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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6288835" data-attributes="member: 6692807">“Blasted thing is trapped; have to be careful…….” It took him some time but finally, he was happy that he managed to bypass the trap, whatever it was. “It was some magical trap; not sure exactly what but it was better to get rid of it.” Then the rogue opened the opening and rapidly checking the door in front, stepped into the corridor, with his invisible friend taking a light with him. There was a shout from around the corner: “There’s a whole group of cisterns in here! They’re full of water! I think if the water is released, it’ll wash us down the corridor and into the prison.” John came out: “There are seven huge cisterns in there, as I said.” Guthwulf added: “Oh that Kreven! He’s so fiendish! He will just be waiting for us to enter into the corridor and then he’ll release the water! But I know that you’re all far too clever to fall for something like that! After all, you survived Castle Korstull! You must tell me just what you did there! I am sure it’s fascinating!” John thought for a moment, then he took out a couple of wands and said: “So, these useless wands we took from the Inquisitors way back when? The ones which lock doors and such? I think they’ll lock sluice gates in cisterns as well.” With that, he went back into the corridor; he was gone for a little time and then he emerged again: “I used the spell on five of the seven cisterns; if Kreven releases the last two, I don’t think it’s going to inconvenience us too much; and it’s two empty cisterns in case we get trapped in the corridor.” It was a good idea and we all got ready to run in; just before we left, I shouted at the prisoners coming out of the hole: “Brace yourselves! There may be some water coming your way!” Longhelim lit the Torch to such a level that the whole corridor was lit. As John had described, there were seven large cisterns standing on one side; the corridor ended with two large doors made out of adamantite. As soon as the last rank of our group, Guthwulf and Augustus, entered into the corridor, the last two cisterns released their contents but as we thought, it was not enough water to wash us away, although it did wet my boots, which was irritating. When the water finished rushing away and we approached the door, there was an odd sound; it sounded like some sort of atonal moaning or singing. It increased the closer we got to the door. It sounded magical and sinister. However, there was another, more immediate problem; John looked and then said: “There is no lock or handle on this; and it looks firmly shut. How do we open it?” I turned to the Inquisitor: “Guthwulf, any ideas?” He replied: “Oh, it will just take a little positive energy from young Felix here.” Felix looked at the doors dubiously: “Positive energy? Are you sure? It does a lot of things but it doesn’t usually open doors.” “Trust me dear fellow, trust me!” So, some last minute spells were cast, the ones with the shortest duration and then John ran back behind us and set off a little item we had also collected a long time ago. It was shaped like a small fan and created a strong wind which blew away from us, into the room. I looked at him a little askance and he said: “Just in case there is some nasty gas or something behind the doors; we used it very effectively right at the beginning against the guard at the Eye and Kreven then used something on us in the Cave of the Eye so this time, I hope to blow it back in their faces.” That was the last effect and a moment later, Felix concentrated and the doors swung open! They revealed a huge round room with several odd metal constructions hugging its walls: these looked like small towers which provided platforms for groups of archers; I also glimpsed several individuals with bear masks up there. The moaning became much louder and reached overwhelming levels; it sounded like thousands and thousands of beings in utmost pain and for a brief moment, I wondered if this was the energy that Agony had been channeling to the Obelisk; columns of fire within the room provided light and the walls were embossed with huge glowing red runes which flared and pulsed as if to a heartbeat. At the back stood a series of jagged red crystals which acted as a bed for a huge column of pulsing red ice rising to the ceiling; obviously the Obelisk. On either side of it were another couple of steel towers, one supporting Kreven and two of his Claws while on the other stood Koren and the orc in the red armour. However, standing right in front of us were two stone golems built to resemble bear skeletons; these stepped forward to engage the warriors while all the archers loosed their arrows at them as well. There was a shout behind us as Guthwulf bellowed: “I said I’d kill you, you bastard!” This seemed very different from his usual manner of speech but it also acted as some sort of summoning as a bearded devil suddenly made its appearance next to him and bowed. Kreven then cast a hugely complicated spell with a speed and power that was breathtaking; he was obviously aided by the power of the Obelisk but even so, his skill was astounding; he cast it at Victor and