he parried furiously, meeting each slash and thrust of their blades with his own sword. Finally, he staggered back and the wights retreated a few steps, held at bay for now. It was a small victory, the dragonborn knew, but a victory nonetheless.

Rendil saw the wight round the central stonework and steeled himself for the new struggle that was to come. The plate-armoured creature rushed the last few steps toward the halfling and swept its blade out at Rendil’s head. The halfling ducked but the blade still glanced off the top of his head, tearing his scalp and taking away some of his brown hair as it passed. Another of the undead warriors followed behind the first and the halfling stepped back a pace, knowing that he had to deal with the wraith before this new enemy reached him. As the halfling raised his blade, the wraith suddenly shifted to the right and vanished into the stone next to the alcove from which it had emerged.

Gendar leapt forward as the wraith suddenly emerged from the stone behind him and swiped at him. Its shadowy arm passed over the drow’s head and Enlishia reacted at once. She loosed an arrow into the rat that had bedevilled her and then turned her bow on the wraith, loosing a second shaft that passed through the creature’s body and clattered into the stone beyond. A moment later, a blast of black, crackling energy from Lavren’s wand tore into the wraith and with a final, chilling shriek, the creature dissipated into shards of shadow. Gendar nodded grudging thanks to Lavren and then stepped forward to aid Rendil. He levelled his staff at the wight that the halfling fought and with an uttered incantation, he hurled a bolt blue energy from its tip that seared past the undead warrior and struck the wall behind it. Rendil took his chance and lashed his blade into the side of the wight’s leg, forcing it to stagger to its right to keep its balance. It snarled in response and then raised its blade to strike down the halfling.

Erlmoor lashed out with his blade and then leapt back toward Telkya, hoping to face less enemies with his back to the central stonework. Telkya touched his shoulder with her hand and as her hand glowed, the dragonborn felt some of his strength return. A rat bit into his foot and he drew his leg back and as he did, the second wight strode past the other and lashed out with its blade at Erlmoor’s side. The dragonborn brought his own sword down and parried, his blade pointing at the floor. The wight hissed at the paladin and he snarled back, eye to eye with the undead warrior for a moment before he pushed the creature away.

Enlishia rushed forward to stand behind Rendil, firing arrows as she came. The missiles struck the stone beside the wights or bounced off their armour leaving the undead warriors unharmed. A bolt from Lavren’s wand flashed from the ranger’s left, searing past the wights and drawing hisses of derision from them as they came forward at Rendil again. The halfling lashed out with his blade, green flames wreathing the sword as it struck the leg of one of the wights. A trail of flame followed the sword and drove the other wight back and as it retreated, lightning burst forth from Gendar’s staff to strike both of the undead creatures. Both wights fell back, reeling, but the companions knew that it could not be for long. The undead would come forward again and they would be hard pressed to hold them off.

Erlmoor looked back over his shoulder at Telkya, waving her back so that he could retreat into the narrow gap between the central stonework and the wall of the chamber. She laid a hand on her shoulder and uttered another healing prayer before stabbing her sword into the thigh of the wight before Erlmoor. More healing energy flowed into the dragonborn and he roared his renewed defiance as Telkya retreated behind him. Erlmoor lashed his blade out at the wight with all his strength but at the last, the creature brought its blade across and parried. The wight twisted its blade around and drove it into the dragonborn’s shoulder, driving him back another step toward Telkya. One of the rats scurried forward and sank its teeth into Erlmoor’s leg and again he retreated until Telkya stood just behind him. The wight hissed, raised its blade and came forward after him.

Rendil swatted aside a thrust from the wight before him but as he did, the other creature stabbed its blade into his hip from his left. The halfling cried out and staggered back a step while behind the two wights, another came forward, its armour damaged and its flesh torn. Its eyes glowed with a furious anger and the halfling knew that if the two foes he faced did not finish him, the third wight was determined to do it. Two more arrows from Enlishia’s bow clattered off the armour of the wight on Rendil’s left and then purple bolts of energy seared from Lavren’s wand to strike both wights in the chest and drive them back. Rendil leapt forward, a spell on his lips, and plunged his sword into the belly of the wight before him. As the blade drove in, Rendil knew that what passed for the undead warrior’s blood was thickening and turning to leaden ice. The halfling drew his blade back and lashed it across from left to right while uttering a spell of fire and sure enough, a wall of flame sprung up where the wights stood, curving round to engulf all three wights. The undead creatures shrieked and hissed as the flames seared and blackened their rotten flesh and from behind Rendil, a bolt of blue flashed from Gendar’s staff to strike one of the creatures. Together they snarled and hissed, seeming to promise revenge but for the moment, they were helpless to deliver it.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Hungry Dead (Part 4)

Erlmoor roared in furious anger and leapt at the wight he faced, lashing his blade into its side and then spinning on the spot to smash the other side of his sword into the chest of the creature. The wight reeled back and away and Erlmoor took that moment to look over his shoulder at Telkya.
“Go!” he said firmly. “Aid the others. You have helped me enough to give me victory here.”

