Medriev's FR Pyramid of Shadows - Concluded Nov 1

[Medriev]

Chapter 3 - The Clearing in the Forest (Part 1)

It was Greengrass, the first day of spring when Paldemar’s map finally led the companions to a clearing deep within the southern Hullack Forest. The dense forest had suddenly parted to reveal a large clearing, perhaps fifty feet across, with a small tumble of rocks at the centre. Something about the clearing did not feel right to the companions, as though the sounds of the forest refused to enter the clearing and the air around them felt strange and tingling. The companions surveyed the grove, seeking any sign of the great power that Paldemar had been seeking here. At the same time, the brooding silence oppressed them as though promising that something was about to happen. Suddenly, something did happen.

From the trees around and across the grove, burst several figures, three men and two dwarves. One of the men crossed in front of the group and spun to hurl a dagger at Dulvarna that flew just past her head. The second man hurled a dagger at Enlishia that flew past her and struck the trunk of a tree behind her. A large red drake with a frill of spikes and skin around its neck surged forth from the far side of the clearing and rushed towards the companions.

A hammer thudded against the back of Erlmoor’s shoulder and pitched him forward a step. Enlishia ducked as another dwarf hammer spun in from the right towards her head. It flew over her and behind Dulvarna to smash into a rock at the northern edge of the clearing. Another hammer was hurled in from the front and struck Dulvarna’s breastplate, slamming her back a step. She drew her sword and charged to meet the dwarf that had thrown the hammer at her. Her blade sang out and slashed a wound across the dwarf’s shoulder, spinning him away from her. A dagger thudded into her right leg, hurled by one of the men forcing Dulvarna to stagger back and drawing a curse from her lips.

Erlmoor roared and turned to his right, charging at the nearest dwarf. He slashed out with his sword and nicked the dwarf’s forearm as he fell back before him. The dragonborn looked up as Dulvarna cried out again and saw that another dagger had nicked her cheek. He saw Enlishia raise her bow and knew that the attacks would be answered. Two arrows flew forth quickly and drove into the shoulder and leg of one of the men. Dulvarna rallied but then the drake surged into the battle and drove her back another two steps.

Telkya raised her amulet and loosed a bolt of light into one of the dwarves in front of Erlmoor, wounding the stout warrior in the shoulder and halting his advance for a moment. Litiraan hurled a silver bolt into the same dwarf and then Lavren sent a blast of black energy past the dwarf’s head. Both dwarves roared fiercely and pulled larger warhammers from their belts. Erlmoor met them with his blade, parrying left and right to keep the metal-headed hammers at bay. He roared his defiance back at the dwarves and then, as each refused to give ground, a furious battle ensued.

Dulvarna fell back before the fierce enemies she faced, keeping the drake at bay and stabbing her sword at the dwarf as the warrior reached for the hammer at his belt. The two men seemed to decide that she was already beaten and rushed past the drake to charge at Enlishia. The first reached the ranger quickly, drawing a mace from his belt as he ran. He lashed out with the weapon and struck Enlishia’s forearm as she tried to defend herself. The second man came in at Enlishia and lashed his mace into her side, sending her spinning away from him. Finally, Enlishia managed to leap back and raise her bow, loosing two arrows into one of the men and holding him at bay for a moment. The man looked down at the arrows protruding from his hip and arm alongside two others that the ranger had earlier driven into him.
“You will die slowly,” the man snarled and started forward again.

Telkya saw the drake seize Dulvarna’s left arm and tear at the flesh before the warrior woman broke free and knew that the battle was already becoming a desperate one. Hurriedly, she summoned a bolt of light from her amulet that lanced out towards the men facing Enlishia but the bolt flew wide and disappeared into the trees on the far side of the clearing. Litiraan retreated from the men to stand beside his sister and hurled a silver bolt into the side of the wounded man. He staggered and lurched to the left as Lavren raised his wand and sent a black bolt towards the dwarves that Erlmoor battled. Again the man snarled and came forward at Enlishia.

