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Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1924820" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 291</p><p></p><p>They found her body, returned to its natural form, among the shattered bones of the dracolich on the uneven stones at the bottom of the shaft. Arun traveled down on Clinger to recover her body and confirmed that the dracolich was truly destroyed. Mole and Zenna went with him, not only to help him search, but to see if the dracolich’s phylactery could be found. </p><p></p><p>The cavern floor was a jumble of piled stones, a haphazard, treacherous mess, slick with centuries of accumulated ice. But Zenna’s <em>detect magic</em> spell proved up to the task, and they soon found a deep crevice where Mole was able to recover a fair amount of treasure stockpiled by the dracolich. Much of it, she said upon examination, looked to be fairly recent acquisitions, suggesting that Abradius or his associates had bestowed it upon the dracolich as a bribe for access to the Soul Pillars. Why an undead dragon trapped in a cavern for hundreds of years would have need of such valuables was beyond Zenna, but she was aware of the avarice of dragonkind—an attribute that apparently transcended such creatures’ mortal lives. </p><p></p><p>They carefully wrapped the slain druid’s body for transport. “A glorious sacrifice,” Beorna commented. “Confronted with a superior foe, she took her enemy with her. Truly a heart of great valor resided within her.”</p><p></p><p>“She risked her life without thought to save me,” Dannel said. </p><p></p><p>“Jenya should be able to <em>raise</em> her,” Zenna said. “We’ll bring her back with us.” She didn’t add, <em>After we finish our business here,</em> but she didn’t have to. Even with the dracolich’s menace destroyed, they could all sense the lingering evil in this place, given substance in the shadowy forms of the five Soul Pillars. </p><p></p><p>“I still do not like this,” Arun said. “Those... things... should be destroyed.”</p><p></p><p>“I do not believe we have the power to do that,” Zenna told him. “They are ancient, and the power within...”</p><p></p><p>“Evil power,” the dwarf returned. </p><p></p><p>“We need the knowledge held here. Or have you forgotten the last line of Beorna’s <em>divination</em>?”</p><p></p><p>The dwarf did not respond, but his feelings were clear on his face. Beorna, too, frowned, but she would not openly question the apparent mandate of Helm in this matter. </p><p></p><p>Before they turned to the <em>Pillars</em>, they examined the objects that Zenna and Mole had recovered. Most prominent was a bastard sword of unblemished, shining steel, crafted in an archaic style that could very well have been a thousand years old. There was a silver amulet that radiated transmutation magic, which Zenna judged to be of similar nature to those they already possessed, that enhanced the health and fortitude of the wearer. There were a number of items of platinum jewelry set with precious gems, including several rings, a scepter, and a crown. They seemed to be a matching set, and Zenna figured that they were probably stolen, finding their way here through the activities of the still-nebulous “Cagewrights”. There was also a fair amount of coinage of mints both recent and ancient, all of which was sorted and placed in small sacks into Mole’s <em>bag of holding</em>. </p><p></p><p>But most disturbing was a small jeweled box, which seemed to flicker with a faint inner light when glanced at out of the corner of one’s eye, but which seemed unremarkable when viewed directly. Arun pronounced it as filled with a resounding taint, while Zenna’s <em>direct magic</em> immediately gave her a splitting headache. </p><p></p><p>“I’d say we’ve found our dragon’s phylactery,” she said, recoiling from the box. </p><p></p><p>That was enough for Beorna, who with a resounding blow from her holy sword sundered the box into a thousand tiny pieces. </p><p></p><p>“So much for that,” she said. </p><p></p><p>Mole started to collect the pieces, which included a fair number of good-sized gems, but Dannel forestalled her. “We’d better keep that separate from the other treasure, and take them to Jenya for divine cleansing, just in case.”