The group recuperated for a while before they even considered the looming iron double doors on either side of the far wall of the room. XIII took some time to rest and to get to know Grognarc, while Lirael tranced out very consciously. Rayne, recovering from several wounds, slipped into a deep sleep while his body regenerated its strength.
It was not long, though, before they knew they could linger no longer. Lirael approached the door on the right side of the room, pulling out a small kit from his bag to assist him in tinkering with the lock, which he opened with ease. He looked at XIII who stood beside him and then they both looked over to Rayne on the other side of the room who was just beginning to wake up [
Oh, look, he's no longer having an out-of-body-experience. Shall we continue?].
Lirael informed Rayne that they were going to enter the next area and then he opened the doors. A magnificent mural of a forest scene covered the ceiling of the vaulted chamber, which was adorned with statues of eladrin warriors and illuminated by fiery braziers. Web-strewn bookshelves packed with dusty tomes lined the far wall and between two braziers sat the partially assembled bones of a dragon atop a two foot high stone bier. Two humanoids were chained to the wall on either side of the dragon skeleton behind each of the braziers and two animated skeletons stood guard in the middle of the room.
Lirael stepped carelessly forward and with his quick wits, jumped backwards just in time as the floor began to collapse, revealing a spiked pit about ten feet deep. He and XIII rushed to the other door, beside which Rayne stood, and Lirael quickly picked the lock of the second set of doors.
"You, there, strangers!" Called a Daemon, the humanoid figure chained to the wall closest to them, "Free us of our bonds and we will aid you in fighting this undead menace!"
Much to Lirael's surprise, however, the floors yet again collapsed as soon as he stepped inside the doorway. Just as he was about to be impaled, he vanished, teleporting deeper within the room.
"Two spike pits?" Lirael shouted, quite flustered, "Who places two spike pits within the only two entrances to a room?!"
Just then, a third skeleton revealed himself, walking out from past the dragon bones and the chained elf. He wore tattered mage robes and his bony claws crackled with blue lightning threateningly. His skeleton lackeys attacked Lirael before he even had time to regain his composure after his teleportation. The first skeleton made a swipe, grazing Lirael straight across his chest. Fortunately, this knocked him back enough that the second skeleton missed him narrowly as he staggered to straighten himself.
The leader, Yisarn, realized he was dealing with more than a foolish bunch of wanderers and curled back his hand and flung it out in Lirael's directions, shooting glistening darts of ice in Lirael's direction. Lirael ducked down and rolled out of the way to avoid the assault and then ran to a safer position.
The two prisoners struggled against their chains, trying to break free. The elf on the farthest side was no match against his bonds, but the Daemon, determined, managed to pull the chains slightly off the stone wall behind him. Bits of rubble fell to the floor but the chains were still stuck fast to the wall.
XIII evaporated into a cloud of mist and glided smoothly over the deadly pit, twisting back into physical form some few yards within the room. Rayne followed after him, leaping over the pit with a running start.
Suddenly, the chained Daemon shouted, "XIII? Could it be? Help me, XIII!"
Despite his confusion, XIII approached the Daemon, for some reason feeling faithful to his race, and his added strength was just the boost the stranger needed to tear apart the rest of his bonds. Finally, he was freed, but that would only further provoke the evil creatures that had been waiting for them in the first place.
Finally, the room erupted into a full out battle. Rayne rushed forward to attack the skeletons while the Daemon stranger moved to assist him. XIII sent forth his Eldritch ribbons of pain towards the drake that waltzed out into sight, ready to take on the fight. But so far, none of the adventurers were having much luck dealing any sort of damage. Fortunately, though, on the other hand, they were evading, parrying, and countering the chaotic assaults of the undead with ease.
After interrupting a skeleton with the fury of the warden in his blade, Rayne headed over towards the ensnared elven man still struggling to free himself from the chains that held him fast to the wall.
"If you aid us in our fight, I can free you from these chains!" Rayne shouted in his direction.
"I will help you," The elf replied hastily, yet calmly.
Rayne approached the chains and shackles holding onto the elf's wrists and wrenched at them, but shocked at the strength of the chains, Rayne was unable to tear them from the walls. He then mustered all of his strength and annihilated them; the elf fell gracefully to the floor and thanked Rayne for his service. He stood whilst pulling out a mysterious looking book. Immediately, it flipped open as if a gust of wind had blown through the still underground room to the exact page that the elf needed. His hands moved in subtle, yet obviously powerful ways and a languid vibration seeped across the room, infiltrating the cores of the foes in the room. It was evident that the drake, the skeletons and the mage were being affected by some intoxication threatening to plunge them into the depths of sleep.
Meanwhile, the Daemon sliced through the air and around to knock Yisarn into the air and slam him back into the floor, his scythe guided by the dark power of his god, Asmodeus. Yisarn growled furiously as his jaw dangled sickeningly from the rest of skull and he staggered to standing. The battle continued.
