Alturiak 1377 - CoRD Strikes Back

The priestess watched in awe as Thornton and Elric took on the enormous demon. It was strange looking at it from this perspective and not being in the middle of it with them! Therogeon’s spells were a massive advantage to the trio, and something they could have used down in Kaimelithil for certain! There would have been significantly less pain.

Some of his spells though… Well, one in particular…grated on Ashara’s life-valuing nerves! HASTE! Perhaps it was because life expectancy was already a sensitive subject for her. Perhaps it was because Therogeon had already cost her a year of her life all those adventures ago down in the D’Ravics’ hole, though she had every intention of getting that fixed after this child was born! She recognized the spell as the mage cast it on the group, and it was everything she could do to not start screaming in protest at the mirror!

Elric and Therogeon didn’t mind the thought of losing a year to Haste when they had a two-hundred year life expectancy, so how much less must they mind when facing six hundred! The idea that life could be just thrown away at almost a whim like that riled her, but to her credit she kept her mouth shut. Her friends were walking into a potentially very dangerous situation…they were at least expecting that six-armed demon to have to battle, so rationally the Haste might give them a better shot at her quick destruction! If she were honest with herself, as she watched the pair take down that monstrous horned beastie…she didn’t think the snake lady had a chance!

In spite of the danger, Ashara couldn’t help but smile as she watched her husband loose his rage upon the demon. It was an impressive sight to be sure… She wished his students could be there to watch THIS fight and replace the mental image they must have of their bloodied Tura from the night before!

When the monstrosity fell, she felt much, much better about the boys being without her particular healing skills!

But Elric KEPT hitting the thing after it was dead… Until the demon’s corpse began dissipating and its soul left to be born anew in the Abyss. She wondered then how badly he must really have needed this… Was it just the attack on their family and friends last night that fueled his fury, or had it also been too long since he’d had the opportunity to go and blow off some steam?

He simply wasn’t the type to be comfortable sitting in the sleepy farming town for months on end… Every once in a while the dragon half of him needed to be let out of the cage!

The wizard watched as Elric kept hitting the demon thing after it stopped twitching. He was still swinging as the creature started to dissapate. Therogeon knew his friend needed some release, but he didn't realize it was needed this badly. He called out to the golem, "Thornton, come here please." The thorn golem walked over and the wizard swore it looked curious. "Thornton, guard these young creatures please." the wizard indicated the young hippogriffs," I will be right back." So saying he smiled at the golem and walked off towards Elric.

He approached cautiously, not wanting to suprise the fighter, "Elric my brother, it is gone."

As the demon's corpse faded from reality, Elric's final punch smashed into the ground sending shards of stone into the air. The knee that been on the creatures chest dropped to the ground roughly. All the pain, confusion, and anger he had was just channeled through him. That thought worried him.

At the sound of Therogeon's voice he turned slowly.

The half-dragon closed his tear-filled eyes and slowly breathed out. Simple exercises learned long ago to help calm the temper and clear the mind. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't. Today he couldn't concentrate. This is NOT the way he fought! Not the way he was taught... NOT the way he taught others! This rage, the brutality... it was stupid. You get angry, you get careless. These weren't simple bandits. These were demons! If Therogeon hadn't cast the protective magic on him... that horn would have impaled him.

Stupid...

Part of him wanted to blame the magic. All that strength and power crammed into his small mortal frame. It wasn't natural. Usually when he was empowered that way, the result was similar. Brute force and bone shattering effectiveness. With the power to move mountains it was hard NOT to simply get by on raw strength. Fortunately he rarely got this spell... Usually it was Kaber. Whose fighting 'style' was legendary...

There could be an argument for that, but Elric had to admit the truth. There was no doubt where his mind was today. He was angry at villains who had intruded on his life, but more than that... he was angry at himself.

They had taken Ashara right from under his own nose... He 'rescued' the wrong woman... For all the good that he was last night, Ashara by all rights should have died. His unborn child too! And he had been helpless, or perhaps useless to stop it.

