Medriev's FR Thunderspire Labyrinth - Concluded Apr 13

[Medriev]

Chapter 9 - The Deeper Hold (Part 5)

Dulvarna stopped before the south facing door at the end of the passage and held her blade ready in two hands while reaching out for the iron ring handle. They had rested for the night in the ruined chapel with the fallen wights and eaten a bland breakfast of trail rations before heading on westward through the iron door. The passage beyond had led them to a dark crypt where as many as two dozen minotaur warriors lay in burial niches along the east and west walls while near the entrance in an alcove to the west, a skeletal minotaur with a greataxe, perhaps a minotaur depiction of Myrkul the Lord of Bones, stood guard over the fallen.

The only way out was a passage that led to the south and ended at the door which Dulvarna now stood before. Slowly, Dulvarna reached out for the door handle but then she stopped. She heard harsh, hissing laughter.
“Look Durkkel,” said one voice. “It doesn’t like me! Should I be afraid?”
“It needs to earn some respect, Marshk,” another voice answered. “If I pluck out one of its eyes, it might think twice about glaring at you.”

Without a second thought, Dulvarna turned the iron ring and pulled open the door. With her blade in her hands, she rushed into the chamber beyond and found that the huge place contained three wells. One, the nearest to the door, held a pool of water, but two were simply deep pits with ladders leading down and a large brazier full of coals sat near a rubble pile in the southeastern part of the chamber. Three gray dwarves stood guard in the place, along with two humanoid creatures with lashing tails and bodies covered in sharp spines.

Telkya pushed past Dulvarna and was first into the chamber, her holy symbol before her. She raised her voice in prayer to Corellon and loosed a beam of light towards the nearest of the spine-covered creatures. She recognised them at once as spined devils, some of the weakest of their terrible kind but powerful creatures nonetheless. They served as aerial scouts and skirmishers for the armies of the Hells from which they came and lived for the torment of others. As her bolt of divine energy struck the creature she knew that it would not be deterred from its purpose on this plane. It had been summoned for a reason and it would serve its masters until it was banished back to the Hells.

Litiraan entered the chamber next and loosed a silver bolt towards the nearest of the devils only for the missile to fly wide of its target. The second devil extended its short wings and glided across the pit before it, setting down beside the pool and lashing an arm at Litiraan. Spines flew from the extended limb, igniting into flames as they were unleashed. They drove into Litiraan’s arm as he held it up to defend himself and seared into his flesh. Even as they did so, he felt the numbness of poison spread up his arm and he knew that he had been struck a terrible blow. The other devil loosed spines of its own then and he darted to the right with a speed that he felt sure had been taken from him. The spines clattered harmlessly against the stone wall behind the place where he had stood.

Erlmoor surged into the chamber with his blade before him and charged to the left at the nearest duergar. Behind him came Enlishia followed him, firing arrows from her bow towards the nearest devil as she came. Lavren came behind her, cursing in elven at the foul devil-kind that had plagued his homeland of Cormanthor for centuries beyond remembering. He loosed a black bolt from his wand that flew straight and true across the pool to strike the devil that Telkya had already wounded and force it back a step to the edge of the pit behind it. Dulvarna was the last to rush into the chamber once her companions had found their places and she had seen the enemies she faced. She rushed to the left and joined Erlmoor against the nearest duergar. Her blade sang out and the gray dwarf fell back, twisting away with blood pouring from a wound to his shoulder.

With a roar a second duergar came forward, reaching into its beard and hurling a quill at Erlmoor that drove into his thigh. The dragonborn staggered back a step and cursed as he felt the numbing poison enter his blood. The third duergar began chanting then and with its hammer held in both hands over its head, the dwarf called down a hail of fiery stones that struck Erlmoor, Lavren and Litiraan and knocked them to the ground. Enlishia ducked and dodged and evaded the spell but her companions were wounded and burned while the devils surveyed the scene and cackled.