Dulvarna parried desperately as the dwarf lashed his hammer in high towards her chest. She twisted the weapon away and then lashed out wildly, her sword passing over the dwarf’s head. The drake roared and snapped at Dulvarna’s right arm, seizing it in its terrible teeth and threatening to force her to drop her sword. Despite the pain of this second bite, she pulled her arm free in spray of blood and lashed out with her sword to keep her enemies at bay for a little longer.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 3 - The Clearing in the Forest (Part 2)

The vicious man facing Enlishia rushed at her again, lashing out with his mace. The blow struck the side of Enlishia’s head and sent her reeling away in a daze. Still she managed to retreat a few more steps and raise her bow to fire another arrow at the wounded man. The shaft flew just past the man’s head and he snarled derisively in response as he came forward again. A golden bolt from Telkya struck the man in the side then and as he staggered, a silver bolt from Litiraan seared into his chest. The man gasped, staggered, and then fell beside his companion.

Erlmoor roared and sprayed acid onto the dwarves, burning one and sending the other cowering away with his arms over his head. Erlmoor’s blade sang out and glowed brightly as it did but the dwarves recovered and a hammer met the sword in a strong parry. A bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand lanced in and struck the dwarf in front of Erlmoor, throwing him back a step but he snarled in response and came back at the dragonborn. His companion came with him but the hammer blows were clumsy and wild and Erlmoor parried them down into the ground easily. He snarled himself at his enemies and then raised his blade to attack them again.

Dulvarna parried the dwarf’s hammer again and lashed out low with her blade only for her enemy to leap over the swing. She leapt back towards her companions and drew the drake with her. The beast snapped its teeth at her but she swayed back and evaded its dangerous bite before lashing her sword at it to keep it at bay. The creature snarled at her and then came forward anyway.

The remaining man rushed at Enlishia and lashed out with his mace to strike her shoulder with a painful crack. She cried out and fell back past a tree, raising her bow as she did so. She loosed an arrow but it flew wide of the man and then nocked another. She took aim and let fly, this arrow nicking the man’s cheek before flying past him. The man smiled at Enlishia and started forward but as he did, a golden bolt of light flew past his face. He paused and looked to the right to where Telkya, Lavren and Litiraan stood. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand slammed into his side and sent him lurching to the left and he turned his attention fully on the three spellcasters. A bolt of black energy from Lavren’s wand streaked past the man’s shoulder and he snarled as his companion had.
“The elf lords will die quickly,” he sneered. “But my friends and me will take our time with the women and the elf maid.”

The dwarves surged at Erlmoor and Dulvarna, the dragonborn suffering a glancing blow to his arm but Dulvarna proving to be less fortunate. Her enemy rushed at her and lashed out with his hammer to strike her left hip hard and send her staggering to the right. She slashed out with her blade at the drake and drew blood from the side of its face as she retreated again toward her companions. The drake roared and leapt after her, seizing her right leg in its jaws and trying to drag her down. She fell back, tearing her flesh as she did so and limped away, bleeding heavily and sorely wounded. Looking back to her companions, she realised that they were also hard pressed. She only hoped that if she fell here, that these were servants of Paldemar and that some would die before she did.

The man rushed at Enlishia again, lashing out with his mace and striking her wounded left shoulder again. The ranger cried out but still she managed to retreat from the man and gather her strength as she drew back her bowstring. She loosed the first arrow into the man’s shoulder but still he came forward and the second she loosed in a hurry. It flew wide of the man and drove into the grass of the clearing close to where the drake stood. Telkya raised her voice in prayer and brought down a column of light on the man that burned his skin. He staggered and reeled for the first time and as he did, a silver bolt struck his side and sent him lurching to his left. Lavren loosed two purple bolts from his wand, one striking the ground next to the man and the other searing into the chest of the dwarf in front of Erlmoor.
The dwarf staggered back as the bolt struck it and as it did, Erlmoor plunged his blade into his foe’s chest. The dwarf collapsed to the grass of the clearing and died there. The other dwarf came in from Erlmoor’s right and swept its hammer in low. The paladin tried to parry but only deflected the blow lower and it struck his leg painfully above the knee. The dwarf snarled at the dragonborn and Erlmoor responded, showing his own, needle-sharp teeth.

