Medriev's FR Thunderspire Labyrinth - Concluded Apr 13

[Medriev]

Chapter 22 - The Tower of Mysteries (Part 9)

Lavren loosed black energy into the first black warrior and threw it away from Erlmoor against the north wall of the passage and the dragonborn saw his chance. Despite the cold, cloying mist about his legs, he surged forward and lashed out with his blade form left to right. The huge sword clove into the side of the black warrior, stoving in its armour and the bones beneath. It clove all the way through to its black heart and with one last hiss of derision, the creature slumped down to lean against the wall, all but cut in half.

Litiraan moved between the pillars, evading the tendrils of mist until he stood against the south wall of the atrium. There, he raised his wand and with a word, loosed a silver bolt of energy into the side of the remaining black warrior. It snarled in annoyance and turned its fierce, green eyed gaze upon him but then an arrow cracked into the pillar beside it and the creature realised it had more immediate foes to deal with. A second arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into the black warrior’s shoulder. The creature became a wrathful horror in a heartbeat, throwing aside its dagger and reaching both hands up to claw at its own face. It drew flesh back to expose white bone and then let out a terrible shriek of agony.

Dulvarna felt the shriek inside her head as the others did but as she was closest to it, it caused her very real pain. She staggered away from the creature, reeling from the agony it had inflicted on her. Only when she realised that she stood beside a pillar at the southern end of the north-south hallway did she recover. The cloying mist reached out to her from the pillar and she regained her senses. Raising her blade, she charged at the creature, crying out as she reached the creature and lashing out with her blade. The black warrior ducked under the wild swing and leapt at the warrior woman as a bolt from Telkya’s amulet struck the pillar behind it. The creature clawed ferociously at Dulvarna but she held it at bay with her blade until it spent its initial fury. It stood for a moment, snarling and spitting while Dulvarna desperately tried to banish the memory of its terrible shriek from her mind.

Lavren circled around the battle to the north as Telkya had now done and joined her against the north wall of the atrium. She smiled at him and he smiled back before raising his wand and cursing the black warrior as the fey had done for millennia. Black energy burst from his wand and struck the creature in its left side, forcing it to lurch to the right. It snarled at the elf but Lavren knew that it was beaten now and could not harm him. With a roar, Erlmoor charged at the creature with his blade above his head. He brought the sword down but the creature dodged aside and the blow glanced off its ebony shoulder plate. It snarled and hissed as it crouched down to leap at both its enemies but its time was at an end. To its right, Litiraan raised his wand again, uttered a word of eldritch power and loosed a silver bolt. The arcane missile seared into the side of the creature’s head and shattered it into fragments. The light vanished from the black warrior’s eyes and it crumpled to the floor at the feet of Erlmoor and Dulvarna.

Next......Secret Knowledge

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 23 - Secret Knowledge (Part 1)

“The runes will teleport us somewhere else as the circle did,” said Litiraan as he examined the space between the four pillars. The companions had tended to their wounds and rested and now felt strong enough to venture further into the tower.
“Then should we not rest here for longer before we go on,” Erlmoor said.
“I for one would welcome a rest,” Litiraan answered. “The hurts of the battle still pain me and I am weaker than I was when we came here.”
“As are we all but we have no time to rest here,” spoke up Dulvarna. “We have ventured into the heart of our enemies’ hold here. If we stay here we will likely get little rest.”

All saw the sense of Dulvarna’s words and though they were hurt and far from fully rested, they followed her as she made her way into the runes. They stood within the glowing runes for a few moments and then blue light flared and they appeared suddenly amongst a similar set of four pillars but unlike the pillars on the previous level, these were smooth and unadorned. A set of iron double doors stood to the east while a corridor, perhaps ten feet wide led off to the south.

Enlishia moved out of the runes first, passing between the two northern pillars and then turning south to make her way warily into the entrance to the southern passage. She stopped almost at once and raised her bow.
“A bronze warder coming this way,” she called out and drew back her bowstring.

The companions felt a feeling of dread fill them as they remembered their last encounter with the terrible axe-wielding bronze minotaurs that were called bronze warders. They were powerful and their bronze skin was all but impregnable. Even one alone would be tough to defeat. Sure enough, as Enlishia let fly with a first and then a second arrow, she could only watch as both shafts clattered to the stone floor off the metal body of the warder. The construct paid the missiles no mind and started towards the ranger, raising its axe before it. Dulvarna rushed forward to meet the creature beside Enlishia, lashing out with her blade but even Aecris could not penetrate the bronze hide of the minotaur. With a clang, the blade glanced off the warder’s body leaving Dulvarna and Enlishia helpless before it.