Telkya prayed fervently and called down a column of searing light just as the wounded devil leapt aside. The light burned the ground where he had been while Litiraan uttered his own incantation and loosed a silver bolt into the creature. It spat at the elf and loosed more spines that seared into Litiraan’s chest and felled him beside the pool. The other devil lashed out with its right arm and loosed its own barrage of spines that drove into Telkya’s left arm as she raised it to fend them off. She fell back against the west wall of the chamber as the poison began to number her arm and dull her senses.

Erlmoor roared with terrible fury and sprayed acid from his mouth that seared the skin of the duergar before him and the devil on the far edge of the pool. He shouted out a prayer to Lathander and as his blade glowed brightly he slashed out at the duergar before him only for the dwarf to parry the divinely blessed blade. Behind the dragonborn, Lavren loosed another black bolt that struck the devil across from him and as it struck, the elf spoke more curses though they were unnecessary for the power of his spells. The devils had brought down Myth Drannor, the City of Song as it was called amongst the elves, and each and every one would pay for that.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 9 - The Deeper Hold (Part 6)

A quill bounced off Erlmoor’s shoulder plate and then the second duergar was upon him. The dwarf’s hammer slashed out from the right and cracked into the dragonborn’s leg, almost knocking him from his feet. He staggered but managed to keep his footing until the noxious fumes that had blinded him in the barracks chamber rose around him. The dragonborn slashed his blade back and forth, closed his eyes and held his breath until the fumes passed but Lavren and Enlishia found their eyes and lungs burning as the terrible vapours assailed them.

Telkya raised her voice in prayer and loosed another bolt of light into the closest devil but still the horrible creature refused to fall. Both devils loosed fiery spines at her then and she fell back against the wall beside her as they drove into her left leg and arm. Erlmoor roared as he saw Telkya fall back and uttered a prayer to Lathander that brought a golden glow to his blade. He lashed out at the duergar in front of him but the dwarf ducked back and the sword only cut a shallow wound across the top of the warrior’s chest. Even though the strike was not deep a wave of bright light burst out from the sword to wash over all the companions. Telkya felt renewed strength, as did Erlmoor and on the floor beside the pool, Litiraan’s eyes flicked open.

Enlishia loosed an arrow into the devil across the pool from her and then loosed a second missile. This flew just over the creature’s left shoulder and shattered against the far wall of the chamber. Lavren called forth flame to surround the other devil, the one wounded again by Telkya, but the creature simply cackled for the terrible denizens of the Nine Hells could not be harmed by even warlock-conjured flames. The duergar roared their own defiance then and surged forward, driving Erlmoor and Dulvarna back while the sorcerer loosed a bolt of fire from his hand that struck the wall beside Dulvarna.

Telkya shrank back from the edge of the pool and began a healing prayer but still the devils would not grant her peace. Lashing out with their arms, they loosed more flaming spikes but Telkya ducked down and they struck the wall above her harmlessly.
“The power of the Hells cannot avail you,” Telkya called to them across the pool.
“Amen,” echoed Erlmoor and as he said the word, he called out to Lathander and sacrificed some of his own strength for the power to drive back the duergar. His sword rang out and smashed into the side of the gray dwarf before him, driving the warrior back from him.

Enlishia drew two arrows from her quiver and nocked both to her bow at the same time. Taking aim at the closest devil but with an eye on the other, she loosed both shafts out across the pool. One drove into the shoulder of the closest devil while the other flew past the other diabolic foe to clatter against the western wall of the chamber. Beside her, Lavren loosed a bolt of black energy into the farthest devil, knocking him back a step Dulvarna surged forward then, raising her blade above her head and bringing it down in a mighty blow but at the last, the duergar before her raised his hammer and parried. Twisting his weapon around, he slammed it into Dulvarna’s jaw and knocked the warrior woman away from him. She staggered back reeling and then a bolt of flame from the duergar sorcerer struck her shoulder and spun her dangerously close to the edge of the pit. Erlmoor reached out and pulled Dulvarna back from the edge but as he did so, the duergar before him slammed the haft of his weapon into the dragonborn’s belly. Together, he and Dulvarna fell back further from their gray dwarf foes.