It was easy to blame the doppelgangers amazing skill at deception, or blame the wine, the time of night... there was always SOMETHING that could be blamed. The truth was he blamed himself. Ashara seemed to have forgiven him immediately, but he wasn't so quick to forgive himself.

Still, he HAD to pull himself together. For EVERYONE's sake, he needed his head in the game. He wiped the ichor-soaked wraps on his twice ruined shirt and then wiped the moisture from his eyes. Rising to his feet he looked to the elf.

"Well... That's ONE!" he tried to state cheerfully.

"Where to nex.... Ohh no...." he said mournfully as he saw Thornton looking back and forth between two small hippogriffs. One seemed quite comfortable where it was, while the other seemed curious and confused as it walked toward the bloody mess that had once been a parent.

"You realize we HAVE to take them with us." Elric stated. He had no doubts the mage had the power to carry them. He'd seen him do more than these little things before. Looking around him, he saw... nothing. While he hated the idea of leaving the cute little things on their own, with the corpses of their parents, he didn't imagine they would be in much danger up here. For a brief moment he considered leaving Thornton to watch them... but readily dismissed it. If the snake demon WAS already gating in friends... they would need every hand they could get. He doubted the soft feathers on their young wings would carry them, so they should be still be waiting when they finished the unpleasantness below.

"We can't leave them..." The warrior insisted. Something about this mission becoming about saving a few lives appealed to his baser instincts greatly.

"I wonder what Ashara will say when "I" bring home a couple of strays this time." He couldn't resist an honest smile as he added, "It is MY turn..."

The elf grinned at his friend, "Almara is already sending a student to get them and take them back to the tower.

"Are you alright?" The wizard saw his friend nod almost sadly and he nodded as well in response. "Well, then the next step is to find a way down." Therogeon turned toward the statue and walked towards it. He believed the way down was probably there since that was the one thing from the tower that wasn't destroyed.

Elric gently guided the young hippogriff away from it's... mother he thought, and back to it's sibling. A hundred names and images of flying amongst the clouds were spinning through his mind as the foals started nipping and playing with each other.

"Wizard's tower, trying to Go down..." He quietly Whispered an update Ashara in Impresk. "I found the kids' surprise... I really want to be there when they see them... If at all possible..." He'd love to see her face too when the new arrivals came home, but odds are she's already seen them from the mirror.

With a grin he shook the images from his head. That was for later! Now there was work to do.

He looked back to Therogeon and watched him examining the statue. He probably had the right of it, the fighter thought. It was the only thing here not completly destroyed... so it MUST have some purpose or other. A quick survey told him there were no stairs... not that he expected to find any. It had been a long time since he'd actually seen 'stairs' in Therogeon's tower.

"Umm... Thornton..." Elric called to the golem who was staring at the foals a little creepily for his tastes. "Leave them be... Come with us..."

If the transporting down worked like the Tower of Probation... they'd best be together when it happened.

As they approached the statue he couldn't help but wonder what it's significance was. Black marble wasn't cheap, and the workmanship was incredible. Whoever this was obviously meant a lot to the tower's owner. Mother, lover, sister... Perhaps a god? The black marble made him think of Shar... but that was a flimsy clue. Perhaps the owner of the tower was a woman... He could picture certain mages erecting a magical statue of themselves...

"Find anything?"

"Find anything?"

Therogeon nodded, "A rune, I believe it will activate the statue but I am not sure what excately it will do." As he said this a small popping sound came from behind them. The wizard turned around and looked at the newcomer who had just teleported in.

A young man stood there of average height and build. He was dressed simply wearing a tunic and breeches and he had numerous pouches attached to his belt. His black hair was trimmed short and he was clean shaven. Of a remarkable note his steel grey eyes seemed to be much older then he appeared and there was world weariness about him that was palpable. He smiled as he approached the group, "Therogeon my friend, when I left the school in your hands I did not expect you to go off galavanting as much as you do."