Telkya rushed to the iron doors and pulled them open, seeking another way to attack the warder. Within, three tables covered with alchemical materials were scattered around the room while to the south stood a large, glass container with tubes and metal pipes attached to it. Inside, the head of bronze warder floated in an acrid, glowing liquid. At the nearest table, a norker put down the vial in its hand and reached for the axe across its back while at the farthest table, a cloaked black warrior of Bane turned to regard the intruder with its fierce, green eyes. It spoke a command to the norker and the creature started forward, drawing its axe as it came. Raising the jagged weapon over its head, the goblin brought it down clumsily and Telkya leapt back out of reach.
“More enemies in here,” she called out to the others without looking back to see if any were coming to her aid.

Lavren was the first to react to Telkya’s cry, circling around the pillars and then raising his wand as soon as he could see the norker. He cursed it in his own tongue and a black bolt shot out from his wand to strike the goblin creature in its right shoulder. It reeled back and away from Telkya giving her more time to ready her defence. Litiraan rushed to Lavren’s side and raised his wand to unleash a silver bolt of energy that struck the norker in the side. It staggered back further from Telkya and she retreated, trying to draw it toward her. Erlmoor roared and charged at the goblin creature, slashing his blade into the norker’s already wounded side. It lurched to the left into the stonework of the doorframe and then leapt at the dragonborn in a snarling ferocious fury. Its teeth tore into the dragonborn’s left arm just above the shoulder and only by slamming his sword hilt down on the back of the norker’s neck, could he free himself from its grip. By then, its teeth had torn a deep wound and the paladin staggered back himself as warm blood flowed down his arm. The black warrior turned away from its work at the table and crossed the room to the north wall. Extending its left hand, it hurled lightning at Erlmoor but the bolt struck only the stone of the doorframe.

Enlishia leapt back from the bronze warder, firing arrows as she went. Both found their marks this time and pierced the metal skin of the warder at the bottom of its neck. The creature bellowed its anger at the mortal that had dared to harm it and surged forward. It knocked Dulvarna aside with its right leg as it came and then slammed an elbow towards Enlishia forcing her to leap backwards and throw herself to the floor. The warder swung around then with its axe before it. Telkya sensed the blow from behind and ducked under it but Enlishia was not so lucky. As she scrambled back against the wall, the axe swept past and slashed open the calf of her right leg. She cried out and looked around desperately to see if any of her companions could aid her. Dulvarna rose unsteadily to her feet and then raised her blade before rushing at the warder again.

Telkya looked back at the warder and darted back towards Lavren and Litiraan, leaving Erlmoor to fight the norker alone. She raised her amulet and with an uttered prayer, she hurled a bolt of golden light at the minotaur construct. The divine fire seared into the warder’s arm and again it bellowed its anger, turning on the spot to swipe at any enemy that got too close.

Behind the creature, Dulvarna sought an opening to strike but before she had a chance to attack, a crackling bolt of lightning seared into the stone beside her. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that a cloaked black warrior of Bane now stood at the southern end of the corridor. She was trapped between two enemies!

Lavren and Litiraan decided quickly that the warder had become their target and almost together, they hurled silver and black bolts at the huge bronze construct. Both then cursed in unison as Lavren’s bolt struck the wall bounced off the warder’s bronze skin while Litiraan’s struck the wall behind the minotaur. The battle seemed to be turning quickly against the companions and in the doorway, the norker decided that this was its chance. It surged forward suddenly, lashing its axe out to its right to cut at Erlmoor. The dragonborn brought his blade down and parried the blow neatly before reversing his blade and slashing it up across the goblin creature’s throat. With a gasp and a gurgle of blood, the norker fell to the floor at the paladin’s feet. The black warrior hissed its derision and hurled another lightning bolt wildly at Erlmoor before rushing off towards a pair of iron doors in the southern wall of the room. Erlmoor ducked back as the lightning struck the stone beside him and then started after the creature.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 23 - Secret Knowledge (Part 2)

In the corridor, Dulvarna heard a familiar ululating battle cry and turned again to see that a norker now rushed towards her in front of the black warrior. By now, Enlishia had seen these new threats as well and she put down her bow in favour of drawing her greatsword from her back. She stabbed at the warder’s leg, her blow almost piercing the bronze but at the last glancing aside and then darted away from the construct to join Dulvarna facing these new foes. The ranger nodded to her warrior companion and then raised her blade in salute to her enemies.

Behind the two women, the warder seemed to decide to leave them for later and started towards Telkya, Lavren and Litiraan. Its axe swept down towards Telkya and slammed into the priestess’ chest throwing her backwards into the wall beside her brother. Dulvarna looked back over her shoulder and winced as Telkya was wounded but seeing her chance, she leapt forward to meet the norker as it advanced up the corridor. Her blade swept out and clove into the goblin’s side, throwing it against the east wall of the hallway. Immediately, it leapt to seize Dulvarna’s sword arm in its teeth but she was ready and smashed her elbow into the side of its face to slam it back into the wall.

Telkya pushed herself away from the wall and heaved in a breath despite the stabbing pain in her ribs. Summoning all her strength, she prayed to Corellon and called a column of divine light down upon the bronze warder. The bronze of its right arm and shoulder blackened and blistered as the divine fire burned it and once again the construct bellowed its anger. Beyond the warder, Telkya saw another bolt of lightning strike the wall close to where Dulvarna and Enlishia stood. They had to hold the warder off here for more enemies were coming, she decided.