Rayne and XIII turned back to the offensive. Grognarc wished to aid his companion and struck the skeleton nearest him. On attempting to react and counter Grognarc, the skeleton stumbled slightly and fell over, asleep against his will.
The large red enemy drake also staggered to his deep slumber whilst trying to throw himself at Rayne with a vicious bite. Seeing the drake and the skeleton helpless, Lirael did a flip over the drake, pulling out his dagger and sickle at the same time, and sent shockwaves of horrors into the sleeping skeleton's dreams. He then threw down his dagger and hacked off the skeleton's head before he stomped it into a pile of dust.
The Daemon continued his relentless assault on Yisarn crying out, "Fear my wrath, undead scum, for none shall imprison me and live to tell the tale!"
XIII summoned up the flames of Phlegothos to engulf the helpless giant drake before it could wake to know realize its pain. The black flames wrapped the drake up until he could no longer be seen, and as quickly as they had shot up, they faded away, leaving behind the charred form of the drake. XIII walked up to it, and just to ensure that it had died (in the most creative way possible), he pulled the heart of what may have been this drake's brother out of his pack and scampered into the drake's mouth, shoving the heart down its throat. He then dug his way fiercely out of the drake's mouth through the top of its head.
Finally, after being attacked by Gragnarc, the remaining skeleton was stunned into place as his joints radiated darkness. The Daemon had cursed him long ago and when the skeleton had gone to strike a blow, what little strength he had left was overcome by the dark magic.
It was becoming clear that the adventurers already had the advantage, having killed the drake and the skeletons. Yisarn, in a panicked fury, began to tremble with power and raised his arms slowly. As his arms lifted, it was as if he were dragging giant talons of lightning from deep within the earth. Finally, he drew them up and crashed them down, sending jolts of terrible energy coursing through the veins of all in the room.
Enraged, Lirael waited for the opportune moment after Yisarn was distracted from being instantly struck by Rayne with the strength of stone in his blade, and ran up to leap at Yisarn, his hand glowing fiercely with Psionic energy. He came down, slamming his hand into Yisarn's head, thrusting the psioninc energy with great force into Yisarn. The face of the undead mage was obliterated under the force of impact and the skeleton fell.
For a moment the room was silent. But then the group straightened themselves out and glanced at each other, glad that the fight was over.
Turning towards the stranger with familiar looking horns, Lirael merely complimented, "Your scythe, stranger...Impressive."
The Daemon responded with, "My thanks, it is a treasured gift from my late master..."
"You have trained under a master?" Lirael was further impressed, "I never have, really."
"Ha, but you still fought admirably!" The Daemon said.
Lirael then went to scavenge the room for anything useful while the Daemon, without saying a word, pulled out a flask and let some blood of the fallen drake drizzle into it. Rayne discovered a lever that shut and locked the trap doors that had given them so much trouble in the beginning of their encounter in this room.
XIII tore apart one of the skeletons to find a suitable bone for Grognarc to gnaw on and then approached the new Daemon who was now proceeding to rip of Yisarn's battered skull as a trophy.
"We are not so different, I feel, you and I," XIII said to his fellow Daemon.
"I know you," The Daemon said as he straightened up, "I would recognize you anywhere, XIII, descendant of the royal bloodline. If you are wondering, I go by the name Kyoenkai."
Lirael overheard this comment. "Royal? XIII?"
"Once, I came across a village in my travels smitten with death, women, children and all," Kyoenkai began, "When I asked the survivors what had become of them, they described you, XIII. I deeply respect and admire your power."
Rayne crossed his arms with his brow furrowed, "Is this a dark secret of yours, XIII?"
The room was silent until Kyoenkai grinned devilishly, "We may discuss such matters further at a later time."
Rayne then approached the elf who had been, up until this time, silently observing the scene unraveling within the chamber. "I fear we are the only sane ones in this room..." Rayne remarked, "May I inquire your name?"
"It is Kalnyu, good mut," The elf responded briefly.
Ignoring the pet name, Rayne continued to make acquaintance, "I do sometimes question my presence among these people."
Kalnyu almost gave a quick laugh, "I questioned your presence among these people as well."
"Do you insult me?" Rayne asked, short tempered, "Perhaps I do regret freeing you from the shackles of that wall."
Lirael's lip twitched into a half smile as he was impressed by the insult he heard, "Kalnyu, have you ever been to the Fey?"
Kalnyu ignored the eladrin's question and gave no answer. Just then Kyoenkai interrupted with a question of his own, "Travelers, what is your quest down here in this secret place forgotten by all but a few, if I may ask?"
Lirael and Rayne explained to him their reason for being in the ruins of Dal Nystiere and even Harkenwold in the first place.
Unfortunately, it was evident, with many of them bleeding quite severely, that rest and recuperation were needed. And thus, they settled down to regain their strength for the night.
[Outtakes!!!
Lirael to Rayne - "Dude, really? You were just kinda half middle fingering me right there."
Rayne describing his marking of several adversaries - "Showered them in a WHIRLWIND OF PISS."]
