Medriev's FR Thunderspire Labyrinth - Concluded Apr 13

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 1)

“Nice place,” Lavren remarked, his dark humour slowly returning after the terrors of the night’s sleep. They had returned to the chamber where the blood stained the floor and when the spirits had not appeared, they had turned eastward. Passing though another blood stained shrine chamber, they had taken doors that led west into a passage and at the southern end of that passage, they had found the chamber in which they now stood.

A portcullis that had rusted open barred the western end of the chamber that opened onto the passageway while the room curved around to the south and then back to the west. Throughout, skeletons were chained to the walls, seemingly having died from terrible tortures and injuries. Though they had entered warily, fearing more undead such as they had faced in the crypt below the Keep, the skeletons remained unheeding and unmoving of the presence of the companions. In the eastern wall stood an iron door with a stone minotaur’s head protruding like a gargoyle from the lintel. Small runes were engraved around the edges of the door but no sign of any handle or way of opening it could be seen.

“Perhaps some magical trigger opens the door,” said Telkya as she examined the runes by the light of Litiraan’s wand. “We need to know more of this place before we come back here. Let us move on.”
“Agreed,” answered Lavren. “Whatever opens this door is not here.”
“Or perhaps part of it is,” said Dulvarna. “The Book of Wrath Unveiled that we found on the altar of the Shrine of Baphomet. If that were the book that the ghosts spoke to us of then we need to find the three other items to trigger whatever should happen here. Perhaps the door opening is part of that.”

The others looked over at Dulvarna with sudden realisation. They had all forgotten the book they had recovered from the altar of the shrine the night before. The night’s dreams had driven such thoughts from them. Lavren looked down at the black gloves he now wore which they had found in the chest next to the bed of the gnoll priestess. Litiraan was convinced that they were enchanted with the power of the Shadowfell and so refused to where them. Lavren had no such compunctions.
“You may be right,” said Enlishia. “Regardless, we have no need to stay here.”
“This way,” rumbled Erlmoor and he started off down the western branch of the room towards another set of double doors.

The doors emerged into a corridor leading south from the place that the ghosts had called the Proving Grounds. Erlmoor turned left down it and the others followed the dragonborn’s lead. The passage ended at a set of double doors made of dark wood with iron ring handles set in them. He leaned his sword against his shoulder and grabbed one ring while Dulvarna seized the other. Together, they turned the iron rings and pulled the doors open.
A hot blast of damp air washed over the six companions as the doors opened. The room beyond the doors was carved from black rock while here and there, pillars formed of piled bodies stretched from floor to ceiling. Gibbering mouths, darting eyes, and squirming arms that ended in taloned hands moved within the strange and terrible columns of flesh. As one, the forms within the pillars let loose a mournful howl.
“Our nightmares have become real,” said Enlishia as she drew back her bowstring and started forward into the chamber.
“Mine were much worse,” said Lavren as he started forward after her, sword in one hand and wand in the other.

For the moment, Dulvarna seemed rooted to the spot, unable to drive her feet forward to walk into the nightmare that now faced her. Enlishia and Lavren meanwhile, passed through the first chamber beyond the doors and moved southward through an archway into another chamber beyond. Litiraan followed them, clutching his own sword and wand and Telkya went after her brother leaving only Erlmoor and Dulvarna still in the doorway.
“Come, friend, this is reality not dreams,” rumbled the dragonborn as started forward. “Our blades can make reality bleed far better than they can in our dreams.”

The dragonborn turned left towards an eastern chamber and as he looked back over his shoulder, he saw Dulvarna smile and turn to follow him. They passed into an irregularly shaped room to the east and saw that another archway opened to the south of this chamber and led into another shrine. Atop the altar which was carved with bull’s heads and minotaurs, sat a large golden bell, engraved with glyphs.
“The bell,” said Dulvarna. “The second of the treasures the ghosts said we must recover.”

She started forward but as she did so, the pillar nearest the altar gave forth a terrible roar. From within its flesh burst a huge demonic figure that was familiar to both woman and dragonborn. It was orange-furred and ape-like as the one at the shrine the night before had been. It roared and turned its terrible red eyes upon the two intruders. Elsewhere, Dulvarna heard another roar and knew that at least one other demon had come forth to battle them. Then all the pillars began to scream with rage and the very air around the terrible structures of flesh warped. Dulvarna felt herself wrenched forward and was suddenly standing next to the pillar from which the ape-demon had emerged. The terrible creature roared and fixed its red eyes on her as it raised its terrible clawed hands to strike her down. Dulvarna looked back, expecting Erlmoor to be rushing to her aid but the dragonborn was gone, apparently hurled from the chamber and leaving Dulvarna alone.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 2)

Enlishia heard a roar erupt from the pillar behind her and turned just as a demon burst from the closest pillar in the entry chamber. Though it walked on two legs, the creature that emerged seemed more beast than biped. Its arms were too large for its body and ended in enormous claws while sharp tusks jutted from its lower jaw. In its eyes an unholy fire burned while its skin was an angry shade of crimson. With another roar, it rushed at Enlishia, lashing out with one of its clawed hands. The ranger ducked and leapt back a step, desperately trying to draw back her bow. Then, the pillars began to scream in rage and the air around them began to warp.