thankfully, the warrior staggered but seemed to resist the other effect; I had already recognized the wizard Inquisitor’s signature spell which severed limbs. Kreven then cast another spell which created a magical wall in front of him and the Obelisk; although strangely, it did not cover the whole Artefact, just part of it and he himself was also partly exposed. I did not understand that quite yet but I had a nasty feeling that there was a good reason for him doing and we were going to find out why sooner rather than later. This last must have come as a great relief to Victor; despite his heroic resistance to Kreven, the warrior was the wizard’s main target at this point and was showing the results as he bled copiously from many wounds. The only people who could see into the room were Longhelim and Victor and they met and faced the golems with their swords; one of the constructs tried something on Victor but it did not work while the other just attempted to hit Longhelim; Ragesian inquisitors began to cast spells which dissolved magic on the two warriors with great success as usual. However, both the warriors also concentrated one of their attacks on the first golem and brought it down. Unfortunately, two ranks of Ragesian soldiers then rushed from around the corner and blocked the entrance into the room while another couple of Ragesian Inquisitors revealed their presence, one by casting another spell that dissolved magic while the other put a wall of flame on top of the two warriors, damaging Victor even further; the fighter was looking very hurt by this point. Drudge had managed to shoot one of the archers but the odds against us were looking overwhelming. Things became even worse as I heard the distinctive sound of electricity crackling; I couldn’t see what was going on but I saw both Victor and Longhelim shuddering and the former stumbled and almost fell but then became still in a peculiar way. I would have expected Victor to begin dodging and weaving but he just stood there; and he dropped his sword as I had seen him do many times before; obviously, he had been affected by some other magic; I remembered that Kreven had been augmented somehow by the Obelisk and this allowed him to fire off spells at an unprecedented rate. Then I began to see various arrow heads flying through the wall of flame; these were red hot but at least they weren’t stuck in either of the two warriors. Then Guthwulf spoke: “I can either heal the warrior or try to get rid of the wall; decide!” Longhelim shouted back: “Heal Victor!” So Guthwulf stepped forward and touched Victor who suddenly was able to move. Felix then cast a spell and was able to negate the wall of flame. I saw that two ranks of soldiers were now blocking the way into the room; behind them stood the stone bear construct and lurking slightly further behind was an Inquisitor; as I watched him, he was suddenly filled with arrows and collapsed. After that, Longhelim softly spoke and an enormous column of fire landed just behind the two ranks of soldiers; it was awesome and shocking and when it finished, the soldiers were simply gone; there was nothing left of them; the intensity of the magic was such that it left no trace. There was a slight pause as if even the enemy were a little stunned at the intensity of the Torch but then Koren’s song came to a crescendo and as she reached a high, grating note, she stopped and then she disappeared with her orc bodyguard, the same who had been with her in the Cave of the Eye. Another wall of flame appeared, this time just behind Victor and affecting Longhelim, John and Guthwulf; this was followed by yet another crackle of lightning. Guthwulf managed to get rid of the wall and we saw that the orc in red armour was lurking on one corner of the entrance. This time it was Longhelim who had dropped his Torch and was standing still seemingly unable to move. I had almost no magic left but I did have one useful spell left; stepping forward, I weaved and using all of Gabal’s teachings, managed to fool the last visible Inquisitor; Drudge became invisible and he immediately stepped forward and aimed at the Inquisitor. This individual could not stand up to the ranger’s onslaught and was felled. Victor managed to pick up his sword and activate his shield, which immediately put itself in mid air between him and other attacks. Victor followed up by advancing towards the construct and his sword bit deeply, seemingly unaffected against this enemy. Then everything went quiet! The Inquisitor must have cast a magical silence into our area.  