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Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1870087" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Thanks for the kind words of support. It's fortunate that I was so ahead in the story; work has been a deluge and I haven't actually been able to write anything new in several weeks. Hopefully things will die down before I get caught up.</p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 268</p><p></p><p><em>Weird</em> was an understatement, Zenna thought, when they’d all negotiated the bore through the ice wall and joined Mole in the corridor on the far side. </p><p></p><p>The tunnel here was cold, far colder even than on the other side of the ice wall, just fifteen feet or so away. Their breathing sent out plumes of white that hung in the air for a few seconds before dissipating, and they all knew that without the spells that protected them against the cold, they would all soon be freezing. The moisture still clinging to them from their swim quickly began to freeze, tiny bits of ice dropping from them to clink softly on the smooth stone at their feet. </p><p></p><p>They passed a mangled wreckage of iron bars, covered with frost. It took a moment to realize that the thing had once been a portcullis, a barrier now removed by some great force. Mole said that there were no traps remaining now upon it, and they pushed cautiously through the large gap into a narrower tunnel beyond. </p><p></p><p>About twenty feet beyond the ruined portcullis, they came to a set of large iron double doors, likewise rimed with frost. The portals looked sound, frozen in place, but one was slightly open, the gap large enough for them to negotiate without having to free the portals further. A soft blue light shone from the area beyond. As they drew near, Zenna could see that the doors were engraved with runes and sigils. They were difficult to make out, but the looked somehow familiar...</p><p></p><p>“Okay, you gotta see this,” Mole said from beyond the doors, drawing her attention forward. Leaving the doors behind, she slipped through the join the rest of the companions. </p><p></p><p>The passage beyond the doors was completely smooth and square, ten feet wide and ten feet high. Small square plates that looked like iron were set into the ceiling at even intervals; they produced the diffuse bluish radiance that they’d seen earlier. In here it was even colder, and they shivered even through the magical protection of Shensen’s warding spells. </p><p></p><p>But the odd construction of the tunnel was nothing in comparison to the crystal coffins. </p><p></p><p>Mole led them to the first, set into the floor at the edge of the passageway. Its surface was smooth, like glass, with a greenish tinge. But resting inside...</p><p></p><p>The creature was vaguely humanoid, in the way that an orc was vaguely like a human. The crystal distorted the light slightly, making the details of its form nebulous, that distortion adding to its menace. It was tall and lean, its flesh a pale green through the vista of the coffin, its body apparently perfectly preserved. Its face was bony and angular, as if a sculptor had begun work depicting a man and given up halfway through his work. Six arms protruded from its torso, and as she saw those Zenna’s mind traveled back, to a place that suddenly seemed not unlike this one in its sterile décor...</p><p></p><p>“Vaprak’s Voice,” Dannel said, echoing her thoughts with his words. “The skeletons we fought.”</p><p></p><p>“And that weird chair-sculpture thing,” Mole added. “Built for six-armed people...”</p><p></p><p>“But what the ‘ells are they?” Hodge asked, sidling up to the second coffin to get a better look at another of the creatures, a short distance further down the passage. </p><p></p><p>None of them had any answer. </p><p></p><p>“Well, they’re long past...” Beorna began.</p><p></p><p>“Bloody criminy!” Hodge exclaimed, stumbling as he fell back quickly from the second coffin, his axe bursting into ready flame as he lifted the weapon. </p><p></p><p>“What is it?” Arun asked, scanning the hall for danger.</p><p></p><p>“That... thing!” Hodge said. “It moved!”</p><p></p><p>Mole looked up at the dwarf dubiously, then walked over to the coffin. She gave its resident a quick examination, then rapped on the top of the crystal. “Seems pretty dead to me,” she said. </p><p></p><p>“I saw it!” the dwarf insisted. </p><p></p><p>“Either way, we should tread carefully,” Dannel suggested. “Whatever they are, we already know that their workings are dangerous.” The elf moved a short distance further into the passage, and bent to examine the floor. “There are faint marks here,” he said. “Others have come this way before us.”</p><p></p><p>“There is a door at the end of the passage,” Shensen said, coming up to stand beside the elf. “Shall we?”</p><p></p><p>They passed another half-dozen of the crystal coffins. Dannel had placed his <em>continual flame</em> into a pocket, leaving the strange ambient illumination to brighten their way. The blue glow from the ceiling panels glinted oddly off their metal gear, and the effects of the lighting in combination with the plumes of their breath gave them a grim appearance, their skin looking as pale as the dead.