Enlishia glanced over her shoulder and saw Telkya and Litiraan vanish before her eyes and retreated another step from the demon before her. She drew back her bow and loosed an arrow at the creature and before it had struck home, she was reaching over her shoulder for another shaft. As the first arrow drove into the demon’s shoulder, she loosed a second that pierced its left arm. The creature roared and rushed towards her but Lavren was still beside Enlishia and he raised his wand. The elf uttered a curse in elven and black, crackling energy seared into the demon’s left side, driving it off balance. It staggered to its right and then lurched towards the ranger and the warlock with carnage in its eyes. Enlishia panicked and reached for another arrow but she new she could not loose it in time.

When the nauseating warping of the pillars stopped, Litiraan found himself standing beside Erlmoor near the first of the pillars close to the doors to the entry chamber. The pillar roared, almost as though it were reacting to the return of these two interlopers and from its writhing flesh, it disgorged another of the crimson-skinned demons. The creature turned on the spot and lashed out at Litiraan, catching the disorientated wizard on the side of the head and slamming him into the pillar. Other roars resounded around the complex of chambers as more terrible demons erupted from the pillars of flesh.

Light exploded before Litiraan’s eyes but he reached out for the pillar with both hands nevertheless, keeping hold of sword and wand as he did so. Using hands, blade and wand, he pushed himself away from the pillar and reeled back towards the entryway where the double doors stood open. Leveling his wand to where he thought the demon was, he mumbled a spell and loosed a silver bolt. A scream from the many mouths of the pillar told him that he had struck the unsightly column of flesh and not the demon he had hoped to hit. As his eyes cleared, he saw the demon turn its red eyes towards him but then Erlmoor roared and for a moment, Litiraan was spared.

Erlmoor rounded the pillar and roared again, spraying acid over the demon and forcing it to recoil. He raised his voice in a chanted prayer to Lathander then and brought his blade down to cleave open the demon’s shoulder. The red-skinned creature roared its anger and leapt back beyond the reach of the dragonborn’s next blow. Litiraan silently thanked Corellon for the dragonborn’s intervention and felt some hope return. But then he remembered that Telkya had vanished.

Telkya reeled as she reappeared between two of the pillars of flesh with Dulvarna just ahead of her. An ape-like demon much as the one they had slain in the shrine faught the warrior woman and was pressing her back. A moment later, Telkya heard roars from the pillars next to her and knew that her own doom had come to claim her.

A crimson skinned demon burst from the pillar to Telkya’s right first and she ducked as a clawed hand swung out but she was too slow. The claw struck the back of her head and sent her staggering forward into the archway that led through to the shrine. She turned, raising her sword, as another demon burst from the other pillar and leapt at her. This creature, too, swung out with a clawed hand but this time, Telkya was quicker and ducked under the blow. She stabbed her sword into the armpit of the demon on the left and then leapt back towards Dulvarna.

Telkya wondered for a moment whether she was right to draw her enemies towards Dulvarna’s blade. She could be dooming them both. Just as quickly as the doubts arose, she decided that this was her only chance. Even with all the help that Corellon could give her, she could not slay two demons alone. Telkya looked back over her shoulder and saw Dulvarna dart forward and twist around the back of the ape-demon. She slashed across one hamstring but before she could slash the other, the beast turned and slammed a shovel-sized claw into the warrior woman’s shoulder, sending her reeling. It lashed out with its other claw and Dulvarna ducked. Wounded and dazed, Dulvarna lifted her blade and faught on.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 3)

The demon leapt at Enlishia but even as it did, she heard a roar from the pillar behind her and knew what was coming. Another of the crimson-skinned creature burst forth from the flesh there and leapt at the ranger. A claw lashed out and Enlishia ducked, the huge limb stirring her short hair as it passed over her head. The demon in front of her saw its chance and rushed at her, leading with its shoulder. The creature slammed into the ranger, driving the breath from her and forcing her back towards her other enemy. At the last, Enlishia ducked and twisted away to her right just as the demon behind her, reached out for her. She turned on the spot, put her back to the wall next to an archway that led eastward into the shrine chamber and let loose an arrow.