Beside Telkya, Lavren and Litiraan decided the same thing. Lavren hurled a blast of black energy into the construct’s chest and moments later, Litiraan called flame from his wand that engulfed the left side of the bronze minotaur. Erlmoor turned away from the fleeing black warrior and with a prayer on his lips, he lashed his blade into the right leg of the warder. Again it bellowed as divine light flared from the paladin’s blade and then the construct seemed to lurch to the right as though it had been truly damaged. Erlmoor felt a surge of triumph but as he did, a bolt of lighting struck the bottom of his back on the left side. Pain lanced up to his shoulder and he himself lurched forward towards Telkya. Looking over his shoulder he realised that his fleeing enemy had returned and that victory was far from certain.

In the corridor, the norker came back at Dulvarna fiercely but she parried each axe blow with the skill that she had learned in the bare three months that she had been adventuring. An arrow flew past the norker then and Dulvarna knew that Enlishia had taken up her bow again. A second shaft drove into the goblin’s right hip, throwing it back a step and giving Dulvarna a chance to come forward once more. She lashed out with her blade from right to left and drove it into the norker’s side. Again it lurched to the right and fell into the corridor wall and again it leapt, snarling at Dulvarna, forcing her to leap back beyond its reach.

The bronze warder turned its head left and right, seeming to survey the enemies before it and then swept its axe out to the right towards Erlmoor. The axe struck the dragonborn a huge blow in the chest and hurled him back painfully into the stone of the door frame. He gasped and leaned back against the wall for a few moments as he regained his strength. The warder loomed over him and seemed ready to finish him but then it turned as Telkya called out to the others.
“This way,” she called out. “It cannot fit between the pillars.”

The elf maid darted to the right past Lavren and Litiraan and circled around the four pillars with the runes at their centre. When she reached the far, western, side, she raised her amulet and unleashed a bolt of light into the bronze minotaur’s side. The creature bellowed and turned towards the priestess but she was right, the gaps between the pillars were too big for the construct to easily fit through. Lavren and Litiraan glanced at Erlmoor but at a nod from him, they moved to follow Telkya.

Erlmoor looked beyond the warder then to see how Dulvarna fared just as the warrior woman was struck by a pale white bolt of light that sent her reeling back away from the black warrior and the norker. Dulvarna staggered as though dazed and Erlmoor longed to be able to go to his friend’s aid but looking up at the bronze minotaur before him, he knew that to be impossible. Instead he raised his blade and prepared to attack it once again. As he gathered his strength, Lavren and Litiraan moved into positions to the north and south of the four pillars. Once there, they unleashed black and silver bolts at the warder. Lavren’s black bolt flew wide of the warder but Litiraan’s silver bolt scored the back of the construct’s left leg. The minotaur turned to the left and Erlmoor charged at it from the other side. His blade slashed out and struck the warder’s knee only to clang harmlessly off the bronze hide of the construct and strike smash into the floor nearby. Slowly, the warder turned back towards Erlmoor and as it did so, a bolt of lightning flashed in from the paladin’s left. It hurled him back against the stone again and in that moment, the dragonborn knew that he was doomed.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 23 - Secret Knowledge (Part 3)

The norker rushed at Dulvarna and lashed its axe downward. She twisted and moved to parry but she was too slow and the axe blade tore down the top of her left arm, ripping open her flesh. She cried out and fell back but Enlishia was ready with her bow. She loosed one arrow and then another, both flying straight and true and driving into the norker’s face. The shafts burst through the goblin’s skull and emerged halfway from the back before stopping. The norker opened its mouth as its last breath fled its body and then collapsed at Dulvarna’s feet. Still dazed from the black warrior’s bolt of energy, Dulvarna fixed the armoured creature in her gaze and rushed towards it, half staggering as she went. She lashed out with her blade and cut open the creature’s shoulder just before it could leap away to its right. The black warrior raised its left hand and hurled lightning again striking Dulvarna in the left side and throwing her against another set of iron doors set in the western wall of the corridor. The warrior woman shook her head to try to clear the confusion from her mind but as she pushed herself away from the doors, she staggered again. The black warrior snarled and hissed its derision as it raised its left hand once more.

The bronze warder raised its axe over its head and brought it down for a killing blow on Erlmoor. The dragonborn looked up and leapt away to his right, into the chamber where the black warrior still lurked. The warder moved to follow the paladin but then Telkya loosed another bolt of golden light into its left side and drew the construct’s attention. Lavren loosed a blast of black, crackling energy into the warder a moment later and then Litiraan loosed a silver bolt into the construct’s chest. It bellowed its familiar cry of alarm but then turned back towards Erlmoor. The dragonborn prayed fervently and then stabbed out with his sword towards the leg of the warder. At the last moment, it moved its right leg away and Erlmoor’s blade stabbed only air. He leapt away as the construct turned to follow him into the chamber but then the black warrior hurled another lightning bolt that struck his left arm. Once more Erlmoor reeled to his right into the stone and wondered how much longer he could stand against these terrible foes.

