"Have you enjoyed your visit?" asked the diseased man, as the adventurers approached him again. "Of course you found nothing and of course you will leave empty handed. There is... you... You have the great device! What are you doing with that? It cannot be moved! It has not been moved in a millennia!"
"It is the will of your god that it be taken from this place and weakened!" said Sir Elric.
"I do not believe you. Nothing has changed here in ages. If you have the great device it is only because our god is weaker than we imagined." cried the diseased man.
"You will see. It is to be destroyed when I return. You will be free of your duty." replied Sir Elric.
"Nothing changes here. You will not return. We will not be freed." the diseased man said with much hate in his voice. "There is nothing to lend our faith to but hate and loathing. Go. It is the last we will see of you."
And with that they continued back up the way that had come, to speak with the outcast Sassar again.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
"I think we should-" Carloseus stopped. He looked from Cinara to Elric and to Bastrom. "Did anyone else feel that?" he asked. They shook their heads and continued walking but for Cinara and Bastrom. Carloseus's eyes then flashed white light.
"Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio!" he blurted quickly, and Cinara was blasted forward along with the rest of the party, unhurt however now at a great distance from Carloseus.
"NO! You demons shall not have him!" yelled Bastrom. Carloseus's eyes flashed black to white and back quickly, and Bastrom soon had him on the ground. They struggled, the raw forces with which they fought the other was felt around and trembled their surroundings. When at last it seemed like they were in a stalemate a thick black aura developed around the two, and clouded completely the vision of the others. When at last it was cleared enough to see, two piles of black ash lay where they were last seen struggling.
Carloseus stopped, sensing something, but Cinara kept going, her mind on practicing with her quarterstaff. A bright flash occurred and she was sent flying through the air, crashing oh top of Zubin. She was dazed for a bit and when she looked up she saw Carloseus disappear once again.
Our party discussed what to do and decided to move on. There was really nothing we could do anyway. Just hope that he pulls through this time as he did before.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Smiling is infectious.
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
Is...is that you? Have you returned successful? asked Sassar as the adventurers returned from the depths below.
"Yes...I have half of the rod here with me." replied Sir Elric.
Most excellent, my Lord!" exclaimed Sassar. "Most wonderful! Let me tell you, then, how the second half of the rod can be acquired. The Unseeing Eye is in a great pit in the center of the cult compound. You cannot enter the pit by the stairs-- the beholder's minions would slay you. But you must get into the pit. There is a niche where the beholder stores his treasures... including the rod. There is a safe way to get to that niche. One of our friends is still in the cult. You must approach him and say the phrase 'the eye is blind.' He will then know who you are and be able to help you. You will find him by the Pit of the Faithless...do hurry, my Lord! The beholder continues to mesmerize and murder the innocent even as we speak!"
"I shall go immediately and locate this man you speak of." Sir Elric said as he hide the rod under his armor.
"Praise the gods! yelled Sassar. "I wish you well, my Lord! Remember, do not speak to Gaal. If he senses that you have half of the rod, the plan is doomed. Speak only to Tad!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
"Are you to set out now?" inquired a weathered voice.
From out of the darkness of the threshold softly stepped Tel-Silgulwath, his shoulder-length, black hair shot through with grey, and his slightly-aged features now visible in stark contrast to the fresh sunlight. He shifted the weight of his sack on his shoulder then drew out an ancient scroll, carefully scrolling it open to view its contents.
"This beholder... I have reason to believe that his trove holds more than gold, jewels, and an ancient rod. Magic is power, and the more rare the more it is worth. Not all magic is in spoken word- the written language of my diminished mage clan was of enchanted origins, so that every sentence was a living, breathing power. They were also fond of scrolls, as you can see, " he nudged his sack of leaves.
"Well, I will let you put the pieces together as to my intentions. In any case, I will be going the same place as you and I will be following close in your footsteps to reach this vault of valuables- I am not able to cleave down a horde of cultists as you, though this situation seems to call for secrecy and wit above brute force. So, might there be room for one more?"
