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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 463867" data-attributes="member: 41">46—Unlife, or something very like it.The party enters the Heart, and finds themselves within the hollowed core of Nightfang Spire.  They note a hatch on the ceiling, and use flying magic to reach it.  On the other side, they see that the center of the circular chamber is walled in, with a single door leading into it.  The party opens the door, and as usual, Taran is the first to enter the room—but unlike other situations, he immediately feels a sudden weight across his shoulders, and his flying magic fails him.  “Antimagic,” he starts to yell, when he is distracted by the scene before him.The circular chamber is quite tall, and ringed at the height of twenty feet by a walkway that runs the length of the sphere.  Upon the walkway a pair of bound and sickly looking humans lie motionless.  Floating above the ground directly between the captives is a massive fleshy organ—a strange disembodied heart some fifteen feet in diameter, beating as if it were alive, and leaking a black, viscous blood.  The blood pools on the ground in the center of the chamber, leaving a thin ring of unstained stone running along the walls.  Directly opposite Taran across the pool stands a relaxed and composed elf, several shades paler than his normal kin, regarding the fighter with a regal air.  His casual smile reveals rows of elongated and sharp teeth.“More humans?” Gulthais says.  “Sun and sea, what is my world coming to?”Taran charges around the ichor-pool toward Gulthais, and slices at the elf with Black Lisa, but Gulthais deftly avoids each swing, moving only enough to let each strike pass by.  On Taran’s last back-swing, Gulthais strikes Taran’s elbow, spinning the stubborn warrior to the ground, his face inches from the black ichor.  Gulthais stomps Taran’s lower back, causing his legs to go numb, and provoking a startled yell from the burly fighter.“Come in, come in, do come in” Gulthais says pleasantly.  I have a gift for each of you.”Thelbar unleashes a series of destructive magics, but as his spells reach the opening, they dissipate harmlessly.  “Antimagic,” he mutters.  Taran!  To me!” Taran scrambles around the edge of the room on his numb legs, and Gulthais casually follows him.“I was wondering when someone would just open the damn door,” Gulthais says jovially.  “Wishes really are the curse of lazy wizards.”As Gulthais moves through the doorway, he begins to radiate a chill light, and he sighs contentedly.  Kyreel and Indy have been waiting for this moment, and level spells at the vampiric elf.  Gulthais tumbles away from the door with blinding speed, and evades the worst of the damage.  He moves toward Kyreel and strikes her several times about the head and chest, stunning her and driving her back.  But fighting outside of the anti-magic field proves too dangerous for the vampire, as Thelbar burns the pale elf with both lightning and fire.Gulthais staggers away from Thelbar, and is struck at the base of his spine by Taran.  “Sucks, don’t it?” Taran hisses.Gulthais’ eyes widen with either pain or the memory of it, and he regards the group.  “Farewell, mortals, and I thank you for my freedom.  Next time we meet, I dearly hope we can be more civil to one another.”  He gestures towards Kyreel’s holy symbol, “We are nearly siblings, after all.”  And with that, Gulthais speaks a word of recall, and disappears.With their foe gone, the group takes stock of the situation within the Heart’s chamber.  The two casualties on the walkway are in fact the missing wizards Elminster and Khelben, both of whom are bound, gagged, and nearly dead.  They both have multiple puncture-marks along their arms, and have been severely drained of blood.Taran carries the wounded pair out of the room, and Kyreel heals them.  After the party has searched the chamber and taken Gulthais’ wealth, they help the shaken wizards to their feet, and bring them before the high speaker Ahl-Ithevia.</blockquote>

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