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Chapter 20 - The Wyrm and The Witch


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#1 Guest_Clovis_*

Posted 13 July 2005 - 01:52 AM

“I bring you the answers you seek.”

The childlike apparition smiled faintly in greeting, an odd combination of haughtiness and warmth. She spoke again before the adventurers could ask the obvious question.

“I am the spirit of the one you have returned to the grave. In life, I was Amuana, favored of Amunator.”

“How is it you can speak to us, spirit?” asked Theodoric. “Should you not be at rest?”

Amuana shook her head “I do not know, truly. Perhaps some spark of the sun god’s power remains within me. Perhaps there is something within one of you that has called me forth. Who can say? I sense my time here is short, though. Please, I must tell you what I know of this evil you seek.”

“Then wait no more, Amuana. Speak your words and we shall listen. What plagues this place?”

“The old evil has returned” she said severely. “After countless years in whatever hell kept her, the witch Umar has returned.”

Umar? The witch the innkeeper was rambling about? But that was 500 years ago!

“Do you mean the annis, child?” asked Jaheira. “If so, we have already slain her.”

“No” frowned Amuana. “Not the minion that disturbed my rest and desecrated my body. She is but one of Umar’s servants, one of the coven.”

Theodoric frowned. Coven? What is that? “I do not understand” he said.

“I will explain. We of the light fought against Umar long ago, charged by our god to end the witch’s terror. We fought her for months, here winning, here losing. At last, we met in final battle just outside the walls of the temple. We defeated Umar and then destroyed her, burning her broken body with holy light and scattering her ashes to the winds. But our victory came at great cost. For in destroying her, we destroyed ourselves.”

A disfiguring pox appeared on Amuana’s face and neck, dark festering pustules that twisted her features and left her body stooped and haggard.

“Umar cursed us in her dying breath, hexing us with a terrible plague. The wasting resisted all of our medicines and spells. In time, we made our peace, knowing our fate. But we did not know then Umar had not truly been destroyed. We destroyed her body, but she had somehow hidden her soul. That is how she survived the sun lord’s wrath. And that is how she has been able to plot her return.”

“The hag you slew is one of three witches that came to this place, bound together in unholy purpose. I became aware of them only when I felt the first stirrings of their dark magic, and the faintest presence of Umar. It is they who must be performing the rituals to restore her to life.”

“What does that have to do with the attacks on Imnesvale?” Theodoric asked. “What is her interest in the village?”

The spirit looked at him blankly. “I do not know what lies beyond these walls. But I have sensed others being brought here. Victims sacrificed in the rituals, and those killed merely to satisfy the witches’ appetites.”

The blood drained from Neracer’s face. Oh no…Mazzy!

“Kind spirit, how do we defeat Umar?”

The child spirit returned to her former beauty and again smiled faintly “You have already started to defeat her. When you slew the hag that dared defile my tomb, you weakened the covey. I sense the way south is now clear.”

She pointed to the amulet around the neck of her remains. “Take the Sunkeeper’s medallion. The power within will blind the temple guardian, the shadow dragon, to your presence long enough to avoid it. If you wish to avoid it, that is.”


Theodoric took the necklace, noting something oddly familiar about it. “You said ‘if we wish to avoid it’. What if we don’t wish to avoid it?” he asked.

The spirit’s smile broadened for a moment. “I would no more mourn the passing of such a creature than thee.” Her smile faded to a puzzled frown. “There is also reason for you to challenge it. I cannot say why. I merely… feel it. But do not forget Umar is the source of the evil here. She grows stronger each day. Soon she will be fully alive again, and the terror will begin anew.”

“Thank you for your help, Amuana” Theodoric said gently. “Rest now, and know that we will stop Umar at any cost.”

Amuana faded away with a parting smile of gratitude. Theodoric stood for a long moment, turning the amulet over in his hands. He pondered Amuana’s words, especially in regards to the dragon. There was a strange tingling in his head. It was as if there was some mystery before him, one that was almost but not quite solved.

Shrugging off the feeling, Theodoric slipped on the necklace and unsheathed his sword.


*


The room at the end of the southern passage looked very different than it had on their previous visit. The illusory covering had faded. In place of the cobweb-strewn storage area was the remnants of an armory. Most of the racks were empty, and most of the equipment had long since rotted away, but there were a few old maces and shields relatively untouched by the passage of time. The flinders of a heavy wooden door hung from a doorway on the eastern end of the door. Beyond it lay another stone passage, which was blocked with a wall of inky blackness.