Therogeon smiled and clasped hands with the mage, "Talembor my old friend, how are you?" The former head of the school nodded, "I am well, enjoying retirement. I hear you have something that needs a ride back to Impresk?" The elven wizard nodded, "Yes, a pair of hippogriff foals? that just lost their parents." Talembor looked over to the young creatures and nodded a greeting to Thornton.

Talembor looked back over his shoulder, "I'll take them back now since I know you two...three, sorry, want to get going." He walked over to them and kneeled down next to them as they playfully nipped at each other. "One last thing my friend, Tana'ri are powerfull, especially this one. Take it out quickly." So saying he offered them a wave and placed a hand on each of the foals and suddenly dissappeared from the area.

Therogeon grinned and looked back at the statue, activating a function of his staff as he did. His Analyze Deweomer spell would help him decipher the rune quickly. Normally he would have preferred to figure it out on his own but time was of the essence here. The spell took effect and he saw the statue. It was glowing heavily with alteration magic. The statue would become stairs once the rune was activated by placing a hand on it and saying open in the language of the arcane. "I hope you are ready brother, because here we go." So saying he placed a hand on the rune and spoke the word patefacio.

The statue seemed to tremble slightly before begining to melt. The black marble flowed down itself and into a hole that was hidden beneath it. As the liquid marble entered the hole it began to reform, becoming stairs that led down into the darkness below. With his magically augmented sight Therogeon saw the barrier that prevented scrying, teleporting, and a few other things about halfway into the tunnel. What he did not see was any magical traps in the way. He looked over at Elric, "Ready?" he asked with a grin on his face and the three of them started down the hole.

Thornton was a bit confused. He wanted to please both Elric and Therogeon, but he was hoping not to get too many more conflicting messages. First guard the horsebirds, then go over there. Neither of them seemed angry, but it was confusing. Honestly, Thornton was lost on a few things the fleshies did, and children topped the list. Thornton understood what babies were, and even got a full description about where they came from when master explained it to him. But he did not feel the natural urge that they feel, an instinctual protective drive. He thought that it was because he was made from thorns.

Thorns were uncaring and harmful by nature. Master had made him to protect himself, and that which was precious to him. Thornton was not made to nurture. Neither were these horsebirds, it seemed. They kept trying to eat each other. Thornton was about to intervene when Elric asked him to come over there. Maybe he wanted one to eat the other so it could be strong.

And suddenly there were stairs. Magic was so strange. Thornton started down first, it was somewhat dark, and Elric was much more adept at moving. He had magic boots that let him jump like a grasshopper. Thornton wondered if Master had made them for him.

It was incredibly dark down here, but Thornton mostly went by the sound of things. Master had said that grass loved the wind and was gentle enough to ride its tiniest ripples but strong enough to remain rooted in the heaviest storms. Thats why he could hear so well. Thornton felt that sometimes Master was telling him stories when he didn't know the answers. Quite often Master actually preferred a story as opposed to an explanation, but he didn't care too much. He could always remember the stories better anyway.

As the trio descend the stairs into the blackness, their presence in the room seemed not to go unnoticed. When Thornton's foot touched down on the worked stone floor, sconces that had been lining the walls of the room woke to life, lighting up the area in a dull, red glow. The group found themselves in a corner of what was originally a cave of some sort, the walls of which were left unfinished. Jutting out from the back of the massive room stood a large structure crafted skillfully with fine granite blocks. This building within the cave stands nearly thirty feet tall, spanning floor to ceiling, and stretching sixty feet long by forty feet wide Two massive, oaken doors hang in the middle of the long granite wall, each sporting a heavy, brass doorknocker.

The temperature in the room is quite cool, and smells of old, musty earth. A thin layer of dust blankets the floor, leading the men to believe that the area has not seen visitors since the tower had been destroyed about ten years previous.

The thorn golem reached the bottom of the stairs first, and he looked around briefly before heading off, axe in hand, toward the double doors of the building ahead. He only made it a couple of feet before the stone block beneath his right foot gave just a little...