Telkya did as she was bade, turning away from the dragonborn as the wight seemed to recover and rush back at him. She rushed around the stonework to where Gendar, Lavren and Enlishia stood in a line behind Rendil who was desperately fighting two wights. She raised her sword, determined to aid the halfling but could only watch for a few, terrible, helpless moments. Despite the flames that blocked their way, the wights came forward furiously, one driving its blade into Rendil’s leg and the other, slashing its blade in from the left into the halfling’s side. He cried out again and then in a flurry of movement, a third wight, wounded, battered, and blackened, leapt into the alcove next to its undead kin and then rushed at Rendil. The creature plunged its blade into the halfling’s side and with a gasp, he fell back toward Enlishia. Desperately, the ranger threw down her bow, drew her sword and plunged it into the wight’s throat. It hissed and then fell to the ground, unmoving. A blast of black, crackling energy from Lavren’s wand followed a moment later and seared into the chest of another of the wights, throwing it back into the wall. It slid down to the floor and lay unmoving as Rendil desperately tried to summon enough strength to go on. A silver bolt from Gendar’s staff struck the last of the wights in the chest and threw it back and away from Rendil, buying the halfling enough time to hastily wrap a strip of cloth around his body and the terrible wounds in his side. At last, he raised his blade and started forward to meet the wight blade to blade again.

Erlmoor stabbed his blade into the belly of the remaining wight he faced and then retreated another few steps into the gap between the stonework and the wall. A rat scurried after him into one of the alcoves and then lunged at him, biting at his leg. The wight came next, lashing out with its blade toward the dragonborn’s other leg but he brought his blade down and parried the undead warrior’s attack. Looking behind him, Erlmoor saw a more narrow part of the gap and, knowing that his best hope was to retreat into that part, he began to draw back further before his enemies.

In a shower of light, Telkya appeared behind the last wight that Rendil faught and, raising her amulet, she loosed a bolt of light into the creature’s back. It lurched forward and lashed out with its blade, cutting a wound in the halfling’s left leg. He staggered and the wight came forward more steadily, Enlishia’s arrows clattering off its armour. A crackling bolt from Lavren’s wand flashed past the creature and beyond it, rats squeaked as they rushed toward Telkya. The elf maid looked to her right and saw two of the undead creatures scurrying toward her. She swept her blade downward but they both darted under her sword and plunged their teeth into her leg. Telkya cried out and staggered back until she felt the wall behind her. To her left, she saw Rendil recover enough to plunge his blade into the wight, bone chilling mist rising from the wound as the halfling’s sword struck home. The wight staggered back a step and a blue bolt of energy seared into it from Gendar’s staff. Still it hissed its annoyance and defiance and Telkya knew that she could lend no aid while the rats bedevilled her. She stabbed one rat and it died with a squeal but the other darted forward. Telkya swept her blade downward to defend her self but as she did an arrow drove through the creature from its right. It squealed and died giving Telkya a chance to look to her left. There, the last wight had fallen with an arrow through its throat and her companions were coming forward, having defeated their enemies.
“We have to help Erlmoor,” she called to them.

Erlmoor parried the wight’s blade and then leapt back into the narrow space that he had seen behind him. The rat lunged forward first, blocking the wight’s way forward and Erlmoor swept his blade downward to keep it at bay. Suddenly, a bolt of light struck the wall next to the wight and looking past the undead warrior, Erlmoor saw Telkya standing with her sword and amulet in hand. The rat lunged at his legs but again he swept his blade down to keep it at bay and he saw the wight turn away to face Telkya. Dimly, he heard the elf maid cry out as the creature wounded her but then he saw black and blue bolts strike the wight and it fell before his friends. The rat scurried forward once again and this time, Erlmoor plunged his blade downward and into its back. It squealed once and then lay still leaving the dragonborn to roar, proclaiming victory.

Next.......The Palace of Bones

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 25 - The Palace of Bones (Part 1)

The companions found an elven bow and a set of dwarf-forged armour in the ruins of the tomb as well as half a dozen gemstones and rested there while Erlmoor and Rendil recovered from the grave-touched wounds they had suffered. When they were ready to leave, Erlmoor donned the new armour and found it fitted his large form while Enlishia left her old bow behind and took up the elven weapon.
“Draxius haunts my dreams,” Lavren admitted as he unlocked the southern doors with his dagger.
“As he does mine,” Erlmoor said. “He taunts me to kill him.”
“Then kill him we shall,” Enlishia said as Lavren pulled open the doors.

The ranger had gathered up her spent arrows from around the tomb to refill her quiver and now nocked one to her bowstring as Erlmoor and Rendil took up the lead. A passage led southward from the doors and then split a little way ahead, one branch leading off to the west while the main passage ended a little way ahead at a set of double doors. Erlmoor turned down the side passage, ignoring the doors ahead and led the companions on until this passage, too, ended in a set of doors. Putting up his sword, the dragonborn grasped one iron ring as Rendil grasped the other and together, they heaved the doors open to reveal a large chamber whose furnishings were all made of bones. Some were lashed together with leather cords or bound with iron rings while others seemingly held together by unseen magical force. The Head of Vyrellis shrieked in fury as her eyes fell on a tiefling with purple skin and eyes that glowed with a sickly green light. His body was draped in a heavy mantle, with skulls decorating his shoulders and shadows pooled around him.
“Destroy him!” Vyrellis screamed. “Strike him down and we shall claim our freedom!”