“That’s where we need to go, Theodoric” Neracer said. “That’s just like the wall that covered the entrance to the temple. The light gem we recovered should bring it down.”

Yoshimo narrowed his eyes. “The dragon may be behind that wall. What is our plan?”

Theodoric caressed the amulet as he addressed the group. “I intend to fight the dragon. I do not know what is the cause of the spirit’s beliefs, but I do know this: that creature is dangerous and of ill intent. We cannot allow it to continue to harm others.”

“We’ll have to kill the dragon quickly” warned Jaheira. “Even the youngest wyrm has strength and endurance beyond any of us. We must be able to defeat it and still have strength enough left to face Umar herself.”

“We do have the advantage of a first strike” Yoshimo said in his most calculating tone. “Though we’d best make it a good one.”

Neracer shrugged. “I’d normally be for leaving the dragon well enough alone, to be honest. But I owe this one some payback. It killed two of my friends.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about how it fights?” asked Theodoric.

“A few things. Besides being unsure of itself, it hated light of any sort, and wasn’t particularly resistant to my magic. That’s one reason I suspect it to be young and inexperienced. But it was intelligent, very much so. It sprung a perfect ambush on us and knew enough to take out our two strongest warriors in the first attack. It’s cunning, make no mistake.”

“All the more reason to fight it now”, Theodoric said with finality. “There’s no telling how much woe a creature like that would spread as it grew more powerful and became experienced. We have a strategic advantage, and it may still be weakened from your earlier attack. We must act while we can.”

“Minsc and Boo agree!” shouted the big ranger. “We must bring the light of justice to this creature of steeeenking evil!”

“And that is what we will do, Minsc.” Theodoric outlined his battle plan to the others. “I will lead the attack. I believe the power Lathander grants me against the undead will protect me from the creature’s breath weapon.”

“I also have a protective spell which may help” Jaheira said. “After Neracer told us of the shadow dragon’s powers, I prayed for it. “I can give myself, or another, a few minutes of protection from the life-draining weapon. But only a few minutes.”

“I have too” Aerie added quickly. “Jaheira gave me the idea.”

“That was good thinking, both of you. Aerie, you’ll cast your spell on Minsc and Jaheira will cast hers on herself. They will attack with me while the rest of you stay back and stay scattered. Use your spells or your missiles, but stay spaced out. You are less of a target that way.”


*


The light gem collapsed the shadow barrier, consuming itself in the process. The tunnel beyond it opened into a huge chamber, which appeared to have once been the undertemple and burial chambers for the other clergy. Theodoric saw at least two dozen sarcophaguses that had been pried open and desecrated. The stairwell to the temple lay to the south and a roughly dug tunnel lay in the ruined west wall. In the center of the unholy scene sat the dragon.

The dragon might have been a young one, but even so it was an impressive sight. It was nearly 30 feet in length, not including its whiplike tail. Its eyes were dark and rheumy, and its scales moved like flickering shadows as it breathed in and out. The adventurers scarcely dared to breathe as they crept into the chamber.

Aerie whispered her energy protection spell on Minsc as Jaheira cast hers on herself. The two warriors advanced with Theodoric, sticking close to the wardstone while Neracer, Aerie, and Yoshimo took up defensive positions near the walls.

As they closed to within striking distance, Theodoric could see a fresh scar where Mazzy had stabbed the dragon, a deep wound under the left breast. She had presence of mind to try for its heart, even in the midst of an ambush he thought. I can see why the mage is so impressed with her.

Now directly under the dragon, Theodoric raised his off hand to give the signal. Here goes everything , he thought. In one motion he threw down his hand and lunged for the beast.

Despite being such a young wyrm, the shadow dragon’s hide was remarkably tough and resilient. Even with the advantage of total surprise, Theodoric landed but a glancing blow and Minsc and Jaheira’s first attacks were turned aside.

“It didn’t work!” Yoshimo shouted, quickly raising his bow.

“Oh no!” cried Aerie, suddenly very afraid.

“Hit it with everything you’ve got!” Neracer shouted, his own voice tinged with panic. “We have to keep it off balance!”

*

The dragon hissed in shock and anger as it suddenly realized it was under attack. Surprised and off balance, it reeled back and instinctively and spread its jaws wide. Yoshimo looked on fearfully as blackness gushed forth from the dragon’s mouth and swallowed Theodoric and the others.

