Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1652939" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 177The chamber seemed smaller than it actually was, as it was divided into two levels, with the rear of the chamber eight feet higher than the forepart, with a curving stone stair to the right of the initial entry providing access to the higher level.  Thick pillars of white stone further reinforced the illusion of a confined space, rising to join buttresses that supported another vaulted ceiling high above.  The familiar light panels provided illumination, but several had apparently failed, leaving a partial pattern that left various areas of the room steeped in shadow. The room’s solitary inhabitant stood on the edge of the platform, looking down at the door below.  He did not stir as the door slid open, nor did he respond as the adventurers entered.  The companions drew in a collective gasp as they saw what Mole had seen, earlier.  Morgan’s muscular torso was bare, his flesh covered with crude markings hastily painted in black ink and red ochre.  While clearly applied in haste, the designs contained a medley of sigils, words, and pictures that were both obscene and profane.  The cleric’s face was covered by a black hood cinched tightly around his neck, with two holes cut for eyes; his only other garment was a loincloth girded about his hips.   He bore a wicked-looking club in both hands, a heavy piece of black iron nearly five feet in length. “Welcome,” a voice rasped from somewhere atop the platform.  From elsewhere came an evil cackle.  “So pleased you could join us,” the first voice continued. “What have you done to him?” Zenna demanded.  Reflections of herself shifted around her; mirror images that masked her true location.  “We’ve shown him his true path, dearie,” came the voice.  Zenna resisted the urge to look down at Mole, who was standing behind Hodge.  The three warriors, Arun, Hodge, and Dannel, formed a half-circle in front of the two women.  But Zenna knew that the true danger here wasn’t mere physical assault, but the magical powers of the hags. “And now you will pay, for the death of our sister,” the other voice said.  “You were fools to return to this place...”“Kill them!” the first hag crooned. The sound of the footfall was close, and heavy, echoing across the floor to their left.  It was followed almost instantly by another, to their right.  From the way the floor shook at the steps, it was clear to all of them what their source had to be, even if there was nothing at all there that they could see.  Without hesitation Arun, now dismounted, rushed to the left, while Clinger and Hodge both charged to the right.  Both dwarves were alert to the sound of the heavy footfalls that approached them, but they could not fully adjust to the invisible giants that suddenly materialized before them as they swung their heavy clubs at their diminutive foes.  Arun managed to dodge aside at the last instant, and partially deflected the powerful blow with his borrowed sword, but Hodge was less fortunate, and he took a punishing blow across his breastplate that laid him out on his back, gasping for breath. “Is that... the best yer got?” he choked out, pulling himself back to his feet.  The celestial lizard gave him a moment’s respite as it seized the giant’s ankle in its powerful jaws, crushing it in a painful grip.  Zenna knew that the dwarves would not be able to stand long alone against a pair of giants, but she knew that another attack was forthcoming.  And indeed, the air around Morgan suddenly seemed to shimmer, and the two hags appeared flanking the cleric, their faces twisted in a sinister expression of utter hatred, their fingers pointing at the companions.  Zenna felt a twisting in her gut as one of the hag’s gazes fixed upon her.  She felt a sudden panic well up within her, and a wave of nausea that threatened to overbear her.  She knew that if she gave into the hag’s power, even for an instant, she would be lost, and possibly with her all of them.  She reached down into herself, drawing upon an inner reserve of fortitude, and with a shudder the power of the eyebite faded. She felt a grim thrill of satisfaction as the hag snarled in anger.  The other hag focused her attention upon Hodge.  “You cannot resist my will, dwarf,” she said with a cackle, as she snared his mind with the same power of domination that she’d used before to such great effect upon Morgan.  Indeed, she was correct.  But even as the hag attempted to exercise her control through the mental link, she found herself blocked by the protective aura placed upon the dwarf moments ago, just before they’d entered the room. “That one,” Zenna growled, calling upon her magic in a flaming blast of power.  The scorching ray twisted into the hag, but even as the fiery magic struck her, it faded into wisps of nothingness.  “Your petty spells cannot harm the likes of me, apprentice!” the hag laughed.  “But my pretty can do more, much more!” And with that she pointed again, and Morgan leapt off the edge of the platform, landing squarely on the floor before them with a sound of finality as he hefted the ugly metal club.</blockquote>

Verification