Dulvarna staggered again as the dwarf came forward again and desperately tried to clear her head as the dizziness and nausea assailed her from the pain and blood loss that her wounds were causing her. The dwarf brought his hammer in low and then raised it and somehow, Dulvarna managed to bring her blade down crossways and parry the blow. She leapt back again to try to regain her breath but as she did, she lashed out at the dwarf with her sword. The blade cut across the warrior’s thigh and then nicked the top of the drake’s right foreleg. The drake roared and came forward, seizing Dulvarna’s left arm and shoulder in its jaws and tearing at her flesh. She cried out and smashed the hilt of her sword down on the creature’s snout, forcing it to release its grip. Dulvarna spun away, sorely wounded and bleeding badly again.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 3 - The Clearing in the Forest (Part 3)

Enlishia raised her bow as the man came forward again but this time, it turned to attack Erlmoor from behind. It brought its mace down towards the dragonborn’s head but the paladin, sensing the attack, twisted aside and turned his back towards the woods to battle both of his enemies. Erlmoor chanted a prayer and lashed out at the dwarf to his right. The dwarf parried the paladin’s blade and a loud thunderclap resounded around the clearing. Enlishia raised her bow and aimed at the man as his lips twisted into a snarl again. She let fly with the first arrow and then a second, both driving into the man’s belly and driving him back. Still the man tried to snarl at the ranger but before he could, Telkya raised her amulet, uttered a prayer and let forth a golden bolt. The searing light drove into the side of the man’s chest and flung him to the blood-stained grass of the clearing. He did not get up.

Litiraan raised his wand and hurled a silver bolt of force into the shoulder of the dwarf as it came forward beside the drake. Beside him, Lavren cursed the drake and hurled black energy into the drake’s chest as it snapped at Dulvarna and for a moment it retreated a step, fearful of the warlock. Dulvarna surged toward the drake with all her strength, knowing that this may be the last blow she was able to land. Her blade sang out and struck the beast on the shoulder, gouging a deep wound and causing the drake to rear back. Dulvarna leapt away from the creature but quickly, too quickly, it came back at her.

The dwarf before Erlmoor came at him fiercely as its companion fell, lashing out with its hammer and striking Erlmoor on the right hip. The dragonborn lurched to his left and roared in pain and anger. He turned towards the dwarf and lashed out with his blade to keep his foe at bay. Enlishia turned towards the dwarf then, raising her bow and letting fly with one arrow and then a second. One flew wide but the other drove into the dwarf’s shoulder and forced it back from Erlmoor, giving the dragonborn a few moments to regain his breath.

The drake lunged at Dulvarna in a fierce rage and snapped at her but the warrior stepped back and evaded its bite. Behind her, Telkya began to pray and as the prayer ended, a golden light washed over Dulvarna healing the worst of her hurts and restoring some of her strength. Litiraan loosed another silver bolt into the dwarf and again, Lavren cursed the drake, hurling a blast of black energy into the creature that sent it rearing back away from its enemies. Dulvarna surged forward and as she did, the dwarf came to meet her. Its hammer lashed out but with her newly restored strength, Dulvarna brought her blade down to her left and parried the blow. The dwarf snarled and Dulvarna snarled back, knowing that thanks to Telkya’s healing prayer, the battle was turning.

Erlmoor parried the dwarf’s hammer as the he brought it over his head to slam it into the dragonborn’s chest. He, too, snarled at his foe and pushed him away before lashing out with his blade as he chanted a prayer. The blade glowed brightly but the dwarf brought his hammer up and parried the heavy blow above his head. For a moment, the stout warrior smiled but then two arrows flew past him one after the other and reminded him of the perilous situation he was truly in.

Dulvarna lashed her blade across the chest of the dwarf and drove it on into the flank of the drake. The beast roared and lunged at her with its huge jaws only to snap them shut on empty air in front of the warrior woman. Telkya moved out of the trees to stand beside Lavren and held up her amulet, loosing a golden bolt of light towards the drake. The bolt seared along the creature’s left side and drew another roar of pain from it. Litiraan raised his wand and loosed silver bolt that flew past the dwarf and Lavren’s bolt of black energy also flew past the drake. Both cursed, and as they did so, the dwarf and the drake came forward for one last attack.

The dwarf Erlmoor faced rushed at him as well, sweeping its hammer in low and striking the side of the dragonborn’s leg. He staggered to the left as his leg gave way and nearly fell but as he did, he lashed out with his sword and cut deep into the dwarf’s right shoulder. The dwarf spun away and Enlishia raised her bow and let fly an arrow. The shaft drove into the dwarf’s chest, forcing him to stagger back. Enlishia raised her bow again, took aim, and let fly, this shaft driving through the dwarf’s throat. With a gasp, he fell beside his companion.