A faint sound of stone scraping against stone could be heard, as a wave of Dispelling Magic burst from the block that Thornton had stepped on, encompassing all three of the companions and extinguishing six of the flaming red sconces along the walls.

The warrior's keen senses heard the shifting of stone on stone and prepared for an attack. When it came he didn't know what to make of it. A tingling sensation covered his skin and he felt a wave of weakness come over him. His new extra strength was gone. Well... he knew it wouldn't last forever. Back to having to rely on skill...

With the wave, the lights on either side of them went out, casting their little corner into shadow. A peculiar effect, since the rest of the lights were still going strong, and while they may be in shadow... they could still see clearly enough. The comforting light of his holy symbol was still peeking through his shirt, so he had no fear of the darkness.

Still... the lights had to have gone out for a reason, and he suspected it was the shifting stone... Either an inefficient trap, or a signal to other guardians. As he scanned his surroundings he felt a pang of annoyance. The only tracks or indication of life were the unique tracks made by Thornton. Yet they KNEW someone... and Some THINGs were down here... They just obviously don't use the mundane routes of travel.

Which means they also didn't fear whatever OTHER traps were down here... He wished Gwilly was around. She may be able to pick out a false stone covered in carpet of dust, but he couldn't.

Or could he... He wasn't used to having spells stored in him like this... but Ashara had made him as prepared as possible for this journey. He COULD detect any traps that were around... IF he used it now.

Such was the dilemma with spells, especially for those not trained in practical application of them. WHEN was the right time to use the power... Would you need it for a greater challenge down the road?

The first step, Elric decided... was GETTING down the road. It was an abandoned place, that even the new residents never used... either they didn't WANT to... or even THEY felt it was too dangerous! Looking around, the choice was clear. If HE were going to put down traps... it'd be in a setup just like this.

With a whispered prayer to Lathander, he once again called forth power that he barely understood. His eyes began to tingle and he knew the spell was active.

Therogeon sighed. A dispelling trap. His protections were gone as was his magical sight and while he wasn't blind, he certainly felt it. He also heard Elric whispering a prayer spell and he recognized that one as a spell to locate traps. Well, at least they wouldn't be blind anymore. The wizard readied his staff and fell into line behind Elric.

Ashara still had a grin on her face after watching Therogeon's associate disappear with the two hippogriff foals. The children would undoubtedly be beside themselves with glee, and daddy and 'Uncie Tewwo' could tell the story of the daring rescue! Perhaps, she thought, it was high time they were formally introduced to Thornton now too...

These two were certainly larger strays than the ones she usually brought home! The Rosemorn Menagerie was kind of a running joke around Impresk while she was growing up, as it seemed every couple of weeks a young Ashara would happen upon an injured or lost animal that she absolutely had to bring home and try to nurse back to health. That Elric himself had been one of those strays, was a more private joke among friends... The CoRD house had seen its fair share of pets as well, though for the moment there were only two kittens that were wintering in the stables. Well, there was that turtle in Ashara's old room on the second floor that Arturo had named Toddie...and there was the cardinal that she'd found in early winter with the broken wing, but Davion kept that one in his home so that didn't really count. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that it would be Elric this time bringing in the newest additions!

The kids were still mostly amused with the rose-colored Cormyrian Shepherd, so the priestess felt reasonably safe keeping the focus of her attention on the mirror. When the trio descended the staircase down into the earth, Almara tried to follow them with her scrying, but the mirror suddenly reflected only the images of the two women standing there with concerned looks on their faces.

"Oh, that's not good...," She muttered mostly to herself. Of course these must be the protections that Therogeon was working so diligently to try to pierce through his own mirror back in Caradoon.

With a slight gasp, Ashara realized that while the huge demon was attacking, the Sacred Guardian spell she'd cast on Elric didn't go off! That must have gotten Dispelled with the Scourge fog... She should have realized that when they came back to get him cured! Annoyed that now she wouldn't be able to SEE what kind of danger her friends were in, nor SENSE them in danger, the priestess vented her frustration upon her scalp, yanking a fistful of hair before Whispering to her husband.