Enlishia rushed down the corridor after Dulvarna, firing arrows wildly as she ran. The shafts clattered into the stone around the black warrior but distracted it enough to give Dulvarna a little more time to recover. The warrior woman lurched almost drunkenly away from the iron doors and lashed out wildly with her blade, cutting only the air a blade’s length in front of her foe. She stopped and shook her head as the dazed feeling finally cleared and then fixed her eyes on her foe. The black warrior leapt back further into a wide chamber with four more pillars around a set of glowing runes. The cloaked creature raised its left hand and hurled lightning that seared into Dulvarna’s chest and threw her back another step. Still, the warrior woman fixed her gaze on the black warrior, determined not to be beaten by this enemy.

The bronze warder turned its back on the four pillars and stepped towards the doorway to the laboratory chamber, lashing out with its axe as it did so. Erlmoor ducked just under the huge blade and it struck the stone of the doorframe above his head. He roared his defiance and as he did so, Telkya, Lavren and Litiraan assailed the bronze minotaur with more bolts of divine and arcane energy. All but Litiraan’s silver bolt struck the stone around the warder but the wizard’s missile seared into the warder’s back. It half-turned back towards the pillars and Erlmoor lunged forward, stabbing wildly at the construct’s leg and missing again. He retreated further into the room, moving towards the north wall and one of the alchemical tables. The paladin glanced to his left as the black warrior came forward and one again, it lashed out with its left hand and hurled lightning. Erlmoor ducked back towards the table and bolt struck the stone of the doorframe close to the bronze warder. This seemed to draw the warder’s attention back to its dragonborn quarry and with lumbering steps, it ducked its head and entered the chamber.

Enlishia loosed two more arrows but again they struck only the stone next to the black warrior. Dulvarna turned to the ranger and nodded her thanks before rushing at her enemy. She stabbed out low with her blade towards the black warrior’s right leg but the creature twisted aside and leapt back, evading the blow. Again the creature extended its hand and again the lightning flew at Dulvarna. She ducked to her right but it struck her left shoulder and chest hard, spinning her around and slamming her back into the south wall of the passage. Dulvarna looked down at her blackened and smoking armour and wondered for the first time whether this would be her last battle.

The bronze warder stepped into the doorway and lashed out to the left with its axe, slamming the huge weapon into Erlmoor’s left shoulder and smashing him back against the chamber wall. He roared his defiance but knew that it would likely be his last battle cry. Again a silver bolt struck the minotaur in the back and golden and black bolts struck the stone of the doorframe but this time, the warder paid them no mind. Even within its dim spark of intelligence, it seemed to realise that its foe was doomed. Those who plagued it with minor hurts could wait until this enemy was beaten. Erlmoor leapt back behind the table and with the last of his strength, he chanted one of his most powerful prayers to Lathander. As the divine energy coursed through him he knew that he had called forth as much power as he could muster. Searing ribbons of light engulfed the bronze minotaur and it bellowed its alarm once more. The divine light seared its bronze skin and scorched it black in a dozen or more places. Erlmoor roared his triumph and breathed acid on the warder and the black warrior as he did so. The black warrior shrank back as the acid burned its armour and the flesh beneath and the dragonborn paladin roared his defiance once more as it hurled lightning into the stone wall above his head. The bronze warder took another step into the chamber and Erlmoor decided that he had done enough. If he fell now he had faught with every muscle and sinew in his body to aid his companions. It would be a good death.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 23 - Secret Knowledge (Part 4)

Enlishia came forward in w wild fury as the black warrior snarled its derision at both its enemies. The ranger loosed one arrow after the other and this time each found its mark with deadly accuracy. One drive into the black warrior’s neck while two more pierced its chest. Another drove into its belly and this drew forth the terrible shriek that the black warrior had unleashed on the lower level. Casting aside its dagger it pulled the flesh back from its mouth and shrieked with a terrible, demonic power. Dulvarna staggered back, all but beaten by the terrible shriek but she knew that the chance to finish this terrible enemy was before her. She charged with her blade above her head and swept it out as she reached the black warrior. Aecris clove through the dark creature’s neck and cut its head from its shoulders with one huge blow. The creature crumpled to the floor like a doll and the light vanished from its eyes.

The bronze warder lashed out with its huge axe but Erlmoor ducked down behind the table and the axe clove into the wood instead. The table was split in half from the mighty blow and acids from smashed vials sprayed the warder, eating into its bronze skin. The construct staggered and a golden bolt of light hurled by Telkya flew past its head. It half-turned towards the enemies that had menaced it for so long and as it did so, a bolt of black, crackling energy struck the side of its head and seared through it, bursting forth from the other side. The warder stood in the doorway for a few moments as if its dim spark of intelligence could not comprehend its death. Finally, the construct pitched forward onto the broken table and clanged into the stone to lie still. Erlmoor watched unbelieving as Litiraan rushed into the doorway of the room and raised his wand towards the black warrior. With a word, he sent a silver bolt of energy into the creature and drove it back toward the south wall. Erlmoor roared again and charged at the black warrior, his blade singing out as he lashed it towards the creature’s throat. The black warrior leapt back away from the paladin and with a snarl, hurled lightning into the dragonborn’s face. Erlmoor felt blinding pain and smelt his own flesh burning and then there was blackness and he fell before his enemy.

