The cave started out so small we had to crawl through it, but that didnt last for long. Soon the cave turned straight down and emptied into a large open room. If not for the light we brought with us, most of us would have been completely blind. The walls were obviously worked stone so we were no longer in a natural cave but a place made by some forgotten people.
There was only one passage and it lead into darkness and heat. Our group progressed carefully, making sure we stayed aware of any traps and such. My companions were obviously experienced in this sort of business so I am thankful for that, marching into ancient caverns that most have been known to die in is not something I have ever done before.
The passage lead us into a collection of halls and rooms. Tenedos and Nameless entered one of the first rooms we came to. They moved slowly and cautiously. The rest of us were waiting in the hall when I noticed Frenzy had moved on ahead without us. He may be one hell of a fighter but he is not the brightest star in the sky. I started to move ahead when I heard a loud clang, the sound of Frenzys sword hitting something metal. I moved ahead faster to find a circular room with for sculpted faces, each with smoke smelling of sulfur pooring from the mouths. Frenzy must have thought one was alive. Whatever he thought, he had continued. I hurried to catch him and following him into a room on the right. Inside I was faced by many pairs of small red glows.
Skeletons. They must have been alerted by the noise. The advanced on Frenzy and myself. It was a hard fight at first, the skeletons had use of flame based magic. Our companions tried to come to our aid but were confronted by magic and another group of skeletons. Gim cast a spell that gave us some protection from the flames and this helped turn the battle to our favor. Able to ignore some of the flames Frenzy and I were able to combine his steel and my magic to fight back the group facing us while the others dealt with the group in the hall. And just as we thought we had finished off the undead mob, more came from the other rooms.
I groaned as I readied myself for the next wave, but it never came. A skeleton in robes that obviously represented some type of religious authority appeared in a roar of fire. He ordered the skeletons to stop and spoke with us. He told of us invaders in the underground halls, an invader that had forced them from their holy places in the subterranean halls. Creatures of the plane of fire. He called of his minions attacks on us, so we could battle the invaders for them. I guess it was a convenience for them that we had to fight our way through their enemy to reach our goal. The skeletal priest and his followers then faded from sight, leaving us to heal our wounds and continue into the darkness beneath the hills. |