We made our way up and finally came upon Sassar, who told Sir Elric how to get the other half of the rod. We now proceed to the Pit of the Faithless.
Cinara takes out her dagger and begins practicing with it instead of her quarterstaff. She throws it at trees they pass along the way, sometimes missing. I have to work on my aim, she thinks.
She looks over at Zubin and he too is practicing with his swords. He is getting better. she notes.
As they get nearer to the more populated part of the compound she puts her dagger away, and looks for something to help remove the stench that has been building. She spots a bush, runs over grabs a few leaves and rips one dabbing the oil on her upper lip, I have had enough of the awefull smells to last a lifetime. She offers the leaves to the others, some accept some decline. I wonder what exactly they do with the pit, why it that smells so godawefull.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Smiling is infectious.
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
As they returned to the complex of the cultists, they were careful not to run into Gaal. As they entered the main area of the complex, two members of the cult we standing there preaching to who, judging by the fact he still had both his eyes, appeared to be a new recruit.
"Do you revoke the weakness of the sighted?" boomed one of the Cultists.
"I do." replied a new recruit in the cult. "Then you revoke the false power of sight and embrace the true vision of Holy Blindness?" continued the Cultist.
"I revoke it." said the recruit. "Then what must done to set things aright?" the Cultist asked the recruit.
"Take my foul sight master!" cried the recruit. "Let the orbs and their poisonous sight be torn from my body! Let me be made pure!" "So shall it be done!" said the Cultist. "Be you pure of intent and you shall live. Cling to the foul sight and you shall die. Let it be done!"
"The Unseeing Eye is always here." said another Cultist who was also present. "He sees that you are not worthy and the blood at my feet proves it. Take him away. Throw the body down into the Pit of the Faithless."
"It shall be as you say." said the other Cultist, as he took the recruit by his hair and dragged along the wooden platform to the end and threw him into the large pit that occupied the centre ofthe complex.
"Such barbarism." said Sir Elric. "Now where is this Tad fellow?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
Cinara watches as another cultist has their eyes removed and discovers what the stench is, the rotting bodies of the unworthy down in the pit. She wonders why people would allow that to be done to themselves.
She looks around hoping to find this Tad person and thinks she spots him. She approaches the cultist who seem to have taken an interest in our group, but another cultist calls out to him with another name she couldn't quite understand. I guess that wasn't him. She continues scanning the group looking for the one they seek.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Smiling is infectious.
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
As the neared the far corner of the complex they saw a large man, who looked like the cultists who threw the recruit into the pit, standing next to a small ledge over looking a crevice. As they approached the man spoke to the group.
"Yes, pilgrim?" asked the man.
"'The eye is blind'?" replied Sir Elric hesitantly.
"You...Sassar sent you? Oh, thank the gods, I am relieved he is still alive! I am Tad...what do you need me to do?" Tad asked.
"He said that you would know a secret way to reach the small cave at the back of the beholder's lair." said Sir Elric. "Can you help me find it?"
"You want to enter the beholder's lair?" Tad exclaimed. "Well... you must go down the Pit of the Faithless. Below is a secret pathway to the small cave in the lair. I don't know exactly where the passage is. Be wary of the creatures who feed upon the bodies of the faithless that are thrown down there."
"Very well. Thank you for the assistance, Tad." replied Sir Elric.
"Good luck, my lord! But be warned, ones you go down the passage, you will not be able to come back up it, you will have to find another way out."
"I thank you again Tad" Sir Elric said before he lead the way down the passage.
The passage way narrow, incredibly narrow, so much so that the had to move through it sideways. An endevaour which proved most uncomfortable for Vasallus who constantly scraped his armored body as he moved down the passage.
"The passage is dark" mused Sir Elric. "But I do not see how we could not find our way back uuuu...!!!!!"
Sir Elric hit the ground with a large crash. as he turned around he could just barely make out the shapes of his compatriots doing the same.
"Urgh." he groaned. "Tad could have told us this was why we couldn't get back up"
As they dusted themselves off and checked they were not injured too badly from their falls Darrian quickly moved to the front of the group.