The shaft drove into the leg of the closest demon but it was barely slowed and leapt towards her. Lavren raised his wand and uttered a curse, loosing a bolt of black, crackling, eldritch energy at the other demon. The blast struck the demon in the chest but it did not even falter. Instead it laughed, a terrible, menacing laugh that promised death to all it mocked. The two demons leapt forward together as Enlishia nocked another arrow to her bow and Lavren raised his sword. Then the pillars of flesh opened their mouths and disgorged streams of acid. A burst of acid struck Enlishia’s left arm and as pain seared up the limb, she screamed and fell back against the wall behind her. The demon to her left was upon her a moment later but his claw flailed wildly, striking the stone above her head. She had survived, she realised dimly through the dizzying pain of her wounded arm. The only question was for how long.

A stream of acid struck Litiraan’s left arm as he raised it to protect himself and he fell back into the doorway as pain tore through him. Two streams struck the demon but it seemed to ignore the acid and roared as Erlmoor ducked one stream only to be hit by a second from the southern of the chamber’s two pillars. Erlmoor channeled the pain into rage and roared back the demon as the terrible, crimson-skinned creature rushed at him again. The creature lashed out with its left arm and the dragonborn ducked under the clawed hand that reached out for him.

Beyond the pillar, Litiraan raised his shaking left arm despite the pain of the burned skin and flesh. He pointed his wand at the demon and uttered a spell that unleashed a curtain of flame to engulf the demon. As the fire burned the crimson-skin of the demon, Erlmoor leapt back and began to utter his own prayer. As the flames cleared and the demon began to roar his defiance he held his sword up with one hand and reached out with the other. Searing ribbons of light engulfed the demon and it screamed then in true pain as the divine power of Lathander touched its Abyss-spawned flesh. It turned its head and fixed Erlmoor with its piercing red eyes, promising a painful death to the dragonborn for the pain that he had inflicted.

Telkya was still retreating towards Dulvarna when the mouths of the two flesh pillars in front of her opened and began to spray acid. More spayed from the pillar behind her and though she held up her arms to protect herself, it did her no good. The burning liquid seared into the flesh of her arms, splashed her face and tore into her back as the pillar behind her, close to where Dulvarna faught the ape-demon, vomited forth its own terrible bile. She looked up as tendrils of vapor rose from the flesh of her right cheek and drew some satisfaction from the fact that the demons before her were cringing and cowering themselves as the acid struck them. They roared in pain and as another roar joined them from behind her, Telkya knew that the ape-demon had been similarly wounded. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that Dulvarna’s right arm had been blackened and burned by the acid but the warrior woman was gritting her teeth and holding her sword up before her. Then another roar drew Telkya’s attention back to the demons she faced and grimly, despite the pain she felt, she raised her sword to defend herself.

The demon from the left came first and leapt upon Telkya in a fierce fury, slapping her to the ground with its clawed hand and then plunging its fiercesome teeth into her arm as she tried to defend herself. Telkya heard her acid-burned arm break with a loud crack and cried out as more pain lanced up to her shoulder. Desperately she shuffled backwards along the floor as the second demon came forward and as it brought its clawed hands down, she leapt to her feet and beyond its reach. It lunged at her with its teeth, apparently sensing that she was badly hurt. Telkya was still quick enough, though, to leap back again and the demon’s teeth slammed into the wall as it was thrown off balance. Telkya’s voice sang out in a prayer to Corellon and as it reached a conclusion, her blade glowed brightly and she stabbed at the unbalanced demon. The blade drove into the creature’s side and it reared back while a glowing radiance enveloped Telkya and gave her back a small amount of her strength. She raised her voice in another healing prayer as she retreated towards Dulvarna and felt another sting of pain as the bone in her arm cracked back into place and began to knit back together. The pain of her burns began to fade and some strength returned to her. Dulvarna glanced over at her and Telkya smiled. The warrior woman smiled back and then turned back to her demon enemy.

Dulvarna roared her own defiance and rushed at the ape-demon, her blade weaving back and forth in a dance to deceive the creature’s fiendish mind. As her blade moved left, Dulvarna suddenly darted right and brought Aecris with her, driving the greatsword into the demon’s hip. It staggered and fell back against the wall behind it. Dulvarna came forward after it and slashed out with her blade, cutting into the beast’s belly, leaving a deep and bleeding wound. The ape-demon roared in pain and anger and lashed out with a huge backhand that smashed Dulvarna hard into the wall of the archway. As she still gasped for breath, the demon came forward and smashed down with its other fist onto Dulvarna’s chest. Pain exploded through her body and she felt ribs crack beneath the huge blow. The demon roared its triumph and raised both fists for a killing blow. Dulvarna lay at its feet, helpless to prevent her own doom.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 4)

Lavren reeled backwards as the crimson-skinned demon rushed at him and struck him forehand with its clawed hand. He reached out to the wall next to him to steady himself and felt a wave of nausea assail him. He struggled through the urge to vomit and pushed himself upright just as the terrible flesh pillars began to scream in familiar rage once more. Lavren looked over at Enlishia just as the air began to shimmer around her and then in an instant, both the ranger and the demon she had been fighting had vanished.