From the shadows to the right lumbered a huge skeleton and from beneath the platform came another and a third came from the right. They looked like the skeletons of ogres and each wielded a huge club made from the bone of a great beast. The first strode to the doors in a handful of steps and lashed out with its club, striking the doorframe above Erlmoor’s head. The dragonborn leapt under the weapon and into the chamber before slashing his blade at the creature’s leg. It stepped back beyond his reach and while Enlishia looked for a clear shot at the creature, Gendar levelled his staff at it. A blue bolt flew from the tip of the stave and tore into the skeleton’s ribs, shattering one and burning another. Gendar darted past Rendil and into the chamber but as he did, the skeleton swung out its club and smashed him in the back, slamming him into one of the bone pillars. Skeletal hands reached out from the pillar and seized the drow drawing him close against the structure as though to crush him. He cried out and behind him, the companions heard one of his ribs crack loudly.

Enlishia raised her bow and began firing, an arrow driving into the skeleton’s hip and a second flying past it and on into the chamber. Beside her, the ranger saw Lavren vanish in a shower of light motes and a moment later, a blast of black energy seared past the skeleton from behind, striking the door frame. Rendil slashed his blade into the creature’s leg and it staggered back a step but still it would not fall and from within the hall of bones, two more skeletons were coming. The first to reach the battle smashed down its club toward Erlmoor but at the last, the dragonborn leapt back beyond its reach and the huge weapon struck the floor of the chamber. In front of Enlishia, Telkya vanished as Lavren had and a moment later, the ranger heard her cry out from somewhere within the chamber. Still, a bolt of divine light flashed past the skeleton from within the chamber and from that, Enlishia deduced that Telkya still faught on.

Lavren looked back at his wife who had been grabbed by skeletal hands that had reached out from a torture rack made of bone. She was held against the end of the device but she still struggled and would not be easily cowed, the elf knew. He looked back across the chamber and knew at once that he faced a graver danger as the third of the huge skeletons strode across toward him. It lashed out with its club and though the warlock lowered his sword to parry, the weapon still struck him in the belly, driving the wind from him and throwing him back into Telkya. Dimly, Lavren heard Draxius chanting from the upper platform and forced himself to leap to his left to avoid whatever spell was being directed at him. Sure enough, a spectral hand, seemingly the rotten arm of some undead creature, appeared where he had been and clutched at the empty air desperately. It vanished a few moments later and Lavren congratulated himself on his escape, until he looked up and saw the skeleton raising its club to strike at him again.

Erlmoor reeled back as the first skeleton slammed its club into his chest. He spun around on the spot and leapt back toward the creature, smashing his sword into its side and cleaving through its ribs to its spine. The creature staggered and a moment later an arrow smashed through its skull. The skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones and as Erlmoor recovered from the blow he had suffered, Enlishia turned her bow on the next of the undead creatures. Beside the dragonborn, Gendar struggled in the grip of the skeletal hands but still managed to loose a bolt of blue energy at one of the skeletons. Erlmoor admired the courage of the drow for as he looked at him, he saw that the dark elf was bleeding from several wounds and drawing his breath in ragged gasps. To his right, Erlmoor saw that Telkya was trapped and Lavren fought in front of her with his blade, trying to keep another of the skeletons at bay. Rendil came up beside him and lashed out his sword, a spell on his lips. Green flame wreathed the blade and it smashed into the hip of the nearest skeleton, shattering the bone. The creature lurched back unsteadily and then smashed down its club toward the halfling. Rendil leapt to his right but the club struck him a glancing blow on the shoulder and sent him reeling away.

Lavren held his blade before him but knew he could not hold off the skeleton for long. The skeleton swung its club and he ducked under it but the elf knew that more blows would come and they would be more accurate. Suddenly, he felt a wave of heat from his right and as he looked he saw an amber orb fly down from one of the higher platforms. It burst into a searing fireball against the wall of the chamber and while Telkya threw herself downward behind the rack that held her, the flames struck Lavren in the back and flung him forward. Telkya rose and shouted a prayer while struggling to free herself from the skeletal hands that held her. A column of light descended on the skeleton before Lavren, blackening and shattering its bones. It staggered but then lashed out wildly with its club. Lavren ducked again despite the pain of his burned back and the huge weapon passed over his head. The elf rose again, grateful for the momentary reprieve, and then leapt at the skeleton with his sword before him but from the platform he heard Draxius raise his voice in another incantation. A screaming missile flew from the tiefling’s hand and behind him, Lavren heard Telkya cry out. As he looked back he saw a a small, glowing skull strike his wife in the side and then burst into a pool of black shadow. With an inarticulate roar, Lavren rushed at the skeleton that blocked his way to Draxius, his blade leading his charge.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 25 - The Palace of Bones (Part 2)

Erlmoor saw the fireball burst around Lavren and Telkya and searched the upper platforms for the new enemy that had unleashed the spell. He saw almost at once a glowing, flame-wreathed skull floating above the right-hand platform and another on the left platform.
“There are more enemies on the platforms,” he called out to the others and then lashed his blade into the leg of the skeleton before him.

Thunder clapped as blade struck bone and the skeleton lurched back and away from its enemies. Behind the dragonborn, Enlishia’s bow sang out and two arrows flew past the skeleton while from Gendar’s stave, lightning arced out and struck the skeleton, forcing it backwards. Rendil leapt after the skeleton and lashed his blade into its leg, shattering it, and the skeleton collapsed into a heap of lifeless bones. Rendil rushed ahead of Erlmoor to attack the last skeleton and as he did, another amber orb flew down, this one from the left platform. Erlmoor flung himself forward and felt the flames burn his back as the fireball burst. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that Gendar’s robes were alight and the drow’s face was horribly blistered and burned. The dark elf groaned once and then slumped lifeless in the grip of the skeletal arms.

