nowbound

Part Eight - The Circle Of Drokhon - Braedech's Fall

With the undead dispatched, Jodotha checked the entrance for traps before stealthily climbing the stairs inside the tower. He returned a few moments later to report that the way was clear. "I'm sorry we had to do this" said Trimus to Durgo, before returning the dwarf to his natural form. The moment his form changed the dwarf bolted for the shadows.

With the others in tow Darkhawk led the way back up the stairs which opened into a large circular chamber. The room was devoid of any decoration save a stone chair carved directly from the stone of the walls. Its form lies between a throne and the sort of chair used by dwarven lords in their audience chambers. On either side of the room alcoves contain spiral staircases that lead up to higher levels of the tower. AS Ako was about to step in two more mould encrusted skeletons stepped out of the shadows. Darkhawk and Ako stepped forward to repulse them while Jodotha and Trimus stepped back from the doorway. Cain turned round to guard the party's rear in case Durgo had gone to fetch reinforcements. Ako and Darkhawk start well but a blow to the head from one of the creatures stuns Darkhawk.
"What's happening?" Trimus standing a few steps from the top of the stairs could see nothing more than the shuffling feet of his companions. "Jodotha let me climb on your back." He mounted the rogue and saw that Ako and Darkhawk were hard pressed by their foes so he cast a powerful ice storm from his staff. This weakened the skeletons but they still pressed on and it took a second strike from Trimus before the first of them fell. Darkhawk, recovered from the stunning blow dispatched the other but not before Ako had become infected by the creature's spores.
Ako cured the disease with his staff with a worried look. "I'm not sure how many more times I'll be able to do this. This stave has served me well but unless I can get it recharged we may soon be powerless."

Careful examination of the room revealed patches of old dried blood on the stone floor.
"Should we split up and check both stairs?" asked Jodotha.
Darkhawk shook his head. "If we encounter more of those creatures we need all our strength to defeat them."
Cain nodded and so with Jodotha leading they climbed the western staircase. The staircase opened onto what appeared to be a circular corridor with doors in the south west, south east, north west and north east. Jodotha went to the nearest door and listened. Hearing nothing he checked it for traps before opening the door. Inside was a dust shrouded, wedge shaped room containing a bed a table and a chair, all dwarven in size and manufacture.
"The others are likely to be the same, we should go up to the next level" urged Trimus nodding towards the spiral stair cut into the south wall of the corridor.
Again Jodotha led the way, checking for traps as he went. The stairs eventually opened into a smaller chamber some fifteen feet in diameter. Opposite the stairs stands a fine door ornately carved with the crossed hammer motif prominent amongst the carvings of dwarves fighting orcs. The rogue listened at the door and checked it for traps. Finding it locked he tried to pick the mechanism but failed so Trimus had to cast a knock spell. Once the door was opened a fine bedchamber was revealed containing a canopied bed and other fine furniture. Opposite the bed another spiral stair twisted upwards. No dwarven lord dwelt here now however instead three more of the fungus coated skeletons lurked in the shadows.

"Looks like we were expected" muttered Jodotha loosing a crossbow bolt at the nearest creature but missing comfortably. Trimus used his staff once more catching two of the trio in an icy blast. Darkhawk and Ako engaged the creatures but within minutes the battle turned against the companions. Ako was knocked to the floor by a flurry of blows while Darkhawk once more became infected by the creature's spores. Again Trimus blasted the creatures with an ice storm and this time one of the creatures tumbled to the floor while Darkhawk used his shield to cure a large part of his wounds.
"Watch out!" shouted Jodotha as two more of the creatures came down the stairs followed by a dwarven lord, his sallow skin and sunken eyes suggesting that he had been dead for many years. "Braedech I presume." The rogue launched a crossbow at the Braedech but one of the skeletons stepped in the way and took the bolt instead stunning it. While he tried to reload he was struck by one of the skeletons and felt the burn of spores in his lungs as the infection took hold.
Another ice storm from Trimus whose fingers were turning blue as the staff grew colder and colder. Two more creatures dropped to the floor and disarticulated as a result of the spell. Darkhawk changed form and blasted the dwarf as it retreated to the rear of the room. Jodotha shaking with ague missed with his crossbow and cursed loudly. Trimus created a wall of ice in front of the dwarf sealing him off while Ako cast an area of silence just in case the creature could cast spells. This gave Ako, Darkhawk, Jodotha and Cain a chance to finish off the rest of the undead guardians but not before Cain too became infected. After Trimus destroyed the last of the undead with a magic missile the mage cast another ice storm that shattered the ice wall. As the wall collapsed a wisp of black oily smoke drifted up the stairs. "He's a vampire!" Ako ejaculated with a snarl on his lips. "His coffin must be upstairs; we must finish him off before he can regenerate."

