The Silver Sphinx

 

“If there are laws that govern the Abyss, I don't want to know them. “

master-scrivener Jarvel of the Guvners

 

 

 

Third Lady's Day of Mortis, 126 HR

Naghûl blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the corridor behind the door with the skull. The narrow passage was carved from the same dark stone as the previous room, but here the air was more stifling, heavy with the smell of centuries of dust and decay. His hand tightened around his staff, ready to cast a spell at any moment. Dilae had once again conjured the moon-like ball of light, which floated gently above her palm, illuminating their path. After about twenty steps, they reached a steep, spiral staircase leading down. Naghûl exchanged a quick glance with Garush before cautiously taking the first steps. The steps were worn and smooth, a clear sign of their age. When they reached the lower floor, the passage widened into a gloomy, dusty corridor. The floor was covered with a thick layer of dust and debris, their footsteps leaving clear marks. On one side of the corridor were three prison cells, their rusty, stained bars silent witnesses to long-past atrocities. Naghûl stepped closer to the first cell, holding his faintly glowing staff high to see better. In the corner lay a pile of rotten wooden planks and rags that had once formed a cot. The tiefling could see faint scratch marks on the wall, perhaps markings left by a long-dead prisoner. The second cell was empty except for a small, broken clay bowl in the middle of the room, the floor covered with a thick layer of dust that seemed untouched for decades. In the third cell, Naghûl discovered a skeleton in a corner, still clothed in the tattered shreds of what had once been a magnificent robe. However, a quick examination revealed that there was nothing of value to be found among the remains.

Then Sgillin returned, who had gone ahead a little way, hidden in the shadows, to scout. “There's a big spider,” he explained. “I'd suggest taking it out so it doesn't get behind us. And there's something cocooned behind it. Unfortunately, I couldn't see exactly what it was.”

“How big is the cocooned thing?” Lereia wanted to know.

The half-elf pulled an arrow from his quiver. “It's the size and shape of a box or chest.”

The tigress nodded and they moved forward cautiously, Garush, Kiyoshi and Lereia at the front, Naghûl in the middle, and Dilae and Sgillin bringing up the rear. Soon they spotted large, thick cobwebs at the end of the corridor. When they looked up, they saw a giant red bloodsilk spider sitting in the webs under the ceiling. Sgillin opened the battle with a well-aimed arrow that pierced one of the spider's legs. This startled it immediately, and Naghûl reacted quickly with a hail of magical missiles that hit the spider reliably and left a smell of singed hair. The creature hissed in pain and rage. As it dropped from the ceiling to attack the intruders, Lereia leaped forward and attacked the spider from the side. Her claws left deep gashes in its chitinous armor. Garush rushed forward with her axe raised and landed a powerful blow that severed one of the spider's legs. Kiyoshi, apparently still cautious after his earlier loss of control, moved forward and thrust his naginata at the monster. Unable to wear his armor due to his transformation, he used the reach of his pole weapon to fight from the second row. Then a second arrow from Sgillin and a hail of missiles from Naghûl hit the bloodsilk spider's body almost simultaneously. The animal, now cornered, fought desperately, hurling a web that entangled the half-elf and biting Lereia's shoulder with its poisonous mandibles. But it wasn't long before Garush managed to split the spider's head with a powerful blow of her axe, ending the fight.

Dilae immediately rushed to Lereia to neutralize the spider venom with a prayer, while Naghûl and Garush freed the ensnared Sgillin from the sticky threads. Meanwhile, Kiyoshi took advantage of the fact that he could reach the ceiling of the corridor with the blade of his naginata. Carefully, he cut through the spider web at the spot where the wrapped object was held. It was rectangular, about half a pace high and wide, and appeared to be some kind of box. When the cocooned bundle gradually came loose, Kiyoshi caught it with both arms and carefully placed it on the floor, where he then removed the last threads with his naginata. A dark wooden chest appeared. Meanwhile, the others had freed Sgillin from the sticky web and approached curiously. The half-elf examined the lock for a hidden trap but found none, then pulled out a lock pick with which he easily opened the box. Inside, they discovered two vials containing shimmering liquids. Dilae identified one of them as a healing potion, while Sgillin recognized the other as a contact poison, which he kept to coat his arrows with if necessary. They also found a small casket containing a few gemstones and a bag with several gold coins.

