he ark ateway - art II

The following morning Jodotha was the last to rise. He still appeared drawn and pale after his experiences of the night before.
"I kept dreaming of voices. Of shifting shadows and shapes. While behind them all, a point of light deep in the darkness. I still feel so tired." Jodotha accepted a bowl of porridge and sat for a moment rubbing his face with his hands.
"I will try and remove the curse from the village." Said Ako decisively. "I will pay a visit to Rhesa this morning to see if she can point me towards a descendant of the villagers that torched the mage's tower."
"It is a long shot." Said Colloran. "But we need to try any avenue."
Ako, once breakfast was over, visited Rhesa and put his plan before her. She consulted the village records and together they identified the one person who was a direct descendant of those villagers who had attacked the mage all those generations ago. Armed with this knowledge Ako visited the village smith, Festa.

Festa was a dark browed man with a neck thicker than most men's thighs. A short, full beard and muscular arms completed the image of a tough, powerful man. His voice when he replied to Ako's question was surprisingly soft and light.
"Yes. My great grandpa was the one who killed him. He didn't mean to, just didn't know his own strength. At least that's what my pa said." He continued to pump a large pair of bellows keeping the bed of charcoal glowing a rich, cherry red. "I'm not proud of what he did, neither was he. But that sorcerer was evil, and arrogant. Anyhow, what is to do with you, stranger?" A note of anger had entered Festa's voice at this point.
"You have heard that people have been vanishing in strange ways?" Said Ako. "We think it might have something to do with the curse on the village. As you are descended from the man who killed the mage, I thought part of the curse might be attached to you."
"You think I killed Dolly?" roared Festa, the veneer of calm had been ripped away.
"No. No." babbled Ako. "Just that the curse might have been focused on your father and that has come down to you."
"You priests are all the same." Said Festa, "Guilt is all you deal in. Now get out of here, before I do something I regret."
Ako turned on his heel and returned to the inn.
"I didn't handle that very well." Said Ako when he had retold the story to the others. "But now I think about it the curse is not focused on Festa. If it was any effects would have been focused on him or the smithy."
Just then a young boy tugged on Trimus' sleeve.
"Mister?" he asked in a thin high voice, "Mister. Did you kill the monster?"
"I think so." Said Trimus smiling. "Why?"
"Did it come from the ruin?"
"We don't think so. We looked there but couldn't find anything unusual."
"Have you been in the cellar?"
"Cellar? What cellar?" asked Trimus, and the others started to pay more attention to the child.
"The one under the pile of rocks beside the statue. I can get my head in there but my mother said I was to stay away from there or the old wizard would chase me and turn me into a rock. Could you turn me into a rock mister?"
Trimus smiled an evil grin and looked deep into the child's eyes. "Yes."
The boy's eyes opened wide and his bottom lip began to tremble.
"But" continued Trimus swiftly, "Why would I want to do that. Could you show us where this cellar is. There's a silver piece for you if you can, it might stop your mother getting angry at you."
His eyes lit up as he saw the coin in Trimus' fingers and the you scamp made a grab for it but Trimus' reactions were too swift.
"After you show me the cellar." Said Trimus with a winning smile.

Andreas led them back to the pile of rocks that had been the wizard's tower. He moved straight away to the north east corner of the ruin where the rock pile was thickest and pointed to a small opening partly hidden by rocks and creepers. Trimus pulled out his light gem from inside his shirt and dangled it through the opening.
"There is certainly something down there." He said standing up and dusting himself down. "Run along home now." He said to Andreas, handing the delighted boy two silver coins. The boy looked open mouthed at the coins before pocketing them and dashing back the way they had come.
Meanwhile Darkhawk, and the others had started to move the boulders blocking the entrance. Before long there was a gap large enough for all to get through, though it was a tight squeeze for Colloran and Darkhawk.
What they had found was the top of a spiral stair that within a few turns opened into a large square room. The stone ceiling was criss-crossed with cracks and some pebbles and dust had sifted it's way down through the years since the towers destruction but aside from that the room was remarkably intact.
Around the edges of the room were the usual paraphernalia of a wizards laboratory. Benches, chests, bookcases and a large cage. Trimus' eyes were drawn to a knobbly staff propped up against one of the benches and to the large magic circle drawn in the centre of the room. Swirling inside the circle was a nearly spherical cloud of darkness which pulsed and throbbed as he watched.
Jodotha shuddered as the voices in his head became louder and more insistent.
"Ako, Colloran. Is there anything you can do about that?" he said pointing at the cloud.
Colloran unsheathed his weapon and pointed it at the darkness, summoning flame along its silvery length. As he did so a shape pulled itself away from the west wall. A roughly human shaped creature seemingly formed from a rough conglomerate of clay and boulders turned a head like blob towards Colloran and raised its club like arms. Two blobs of the same stuff bulged up from the floor and started to move towards the Paladin. Colloran swung his sword at the nearest blob shattering it while Darkhawk changed form and blasted the larger creature. The stones glowed before shattering explosively showering everyone with hot fragments of rock. The other blob fused back into the flagstone floor as its summoner died.
Ako, breathing deeply, cast a spell of magic detection and scanned the room for the tell tale glow that indicated those items that bore a magical enchantment. His eyes finally rested on the staff leaning against the bench near the north wall. He pointed this out to Trimus who nodded silently. Jodotha moved to one of the large chests and knelt before it, examining hinges, lock and the floor before it for traps before proceeding to pick the lock. He opened it and smiled at the glow of golden coins lying inside, at least four thousand daros.
Behind him Colloran suddenly gasped as the flames upon his blade stuttered and died. The cloud inside the magic circle became much thicker and darker as it expanded to some fifteen feet in diameter. The room became colder and water started to condense on Colloran and Darkhawk's armour.
"Someone's coming." Muttered Jodotha drawing his sword. "I can hear them. The voices are back."