Telkya rose and loosed a beam of light towards the nearest devil but the divine bolt struck only the stone at the creature’s feet. Litiraan rose beside her then, though and with an uttered incantation he loosed a silver bolt at the devil across from him that seared through the devil’s chest. The creature let out a terrible screech and then pitched forward into the pool. The other devil screeched itself and lashed out with its right arm to loose spikes towards the elf. One drove into Litiraan’s chest just below his shoulder and he fell back against the wall behind him, gasping for breath. The elf staggered and almost fell but his sister reached out to him and held him upright as the remaining devil fixed its predatory eyes on them.

Erlmoor roared again and feinted to slashed his blade in low as the duergar he faced came at him. At the last, he raised the angle of his blade and while the gray dwarf desperately tried to adjust his parry, the sword clove through the duergar’s neck and beheaded him. Behind the dragonborn, Lavren moved left and leveled his wand at the duergar that Dulvarna still faught. With a curse and a spell, the elf loosed another black bolt and the duergar staggered back reeling as the eldritch energy seared into his side. Dulvarna saw her chance and came forward, leading with her blade. She plunged Aecris into the chest of the duergar and drove the sword through the dwarf’s body until the point drove out through his spine. With a gasp, the duergar fell sideways into the pit. Dulvarna rushed forward once the duergar had slid off her blade and charged at the remaining gray dwarf, the sorcerer who had targeted her so much. The gray dwarf retreated before the fierce warrior woman and as he did so, he chanted another incantation. Fiery hail rained down on Dulvarna. She fell as red hot rocks struck her and for a moment, the duergar sorcerer gained a reprieve.

The remaining devil reeled back as Telkya’s next bolt of divine light struck it Litiraan’s silver bolt flew wide and with a snarl, it lashed out with its arm to hurl more spines at the elf. Litiraan darted to the right and the fiery bolts struck the wall next to the door. The devil looked bemused for a moment but then in a furious roar, Erlmoor was upon it and the paladin’s blade had driven into its shoulder. An arrow from Enlishia’s bow drove into its belly then, splintering as it struck home and then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand seared through the creature’s chest. The devil pitched forward and joined its companion in the water of the well.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 9 - The Deeper Hold (Part 7)

Dulvarna slashed out with Aecris and smashed the blade into the side of the breastplate that the duergar sorcerer wore. The gray dwarf retreated nonetheless and uttered another incantation. This time, poisonous fumes rose up from the floor of the chamber behind Dulvarna and engulfed Erlmoor. The paladin staggered and bent over, coughing and blinded by the fumes but Dulvarna pressed on undaunted, seeing only her prey.

A bolt of light struck the wall beside the duergar and then a silver bolt struck the floor at his feet. The dwarf laughed but Enlishia began to loose arrows at him nonetheless and from the far side of the eastern pit, Lavren began to curse the duergar. The dwarf responded with a chant in his own language and gestured with his hand, drawing vile fumes seemingly from the floor of the chamber. Dulvarna began to cough and doubled over as the smoke seared her eyes but Erlmoor closed his eyes, held his breath and charged through the could of vapour. Telkya loosed a beam of light from the amulet in her hand and jolted the duergar back against the west wall of the room. Beside her, Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand that drove into the dwarf’s shoulder and then Erlmoor was upon him.

Blade clashed with hammer as the duergar pulled forth a large warhammer from his belt. Enlishia loosed an arrow from her bow that flew high over the duergar’s head and Lavren loosed a black bolt from his wand that smashed into the dwarf’s side. Meanwhile, Dulvarna desperately tried to clear her vision as she staggered into the pile of rubble that filled the south eastern corner of the room. The duergar glanced over at her and Erlmoor followed his gaze. At that moment, the dwarf brought its hammer up and smashed it into the underside of the dragonborn’s jaw. Erlmoor staggered back reeling and then fell to his knees. With a dazed look on his face, he pitched forward on the floor facing away from the gray dwarf.

The duergar darted towards the double doors, ducking past the blinded Dulvarna and twisting the iron ring of one of the portals to drag it open. Dulvarna heard the sound and as she looked towards the doors, her vision seemed to clear. With a cry, she rushed at the duergar with her sword in her hands. Telkya came forward behind her, raising her holy symbol and chanting as she came. Another bolt of light lanced out and struck the duergar’s back, hurling him against the door and half shutting the portal. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand struck the half-open door as he too came forward and behind him came Enlishia and Lavren.