Lavren returned his attention to the demon that shared the chamber with him and raised his sword. As he did so, he saw two arrows drive into the side of the red-skinned creature and throw it to the right a step. Enlishia had to have reappeared in the entry chamber, he realised, and as he leapt back to put his back against the wall, he knew he had a chance to fell this demon as it stood alone against he and the ranger.

Hastily, Lavren hissed a curse in elven and loosed a bolt of crackling black energy from the wand in his left hand, infused with the power of the Shadowfell that flowed through the gloved he wore. The bolt seared into the demon’s chest and sent it staggering back away from the elf. He stepped forward and loosed another bolt, this one of eldritch fire but the demon was not strong enough to resist a second spell. The bolt seared through its breastbone and pierced whatever dark ember served the creature as a heart. The demon let forth one last anguished roar and then fell forward to land at Lavren’s feet. The elf smiled to himself and rushed through the archway into the entry chamber. His arrival was greeted by a fiercesome roar even greater than that of the demon that had just fallen. Enlishia glanced towards Lavren as she retreated into the archway and Lavren stopped, sword and wand wavering in his hands as he looked upon the might of the ape-demon, shifted by the pillars as the companions had been.

Erlmoor felt the nauseating shift as the pillars screamed in rage and found himself a heartbeat later facing an archway with an altar beyond it. On the altars sat the glyph-covered, golden bell and before it, Litiraan had appeared, seemingly as dazed as the others. Erlmoor started to call out to the elf but as he did so, a demon appeared before him and roars filled the air behind him. He turned on the spot and saw that her was surrounded. To his left, close to the flesh pillar against the eastern wall of the chamber, Telkya and Dulvarna had appeared but they were beyond his reach. For now, the dragonborn stood alone.

Erlmoor ducked as a claw lashed out towards his neck and felt the tearing weapons whistle through the air above his head. He rose quickly but as he did so, another demon rounded the pillar next to him and backhanded him across the face, sending him reeling. Another struck him across the back, its claws driving his armour into his flesh and spinning him back towards the other demons. More claws lashed out, one grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the slavering maw of one of the demons. Erlmoor pushed out with both elbows and freed himself leaving the jaws of the demon to snap shut on empty air.
“Take the bell and get it out of here,” Erlmoor called out to Litiraan desperately and the elf heard him.

Litiraan reached out for the bell and grasped its bone handle, carefully avoiding the sharp, steel spikes set along its length. Even as he grasped it, the spikes seemed to change position and stab outwards, driving themselves into his hand as though to secure themselves there. Litiraan’s blood flowed down over the bone handle and he cried out but he knew he had to escape with the bell and turned to flee westward, staggering out of the altar chamber.

Erlmoor saw the elf leave and smiled to himself before raising his voice in prayer to Lathander. He thanked the Morninglord for Litiraan’s bravery and offered up his own life to save his companions from this terrible place. As his blade glowed brightly, he plunged it into the chest of one of the demons and with a terrible roar, the creature stumbled backwards and fell against the archway that led into the altar chamber. The other demons roared their anger and moved forward to bring down the troublesome paladin once and for all but then Telkya and Dulvarna joined the battle.

Telkya raised her left hand high and chanted a prayer to Corellon that brought down a column of divine light upon the nearest demon. The creature roared and spat as the divine fire burned it and then Dulvarna rushed at it with her blade raised above her head. Aecris came down and split the creature’s shoulder, driving down into its chest but still the demon would not fall. With a roar that mixed pain and defiance, the creature turned its terrible gaze on this new foe and prepared to smite her with its terrible claws.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 5)

Enlishia raised her bow and nocked an arrow as the ape-demon towered over her but she knew that she did not have enough time. A club-like fist swung out and she ducked but when the other fist came in from the left she was too slow. The claws struck her shoulder, tore into the flesh and spun her around into the archway that led southwards out of the room. Despite the pain, Enlishia raised her bow and took aim at the demon, but then the pillars of flesh began to scream in rage again and the ranger braced herself for what she knew was coming next. Trying desperately to root herself to the spot through force of will alone, Enlishia saw and felt the air around her warp and this time, she did not move.