"Quiet! All of you!" he called out. "There is something ahead. It shambles, and has the stench of death about it."
As he moved slowly forward a small light grew bigger, and soon the found themselves amongst the multitude of decaying bones and human remains.
"The telltale signs of a carnivore's lair." said Balgarath as he held a thigh bone in his hand. "The shadows hide horrors of all manners, watch your backs."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
We made our way down the tunnel, side stepping along when we ran out of ledge. We landed with a thud, this time Zubin landing on Cinara. She let out an "oofff" as the wind was knocked out of her.
"Get up off me Zubin" and she pushes him off. "I’m just happy Vasallus didn’t fall on me," she says with a light laugh as she gets up. "Take my hand," she tells Zubin and is helping him up when Darrien calls out, "Quiet! All of you! There is something ahead. It shambles, and has the stench of death about it."
The stench gets increasingly worse as the thing approaches. Ugh, when this is over I want a long bath and a new set of clothes, she thinks as she looks over her tunic, poking a finger through a few holes.
She notices the bones laying everywhere and a shudder escapes, a flesh eater no less, and I thought the bodies were just thrown down and left to rot. She wonders what this thing will look like, and sighs realizing she will see it face to face soon enough.
She looks around the cavern and decides her quarterstaff would be best here. She readies herself for the fight, happy that she has been training with it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Smiling is infectious.
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
"There is not much light here," whispered Tel-Silgulwath in the suffocating darkness and mustiness of the deep chambers and tunnels, "Which, I suppose, is fitting for those who praise the Sightless and need it not. Still, we are not blind or cultists of this nature, and no beast is best fought in shadow- so I offer light."
He motioned to a dry bone, whispered his psychic enchantment and it rose to his right hand, and then he took it close to his mouth, closing his left hand over the top, almost protectively.
"Cupio, Virtus, Licet- Veritas, Credo, Oculos."
The two spells immediately began to work in sync, the former opening the dry bone for enchantment and the latter sealing the power of illuminating light within its trunk, lines and symbols drawn upon its ancient exterior forming like ever-fragile silverine stars slowly sliding from behind the clouds of night.
"Duel-enchantment, a somewhat simple yet unique concept originally experimented with and recorded by my people."
He held it before him, staying still behind the first members of the group, as he was not one to trifle with battle with any amount of efficiency. Fine white light fell over the previously-cloaked rotten dead, and, more so, dry, golden-brown bones that littered the stone floor before them.
Tel-Silgulwath crinkled his brow and drew back his necromantal conjured light source, its radius trimming down to light the area just around the group.
"I... hear breathing in the deep before us, but I do not believe that this light would let the one- or ones, I cannot be sure- be drawn towards us, per say, for it has been in the dark a very long time, and light on the shadowed eye is light fire on the exposed flesh."
There was a shiver in the shadows and a thump and rustle in the piles of bones.
When he spoke again, his voice was even more quiet, choked with fear. "I am not accustomed to the terrors of the dead and their consumers, but my voice must diminish for fear that we be added to the nameless, unburied, and desecrated dead..."
"Hsss! Why do you come amongst usss? I begsss you to leave! The sssmell...the sssmell of food makesss usss wild!" hissed the ghoul as he along with several other made their way towards the group.
I'm not your food!" cried Darrian. "And I'll not leave until after I've destroyed all you undead monstrosities!"
"HsssSSS!! Feed! We mussst FEED!!" the ghoul hissed.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
Tel-Silgulwath took a few careful steps back, nudging a corpse and nearly toppling over its remains. "Darrian, how many do you see? My eyes are not as good as they once were and these creatures are hard to tell apart from their meals."
He looked quickly around himself and among the shades of the piles of the desecrated dead. "We should be careful not to become surrounded."
Darrian looked at Tel-Silgulwath, and smiled, then turned to Sir Elric. The two paladins, nodded in unison, both knowing what the other was planning. They turned to face their undead foes. Their bodies began to glow with a white light. As they moved the ghouls flesh, or rather what little there was of it because to burn the closer they got to them.