An arrow drove into the dwarf’s left arm and then a black bolt from Lavren’s wand struck the wood of the door, throwing splinters across the floor. Dulvarna charged at the duergar and slashed her blade across his back, spinning him around. She drove the point into his shoulder as he raised his warhammer to parry and then he ducked through the doors, rushing off a little way down a wide, torch-lit hall before turning aside towards more doors in the north wall of the corridor.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 1)

“We should return to the wight chamber and rest,” said Erlmoor as he woke with Telkya kneeling and praying beside him.
“Lord Litiraan,” came a voice from one of the pits and the elf looked down.
“Kelathann,” he said as he realised that the faces looking up from the pits were those of the band he had taken forth from Cormanthor into the Hullack Forest. They had found their companions at last!
“We must go back,” said Litiraan. “We came here to save our people and we have found them. They must at least be taken across the bridge to the other side of the chasm.”

“We are not all here,” said Kelathann then as Telkya pulled keys from the belt of one of the duergar. “Two were taken by gnolls.” Litiraan looked around and counted quickly, concluding at once that were only fourteen elves here. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he knew that his companion was right.
“Then we are not finished here,” said Litiraan. “We take them across to the other hold and rest there but then we come back.”

“Agreed,” said Dulvarna. “We cannot give them chance to recover.” Together, they gathered their weapons and headed back through the passage to the wight chamber and on to the bridge over the chasm from the ruined chapel. From the smithy and the storerooms they armed the elves and the three former servants who had stayed despite their instructions and then they settled down in the hold for the rest of the day and the night that followed.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 2)

Thane Murkelmor looked down from the raised platform on which he stood and slowly took in what his most trusted theurge had told him. How could he not have seen this? How could his hold have been attacked while he sat here and knew nothing until his immediate guards were all that remained.
“Where are they now?” asked Murkelmor. “If they have not followed you here then where are they?”

“I know not mighty Thane,” answered Framarth, wincing as his wounds pained him once more. “Do you want me to seek them, Lord.”
“Someone must,” answered Murkelmor. “And since you have gifted our current stock to them, it would seem fair for you to repay your debt to me in some way.”
“I am wounded, Lord Thane,” said Framarth then. “At least allow me to rest and tend to my wounds before I venture forth.”
“Very well,” answered Murkelmor. “But when day comes, you go forth to find them.”

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 3)

“Someone is on the bridge,” said Telkya suddenly as the three former servants cleared away the breakfast dishes the table that they had moved to the smithy. The door across the bridge had opened and a squat figure that could only be a duergar had stepped out warily. From the left a crossbow bolt flew out and clattered against the side of the bridge. Ten of the elves manned the southern part of the hold while the companions, the four remaining elves and the humans had spent the night in the northern hold. Telkya drew back from the arrow slit in the door as Lavren bent forward to take a look.

“We should go out and meet him,” said Lavren as he watched the dwarf pause and look towards the southern hold.
“No need,” said Enlishia taking up her bow and striding towards the other arrow slit. She nocked an arrow to the string and loosed it towards the dwarf. The shaft drove into the duergar’s shoulder and he staggered. The duergar looked down at the fletching of the arrow and then yanked the arrow from his flesh with a grimace.
“Stay in yer rat hole,” the duergar called out then as he began to retreat. “We’ll be waiting for ye over here.”

As the dwarf turned and strode back towards the door, Dulvarna took up her blade and strode towards the door.
“We are ready to venture back, are we not?” she asked the others. They took up their own weapons and wands in answer and Dulvarna nodded to one of the elves who stood next to the door. The elf threw the door open and Dulvarna strode out onto the bridge just as the duergar reached the door at the far side. Seeming to panic now, Framarth fumbled with the iron ring of the opposite door before pulling the portal open. Pulling it shut behind him, he disappeared into the darkness.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 4)