As the warping cleared, she saw that Lavren had not moved either and that Litiraan now stood beside her with a golden bell clutched in a sticky, blood-soaked hand. The ape-demon had vanished but in its place, in the corner of the room behind the closest howling pillar, stood a bemused and wounded crimson-skinned demon. Enlishia raised her bow and fired but the demon recovered from its confusion quickly and ducked behind the pillar. The arrow smashed into the wall and shattered leaving the demon to emerge with a vengeful roar.

Lavren raised his wand and uttered a powerful fey curse that assailed the demon with terrible dreams. It began to bite and claw at the empty air, tearing open its own flesh as it did so and slamming into the walls next to it. Suddenly, the demon howled and leapt at Lavren, lashing out with one of its claws to strike the elf’s left shoulder. The warlock was spun sideways into the wall of the archway but he kept his feet and turned on the spot to face the demon again. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt of energy from his free hand into the side of the demon and drew its gaze but then he retreated back through the doorway to the chambers and out into the corridor beyond.
“We have the bell!” he called out as loudly as he could manage with his pain-wracked voice.
“We have the bell!” Lavren echoed and then Enlishia took up the call.
“We have the bell!!” the ranger called out. “We can leave this place!”
If anyone heard them then, they gave no sign.

Erlmoor heard his companions calling and smiled to himself. The warping had not moved him this time, nor had it shifted two of the demons that stood close to him. He grinned at his enemies and raised his sword to defend himself. The ape-demon had reappeared beside the paladin’s two opponents in front of where Telkya had been standing and Erlmoor had turned a sardonic smile upon this new foe too. Now that Litiraan had taken the bell, the dragonborn was determined to make sure the rest of his companions escaped this terrible place even if he did not.

The first demon came at him in a rush of flailing claws and gnashing teeth but he ducked each mighty swing of the deadly clawed fists and leapt back to evade the vicious teeth. The other demon came forward then from the paladin’s right then before he had chance to turn and the creature bore him to the ground. A claw grabbed his cheek and tore it open while teeth ripped into his shoulder while questing for his neck. Desperately he tried to pull himself free until he finally surged to his feet with the last of his strength and shoved the demon away by raising his arms.

Erlmoor raised his voice in what he fully expected be his last prayer and as his blade glowed brightly, he struck out at the demon before him, cutting a deep wound across its belly. Divine energy flowed along the blade and gave a small amount of strength back to its wielder but Erlmoor knew that it would not be enough to save him. He retreated towards the altar chamber seeking to lure the demons after him and away from his friends but as he did so, he saw a shimmer of bright light out of the corner of his eye. Glancing back, he saw Telkya appear in the archway with sword in hand.
“That ape thing nearly cornered me,” the elf maid said with a smile.

She raised her sword above her head with both hands then and began a prayer to Corellon that would infuse the sword with his divine power. The blade glowed brightly and then faded to a shimmering luminescence as Telkya lowered it and held it before her, ready to face the demons. From around a corner in the shrine chamber came Dulvarna, her own blade held up before her. She came forward to stand beside Erlmoor and looked over at the dragonborn.
“Time to go, my friend,” she said. “We have the bell.”
“After you,” said Erlmoor and then the two turned back to face the demon onslaught as they retreated.

The ape-demon came forward in a fierce rage, still pained by the belly wound that Dulvarna had given it. One huge claw slashed out and she ducked but the other slammed Dulvarna back against the corner of the archway. She gasped as her breath fled her lungs but twisted away as a clumsy blow intended to kill her smashed the stone above her head. Then, the mouths of the twisted pillars of flesh opened and disgorged acid once more, spraying burning liquid on all around.

Enlishia ducked as a spray of acid shot out towards her and it seared the wall behind her but Lavren was not so lucky. He tried to dodge aside but as he turned, acid burned his right arm and he cried out in pain, almost dropping his sword. The pillar nearest the door sprayed its own acid and this time, Enlishia was burned in the leg by a spurt of the foul liquid and she stumbled before her demon foe. Only the fact that the demon had been burned across its back by acid and still writhed in pain, saved her from death. Desperately, the ranger pushed herself to her feet and darted for the doorway where Litiraan waited with the bell.

Lavren looked at the demon and made his own decision to leave a heartbeat after Enlishia had done. He concentrated on his fey nature, reached out to the eaves of Cormanthor beyond the mountains and disappeared into a cloud of silver motes. He reappeared next to the first of the flesh pillars that the companions had seen and rushed through the open doors and into the passage. He had passed Litiraan before he stopped and looked back to see if any of the others were following. Only then did Lavren think of poor, sweet Telkya, still trapped somewhere amongst the demons and the terrible pillars. He cursed his selfishness and started back towards the doors but then he saw the way that Litiraan’s shoulders had slumped. He had already given up what little hope he had had left for his sister. Then, beyond Litiraan, Lavren saw the demon rushing at Enlishia.