The half-elf nodded contentedly. “At least it was worth bringing this thing down.”

At the end of the corridor, just behind the spider web, they stood once again in front of a locked door. But this one was no problem for Sgillin's lock picks either. Naghûl felt his hair stand on end as they entered the room behind it. The smell of old blood and decay hung heavy in the air, mixed with the acrid aroma of burnt incense sticks. The room was circular, about ten paces in diameter, with walls of smooth black stone carved with demonic symbols and grotesque scenes. In the center was a circular pit about three feet deep, the floor covered with dark stains that Naghûl thought were dried blood. Rusty iron rings were embedded in the stone around the edge of the pit, presumably to tie down victims. Opposite the entrance stood an altar made of solid, dark gray stone. Its smooth, polished surface had a shallow recess in the center, which also contained dried blood. Seven skulls stood around it in a semicircular arrangement, each from a different species, it seemed - Naghûl was at least sure he recognized a human, an elven, a reptilian and a tiefling skull. On either side of the altar stood quasit statues, each about two feet tall. They were made of a dark, shiny metal and depicted the small demons in a crouching, ready-to-pounce stance. Their eyes seemed to glint in the light of Dilae's moonlight orb. A little further away stood large, bulbous vessels made of black clay, from one of which protruded the handle of a ceremonial dagger. On the opposite wall was another door, apparently the only way deeper into the catacombs.

Naghûl felt an icy chill spread through his stomach. This place radiated a malevolent energy that was almost tangible. He glanced briefly at his companions. “Be careful. This room was obviously used for dark rituals. Who knows what forces still powers here.”

Just as he uttered these words, the statues of the two quasits began to groan softly.

Lereia immediately pricked up her ears. “What's wrong with them?” she asked, alarmed.

“I have a very bad feeling about this ...” the Sensate muttered.

Sure enough, the statues' eyes began to glow and the noise grew to a loud crunching sound, as if stone were being ground ... then both figures burst apart and two real, living quasits emerged.

“Damn it!” Garush growled and rushed forward.

Naghûl reacted immediately, almost instinctively, sending a hail of magic missiles at one of the small fiends. Sgillin shot an arrow at the same quasit and hit, but the demon seemed to shake off most of the damage. These were clearly not ordinary quasits, which would have been a minor threat. These were stronger and more resilient, better suited to guarding a ritual room. Garush lunged at the second quasit and forced it onto the defensive with a powerful axe blow. Lereia also jumped at it and attacked it with her claws, but the agile demon escaped a direct hit. Since the other two melee fighters were busy with the second quasit, Kiyoshi decided to fight the first one and stood between the demon and the ranged fighters with his naginata. But the fiend had no intention of attacking the young soldier. Instead, it cast a spell on Sgillin, causing the half-elf to writhe in pain and drop his bow. Meanwhile, the second quasit attacked Garush with its sharp claws. Dilae made a gesture that caused the white ball of light above her hand to grow, bathing the room in bright light. This seemed to temporarily blind the quasits, which the others were able to use to their advantage.

Naghûl fired another hail of magic missiles at the first quasit, who now finally appeared weakened. Lereia lunged at the second one again and managed to grab it by the throat with her teeth. Garush took advantage of the demon's resulting immobility and split it in two with a well-aimed axe blow, leaving Lereia holding only its limp upper body in her jaws. Despite the pain, Sgillin managed to shoot another arrow, which pierced the first quasit's wing. Then Kiyoshi ended the fight by impaling the demon with his naginata. When it fell to the ground with a thud, its pain spell dissipated and Sgillin breathed a sigh of relief. Lereia shook the halved quasit vigorously once more, then let it fall to the floor. The room was completely silent for a few seconds, only the heavy breathing of the group could be heard. Everyone flinched and turned around in alarm when they heard a hem behind them, coming from the entrance.

“You're making a lot of noise.”

Jana. She stood in the doorway, eyeing the group disapprovingly, like a teacher reprimanding a group of rowdy children. Sgillin lowered the bow he had raised in alarm and cursed under his breath.