It was like the touch of death itself pouring over Theodoric, the same terrifying sensation of draining that powerful undead creatures possessed. In that instant, he realized what a horrible death Kivan must have endured at the hands of the shadow dragon. But the young paladin’s faith in his holy blessings had been justified. The creature’s weapon passed harmlessly over him as the power within turned the darkness aside. He and his fellows emerged unscathed an instant later.

Aerie and Neracer attacked in tandem, the elf calling down a holy smite spell, and the illusionist attempting a paralyzing magic. Unfortunately, the dragon was able to resist the effects of both. Yoshimo got off a pair of arrows but both bounced harmlessly of the dragon’s scales.

This is bad Yoshimo told himself.

Minsc bellowed a war cry and swung furiously. This time he stuck the creature dead on, ripping a foot long gash in its side with his greatsword. The dragon whipped its narrow tail about in retaliation, striking Minsc on the leg with an earsplitting crack. The Rashemani screamed in pain and went down, grasping at his dislocated knee joint.

Theodoric and Jaheira hit the dragon on opposite flanks, Theodoric hacking into the shadow dragon’s haunches on one side and Jaheira smacking it hard on a wing strut on the other. The dragon stomped at her with its free hind leg, forcing her to leap for safety. Theodoric slashed at the beast again, gaining its undivided attention.


The shadow dragon came at him with a lunging bite, missing by mere inches but leaving itself exposed for the briefest moment as well. Theodoric struck at the creature’s underbelly in that moment, trying for the place Mazzy had wounded the creature earlier. His blade found purchase in the tender area, ripping open the scabbed wound and plunging deep into the dragon’s flesh.

The shadow dragon roared in pain, its cry a thunderous whisper, like a slyly shared secret amplified a thousand times over. Swinging its head violently to the side, it slammed into Theodoric and sent him flying a dozen feet through the air.

Yoshimo struck true with an arrow, planting one in the dragon’s neck. It was scarcely more than an annoyance, but it was enough to draw the enraged dragon’s ire. Snapping its head about, the shadow dragon unleashed its breath weapon a second time. Yoshimo dived to avoid the blast, not quite able to make it to safety. His face froze in horror as he felt the life drawn out of him.

Theodoric and Minsc were back on their feet again and closing on the dragon. Jaheira used the distraction to catch the creature in an entangling magic. The dragon was much too big and strong to be truly held. But it exerted precious seconds and energy snapping the thick magical vines that grasped it, giving the adventurers the slightest advantage.

Neracer and Aerie delivered a second combined magic assault, the illusionist successfully blinding the dragon and Aerie putting a spread of magic missiles into it. Theodoric and Minsc landed several hard blows to the creature’s entangled left leg, buckling it and bringing the off-balance dragon to the ground with a loud crash. The beast thrashed in desperation as the three warriors set upon it, intent on dealing the final deadly blows.

Jaheira leapt on top of the dragon, raising her staff high above her head. Using both hands, she drove the end of her enchanted weapon into the wound Mazzy and Theodoric had made. The iron-shod weapon plunged deep into the dragon’s chest, sinking in up to her grip. She wrenched it free and drove it in again, her muscles trembling as she strained to force it still deeper. A river of dark blood gushed from the wound and the dragon spasmed and retched violently. Jaheira lost her footing but kept a death grip on her staff. Minsc and Theodoric landed a pair of finishing blows to the head and neck.

The dragon stiffened and let out a final, agonized, cry before going limp. It did not move again.


*


“HUZZAHHHHH!!!!” roared Theodoric. “Victory is OURS!!”

“Ha-Ha, buttkicking for goodness!!!” joined in Minsc.

Jaheira shook her head a little at their theatrics but was silently praying her thanks to Silvanus with the same fervor.

Neracer and Aerie carried Yoshimo across the room. The thief was alive, but clearly not himself.

“A m-most unpleasant ex-experience” he said shakily, his face ashen. “My whole b-body feels like ice.”

“It’ll pass, Yoshimo” Neracer said gently as he helped him to spot near Minsc, who was tending to his injured leg. The big ranger pulled his kneecap back into place with a grunt and took out a cloth to bandage it.

“You’re hurt, Minsc!” Aerie said. “Let me put a healing spell on that.”

“Ah, Minsc has had much worse, little Aerie” the Rashemani said with pride. “Boo says we will just be walking a little funny for a few days.”

“Don’t be silly” Aerie insisted, her concern for Minsc evident. “It’ll only take a minute.”

“Okay. If the nice witch wants to help Minsc, Boo says I should be gracious.”


*

Neracer went to inspect the dragon’s body. He walked around the beast, running his hand along the creature’s chest and back, examining the scales.