Enlishia was holding the terrible wound in her leg when she glimpsed a red flash of movement ahead of her. She looked up as the demon surged around the pillars and reached out to close the doors but she knew she would be too late. She ducked back as a claw slashed out and it gouged only the black wood of the door next to her. The demon lunged, its teeth snapping but again Enlishia drew back and its teeth closed on nothing but air. Desperately, she scrambled backwards but the demon kept coming and the ranger knew that she did not have enough strength to evade the creature for long. Only when Litiraan hurled a ball of flame into the entry chamber to burst behind the demon did Enlishia dare to hope that she may live.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 17 - The Howling Pillars (Part 6)

Telkya watched as the demons came forward in a tide of red skin and fur. Erlmoor ducked under a flailing claw but then the demon was upon him and its teeth sank into his throat. The dragonborn sank to his knees, gave out one last strangled roar and then fell beneath the demon’s onslaught. The second red-skinned demon rounded the nearest pillar and leapt over the fallen Erlmoor to lash out at Dulvarna. Its claw swung high and she ducked easily and as it followed with its teeth, she elbowed it in the face and kept it at bay.
“I can save him, you cannot!” Telkya called as if sensing Dulvarna’s indecision.

The elf maid uttered a prayer to Corellon for healing then and reached out with her left hand towards Erlmoor’s fallen form. Her hand glowed with a golden light and the light reached out to Erlmoor and closed the tear in his neck. Telkya saw the dragonborn’s eyes open as he lay behind one of the crimson skinned demons and her heart sang.
Dulvarna looked down and saw the dragonborn move and she too felt miraculous hope return to her. She stabbed her blade into the thigh of the nearest demon and leapt back, beyond the reach of the ape-demon. The red-furred creature roared its anger at its enemies and allies alike as its enemies retreated. Then the eyes of the faces embedded in the howling pillars glowed with a terrifying energy and struck Dulvarna as though with a huge blow. She was driven back by their unholy power into the altar chamber, truly beyond the ape-demon.

When the eyes of the faces in the pillars glowed in the entry chamber, they decided upon Litiraan as their enemy and drove him further back up the corridor from the doors. Enlishia leapt back from the doors as the demon turned its gaze towards Litiraan for a moment and in the time she had, she raised her bow and fired. The first arrow drove into the creature’s chest and the second, loosed before it could take a step, drove through its throat and felled it.

Enlishia let her bow clatter to the floor as she pulled cloth strips from her belt pouch to bind her wounds. Lavren began to do the same, leaning against the corridor wall with his wand in his teeth and his sword leaning against the stone beside him. He looked up after a few moments.
“We have to go back for them,” he said.
“Agreed,” said Litiraan. “But we leave this accursed bell here.”
Enlishia and Lavren nodded their agreement and Litiraan began the painful task of prizing the bell from the grip it had on his hand.

The two demons leapt into the archway and rushed at Telkya. A claw lashed out and slammed her into the wall to her right while another came up under her chin and sent her reeling back into the altar chamber. She heard a roar then and knew that it was not made by a demon. Behind the two red-skinned creatures, Erlmoor rose with his blade in his hand. He plunged its point into the spine of the nearest of his enemies and as it sank to its knees, he drew his blade back. He swept his sword across as the demon knelt facing Telkya and clove its head from its shoulders with one blow.

Telkya leapt forward as the remaining red-skinned demon roared in anger and plunged her own, blade, still shimmering with the blessing she had placed on it, into the creature’s side. It roared again but as it did so, Dulvarna rushed towards it and plunged her own blade into its belly. It staggered back towards Erlmoor who raised his blade for the killing blow, but then the ape-demon roared. It lashed out with a single, huge fist and drove the dagger-like claws into the dragonborn’s back. Erlmoor gasped and fell forward onto the stone floor between the feet of his demon foes. Dulvarna and Telkya cried out but then the pillar behind then in the altar chamber began to bite at Telkya with its many mouths and both women were forced to leap clear.

Enlishia skirted the northern wall of the entry chamber and rushed into the eastern archway to where she hoped she would find her companions. The ape-demon stood over the fallen form of Erlmoor but was desperately trying to free itself from the snapping teeth of the faces within the pillar next to it. The ranger raised her bow and loosed an arrow into the red-furred beast’s side. It roared in anger and pain but before it had even found the source of this new torment, Enlishia loosed another arrow that drove into the side of the creature’s neck.

