NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 1523140" data-attributes="member: 11">part 1 (orf 2)Session #58The broad steps led down into a large central chamber. With a vaulted twenty foot ceiling, the marble tiled floor was stained with dust and blood, and covered in loose stones, cracked tiles and bits of bone.  Two huge statues of armored dwarves, now lay in large pieces, bisecting the room diagonally.  Across the room a similar stairway led down another level into further darkness, and a fifteen foot wide hall led out of the chamber in the left lower corner.  The opposite corner from where the stairs from above turned left into the room, a stone statue still stood.  It was a dwarven warrior in chainmail, holding a warhammer before his face.  The workmanship and detail was incredible and Kazrack gasped.  There was a setting for gemstone, as if it had been woven into the beard, but it had been wedged out.Beorth held a torch aloft, as Ratchis led the way towards the hall.“…watch your back…”  Whispers floated on the stale air like leaves on a pond.  They all frantically looked around, craning their necks to determine where they came from.  “…coming to kill me again, are you Ratchissssss…”  It was Derek’s voice.  “I’m coming to put you to rest,” Rachis whispered back.  He saw the hall was actually in two sections, one going up and to the right, the other parallel to the chamber and kind of going off to the right on the other side of a thick stone wall that seemed to help support the tons of stone above.  There was a set of thick oaken double door reinforced with bands of iron directly ahead in the upper portion of the hall, Ratchis moved ahead to check the leftward way.  This broad hall’s walls were decorated with carving of huge dwarven faces side by side.  The faces were nearly five feet across and carved from the very stone with incredible detail, though places seemed to have been rubbed down by the centuries.“Do you recognize any of these figures or faces?” Beorth asked Kazrack. The dwarf walked slowly forward, going right up to one of the faces, and feeling the curve of stone with his bare hand.  He laid his face against the stone to check for seams.Ratchis crept past, looking cursorily into two barren alcoves on the left hand wall.“Why not let us eat the mage?” a voice hissed from seemingly behind them, from the other hall.  “I hear he is useless, anyway.”  This voice was not Derek’s.  It was deeper and more sinister.“Kazrack!” Ratchis warned, as heard sudden footsteps from the other hall.  There emerged a dwarf in chainmail, and holding a battered metal shield.  He swung a bright golden flail in the other hand, and wore no helmet.  A large portion of his scalp was torn away revealing cracked skull beneath.  His eyes were red and glowed with cold light.Ratchis turned and the grabbed his left shoulder crying out.  An arrow had come flying out of the wall where the dwarven face was.  There were arrow slits that were so cleverly disguised; they still could not be seen even though an arrow can come flying from one.  Martin acted quickly, firing his crossbow at the thing, but the bolt merely lodged in its shield, and its eyes brightened with more intense hatred.“Beorth, I’ll take the torch so you can fight,” the mage dropped his crossbow to the floor.Beorth nearly dropped the torch as he passed it back without looking at his companion.  Sword in hand he rushed at the dwarf.  “Feel the wrath of my god!” he cried, and running past everyone brought the sword down on the undead thing.  The long sword sparked against the shield and then slid down catching on the dead dwarf’s skull, prying a piece off.  Black blood and brain matter bubbled out from the wound, but the thing did not pause.  It whipped the flail around, catching the paladin in the ribs.  Beorth was able to parry the follow-up blow, but rubbed his side.“Don’t go to it!  Wait for it to come to you,” Schlomo called to Beorth, adding a curse in gnomish.Anarie moved to get a shot with her bow, while Ratchis and Kazrack marched forward to help Beorth.“Martin, Kismet, move back into the chamber so you don’t get hit by arrows from behind,” Kazrack suggested.  As if in answer, Martin cried out as an arrow bit into him.   Kismet immediately obeyed, but Scholom hefted his hammer and stood his ground, waiting for something to get within swinging range.As Ratchis hurried up the hall he was startled as out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a figure standing there, as if it had been hidden in one of the alcoves.  