Enlishia turned away from the fallen black warrior and rushed back to the iron doors. She stepped into the chamber with an arrow nocked to her bow and picked out the black warrior standing beyond fallen Erlmoor. Raising her bow, she aimed and let fly, reaching for another arrow before the first shaft drove into the shoulder of the dark creature. She loosed the second shaft quickly and it drove into the chest of the black warrior. The black armour figure threw aside its dagger and tore at the flesh of its face while letting forth the familiar terrible shriek.

In the hallway outside, Dulvarna heard the cry and saw another set of iron doors in the north wall of the southern pillared chamber. She rushed to the portals and hauled them open to reveal the laboratory within and the black warrior standing next to a strange, liquid-filled machine. She started into the chamber as Telkya arrived at the western door and began chanting healing prayer for Erlmoor. Lavren rushed past the elf maid and crossed the chamber past the fallen bronze warder and the broken table. As he reached a table close to the eastern wall he turned and levelled his wand at the last servant of Bane. Litiraan stepped further into the chamber behind Lavren and hurled a silver bolt from his wand that struck the wall next to the black warrior. The creature snarled and hissed as it started forward but then Erlmoor rose in front of it and it paused for a moment. Then it leapt at the dragonborn seeking to tear his flesh from his bones and fell him once more.

Erlmoor leapt back from the black warrior’s onslaught and raised his blade to fend it off. Behind him, Enlishia moved further into the chamber and raised her bow. She took aim at the terrible creature and then let fly with an arrow. The shaft drove into the creature’s throat and then the ranger loosed another that followed the first and drove into the side of the black warrior’s skull. The creature staggered, lurched to left and then collapsed on the stone floor before Erlmoor.

Next......The Shrine of Bane

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Shrine of Bane (Part 1)

“We must go on now,” said Erlmoor once all had tended to their wounds. “Our enemies surely know that we are here and will not let us rest here.
“And what of Telkya,” said Lavren. “Her strength wanes and we have a chamber here that we can fortify.”
“They will not let us rest,” Erlmoor reiterated. “And the runes in the southern chamber lead us onwards. We have to go on while we still can.”
“Agreed,” said Dulvarna, who always had the casting vote. “We go now to the southern chamber and ready ourselves for whatever enemies lie ahead.”

The six companions did as their leader had bade and made themselves ready before making their way to the four pillars in the southern chamber where more runes glowed. They stepped into the runes and after a few moments, familiar light flared once more. They appeared in a small room surrounded by four unadorned pillars with doors to the north, west and east emblazoned with a black, gauntleted fist.

Lavren stepped towards the north door and pulled it open to reveal a wide chamber adorned as a shrine with a huge black skull on an altar at the far end and a black, gauntleted first worked into the stonework of the floor. Three norkers and a cloaked black warrior of Bane knelt facing the altar apparently praying to the Black Lord. Lavren raised his wand and cursed at the black warrior before unleashing purple rays towards the dark creature and the norker closest to it. The rays struck their targets in the back and sent them sprawling onto the floor of the shrine. The norker rose and roared a guttural cry before drawing forth a flail from its belt and rushing towards the southern door.

Telkya stepped past Lavren into the shrine chamber and raised her symbol of Corellon just as the black-skinned goblin rushed past a statue of Bane in black armour. She uttered a prayer and hurled a bolt of golden light into the norker’s shoulder, slowing it for a moment but not stopping it. From somewhere to her right, Telkya heard doors slam open and as she raised her blade to face the norker, a bronze warder from around a corner of the shrine chamber to the east.
“Hold them here,” said Erlmoor and turned aside to the western door.

He pulled at the portal but it refused to open and instead, changing his mind, he rushed forward to battle the norker and the warder. With a prayer on his lips, he swung out with his blade and cut a wound in the goblin’s side, spinning it away to its right. One of the other norkers rose and rushed to aid its companion, circling to the western side of the chamber, close to a crystalline pillar that supported the roof of the shrine. Drawing a sling from its belt, it placed a stone in the weapon and whirled it quickly over its head before letting fly. The stone slammed painfully into the dragonborn’s leg making him stagger to the right and giving the norker before him a chance to recover. As it came forward again though, Enlishia emerged from the southern chamber with an arrow nocked to her bowstring. She loosed the shaft quickly and then fired another, both driving into the norker’s right leg and forcing it back and away from Erlmoor again.

