In The Cards

The Death Knight is a former mortal knight, one who fell from grace due to his own crimes, and was punished by the gods by being turned into an undead fiend. It's incredibly dangerous. Worst of all, for some strange reason they're all compelled to sing a song detailing their crimes every full moon, and Death Knights aren't known for being musical. Their performances can be very hard on the ears of their unwilling audiences, who mostly did nothing to deserve such suffering. Good gods can be just as inconsiderate as evil ones at times, I think.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

Zaerini looked about the dusty chamber that made up the entrance to the fabled Durlag's Tower. No immense treasures here. No fiendish monsters either, fortunately. Well, unless you counted that annoying tourist guide person. A large central stairway led both up and down into the unknown. Doors led to other rooms in a pattern reminiscent of a spider web, and in front of each one lay a faded yellow carpet. They had once had flower-like patterns, but by now they were so old and rotting that they were almost falling to bits. Apart from that, she couldn't see much of interest except for an old skeleton off near one wall, that had an almost surprised look on its face. "Wonder what happened to that fellow?" she said out loud.

"Those that passed the wards were confronted with the fruits of the paranoia that CONSUMED Durlag.," Ike said, falling into Tour Guide mode. "In this sitting room alone are some of the most fiendish DEVICES OF DEATH known to man! Upon the wall a picture that, before it was RIPPED from its frame, caused those that looked upon it to freeze in their tracks for ALL TIME! Look with HORROR upon this hapless soul!" The tourists all 'oohed' and 'aaahed'. Ike nodded and pointed to a dusty old chair. "This chair, once sat in, would deliver an UNHOLY spike to your nether regions. IMAGINE the EXCRUTIATING SURPRISE of the UNWARY! Durlag went to lengths heretofore UNKNOWN to keep out intruders!"

"Or maybe he was just fond of practical jokes," Edwin muttered. "Really fun-loving fellow, that Durlag. I bet he lay chortling to himself at night over thinking up some new humorous way of frying, crushing or impaling anybody foolish enough to want to pay him a visit. (Though come to think of it, this sort of place would be very handy against door-to-door salesmen.)"

"Durlag Trollkiller did nay have much reason to laugh," Yeslick said, sounding grim. "Not after his clan perished."

"What was up with that, anyway?" Zaerini asked with an interested glint in her golden eyes. "I bet you know lots about it that most people don't, being a dwarf."

The old dwarf sighed and stroked his braided beard as he thought. "Aye, I know the story well," he said. "Most dwarves around these parts do. Durlag built this place to be a home and a fortress to him and his clan, and he used his great skill and wealth to do so. And wealthy he was, or so it is said, though of course it would have been very bad manners to ask him exactly how wealthy. Dwarves think such matters very private." The tourists were flocking around the dwarf by now, listening intently, and Ike was looking very sullen about having his audience stolen.

"But many desired the hoard of Durlag," Yeslick went on. "'Tis said that fiendish dopplegangers learnt of it and invaded the Tower." His voice was said. "They hid amongst his clan, stealing their faces, slaying them in secret. Durlag found his very closest kin and friends turning against him, wearing faces of deceit. He was forced to slay them in order to live, and these halls ran red with blood." He sighed. "Who could bear being betrayed not merely by friends, but by your own children? Being forced to cut them down to live yourself? For each doppleganger he killed wearing his kin's faces, he killed a part of himself."

"That's horrible," Imoen said, her eyes moist.

"Aye, so it is. Durlag swore that such an invasion would never take place again. He put in wards on every level of the tower, wards needing to be opened by special tokens if you want to pass. And he had traps built as well, as deadly traps as a dwarf can think of when protecting all he has left." He sighed again. "Nobody knows what became of Durlag in the end. Some say he lives still, somewhere deep within the Tower, hiding from the world that betrayed him. Some say he sees everything that happens in his old home, and punishes those that would steal from him."

Rini shuddered. "That's rather creepy," she said. "Poor old Durlag. I wouldn't want to live like that."

"You need not worry, mortal. You will not live long at all." The voice was deep and chilling, even more so than Sarevok's, and it sounded like it came from within the deepest confines of the grave. The half-elf turned around very slowly, not really wanting to see what was suddenly standing behind her, but powerless to help herself. The creature that had materialized on the dark staircase looked a bit like a knight, but the resemblance was a very fleeting one. It was very large and strong-looking, as big as Sarevok, she thought. But while her brother was terrifying, at least he wasn't in any way repulsive looking, quite the contrary. This being had the face of a dead thing, a charred and blackened skull with some traces of rotting flesh still clinging to it. In the empty eye-sockets a hellish red light flickered and burned and the teeth were bared in an eternal deaths-head grin. The thing was wearing dark armor, shining and polished, and it was leaning on a large and deadly-looking sword.