With a vengeful Ako at the head they pounded up the spiral stairs into a viewing room. Windows had been cut into the pillar offering views of the whole of the underground city. Trimus spared a moment to view the city of tiny lights that lay below.
"Help me with the lid!" shouted Ako and Trimus turned round to survey the rest of the room. It was bare apart from the catafalque upon which stood a plain stone coffin.
Trimus cast a mirror image spell upon himself while Jodotha slipped the ring of quickness onto his finger and sharpened a torch into a stake. Darkhawk, Cain and Ako slid the lid from the coffin with a teeth itching grating sound. A swarm of bats swept into the room causing confusion to the companions as they scratched and flapped and the vampiric dwarf stood up in the coffin.
"They're in my hair!" shouted Trimus flapping his hands around girlishly.
Jodotha missed from point blank range with his crossbow as bats swarmed around him. Ako and Darkhawk strike hard but the vampire still stood. He turned his gaze upon them but they avoided falling under his spell.
"Yes!" shouted Jodotha exultantly as two crossbow bolts sunk into the vampires chest then fell to the ground as their target turned to gas and settled into the bottom of the casket reforming into the corpse of a dwarf as it did so. Jodotha grabbed the stake and held it over Braedech's chest. "Hit it Ako!"
The cleric brought his mace down with a double handed blow and the stake easily pierced the vampire's heart.

A thorough search of the coffin revealed that the vampire rested on a bed of several thousand gold coins, an assortment of gems, a pair of potion flasks, a scroll an amulet and a ring. After removing everything of value the companions hefted the stone coffin to the window and with the vampire inside it slid it out. It hit the floor with a loud retort sending shards of stone skittering everywhere. Ako used his ring of remedies on Darkhawk to remove any trace of the fungus infection from him. Trimus examined the others that were afflicted and determined that they would not come to harm overnight thus allowing Ako to learn the requisite spells the following morning so that he would not exhaust his staff.
Trimus and Cain tested the potions and determined that one was a potion of polymorph self the other a potion of speech. It was several minutes before Trimus could stop laughing.
"If only we had found that earlier we might have been able to avoid a lot of misunderstanding!"

They returned to the circular corridor and searched the other rooms. Two were similar to the first one but the final one had a locked door. Jodotha was able to open it easily revealing a room stacked up with jewellery, gems, coins, carvings and other valuable items.
"These must be the offerings Durgo mentioned." Ako said fingering a golden goblet. "We should return them to the dwarves, place them back on the altar."
"But first we need to rest in case we have to fight our way out, and I wish to identify the items we found, they appear to be magical." Trimus looked weary.
Ako used his last healing spells and they settled down to rest, with Jodotha, Cain and Darkhawk taking watches in turn.

The next day Ako cast spells to remove the disease from Cain and Jodotha while Trimus identified the items using several analyse spells. The ring turned out to be a ring of safety which Jodotha took, giving Darkhawk his ring of protection. The scroll was a scroll of trapping which Jodotha again stowed about his person. The amulet was engraved with earth glyphs and this was revealed to be a lesser talisman of elemental travel on the Plane of Earth. Trimus put that around his neck and the companions prepared themselves to leave the tower and meet the now ruler less dwarves of Kenzar.

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