“You’re thinking of taking the creature’s hide?” Theodoric asked while he tried futilely to clean the blood off of himself. Neracer nodded.

“Dragon scales make for fine armor, even from one as young as this dragon. Given the beast’s nature, I suspect a skilled enough smith or mage could craft an item with exceptional qualities.”

“Do it, then. It would be fitting if even some part of this beast served a good purpose.” Neracer grinned happily and took out a sharp dagger.

“I think I see some other reward, as well” Yoshimo said, spying a loose-looking tile in the floor. With just a bit of prying it lifted away, revealing a hidden cache beneath it.

“Ah, a just reward” the thief smiled, withdrawing a half-dozen large semi-precious gemstones and a leather scroll case.

“This breed of dragon seems obsessed with secrecy” Neracer noted, wiping a bit of dragon gore from his face. “Curious.”

Yoshimo eyeballed the gems one by one. One of them, a pearly white ovoid, seemed to glow faintly. “What have we here?” he murmured.

“I know what that is!” Aerie said excitedly. “It’s an Ioun Stone!”

“A what?” asked Yoshimo.

“An elven creation” Neracer said with great interest, setting down his dagger. “A fine gem imbued with beneficial magical properties. A very rare thing.”

“It’s valuable then?” Yoshimo asked, eyeing the gem carefully.

“Yes, but likely its powers are worth more than whatever gold you’d get for it. Depending on what it does” Neracer answered. “How did you know what it was, Aerie?”

“M-my parents, they crafted such things” she said. “For the Avariel, I mean.” She looked at the gem with a mixture of wonder and sad remembrance.


Theodoric ignored the conversation as he stepped away. He was searching about, agitated by the fact he didn’t begin to know what he was looking for.

Amuana said there was “a reason” I should fight the dragon. But that could mean almost anything. Assuming the spirit was being truthful in the first place.

Theodoric’s agitation was worsened by the stirring of his taint. The smell of blood and death was rich in the air, and it had not gone unnoticed by the Bhaal essence.

Damn you, ‘father’! You would sully the honor and glory of victory this day with your base desires? I will not accept that! I refute you! I refute you as I always have!

Theodoric scowled as he forced the vile emotions down. It was nothing new to deny the taint, but the obsessive thoughts that increasingly followed it troubled him deeply.

Irenicus…


“Perhaps the child-spirit was in error?” Jaheira asked, disturbing the paladin’s thoughts.

“Hm? Oh, sorry, Jaheira.”

“Are you alright?” she asked, her faced creased with worry.

“I think so” he replied. “I was just thinking, about what the spirit of Amuana said, that’s all.”

The creases in her face deepened. “That has troubled me. Amunator has been dead for an age, Theodoric. That he, or his servants, can somehow call upon you for any purpose now is… disturbing.”

A look passed between them. She is thinking exactly what I have been thinking. The taint. Even a dead god is awakened from his rest by it. What else might it cause?

Theodoric shifted uneasily as he saw the others were listening to their conversation. He wandered over to several of the defiled graves the dragon had been laying on. Most of them had been emptied, but his eye caught one in which the body was still interred. In it was a skeletal figure, adorned in what once must have been an impressive suit of armor and vestments. In its hands it held a sheathed sword. Theodoric reached down and gently removed the sword from the skeleton’s grasp.

Theodoric held the sword before him and pulled it free from its scabbard. A long, bright-bladed sword slid out, its metal glowing like the noonday sun. Symbols of Amunator were etched into the blade. Streams of golden light trailed the blade as Theodoric held it aloft. Engraved into the hilt, in archaic Common, was one word: “Daystar.”

“This is it” he said. ‘This is what the spirit spoke of, I’m sure of it.”

“An impressive weapon” Jaheira noted, coming over to him. “It will surely help in the fight against Umar.”

“Yes, but I don’t think that’s what it was intended for, Jaheira” he replied, in a voice low enough only she could hear it. “I mean, I don’t think that is why I was sent to retrieve it.” Theodoric fingered the Sunkeeper's medallion thoughtfully, and worry returned to Jaheira’s face.

He sheathed the sword.

“Well, we can test my theory out later. We still have to find Umar and finish our task.”

“Of course” Jaheira said smoothly, dismissing the subject for the moment. The look of worry remained in her eyes, however.

*

By the time Neracer finished skinning the best parts of the shadow dragon’s hide, Yoshimo had recovered from the energy draining attack and the party had cast its healing spells.