All in all, it didn't look like anybody Rini would like to become further acquainted with. "Um…hi!" she said, trying desperately to think of some clever ruse with which to divert the thing. "Er…we're here collecting for the Support Group For Graveless Skeletons. Care to make a contribution?"

She thought the creature sneered, though it was rather difficult to tell with a fleshless skull. "Let them claim their own home," it said. "Same as I. Here is now the property of I, and all others will fall or flee. Tour is over and tower is closed! All who enter will perish; all who enter will suffer pain. So speak I, and listen well you will. Tour is over!"

Uh-Oh, Zaerini thought. I think that's our cue to scram… "Move it!" she screamed as she saw the undead knight start making a circling gesture with his hand. "He's going to…"

BOOM! The bard just had time to dive out of the way, narrowly avoiding an enormous fireball that burnt the flesh clear off the unfortunate Ike's bones and instantly killed all the tourists apart from one. This lone survivor screamed with terror and bolted off through an open doorway. There was a faint * click * and then a pillar of flame engulfed him from above as a trap was activated, slaying him as well.

The undead knight laughed, a terrible sound filled with dark glee, as it surveyed the motionless corpses and the frightened adventurers who stared back at him, having managed to survive with no more than minor wounds. The burning red eyes fixed upon Zaerini. "Like what you see, little cousin?" the knight asked. "Basking in the death and destruction? You should, you should. Come find me then, come through death and pain, and see you will what else I can do. So speak I, and waiting I will be for you." A sparkling portal appeared in the air behind him and he stepped through it, his laughter hanging in the air behind him like a foul miasma.

"Cousin?" Edwin asked. "Please tell me there aren't any more strange relatives of yours hanging about wanting to kill us. Daddy Bhaal and brother Sarevok were quite enough."

"That is not funny," Jaheira admonished. "I think he was referring to the taint of Bhaal."

"I guess," Zaerini said, still staring at the spot where the being had stood. "That was a creature sworn to Murder if ever I saw one."

"I believe it was a Death Knight," Jaheira explained. There was a hard edge to her voice. "A terrible abomination, a once noble knight who betrayed everything he stood for, committing the foulest of crimes, now punished in this way for all eternity."

"Well," Rini said. "I suppose I can't really blame him for being in a bad mood then. And I assume he's terribly dangerous?"

"Oh yes. Very dangerous."

"Figures. And I have a feeling we're going to find out exactly how dangerous before long. Why do you suppose he didn't kill us right away if he's that powerful?"

"He must have some plan," Edwin reasoned. "For now, we apparently serve his purpose better alive. Either that, or he just wants to toy with us."

"Lovely. Just lovely." The half-elf sighed, brushing her red hair out of her eyes. "Now what? The door is blocked. We can't get out that way. We'll have to go deeper into the tower and see what we can find. There may be some sort of secret exit, dwarves are big on that sort of thing, aren't they, Yeslick?"

"Aye," the dwarf said. "Of course, finding it will be the hard part. And we'd need ward tokens to even get past this room."

"Something like this, maybe?" Imoen asked, holding something up. It was a smooth and polished blue rock, with runes carved into it. "I nicked it out of Ike's pocket when you were telling that story earlier."

"Yes," Yeslick agreed. "Exactly like that."

Convenient, Rini thought. Very convenient. And I can't help feeling I'm being set up for something.

It can't be helped, kitten, Softpaws said. The black cat had leapt onto the skull of the ancient skeleton and sat watching her mistress with unblinking green eyes. We don't have a choice. At least we know there's bound to be some kind of trap.

I suppose so. I still don't like it though. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice in this," the bard told her friends. "So, what do you all think? Upstairs or downstairs first?"

"U-upstairs," Khalid said with a brief shudder. "I-in case we have to r-r-run, at least we'll be going down as we r-r-retreat."

"You would think of that," Edwin snapped.

"He does have a point though," Rini said. "And we have to start somewhere. I say we go up to start with." Nobody seemed inclined to protest. Well, here goes nothing, Zaerini thought. With her firmest expression on her face she set foot on the staircase, half expecting it to drop her into the Abyss or impale her on a giant spike. When she was certain nothing of that sort was going on she took another step, and then another one. Slowly, cautiously, she headed up into the darkness that was Durlag's Tower.