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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4677145" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 16 - Baphomet's Shrine (Part 1)Lavren woke to a smiling Telkya leaning over him and despite the pain of his wounds and the dry soreness of his throat, he felt his heart sing.“We prevailed then,” he said as loudly as his torn throat could muster.“Aye, we prevailed,” Telkya answered. “And you played your part as you always do.”“And now we go on,” said Enlishia, shouldering her bow. “More doors lead east from the passage we came down. We need to see what lurks there before we can rest.”“Enlishia is right,” said Litiraan to Lavren. “If you can go on, we must.”Lavren rose unsteadily with Telkya’s help, clinging to her for as long as he reasonably could before he bent to gather up his sword and wand that lay where they had fallen. Once he was ready, Dulvarna and Enlishia led them out of the eastern doors beyond the burned hay barricade and into the hallway beyond. They crossed the passage and Dulvarna pulled open the doors that led east to reveal the passageway beyond. With weapons and spells at the ready, the six companions started into the torch-lit hall. The corridor, hewn from black rock, seemed to connect three different areas and ahead it opened into a chamber , while along the eastern wall, closed doors could be seen, one single door and a set of double doors. Made of black wood, each door had an iron knocker carved in the shape of a minotaur’s snarling face while the flagstones on the floor each bore the symbol of a bull’s horned skull worked into them in blood red stone.“Watch the doors,” hissed Dulvarna quietly. “We’ll check the far chamber first. If anything’s there we might surprise it.”With wary looks towards the side doors to the east, the six companions crept southward down the torch-lit passageway and as they reached the chamber at the end, they rushed forward. There was a clattering of chairs as the chamber’s two occupants fell back from the table and for a moment, they seemed about to reach for the jagged-bladed short swords at their belts. Then, the two tieflings thought better of fighting when outnumbered and held up their hands, palms outward. Both were clad in close-fitting leather armour with crimson cloaks over their backs and the wicked-looking short swords they had almost drawn on their belts.“We yield,” said the one on the left.“Then tell us what awaits us in the side chambers,” hissed Telkya, stepping forward with her sword raised.“In the far chamber lurks a gnoll who tends the shrine in the next chamber,” answered the same tiefling. “She is powerful in the dark arts and can call forth demons from the shrine. Beware her.”“And why should we not beware you?” Enlishia challenged. “Surely you serve this gnoll and guard her shrine.”“We serve the coin she pays us,” spoke the second tiefling honestly. “We do not seek death here, only gold.”“Then be gone from here,” growled Erlmoor. “And may you choose your causes more carefully in the future lest we not be so forgiving when next we meet.”The tieflings gathered up a backpack each and then moved warily past the companions. When they were out of the chamber, they fled northward and turned left through the double doors out of the complex without pausing or looking back. Grimly, Dulvarna nodded towards the northern door and started towards it.</blockquote>

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