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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2868459" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #342a] Wandering the Halls[/PLAIN]The sight of the weapons room was impressive. But as her gaze locked instantly upon the figure in its center, Shamalin felt her chest constrict.It was him.Desperately, she clutched at the nearest thing to her, trying to breathe. Huzair shot her an irritated grimace and roughly dislodged her death-grip from his arm. "Relax!" he hissed. She was frozen, her eyes still riveted upon the figure. Finally, the moment passed - the armor proving to be (for the time being at least) nothing but empty armor. And slowly Shamalin became aware of the subtle differences. The chestplate and design looked quite similar, but the headpiece and the footcoverings were altogether different - bestial even. She drew in a shaky breath and murmured an embarrassed apology, averting her eyes. It wasn't him."I'm worried about that armor," Morier said, obliviously echoing the cleric's unvoiced sentiments."Reckon it'll animate?" Karak growled. His words had more of the statement in them than question."I may be able to determine if that armor will animate, Morier, and provide us some protection," Ayremac offered, but Huzair shouldered his way to the fore and began the moving his left hand through the elaborate gestures of a spell."Allow me," the mage said with a dramatic flair as his eyes lit up with dancing flames. "Yeah, there's magic here," he reported as his senses were opened to the Weave. "At least three sources... no, four. The armor, a pair of swords over there and that crazy tower shield right there. The armor's emanation's the strongest of the lot, but that short sword's pretty potent too. I could tell more if I actually went in-""No!" Morier and Karak said at the same time and they pushed him back roughly from the doorway, spoiling his concentration on the Detect Magic spell."Hey! Watch it, you idiots!" the mage snapped. "You just disrupted my spell, geniuses!" Karak shook his head gravely and cocked a thumb toward the armory."We'll nae start mucking about with things until we've gotten an idea o' where we be," the dwarf explained. "What if that armor came to life and started attackin' ye as soon as ye walked into the room? Eh? What then?" Huzair snorted."Well then, you big, strong fighters would have to save me, now wouldn't you?" he said fluttering his eyelashes coquettishly and Karak harrumphed and turned away."We'll touch nothing!" he advised. "Not until we get our bearings." He looked expectantly at Morier and the albino shrugged."I can't tell which way," he admitted. "But the keys are here somewhere. I can feel it.""But you can't tell us where. Just great!" Huzair groused, patting at his pockets as he spoke. He wanted to light up a cigar, but he was running dangerously low."It's no matter," Karak announced. "I think we should buff, then stick together, and explore the hall to the right. An old dwarven trick is to always go right, bein' that eventually it leads ye back 'round to the beginning." Ayremac scowled slightly."I only have buffs that last at most four minutes... so my plan is to use them right at the begining of battle," the holy warrior said. "Is that not what you fellows do?""All of us except Huzair," Morier said acerbically. "He always buffs at the exact right moment - predicting danger just far enough in advance to be able to prepare himself perfectly in time for the first clash of swords." Huzair snorted derisive laughter and gestured with a bit of cured leather."My buffin' lasts for hours," he said with a grin, "just like my lovin'." He followed that up with a verbal incantation, "Magis arma!" and a glowing sheath of force flared briefly around his body before fading away invisibly."Perhaps I can offer some words of comfort in these trying times," Ayremac said, clutching his gold holy symbol. "Umba, please cast your gaze upon us and protect us in this time of challenge. Help us dispense justice on those that are in need of it, and accept our gratitude for aiding us in retrieving the souls of those empty corpses.""While you guys hold your little prayer circle, I'll scout out the hall," Huzair said, following up the Mage Armor up with a scroll of False Life. "Invisibly, of course." The others protested but he sighed expansively. "Are any of you sneakier than me? Do any of you know your way around a trap if you find one? Don't forget, I spent my whole life in the Freeport of Farmin." And when it came to vile nests of scum and villainy, few places in the Realms could top Farmin."I was going to have Spot scout a bit," Lela said and Huzair shrugged."The hall goes in two directions," he said, already turning. "I will show you how to walk out front, Morier!' Huzair added sticking his long finger into Morier's chest before he went invisible.Spot returned almost at once from his turn down the left end of the hallway, but not Huzair. And while they waited for him to return the Order nervously discussed possible strategies if they encountered guards and the like here. The general plan seemed to be to act like evil folk on an evil mission looking for a key.As the suggestion was made, Shamalin felt a shiver of fear. Ever since she joined them, this group had been drawn deeper and deeper into Aphyx's clutches like an arrow bent on a target. And not for the first time she found herself wondering whose hand has loosed that arrow. Looking from one to the next, she began to wonder if the same betraying thoughts had occurred to the others. Her gaze lingered longest on Ayremac, with a barely concealed scowl finding its way to her face as she tried to discern whether or not he, too, was a pawn on the gameboard of the gods.And if so, whose side they were each on.</blockquote>

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