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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3628413" data-attributes="member: 143">Thanks, jonny! Still playing 2 NWN campaign sessions/week over at NWC, by the way. * * * * * Chapter 203THE CHAPEL OF ORCUSAs Shay pulled the lever recessed into the leg of the statue of Orcus, a large segment of the rear wall slid slowly open, revealing a dank staircase that led down into darkness.  Dar shone a torch into the opening, revealing a small landing that also contained a ladder of ancient bronze rungs that led up a narrow shaft for at least as far as the light extended upward.  “Where does this go?”“Up,” Varo said.  “Our way lies below.”“Yeah, right,” Dar said.  “Shay, you want to do your thing, or you want one of us to go first on this one?”“I got it,” the scout said, drawing out her own torch as she started down the stairs.  They had not lingered long after Talen had made his decision.  They had finished looting the bodies of anything of use.  Dar had stripped the magical plate mail off the enemy high priest and donned it, turning his breastplate back over to Varo.  The mail was not a perfect fit, but Theron’s build had been similar to Dar’s, and a few adjusted straps had proven sufficient for the moment.  Shay had found a ring of thin clear crystal on the body of the high priestess that almost screamed magic, and she almost absently slid it onto a finger of her right hand.  A number of other items of magical potency made their way into Varo’s handy haversack, and he had distributed several magical potions among the members of the group.  Or had tried to; when he’d offered Shay a potion of bull’s strength that he had found in Herzord’s pouch, the scout had been quick to reject him. “Just stay away from me, Varo,” she’d said, turning and walking away.  She had found the lever for the secret door a minute later, summoning the others before operating the hidden mechanism.  They descended for an interminable time.  It no longer seemed vital just how far they were underground; the feeling of bright sunshine and clean air had receded to a hazy memory.  They continued down in single file, with Talen behind Shay, followed by Dar, Allera, Varo, and Kalend.  As they made their way further down the stairs, each of them felt a cold, cloying sense of evil descend upon them like a second skin, stronger even than the malevolence they had felt in the slave pits.  The temperature in the air alternated between a sticky warmth and bone chilling cold, often within the span of just a few steps.  Their boots trod upon sick, squishy things that stank of foulness, and Shay slowed their pace, alert to any threats that might linger in the darkness ahead of them. Time passed.  Finally, they came to a chamber at the foot of the stairs, a square, featureless room with a single doorway offering exit.  “This is not a good idea,” Shay said quietly, as Talen joined her at the end of the staircase. “We have no choice,” Talen said, heading for the door.  Shay had to hurry to get ahead of him again, giving the door a cursory examination for traps or other dangers.  The portal was no real barrier, the wood cracked and rotted, with gaps that allowed her to clearly see what was on the far side. “Looks clear,” she said after a moment, pulling open the door. The attack came without any warning.  Three wraiths emerged from the walls and ceiling of the corridor on the far side of the door, swarming onto Shay.  The scout cried out as their insubstantial claws vanished into her body, ripping out vitality from her.   “Shay!” Talen yelled, leaping forward as his sword blazed into brilliant life. Varo raised his divine focus, and called forth the power of Dagos.  The violet flicker of negative energy seemed tentative, weakened by the overwhelming potency of Orcus in this place, but two of the wraiths froze, rebuked.  The third followed Shay as the scout stumbled back, deeply drained by the undead creatures’ touches.  It reached for her again, but before it could strike her a second time both Valor and Beatus Incendia tore through it.  With a soft hiss, the creature dissolved.  The other two wraiths put up no resistance as they were torn apart.  “Are you okay?” Talen asked Shay.The scout nodded.  Allera put Tribitz’s rod to good use, restoring the vitality she had lost.  “Sorry... it looked clear.”“There was no way to know that they were there,” Talen said.  “If they didn’t know we were here before, they do now.  Let’s keep going.”The passage beyond the door led straight for about fifty feet before a slightly narrower side passage branched off to the right.  Shay looked in both directions, and indicated that it looked like the passage forward terminated in a room about thirty feet ahead.“We go right,” Varo said. “How do you know?” Talen asked. “Do you not sense it?  The power... it is immense.  I can feel it unassisted; I suspect that a detect magic here would result in unconsciousness.”“All right, take us forward, Shay, but keep an eye out, everyone, for another ambush.”The scout nodded, and head them down the tunnel.  The passage forked again after another forty feet, and again Varo guided them to the right.  The passage straightened and widened, and they found themselves in a vaulted corridor some twenty feet across, which proceeded for about sixty feet more before ending in a pair of double doors.  These portals were of black stone, and rose some fifteen feet, to almost brush the ceiling.  There had been carvings on the doors at some point, but time and use had worn them down, until only vague but disquieting outlines remained.  “Varo?” Talen asked. “I do not have any answers, commander.  From here on our, we will have to consign ourselves to our gods.”Talen looked at him in surprise; the statement seemed incongruent, coming from him. “I’ve had enough of gods, good or ill.  I’ll trust in this,” Dar said, holding up Valor.  Shay took a deep breath, and took hold one of the battered handles of black iron that jutted from the front of the doors.  The heavy portal opened, although she grimaced at the effort required to move the hulking thing.  After a moment, Dar moved to help her, and the two of them drew it open far enough for clear access into the space beyond.  Their light revealed a rough chamber, its far ends barely visible at the very edge of their light.  Mounds of debris littered the floor, and the ancient stone was cracked and pitted, with crevices everywhere that swallowed their light and remained deep in shadow. The companions moved warily into the room.  “There aren’t any exits,” Kalend said.  “Check for secret doors,” Talen said.  “Stay alert... there’s something... wrong about this place.”The knight’s instincts were proven correct a few heartbeats later, as the shadows around the perimeter of the room began to move.  Dark things emerged from the myriad cracks in the walls, gathering at the edges of their light.  “Shadows!” Shay warned. The undead, dozens of them, hesitated only long enough for their full strength to gather, then they dove at the companions, incorporeal claws extended to siphon the life from these intruders that had dared to penetrate their sanctum.</blockquote>

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