"Protections blocking scrying. Unable to see below ground. Sacred Guardian down. Let us know if you need assistance... Sina naa ungwala <This is torture>... Saesa nauva varna, Aratoamin <Please be safe, my Champion>!"

Then the doubts started setting in. Did she make the right decision by staying behind? Would she know if they were gravely injured? Did the Whispers or the rings that Almara and Therogeon wore even work through the protections that had been placed beneath that tower?? Everything seemed off somehow... Her place was down there at their sides, in the thick of it, not trapped safe and sound in a magical tower! Still...the decision had been made for the safety of them all, as well as the unborn Everdawn. It may have been the right decision, but that didn't make the acceptance of it any easier!

Ashara blew out a long breath and squeezed Almara's hand to reassure them both, before walking over and taking a seat by the children. She was concerned that if the boys were gone too long, that she'd be climbing the walls with the kids!

Elric's magically enhanced, trap-sensing vision swept the room before them. Never having been Imbued with this particular spell before, he wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but when the floor in nearly every direction lit up with red fire that only he could see, the half dragon was quite sure he knew what that meant!

"Ahhhh Thornton...," he called out to the golem before any more traps were sprung, "Just...just come directly back to the stairs here... Retrace your steps if you can, no sense in blowing us all up just yet!"

As the golem carefully made his way back to the others, Elric turned to Therogeon, who was standing on the black marble step behind him. "There are traps covering almost every square inch of this floor. The only clear path I can see is that way..."

He pointed directly to the corner of the granite building in the center of the cave thirty feet away. "About a three foot path straight to the corner there and then along the wall to just in front of the double door...

"I think this guy was a bit of an overachiever," Elric joked dryly. "Can't say he was too paranoid I guess, since someone did come and blow up his tower after all!

"So, do you want to Dispel a few of these traps, Therogeon, or do you two just want to follow me...VERY closely...down the path?"

The wizard looked amusingly at his friend. "A few of them? Yes, I will try."

So saying Therogeon stepped infront of the other two and stared down the hallway. If he had his spell still active he would be able to see how the magic works and have an easier time of dispelling it. Since he didn't however, he would have to trust in his own skills.

The elven wizard took a deep and began his spell. As the complex formula neared it's conclusion, Therogeon spoke with power and conviction the final words of his spell, totus veneficus evanui.

An invisible wave of dispelling magic traversed the length of the passageway emenating outward from the wizard's hand.

While the half-dragon couldn't see the actual wave of energy from his friend, to his magically enhanced eyes the effect was obvious.

"Yeah... that did it." he whistled admiringly. That was a LOT of magic that just disappeared. Feeling a little more comfortable he started heading toward the doors.

Suddenly a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. "Protections blocking scrying. Unable to see below ground. Sacred Guardian down. Let us know if you need assistance... Sina naa ungwala... Saesa nauva varna, Aratoamin!"

Looking back at the mage, he stated simply "It's as we feared... They lost the scrying mirror, and the Sacred guardian is gone from me. Whether from the dispel back in Caradoon or the fight with demon. Either way, they're blind out there." This news didn't change their plans any. He never had any intention of calling for Ashara's help down here... not after he'd seen the six armed demon! If he was in bad enough shape that he needed her, then he CERTAINLY didn't want her down here with what caused it! Still it was always nice to know someone was watching out for him.

"Our Whispers are still working, but we've already used a few of them... You may want to test that ring of yours."

They were using Therogeon's gift a LOT today. Usually they were close enough it wasn't necessary... though he did find a certain pleasure in Whispering a few sweet or encouraging words in the middle of her meetings with certain overbearing priests... Still regardless of how many they left today, If she didn't hear back... She'd probably come looking!

Quietly he Whispered a response. "Lussea sal' moota Tereva... Amin naaya karna lle sinta Melamin, iire oio deanam. Uuma deluva, lye na eska rato! mela lle..."

