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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4873398" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 21 - Halls of Madness (Part 1)The companions rested before the second gate for several hours, tending to their wounds and eating small portions of the meagre rations that remained to them. When they were ready to go on, they stepped forward and examined the arched gate in more detail. Dulvarna approached the doors warily, expecting some form of attack but when none came, she reached out and touched the portals. As she did so, a great voice boomed out.“Let those who embrace the darkness of ignorance walk forward,” it said. “Heedless of all knowledge. The blind and deaf fear no danger, for the Keeper of the Way shall guide their steps.”“Close your eyes and cover your ears,” Thorn said. “Then you will pass through the gate.”Dulvarna did as she was bade and kicked out at the doors with her foot. As she did so, the others saw the carved snakes come to life and poise themselves to strike at the warrior woman.“They are illusions,” Enlishia whispered to the others. “We cannot warn her lest she not pass through.”Sure enough, Dulvarna’s booted foot passed through the apparently solid doors and, though she stumbled, she stepped through the portals as though they were not there. The others put away their weapons and implements and closed their own eyes while covering their ears with their hands. They walked through in turn and each passed to the other side. Beyond the gate was a long chamber with two sets of double doors leading north and another set leading south. Dulvarna and Erlmoor tried the northern doors but found them unyielding and so the companions turned south, pushing open the doors there with ease. Drawing their weapons, the band made their way south into a corridor that led east to west. A little way to the west, the passage bent south and, after stopping for a few moments, Dulvarna took this path.After a short way, the southern passage led them into a scene that could come only from a fevered dream or a madman’s imagination. The stone passage ahead merged with a grey material that glistened wetly as though the walls, floor and ceiling ahead were made of flesh. A trail of thick, sludge-like violet slime puddled on the floor while several side passages branched off the main one, each seemingly made of the same, grey flesh.“There is danger here,” said Lavren as he made his way forward past the others.The elf turned to the right to avoid the slime on the floor ahead of the companions and found that the western passage turned south again quickly. Cautiously, he raised his wand and rounded the corner while from somewhere ahead he heard voices. Behind him, the others started forward warily into the flesh-like tunnels but they had barely taken a step when from around a corner ahead came a large lizard-like creature with a pointed head and no eyes. Its skin was tan with black stripes and it stood up on powerful back legs while sharp claws tipped its forelegs. It opened its toothed mouth and let forth a howling bellow that threw the companions back on their heels and tore through their heads like a thunder clap. All but Enlishia and Lavren were left staggered and dazed.“A destrachan,” Enlishia announced from behind the others. “A beast that can imitate sounds or use them as weapons.” The ranger pushed past the others as they recovered form the terrible howl and raised her bow, loosing an arrow and then a second. The first clattered into the corridor wall beyond the destrachan but the second drove into its foreleg, drawing a pained whimper from the creature. Dulvarna raised her blade and staggered forward unsteadily to meet the destrachan, shaking her head as she did to rid herself of the ringing in her ears. Erlmoor followed but he too was unsteady and still too dazed to attach the creature when he reached it. Suddenly, from behind the two warriors, Lavren cried out as a huge, slithering, snake-like creature rounded the corner to the south of him and made its way forward. Its mouth was a huge beak and around this terrible maw, four tentacles were arrayed, each tipped with a vicious hook-like claw.“A grick comes this way,” Enlishia called to Dulvarna and Erlmoor. “We are outflanked.”Thorn shifted to his wolf form but he too remained dazed by the destrachan’s bellow and could only stand and shake his black-furred head instead of bounding to meet the grick. Telkya staggered forward, blade and amulet in hand to protect Enlishia from this new enemy but as she reached Lavren, another creature burst past the snake-like monster. This newcomer was humanoid and wielded a greatsword and Telkya had fought its like before.“Foulspawn!” she called out. “There are foulspawn here as well.”The foulspawn warrior leapt at Lavren and lashed out with his blade, cutting into the elf’s right shoulder and spinning him away along the passage wall. Another of the creatures leapt past the grick after the first and thrust its blade into Lavren’s thigh forcing him back another step along the wall of the passage. He cried out and retreated but raised his wand as he did so. With a shouted incantation, he hurled two purple bolts at the foulspawn, one striking each of the creatures in the chest and hurling them back a step. They recovered quickly, though, snarling their derision at the elf before coming forward again.In the main corridor, the destrachan howled again, throwing Erlmoor back while Dulvarna threw her arms over her head to protect her ears. The others were also thrown off balance as they felt the sound sear through their heads like hot knives. Dulvarna glanced back at the others and then slashed her blade low beneath the destrachan’s body and cut across its back legs, drawing another whimper of pain from the creature. Beside Dulvarna, Erlmoor swung his blade clumsily at the creature but it leapt back and avoided the blow. The paladin cursed but as he did, the ringing in his head stopped and he raised his blade to attack the destrachan again, hoping against hope that it would not howl again.</blockquote>

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