Lavren ducked under another of the skeleton’s swings and retreated toward Telkya but as he did a bolt of flame struck the floor next to Telkya. He looked up and saw the flameskull on the platform to his right. He looked back to Telkya just as she finally wriggled free of the skeletal arms of the rack and leapt past him toward Erlmoor. The skeleton smashed down its club just behind the elf maid and then she raised her amulet and hurled a bolt of divine fire into the creature’s chest. It staggered back a step and then lashed out with its club, smashing the weapon into Lavren’s chest and throwing him back toward the rack. Draxius hurled another screaming skull missile at Erlmoor that struck the dragonborn in the shoulder but the paladin roared his defiant response and charged the last skeleton. Enlishia’s bow sang out as she came forward behind the dragonborn and two arrows drove through the creature’s skull. The skeleton’s head shattered into shards of bone and the creature collapsed as the others had done.

Rendil leapt forward over the bones of the fallen skeleton and looked around to see that the others followed him. Lavren suddenly vanished into a black mantle of shadow and as the halfling looked around, he reappeared beyond the next set of bone pillars, close to the stairs. He raised his wand and loosed a bolt of black, crackling energy at Draxius that struck the tiefling in the chest and forced it back a step. Rendil rushed after the elf but he had barely gone two steps when arms from the pillars in front of him reached out and seized him, tearing at his flesh and crushing him. He cried out and looked back at his companions, who had no choice but to follow. Then he looked back toward Lavren, who stood alone against Draxius as bolts of flame flew from the flaming skulls on the platforms. One struck the elf and sent him lurching to the right while another struck the floor near his feet. Telkya rushed past Rendil and for a moment, the halfling thought that she might pass the columns and reach her husband but then the skeletal arms reached out and seized her, trapping her as Rendil had been trapped. Draxius hurled a screaming skull that struck the elf maid in the chesty and with a cry, she fell back into the crushing embrace of the bone pillar.

Erlmoor roared and rushed at the pillars, hoping to force his way through. An arm reached out for him but he shoved it aside and thought for a moment that he would pass between the horrible columns. Then, just as he thought he would escape, an arm seized his leg and dragged him to his left where another reached out to tear at his flesh. Roaring, he sank back toward the pillar and then began to struggle to free himself. Behind him, he heard Enlishia’s bow sing and on the platform, an arrow drove into Draxius’ leg. Another struck the bone archway behind him and the tiefling roared in anger and pain. Lavren cursed at the tiefling and another black bolt struck him in the chest, throwing him back another step. Again, Draxius roared in anger at his enemies. Erlmoor wondered how long the elf could last alone against the flameskulls and their master but then Rendil appeared in a shower of light next to the elf, his blade held high before him. Even as the dragonborn wondered at the halfling’s power, Rendil vanished again, becoming a bolt of lightning that lanced up from the floor to the left platform. There, the halfling appeared next to one of the flameskulls and lashed out with his blade which was wreathed in lightning. He struck at the skull, sending it spinning back and away and then he became lightning again, arcing across to the central platform and slashing his blade at Draxius. The tiefling leapt back and avoided Rendil’s sword but before he could react further, the halfling was gone, transformed to lightning again that arced back toward the left platform where he reappeared, between the flameskull and the tiefling. A bolt of flame seared from the flameskull’s mouth and struck the halfling, sending him reeling and then another bolt from the other skull creature struck him. Again the halfling vanished, appearing next to the first flameskull on the left platform with his blade in his hands. Erlmoor smiled to himself at Rendil’s prowess and then roared as he strained to pull free from the skeletal bonds that held him.

Lavren looked up at Draxius as Rendil danced back and forth across the platforms and could not help admire the magical prowess of the halfling. He had seen swordmages in training when he was growing up but never had he seen one in battle and he could not help but be impressed. Rendil must surely be a true-hearted halfling to have been taught such sacred Art. As the halfling appeared beside the flameskull, Lavren looked up at Draxius. Angrily, the tiefling lashed out with his right hand and hurled another screaming skull missile toward the elf. Lavren leapt to his right and then spoke his own incantation of travel. He vanished into a cloud of shadowy darkness for a moment and then reappeared on the central platform a few feet from Draxius. Lavren lashed out with the wand in his left hand and spoke a curse that would assail the tiefling with nightmarish dreams. As the elf completed the curse, Draxius reached up to his head and grasped at it, tearing at his own flesh. He staggered back along the platform toward where Rendil battled the flameskull. An arrow and then a second thudded into the tiefling’s side and again he cried out in anger and pain. Rendil lashed out with his sword and struck the flameskull again, forcing it back toward its master and Draxius looked around, desperately seeking his undead allies to save him from defeat.

