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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4610819" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 9 - The Deeper Hold (Part 1)When each had tended to their wounds and explored the side rooms off the hall and the barracks they found that they had two ways open to them. Double doors led west from a corridor that led out of the entry foyer while another pair of doors led north from the ruined hall. They opted for the latter as the least conspicuous route into the deeper hold and beyond the doors they found a curving passage that ascended stairs and then bent around to the west before ending at another set of double doors. With their blades leaning against their shoulders, Dulvarna and Erlmoor pushed the doors open. Within, cold shadows seemed to cling to the long-ruined chapel that was revealed. In the centre of the room stood a damaged statue that depicted a fierce demonic minotaur. One arm had broken off and lay in pieces at the statue’s feet and portions of the ceiling had fallen in, partially filling several small chambers behind the statue. A rusty iron door stood in the far, western wall. Dulvarna moved into the room cautiously guided only by the light of Litiraan’s wand. As she passed close to the statue something moved ahead of her and suddenly, from out of the rubble lurched the body of a long-dead warrior in tattered black mail. Sunken flesh clung to its bones, and its lips had drawn back from its black teeth. It raised a rotting hand, revealing jagged claws as it hissed and attacked.“Wights!” Dulvarna called out. “Ware their touch for they have the chill of the grave within them!”Even as she shouted her warning she tried to raise her sword but was too slow and the wight that had risen before her slashed a claw across the top of her chest as it swept past her towards the doors. She saw another stirring in the rubble behind her and to the right and another close to the western wall. She raised her blade and charged the furthest wight. She reached the creature in three strides and slashed out with Aecris. The blade tore into the rotten side of the creature and it faltered as it tried to rise.Behind Dulvarna, Telkya strode into the chamber, praying loudly to Corellon as she came. Divine light burst from the amulet in her hand and seared the undead creatures as they tried to rise, driving two of them back from the priestess to the far corner of the chamber. Erlmoor strode into the chamber and immediately turned left to clamber over the rubble towards the back of statue where he had seen movement. With a roar, he sprayed the wight there with acid and then lashed out with his blade, praying as he lashed out with his sword. The blade glowed brightly for a moment and then clove the shoulder of the wight that lurked there as it rose from the rubble.Litiraan was next into the chamber and he strode past Telkya, uttering a spell as he came. Flame erupted from his wand as he leveled it at the wights and the undead creatures cowered back into the northwest corner of the room. Lavren moved into the chamber beside Litiraan, cursing the nearest wight in elven and then uttering an incantation. Black, crackling energy seared out from his wand and struck the nearest undead creature, hurling it back against the stone wall of the chamber. The two wights in the northwest corner hissed their hatred but would not come forward while Telkya still held her amulet in her hand.Dulvarna heard a movement behind her and with a  glance over her shoulder she saw another wight rising from the rubble in what was once an antechamber behind the statue. The creature lurched forward and lashed out with a clawed hand that tore open the back of Dulvarna’s shoulder and jerked her around towards the creature. Dulvarna raised her blade and retreated between the two wights but even as she did so, an arrow flew in from the left and drove into the shoulder of the wight that had just risen. Dulvarna glanced left and saw that Enlishia stood at the foot of the statue’s dais and was nocking another arrow to her bow. The other wight came at Dulvarna from the right and she turned her attention back to her enemies, retreating another step and parrying desperately but knowing now that aid was near. She slashed low at the legs of one of the wights but the creature leapt back out of reach and Dulvarna was forced to parry once more.Telkya rushed up onto the dais to stand next to the statue and began another prayer, grasping her star amulet tightly as she did so. Light seared out and struck the wall next to one of the cowering wights and she knew then that her power over them was broken. They hissed now in derision at her ineffectual powers that had driven them back but failed to slay them. Together the two started forward. Litiraan loosed a silver bolt from his wand desperately but that flew just wide of the nearest wight and struck the wall behind the creature. Lavren loosed another crackling black bolt but this too missed the wights and struck the stone behind them. The wights came forward but instead of rushing at their attackers, they turned towards Dulvarna, seeking to surround the warrior woman and bring her down in a flurry of tearing claws. One clawed at her and then the other while the wights in front of Dulvarna rushed at her, tearing at her flesh. Enlishia fired desperately at the wights as Dulvarna spun around on the spot and slashed at them with her blade trying to keep them at bay. Blood poured from several wounds on the warrior woman’s body and with each swing her strength was visibly waning. She staggered and wight lunged in but at the last she parried, twisted on the spot and drove her blade into the belly of one of the wights behind her. The creature collapsed into a heap of armour and bones and Dulvarna retreated towards her companions.In the chamber behind the statue where Erlmoor faught, the wight came at him fiercely and tore at his arm, opening a deep wound that rapidly numbed as the chill of the grave infected it. He fell back and lashed out wildly with his sword to try to keep the wight at bay. The creature paused for a moment and then advanced once more.</blockquote>

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