The wizard nodded at his friend. He was already in contact with Almara, mostly about how in Toril she managed to convince Talembor to come and get the hippogriffs.

"Yes, the rings work. Talembor is in Impresk with the young as we speak." Therogeon said. Then pointed towards the door. "Lead the way my friend, and try not to step on anything that will blow us up." he grinned.

The dim red light of the sconces did little to illuminate the beautiful carvings on the double oak doors, but as Elric approached, the light of his holy symbol revealed the incredible detail. It appeared to be a landscape. Two plateaus, one on top of the other, with the high craggy peaks of a small mountain range topping the second plateau. Towers of impossible height and mighty strongholds seemed to be crowded into every livable area beneath the mount, and if one looked quite closely, they could just make out a large fortress that had been carved onto one of the mountains highest peaks.

Elric could see no traps, and since they were well past the point of pleasantries, he ignored the brass door knocker and pushed open the heavy wooden door.

The room before them was quite dark. Only when the warrior pulled the Continual Light-blessed holy symbol completely out from beneath his shirt, were they able to see what lay within. Two twelve-foot tall statues stood sentinel at another doorway thirty feet across the otherwise empty room. They held nothing in their hands, but displayed the incredible craftsmanship of the armorers of Turmish, wearing highly decorated full plate. The breastplate on the statue standing the left, was detailed with two battling dragons, while the one on the right was adorned with an ornate lion's head, roaring in fury.

As Thornton and Therogeon followed Elric inside, the two colossal statues groaned to life and moved ponderously towards the trio, each step taken, vibrating the ground beneath their feet.

Thornton ran at the iron golem and immediately noticed two things. First he wasn't as fast as he was before, nor was he as strong. Therogeon's magic had ceased. Thornton figured that since Elric was able to take down the last one by himself that Therogeon no longer needed to have the magic on him, and took it back. But Thornton wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he disapproved of Thornton's actions.

He brought the axe back and swung at an arc meant to cleave into the unthinking beasts' chest. It was a good hit, although the axe he had, Ivy's axe, could not cut it. Thornton took a step back. Ivy's axe could cut anything! And it did it so well, that they usually kept bleeding afterwards, but this being was made from iron in the way that he was made from thorns. It was a better material for fighting, far better.

Thornton went on the defensive, dodging a massive fist. He figured that maybe Elric would finish his in a minute or two and come to his aid. At least Therogeon did not have to have the thing swinging at him. Thornton hoped that he could prevent him from being bothered by the iron golem, and perhaps he would thank him again. He felt upset that he could not take care of this one for them. It exhaled some sort of gas, but he did not breathe, so that was no problem. Then he felt the iron fist smash him into the floor.

Thornton did not feel pain. In fact, he had never felt pain. It was not something that he was given. Because of this, he only understood injury in the form of unraveled thorns or inability to function. However he did not encounter either of these when hit, which pleased him. He tried a different tactic, and put the handle in between the golem's legs to try to get it to lose its footing, but he would have sooner moved a mountain with blade of grass. The golem hit him again, sending him down. Thornton sprang back to his feet and placed himself between the golem and the mage, hoping to at least distract it some more before it tore him apart.

Elric watched as the monstrous statues lumbered toward him. Seeing no reason to avoid the inevitable he charged the one that seemed to have it's sight set on him. With magical speed and boots of leaping he once again soared into the air and swung with all his might at the giants head.

A resounding gong filled the air as he nimbly landed on the ground and launched into another attack. Swinging his leg up high he drove his foot straight into the statues knee. A wave of agony shooting through his leg was his only reward as flesh hit iron and the statue didn't flinch.

The warrior was stunned for a moment... these statues must be more than he'd thought. While not as powerfully enchanted as the wraps of Avin Yarth, the boots were still enchanted, and allowed him to strike many things that logic said wouldn't work.