Erlmoor watched the battle on the platforms as he struggled to free himself and decided that despite Draxius’ desperation, his friends needed his help. He roared and struggled against the bones that surrounded him again but could not break free. A bolt of flame flashed across in front of him and struck Telkya, throwing her back into the bony embrace of the pillar. They had to kill Draxius and free Telkya and Gendar, the dragonborn knew. He had to escape from the bones. With one last effort, he strained against the bones as Draxius hurled another screaming skull past Lavren. Then, the bones around Erlmoor snapped and he began to rush forward. He paused to reach over and touch Telkya’s arm, sending healing power into the elf maid and then he ran on toward the steps up to the platform. Arms and hands grasped at him from the stairs as he started up them but he strode through them and reached the platform to stand beside Lavren.
“You die now, Draxius,” Erlmoor roared at the tiefling.
“Better death than this eternal torment,” Draxius answered.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 25 - The Palace of Bones (Part 3)

Enlishia raised her bow and aimed at Draxius again before letting fly an arrow. As the shaft drove into the tiefling’s leg, she nocked another arrow to her bow, aimed again and fired. The second arrow drove into Draxius’ hip and threw him toward the back wall of the chamber. She looked back toward Gendar who lay helpless and dying in the grasp of the bone hands. She heard more of the dark elf’s ribs crack and knew that they had to free him quickly for if he was not already dead, then he would be soon. She turned back toward the platform and drew another arrow as hands reached up from the platform to seize Lavren. The elf raised his wand anyway and called out an incantation that summoned unseen wolves to snap at Draxius. The tiefling leapt away from the snapping teeth of the creatures toward the flameskull and Enlishia saw that Rendil was also restrained by hands that had grabbed his legs. Still he lashed out with his sword and loosed a rope of lightning that lashed around the flameskull and dragged it back within reach of his blade. As the lightning dissipated, the skull drifted away and turned to loose a bolt of flame from its mouth that struck the halfling in the chest and left him reeling where he stood. Another bolt flashed across from the opposite platform and struck Lavren in the back, sending him lurching forward. At that moment, Telkya broke free of the skeletal arms that held her and rushed toward the platforms. She raised her amulet and hurled a bolt of light into the side of the flameskull that sent it reeling toward Draxius. The tiefling shrieked and then lashed out with its left hand toward Erlmoor, sending a screaming skull flashing out to strike the dragonborn in the chest. The paladin staggered back and then roared his own response as he charged the tiefling.

Erlmoor felt a fierce rage within him as he started toward the tiefling but then he felt familiar, bony fingers grasp his legs and dig into his flesh. He staggered and almost fell as the hands brought him to a sudden stop but still he lashed out with his sword, shouting a prayer as he did. Ribbons of light burst from his sword and tore across the gap between the platforms to strike the flameskull. The creature reeled back in the air and then exploded into shards of bone. From his left, Erlmoor heard Enlishia’s bow sing again and again and two more arrows drove into Draxius’ wounded body. A blast of energy crackled past the dragonborn to strike the tiefling in the chest and then lightning burst from Rendil’s sword again to wrap around Draxius and drag him toward the halfling. Beside Erlmoor, Lavren lurched forward as another bolt of flame from the remaining flameskull struck him but then Erlmoor heard Telkya’s voice raised in prayer and knew that she was coming to their aid. Erlmoor roared his defiance again but as he did, Draxius turned toward him and held both hands out toward him and shouted a spell. Suddenly, a storm of freezing white engulfed Erlmoor and Lavren as howling spirits burst from the bone platform. The dragonborn felt his limbs go numb and as he looked, ice began to limn the face of the elf who stood beside him. Lavren’s knees gave way and he collapsed amongst the bones and a moment later, Erlmoor fell beside him.

Rendil saw Erlmoor and Lavren fall and knew that the battle had become desperate. He lashed out with his sword, uttering a spell as he did, and a wall of fire leapt from the bone platform to engulf Draxius. A bolt fo flame flashed across from the other platform and struck him in the side, throwing him to his left into the wall of the chamber. The halfling cursed and raised his blade again, looking down at Telkya in some forlorn hope that she could provide enough help to win victory. Sure enough the elf maid was chanting a prayer, amulet and sword in hand and as it reached its end, Erlmoor seemed to stir on the central platform. The halfling looked back toward Draxius and found that the tiefling was laughing at the flames that surrounded him.
“You think that fire can harm me, after all that I have suffered here,” the tiefling snarled. “They called me a tyrant and a conqueror and yet all I ever did was hold onto the throne.”
“They would not have imprisoned you if you did not deserve it,” Rendil shouted back.
“Oh, I did deserve it,” the tiefling answered, looking strangely sad for a moment. “For I kept the throne by killing my own sons.”

At that, Draxius lashed out with his left hand and hurled a screaming skull toward Rendil. The halfling ducked to the left and the missile flew past while the tiefling renewed his mocking laughter. Behind his enemy, Rendil saw movement and with a wave of relief, he saw Erlmoor rise to his feet and rush at Draxius. The dragonborn lashed his blade across the tiefling’s back and then reversed the swing to lash it into Draxius’ side. The tiefling reeled away and as he did, an arrow drove into his chest. He gasped and staggered back and then a second arrow drove into his throat, piercing it from the front to the back. The tiefling let out a strangled gasp and then collapsed to the bone platform.

