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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4720691" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 21 - The Inner Sanctum (Part 1)Erlmoor rushed out of the central chamber and knelt beside Dulvarna, praying fervently to Lathander. He laid a hand on the shoulder of the warrior woman and as divine light glowed in his palm, her eyes opened. Only then did  the dragonborn look up and see that the iron bound doors were what had made the booming noise a few moments before. They stood wide open while the twitching skeletons slowly grew still before them.“The doors are open,” Erlmoor called out. “But Dulvarna for one needs rest. We will stay in the central chamber for a few hours and then pass through the doors.”The companions did as he bade and rested in the central chamber while they watched in pairs from the southern and northern archways. Nothing disturbed their rest and the terrible, spiked black ball of force never passed the middle chamber while they rested. When they set off after a meagre meal, they drew near to the skeletons cautiously but as Dulvarna stepped amongst them, they remained unmoving. A thick grey mist obscured the passageway beyond the iron bound doors blocking all sight and seeming to eerily muffle the sounds of the companions’ footfalls. They followed Dulvarna into the mist, blinded by it for a moments until they emerged at another set of double doors. Dulvarna and Erlmoor pushed these open and strode boldly into the chamber beyond.The hall within was dominated by a leering idol that depicted a howling minotaur warrior armed with a massive axe. Before the idol was an iron cauldron filled with a bubbling liquid that gave off a thick mist. A short staircase led to a raised area that overlooked the idol and three more cauldrons were set on this upper area along with a stone altar. To the east of the altar, a series of green, ghostly runes had been scribed into the floor. Two elves stood within the glowing runes apparently in some sort of trance. A gnoll with large bat wings and curved horns stood behind the altar, grasping a rod in one hand and a sheaf of parchment in the others. A massive ape-like demon stood beside him while a small pack of red-skinned carnage demons snarled at the intruders from atop the raised platform. Looming over all was a massive skeleton if a minotaur clutching a greataxe. With a shrill howl from the gnoll, the monsters moved to attack.Enlishia darted right and began firing arrows, loosing two into one of the red-skinned demons on the raised platform. Litiraan followed her, raising his wand in his left hand and uttering a spell as he ran. An orange ball of flame flew forth from the wand and darted towards the skeleton before bursting into a shower of searing flame. The fire charred black the ribs and left arm of the skeletons but the demons and the gnoll threw themselves away and avoided the fireball. Erlmoor roared and sprayed acid, but this time the skeleton lurched to the left to avoid harm. The gnoll ducked down beside the altar but one of the red skinned demons was burned by the deadly spray. The dragonborn called out a challenge and charged then, rushing up the steps to meet the skeleton at the top. His blade sang out and smashed into the side of the skeleton’s leg, chipping the bone but scarcely slowing the terrible creature.The ape demon roared its response to Erlmoor then and leapt over the cauldron next to it and landed on the floor below the ledge. It rushed at Erlmoor’s back as the paladin tried to turn to meet this new threat. A huge arm swung out and struck the dragonborn, spinning him towards the demon just as the other arm came up and slammed him under the chin, He reeled back and fell back, sprawling on the steps at the feet of the minotaur skeleton. Telkya saw Erlmoor’s plight and raised her amulet high while raising her blade in her other hand. She called on Corellon and brought down a column of searing light to engulf the ape demon. The creature roared its anger as the divine light seared its flesh and staggered back a step from Erlmoor, giving the dragonborn chance to get up. Telkya saw a flash of movement from the left then and as she looked, the gnoll raised its left hand and loosed a bolt of black, crackling energy towards her. She dodged to the left and the bolt struck the wall beside her but she gained no satisfaction from her escape. The gnoll would try again to strike her down if it was not dealt with quickly.</blockquote>

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