</p><p></p><p>The corridor ended in another set of iron doors. These had not been conveniently left open for them, so after Mole and Zenna had given them a cursory examination for mundane or magical hazards, Beorna and Arun went to work. A few blows from Arun’s hammer helped loosen the ice that had sealed the doors—the others cringed at the noise, but there was nothing to be done—and then the two dwarves, pushing side-by-side, pushed one of the doors open, the metal scraping on the floor as it resisted their efforts. </p><p></p><p>The room beyond the doors was apparently spherical, although two vertical walls of ice partitioned off two spaces in the rear of the chamber, making the place seem smaller than it was. There was a pillar of ice erected across from them, near the center of the room, but their view of it was obstructed by the dozens of strands of ice that extended across the room. These strands, each maybe an inch thick, connected the walls, ceiling, and floor, forming an intricate latticework. They did not block movement through the room entirely, but there were enough of them so that any sort of rapid progress through the chamber would be difficult. </p><p></p><p>“Those shouldn’t exist,” Zenna said, examining the closest of the strands. “That much ice, over that distance, it should break.” She began casting a cantrip, to delve more deeply into the nature of the place. </p><p></p><p>“This place is steeped in taint,” Arun growled. He too began to focus, scanning the chamber for the evil that his paladin’s gifts detected. </p><p></p><p>Beorna’s holy sword slid from its scabbard, and she spoke the words of a benediction, summoning the blessing of Helm. </p><p></p><p>Mole, naturally, stepped over to where she could touch one of the ice strands. “Ow!” she exclaimed, drawing back, shaking her injured hand. </p><p></p><p>“What is it?” Dannel asked. </p><p></p><p>“It... burned...” Her hand was white where the strand had inflicted a surge of magical energy upon her. </p><p></p><p>“Don’t touch ‘em,” Hodge said. “Right.” He lifted his magical axe, and flames burst eagerly upon the metal surface. </p><p></p><p>Zenna and Arun both started as one and turned toward the ice pillar. </p><p></p><p>“There!” Arun said, pointing with his holy sword, at the same moment that Zenna exclaimed, “It’s an illusion!”</p><p></p><p>But even as the two warned their companions, a tall figure emerged from the illusory pillar. Standing nearly twelve feet tall, the creature was a hideous insectoid monstrosity, with a malevolent intelligence shining in its bulbous red eyes. It bore a spear with a jagged blue steel head, and a nimbus of roiling black energy surrounded it like a dark halo. It did not hesitate, and as soon as it had appeared it extended a slender hand, chittering a word of power. </p><p></p><p>Unleashing a powerful <em>cone of cold</em> into the faces of the companions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 1870087, member: 143"] Thanks for the kind words of support. It's fortunate that I was so ahead in the story; work has been a deluge and I haven't actually been able to write anything new in several weeks. Hopefully things will die down before I get caught up. * * * * * Chapter 268 [I]Weird[/I] was an understatement, Zenna thought, when they’d all negotiated the bore through the ice wall and joined Mole in the corridor on the far side. The tunnel here was cold, far colder even than on the other side of the ice wall, just fifteen feet or so away. Their breathing sent out plumes of white that hung in the air for a few seconds before dissipating, and they all knew that without the spells that protected them against the cold, they would all soon be freezing. The moisture still clinging to them from their swim quickly began to freeze, tiny bits of ice dropping from them to clink softly on the smooth stone at their feet. They passed a mangled wreckage of iron bars, covered with frost. It took a moment to realize that the thing had once been a portcullis, a barrier now removed by some great force. Mole said that there were no traps remaining now upon it, and they pushed cautiously through the large gap into a narrower tunnel beyond. About twenty feet beyond the ruined portcullis, they came to a set of large iron double doors, likewise rimed with frost. The portals looked sound, frozen in place, but one was slightly open, the gap large enough for them to negotiate without having to free the portals further. A soft blue light shone from the area beyond. As they drew near, Zenna could see that the doors were engraved with runes and sigils. They were difficult to make out, but the looked somehow familiar... “Okay, you gotta see this,” Mole said from beyond the doors, drawing her attention forward. Leaving the doors behind, she slipped through the join the rest of the companions. The passage beyond the doors was completely smooth and square, ten feet wide and ten feet high. Small square plates that looked like iron were set into the ceiling at even intervals; they produced the diffuse bluish radiance that they’d seen earlier. In here it was even colder, and they shivered even through the magical protection of Shensen’s warding spells. But the odd construction of the tunnel was nothing