The bone hands released their grasp of Lavren and Gendar in the moment that Draxius died, falling lifeless to the structures that had given them movement. Rendil rushed past Erlmoor toward the last flameskull and as he did, it unleashed fire from his mouth that struck him in the shoulder and spun him toward the wall. Telkya rushed up the steps to kneel beside Lavren and began chanting a healing prayer over his wounded body. Erlmoor, meanwhile, rushed after Rendil and Enlishia came forward across the floor, loosing arrows as she came. Moments later, Lavren rose beside his wife and began loosing bolts of black energy at the floating skull and from Rendil’s blade, lightning lashed out to drag the flameskull toward the halfling. It tried desperately to retreat, loosing flame wildly but it fell quickly to Erlmoor’s blade and Enlishia’s arrows.

Enlishia rushed over to Gendar as soon as the skull shattered but as she reached the drow’s body, she knew that there was nothing she could do for him. Looking up at the others, she shook her head grimly and they bowed their in response. Together, they made a funeral pyre for the drow atop the bone platform, hoping that flames would consume the entirety of the dark place. As they set the pyre alight and made ready to leave, Lavren took Draxius’ cloak from his shoulders.
“He looks younger than the image we have seen,” the elf said to the others.
“He is younger,” Vyrellis said from the orb at Lavren’s belt. “Younger even than when I met him.”
“Then that is why we are not free,” Telkya said. “He is not beaten.”
“He is but another shard, of which there were three,” Vyrellis answered.
“Then the real Draxius is…..,” Lavren said.
“At the top of the stairs we passed,” Enlishia finished.

Grimly, the companions left the chamber and made their way back toward the stairs.

Next......The Last Stand of Draxius

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 26 - The Last Stand of Draxius (Part 1)

“He said he had killed his sons?” Enlishia said once the companions had made camp at the top of the stairs before an ornate door that had three locks. The companions had already decided that the three keys they had recovered in the pyramid would likely open the locks but their efforts had so far not been rewarded.
“He did,” Rendil confirmed.
“He did not kill my son,” Vyrellis snapped. “Bryntarth was far from here when we were imprisoned but the true Draxius was an evil man and doubtless killed many. We should go on and vanquish him as quickly as we may.”
“But we need rest before we do,” Telkya said. “And I would know more of who we have defeated in the levels below. Two there have been that were called Galaghard and the last who we presume to be Draxius and yet he was younger.”
“Those you have met, I know not,” said Rendil. “But Galaghard the First ruled for thirty four years from the end of the fifth century of the Dalereckoning and into the sixth. His son became Galaghard the Second in 514DR and ruled for forty years. There was a rebellion by three of Galaghard’s sons late in his reign and they were put to death. His surviving son, Draxius, became king on his father’s death. I do not see how, if that tiefling was once Draxius, he could claim to have killed his sons and be paying for it.”
“He is a madman now,” Vyrellis said. “And as I have told you, we must defeat him as soon as we can.”

The others settled down to rest then with two of their number on watch and puzzling at the locks in the door at the top of the stairs. At long last, after several hours, Telkya saw the order in which the keys were to be put into the locks. Once the others were ready, she and Erlmoor stepped up to the locks and inserted each key and turned it. Slowly, the ornate door swung open onto another staircase that led higher up into the pyramid. Erlmoor and Rendil raised their swords and started up the steps with the others behind them. At the top of the stairs, they opened into a narrow hallway with three sets of double doors leading off it, one set to the left, one set to the right and another set across the hallway. Suddenly, a resounding voice was heard from beyond the doors, as though one person was speaking from a multitude of mouths.
“Who dares invade out sanctuary?” the voice boomed.

Enlishia moved forward first, making her way to the nearest, left-hand doors and pushing them open. She raised her bow as the portals swung open and there, before her was a square room dominated by a wide, black pillar. Beside the pillar stood Draxius, in the form that he had appeared to the companions throughout their journey through the pyramid. The ranger raised her bow but then she realised that another Draxius stood to the right of the pillar. She drew back her bowstring and let fly an arrow at one of the tieflings, the shaft driving through its neck and felling it. She turned her bow on the other, an arrow already nocked to the string and fired. The second arrow drove through the chest of the second tiefling and he too, fell back and collapsed on the floor of the room, apparently dead.
“Something is not right here,” she said to the others and Erlmoor, who stood in the doorway, nodded his agreement.

To the right, the doors at the far end of the hallway opened and there stood another Draxius, clad in dark robes as the others had been. It lashed out with one of its hands and hurled a bolt of silver energy that struck Rendil in the side and hurled him into Erlmoor. Telkya stepped into the corridor and raised her amulet, sending a bolt of light toward the tiefling that flew past it and into the room beyond. A moment later, another Draxius appeared beside the first and hurled a bolt of force into Telkya’s chest that threw her back toward the others. Another tiefling came past the first two and entered the corridor, throwing out its hand to loose another bolt of force that struck Telkya on the shoulder and drove her back another two steps. The tiefling raised both its hands then and from them erupted a blast of icy frost that tore down the corridor and engulfed the companions. They staggered back as the cold tore at their faces and hands and then felt their limbs weaken and numb. Another tiefling moved past the first three and entered corridor, raised its hand and hurled another silver bolt. This missile drove into Rendil’s side and flung him into Erlmoor again. Another bolt struck the doorframe beside the dragonborn and as he looked round, Erlmoor realised that more tieflings were coming from the chamber of the black pillar. The companions were surrounded.