"So you foul creatures are strong enough to resist our combined holy powers." said Sir Elric. "Few can withstand it, impressive."
"Now!!!!" yelled Darrian to the others. "Quickly!! We cannot hold this level of holy power for much longer!."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
The sound of a bow string being pulled could faintly be heard behind them, though busy as they were, none took notice. An arrow, then another, then a third went between the adventureres, striking the ghoul multiple times. Suddenly, the head of one of the arrows begins to glow inside the ghoul, setting the undead ablaze.
The group turns around, looking to see who would do such a thing. A silloette could be seen in the darkness, the wanderer stepping forward.
"Looked as if help were needed..." the mysterious one spoke. "I was asked to follow... But survival seemed more important..."
"Quite standing around and kill something!!" Darrian shouted as many in the group turn to face the stranger. "Useless the bloody lot of you."
"Foul creature! Fall and feed the earth!" Sir Elric called out as his sword cleaved through one of the ghouls.
"Vascallus!" Balgarath shouted. Get in there and draw their attention.
The Iron Golem did as it's master commanded and charged into the centre of the remaining ghouls, who quickly directed their furious attacks towards the walking suit of armor.
"Hiyaah! Hiyaah!!" cried Shikyomaru as he unleash a flurry or quick blows to a ghouls should joints, severing the arms.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
-Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
Pulling out Masaka, he throws the sword at the closest ghoul in the head, taking the Master Sword and ramming it into the gut of the foul beast, he pulls it up, ripping through him. He then grabs Makara, pulls it out of the beast's face, turns around, gaining momentum and power from the centriplical force, but is knocked off to the side. He catches himself on the ground, one hand and on the ground infront of him, Masaka in his other, he cuts the cord of his cloak, the cloak falling to the ground. Then he jumps up, ramming the sword straight down into the top of the beast. Then, anger and hatred in his eyes, he pulls down, splitting the skull in half, before ripping his Master Sword out.
"Foul beast! Be done with the!" He says, sheathing the Master Sword and unsheathing Makara. He then puts Masaka and Makara together in a scissors like fashion, cutting the bastard in half, before standing up, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips away, and looking to see who his next target, his next victum, will be.
Cinara thrusts her quarterstaff into the nearest ghoul's chest and jerks it out, slicing it halfway through then she brings her staff around and finishes severing it in half. Another takes its place and she slices this one at the legs sweeping around and lopping off another's shoulder.
Zubin finishes off the ghoul with the missing shoulder as Cinara kicks the legless one flat to the ground and slices off its head.
Just then some arrows whizz by, not remembering anyone of her party having a bow, she stops and turns to see where they came from. She could not get a clear picture of who it was but was grateful for the help nonetheless.
Darrien shouts out, "Quite standing around and kill something! Useless the bloody lot of you."
She returns her attention back to the ghouls. Thrusting her quarterstaff into another that was almost upon Zubin and ripping it open and finishing it with a downward stroke.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Smiling is infectious.
Give, expecting nothing thereof. ------------ BoD - Come have some fun! Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
Tel-Silgulwath dropped his makeshift enchanted torch and turned to a rusted and decaying large sword stuck in a pile of corpses and lifted his right hand to it.
"Praeses, Alia, Fero!"
The sword slid from the bodies and another shot of the magic words blew the metal in to tiny floating pieces. He motioned his hands wildly and the knife-sharp shards sped across the room and nailed one of the walking beasts to another.
"Cupio, Virtus, Licet- Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio!" he shouted at the hobbling duo.
The imbedded shards instantly flared to life with wicked bolts of lightning, surging through the bodies and leaving semi-charred, motionless flesh strewn on the cavern floor.
He jumps onto another one, taking Masaka and ramming it down the ghoul's throat. He then pulls forward, ripping it out of the ghoul before swipping accros the head with Makara. As the head falls to the ground with a thud, he sheaths both short swords and grabs hold of the ghoul, reaching into the hole left by the sword and grabs inside it. Putting his right foot against it for leverage, he rips the spinal cord out from the monstrosity, watching as it falls to the floor.
