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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4021678" data-attributes="member: 143">Hey, I just noticed the advertising in your sig, Nightbreeze; thanks!* * * * * Chapter 346 WAR AND PEACEVaro had been unable to get a warning out in time to stop Hedder, but he made up for that now.  “Do not step onto the red stones!” he shouted.  His caution almost came too late, as the other vampiric bandits moved forward reflexively to meet the rush of the duplicate of Hedder.  Talen’s fist shot out and smacked hard into Needles’ chest just as the vampire’s foot was crossing the threshold of the hall, knocking him onto his back.  Hedder, already standing on the red tiles, looked around confused, but his gaze was drawn back to the copy of himself that was rapidly closing the distance between them.“Back!” Dar yelled.  “Draw it into the room!”The companions fell back, forming a rough semicircle around the entrance of the hall.  The duplicate ignored all of them save Hedder, springing into a high leap that ended with it stabbing both of its blades into the vampire’s chest.  Hedder was driven back and fell backward, nearly colliding with Calla as he came down.  The duplicate was on him again in a flash, but before it could strike again the other warriors were there to intervene.  Dar and Talen struck within moments of each other, their magical blades cleaving the dead flesh of the duplicate.  The thing came apart as the powerful blows carved apart its torso, dissolving into nothing before any part of it could reach the floor.  Talen looked down at Hedder, who was still lying on his back.  The rents in his armor were clearly visible, but as before there was no blood, and his vampiric abilities were already working to restore the damage he had suffered.“Fortunately for you, your stupidity was less costly than Utar’s.”  The other bandits helped their companion to his feet, and they followed after Talen and Shay as they returned to the doorway. “I presume we take the middle path,” Talen said to Varo. “Yes.  Even a single step upon the red or white stones may prove calamitous.”“What does the white side do, do you think?”“I do not know.  But I doubt it is as benign as it looks.”“That is true of many things,” Talen said, breaking a smile as he glanced at Calla.  Shay led them forward again, carefully treading upon the narrow path of green-tinged metal plate that bisected the hall.  The broad corridor continued for quite some distance, but Shay identified another pair of doors at the end well before the light of their torches revealed it.  There was one other incident upon the walk.  They were nearing the doors when Allera let out a warning and pointed toward the white wall.  They turned to see Calla walking there, peering closely at the pastoral mural, close enough to reach out and touch it. “Calla!  Get back here, now.”  Talen’s voice had the tone of a command, and the girl complied, although she returned without haste to the green line.  “What in the hells do you think you were doing?”“Looking for peace,” she said. “Do you feel all right?” Allera asked her. “I didn’t find it, if that’s what you’re asking,” the girl snarled at her.  “Shut up.  Keep moving; I don’t want to get trapped on this tightrope,” Talen said. They reached the doors without incident.  It was difficult to open them while remaining on the narrow path, but Shay was able to manage it, using her spear as a lever.  They filed through the opening in the doors into another huge chamber. This place was truly massive.  It was round, with a ceiling covered in a flattened dome that was buttressed by several dozen pillars several feet thick.  A diffuse golden light suffused it, so they could see clearly across to the far side, some two hundred feet distant.The chamber’s dominant feature was instantly visible.  A huge portal stood in the center of the place, rising up some twenty feet, a freestanding circle that seemed precariously balanced upon the stone floor.  The portal was a disk of pure black, like a window onto a scene of pure night.  There was a squat stone platform before the portal, an altar of some sort decorated with items not clearly discernable at this distance. Without speaking, Talen gestured them forward, using sweeps of his sword.  They spread out as they warily approached the portal, the vampires to the right, the mortals to the left.  They were hyperalert to the threat of another ambush, but nothing stirred, and the diffuse light allowed them to clearly see across the breadth of the chamber, save for behind the portal and the pillars.  The place seemed to absorb their presence, their lights blending into the omnipresent glow.  Even their bootsteps and the gentle clink of the warriors’ armor seemed muted. “The black gate,” Alderis said, his voice startling them out of the quiet.  “It’s here, the end, the calling, the sacrifice.”  He clutched at his chest, where the crystal growth lay under the fabric of his robe. “For the gods’ sake, keep it together, elf,” Dar growled.  But he held Valor naked in his hands, and he had the look of a coiled spring in his stance as he crept forward. As they passed the first of the pillars, they could see that they were covered in familiar designs of souls in torment.  At least they appeared to be mere decorations at first, until they got close enough to see the twisted figures moving, trapped within the black stone.  “By the gods,” Allera whispered, drawing back in revulsion. “There is nothing that can be done for them now,” Varo said. As they drew near to the altar they could see that it was slathered in blood, old and dry.  There were a few crude knives laid out upon it, and several odd lumps of what might have been porous stone.  The surface of the altar was covered in runnels that culminated in three silver bowls set into one side.  There were also markings on the altar, spidery runes that crawled around the edge of its surface. “What do these runes say?” Shay asked, moving closer to investigate, while giving the altar a comfortable berth.Varo looked at Alderis, but the elf was silent, staring at the portal.  “They are instructions,” the cleric said.  “For opening the portal.  The ritual involves cutting yourself upon the altar, and then covering yourself with your own blood.  ‘To pass the portal oblivion, one must cover themselves for the dark god, in only a coat of his own crimson.’”“The hell we will,” Dar muttered. “In any case, it will not work.  The door above could be fooled by chicanery, but this portal will not open without the express desire of Orcus.  It must be forced.”“Now that is a strategy I can get behind,” Dar said.  He started forward, but Varo forestalled him before he could reach for his club.  “No.  It is not physical might of which I speak.  The way must be opened by...”But he did not get a chance to finish.  Several of them shouted warnings at the same time, and they drew back in alarm as the black surface of the portal came alive.  Dark ripples surged within the substance, and a violet corona striated with pulse of black and red erupted from around the edges of the disk.  “Maybe Old Goat Horns is going to save us the trouble!” Dar shouted.  Allera invoked her second holy aura, while Letellia and Alderis each cast warding spells about their persons. But it was Maphistal, not Orcus, who stepped through the portal a moment later.“IT ENDS HERE,” the demon said, its voice pounding with potency within their minds.</blockquote>

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