“We must be ready for battle, Lord Thane,” said Framarth without preamble as he rushed into Murkelmor’s chamber. “They hold the eastern side of the chasm and came forth across the north bridge behind me.”
“Then you will go for aid from Oldukr,” said Murkelmor as he turned towards Framarth. “While we hold them here.”
“But surely my place is at your side Lord Thane,” said Framarth. “Together we can defeat them and retake the hold with aid from Oldukr once they are beaten.”
“Your place is to do as I say,” roared Murkelmor suddenly. “And I say that you go to Oldukr and summon aid on my behalf. Do not let on how badly we have thus far been defeated but bring aid nonetheless.”
“Yes, Lord Thane,” answered Framarth with a bow. He turned and left the chamber.

Once he was gone, Murkelmor donned his armour carefully and then picked up his huge warhammer. He examined the runes on its head and then turned towards the doors again. As he did so, the double portals were thrown open and his enemies strode into the chamber.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 5)

Dulvarna surveyed the wide hall, taking in the two fireplaces – both filled with roaring flames – one on either side of the chamber. A short staircase flanked by statues of leering gargoyle-like monsters led up to an area furnished as a bedroom. Several grim-looking dwarves with grey skin and bristling orange beards glared at her but one grabbed her attention. He stood at the top of the steps wearing armour of black plate and carrying an enormous maul.

“So you think to challenge the Grimmerzhul?” Murkelmor snarled. “It’s your last mistake, fools! I think I’ll sell the lot of you to mind flayers and count my gold while they feast on your brains.”
“I hear they prefer dwarf,” said Lavren as he strode into the chamber past Dulvarna.

The elf uttered a curse in elven and loosed a bolt of black energy at the nearest duergar but the dwarf ducked and the bolt struck the gargoyle statue behind him instead. Dulvarna moved left to meet the grim warrior there while Telkya came through the doors behind her. She chanted a prayer and held forth her amulet, loosing a beam of searing light that struck the duergar that Dulvarna now battled. Murkelmor reached into his beard and pulled forth a poisoned quill. He hurled it towards Dulvarna but she saw his movement and moved back from her enemy to let the quill pass between her and the dwarf. With a word of command the duergar Thane called flames to the head of his huge hammer and charged at Dulvarna. He raised the weapon over his head and brought it down only for the warrior woman to twist towards him and parry his blow with her blade.

The other duergar warrior met Erlmoor in the doorway, lashing out with its hammer but the dragonborn parried and twisted the hammer downwards. An arrow drove into the duergar’s shoulder as Enlishia began firing and it staggered back from Erlmoor but the dragonborn would not let it retreat. He stepped forward and thrust his blade into the duergar’s shoulder close to where Enlishia’s arrow protruded and the dwarf fell back another step. A silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand seared over the dwarf’s head to strike the wall next to the gargoyle that Lavren had struck with his bolt of energy. The duergar growled his defiance and held his hammer before him.

The remaining duergar within the chamber made her way to the top of the steps and then turned to face the chamber, chanting as she turned. Fiery rocks rained from the ceiling of the chamber, striking Dulvarna and Lavren and knocking them to the floor. Lavren rolled to his feet almost at once and drew his sword from his belt. He pointed it at the duergar woman and hurled a chair out of his way as he started forward. The thane moved to intercept him and he stabbed out with his blade, forcing the dwarf to parry. Beside him, Dulvarna slashed her blade into the arm of the duergar before her and drove the dwarf back. A bolt of light flew through the doors and struck the other duergar and then Dulvarna twisted to her right as the thane came at her. She raised her blade as his hammer came down and again she parried his mighty blow.

Erlmoor parried a low blow from the duergar before him as an arrow from Enlishia’s bow flew past the dwarf’s shoulder. The dragonborn roared and surged forward, thrusting his blade forward into the duergar’s hip. The dwarf staggered and fell back but then, with a roar, his form began to expand as the duergar in the eastern hall had before him. A chair toppled behind the duergar as he expanded and then he stood before Erlmoor, the size of an ogre and wielding his large hammer ferociously. Again the duergar roared but then it was silenced as Litiraan hurled a silver bolt into its chest. Erlmoor rushed forward and the duergar raised it hammer again.