“One more fight, my friends” Theodoric announced. “One more fight and the evil that plagues this place will be no more!”

“Only this time we won’t have the advantage of a surprise attack” Yoshimo reminded him.

“No doubt Umar is aware of our presence and is preparing a reception for us” Theodoric said matter-of-factly. “No matter. We must vanquish the witch before she grows any stronger.”

Raising the glowing sword up, he boomed “And vanquish her we will!”


*


The stairs to the old altar room weren’t guarded, though none of the adventurers believed for a second that they would be able to sneak up on Umar and her minions. The stench of the undead was overpowering, even before the climbed the steps. The adventurers took what defensive measures they could before advancing.

The altar room was surrounded by an impassable thicket of gnarled trees. Overhead was an all encompassing darkness that blotted out even the stars and moon. It was also filled with undead, at least two dozen of them, ranging from mere zombies and ghouls in the forefront to spectral undead and a pair of towering skeleton warriors behind them. And behind that was the evil they had come to defeat.

“Torm’s Blood” Theodoric whispered, revulsion welling up in him.

Upon the remnants of the altar of Amunator was a pulsating mass of corruption - a mass of dark, twisted flesh with fleshy tendrils reaching across the floor. Many of the tendrils were wrapped around the corpses of unfortunate villagers. One was constricted around a smaller victim who yet retained some sign of life.

“Mazzy!” shouted Neracer.

A pair of hags, one a sickly pale green and the other the color of soot, tended the altar. They leered malevolently at the adventurers as the altar churned violently and a column of dripping flesh rose up and took shape.

The upper half of what could only have been Umar writhed and stretched, yearning to be free of the mound of flesh she was growing out of. Theodoric could taste vomit at the back of his throat. He recognized vague shapes within the mass – shapes that had once been arms, legs, faces.


“This might be harder than we thought” Yoshimo whispered nervously.

The thing that was Umar reached up and let out an inhuman wail. The horde of undead swarmed towards the adventurers.

“To arms!” Theodoric shouted as he raised the glowing sword of Amunator. “We taste victory this day or give our lives trying!”

The three warriors and Yoshimo led the attack with Neracer and Aerie backstopping them with their magic. Despite being badly outnumbered, the adventurers were acquitting themselves well. Theodoric challenged the most dangerous creatures himself, both because he was immune to their darker powers and because this was one foe he could slay without remorse or the interference of the taint. Undead creatures were perverse abominations whose very existence mocked the living. To destroy them was an act of unimpeachable good, in the paladin’s mind. The Daystar blade had obviously been forged by someone of like mind. Wherever the glowing blade struck, the undead creatures burned, as if touched by flame.


The hags ignored the course of the battle for the moment. They joined hands with Umar, forming a circle and started chanting an infernal mantra. A malevolent red eye the size of a man’s head formed between them and floated upwards. Once aloft, it sped through the air towards the adventurers. It stopped several feet above Minsc and surged with dark radiance.

Aerie spotted the eye first. “Minsc! Look out!”

Minsc was hewing down undead right and left, having just disemboweled a particularly foul-smelling ghast. He spun around to face whatever enemy was coming for him but did not think to look up.

The eye disgorged an eldritch bolt of power, blasting Minsc off his feet.

“Unngh!!” Minsc landed hard on his back, groaning but not moving. A pair of ghouls greedily scuttled forward to claim him.

Shrieking, Aerie found herself running headlong, straight for the ghouls. Anger boiled within her, and she cursed at the creatures with bits of Baervan’s righteous gospel as she raised her staff. The ghouls suddenly recoiled from her, pushing past the other undead creatures to escape her approach.

“Wh-what? Why are they running away?” she asked.

“Aerie, you’ve turned them!” yelled Theodoric, as he slashed at a wraith. “Well done!”


I did that? she wondered, even as she knelt down to aid Minsc. Her first thought was to move him to safety but one tug convinced her he was far too heavy. The other warriors had closed ranks to try to give Minsc some cover, but it wouldn’t last. Not knowing what else to do, she chanted her most powerful healing spell. Minsc looked up at her with a goofy grin and crossed eyes.

“Minsc just needs a few more minutes rest, Boo” he mumbled, still stunned by the magic.

Oh no! He thinks I’m a hamster! What did they do to him?!? she fretted, as she completed the spell. A soothing wave washed over Minsc and his condition improved dramatically, though his eyes were still a little crossed.

“Ah, Minsc remembers where he is now!” grinned the Rashemani. “He – Aerie look out!”