in comparison to the crystal coffins. Mole led them to the first, set into the floor at the edge of the passageway. Its surface was smooth, like glass, with a greenish tinge. But resting inside... The creature was vaguely humanoid, in the way that an orc was vaguely like a human. The crystal distorted the light slightly, making the details of its form nebulous, that distortion adding to its menace. It was tall and lean, its flesh a pale green through the vista of the coffin, its body apparently perfectly preserved. Its face was bony and angular, as if a sculptor had begun work depicting a man and given up halfway through his work. Six arms protruded from its torso, and as she saw those Zenna’s mind traveled back, to a place that suddenly seemed not unlike this one in its sterile décor... “Vaprak’s Voice,” Dannel said, echoing her thoughts with his words. “The skeletons we fought.” “And that weird chair-sculpture thing,” Mole added. “Built for six-armed people...” “But what the ‘ells are they?” Hodge asked, sidling up to the second coffin to get a better look at another of the creatures, a short distance further down the passage. None of them had any answer. “Well, they’re long past...” Beorna began. “Bloody criminy!” Hodge exclaimed, stumbling as he fell back quickly from the second coffin, his axe bursting into ready flame as he lifted the weapon. “What is it?” Arun asked, scanning the hall for danger. “That... thing!” Hodge said. “It moved!” Mole looked up at the dwarf dubiously, then walked over to the coffin. She gave its resident a quick examination, then rapped on the top of the crystal. “Seems pretty dead to me,” she said. “I saw it!” the dwarf insisted. “Either way, we should tread carefully,” Dannel suggested. “Whatever they are, we already know that their workings are dangerous.” The elf moved a short distance further into the passage, and bent to examine the floor. “There are faint marks here,” he said. “Others have come this way before us.” “There is a door at the end of the passage,” Shensen said, coming up to stand beside the elf. “Shall we?” They passed another half-dozen of the crystal coffins. Dannel had placed his [I]continual flame[/I] into a pocket, leaving the strange ambient illumination to brighten their way. The blue glow from the ceiling panels glinted oddly off their metal gear, and the effects of the lighting in combination with the plumes of their breath gave them a grim appearance, their skin looking as pale as the dead. The corridor ended in another set of iron doors. These had not been conveniently left open for them, so after Mole and Zenna had given them a cursory examination for mundane or magical hazards, Beorna and Arun went to work. A few blows from Arun’s hammer helped loosen the ice that had sealed the doors—the others cringed at the noise, but there was nothing to be done—and then the two dwarves, pushing side-by-side, pushed one of the doors open, the metal scraping on the floor as it resisted their efforts. The room beyond the doors was apparently spherical, although two vertical walls of ice partitioned off two spaces in the rear of the chamber, making the place seem smaller than it was. There was a pillar of ice erected across from them, near the center of the room, but their view of it was obstructed by the dozens of strands of ice that extended across the room. These strands, each maybe an inch thick, connected the walls, ceiling, and floor, forming an intricate latticework. They did not block movement through the room entirely, but there were enough of them so that any sort of rapid progress through the chamber would be difficult. “Those shouldn’t exist,” Zenna said, examining the closest of the strands. “That much ice, over that distance, it should break.” She began casting a cantrip, to delve more deeply into the nature of the place. “This place is steeped in taint,” Arun growled. He too began to focus, scanning the chamber for the evil that his paladin’s gifts detected. Beorna’s holy sword slid from its scabbard, and she spoke the words of a benediction, summoning the blessing of Helm. Mole, naturally, stepped over to where she could touch one of the ice strands. “Ow!” she exclaimed, drawing back, shaking her injured hand. “What is it?” Dannel asked. “It... burned...” Her hand was white where the strand had inflicted a surge of magical energy upon her. “Don’t touch ‘em,” Hodge said. “Right.” He lifted his magical axe, and flames burst eagerly upon the metal surface. Zenna and Arun both started as one and turned toward the ice pillar. “There!” Arun said, pointing with his holy sword, at the same moment that Zenna exclaimed, “It’s an illusion!” But even as the two warned their companions, a tall figure emerged from the illusory pillar. Standing nearly twelve feet tall, the creature was a hideous insectoid monstrosity, with a malevolent intelligence shining in its bulbous red eyes. It bore a spear with a jagged blue steel head, and a nimbus of roiling black energy surrounded it like a dark halo. It did not hesitate, and as soon as it had appeared it extended a slender hand, chittering a word of power. Unleashing a powerful [I]cone of cold[/I] into the faces of the companions. [/QUOTE]
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