Lavren came up behind Enlishia and with a string of curses in elven, he loosed black, crackling energy at the creature. The ape-demon knew its doom too late and looked towards the western archway just as the black, eldritch energy seared into its chest of out of its back. It looked down at the wound stupidly for a few moments and then keeled over onto its back. Litiraan rushed past them into the chamber and turned towards the southern archway where the last red-skinned demon had hold of Dulvarna’s arm in its teeth. Even as he looked, Litiraan saw his sister appear beside Dulvarna and drive her blade up into the demon’s throat. With a gurgle, the demon staggered and then fell backwards to lie next to Erlmoor.

Dulvarna rushed to the dragonborn’s side, dragging him beyond the reach of the terrible mouths of the pillars. She felt for his lifebeat and paused for a moment before looking up at the others and nodding.
“He lives,” she announced, before turning him onto his side to begin binding the terrible wounds that the ape-demon had inflicted on Erlmoor’s back. After what had seemed like an eternity, victory finally belonged to the Defenders of Winterhaven.

Next.....The Face of Baphomet

 

[Medriev]

Note for DMs - The Howling Pillars

Thought I would add a quick note here for those who are in the process of running, or are thinking of running this module. This encounter was the first in Thunderspire that for me raised the serious possibility of a TPK. The random element of the pillars coupled with the powerful demon enemies makes the encounter hugely unpredictable and potentially very dangerous. The 6 PCs here only just survived so if DMs are running this with smaller groups then I'd recommend caution. As I quickly discovered, more danger was to follow......

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 18 - The Face of Baphomet (Part 1)

Telkya looked nervously towards the double doors to the to the west and fingered the blade of her sword as she did so. She disliked watching alone but had insisted on taking her turn as everyone needed as much rest as they could after the battle with the demons and the terrible pillars. Now, they had withdrawn their camp to the gnoll’s shrine complex, though none camped in the altar chamber itself, and the doors were barricaded to the west with the table and chairs from the southern room.

Telkya looked down the corridor to towards the southern chamber where Erlmoor, Lavren and Litiraan slept. Though she had taken her reverie earlier in the night, she had still not discerned how she truly felt about Lavren. He was a wild free spirit, a kindred to her own when she had the chance to get away from her brother, but she was still not sure whether she could allow him to court her. He had mentioned Sumith and called her an old friend but Telkya was sure that there was more to it than that. A roguish elf such as Lavren, who had made a fey pact that was now forbidden in Cormanthor surely had other lovers in his past. Sumith was surely one of them but Telkya was surprised that she had not heard the name before. House Strongbow was influential and the dalliances of its young scions would surely be the talk of the Elven Court. It seemed that House Strongbow had ways of keeping such matters quiet. Telkya mentally added this to her list of worries about Lavren. She would not be some brief dalliance for the elf that would be forgotten in a year or a decade. Telkya furrowed her brow and looked back to the western doors.

As she did so, the elf maid felt rather than heard a terrible roar from beyond the barred portals. As she leapt to her feet with her sword in hand, a huge minotaur barrelled through the doors and into the corridor. Telkya raised her sword but without heeding her, the minotaur rushed through the elf maid, leaving a cold feeling that pierced her heart. She glanced at the door and saw that the doors and the furniture used to barricade them were untouched by the minotaur’s passage. Whatever the creature was, it had passed straight through the wood as it had passed through her. Telkya turned around to her the left to follow where the minotaur had gone and found that it had rushed into the chamber where the gnoll priestess had slept. There, it stopped before Dulvarna who slept on the bed and Enlishia who slept on the floor. Raising it huge fists to the ceiling, the minotaur let forth a tormented wail of rage and anguish. Dulvarna and Enlishia jerked awake and stared at the creature but no sooner had it finished its tortured wail, it vanished as if it had never been.
“What was that?” Telkya gasped as she stepped into the room.
“I have no idea,” answered Enlishia groggily.
“Well let us hope it does not come back,” said Telkya.

Dulvarna and Enlishia nodded their agreement and smiled comfortingly at Telkya. Nervously, the elf maid made her way back to her position just inside the double doors and sat back down. She spent the rest of the night with her gaze fixed on the doors and her ears keenly listening for the sound of any more disturbances but none came.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 18 - The Face of Baphomet (Part 2)

Dulvarna and Erlmoor pulled open the double doors to the chamber and revealed a ten foot wide room. Jet black curtains hung from hooks set into the ceiling, forming a wall ahead of the companions. They had returned to the chamber of blood where they had met the ghosts that morning and turned westward this time, turning aside to the north to the double doors that they had just opened.
“This chamber makes no sense to me,” Erlmoor rumbled in his deep baritone. “These curtains must hide something.”