“I'm just saying,” the sorceress stated matter-of-factly. “If someone were following you, you'd be really easy to find.”

“Sorry,” Garush growled. “It's hard to fight quietly. What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be upstairs with the book?”

“I'm here to warn you about the third group,” Jana explained. “They're on our heels. We lured the golem away from the door and I sneaked down here invisibly.”

“Did you see the third group?” Lereia asked. “Are the others okay?”

“Yes, everyone is fine,” the sorceress reassured her. “Yelmalis made a time leap and saw the other group coming. There are probably nine or ten people in total, including two githzerai and a tiefling. We decided that I would come down to warn you. The others will continue copying the book until the last moment and then follow.”

Naghûl looked around the circular room, which offered little cover apart from the altar. “If we confront them, it won't be here.”

Jana nodded. “Yes. And I also think we should try to talk to them before we attack.”

“How far into the future did Yelmalis travel?” Garush wanted to know. “When will they arrive?”

“In about two hours,” Jana replied.

“Oh, I see.” Dilae breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought they were already at the door.”

“We're not going to stand around here like idiots for two hours,” Naghûl said. “I say we move on.”

Lereia nodded in agreement. “Then I say we hurry.”

“Fine by me.” Jana stepped fully into the room and carefully closed the door behind her. “But if we're going to move on, let's at least do it quietly. And save our strength. The noise you make when you fight can be heard throughout the entire fortress.”

Sgillin frowned doubtfully. “You heard us fighting down here from upstairs?”

“Yes, I did,” the Athar replied. “More than clearly. Didn't I just say so?”

The half-elf just waved it off with a gesture that seemed to say that it didn't matter now because they couldn't change it anyway. He was right, of course, and Naghûl was glad that the little exchange hadn't turned into a pointless discussion. The group set off again, now with a heightened sense of urgency. The only other door in the room with the sacrificial pit was unlocked and led them back into a dusty corridor. About a hundred steps further on, the passage split, and since there was no indication where to go, Garush, who was leading the way, decided to take the right-hand path without further ado. As they turned the next corner, Naghûl froze. Before them, barely ten steps away, two giant spiders crouched in webs under the ceiling. Their bodies were crimson red – bloodsilk spiders, like the one they had encountered before. Their black eyes glinted eerily in the dim light of Dilae's spell.

Garush raised her hand in warning and motioned to the others to be quiet. After the dark elf had reduced the moon-like orb to a tiny spark, the group crept past the spiders with bated breath and extreme caution. Every step was a challenge; the slightest noise could give them away. Garush's hand clenched the handle of her axe so tightly that her knuckles turned pale green. Kiyoshi was visibly struggling to keep his newly acquired dragon wings close to his body. Naghûl held his breath as he crept past the monstrous creatures. There was a good chance that even one of them would alert the spiders – and yet they managed to get past without giving themselves away. Only after they had turned another corner did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived, for soon they reached an area that sent another shiver down their spines. On the right side of the corridor was a huge, empty cell. The bars were as thick as young tree trunks, bent and partially torn from the wall. Broken chains lay on the floor, each link as big as a fist.

Garush stepped closer to the cell. “By all the powers,” she muttered. “What could be strong enough to break free from such chains?”

Jana pulled out her notebook and began hastily sketching the cell. “Whatever it was,” she whispered, “I hope we don't encounter it.”

“Maybe we should turn back?” Dilae said, a little apprehensive.

But Naghûl shook his head. “We don't have time. The other group will be here soon. We have to keep going.”

With one last worried glance at the destroyed cell, they continued on their way. After another bend in the corridor, they finally saw two doors in front of them, one on the left and one on the right.

The group paused, unsure which way to go. The doors were identical, solid and made of dark wood, with iron fittings. There were no inscriptions or markings to indicate what might be hidden behind them. Sgillin sneaked cautiously closer while the others stayed back. He examined both doors for traps and listened, then returned to the group.

“Behind one of the doors it's silent,” he reported. “Behind the other one … it sounds like there's a small lake inside. There are no traps on either of them.”

They looked at each other, undecided, and Lereia waggled her tail restlessly. “To be honest, I have no opinion on which door we should take next,” she said.