The dwarf came fiercely at Dulvarna, smashing his hammer over arm onto her left shoulder while trying to slam his shield into her face. She fell back before the shield punch but felt the shoulder blow send needles of pain down her arm. She lashed out with her blade and cut open the dwarf’s throat, felling him beside the drake. Continuing her swing, she drove her blade into the beast’s flank. It roared and snapped at her again but she dodged back and as she did, Telkya loosed a bolt of divine fire into its flank. It staggered and as it did, Litiraan stepped forward and raised his wand. He uttered a spell and hurled a silver bolt of energy into the creature’s head. The bolt seared through and burst out of the back of the drake’s skull. The beast’s mouth opened as its last breath escaped and it collapsed onto the blood-stained grass.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 3 - The Clearing in the Forest (Part 4)

The companions had barely tended their wounds when suddenly, as they looked up, a figure appeared in the centre of the clearing – a ghost perhaps, an insubstantial vision of a male tiefling draped in robes.
“Greetings travellers,” the image said. “What do you seek in the Pyramid of Shadows?”
“We seek those who have come here seeking power,” answered Enlishia. “We seek the Lost King.”
“We are the protector of the forest ruins, a place sacred to Mielikki in the distant past,” answered the image. “If the Lost King brings you to this place then you will find him in the Pyramid. Enter the pyramid and all will be revealed.”

As suddenly as it had arrived, the image vanished but as it did, the companions noticed a glowing light at the centre of the clearing amongst the tumbled stones. Erlmoor rose from the grass where he had been binding his wounds and started towards it.
“It is a small, glowing pyramid,” he called to the others. “Covered with markings that I cannot read.”
“Perhaps that is the way in,” Enlishia said, rising and making her way over to where the dragonborn stood.

The others followed and as he reached it, Lavren knelt beside the pyramid and reached out to touch it. The small pyramid suddenly expanded leaving the companions unable to tell whether they were shrinking or it was growing. It filled the clearing around them nonetheless and they were immersed in darkness. The voice of the tiefling came to them one last time.
“Welcome to the Pyramid of Shadows,” it said. “The only way to win your freedom is to kill us – three times.”

His mocking laughter followed, taunting the companions and then fading away as light returned and a tremendous stench assailed the group, suggesting that they had left the forest behind.

Next....The Pit of Death

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 4 - The Pit of Death (Part 1)

A stench of death and blood assailed each of the companions as they appeared suddenly atop a pile of bodies. Men, women, dwarves, elves, halflings and others, all apparently recently killed but all wearing clothes and armour of an earlier age. The pile of bodies seemed to shift, as though something might be moving beneath it while above them, the adventurers saw a hideous two-headed giant. The huge creature rubbed two blades together with an eager gleam in the eyes of both its horrifying heads.

Enlishia cried out and tried desperately to clamber up the pit wall, only to fall back. She raised her bow instead, then, and levelled it at the two-headed giant. She let fly an arrow quickly only for it to fly wide of the creature and nocked another to her bowstring. This flew straight and true but ricocheted off the creature’s thick, hide armour and clattered into the stone floor of the chamber.

Dulvarna clambered out of the pit and rushed around to face the giant, drawing her blade as she ran. Her blade sang out toward the creature’s die but it brought one of its blades down and parried easily. The giant lashed out backhand with its left arm and slashed the blade into Dulvarna’s left shoulder, spinning her around and tumbling her back into the put to land atop the bodies. It raised its right hand then and brought the vicious blade it held there down onto Dulvarna’s back as she struggled to rise from the pile of corpses. Dulvarna slumped forward but as she did so, a creature more terrible than the giant rose out of the bodies. It was a terrible worm, the size of a horse, with a maw filled with sharp teeth and tentacles protruding from its lower jaw. It snapped at Dulvarna and she leapt back towards Enlishia, trying desperately to evade the horrible creature.

Telkya leapt away from the tentacled creature and tried to clamber out of the pit but she fell back as Enlishia had done. Turning, she drew forth her amulet and loosed a bolt of golden fire into the body of the creature. It shrieked and shrank back from the divine fire but then surged towards her with its horrible tentacles writhing before it. Beside his sister, Litiraan closed his eyes and vanished in a showed of light motes. He appeared beyond the pit against the wall of the chamber and raised his wand toward the giant that he recognised as an ettin. Uttering a spell, he loosed a silver bolt of energy at the creature and smiled with satisfaction as it struck the giant’s shoulder. The ettin staggered back roared in annoyance at the pain.