In the entry chamber, Litiraan turned toward the eastern door and tried to open it, seeking another way to reach his enemies. The door pulled open easily and inside he found a bare, empty chamber with double doors flung open in the north wall. He crossed the room quickly and raised his wand as he reached the open double doors. Levelling his wand at the black warrior, he uttered an incantation and sent a silver bolt towards his foe. It drove into the creature’s back as it started to rise from where it had been sent sprawling by Lavren’s eldritch bolt. The creature turned on the floor and snarled towards Litiraan before reaching both hands up to its face and tearing at its own flesh. It let out a terrible shriek and pushed itself to its feet, its terrible gaze never leaving the elf wizard who had so hurt it.
More doors slammed open to the left of the shrine entrance but Dulvarna paid them no mind as she raised her blade and rushed to Erlmoor’s aid. As she reached the dragonborn, the norker came forward again and she lashed out with her blade at it, tearing a wound in its cheek. The norker snarled and snapped at Dulvarna’s sword arm as she drew back from the goblin creature, seizing her forearm in its teeth and tearing a chunk of flesh out with its terrible bite. Dulvarna cried out and fell back from her foe, wounded and bleeding.

The black warrior rose to its feet before Litiraan and then in a snarling rush, it charged at him. The creature leapt forward as it reached him but Litiraan was ready, stepping to one side and bringing the hilt of his sword down on the back of its head. The foul creature reeled and spun away before turning around to face the elf again with a snarl.

Another norker raised a sling above its head and let fly a stone but this missile cracked harmlessly into the stonework above the southern doorway. Lavren stepped into the shrine chamber and levelled his wand at the nearest slinger before unleashing a bolt of black energy towards the norker. It struck the goblin in the chest and flung it back towards a large bowl of burning oil that stood near the western wall. Telkya saw her betrothed’s intention and raised her amulet, loosing a golden bolt of light towards the same norker. The bolt struck it in the shoulder and it fell back against the bowl of oil, reeling and dazed.

The bronze warder reached the battle then, slamming its axe into Dulvarna’s chest and throwing her back into Enlishia. Erlmoor roared his defiant response and breathed acid on the norker and the warder. His blade sang out next, accompanied by a prayer on the dragonborn’s lips. The sword glowed with bright light as it drove into the norker’s left hip and sent it staggering away again. A sling stone skipped off the paladin’s shoulder but he paid it no mind. As his enemy fell back from him, he followed.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Shrine of Bane (Part 2)

Finding the quarters cramped and seeing the eastern door open behind her, Enlishia slipped back into the entry chamber and followed Litiraan into the empty side room. There, in the wide doorway to the north, she found the elf fighting fiercely against a black warrior. She raised her bow and fired, once and then a second time. Both arrows flew straight and true, driving into the chest of the black warrior and driving it away from the elf. Litiraan took his chance and stepped forward, driving his sword point first into the chest of the foul creature where he guessed its heart shoulder be. The black warrior gasped and snarled one last time and then collapsed on the floor in front of the elf.

As Erlmoor advanced on the wounded norker he suddenly saw movement to the left. There, next to one of the crystal pillars stood a red robed man with a stave in his right hand. His left hand was touched to the crystal pillar and pulses of blue energy were flowing up his arm from the crystal. As he let go of the pillar, he levelled his staff at Erlmoor and with a word, unleashed a silver bolt of energy that flew with terrible accuracy to slam into the dragonborn’s side. He gasped and reeled to the right and as he did so, the norker came forward to follow its wounded foe.

Dulvarna saw Erlmoor lurch towards her but knew she could do nothing to aid him. Instead, with a guttural cry, she pushed herself away from the wall at her back and charged at the bronze warder with her blade before her. She slashed Aecris left and right, feinting this way and that and then landed a flurry of blows that scored the bronze of the minotaur construct’s hide. A sling stone skipped off the of wall above her head but she paid it no mind. The warder bellowed its response to her attacks and then came forward fiercely.

Lavren saw another sling stone skip off the stone close to Dulvarna and raised his wand again. Cursing the foul goblin, he loosed more black energy towards the creature. It struck the norker in its shoulder and sent it staggering back a step. Telkya uttered a prayer then and loosed her own bolt of golden light at the wounded creature. It seared into its chest as it righted itself from Lavren’s attack and this time, the norker fell and did not get up again.

The norker came back at Erlmoor with renewed ferocity once it had seen him wounded by the red robed wizard. Its flail lashed his right arm and then the goblin slammed the handle into the paladin’s face. He staggered back and bumped into Lavren behind him. Looking to his right, he saw the bronze warder come forward again and lash out with its axe to strike Dulvarna in the chest again. The warrior woman was hurled backwards into the stone wall next to the southern door and stayed there for a few moments, slumped against the stone and gasping for breath. Erlmoor roared his usual defiant response while reaching out a hand towards Dulvarna. A tendril of light reached out to the warrior woman and as it touched her, it healed the worst of her hurts and restored some of her strength. Dulvarna smiled at the dragonborn but he was not looking. Already, a prayer was on his lips as he rushed to meet the norker again. The paladin’s blade glowed brightly and he slashed it into the goblin’s side, sending the creature staggering away from him. A sling stone flew over the dragonborn’s head and he raised his head to roar at the ceiling, defiant as always before his enemies.

