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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1093324" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 31The door, a foot-thick, rectangular panel set into the black stone of the wall, opened easily at Fario’s nimble touch.  Light and smoke spilled out over them, as they looked into the space beyond. It was a chamber of considerable size, a square room perhaps forty feet on a side.  The ceiling was a vaulted dome that rose up a good twenty feet or more above them.  Directly under the apex of that dome, in the center of the room, stood an imposing nine foot statue of a dwarf warrior.  Carved of black malachite, that stern-faced figure faced toward them, clad in armor and holding a double-bladed battleaxe haft-up with its blades touching the floor at its feet.  Someone had draped a tangled mass of chains over the top of the statute, wrapped in numerous loops around its neck, torso, and arms.  In each of the four corners of the room rested a free-standing stone brazier of unusual make.  Carved into the form of a xorn, those three-armed denizens of the Elemental Plane of Stone, each was topped by a mouth full of brightly glowing coals that issued a faint but constant stream of smoke into the chamber.  Double doors were situated in the center of the walls to their left and right, the ones to the right secured with a heavy iron bar.  Although the wisps of stray smoke partially obscured the chamber, it was instantly obvious that the place was occupied.  Standing by each set of doors stood a pair of heavily armored hobgoblin warriors, who spotted the companions almost immediately after the door opened.  Drawing their swords, they rushed to attack.  Fario leaned forward, but before he could enter the room Arun pushed roughly past him, unapologetically placing himself a few paces on the far side of the door, shield and hammer prepared to meet the enemy charge.  The elves were quick to follow, and as they entered, one of the hobgoblins barked a command, and one of the four broke off and ran toward the double doors to the south.  He almost made it before Fellian’s arrow slammed into his back.  The hobgoblin staggered forward, falling to his knees directly before the portal.  For a moment he clung to consciousness, and even managed to drag himself to his feet, clutching the handle of the door.  Then a bolt from Mole’s crossbow caught him in the side, and he crumpled.  Arun met the hobgoblin charge with a clang and clatter of metal on metal.  The first sword stroke he took on his shield, and the second glanced off of an armored shoulder, but the third got within his guard and drew a line of red across his upper bicep.  The hobgoblins fought well together, moving to flank the dwarf, but Fario’s quick arrival helped even the odds.  Their initial counters were met by expert parries or were deflected by the heavy layers of banded armor worn by the hobgoblins, but they in turn were confounded by Arun’s heavy shield and Fario’s quick dodges.But then the rest of the companions joined the battle, and the tide quickly turned.  Fellian rushed in to flank Fario’s opponent, and caught between the two half-elves the hobgoblin was quickly dispatched.  Arun’s two foes had caught him in a flanking move, but one found himself flanked in turn as Mole darted in behind him, her sword flashing at its legs.  The hobgoblin was sufficiently aware to dodge that new attack, but the distraction was enough for Arun to bring his hammer up in a powerful smash that connected decisively with the side of its head.  The last hobgoblin gave ground in a fighting retreat, trying to make for the southern doors where its comrade already lay dead.  As it retreated, Zenna shot at it with her crossbow, but her shot was deflected away by its armor.  That protection could not, however, save it from the half-elves, who, unencumbered by such heavy garb, moved quickly to block its escape.  The hobgoblin threw itself at Fario, trying to at least take one foe with it, but was run through by Fellian before it could land a blow.  Quiet returned to the chamber as the last hobgoblin crumpled.  Fario and Fellian were quick to verify that each of their enemies was truly slain, finishing the task with a quick thrust when necessary.  Meanwhile, Arun crossed to the unbarred double doors to the south, dragging the body of the dead hobgoblin there out of the way and watching just in case the noise of the brief fracas had drawn the attention of more guards.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more of them beyond those doors, since they were so keen on getting there,” Ruphos said. “The leader ordered that one to get reinforcements,” Zenna confirmed, glancing at the statue briefly as she moved to where the others were gathering near the southern doors.  Mole, however, lagged behind, her attention more fully drawn by the huge stone figure of the dwarf hero. “You speak hobgoblin?” Ruphos asked in surprise.  “Goblinoid, actually,” Zenna replied.  “The tongue is shared by goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and a few other races of similar bloodline.  It was a useful tongue to know, where I was from.”  Ruphos’s expression showed that he was curious, and might have welcomed more explanation, but Zenna abruptly turned away, deliberately focusing her attention elsewhere—on the barred doors to the north, on the strange braziers in the corners, on the vaulted ceiling high above—anywhere but on the cleric. Mole’s voice drew their attention back to the center of the room.  “Those are gemstones, I think—the statue’s eyes, look!”  Even as she finished, she’d already shrugged out of her backpack, placing it and her crossbow in a neat pile on the ground, and was heading for the base of the construct.  “Mole, just leave it be,” Zenna said, with a hint of exasperation in her voice.  “We’re not here for that... look, watch out for those chains...”  With her sharp vision, she could clearly make out the jagged hooks and sharp blades hooked in and among the links of the mess of chains that covered much of the upper half of the statue. “Bah, I can climb around them,” she said, and in fact she was already halfway up the statue, working her way up the haft of its massive stone axe before grasping onto its forearms, careful to avoid the enfolding links of chain and the sharp cargoes attached to them.  Arun, engaged in quiet conversation with the half-elves by the door, shot them an impatient look, but did not move to interfere.  “Mole, I don’t think you should do that,” Ruphos said tentatively.  “I’ve got a bad feeling...”“You worry too much,” she shot back, having reached a point well up atop the statue’s chest, her attention now on its face.  Its eyes were shining orbs of pure black, the face of the gnome girl reflected in their depths in the smoky light from the braziers.  Her dagger popped into her hand from its hidden sheath in her boot, and she leaned forward, a focused look on her face.“Mole, look out!” Zenna screamed, a moment before the gnome cried out in pain and surprise.  The mass of chains had shifted slightly, and with only that subtle warning, a strand of links untwined from on of the statue’s fat arms and shot out at Mole.  The gnome, intent on her prize, had not noticed the telltale motion that Zenna had seen, so she could not react as the length of chain slammed into her back.  The barbs and hooks attached to the link dug into the chain links of her armor shirt, and her dagger fell from her grip as she slipped from her perch, falling end over end to clatter noisily against the stone floor eight feet below.  The rogue would have followed a moment later, but even as she started to fall, another length of chain shot out from around the back of the statue, whipping around her torso and dragging her roughly against the hard stone.  The mass of chains was now alive with movement, and new strands of hooked and bladed links were continuing to work themselves free while the bulk of it remained firmly anchored to the top half of the statue.“Ow!  Help, it’s got me... aaaaaaahhhhh!”Mole screamed again as the chains wrapped around her body tightened their grip, the sharp hooks and barbs piercing her clothes and digging into her flesh.  She tried to reach for her sword, but couldn’t get to it through the terrible strands that pinned her body against the statue.  Looking down, she saw Zenna and the others, concern for her written in fear across their faces, rushing toward the statue, but then there was only the pain.  Twisting helpless in the firm grasp of the chains, she caught a glimpse of the face of the statue, looking down at her from above, and to her it seemed to be laughing at her, berating her for the foolishness that had gotten her into this mess. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she sobbed, and then the pain claimed her.</blockquote>

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