Another of the tentacled creatures reared out of the corpses next to Lavren and snapped at him but he leapt back clumsily out of the way. Erlmoor tried to climb out of the pit but fell back and instead drew his sword and turned on the nearest tentacled creature. He lashed out with his blade and cut a wound in the creature’s side, drawing another pained screech from the monster. Beside him, Lavren closed his eyes and vanished in a cascade of light motes to reappear on the opposite side of the put from Litiraan. He raised his wand and cursed the nearest tentacled creature before unleashing a bolt of crackling, black energy into the beast’s flank. Again it screeched and again it surged forward, its tentacles questing for fresh prey.
Enlishia clambered out of the pit as one of the tentacled creatures snapped at her legs. She leapt to her feet and turned on the spot with her bow raised. She loosed an arrow into the creature’s head and then retreated from the pit edge as the ettin roared its anger at her.

Dulvarna tried to clamber out of the pit but fell back and spun around with her sword in her hands. Aecris sang out and slashed a deep wound across the creature’s head. It screeched once more and then snapped at her, but Dulvarna ducked back beyond its reach. The ettin roared and brought one of its short blades down onto the stone edge of the pit. The other followed and struck Dulvarna’s right shoulder, sending her reeling back into the pit wall. The nearest pit creature lashed out with its tentacle and struck Dulvarna in the side, slamming her into the pit wall again. As she regained her balance, she felt a growing numbness spreading from the wound and knew that she had been poisoned.

Telkya closed her eyes and concentrated before vanishing into a shower of light. She appeared next to her brother and raised her amulet to loose a bolt of divine fire at the creature in the pit. The bolt struck the bodies next to the creature instead, searing one in half and spilling blood, gore and entrails over the bodies around it. Telkya cried out and Litiraan reached out a comforting hand to his sister’s shoulder. As he pulled back his hand he raised his wand and loosed a silver bolt towards the ettin as it looked for prey in the pit. The bolt seared past the giant and struck the wall next to it drawing a glance from one of the creature’s head but no other reaction.

A tentacle lashed out from one of the creatures and struck Erlmoor on his leg as he stabbed at the other monster. Numbness spread quickly as it had with Dulvarna and he staggered, lurching to his left. He stabbed out at the monster before him, driving his blade into its flesh and drawing another screech from the beast. He stepped back and as he did so, a corpse rose from the mass of bodies to stand before him and lashed out with a backhand to hit him across the face. Erlmoor fell back into the pit wall and raised his blade to fend off the zombie. Lavren saw his friend’s predicament and hurled a bolt of black energy from his wand into the pit towards the nearest of the tentacled creatures. It seared through the monster’s soft flesh and as it did, the creature exploded, spraying Dulvarna and Erlmoor in gore.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 4 - The Pit of Death (Part 2)

Another corpse rose behind Dulvarna and lashed out at her with a fist. She ducked under the blow but as she did, another rose and flailed at her. She ducked back and an arrow drove into each of the zombies sending them falling back amongst the grim pile of corpses. Dulvarna turned and quickly climbed out of the pit to stand for a moment beside Enlishia. Nodding her thanks to the ranger, she rushed along the pit edge and charged the ettin with her blade held high. She brought her sword down overhand and clove it into the ettin’s right shoulder drawing a roar of pain and anger from the giant. It lashed out with one blade and Dulvarna ducked but the second came in low and quickly, driving into her belly and slamming her into the chamber wall. Dulvarna gasped, reached down to the blood that was pouring from the terrible wound that the ettin had inflicted and then let the blackness take her.

Telkya saw Dulvarna fall and began a healing prayer, raising her voice as though she feared that Corellon would not hear her in this dark place. A white light washed over Dulvarna and the warrior’s eyes opened slowly as the bleeding from her belly eased and the wound closed. To her right, she saw Litiraan raise his wand and incant a spell that she had never heard him use before. Lightning burst from his wand and seared across the chamber to strike the ettin first and then two more bolts struck downwards into the pit. One struck the wall of the pit above the remaining tentacled creature while the other blasted into the last zombie. The undead creature was hurled into the pit wall and then collapsed into the pile of bodies.