From the top of the steps, the duergar woman began chanting again and as she did, noxious fumes rose from the floor of the chamber and engulfed Dulvarna and Lavren. The elf staggered and bent over as his eyes began to burn and the poison filled his lungs but Dulvarna was ready. She held her breath and covered her eyes with an arm as she held her sword high above her head. Lavren lashed out wildly with his sword and stumbled past the fallen chair in front of him while behind him, Dulvarna wiped her arm over her eyes and lashed out high with her blade. As the duergar parried, she reversed the swing and brought the blade in low to cut into the side of the dwarf’s knee. The duergar roared as the leg buckled beneath him and then, he too began to expand into a bigger form. Dulvarna retreated from the now-huge duergar, keeping her blade up before her but then the huge hammer of the thane came down on her shoulder and she crumpled and fell to her left.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 6)

Erlmoor held his own foe at bay despite his increased size and now the huge duergar was a much better target. An arrow drove into its arm and as the dwarf flinched, Erlmoor prayed and then advanced. His blade glowed white and he plunged it into the belly of the dwarf. The duergar staggered, reaching one hand down to the wound and then a silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand seared through its skull and felled it.

The duergar in front of Dulvarna struck her a mighty blow in the chest while she still reeled from the thane’s blow and sent her staggering away from him. On the steps, the theurge loosed a bolt of fire from her hand that struck Lavren in the shoulder and halted his stumbling advance. He looked towards her and found hiss vision clearing and so he slashed his blade wildly at the thane and skipped past the fierce dwarf. Telkya was beside him then, darting past the right hand fireplace to join him in his advance on the duergar woman. She chanted a prayer to Corellon and a bolt of light lanced out to strike the dwarf in the left arm. She spat a curse at the elf maid and began another spell.

Dulvarna twisted away from the huge duergar before her as he parried her blow. As she twisted the point of her blade nicked the dwarf’s leg and drew blood. She turned towards the thane and parried as his huge hammer came down again but as their weapons clashed, Dulvarna felt pain lance through her crushed shoulder. Then an arrow bounded off the aide of the duergar’s breastplate and hope returned to Dulvarna as she realised that her friends were with her. A moment later, Erlmoor was beside her and with a roar, he sprayed acid from his mouth to burn the huge duergar and the thane that faught beside him. The dragonborn’s sword lashed out and tore a wound in the duergar’s left bicep. A silver bolt flew over the dwarf’s head and the duergar roared again lashing out with his hammer to strike Dulvarna in the left side. She gasped and staggered and knew that she did not have the strength to carry on for much longer.

The theurge loosed another bolt of fire at Lavren that blasted into the elf’s chest and hurled him back into the round table in front of the eastern fireplace. Lavren uttered a spell to conjure flame around the duergar but the dwarf moved aside and the flames burst up on the floor next to her. A bolt from Telkya’s amulet struck the wall behind the theurge and the duergar woman laughed out loud.

The thane took a step forward and lashed his hammer sideways into Dulvarna’s right side. She heard ribs crack and gasped as the air was driven out of her lungs. When she did breath in, it was slow and rasping and she knew that she was sorely wounded. Two arrows flew past both duergar and clattered into the wall above the western fireplace. Erlmoor came forward but the huge duergar held him at bay and even Litiraan’s silver missile of magic flew wide of the large gray dwarf. The gray dwarves senses that the battle had turned and surged forward together. The large dwarf smashed his hammer up underarm into Dulvarna’s face and the warrior woman’s head snapped back. She turned around on the spot and then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Another bolt of fire struck Lavren and he fell against the table for a second time. He lay there, unmoving for a little while, breathless and burned while the battle raged on around him. Telkya moved past him, praying as she advanced and as she reached the foot of the steps, a column of burning light descended on the theurge. Her smile vanished and her laugh became a hiss of anger as she began another spell, this one aimed at Telkya.

