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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2922341" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #346] Moving Swiftly on[/PLAIN]While Ayremac and Shamalin did what they could to speed the soul of the elf woman on to final judgment, Karak leaned heavily against the wall while Morier paced back and forth like a caged lion."Sit down, lad," Karak protested. "Watchin' ye pace is makin' me a bit seasick." The albino turned, his face a mask of anger. But as he beheld the dwarf he let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head."I've been living with this pull in my head for weeks," the eldritch warrior growled. "And now that I really need it - now that we're finally here and the keys are within our grasp - it's abandoned me.""You do not feel the pull because, we are where we need to be!" Huzair said as he worked on the wizard's bracelets."Well, at least we know it's here," Lela offered, casting an annoyed glance at the mage. "We're in the right place.""Yes, but they're not necessarily keys like we'd use for a door.," Morier cursed. "The keys to freeing Dridana's heart could be anything.""Maybe that's what these do then," Huzair suggested, displaying the earrings he'd taken off the corpulent wizard and slipped into one of the numerous holes in his own black ears. "The bracelets are definitely Bracers of Armor, but I can't tell what these earrings do. Same goes for this." He held up the dead wizard's necklace. "Anybody want it? I'm sticking with my Amulet of Natural Armor.""What, Huzair?" Morier asked, raising one pale eyebrow. "Not going to tell us who'd benefit most from the amulet? I thought you always knew what was best!" Karak snorted laughter at the elf."I'm sure that he'll try bullyin' one of us into wearin' the thing 'fore long," the dwarf said. "Mark me words." Huzair gave both Morier and Karak a dubious look."Karak you must understand I am not a bully. I have a fiery personality,"  Huzair stated with a wry smile, obviously very pleased with himself. "I am an emotional person and do not tell me after knowing what that crew in the castle did to the Speckled Hand that you did not want to take vengeance. They deserved worse than what they got."Shamalin, overhearing the wizard's words looked up from where she was standing in prayer and glared witheringly at Huzair.  "If there is vengeance to be had on account of the Speckled Band, it is mine! And I will dispense it at my choosing!" Narrowing her eyes at him she hissed, "I know your thoughts, Huzair. Do not pretend that your interests run any deeper than the enjoyment you'd find being the one to dispense such 'justice'." To the others she added, " This incessant bickering is starting to grate on my nerves!"  "You are not the only one who lost comrades to these bastards. The only two I even liked are dead," Huzair told the cleric, unmindful of how his words would sound to the other members of the party. "Heck, Shamalin, you did not seem too much for meting out justice to those who killed Feln." He seemed ready to say more, but instead held his tongue, shaking his head in resignation. "Ah nevermind, I am not going to piss you off too."  As the truth of the wizards words sank in, Shamalin gave him a troubled look, her mouth set in a tight scowl. There was an awkward silence for a moment until the cleric turned away and Karak cleared his throat."Well, me strength seems to have returned," he said, giving his waraxe a few test swings."Then let's press on," Morier said eagerly. "I am anxious to be about our business.""This whole place is foul with the necromantic arts," Ayremac added with a nod. "It's taint must be cleansed."They lined up and began filing through the door, but Huzair briefly forestalled Shamalin by taking her hand in his. "Do not feel guilty for your outburst. Your kindness is your strength," he told her. "Not many have the stomach to do such dirty work as killing helpless prisoners. I, unfortunately, do... and actually would have taken some joy in it. I am very twisted... be thankful you are not like me."Shamalin studied him for a beat then withdrew her hand and remarked, "I don't know where it comes from these days, Huziar, but I can say for certain that what strength I possess does not draw from kindness." Disdaining the two doors on the left of the corridor as they proceeded in favor of the time-tested dwarven "always go right" method of dungeon-crawling, they came at last to the room that Huzair had seen earlier - a sort of study or office. There was no door connecting the room to the hallway, and the entire area was easily visible from without. A plain wooden desk and a tall chair faced the leftmost wall; a twisted, single candlestick of thorn-iron held an unlit candle, pale but red-veined. On the table were scattered several pieces of blank parchment, and a black quill pen in a jar with a block of ink set next to it. A single iron-bound door was set into the right-hand wall.A quick search revealed nothing of interest and so they fell to examining the door. Huzair discovered no traps with his search and stepped close to the door, activated his Ring of Invisibility and a moment later his Ring of Blinking. He stepped out of reality for a fraction of a second, shunting his mass to the Ethereal Plane before reappearing on the other side of the door - which was, he saw, a laboratory of some sort lined with racks of vials and bubbling glasswork.That was all the more he had time to see, however, because his momentary jaunt to the Ethereal Plane had attracted the attention of one of the guardian creatures bound to the complex. The air shimmered beside Huzair and something slipped through from beyond. Reeking of decay, the gaunt six foot tall humanoid was covered in black, leathery skin. Behind its sharply pointed ears, a large curved horn rose out of the back of its skull like the stingered tail of a scorpion. A mouth of jagged teeth took up more than half of the foul creature's head.Its eyes - two orbs black as pitch - leered at the invisible wizard as it took a step toward him. Before Huzair could do anything, the thing's insanely-long talons ripped into him, seeking - but not finding - his vitals. Even so, the pain was excrutiating and he was spared from death simply by the fact that the thing's teeth clamped down on his throat at just the moment when he blinked back to the ethereal plane and so they damaged him not at all.</blockquote>

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