Lavren ducked back into the stairwell as the frost seared past but then he leapt out to stand beside his wife. He raised his wand and shouted out a curse that sent purple bolts lancing toward the two nearest tieflings. One struck the wall next to its target but the other tore through the chest of the tiefling and flung it to the floor. The elf looked back over his shoulder and saw Erlmoor put down his sword with sluggish arms and draw his sling. He spun the weapon around his head and loosed a stone into the tiefling in the pillar chamber that shattered its face and felled it. Rendil struggled against the cold for a few moments and then started forward to aid Lavren and Telkya. Meanwhile, Enlishia loosed more arrows into the pillar chamber where Lavren presumed more tieflings lurked. A silver bolt flashed past Lavren and struck the wall behind him forcing the elf to turn his attention back to the foes before him. Beside him, Telkya raised her amulet and loosed a bolt of light that struck down another tiefling. Another took its place, hurling a silver bolt of force that spun Telkya into the wall and left her reeling and dazed. Then the tiefling raised both of its hands and shouted a spell that unleashed a wave of thunderous sound that tore down the corridor. Lavren felt himself being hurled down the corridor into the doorframe and then into the room beyond. He saw Telkya hit the other side of the door frame and collapse just inside the pillar chamber. He looked back and saw Erlmoor and Enlishia flung into the black pillar which was not solid but a column of malevolent darkness. They disappeared from his sight within it while Rendil reeled beside him. The elf cried out, fearing defeat, and then a bolt of force struck him in the chest, flinging him backwards. He looked down at his wife and felt tears in his eyes as he wondered whether escape from this terrible pyramid was even possible.

Rendil recovered enough of his senses to look around and saw that Telkya had fallen while Enlishia an Erlmoor had vanished into the pillar of blackness behind him. He saw a silver bolt flash past from his right and strike Lavren sending the elf reeling forward toward the other tieflings. Still the elf managed to lash out with his wand, cursing the tieflings and hurling black bolts of energy down the corridor. One tiefling fell and then another but still another stood ready to come forward in place of its companions. Rendil turned away from the corridor and rushed to meet the tiefling that came from his right. He reached the doorway before it and lashed out with his blade, green flame limning it as he spoke an incantation. The sword clove into the tiefling’s side and it fell to its left into the wall before collapsing on the floor. Then, as Rendil looked up, he realised that he had found the source of the pyramid’s power. A wide chamber lay open before him with a runic circle engraved in the floor around a step pyramid dais that dominated the centre of the room. To his left, the halfling saw two black plinths while flanking the step pyramid were two crackling white orbs of energy. On the lowest step of the dais stood another tiefling wearing the same robes as the others had but this one exuded raw power. In one hand he held a staff and in the other an ornate, leather-bound tome. The tiefling looked toward the halfling and Rendil felt real fear. This was the true Draxius. A moment after the realisation struck Rendil, a silver bolt struck him in the side and he reeled back into the chamber from which he had come.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 26 - The Last Stand of Draxius (Part 2)

Enlishia recovered from the terrible blast of thunder but thought for a moment that she had not. She saw only darkness around her and felt a terrible cold. Then she felt something solid next to her feet and, reaching down, she realised that Erlmoor lay there. Grabbing the dragonborn by his arm, she started back the way she thought she had been thrown from and pulled Erlmoor with her. The light was dazzling as she emerged into the torch-lit chamber around the black pillar but she was pleased to see that her companions faught on, at least Lavren and Rendil did. Another silver bolt struck Lavren in the chest as she dragged Erlmoor forward and the elf reeled backwards. Realising she had to help as best she could, Enlishia raised her bow and fired, sending an arrow through the throat of the tiefling and felling it. Erlmoor knelt beside Erlmoor, searching for the healing potion she knew he carried but as she knelt, flame burst in the doorway ahead of her and Rendil was thrown back into the room to lie unmoving on the floor. Enlishia began to search more frantically as Lavren crossed to the doorway to hold off whatever enemies remained. The elf began hurling bolts of black energy into the chamber beyond the doors but within a few moments, he staggered back as a silver bolt of force struck him in the chest.
“We have no time, hurry!” he called back to Enlishia and the ranger searched more frantically.

At last, she pulled the bottle from Erlmoor’s belt pouch and, holding open the dragonborn’s mouth, she poured the healing draft down his throat. He coughed for a moment and then opened his eyes. Enlishia smiled at her old friend and then pointed toward Telkya.
“You have to help her,” she said. “Only the elf maid’s healing prayers can save us now.”

Fire burst in the doorway, throwing Lavren back into the room and for a moment it seemed as if the elf wound fall. Somehow, he kept his legs beneath him and retreated into the room, leaving Rendil’s fallen form just inside the doorway. Behind the elf, Erlmoor rose and reached down toward Telkya. Golden light flowed from his hand to the elf maid and her eyes opened. The dragonborn looked back toward the doorway and saw that Rendil was stirring but as though it did not notice, a tiefling strode into the room. It lashed out with its hand and flung a bolt of silver into Lavren, driving the elf back but still, somehow, the elf did not fall. Enlishia leapt to her feet and moved past Erlmoor, raising her bow as she came. She loosed an arrow as she reached Lavren and the tiefling fell beside Rendil.
Behind the others, Telkya began chanting healing prayers, laying her hands on Erlmoor and Lavren to restore their strength. The two smiled, hopeful now of continuing the battle but as they raised their blades, Draxius, the true Draxius, appeared in the doorway. The tiefling stepped over Rendil’s fallen form and strode toward the companions.
“I am Galaghard the First, I am Galaghard the Second, and I am Draxius the Neverdying, all of us Kings of Cormyr” the tiefling said. “You can never defeat me.”