Murkelmor stepped over Dulvarna and lashed his hammer into Erlmoor’s side, knocking the dragonborn against the frame of the double doors. Another arrow flew past both duergar and with a roar, Erlmoor surged forward but each of his blows was met with a parry. Only when icy rays from Litiraan’s wand struck each dwarf did were the duergar driven back. The large dwarf roared his anger and lashed out at Erlmoor but the dragonborn leapt back beyond his reach. The huge duergar staggered then and Erlmoor charged back at him intending to finish the dwarf there and then.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 10 - Reunion and Reckoning (Part 7)

A bolt of fire flew past Telkya and struck the wall behind her and as he saw the bolt miss, Lavren recovered a little. He pushed himself off the table and leveled his wand at the theurge, uttering a curse as he did so. A black bolt of crackling energy lanced out and struck the duergar in the shoulder, forcing her back a step. Telkya loosed a bolt of light that struck the floor near the dwarf woman’s feet and the theurge retreated another step from the enemies before her. Lavren and Telkya advanced towards her seeking to end their battle with the theurge.

The thane’s hammer struck Erlmoor’s right shoulder and drove him back into the door frame once again. He staggered but then he rushed at the large duergar again his blade before him. He drove the sword through the duergar’s breastbone and into his heart and the dwarf collapsed to the floor, shrinking as he died, at the feet of the dragonborn. Litiraan moved forward to the doorway and loosed a silver bolt towards the duergar thane only for the bolt to fly over the dwarf’s head and strike the back wall of the chamber beyond the steps.

Another bolt of fire struck Lavren as he still lay recovering on the table before the fireplace. He rose and cursed at the duergar woman before loosing a bolt of black lightning towards her. She dodged to one side and the eldritch energy struck the wall behind her. Summoning all of his strength, the elf loosed a second bolt then and this, the duergar was not ready for. It struck her full in the chest and drove her back from the top of the steps. Telkya loosed her own bolt of light from her amulet and then rushed up the steps at the duergar. Her blade glowed brightly as she swung it at the dwarf but at the last, the theurge raised her warhammer and parried the descending sword. Telkya pushed on her sword and drove the duergar back another step while Lavren came forward behind the elf maid.

Dulvarna’s eyes opened and she saw at once that the duergar thane stood over her. As she watched, the dwarf stepped forward and slammed his huge hammer in to Erlmoor’s chest, driving the dragonborn back into the doorway. An arrow struck the wall in the corner above the slain duergar and then Erlmoor came forward with a mighty roar. His blade struck out at the duergar, smashing into its ribs on the thane’s left side and as it struck home, white light burst out from the sword blade, invigorating Erlmoor, Lavren and Dulvarna. Dulvarna pushed herself to her feet then, rising behind the duergar thane and as he realised his peril, fear seized Murkelmor for the first time.

The duergar woman lashed out with her warhammer and stuck Telkya on the hip below her parry. The elf maid reeled away from her enemy but as she did so, Lavren uttered a curse and black, crackling energy seared through the chest of the gray dwarf theurge and felled her where she stood. Telkya turned towards the battle against the thane and started down the steps again just as Dulvarna rose behind the dwarf. He half turned and ducked left, evading a killing blow from Aecris as the sword descended but the blade smashed through his collar bone nonetheless and drove part way into his chest beneath. Dulvarna withdrew the blade and wove it back and forth in front of her before stabbing it forward into the thane’s side. Telkya loosed a beam of light from her amulet that struck the chair next to the duergar and then he roared his defiance, wreathing himself in flames. He lashed out at Dulvarna wildly but she leapt back and evaded the blow.

Enlishia loosed two arrows at once then that drove into the shoulder of the duergar and the gray dwarf began to retreat towards the western fireplace. Erlmoor rushed at him then and slashed his blade into the dwarf’s belly, sacrificing some of what little remaining strength he had to strike a powerful blow. Murkelmor staggered and all but fell and the a silver bolt from Litiraan’s wand seared into his leg. Black eldritch fire from Lavren’s wand struck the mantle behind the duergar and he knew then that he would not escape the chamber. Dulvarna drove her blade into his side and he sank to one knee just as Telkya came to the bottom of the steps. Light lanced out from her holy symbol, seared into the duergar’s side and found his heart. With a gasp, Murkelmor, Thane of the Grimmerzhul fell face down on the chamber floor.