It was a man, a dead man with milky white eyes, and skin peeling from his face and bald head.  His left ear and neck were horribly burned, and had long ago festered and fallen away in chunks.  He wore a black priest’s robes over his chain, which was embroidered with silver serpents.  He wore a fierce golden jackal’s head about his neck.The new foe’s hand crackled with black energy as he reached out for the half-orc, but Ratchis leapt aside, warning the others.  “There is another one back here!  Very powerful!” As Beorth and the undead dwarven warrior were locked in combat, Anarie spoke an arcane word and then leapt, tumbling past the dwarf to get behind him.  Unfortunately, at that moment, Beorth was driven back, allowing the dwarf to whip out with his flail catching Anarie on the backside, as she spun past.  She gave no indication of pain, even though she could feel the bruise already forming.Beorth felt the flail’s head smash into his face as it the dwarf brought it back up deftly.  The paladin sucked in air through his teeth and moved his blade up and down to keep a repeat blow from doing the same again.“Martin, fall behind D’nar,” Kazrack shouted orders.  “Beorth fall back to line up with me.  Back to back!”“Everyone fall back!” Ratchis echoed, and then ducked.  He had noted movement behind the stone dwarven face on the wall with the help of Martin’s torch.  He could see where one of the murder holes were, and ducked just in time avoid another arrow.  He turned to the robed figure, but it gave him a rictus grin and then crouching as if he were about to spring into a run, blurred out of view.He was gone.Martin took this opportunity to cast shield and hurry behind Ratchis.The undead dwarf, confident that Beorth could not get through his shield, turned to swing at Anarie.  She leapt back deftly, and he was forced to turn back to face Kazrack who coming forward, slashed at his back with his halberd.  The living dwarf sliced through the armor of the dead one.  “Why fight?” the dwarf croaked in dwarvish.  “Join me brother.  Eat their flesh and gain our strength.”“The strength of the gods flows through our veins, we have no need of your flesh,” Kazrack replies.With a pop, as air was displaced the black-robed ghast reappeared with a start, as if moment s before he had been moving with great speed, and nearly off balance reached out and ripped at Martin’s chest, tearing his watch-mage’s robes.  Martin shuddered as he felt the cold painful touch and the strength seemed to drain from his body.  He dropped down to his knees, dragged down by his pack and gear.  The air around the robed man was fetid and rotten; so thick it seemed to ooze up the nostrils and roll into the open mouth. Ratchis hurried forward, just barely avoiding yet another arrow, he brought his hammer against its shoulder and it crunched.“There is another one over here,” Ratchis called to his companions around the corner, fighting the dwarf.  “Martin is down!”As Martin frantically pulled the straps of his pack off his arms, Kazrack was distracted by Ratchis’ cry and left himself open.  The golden flail head struck him hard on the neck and the weight drove the dwarf off his feet.  Before Kazrack could get up or raise a defense, he felt the flail strike him again.  The flail was raised to come down again, but Kazrack was able to deflect it wit his halberd and stand, driving the huge axe-head into the ghoulish dwarven warrior.“Sagitta Magicus!” Kismet chirped and two arrows of light shot from her finger striking the black-robed ghast squarely in the chest.  He hissed and dove at Ratchis, tearing at him with thick black nails and his jagged teeth, but then tearing away before the half-orc could retaliate.“Lentus! Martin said, pointing at the ghast, but the spell seemed to have no effect.Beorth chopped at the undead dwarf’s arm, as he swung at Kazrack, but the blow was not slowed.  Slammed in the side of the head, Kazrack went down coughing blood.  Before Beorth could react the flail head came back, catching him behind the knee and sending him falling backward.  Again the flail came down on him, this time knocking the wind from his body, and heard a rib crack, and then all was black for the paladin.In that one moment, two of the Fearless Manticore Killers went from fighting to having their life’s blood pouring from them. …To be continued…</blockquote>

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