“Let's open the one behind which Sgillin didn't hear any noises,” said Garush, heading purposefully towards said door.

She opened it quickly but cautiously, ready for any surprise that might be lurking there despite the silence. The room behind it was small and square, with thick cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. However, it was empty except for a few rusty chains on the walls and a half-rotten wooden chair in one corner. The musty smell of warm dampness and decay hit them.

“Another cell,” Naghûl muttered as he illuminated the room with his staff. “But it hasn't been used for a long time.”

After making sure that the room held no hidden dangers, they turned to the second door. When Kiyoshi opened it, he instinctively took a step back. The room was filled with water almost up to the ceiling. But after the initial shock, they noticed that it wasn't flowing out, but remained behind the open door like a swirling, gurgling wall.

Naghûl clearly sensed an arcane signature on the door frame. “A magical barrier,” he explained. “It's keeping the water in the room from flowing into the corridor.”

“But what's the point of that?” Garush growled. “Some kind of weird safety measure?”

Dilae stepped closer, interested, and peered into the greenish-gray water. “Something's moving in there,” she said. “Looks like big fish.”

Now Sgillin also took a closer look into the room, but not with the curiosity of the bard-priestess, but with the trained eye of a ranger. “They look like barracuda,” he said. “But their eyes are glowing red.”

“Then they're probably Abyssal barracuda,” Garush commented matter-of-factly as she looked around the corridor. “Except for this flooded room, this is a dead end. What shall we do now? Go back and try the other tunnel?”

“I think I can dispel the magical barrier at the door,” Jana said confidently and began to cast a spell.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Sgillin called out. “We haven't even figured out if ...”

But it was too late. Jana's spell neutralized the arcane wall and a huge mass of water poured into the corridor. Almost the entire group was swept off their feet by the sudden current, only Garush and Sgillin managed to cling to the door frame in time. The water smelled stale, was murky and slimy, and poured into the corridor with astonishing force. In the midst of the torrent, silvery shimmering bodies darted back and forth – the Abyssal barracuda. Most were about three feet long, with needle-sharp teeth and glowing red eyes, but one of them was significantly larger, comparable in length to a crocodile, with scales that shone like polished steel.

 

 

Jana and Dilae were flushed away the furthest, crashing into the opposite wall of the empty cell. Kiyoshi tried to use his wings to stabilize himself in the water, while Lereia, in her tiger form, fought the current with some success. Naghûl, standing chest-deep in the water, immediately began reciting a spell to ward off the fish. The giant barracuda lunged at him but missed by a hair. As the water spread throughout the corridor and adjacent rooms, it quickly ebbed away. The smaller fish floundered helplessly in the shallow water, easy prey for Garush's axe, Sgillin's arrows and Lereia's claws. The large barracuda, however, was still a serious threat. It snapped wildly, its massive jaws coming dangerously close to Garush's legs. Kiyoshi raised his naginata and stabbed at it courageously, while Naghûl fired several magic missiles at it. Dilae, who had meanwhile picked herself up, summoned her moonlight orb once more, blinding the fish for a moment. This gave Garush the opportunity to strike the beast's head with a powerful blow of her axe. The fight raged on for a few more moments until finally the last barracuda was bitten in two by Lereia.

Panting and dripping wet, the companions stood in ankle-deep water, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of the hellish fish. Lereia shook her wet fur with a disgusted hiss, and Naghûl leaned against the wall, panting, holding his bleeding left arm where one of the predatory fish had bitten him. He felt his soaked robe sticking to his body, and the fact that they now all stank of brackish water didn't make it any better.

“Great ...” he muttered, ill-humored.

“Why?” Jana asked cheerfully. “It worked wonderfully.”

“Yeah, great,” Sgillin replied. “We could discuss such things beforehand next time.”

Dilae had come over to Naghûl and murmured a quiet prayer to Eilistraee to heal the wound on his arm.

“Well, I didn't think there would be so much water ...” The sorceress shrugged.

“Never mind, it's too late anyway,” said Garush, but Naghûl could tell that she wasn't too thrilled about being completely soaked either. “Luckily, it's at least quite warm down here, so we won't go hypothermic. Let's take a look at the room now that we've emptied it.”