Deep within the cloud Trimus could discern a small glowing form. He pointed at it and cast dispel magic. He was not surprised when nothing happened, who ever had opened this gateway had been far more powerful than Trimus and far more foolish. Beside Trimus, Rellan had also seen the glowing sphere. The elf mage cast a trio of magical missiles into the darkness which dispelled part of the cloud but it soon rew back to its previous volume.
"They didn't like that." said Jodotha.
"Don't listen to the voices, Jodotha." ordered Ako. "They're evil."
"You think I don't know that!" spat the rogue, "You think I want to listen to them? I have no choice. They are in here." He tapped his head furiously with a gloved hand.
A black speck appeared at the heart of the glowing sphere that swiftly resolved itself into the form of one of the shadowy fighters they had fought the previous night. Trimus cast a mirror image on himself and a second young mage appeared mimicking each of Trimus' moves and gestures. As the shadowy figure stepped beyond the constraining ring of the magic circle Rellan hit him with three magic missiles and Jodotha stepped sideways to try to get into a position where he could back stab his foe. His target knew he was there and smiled evilly over his shoulder as he stepped sideways to avoid the rogue's attack. Ako cast a reversed blessing on figure to no avail while Colloran ad Cain did what they could to dissipate the cloud. Cain's kicks and punches along with Colloran's sword doing substantial damage to the cloud, but they sensed this was only temporary and that the cloud would grow back the moment they stopped.
"Stand back!" shouted Rellan. "Back against the walls." He started to move his hands the words of power forming on his lips. Not knowing what was going to happen but trusting the elf the companions followed his instructions, Jodotha aiming a final blow at the shadowy figure as he retreated. He had barely pressed himself against the dusty stone walls when a circle of fire rose like a curtain from the flagstones encircling the dark cloud and the shadowy figure. Through the flames they could see their enemy writhing and dissipating as the blinding light and scorching fire beat upon him. Jodotha pressed his hands to his ears as the screams that only he could hear reverberated inside his skull. The pain dropped him to his knees, his breath coming in racking sobs as he fought against the desire to aid the darkness beyond the flames. Then suddenly the voices stopped and the pain was gone. Beyond the flames the darkness had vanished.

Rellan dispersed the fire and stepped towards the magic circle. The floor was cool as if the fire had never been burning there. Floating above the centre of the circle was a disk of darkness about a hand span wide with glowing edges of a strange unearthly blue. Trimus reached to the amulet that hung around his neck and called again upon Rintrah. The concern and frustration on his face told the others that he could not contact his mentor. As they paused considering their actions a slow trickle of darkness dribbled from the disk, like sewage from a drain. At first it pooled on the floor then started to rise like vapour once again forming the cloud of darkness. With the darkness came another figure, this time one of the lesser shadows. Colloran's shape blade pierced it causing it to pop like a soap bubble. Jodotha plucked a gold coin from the chest and flicked it towards the disk. The glittering coin flickered through the air and vanished into the darkness.
"I have an idea, it is dangerous but we must try it." Said Trimus his eyes watching the darkness thicken and grow. "I will send a fireball into the disk. It may destroy what is beyond, it may also destroy me. May I borrow any items of protection against fire you have to add to mine to give me the best chance of survival."
Without hesitation Jodotha removes the girdle of fire resistance he wore and helped Trimus tie it about his waist. Ako cast a spell of resist fire upon the mage who also imbibed a potion which had the same effect before putting on a ring which again should give him some extra magical protection against fire. Each of the companions clapped him on the back before leaving.
"It's all very well casting a spell in the heat of battle, then you have no time to think of the consequences." Said Trimus to Rellan, the last to leave. "But this is different. Who knows what will happen."
"You will be fine, friend." Said the elf before joining the others above ground.
Trimus pointed his right hand at the disk through which more and more darkness was spilling, muttered a brief prayer to Ixion, banisher of darkness and cast the spell.

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