Aerie gasped in shock. She felt searing pain in her back followed by numbness in her legs. She didn’t feel the skeleton behind her pull the short sword out of her back. Aerie fell to the ground, moaning softly.

“NOOOO!!!” howled Minsc, leaping to his feet. He grabbed the skeleton with his bare hands and ripped its bony arms out of their sockets. Minsc beat the skeleton savagely with them, crushing its skull and ribs. Minsc threw the shattered bones aside and grabbed the mace on his belt, plunging into the midst of a pack of undead.

“Oh gods – Aerie!” Theodoric yelled when he saw her fall. Shoving his zombie opponent back for the moment, the paladin rushed over to the fallen elf.

The eye had consumed itself in attacking Minsc, but the witches immediately began summoning another. The new one was was veering straight for Theodoric.

“Abunai!” shouted Yoshimo. “Theodoric, the eye!”

With no time to look, Theodoric leapt blindly away from Aerie, hoping to at least spare her from what was coming. The bolt struck just inches behind Theodoric, knocking him off balance but not seriously injuring him. He staggered about to see if Aerie had survived. The elf was dragging herself away from the fight, clutching a piece of cloth to her wound with her off hand.

Praise Torm! he thought, reaching her in another moment. Theodoric instinctively called upon the healing granted him by his divine blood. His hand flashed briefly over Aerie’s wound, which closed enough to stop the bleeding. He had just time enough to warn her to stay back before charging back into the fray.


Aerie leaned back against a wall for a long moment. Oh it hurts so bad! she whimpered. Tears formed in her eyes every time she took in a breath. It hurts worse than anything I’ve ever felt, except for when they… they took my-

What am I doing? she chided herself. I can’t just sit here and let my friends be hurt!

Aerie struggled to her feet, biting her lip at the pain.


*


Neracer had distracted several of the undead with a pair of illusionary monsters and was pelting the confused creatures with well-placed sling stones when he saw the witches had conjured a third ‘evil eye’.

O no, not this time, you bitch! Neracer dropped his sling and uttered a short arcane phrase. A ball of swirling amber light appeared in his hand. As the eye swooped down on his friends Neracer hurled the globe right into it. The orb burst with a brilliant flash and the screeches of the witches could be heard from across the room. The two hags fell away from Umar, clawing at their eyes while Umar herself flailed about.

Damn but I love that spell! Neracer thought with great satisfaction. He took a quick look at the how the rest of the party was doing. The undead were falling quickly before the adventurers’ might but still had numbers and fight left in them. The blindness won’t last long. I have to get to Mazzy before they recover! We need an edge, and I know just what will do the trick.


Neracer drew his sword and began chanting out a lyrical mantra, one that made itself heard over the sounds of battle. Theodoric heard the song first and recognized it almost immediately.


Battle he will have, No succor shall the wicked get

Whereon his valor and righteous fury grow afresh…



The Tale of Wiedemar!
Theodoric recalled the story of the ancient paladin’s legendary bravery and many victories over evil. It had been one of his favorites as a youngster. His heart stirred and swelled with glory and purpose. The young warrior started singing along and redoubled his efforts against the undead creatures, striking with renewed fury and energy. His fellow warriors were similarly inspired.



*


Neracer finished his chanting and sprinted forward, running through an opening in the thinning ranks of the undead. A wayward zombie lumbered into his path, blocking his way. Neracer thrust his blade into the reanimated corpse with annoyance.

The creature came on heedless of its wound. I don’t have time for this, you smelly wormfood! Neracer cursed as he attacked again, slashing the creature hard across the chest and knocking it down. The zombie then promptly grabbed him around the ankle as Neracer ran past.

“Oh, die already, dammit!” Neracer yelled as he hacked the zombie’s hand off and ran his sword through its head.

The last of the undead were falling when Neracer reached Mazzy. He could see she was still alive, but her face was pale, and her breathing was shallow. The tendril coiled around her was attached at her neck and looked to be slowly drawing the life from her.

“What in the hell have they * done * to you, Mazz?” the illusionist whispered.

Neracer grabbed the tendril and tried to pull it off of the halfling. The fleshy vine reacted to his touch, coiling tighter around her and dragging her slowly towards the altar itself. He grabbed the slithering thing with his off hand and hacked through it. Foulness spurted from the cut end but Neracer didn’t have time to be further disgusted. Mazzy came free just as the hags regained their sight. Neracer scooped the halfling up and ran for safety, hoping his luck hadn’t just run out.




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