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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 605458" data-attributes="member: 1674">Ruins of Sky Keep - part 4 of 4„Alright then,“ he said „ I think it would be best if you would leave me some space. The ratmen who were fiddling with this vault have disappeared. Maybe the trap just teleports you into the sky, so that you plummet to your death...“.Trepat took of his backpack, and after rummaging through it for a while, he held three scrolls in his hand. He handed one of them to Torn: „This is a scroll of featherfall. If you really find yourself in the sky, falling towards the earth, you should cast it. You will fall gently like a feather then.“Torn took the scroll and then Trepat continued:“ I will also cast two spells on you which will make you smarter and more dextrous for a while. I think you can use it.“Ben and Niklas waited as Trepat cast the spells and then, after wishing Torn good luck, they retreated to what they considered a safe distance, where they watched as their friend started to carefully examine the vault.As he went to work, Torn forgot everything around him, and the vault became the monothilitic center of his universe. The runes on the vault were apparently runes of protection, some of them summoning the force of Chardun, the god of binding for further divine strength. The lock seemed to be complicated, but he was confident that he could pick it. But the real problem wasn’t mechanical in nature, but magical. No matter how well he would pick the lock, that wouldn’t help him against the magical protection, which would teleport him to Erias knows where...The only way for him to overcome the lock would be to somehow block the magical trap without setting it of. He took another look at the lock. It seemed to be made of an alloy of lead and iron and there was a connection between it and the runes, with a small gap between the lock and the frame. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he searched through his pack, where he found a crossbowbolt made from the same material. If he would succeed in blocking the magical trap by wedging the bolt between lock and trap correctly, he should be able to open it. If the trap was triggered to the proximity of that alloy, that was... It was a long shot, but there was nothing else he could do.He used the back of his hand to wipe his forehead, which was sweaty in spite of the cold air in the cave, and holding his breath, he inserted the bolt into the space between vault and lock. For a moment he thought he had trembled too much and not inserted it evenly, but nothing happened: neither did he find himself in the fires of hell nor in an endless blue sky- he had succeeded.The rest was easy. He used some pitch to make sure that the bolt would stay even if he opened the door, and then he set to work on the lock. It was truly complicated, but now that he could take his time and didn’t have to worry about being taken to a possibly deadly place, he started to work on the lock with an air of confidence.After a while, surrounded by his friends, he had succeeded, and pulling the door, he opened the vault that now, more than ever, looked like an upright giant coffin. They almost expected to find a carcass in there which fitted in size to the coffin, but as the door swung open, they saw that the vault was almost empty.In it, there was only a small pedestal on which a large tome was resting. The tome itself was bound in burgundy velvet and locked with an iron clasp. Inspite of the rough end of sky keep and the passage of many years ever since, it looked as if it had been placed on the pedestal merely minutes ago.Torn wasn’t sure about any further traps, and so he scanned the vaultfloor, the pedestal and the book first, and only when he felt certain there was no trap, he picked it up to study the lock. He found no way to open it, and handed it to Trepat who found out that powerful magic was keeping the book close. „Definetly too powerful for us“, the elf said „ but I would bet that the Vigils have the means to get it opened.“.Now that they had the book, they talked for a while and decided to take a look at what where the opposite corridor lead first. Even though they were tired and hurt, they would probably never climb up here again, and having defeated the Slitheren, there should be no harm in exploring the ruins, after all.They found further caves, of which most were empty. Then, as they turned a corner, they stood in front of a cavern that was completely covered in green phosphorescent slime, which was flooding the cave in a sickly light. In the slime, they saw remnants of leather, bones and metal, which were being dissolved by the slime as they were watching.Several humanoids were being dissolved right now, and it looked as if for some reason they had been dropped into the slime in the middle of the cave, not too long ago. There were bits of fur as well, and soon they realized that those were indeed the remnants of slitheren.„I think this is where the ratmen had been displaced to.“, Niklas said, looking Torn, who was staring at the slime.The Halforc swallowed and pulled out the scroll of featherfall which he handed over to Trepat: „ I think you can have it back now. It wouldn’t have done me much good after all...“.Except for one place, they found nothing more of interest anywhere. However, there was one cave where a strange scar-covered humanoid creature that shot sinews from it’s arms and mouth threatened them. It wanted the scroll, and just as the others were about to turn, Ben attacked it with his sling. The being pulled itself under the ceiling of the cavern, some 40 yards over the floor, from where it shot it’s sinews at Ben and Trepat and using it like a form of infernal fishing rod, started to pull them upwards with the hooks set into the friends’ flesh.Torn used a scroll that allowed him to climb the walls like a spider, and hanging upside down, he approached the fiend. It dropped Ben and Trepat, who crashed to the ground and fought Torn, but the halforc hit it square in the chest, so that it lost it’s grip on the ceiling and crashed to the floor, where he remained, twisted and lifeless.They tended to their wounds, and then, after finding nothing but empty caves and castle structures, they went back to the plateau.There, Swift Jane had been feasting on the cadavre of one of the ratmen they had killed there. As the others turned away in disgust, Ben petted her and then, looking at the remaining three corpses, he came up with an idea.„I think I could skin them. There should be enough fur intact for a coat and a cap. And maybe I could use the skulls for bowls...“Niklas was flabberghasted: „ What? Are you insane? These were feeling and concious beings!“„ I don’t see any difference between sentient beings and animals. Furthermore, they are dead anyway, so I might as well make their death more useful.“„But I thought halflings were more civilized!“, Niklas offered.„ The Gravelfists took me into their tribe, so I am an orc. And I like the fur of these here, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t use them. You weren’t above drinking from a skull there after we had defeated the Proud, either. I will do it.“.Trepat shrugged: „ Well, it is alright with me. But you know that once you are wearing a coat and a cap made from slitheren fur, there is no chance we will ever encounter ratmen peacefully again.“Ben, who had already started to skin one of the Slitheren, looked up: „They always attack us, anyway. Slitheren-fur coat or no.“Now Torn interjected: „ The brood of Golthain didn’t attack us. They even helped us.“„Yes, I suppose so“, Ben answered „but they are blind, so it doesn’t matter with them.“.Seeing that there was no chance to change Ben’s mind, the others gave up. They made camp in the entrance of the caves before the peak in their back threw it’s mighty shadow at them and it turned night. Then, they went asleep- they would start their descent at first light of the morning and so they were eager to get as much sleep before that as was possible.</blockquote>

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