After most of the water had drained away, they cautiously entered the former water tank. The square room was about eight paces high and the walls were tiled with smooth, dark stone. Bones and other remains lay on the damp floor – presumably former victims of the barracuda. Algae and strange, phosphorescent lichens covered the walls up to the former waterline, about six paces above the floor. They glowed faintly in various shades of blue and green, casting an eerie light.

Sgillin was the first to discover more. “Over there,” he said, pointing to an outline on the opposite wall.

Naghûl narrowed his eyes slightly. Was that ... a door? He moved closer, and sure enough, there was another exit in the room. The door was made of solid metal and completely covered with slimy algae. There was no handle or lock to be seen, but next to it was an iron lever inset in the wall, rusted and corroded by its time underwater. The others came over, their boots making squelching noises on the wet floor.

Sgillin carefully examined the mechanism. “Seems to still work,” he said. “No traps visible either.”

He pulled the large lever and the door opened with a metallic crunch, but slowly and only a crack, as too much algae had overgrown the door frame. Garush pulled the door forcefully, tearing the water plants apart with a smacking sound. Behind the door, they saw another passage leading downwards. Lereia went ahead to scout for possible enemies – or to sense their soul signatures. Right behind her were Garush and Naghûl, followed by Dilae, Jana and Sgillin. Kiyoshi brought up the rear to ward off any attacks from behind. The group moved cautiously through the corridor when suddenly there was a dull crash. The stone floor beneath Lereia gave way without warning and, with a terrified roar, the weretigress plunged into the depths. The impact was accompanied by a disgusting splash, followed by agitated hissing and snarling.

“Lereia!” Sgillin cried, rushing to the edge of the pit.

In the dim light of Naghûl's staff, they could see the tigress swimming about four paces below in a dark, oily liquid. She was desperately struggling to stay afloat, but the slimy substance made it difficult for her to find purchase on the smooth walls.

The half-elf wanted to crawl further to the edge, but the floor tiles began to creak dangerously and Jana held him back. “Be careful, Sgillin. It won't help anyone if you also fall down.”

“Hang in there!” Naghûl shouted down, rummaging hastily in his backpack for the rope he was carrying.

Garush snatched it from his hand, skillfully tied a noose, and threw the end down to Lereia. “Change back if you can!” ordered the amazon. “Then hold on to the rope, I'll pull you up.”

Lereia apparently followed the advice, because Naghûl heard a sound like cracking bones and stretching tendons down in the pit. The animal-like growling turned into the groaning of a woman's voice. In her human form, she managed to wrap the noose around her waist. Her movements were already sluggish from the sticky liquid clinging to her. Garush braced her feet against the ground and began to pull, while Naghûl, Kiyoshi and Sgillin steadied the rope. Dilae provided light with her moon orb while Jana shifted nervously from one foot to the other, holding a healing potion ready, just in case. Garush's muscles tensed - a remarkable sight, Naghûl had to admit, clearly revealing her orcish heritage. Lereia tried as best as she could to keep her feet on the wall, but kept slipping. The amazon moved slowly but steadily backwards, and Sgillin grabbed Lereia's hand as soon as it was within reach and pulled her over the edge of the pit. On solid ground, the young woman collapsed, panting, completely naked after her transformation and covered from head to toe in the foul-smelling, oily substance.

“By all the gods,” she coughed. “That was close.”

Dilae knelt beside her and began to clean her face with a cloth. “Are you hurt?”

Lereia shook her head. “Only my pride. And my nose - this stuff stinks to high heaven.”

Kiyoshi had tactfully turned away when the young woman had been pulled over the edge of the pit completely naked, and Naghûl did the same. Sgillin, although no longer with Lereia, was naturally less shy and remained at her side. The Sensate could see out of the corner of his eye that he was taking off his cloak, probably to put it around Lereia.

“You look ... wild,” he heard Garush say in her direct manner.

Despite the shock and the disgusting liquid covering her, Lereia tried not to lose her sense of humor entirely. “Thank you,” she replied as jokingly as she could to the half-orc's dubious compliment.

“Good work, Garush,” said Sgillin. “I won't forget that.”

