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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4871888" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 20 - Gates of Agony (Part 3)In the main chamber, Dulvarna summoned what strength she had left and lashed out with her blade toward the ogre’s side. At the last, it brought its flail down and turned Aecris aside with the weapon’s handle. Next to Dulvarna, Enlishia’s bow sang out and an arrow drove into the ogre’s leg. A second followed but this clattered off the creature’s thick hide and fell to the floor of the chamber. The creature roared and raised its flail as a bolt from Telkya’s amulet seared into the its side and then a black bolt flew past it to strike the southern wall. The ogre brought its flail down toward Dulvarna a moment later and, though the warrior woman raised her blade to parry, the strength had fled from her limbs and the spiked ball smashed Aecris aside. The ball smashed down onto the side of her head and then crashed onto her shoulder, smashing her collar bone as it did. Dulvarna cried out and then collapsed to the floor, Aecris falling beside her. Thorn snarled and leapt at the creature, seizing its arm again and tearing at the flesh until the ogre swung the limb and flung the druid wolf against the tiefling statue. Enlishia loosed an arrow and then a second into the ogre’s chest with a furious look of anger on her face while beside her, Telkya held up her sword and charged at the ogre but as she did, she glanced down at Dulvarna. Her friend’s eyes were open and with an obvious effort, the warrior woman flashed the elf maid a smile. Telkya smiled back and then rushed onward at the ogre, determined to buy her companion time enough to recover. In the alcove, Erlmoor heard Dulvarna cry out but he dared not turn away from the medusa to see the fate of his friend. Instead, he stepped forward after the medusa as the creature raised her bow and loosed another arrow that drove into his hip. He faltered but then slashed his sword across into the archer’s leg, spinning her away to her right. The dragonborn felt no poison in this wound and wondered if the medusa’s supply of venom had run out. Then the medusa threw back her hood and shook loose the snakes on her head and the paladin snapped his mind back to the foe before him. She hissed at him and then the snakes began coiling forward, their forked tongues tasting the air and their needle-sharp teeth questing for his flesh.Telkya rushed at the ogre with a prayer on her lips and as the sword in her right hand glowed brightly, she slashed it at the creature’s arm. The ogre turned toward her and lashed out with its flail entangling her sword in the weapon’s chain for a moment and throwing it aside. The huge creature snarled through yellowed teeth at the elf maid and raised the flail to strike down this new troublesome foe. At that moment, a black bolt of searing energy tore into the ogre’s back and with a roar of anger, it spun around, lashing its flail out at all who surrounded it. Telkya was smashed back into the wall behind her as the spiked ball struck her in the side and then swept around toward Enlishia and Thorn. The ranger ducked low and avoided the swing while Thorn leapt back and Lavren threw himself behind the tiefling statue. Again, the spiked ball smashed into the statue and the head of the stone warrior splintered into a thousand pieces. Thorn leapt an instant later, his jaws tearing at the ogre’s groin and drawing a terrible howl of pain from the creature. The wolf druid let go before the ogre could swat him away but the damage was done and the huge creature staggered back as blood poured down its legs.In the alcove, the medusa darted to its left, trying desperately to gain the protection of its ogre guardian once more. As it did, the snakes on its head snapped out at Erlmoor and as he raised his arms to protect himself, two sunk their teeth into his flesh. He felt the numbness of the poison at once from these wounds and knew her had to strike down the terrible creature as quickly as he could. He spun on the spot and lashed out with his blade but, with seemingly renewed agility, the medusa ducked and the paladin’s sword swung over her head. Erlmoor cursed and turned to face his enemy as the numbness in his arms subsided but despite this, he knew he could not fight on for much longer.With a guttural roar and a surge of strength that she mustered from the deepest recesses of her soul, Dulvarna leapt to her feet and plunged her blade into the ogre’s side as it still reeled from the wound that Thorn had inflicted. It roared but then an arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into its throat and the sound became a gurgle of blood that gushed from the creature’s mouth and neck. It staggered again and then fell backwards atop the ruins of the orc statue that it had smashed to reach the companions. A final gasp escaped its lips and then the ogre died.The companions surged toward the medusa then, Telkya hurling a bolt of light from her left hand that flashed past the creature’s head. Lavren loosed a bolt from his wand that seared into the medusa’s side and threw her toward the southern wall and then Thorn leapt over the ogre’s body to rush at the creature from behind. Desperately, the medusa retreated to the southern wall, her eyes glowing brightly once again. Only Dulvarna threw her arms in front of her face in time while Lavren threw himself against the tiefling statue to protect himself. The others felt their limbs stiffen almost at once but still they fought on.Dulvarna rushed to aid Erlmoor, her blade above her head as she reached the medusa. She brought Aecris down and the sword clove into the medusa’s shoulder, shattering her collar bone. Erlmoor plunged his blade into the creature’s side and as the medusa staggered, Enlishia’s bow sang again. An arrow drove into the creature’s chest and as the medusa gasped, another followed. With a final hiss, the archer fell back against the wall and then slid down to end in a sitting position at its foot. One by one, the snakes on the medusa’s head fell still limp and as the last one stopped moving, the medusa died as her ogre guardian had. Dulvarna looked to her left once the creature had died and there, she saw another pair of arched doorways with carved snakes beside them as guardians. A problem for later, she decided at once.Next......Halls of Madness</blockquote>

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