I watched Kreven; ominously, he just smiled and did not do anything; suddenly, Koren appeared next to him and nodded; with a grin, he gestured and more forked lightning erupted from the orc in red armour who was lurking around the corner, obviously transported there by the renegade Wayfinder. This time, the target was Victor as well as the rest of us. Although the warrior managed to dodge most of the blast, he was still spun and almost knocked over by the impact; following up immediately, Kreven shouted a magical word: in a familiar ritual, Victor suddenly stood stock still, dropped his weapon and was oblivious to all his surroundings. So, now both Longhelim and Victor were in the same state. Both banks of archers fired volley after volley of weapons on Victor; thankfully, most of them bounced off his armour although a couple stuck in painful places; not that he could do much about it. Guthwulf stepped out of the magical silence and then cast a spell; it was an arcane spell, which was interesting; I had not realised he was an arcane caster; be that as it may, a green ray erupted from his hand and hit the magical barrier which Kreven had erected earlier, destroying it. It was a golden opportunity and I seized it; taking out one of my precious scrolls, I cast the same spell, taking care to disguise it as I had been taught all those months ago by Gabal. I managed to fool the Inquisitors and Kreven, who were all watching me; the green ray shot out of my hand and struck the Obelisk……..only to fizzle harmlessly. Obviously, this stone was impervious to my level of magic. Considering all the cracks that Kreven was causing every time he cast his spells, he was causing it far more damaged I could ever do. So, realizing that there was very little I could do at this point, I prudently retreated a little, just out of range of those forked lightning bolts. Felix then attempted a spell to counter act the magical effect on Longhelim but whatever he did, it failed. Suddenly, a whole swarm of arrows appeared in the torso of the red orc; Drudge was obviously busy. The orc staggered and almost fell over but he recovered and with a snarl he sprang at the helpless Victor and clawed him. Then the bear like construct stepped forward and also clouted the warrior who finally went down in flames. One of the Inquisitors cast another spell which dissolved magic and this was then followed up by yet another forked lightning bolt from Kreven, this time aimed at Longhelim. The paladin fell inertly; another fork hit Victor on the ground and everyone else with the exception of myself who had moved out of range; ominously, both Victor and Longhelim stopped burning but were still inert. Watching carefully, I noticed another spell from Kreven. I shouted: “He’s put up another magical barrier!” The archers had a new target; Guthwulf’s outsider had unwisely exposed himself and paid the penalty as the archers concentrated their fire upon him; he disappeared in a flash of fire. At this point, I moved towards Felix and handed him one of my last healing potions, which he drank gratefully. Then, I saw John dragging Longhelim’s body back to the priest. In the meantime, two more spells came in; these stripped magic from our group, leaving us with very few protections. The construct also seemed to be ready to do something and then somehow, Felix managed to use his scroll of resurrection; it was an incredibly powerful spell and beyond anything Felix could learn; he was following the instructions on the scroll and he managed to perform it; even more surprising was the fact that no one from the enemy counter spelled him. However, it happened, suddenly Longhelim was getting up; however, while collecting the Torch he was met by another powerful forked lightning bolt. Somehow, the Obelisk seemed to be giving Kreven a never ending supply of that spell. Guthwulf also cast a spell and a whirling wall of blades appeared in front of the corridor; the blades were translucent but deadly nevertheless. Drudge managed to get into position again and this time he finished off the orc with the red armour, much to the fury of Koren, who screamed from the back of the room and launched another spell which stripped magic from us. I was thinking about my scrolls, wondering when yet another wave of magic came in from an Inquisitor and this time the wall of blades disappeared; it was followed up by another bolt of forked lightning and this time, unfortunately, I was in range. I was beginning to feel all those lightning bolts, even if they were the weaker forks. It was Guthwulf who surprised me next though; he had also been hit by a fork of the lightning; judging by his smoking torso, he had lost his magical defence against that spell and looked hurt; I also noticed that that bonhomie that he had been cultivating had disappeared from his face. Stepping forward and with a feral look, he cast another spell; it was a complicated powerful spell and as soon as he finished, the earth began to rumble, the walls began to shake and fissures appeared in the floor; one of these was perilously close to Victor. The corpse of the warrior almost toppled over into it, but providence ensured that he stayed on the surface. This did not help one of the banks of archers; rocks and debris smashed on them from the ceiling; most of them were buried under rubble. At the far end of the cave, Kreven was unperturbed and hovered in mid air but Koren and her bodyguard were now on the floor although fully behind the magical barrier. They looked a little put out but unhurt. Longhelim, even though he was badly hurt, advanced onto the bear like construct and applied the last few blows onto it, finally breaking it up. The ground settled but the moans and screams of the hurt and the dying began to be heard. In the midst of this, the Obelisk was completely unaffected.</blockquote>

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