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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2874714" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #343] What's Behind Door #1?[/PLAIN]Shamalin draped her cloak over the Florian symbols she had etched into her armor, hiding them as much as possible. The silver holy symbol of Flor she'd taken off of the Janissary's charred corpse she tucked inside her breastplate. Thus outfitted and with her great helm fully covering her head, she looked not unlike Blackheart himself.She could pass for such in dim light, she imagined, and while she hoped it wouldn't be necessary, the way things were going those hopes were fading. Knowing what it would involve, part of Shamalin's mind began rehearsing as the other debated how to properly disguise themselves. It was not an easy thing she asked of herself. So much of her healing had involved desensitizing the very details about Blackheart which she now sought to remember. And in this setting, those pieces came rushing back with frightening clarity: the wild-eyedness of him. His frenzied laughter. The incessant tendency to clear his throat - as if something even more foul was struggling to expel itself from his body. She mentally catalogued his idiosyncrasies, sick with the irony of it all. Not only was she in his armor, but she was piecing him together once more inside her head.Bringing him back to life.If they failed, she could only hope someone would dash her head against the stone wall and erase the horrible memories once and for all.She took a moment to cast a spell to mask her aura of good and she felt herself as ready as she could make herself. The others had seemed to reach an agreement as well and Huzair said, "I'm just going to grab that shortsword if nobody wants it." And he started to step toward the armory.Once again Morier forestalled him. "Grab the shortsword for what? A souvenir?" he asked, skewering the mage with a discerning eye. "Good gods, you're not actually thinking of using a combat weapon are you? Why don't you leave the fighting to the grown-ups and stand behind so you don't get hurt." The albino chuckled darkly.Huzair retaliated with a withering gaze of his own. "Don't you worrry, I know my place in combat, Morier." Again the eldritch warrior laughed."In all the years I've known you, Huzair, your place was the one thing you've never known," Morier told him and Huzair jerked, ready to say or do something. The holy warrior interrupted the action, however."Huzair, it is certainly not my place to tell you what to do but I get the impression from everyone here that no one thinks entering that room is a good idea," Ayremac said diplomatically. He looked at the others for confirmation and all save Karak nodded in agreement. The dwarf merely shrugged."I'm thinkin' that there armor's gonna come to life if'n ye go pokin' 'round in there," he said. "I've fought such a guardian statue with me chalak. Course tha' one was made o' stone if'n I be rememberin' right.""That's my point. It is either a trap or the most trap looking room I have ever seen," the holy warrior went on."If I am going to go out front more like Morier thinks I should, I will need a strong weapon. Can't cast spells in hand-to-hand!" the mage spat back, truly bewildered by what he thought to be a gross over-reaction. "At least you did not hear me talking about it for moonsdances like Karak did about his axe.""You had your pick of weapons from the Manor before we left Floxen!" Shamalin countered. "Why now?!""It's just a sword, for Kossuth's sake!" was the wizard's response and Ayremac sighed a little."What fortress have you ever gone in where the armory is right next to the front door? It's not... this was placed here so that some one would be lured in to spring the trap," the Officer of Umba told him. "If you choose to go in you may bring ruin on all of us.""Fine!" Huzair snapped in his best everyone's-against-me tone of voice. Morier nodded."Let's not grab anything from anywhere until we have a better idea what we're dealing with," he said. "Let's find what we came for before we start treasure hunting."The doors were recessed into the walls a bit so that it was difficult to see them until one was right up on them. And by then it was impossible not to look at them. They were disturbing - immense black iron valves embossed with depraved images of grinning skulls and leering eyes amidst a tangle of writhing tentacles. At various places on the door could be seen fragile humanoid figures being violated in the most horrific fashion by those tentacles."I'm not that good at detecting traps," Huzair admitted as they stood in front of the first such door. "But I'm probably the best shot we've got." He crouched down and moved his hands gingerly toward the door, trying hard not to be distracted by the degenerate images taunting him from its surface."I have a Find Traps spell," Shamalin offered and Huzair's face split with a wide grin."Spells... Nice. Not like being in front like big brave Morier, but much more effective than my skills," he said, standing and gesturing for the priestess to approach the door. "I guess magic is useful."Morier merely shook his head in disgust as Shamalin used her magic to pronounce the door safe. Karak and Morier readied weapons then and as soon as Shamalin stepped back they stepped in and pressed against the door. It slid open on well-oiled and cunningly counter-weighted hinges. The room beyond was was richly appointed with expensive tapestries of lewd dancing girls in explicit poses along three walls.A heavy curtain concealed the wall to the left and an ornately carved desk of polished black wood was opposite the door. Soiled desert rugs overlaid the floor. In the center of the rugs crouched a small misshapen creature that looked like a flayed humanoid, dripping a bloody slime - which was the apparent source of the stains. It looked up as the group opened the door and hissed at them through bared fangs.Before either warrior could do anything, the creature scuttled away under the desk."What was that?" Karak grunted, pointing in that direction with his frost-rimed axe."I think it was a homunculus," Morier told him. "I've never seen one quite like that before though.""What's a homunco- whate'er ye called it?" the dwarf asked, taking a hesitant step into the room."It's like a familiar... sort of," the albino said, scrunching up his eyebrows. "Anyway, a wizard has t make one, so if there's a homunculus here there's got to be a-"Before he could finish his thought, an inhuman roar sounded from their left and the curtain parted as a shaggy, stoop-shouldered monstrosity burst into the room. Its fur was the bright red of freshly-spilled blood and eyes like two black pits stared out from its strangely humanish face. Its mouth was filled with splayed yellow tusks and it let out a dire wailing as it leaped at Karak.That was all that the dwarf had time to see, but in the brief moment when the curtain was parted, Morier glimpsed a naked figure lying obesely, half-incumbent on a bed that largely filled the alcove beyond.</blockquote>

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