Draxius lashed out with his stave and flames exploded amongst the friends, throwing Telkya to the floor and forcing the others to throw up their arms to protect themselves. When the flames had cleared, Telkya lay on the floor next to the pillar of darkness and Lavren and Erlmoor were burned and wounded. Still Lavren raised his wand and hurled a bolt of black energy into the tiefling that forced him back a step. Erlmoor rushed at Draxius and lashed out with his blade, cleaving it into the tiefling’s side and forcing him back toward the doorway.
“You are not Galaghard,” Vyrellis screamed from behind the dragonborn. “You are Draxius, my husband, and you betrayed me!”
“I was born Galaghard and took the name of my son who I had named after me when he died,” Draxius hissed as he retreated from Erlmoor. “Thus I became Galaghard, son of Galaghard, and then, when my sons betrayed me, I became Draxius, my third son, and ruled for centuries in his name.”

Rendil rose behind the tiefling unseen and plunged his blade into Draxius’ back. The tiefling cried out and spun on the spot but then Enlishia’s bow sang out and two arrows drove into his side, forcing him to stagger to his left. Draxius threw down his book and lashed out with a dagger he drew from his belt, nicking Rendil’s cheek and then tried to retreat through the doorway. Another black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck the tiefling in the chest and as he staggered, Erlmoor rushed at him, his blade singing out and driving down into his shoulder. Healing energy burst from the blade as it struck and on the floor behind the dragonborn, Telkya’s eyes flicked open. Rendil darted to his right to block Draxius’ retreat and lashed out with his own flame-wreathed sword. An arrow struck the doorframe next to Draxius and then another drove into his shoulder but as he staggered back, he realised he had nowhere to go.

Telkya appeared in a shower of light motes beyond the black pillar and then called down a column of light that would sear the tiefling’s flesh but at the last, he leapt aside, lashing out at Rendil again with his dagger. Rendil ducked back to avoid the blade and Lavren came forward, a black blast of energy bursting from his wand as he came. It struck the doorframe beside the tiefling as he retreated but once more, Erlmoor followed him. The dragonborn’s sword sang out and clove into Draxius’ hip, slamming him into the doorframe. The tiefling cried out in pain and anger but he knew that he was beaten.
“I was King of Cormyr for four centuries,” Draxius cried out. “I built what my sons and their sons inherited.”
“You were a tyrant and a warmonger!” Vyrellis cried back. “You deserve the damnation that awaits you!”

Again, Rendil moved to block the tiefling’s retreat and then Enlishia’s bow sang out. An arrow drove into Draxius’ chest and as he lurched back, another flew forth, piercing his throat just below his jaw. The tiefling’s mouth fell open in disbelief and he took one last step back toward Rendil before falling to his knees.
“I did love you, Vyrellis,” Draxius gasped.
“I know you did,” Vyrellis answered and then the tiefling that was once King of Cormyr fell forward onto the floor and died.

All at once, the floor beneath the feet of the companions began to shake and the strange devices around the pyramid dais began to rumble and hum. Even as the light around them pulsed in bright flashes, all who stood there noticed the steadily brightening light of day filtering in through the walls of the room. Slowly, the forest outside took shape in their sight and after a moment, the walls of the room vanished and a cool breeze wafted across the friends’ skin. Draxius and the pyramid were gone. They were free.

Next......Epilogue

 

[Medriev]

Epilogue - The Road Ahead

Telkya looked around the camp that the companions had made in the forest and then back toward the clearing that they had come from. Other prisoners were fleeing the pyramid now and the forest was alive with strange voices and the sounds of distant battle. Heavy rain had begun to fall a short time after the companions had made their camp and now they sheltered under the roots of a huge and ancient tree.
“Then part of Cormyr’s history is a lie,” Telkya said. “Three kings were one man and a dark-hearted tiefling at that.”
“He was not always dark-hearted,” Erlmoor said. “Vyrellis has told us that. Perhaps the centuries weighed heavily on him and twisted his mind into what he became.”
“And now we have vanquished him,” Rendil spoke up. “Is it time to go after Paldemar now.”
“Not yet,” Telkya answered. “We go first to Sunset Hill to tell them there of Thorn’s sacrifice and to see if the threats on the map are real or just ambitious plans.”
“The Trollhaunt to the south of the forest has been quiet for many years,” Rendil said. “I doubt if Paldemar found goblins enough to raid a farmstead there, let alone trolls. We need to be on his trail as quickly as we can lest we lose him in the Underdark.”
“We know where he is likely going,” Enlishia said. “He can wait for now. We must protect Cormyr above ground before we pursue the Red Wizard beneath it.”
“Agreed,” rumbled Erlmoor, and the others heeded his words for they looked to him as their new leader. “Above all we defend Cormyr before we pursue our own enemies.”

The others nodded agreement with their leader and then looked out beyond the dripping roots into the darkness of the forest where the shouts and cries and sounds of battle went on. The pyramid had loosed some dangerous creatures into the Hullack Forest that would harry travellers for months to come. Whatever they found in Sunset Hill, all knew that Cormyr had become a darker place and could yet become darker still.