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"Have you enjoyed your visit?" asked the diseased man, as the adventurers approached him again. "Of course you found nothing and of course you will leave empty handed. There is... you... You have the great device! What are you doing with that? It cannot be moved! It has not been moved in a millennia!"
"It is the will of your god that it be taken from this place and weakened!" said Sir Elric.
"I do not believe you. Nothing has changed here in ages. If you have the great device it is only because our god is weaker than we imagined." cried the diseased man.
"You will see. It is to be destroyed when I return. You will be free of your duty." replied Sir Elric.
"Nothing changes here. You will not return. We will not be freed." the diseased man said with much hate in his voice. "There is nothing to lend our faith to but hate and loathing. Go. It is the last we will see of you."
And with that they continued back up the way that had come, to speak with the outcast Sassar again.
"Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio!" he blurted quickly, and Cinara was blasted forward along with the rest of the party, unhurt however now at a great distance from Carloseus.
"NO! You demons shall not have him!" yelled Bastrom. Carloseus's eyes flashed black to white and back quickly, and Bastrom soon had him on the ground. They struggled, the raw forces with which they fought the other was felt around and trembled their surroundings. When at last it seemed like they were in a stalemate a thick black aura developed around the two, and clouded completely the vision of the others. When at last it was cleared enough to see, two piles of black ash lay where they were last seen struggling.
Our party discussed what to do and decided to move on. There was really nothing we could do anyway. Just hope that he pulls through this time as he did before.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
Is...is that you? Have you returned successful? asked Sassar as the adventurers returned from the depths below.
"Yes...I have half of the rod here with me." replied Sir Elric.
Most excellent, my Lord!" exclaimed Sassar. "Most wonderful! Let me tell you, then, how the second half of the rod can be acquired. The Unseeing Eye is in a great pit in the center of the cult compound. You cannot enter the pit by the stairs-- the beholder's minions would slay you. But you must get into the pit. There is a niche where the beholder stores his treasures... including the rod. There is a safe way to get to that niche. One of our friends is still in the cult. You must approach him and say the phrase 'the eye is blind.' He will then know who you are and be able to help you. You will find him by the Pit of the Faithless...do hurry, my Lord! The beholder continues to mesmerize and murder the innocent even as we speak!"
"I shall go immediately and locate this man you speak of." Sir Elric said as he hide the rod under his armor.
"Praise the gods! yelled Sassar. "I wish you well, my Lord! Remember, do not speak to Gaal. If he senses that you have half of the rod, the plan is doomed. Speak only to Tad!"
From out of the darkness of the threshold softly stepped Tel-Silgulwath, his shoulder-length, black hair shot through with grey, and his slightly-aged features now visible in stark contrast to the fresh sunlight. He shifted the weight of his sack on his shoulder then drew out an ancient scroll, carefully scrolling it open to view its contents.
"This beholder... I have reason to believe that his trove holds more than gold, jewels, and an ancient rod. Magic is power, and the more rare the more it is worth. Not all magic is in spoken word- the written language of my diminished mage clan was of enchanted origins, so that every sentence was a living, breathing power. They were also fond of scrolls, as you can see, " he nudged his sack of leaves.
"Well, I will let you put the pieces together as to my intentions. In any case, I will be going the same place as you and I will be following close in your footsteps to reach this vault of valuables- I am not able to cleave down a horde of cultists as you, though this situation seems to call for secrecy and wit above brute force. So, might there be room for one more?"
Cinara takes out her dagger and begins practicing with it instead of her quarterstaff. She throws it at trees they pass along the way, sometimes missing. I have to work on my aim, she thinks.
She looks over at Zubin and he too is practicing with his swords. He is getting better. she notes.
As they get nearer to the more populated part of the compound she puts her dagger away, and looks for something to help remove the stench that has been building. She spots a bush, runs over grabs a few leaves and rips one dabbing the oil on her upper lip, I have had enough of the awefull smells to last a lifetime. She offers the leaves to the others, some accept some decline. I wonder what exactly they do with the pit, why it that smells so godawefull.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
"Do you revoke the weakness of the sighted?" boomed one of the Cultists.