The tentacled creature reared back as the lightning passed over it and then lunged forward, lashing out a tentacle to strike Erlmoor’s arm. The dragonborn was thrown into the pit wall but despite this and the growing numbness spreading from his wounded arm, he hauled himself out of the pit and moved to stand beside Lavren. Turning, he roared and sprayed acid over the tentacled creature and the ettin. The ettin roared and the tentacled creature screeched as the acid burned both but by then, Erlmoor was already intoning a prayer. Searing ribbons of radiance engulfed the ettin and burned its skin as it staggered and roared again. Erlmoor roared his own response and slowly and deliberately, the ettin turned towards him with its blades raised.

Lavren raised his wand and uttered a curse that sent purple bolts of energy crackling out to strike the ettin and the remaining creature in the pit. The bolts seared into their targets and sent both creatures reeling back as they struck. Across the pit from the warlock, Enlishia raised her bow and fired two arrows quickly, one after the other. One flew at the ettin but bounced harmlessly off the giant’s thick armour but the other drove deep into the flank of the creature in the pit. The tentacled monster screeched again and reared back, driven away from the ranger by the power of the bow shot. As Enlishia raised her bow again to provide some cover, Dulvarna retreated past her friend, pulling strips of cloth from her belt pouch to bind her wounds. She turned in front of Telkya and raised her blade ready for the ettin’s charge that she felt sure would follow. Instead, the ettin raised its blades and rushed at Erlmoor and Lavren.
“It’s head is just what I’ve been missing,” the giant roared as it ambled across the chamber. “Never seen one like it before.”

The ettin reached the dragonborn and though the paladin raised his blade, he knew he was helpless before the giant. Its right blade swept low before he could parry and drove into his side and then the left came overhand, slamming the dragonborn’s sword aside and driving into his right shoulder. Erlmoor spun left into the south wall of the chamber and Lavren was left alone before the monstrous creature.

Telkya saw her husband’s plight but knew that the tentacled creature also needed to be slain. She uttered a prayer and brought a column of light down into the pit but as she did so, the creature started to crawl up the pit’s edge and the searing column of divine fire descended behind the monster. Litiraan strode forward to the edge of the pit and uttered an incantation that unleashed a curtain of fire that filled the pit and seared the back of the ettin. The giant turned one head around to regard the wizard with hateful eyes and growled from that head while the other head continued to stare at Lavren.

“Come here foolish one and taste more fire,” Litiraan called out and the ettin turned but as it did, the tentacled creature crawled from the pit in front of wounded Erlmoor. The dragonborn roared again in defiance but none of the companions thought he could stand long against the monster.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 4 - The Pit of Death (Part 3)

The creature reared and then lunged at Erlmoor with its mouth wide to bite at him. Summoning what strength he had left, he dodged to the right and raised his blade. With a prayer on his lips he swung out with the sword he had taken from Caustrex’s hoard. The blade glowed with golden light and then struck the creature, tearing a gash in its side and sending a surge of divine energy up Erlmoor’s arm to restore a little of his strength.
Having seen the ettin turn away, Lavren raised his wand to aid Erlmoor, uttering a curse that called fire from within the tentacled creature. Fire erupted from the creature’s skin and again it reared and screeched its pain.

Across the pit, Enlishia raised her bow and took careful aim at the creature’s head. She let the arrow fly and the shaft drove into the monster, piercing what passed for its skull and finding what brain that it had. With a final screech, the creature reared one last time and then collapsed on the stone in front of Erlmoor, half in and half out of the pit. The ettin roared from both mouths and started around the pit while Dulvarna raised her blade and rushed to meet the giant.

Dulvarna swung out with Aecris as she reached the ettin but the creature’s heads were too quick for her and a blade met hers a foot from the giant’s flesh. The other blade came in from Dulvarna’s left and slammed into her ribs, pitching her over the edge of the pit and back into the pile of corpses. The ettin raised the blade it had parried with then and brought it down on the warrior woman’s shoulder almost forcing her to her knees amongst the dead.
Telkya raised her symbol of Corellon and with a prayer loosed a searing bolt of blinding light towards the ettin. The ettin moved back for a moment and the bolt of light struck the wall of the chamber beyond the giant. Litiraan raised his wand and hurled a glowing amber orb into the corridor beyond the giant that burst into searing flame. The fire burst forth from the corridor and burned the giant but also exploded into Lavren’s face, forcing the elf to reel backwards as it burned him as well. Lavren glared at Litiraan who nodded an apology to his friend and new kinsman.