“We shed blood together,” replied the amazon. “That means a lot. There's no need to thank me.”

Without turning around, Naghûl and Kiyoshi passed their water skins to Lereia. The group took a moment to let the young woman clean herself up a bit before continuing on their way. Then Lereia transformed back into the tigress - she felt safer like that in this hostile environment. A few black, oily stains still marred her white fur, but otherwise she had fortunately survived the fall unscathed. They decided that Sgillin should go ahead again to look for traps. When they reached the end of the corridor without further incident, they found themselves not in front of a locked door, but at an open passageway. Behind it was a rectangular room whose walls were covered with faded frescoes depicting demonic rituals. However, they could not see any other doors at first glance. An altar made of black marble dominated the center of the room, its surface covered with dried bloodstains that blended into grotesque patterns. On top of it lay a fist-sized medallion made of dark metal, attached to the stone slab by a heavy chain. In the center was a cloudy stone that emitted a faint reddish light. Naghûl cautiously approached the amulet. He couldn't detect any arcane signature, but when he held his palm over it, he felt a biting cold. Next to it stood an urn, an intricately crafted alabaster vessel with demonic decorations. However, the lid was missing, and a glance inside revealed that the urn was filled with light-colored dust that shimmered unnaturally.

“Be careful,” whispered Dilae. “The amulet is cursed. And the dust still radiates an undead aura. Either ground skeletons - or the dust of a vampire. Judging by the strength of the aura, I'd guess the latter.”

 

 

Naghûl decided it was best to keep his hands off the unholy talisman. If the cleric of a good goddess sensed something suspicious about it, it was usually a good idea to take heed of the warning. However, he was itching to take the vampire dust with him. He had no idea what they could use it for, but it wasn't easy to get hold of real vampire dust, and it might come in handy. Especially in a place like the catacombs of Broken Reach. He looked around the altar and actually spotted the lid of the urn lying on the floor. Carefully, he picked it up and placed it on the vessel – it fit and closed tightly. With the dust thus secured in the urn, he packed it into his backpack. Lereia, Jana and Dilae gave him doubtful looks but said nothing.

The Sensate now joined Sgillin, who was looking at the murals in the room. The first wall depicted a sacrificial ceremony. Demonic figures in black robes stood around an altar on which a bound figure lay. The colors were mostly dark red hues, and the demons' faces seemed to grin in the glow of Naghûl's staff. The second wall showed a kind of procession. Various creatures - humans, elves, tieflings and others - walked with bowed heads through a large portal. Above them hovered shadowy, dark figures with outstretched wings. This scene was painted in gloomy shades of blue and gray. The third wall depicted a library. Shelves full of books stretched seemingly endlessly into the depths of the picture. Between the shelves stood veiled figures, engrossed in large tomes. Strange shadows danced between the bookshelves, and some of the painted books seemed to emit a faint glow. Finally, the fourth wall showed a battle scene: a huge demon, surrounded by smaller demonic servants, was fighting a group of warriors carrying a glowing sword. The fresco was particularly detailed, and the sword depicted resembled the painting of Hope that Archbishop Juliana had shown them.

Sgillin whistled softly through his teeth. “Well, look at that. We seem to be on the right track.”

Naghûl nodded seriously and eyed the sword a little more closely. Yes, the shape seemed to be that of a katana, the blade was very bright, almost white, and two light blue ribbons fluttered from its hilt. Did this mean they were getting closer to their goal?

“There's another book over here, honorable companions,” Kiyoshi called from the other end of the room, interrupting Naghûl's thoughts. “Someone who knows more about such things than I do should take a look.”

Naghûl, Jana and Dilae immediately went over. The book lay a little apart on a small lectern and was bound in weathered black leather, its pages made of thin parchment, yellowed and brittle. The characters inside were brown-red, as if they had been written in blood.

Jana and Dilae shrugged; they obviously couldn't read the language, but Naghûl recognized it. “Abyssal.”

“And what does it say?” Jana wanted to know.

“To pass through the last door, pay with blood,” Naghûl read aloud. “The tomb of hope below can be entered by two times five. But in the circle of pentagrams only a sacrifice will bring you back up. Over this sacrifice, the veil of silence shall be cast.”