"I do." replied a new recruit in the cult.
"Then you revoke the false power of sight and embrace the true vision of Holy Blindness?" continued the Cultist.
"I revoke it." said the recruit.
"Then what must done to set things aright?" the Cultist asked the recruit.
"Take my foul sight master!" cried the recruit. "Let the orbs and their poisonous sight be torn from my body! Let me be made pure!"
"So shall it be done!" said the Cultist. "Be you pure of intent and you shall live. Cling to the foul sight and you shall die. Let it be done!"
"The Unseeing Eye is always here." said another Cultist who was also present. "He sees that you are not worthy and the blood at my feet proves it. Take him away. Throw the body down into the Pit of the Faithless."
"It shall be as you say." said the other Cultist, as he took the recruit by his hair and dragged along the wooden platform to the end and threw him into the large pit that occupied the centre ofthe complex.
"Such barbarism." said Sir Elric. "Now where is this Tad fellow?"
She looks around hoping to find this Tad person and thinks she spots him. She approaches the cultist who seem to have taken an interest in our group, but another cultist calls out to him with another name she couldn't quite understand. I guess that wasn't him. She continues scanning the group looking for the one they seek.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
"Yes, pilgrim?" asked the man.
"'The eye is blind'?" replied Sir Elric hesitantly.
"You...Sassar sent you? Oh, thank the gods, I am relieved he is still alive! I am Tad...what do you need me to do?" Tad asked.
"He said that you would know a secret way to reach the small cave at the back of the beholder's lair." said Sir Elric. "Can you help me find it?"
"You want to enter the beholder's lair?" Tad exclaimed. "Well... you must go down the Pit of the Faithless. Below is a secret pathway to the small cave in the lair. I don't know exactly where the passage is. Be wary of the creatures who feed upon the bodies of the faithless that are thrown down there."
"Very well. Thank you for the assistance, Tad." replied Sir Elric.
"Good luck, my lord! But be warned, ones you go down the passage, you will not be able to come back up it, you will have to find another way out."
"I thank you again Tad" Sir Elric said before he lead the way down the passage.
The passage way narrow, incredibly narrow, so much so that the had to move through it sideways. An endevaour which proved most uncomfortable for Vasallus who constantly scraped his armored body as he moved down the passage.
"The passage is dark" mused Sir Elric. "But I do not see how we could not find our way back uuuu...!!!!!"
Sir Elric hit the ground with a large crash. as he turned around he could just barely make out the shapes of his compatriots doing the same.
"Urgh." he groaned. "Tad could have told us this was why we couldn't get back up"
As they dusted themselves off and checked they were not injured too badly from their falls Darrian quickly moved to the front of the group.
"Quiet! All of you!" he called out. "There is something ahead. It shambles, and has the stench of death about it."
As he moved slowly forward a small light grew bigger, and soon the found themselves amongst the multitude of decaying bones and human remains.
"The telltale signs of a carnivore's lair." said Balgarath as he held a thigh bone in his hand. "The shadows hide horrors of all manners, watch your backs."
"Get up off me Zubin" and she pushes him off. "I’m just happy Vasallus didn’t fall on me," she says with a light laugh as she gets up. "Take my hand," she tells Zubin and is helping him up when Darrien calls out, "Quiet! All of you! There is something ahead. It shambles, and has the stench of death about it."
The stench gets increasingly worse as the thing approaches. Ugh, when this is over I want a long bath and a new set of clothes, she thinks as she looks over her tunic, poking a finger through a few holes.
She notices the bones laying everywhere and a shudder escapes, a flesh eater no less, and I thought the bodies were just thrown down and left to rot. She wonders what this thing will look like, and sighs realizing she will see it face to face soon enough.
She looks around the cavern and decides her quarterstaff would be best here. She readies herself for the fight, happy that she has been training with it.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
He motioned to a dry bone, whispered his psychic enchantment and it rose to his right hand, and then he took it close to his mouth, closing his left hand over the top, almost protectively.