Erlmoor retreated beyond the ettin’s reach and circled around the pit towards his companions as he tied a piece of cloth around his wounded arm. The feeling was returning now but he knew that he was not yet ready to face the ettin. Behind him, Lavren cursed the ettin and then summoned his fey power to teleport and vanished in a shower of light motes. Black crackling energy seared into the giant but as the ettin turned one of its heads to look at the warlock, he vanished to reappear next to Erlmoor close to the western edge of the pit. The ettin roared and turned toward the pit as it sought to finish Dulvarna and then deal with the troublesome dragonborn and his elf companion.

Enlishia raised her bow and drew her bow string back as far as it would go as she took aim at the ettin. When she let fly with the arrow, the missile flew straight and true but at the last, the giant’s armour defeated her and the shaft clattered to the stone at the creature’s feet. It roared its annoyance and cast about, seeking Dulvarna amongst the corpses of the charnel pit. Dulvarna saw the giant turn toward her and crossed to the far side of the pit, clambering out of the west side as the ettin raised its blades. The giant roared again in frustration and started around the south side towards Erlmoor and Lavren.

The giant reached Lavren in three strides and lashed out with both blades in quick succession. One blade tore down the elf’s arm while the other slammed into the side, pitching him into the pit atop the bodies. Telkya loosed a bolt of light from her amulet then that struck the south wall of the chamber next to the ettin and she cursed to herself as she saw Lavren floundering amongst the corpses once more. Litiraan raised his wand and loosed a silver bolt into the ettin’s side, drawing the creature’s gaze again. The giant roared but as it did, Erlmoor roared more loudly. The dragonborn charged the giant and with all his strength, he slashed his sword into the creature’s side. The ettin lurched to its left against the wall of the chamber and all but fell.

In the pit, Lavren raised his wand as he saw the ettin weakened and loosed a bolt of black crackling energy that seared into the giant’s hip, throwing it into the wall again. The giant roared and as it did so, Enlishia raised her bow. She loosed one arrow that struck the stone next to the wounded creature but the second flew straight and true, driving into the side of the creature’s right head. The arrow pierced right through the skull of the ettin’s right head and threw it into the left. For a moment, the left head turned its gaze toward the ranger but as it did, the life died in its eyes and the huge creature fell into the wall and slid down to slump in an ungainly fashion against the base of the stone. Its left head slumped forward and it died.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 4 - The Pit of Death (Part 4)

“You out there!” called a voice almost as soon as the ettin was defeated. The voice came from an alcove in the eastern wall of the chamber where several severed heads could be seen hanging.
“We can help each other, I just know it,” called the voice again, recognisable now as female.

The companions rose as one from where they sat tending to their wounds and raised their weapons as they made their way cautiously towards the alcove. As they entered the alcove the voice called out again.
“I am here,” it called. “I can aid you.”
“It’s coming from the sack hanging from that peg,” Lavren said, starting forward.
“Be careful,” Enlishia called to the elf. “I know of nothing good that can speak and yet lurk in a sack. This might be trap.”

Lavren hesitated but then reached up to the peg on which hung the sack. It was the same size as the severed heads that hung elsewhere in the alcove but seemed to hold a spherical object. He put his wand back in his belt and took down the sack, opening it carefully with one hand. Cautiously, he pushed the object up with his other hand until he could see that it was an orb of darkest obsidian that would easily fit into the palm of his hand. As he looked into its inky depths, the severed head of a moon elf princess floated into view and he heard her sing-song voice.
“I am Vyrellis,” the voice said. “And I offer my assistance to whoever carries this orb.”

Lavren looked at the others and as they each shrugged in a bemused way, he took the orb in his right hand and held it up.
“You have been drawn into this prison by its most celebrated inmate,” the voice from the orb said then. “The Lost and Longest King of Cormyr and would-be conqueror. The only way to escape is to destroy that most-hated wizard. But to accomplish such a task, creatures the likes of you will need my help.”

