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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wraithdrit" data-source="post: 1103352" data-attributes="member: 10820">Mytrym was the first to follow Delorian into the sloping shaft that led further into the Underdark. Amador had stopped long enough to revive Tanerus and the group had quickly followed after the monk. It did not take them long to find the crumpled form of the sentry that Delorian had been chasing. The drow was obviously dead, and Mytrym moved forward quietly to try and find where Delorian had gone. The natural corridor ended in a soled flat granite wall, obviously man made. In front of the wall was another large shaft. Before the shaft a large iron ring was set into the stone. Tanerus examined the ring and nodded back at the others as he found a good place to hide. Not trapped, Mytrym heard the halfling say to him telepathically. Mytrym nodded and looked back as Naria put a hand on his shoulder. She talked in a low voice, "I can cast a spell to see down there, but my darkvision will do no good." She handed him the arrow with the light spell cast on it. The paladin nodded and as Naria cast he dropped the arrow down the shaft.As the light flashed for a moment Mytrym saw Delorian crouched beside the shaft. The monk was pulling aside his blanket of shadow for a moment, just long enough so that the others would see him and know he was still with them. Mytrym nodded to the monk and turned to await word from Naria. It was Tanerus' voice that brought the news. He reported to each of the members in turn, using his telepathy, "Naria says that there are three drow, a spider, and... a skinned drow."Mytrym thought back quickly, "Skinned? What do you mean?"Tanerus shrugged and looked to Naria a moment. "Skinned. Lacking skin. Probably some sort of undead."Mytrym frowned and pulled out a pair of potions. He quickly guzzled one after the other. He also heard the soft voice of Naria's spellcasting behind him. Her hand laid upon his shoulder again, this time, sending energy into his muscles, reducing some of the soreness and fatigue that they contained. He felt invigorated, like he could fight for hours. The haste potion sped his perceptions, and he felt his movements quicken. One last spell of his own, to ward against evil, and the paladin moved to the edge. He looked to Naria and nodded.The mage stepped up, whispered a few soft words and threw her hands toward the shaft. A pea shaped ball of fire slipped from between her hands, tumbled down the shaft and blossemed into a massive fireball. Below, screams of suprise and outrage sounded.Mytrym wasted no time. He lept from the edge, plunging toward the light arrow twenty feet below. The fly potion worked well and he swooped down and banked hard toward the waiting barricade.The drow seemed to be waiting, but were caught a bit off guard by the flying paladin. His sword was already arcing toward the disgusting visage of the skinned drow. The horror was exactly what Naria had described. It looked as if a drow had every bit of flesh and fat removed from its body, leaving behind the oozing bloody muscle and cartilage. Whatever it was, it would soon feel the bite of his blade. The blade came to life as he swung it, muttering to his goddess to strength his strike. Light flashed as his prayer was answered and the blade slammed into the abomination before him. The blade cut deep, but the creature seemed to not even notice. Already its clawed hands were clawing at his armor. Behind the abomination, behind a large barrier of a table and chairs that had obviously been recently turned over for defense, stood three drow. The spider that Naria had seen was dead by the fireball. Two were dressed just like the sentries, they had already, faced. The last wore only a tabard. As Mytrym flew in, this drow lifted his hands and cast a quick arcane spell. Each of Mytrym's enchantments were torn at by the power of the drow's dispel, but amazingly most of them withstood the attempt and destruction. Of all the preperation spells cast upon him, only his protection from evil spell fell under the dispel's assault.The disgusting skinned drow finally found purchase with her claws, raking between two plates of Mytrym's armor. The claws bit deep, but the acid dripping from them added insult to injury, burning even after the claws were torn loose when Mytrym slammed his shield into the creature, knocking her back. Mytrym could tell by the creature's high pitched howls that in life this thing had been female.Delorian and Tanerus both lept down the shaft. The monk was hidden in shadow, and the halfling pulled shadows around him upon landing. Mytrym still seemed alone. One of the sentries moved to edge of the barrier and lifted a large polearm. He stabbed over the shoulder of the creature trying to get at Mytrym, but his blows were ineffective against the paladin's armor. The second sentry moved to the back of the room. Where a wall should have been lay a massive chasm. The sentry moved to the chasm edge and called down into the darkness the same word, several times. Those in the party that spoke elven, easily understood the word. "Alert!"Plickit dropped in next, moving to one side to hide from the site of the spellguard. All four arms pulled chatkas from his bandoleers. He edged toward the corner, waiting for the right moment.Mytrym shoved the nasty bleeding thing from atop of him with his shield. He thrust his sword out at the thing and called upon his goddess, "By the Eilistraee, be gone abomination!" The thing spat its disgust at him. Literally. It pull its head back and spat forth a nasty ball of acid. Mytrym managed to shift to the side, and the glob splashed behind him. Tanerus was waiting for an opening when the glob of acid slammed into his flank. It burned a nasty hole through him. He cried out and threw back his cloak just as a storm of ice exploded in the area. Behind the barrier, the spellguard lowered his hands and chuckled as his ice storm pummelled the small party in front of him.Above, Naria saw the ice storm and quickly muttered a few syllables. The storm dissappeared quickly. The damage the ice had caused would not go away, but at least by dispelling the storm she allowed Amador to leap down into the shaft.The priest landed and came up swiftly. His holy symbol was out and he yelled at the bloody ex-drow. "Be gone hellspawn!" The creature was thrown back by the power of the priest's will. It stumbled back and hissed at him from the other side of Mytrym. The paladin pressed the advantage and hacked into the beast again.Delorian was still unseen by the enemy. He flipped easily over the barrier and spun around behind the spellguard. His fist lashed out at the back of the spellguard's head. Flames ripped up around his hand as he connected, but his natural resistance to magic spared him harm. The blow managed to make the spellguard stumble, but it was obvious it had not hurt him at all. The drow's skin was as hard as rock, obviously he had serious protection magics up.When Plickit heard the spellguard get attacked he knew his moment was at hand. He spun the corner and all four arms flipped chatkas quickly at the mage. Eight throwing wedges slammed into the drow. His body jerked back and forth, each wedge barely cutting through his enchantments. If it had been one or two, the mage would have barely felt it. But a little bit of damage from eight different attacks was enough to stagger him. He turned and fled toward the chasm, throwing himself over the side.Delorian turned to give chase, but the sentries were on him, their weapons lashing out at the monk.Mytrym took a step or two after the fleeing undead, until he saw that there were still combatants up on the landing. He turned on the drow that had stopped Delorian in his tracks and the two heroes quickly cut down the pair of sentries.Together Delorian and Mytrym moved to the edge of the chasm. Though the undead drow was no where to be seen, they could see the spellguard some forty feet below, dangling from a massive web. The two heroes nodded to each other and leapt over the edge of the chasm!</blockquote>

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