"Cupio, Virtus, Licet- Veritas, Credo, Oculos."
The two spells immediately began to work in sync, the former opening the dry bone for enchantment and the latter sealing the power of illuminating light within its trunk, lines and symbols drawn upon its ancient exterior forming like ever-fragile silverine stars slowly sliding from behind the clouds of night.
"Duel-enchantment, a somewhat simple yet unique concept originally experimented with and recorded by my people."
He held it before him, staying still behind the first members of the group, as he was not one to trifle with battle with any amount of efficiency. Fine white light fell over the previously-cloaked rotten dead, and, more so, dry, golden-brown bones that littered the stone floor before them.
Tel-Silgulwath crinkled his brow and drew back his necromantal conjured light source, its radius trimming down to light the area just around the group.
"I... hear breathing in the deep before us, but I do not believe that this light would let the one- or ones, I cannot be sure- be drawn towards us, per say, for it has been in the dark a very long time, and light on the shadowed eye is light fire on the exposed flesh."
There was a shiver in the shadows and a thump and rustle in the piles of bones.
When he spoke again, his voice was even more quiet, choked with fear. "I am not accustomed to the terrors of the dead and their consumers, but my voice must diminish for fear that we be added to the nameless, unburied, and desecrated dead..."
"Hsss! Why do you come amongst usss? I begsss you to leave! The sssmell...the sssmell of food makesss usss wild!" hissed the ghoul as he along with several other made their way towards the group.
I'm not your food!" cried Darrian. "And I'll not leave until after I've destroyed all you undead monstrosities!"
"HsssSSS!! Feed! We mussst FEED!!" the ghoul hissed.
He looked quickly around himself and among the shades of the piles of the desecrated dead. "We should be careful not to become surrounded."
"So you foul creatures are strong enough to resist our combined holy powers." said Sir Elric. "Few can withstand it, impressive."
"Now!!!!" yelled Darrian to the others. "Quickly!! We cannot hold this level of holy power for much longer!."
The group turns around, looking to see who would do such a thing. A silloette could be seen in the darkness, the wanderer stepping forward.
"Looked as if help were needed..." the mysterious one spoke. "I was asked to follow... But survival seemed more important..."
"Quite standing around and kill something!!" Darrian shouted as many in the group turn to face the stranger. "Useless the bloody lot of you."
"Foul creature! Fall and feed the earth!" Sir Elric called out as his sword cleaved through one of the ghouls.
"Vascallus!" Balgarath shouted. Get in there and draw their attention.
The Iron Golem did as it's master commanded and charged into the centre of the remaining ghouls, who quickly directed their furious attacks towards the walking suit of armor.
"Hiyaah! Hiyaah!!" cried Shikyomaru as he unleash a flurry or quick blows to a ghouls should joints, severing the arms.
"Foul beast! Be done with the!" He says, sheathing the Master Sword and unsheathing Makara. He then puts Masaka and Makara together in a scissors like fashion, cutting the bastard in half, before standing up, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips away, and looking to see who his next target, his next victum, will be.
Zubin finishes off the ghoul with the missing shoulder as Cinara kicks the legless one flat to the ground and slices off its head.
Just then some arrows whizz by, not remembering anyone of her party having a bow, she stops and turns to see where they came from. She could not get a clear picture of who it was but was grateful for the help nonetheless.
Darrien shouts out, "Quite standing around and kill something! Useless the bloody lot of you."
She returns her attention back to the ghouls. Thrusting her quarterstaff into another that was almost upon Zubin and ripping it open and finishing it with a downward stroke.
Folks will always come and go, so enjoy them while they're meant to be in your life.
"Praeses, Alia, Fero!"
The sword slid from the bodies and another shot of the magic words blew the metal in to tiny floating pieces. He motioned his hands wildly and the knife-sharp shards sped across the room and nailed one of the walking beasts to another.
"Cupio, Virtus, Licet- Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio!" he shouted at the hobbling duo.
The imbedded shards instantly flared to life with wicked bolts of lightning, surging through the bodies and leaving semi-charred, motionless flesh strewn on the cavern floor.