“But Gondegal was never king of Cormyr,” Erlmoor said, puzzled. “Nor was he a wizard, and certainly he was not Cormyr’s longest king.”
“That is because this is not the prison of Gondegal, nor do I know of him,” Vyrellis answered. “It is the eternal prison of Draxius the Neverdying, once King of Cormyr and my husband.”

 

[Medriev]

DM Note - Draxius the Neverdying

For those who wish to know more about Draxius then what little is recorded about him can be found in the Grand History of the Realms.

This will however give some idea of future plot developments in this story hour so if you don't want to spoil the surprises then read on.....

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 5 - Troubled Waters (Part 1)

Only Telkya remembered having read of Draxius in an old tome that had survived the Fall of Myth Drannor.
“He ruled when the City of Song still flourished and it fell six centuries and more ago,” said Telkya. “If he lived until perhaps a hundred years after its fall then it is no wonder that he was called the Neverdying. The tome I read never spoke of him as a tiefling, though.”
“He kept that well hidden, aided by the High Wizards who served him,” answered Vyrellis.

The companions were gathering up their belongings and readying their weapons as they started towards the western passage that led out of the pit chamber. Vyrellis had warned them of ‘terrible plant creatures’ to the south and so they had chosen the western path which was unknown to the spirit in the orb. The companions hoped that that meant it was relatively free of enemies.

Dulvarna led them out of the chamber with her blade held before her while behind her came Erlmoor with his blade held high. Behind them walked Telkya and Litiraan, the elf maid carrying a torch and the elf lord with his wand lit up magically. At the back walked Lavren and Enlishia, wand and bow at the ready to aid their companions and in his right hand, Lavren carried another torch. Stairs led downwards just outside the pit chamber and Dulvarna led them carefully down until she reached the bottom and emerged onto a balcony overlooking a room filled with dark water. A rope bridge slanted sharply downward toward a wooden platform just above the level of the water. Two other bridges connected that platform to other balconies, each perhaps ten feet above the water. On these platforms, Dulvarna saw movement and as she watched, a humanoid female creature with bird-like feet and feathery wings stepped from the shadows of the platforms.
“Harpies!” she called out to the others. “Said to be descended from an evil elf witch-queen who was cursed with half-bird form when defeated by a great hero. Ware their song for it can enchant and confuse.”

Dulvarna started forward onto the rope bridge and began to cross but she had not gone far when a green-skinned creature rose from the water next to the bridge. It had webbed hands and feet, a wide, fish-like head and a mouth filled with needle-sharp teeth. A crest of spines rose up on its back as it emerged from the water and stabbed a viciously barbed trident into Dulvarna’s right leg. She turned and lashed out with her sword but the creature reared back and parried cross-wise with its trident.
“Sahuagin,” Erlmoor hissed quietly. “Not unjustly are they called sea devils.”

The dragonborn raised his sword and rushed to Dulvarna’s aid, lashing out with his blade as he reached her. The steel tore into the sahuagin’s arm and sent it reeling back with a splash into the water. Enlishia moved out onto the stone balcony and raised her bow, firing arrows quickly at the sahuagin. Two shafts drove into the creature’s side and red blood began to pool in the water around it.

Another sahuagin rose from the water on the other side of the bridge and began to bark what sounded like commands in its rough, clicking language. In its right hand it held a trident but it raised its left and unleashed a jet of fierce water that slammed into Dulvarna’s side and sent her reeling along the bridge into Erlmoor. The sahuagin newcomer dived down beneath the water as soon as the water bolt struck home leaving the other creature alone above the surface. Seeing this, Litiraan raised his wand and loosed a silver bolt at the sea devil that struck the water next to it. The sahuagin ducked down under the surface and as it did, a black bolt from Lavren’s wand and a golden bolt from Telkya’s amulet struck the water where it had been. Then the harpies swooped off their ledges and began to sing.

The half-bird creatures landed on the bridge and as they sang, the companions felt the powerful and haunting melodies of their voices filling their minds and drawing them forward. Only Dulvarna managed to resist the terrible song while the others were drawn toward the harpies, climbing down into the water from the bridge or the stone balcony where they were at the mercy of the sahuagin. Two more of the sea devils surfaced to the south of the bridge, across from the one that was now wounded, one rising next to Erlmoor and the other rushing at the dragonborn. He parried the trident of the first as he tried to shake off the influence of the harpy song but the other stabbed its trident into his hip and drove him back a step. He roared his pain and defiance and raised his blade.