</p><p></p><p>With all of the preliminaries resolved, there was nothing left but their final errand here. Slowly they each turned to face the looming pillars. </p><p></p><p>Zenna stepped forward, alone. With the others watching intently, she stepped out onto the bridge of ice, moving forward the power that, she hoped, held answers to the questions that had brought them here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 1924820, member: 143"] Chapter 291 They found her body, returned to its natural form, among the shattered bones of the dracolich on the uneven stones at the bottom of the shaft. Arun traveled down on Clinger to recover her body and confirmed that the dracolich was truly destroyed. Mole and Zenna went with him, not only to help him search, but to see if the dracolich’s phylactery could be found. The cavern floor was a jumble of piled stones, a haphazard, treacherous mess, slick with centuries of accumulated ice. But Zenna’s [I]detect magic[/I] spell proved up to the task, and they soon found a deep crevice where Mole was able to recover a fair amount of treasure stockpiled by the dracolich. Much of it, she said upon examination, looked to be fairly recent acquisitions, suggesting that Abradius or his associates had bestowed it upon the dracolich as a bribe for access to the Soul Pillars. Why an undead dragon trapped in a cavern for hundreds of years would have need of such valuables was beyond Zenna, but she was aware of the avarice of dragonkind—an attribute that apparently transcended such creatures’ mortal lives. They carefully wrapped the slain druid’s body for transport. “A glorious sacrifice,” Beorna commented. “Confronted with a superior foe, she took her enemy with her. Truly a heart of great valor resided within her.” “She risked her life without thought to save me,” Dannel said. “Jenya should be able to [I]raise[/I] her,” Zenna said. “We’ll bring her back with us.” She didn’t add, [I]After we finish our business here,[/I] but she didn’t have to. Even with the dracolich’s menace destroyed, they could all sense the lingering evil in this place, given substance in the shadowy forms of the five Soul Pillars. “I still do not like this,” Arun said. “Those... things... should be destroyed.” “I do not believe we have the power to do that,” Zenna told him. “They are ancient, and the power within...” “Evil power,” the dwarf returned. “We need the knowledge held here. Or have you forgotten the last line of Beorna’s [I]divination[/I]?” The dwarf did not respond, but his feelings were clear on his face. Beorna, too, frowned, but she would not openly question the apparent mandate of Helm in this matter. Before they turned to the [I]Pillars[/I], they examined the objects that Zenna and Mole had recovered. Most prominent was a bastard sword of unblemished, shining steel, crafted in an archaic style that could very well have been a thousand years old. There was a silver amulet that radiated transmutation magic, which Zenna judged to be of similar nature to those they already possessed, that enhanced the health and fortitude of the wearer. There were a number of items of platinum jewelry set with precious gems, including several rings, a scepter, and a crown. They seemed to be a matching set, and Zenna figured that they were probably stolen, finding their way here through the activities of the still-nebulous “Cagewrights”. There was also a fair amount of coinage of mints both recent and ancient, all of which was sorted and placed in small sacks into Mole’s [I]bag of holding[/I]. But most disturbing was a small jeweled box, which seemed to flicker with a faint inner light when glanced at out of the corner of one’s eye, but which seemed unremarkable when viewed directly. Arun pronounced it as filled with a resounding taint, while Zenna’s [I]direct magic[/I] immediately gave her a splitting headache. “I’d say we’ve found our dragon’s phylactery,” she said, recoiling from the box. That was enough for Beorna, who with a resounding blow from her holy sword sundered the box into a thousand tiny pieces. “So much for that,” she said. Mole started to collect the pieces, which included a fair number of good-sized gems, but Dannel forestalled her. “We’d better keep that separate from the other treasure, and take them to Jenya for divine cleansing, just in case.” With all of the preliminaries resolved, there was nothing left but their final errand here. Slowly they each turned to face the looming pillars. Zenna stepped forward, alone. With the others watching intently, she stepped out onto the bridge of ice, moving forward the power that, she hoped, held answers to the questions that had brought them here. [/QUOTE]
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