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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PHDungeon" data-source="post: 5168235" data-attributes="member: 86320">This is it, from Bella...Session 18:  A Death in the FamilyDerren is dead.With our choice of profession we’ve been extraordinarily lucky that this has not happened sooner.  This is especially true for Derren with the haphazard way in which he fights.  It has been a long time coming, but we all knew it was inevitable.The words of Ludwig the Hateful, the architect of this death trap of a dungeon, echo in my mind- “Anyone who dies here becomes a sacrifice to the Slumberer”.  Even if we wanted to, would we be able to resurrect him?  Derren is the biggest liability to my identity.  He most likely told his brother everything in a letter, or when he visited Grimmsburg.  Either way, Starke watches the Androsax’s closely.  If Derren told anyone then there is a good chance he knows my secret.  Hopefully not, but it may force me into a premature strike, always dangerous with Starke involved.I remember now just moments before.  All of us trapped in a hallway and a large stone ball rolling toward us. Our way was blocked by a deep, spike filled pit, and to not cross it would mean instant death.  Unfortunately, I knew that I would not have the strength to be able to jump the pit. The thundering stone ball of death came barreling down the hall. For an instant I imagined it rolling over top of me and leaving me bloody paste stain on the hallway floor, then Derren wrapped his arm unceremoniously around my waist. He leapt into the air and carried me across nearly effortlessly.  The moment was a little ruined by his hand lingering on my breast, but he did save my life.We opened the door to the vast chamber beyond.  In a center was a ziggurat of stairs surrounded by four shallow pools, each filled with a representation of the primary elements: earth, air, fire, and water.  At first there was no danger and we spread out to explore the chamber.  It didn’t take long until we activated the room’s defenses, and four elementals predictably rose from the pools to attack us.We concentrated our best attacks on the fire elemental.  It fell first, but at great cost, for we expended some of our most potent attacks taking it out. While we were engaged with the elementals, a golden skull, big enough to have belonged to a titan, rose from a black pit at the top of the altar/ziggurat in the center of the room.  Its first attack laid down a blanket of fire, and to my horror held me in place.  Flames leapt up around me, causing me burning pain. I felt my legs being scorched, but I steeled my mind and tried to ignore the agony. I turned my attention to the water elemental while my more hale allies kept the earth and wind elementals at bay.The water elemental could not withstand the combined might of the Sorceress’, and the earth Elemental did not fall easily, but it eventually crumbled under the might of our melee fighters.  Finally, there was only the Golden Skull and the air elemental.Bjorn had been facing the wind elemental single-handedly for the entire battle, but it was still cackling with lightning.  Deryl and I were able to stay out of range of the Golden Skull (which continually attempted to blast my allies with various magical rays) and still attack it while the rest of our party surrounded the cursed air elemental.The wind elemental continually tried to blow its foes into the pools of black ooze that surrounded the altar and the Golden Skull relentlessly protected it by attacking those that engaged it.  Derren and Bjorn both fell and rose again after each administering aid to the other. Eventually, Torfinn had to rush in with healing potions to keep them fighting. It wasn’t long before our healing magic expended, and Derren fell and did not rise again.  Watching, I took out a final healing potion and was torn between running into the fight and concentrating my attacks on the Golden Skull.  Dropping the potion almost immediately I loaded my weapon in a smooth, practiced motion and continued firing upon the skull.  I should have been resolute in this; taking care of the threat of the skull was the best strategy in keeping them alive.  It was the first time that my common sense had been compromised in such a way.  Having friends appears to be dangerous to my continued longevity.Over the course of he battle the Golden Skull had sustained significant damage, and finally I fired a bolt that shattered it, causing it to fall into the black pit from which it had spawned.  A sense of triumph surged through me, for the hovering titan skull had been terribly vexing and had caused great injury to many of my companions. However, my triumph was overshadowed by the sight of Bjorn pulling Derren’s withered corpse from out of one of the black pools. It seemed that while Derren had been lying unconscious, desperately clinging to life, the elemental had blown his body into one of the terrible black ichor. The stuff was potent enough to finish off a healthy individual in a matter of seconds, so it was no surprise that Derren had not survived. It was a terrible way to go none-the-less. Now we sit, mourning the loss of our companion while trying to rest and decide what to do next. We still haven’t found a way out of this cursed place. We aren’t even sure if there is one.  If there isn’t one, not resurrecting Derren might be a blessing.  I know I wouldn’t want to be brought back only so I could starve to death.We rest now, perhaps things will look less bleak after that.</blockquote>

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