Enlishia rushed through the open double doors ahead of Litiraan and turned towards the bronze warder. She raised her bow and with an arrow nocked to the string, she drew it back as far as it would go. When she let fly the arrow, she drew another and again pulled the string back as far as she could. The first arrow drive into the side of the warder and the second followed it, driving into the bronze construct inches from the first. The creature bellowed and reeled back away from the southern doorway while seeming to cast around, seeking this new threat. Litiraan emerged from the doorway and raised his left hand to brandish his wand towards the warder. With a few words, he unleashed a curtain of flame from his wand towards the warder and the norker. The norker staggered and reeled away while the warder bellowed again before starting forward towards the southern doorway again.
Erlmoor started after the norker again as it reeled away, burned by Litiraan’s flames but before he could take a step, a bolt of lighting seared in from the left and struck his side, throwing him to the right and back into the wall next to Dulvarna. The bolt seared into Telkya and Lavren then, throwing them back against the wall next to the paladin.

As the others fell back, Dulvarna pushed herself away from the wall and rushed at the norker, deciding to aid Erlmoor while the warder still reeled from Enlishia and Litiraan’s attacks. She swept her blade out to the left and drove it into the goblin’s belly before sliding it black towards her to free the blade. The norker gasped, reached down to clutch at its spilling intestines and then collapsed on the stone floor in front of the statue of Bane.

Lavren pushed himself off the wall quickly, deciding that he was not sorely hurt, and raised his wand towards the remaining norker wielding a sling. He cursed at the creature and then loosed a bolt of black energy that seared into the creature’s chest. It staggered backwards and as it did, Telkya stepped forward with her amulet in hand. She prayed to Corellon and loosed one and then a second golden bolt of light towards the norker. The first struck its chest and then the second seared through its body hurling it back to lie with its companion close to the bowl of burning oil. Telkya turned and winked and Lavren and he smiled. Together they would triumph here, he decided.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Shrine of Bane (Part 3)

The warder rushed at Dulvarna and swept out with its axe but she ducked under the blow this time and it struck the stone above her head. She smiled to herself and as Erlmoor stepped forward beside her, she nodded to the dragonborn. Together, they surged forward to attack the warder. Erlmoor sang out a prayer and as a portion of his strength infused his blade, it glowed brightly. He lashed out and clove three fingers from the hand of the warder. It bellowed and reeled back as its primitive mind realised that it had been damaged again. An arrow drove into the side of its neck from Enlishia’s bow and then a silver bolt flashed past its head. Erlmoor and Dulvarna both felt a surge of triumph as the construct reeled from the many wounds but then, the red robed wizard unleashed more lightning and Erlmoor was hurled into the wall behind Dulvarna.

Dulvarna looked over her right shoulder to where Erlmoor was slumped and then over her left to where Telkya and Lavren had been thrown by the lightning bolt. She glanced over at the wizard, silently promising death to the man that must surely be Paldemar and then she charged at the warder again. Her blade clanged off the metal skin of the warder and she cursed under her breath Lavren rushed to her left and circled around the statue with his wand in hand. He raised it and loosed a bolt of black energy that seared past the warder and into the wall beside it. Next, Telkya unleashed a bolt of golden light at the construct but this struck only the ceiling above its head. The creature bellowed again and lashed out with its axe. Dulvarna ducked and raised her blade to parry, deflecting the axe high and almost over her head. The blade nicked her scalp and drew blood but she held her ground.
From behind her, Dulvarna heard Erlmoor roar as the paladin pushed himself away from the wall and charged at the warder. His blade sang out but clanged off the warder’s leg and struck the stone floor. He twisted on the spot and swung his blade out wide, cleaving it into the side of the warder’s knee. The construct lurched towards the dragonborn and seemed about to fall but then it regained its balance. An arrow clattered off the warder’s shoulder but a second drove into its side and it lurched back away from Erlmoor. Litiraan hurled a silver bolt into its back but still the construct would not fall. The elf cursed their ill luck and raised his wand again but then he saw a silver bolt lance out from the red wizard’s staff beyond the warder and Lavren lurched to the right into the statue of Bane.

Lavren pushed himself away from the statue and ignored Paldemar who he knew stood behind him. Instead, he raised his wand at the bronze warder and unleashed more black energy. The bolt struck the construct’s neck and it lurched away from the elf. He raised his wand again and unleashed another black bolt but as he did so, the construct lurched back towards him and the eldritch blast flew over the head of the minotaur. Telkya loosed a bolt of golden light that flashed past the warder’s side but as she did so, Dulvarna charged in. She lashed out with an overhead swing and clove open the chest and belly of the warder. It staggered back from her and then fell over on its back.
“You’re next Paldemar,” Erlmoor called out as he turned towards the red robed wizard.