The dragonborn started forward and raised his blade. He lashed out at the curtain ahead of him and cut it down. Beyond was a wide chamber with stout square pillars that were covered on each face by mirrors framed in brass. Leering, demonic faces were carved along the top of each frame and Erlmoor immediately felt a sickly sense of foreboding in his stomach. As Erlmoor paused, Enlishia raised her bow, nocked an arrow to its string and weaved her way through the group. She strode out across the floor of the chamber, raising her bow as she did so, ready for any threat.
Lavren started forward just after Enlishia, glancing warily towards the nearest pillar and the mirrors that adorned it. Each showed only pure darkness rather than a reflection of the room and the companions as they moved forward. Lavren sensed some terrible power within the mirror and tried to turn away but he was too slow. A sudden nausea ceased him and the chamber spun around him. As his vision cleared, he found himself in a dungeon-like chamber lit by dim, magical light. At the far end of the chamber, a gnoll with golden fur crouched but looked up as the elf appeared. The gnoll snarled and reached out for a spear that lay next to it. The creature rose with a crazed look in its eyes and Lavren raised his wand, uttering a curse and loosing black, crackling energy towards the creature that was apparently his his cell mate.
“The mirrors are enchanted,” shouted Litiraan as he saw Lavren disappear. “We cannot look at them! Destroy them if you can!”

Even as he said it, Litiraan glanced towards the nearest mirror without thinking and, though he turned away as quickly as he could, he felt the room spinning with nauseating speed around him. Suddenly, the chamber was gone and he stood in a dimly lit chamber facing a wild gnoll with golden fur. The creature rushed forward and the elf raised his wand to loose a bolt of magical energy.

Dulvarna rushed at the nearest pillar with her blade held before her and her eyes averted but as she reached the mirrors, she looked up and was drawn to the blackness. The room around her swirled and suddenly she stood in a dimly lit chamber with a gnoll before her. She raised her blade and charged, slashing Aecris across the chest of her foe and sending the creature reeling.

Telkya raised her hand to send searing light towards the mirror but as she looked up to her target, she saw the utter blackness in the mirror and felt the world spinning around her. She appeared next to Litiraan and Lavren in the dimly lit prison and loosed her bolt of light as soon as she saw the ravenous gnoll. The creature staggered back as the bolt struck it and then Erlmoor appeared in front of Telkya. He roared his anger and defiance at the fate that had brought them here and then charged the gnoll. The paladin’s blade sang out, clove into the gnoll’s shoulder and with a yelp, the creature leapt back. It raised its spear and snarled at Dulvarna and Erlmoor.

Enlishia appeared beside Telkya a heartbeat later and the trap was complete. She raised her bow towards the gnoll but quickly realised that she could not get a clear shot at the creature. Looking around at the others, she smiled weakly and then looked the walls over for any sign of a way out. There was none.

The gnoll roared furiously and stabbed out with its spear at Dulvarna but just as the point seemed about to pierce her side, she glanced it aside with Aecris. Lavren closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before vanishing into a shower of light motes. He reappeared behind the gnoll and with an uttered curse, he loosed black, crackling energy into the creature’s shoulder. The gnoll roared again and spun on the spot to regard this new threat. As it did so, Litiraan appeared next to Lavren and loosed a silver bolt of magical energy into the creature’s chest. The gnoll staggered and Dulvarna stabbed her blade towards it. At the last, the gnoll twisted around again and Aecris only nicked its back but it was desperately wounded and weak now. Still, it would not yield.

The gnoll roared one last time and then Telkya appeared behind it with her sword in her hand. She stabbed out with the blade, driving it into the gnoll’s back and out through its belly. With a strangled gasp, the creature collapsed to the floor between Dulvarna and Telkya. The companions were alone in the darkness.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 18 - The Face of Baphomet (Part 3)

“No way in and no way out,” said Enlishia finally as she finished searching the walls of the prison chamber. “Only those accursed mirrors can bring you here and only the gods know how we could get out.”

She looked around at the others but they had long since given up. The gnoll had died perhaps as much as five hours ago. They had no wood for a fire so the five companions sat around the light of Litiraan’s wand disconsolately eating the meagre trail rations that they carried everywhere with them.
“So we just wait?” Enlishia asked. “Sit here until the food runs out and then watch each of us die one by one.”

The others looked up at her and then turned their attention back to the trail bread and dried meat that they were eating. Their shoulders slumped and Enlishia felt the sudden urge to cry out, to protest to the gods at the unfairness of the fate they had been dealt. They had come so far and faught so bravely and yet it would end like this. They would die in a sealed dungeon, undone by the magic mirrors that had trapped them. Turning, Enlishia stalked away to the far end of the chamber, close to where the gnoll lay dead. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts but as she walked, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She needed to be alone as well so that the others did not see here crying.