The sorceress frowned. “Two times five? Why not one time ten?”

“Because it sounds more mystical?” Sgillin said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

Despite the grim surroundings, Naghûl had to smile a little at these words and leaned forward to turn the page to see if there were any more cryptic messages hidden in the book. On the next page was a picture he recognized immediately. It was one of the motifs depicted on the walls of the room: the scene with the procession and the portal. The tiefling looked back and forth between the wall and the book to compare the images and found that they were identical. Thoughtfully, he ran his finger over the drawing when Dilae suddenly let out a surprised cry. He looked up and followed her gaze ... the mural depicting the procession had suddenly lit up. When he took his finger away, the glow faded. He placed it back on the drawing, and the glow returned.

“What are you doing?” Garush growled skeptically.

But Naghûl was not deterred and boldly placed his whole hand on the picture in the book … Suddenly there was a sound like stones rubbing against each other, and where the portal was painted on the wall, a secret door slid open.

“A very good idea, Naghûl,” Lereia said approvingly.

“It was more luck than anything,” the Sensate explained, then withdrew his hand to test what would happen.

The door glided shut again immediately, so quickly that there was no chance of getting from the book to the portal without using a haste spell. Or being called Garush ... The others seemed to be thinking the same, because all eyes now turned to the amazon.

She nodded. “All right, I'll open the secret door, you go through and I'll follow quickly.”

“Wait,” said Sgillin as Garush replaced Naghûl at the book. “But how will the others get through? And how are they supposed to know how the secret door works?”

“It's honorable of you to think of that,” said the half-orc. “But Yelmalis is pretty smart, he'll figure it out. And he has a haste spell. Storm ... mantle, or something like that.”

The half-elf nodded, apparently satisfied with this information, and then joined the others at the door. Garush placed her hand on the picture and once again the wall inside the painted portal slid aside. They all stepped through and then eyed the amazon excitedly. She took her hand off the page, started running - and just like before with the golem, she was behind the secret door so quickly that they could hardly follow her movements with their eyes. Almost at the same moment, the door glided shut behind them.

Kiyoshi examined the wall, which now showed no trace of the secret passage. “The question is how to open it from this side ...”

“We'll try to answer that question when the time comes,” said Garush. “We have to keep going, because the time until the third group arrives is almost up. Come on.”

The others nodded and they quickly moved on, following another gloomy corridor. On both sides, passageways opened into cells and small rooms, but they only glanced briefly inside as they passed. In one of the cells, a pile of rusty chains lay next to a stone pedestal on which the remains of red candles could still be seen. Another room contained a small altar with a broken mirror hanging above it - the shards glimmered strangely in Dilae's moonlight. At one point, they passed a room with countless vials and bottles on shelves, all filled with different colored liquids. Thick dust covered the flasks, and many were broken, their contents long since evaporated. However, they did not linger there to search for poisons or healing potions, as time was pressing.

Finally, the corridor took a sharp turn to the right - and Sgillin, who was leading the way, looking for traps, recoiled in fright. In a niche, he had discovered an unusual creature - a kind of oversized rat with scaly, black skin and six legs. The creature stared at them with glowing red eyes but made no move to attack. After a brief moment, it scurried into the shadows and disappeared through a crack in the wall. They passed another room with a single chair standing in the middle. As they walked past, the chair slowly turned on its own axis, as if an invisible being were sitting on it. They exchanged meaningful glances, but no one wanted to stop to investigate the phenomenon further. Naghûl was more than relieved about that. They had already had enough trouble down here, and as long as the chair didn't attack them, even the Sensate was content to simply ignore it. The corridor led them further down, past more cells and small chambers. Some contained scattered bones, others rusty instruments of torture. One cell was completely covered with strange symbols carved into the walls, another contained nothing but a pile of decaying books and scrolls.

But then Garush suddenly stopped, and a tremor seemed to run through her body. “Wait!” she hissed. “There is something ...”

Dilae seemed to understand immediately. “Do you sense danger?”

“Yes,” the amazon replied tensely. “There are people ... or monsters up ahead. And someone is coming from behind.”

 

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played March 21, 2013