The dragonborn strode across the floor to reach the wizard in a few heartbeats and lashed out with his blade but Paldemar raised his stave in both hands parried skilfully. Enlishia crossed the room behind him and when she reached the middle of the chamber, she raised her bow and loosed an arrow. It nicked the wizard’s arm, drawing blood and forcing him to flinch away. The ranger raised her bow and fired again but this time her aim was awry and the shaft clattered into the stone behind the wizard. Litiraan joined Telkya in the doorway and raised his wand to hurl a silver bolt at the wizard. The missile flashed past Paldemar’s right arm and again the wizard flinched.
“You can never defeat me, fools!” Paldemar cried out. “My masters are more powerful than you can ever imagine.”

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 24 - The Shrine of Bane (Part 4)

At that, the wizard leapt away from Erlmoor and fled through double doors to the south. Dulvarna rushed past the dragonborn and into the chamber which seemed to be the inner sanctum of the wizard. A bed, partly hidden by curtains in the south west corner and an alchemical work table in the north west corner were its principal furnishings. Paldemar had crossed the chamber to a single door in the eastern wall and had pulled the portal open. Lavren came into the chamber behind Dulvarna and began to utter his most powerful curses. A faint sound of growling hounds filled the doorway in front of Paldemar and he pulled up short but then he staggered and grasped at his head with his left hand. Lavren continued the curse, assailing the wizard with more and more terrible images while drawing him towards him. Paldemar staggered past Dulvarna into the centre of the room and cried out in pain and terror.

Telkya stepped through the double doors and began to pray to Corellon while brandishing her amulet. A blast of golden light burst forth and struck the bed next to the wizard but the elf maid continued her prayer and another bolt seared into Paldemar’s side. He staggered to his right and then turned to glare at the priestess. Erlmoor rushed into the chamber past the elf and moved towards the eastern door to block the wizard’s escape route. He lashed out with his blade but Paldemar raised his stave again and parried. The wizard snarled derisively at the dragonborn but then gasped as an arrow drove into his hip from where Enlishia stood at the doorway. She loosed another shaft and this drove into the man’s left shoulder. He staggered and lurched to the right but kept his footing but turned his gaze on the eastern doorway again. Only when Litiraan appeared in the doorway did the wizard realise that all hope of escape was lost.

Litiraan raised his wand and loosed a silver bolt and then a second at Paldemar. The wizard ducked to the left, putting Dulvarna in Litiraan’s way and the bolts struck the far wall fo the chamber beyond a crystal orb on an iron stand next to Lavren. Paldemar looked towards Litiraan again as though sizing him up and then made a decision. He rushed past Dulvarna with his stave in both hands and charged at Litiraan. The stave end came up from the left and slammed into the side of the elf’s head sending him reeling one way but then Paldemar brought the other end of the stave up and slammed it into Litiraan from the other side. He staggered in the doorframe and fell to his right while Paldemar sneered at him.

Dulvarna turned to her left and brought her blade over her head in a huge blow. As it came down, Paldemar leapt backwards and Aecris struck the stone floor between the red robed wizard and Litiraan. A black bolt of energy seared past the wizard’s head and struck the wall in the corner of the room followed by a bolt of golden light from Telkya’s amulet that also flew wide of the mark. Paldemar laughed and fixed Litiraan with a fierce gaze.
“You’re mine elf,” snarled the wizard. “Too weak your kind are. Mankind rules Faerun now.”
“Yield, wizard,” said Litiraan, ignoring the jibes. “And you may be spared.”
“A red wizard of Thay yields to no one,” Paldemar snarled back.

Erlmoor twisted around Dulvarna then and brought his own blade in towards Paldemar’s back. With lightning speed, the red wizard turned on the spot and brought his stave down to parry the blow. Enlishia crossed the chamber from the doorway and swept aside the curtains around the bed as she turned her bow towards the Paldemar. She loosed one arrow wildly that clattered into the stone of the doorframe but the second flew straight and true, driving into the wizard’s left shoulder. He staggered and fell back towards Litiraan who held his blade in his right hand. He stabbed at the wizard but Paldemar dodged to his left only for Litiraan to follow him with a second thrust that drove into the man’s left leg above the knee. He staggered as warm blood flowed down his leg and turned on the spot to face the elf again. His stave came up quickly, slammed into Litiraan’s chin and sent him reeling into the doorframe. As blackness took the elf and he fell to the stone floor, Paldemar leapt through the doorway and into the glowing runes between the pillars. The magic of the runes flared and Paldemar, the red wizard of Thay, was gone.

 

[Medriev]

Note for DMs - The Shrine of Bane

As many have posted on other message boards, this is a very tough encounter and potentially a TPK.

Paldemar is a tough foe and at the end of this battle he still had enough hit points to potentially kill the PCs here. I decided, both for story reasons and for tactical reasons that Paldemar would prefer to flee to fight another day rather than battle to the bitter end.