Well... he wouldn't try THAT again, he decided. Determinedly he focused his thoughts on the enemy. The pain in his leg would be fine in time, and it wasn't enough to slow him down. He wouldn't ALLOW it.

Suddenly he had other problems. The giant's hand swung out and as fast as the fighter was, he was still clipped and sent reeling. He felt the sting of the stone as he slid across the floor.

An overwhelming urge to sleep was coming over him and he tried to force himself awake. Vision clouded and full of stars, he knew by the shaking of the ground that the golem was coming fast. When it got here, he would be dead!

Rising to his feet and stumbling once, his hand went to his face. Already he could feel it getting puffy and he knew he'd be getting an earful when Ashara saw the bruise. He was still hasted, but he knew it couldn't last much longer... Once again he charged into battle.

Feet useless for offense, Elric focused on a flurry of fists and chops. Each time he swung he left a new dent on the armor, but he didn't seem to be winning... Despite it's shape, the creature was NOT alive. Knee strikes, Vital spots, gaps in the armor... useless! He knew each dent was having an effect, but to watch his opponents uncaring attitude was quite disheartening. Ironic how he was just thinking how much he preferred skill to brute strength... He was REALLY missing the brute force about now!

He was feeling a little more confident at gauging the things' speed when suddenly it spewed forth a noxious green gas from it's helmet. Instinct alone saved him as he dove through the creatures legs and wound up behind him. Even the brief taste of the gas had his stomach and muscles briefly clenching and unclenching in agony... He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he'd stayed in there!

He focused all his energy on one spot on the things left knee. He didn't know if it was having an effect. It felt no pain. It showed no reaction. But it's movements were getting a little more sluggish. Think of it as a giant toy... if you can't kill it... maybe he could 'break' it. If he could get it on the ground, the battle would change. He HAD to believe that...

As the living statue swung in once more, the warrior dove to the side. Too slow, he realized in horror! The spell had worn off. He felt the creatures metal hand clasp him in midair and squeeze. The air was knocked from his lungs as he suddenly felt himself soaring through the air toward a wall!

Using every bit of agility as he could muster in the short flight, the Master of Salk-sirra spun in the air, until he was flying feet first toward the stone wall. As his feet hit the wall he forced his legs to absorb some of the velocity, but not all. He felt muscles screaming as he pushed off the wall into a forward roll on the ground.

As the ground trembled around him, he looked up to see the monster still coming toward him looking dented and... well used. But as he spit a glob of red onto the floor and gingerly regained his feet, he had to admit, the golem was still looking better than he was...

Therogeon sighed. Iron golems. Powerful, magic resistant in a way his spells wouldn't help, and a...yes, there it is, a gas attack. The wizard started to cast a spell that would remove any harmful gas from the area. As he finished the powerfull gas seemed to shimmer and then dissappear. It was dramatic and probably would have unnerved a living opponent. Golems on the other hand were anything but 'living'.

Thornton seemed to be holding his own against his golem even though the thorn creation couldn't hurt it. Elric on the other hand seemed to be having a problem. Therogeon watched as the half dragon went flying across the room. The haste must have worn off, well if he couldn't speed up the fighter, he could slow down the golem. These golems, being all metal, were naturally susceptable to lightening. It didn't damage them, but it did slow them. The wizard pulled out a wand of lightening and aimed it at the golem. Speaking a command word, the wand activated and a bolt of bright blue lightening flew unerringly at the golem.

As Elric raced back to meet his opponent he heard Therogeon call out a command word he'd heard many times. Dropping into a roll he felt his hair stand on end as the bolt of lightning passed harmlessly over head and struck the golem with a sharp crackle.

Springing from the roll he drove his fist hard into the leg he'd been pounding so diligently. This time he was rewarded for his efforts. As his heavily enchanted fists struck the weakened metal, tiny cracks started to spider web around the dents.

Feeling suddenly encouraged, the warrior redoubled his efforts. Whether from the pounding or Therogeon's magic, he wasn't sure... but his opponent was starting to falter. It still tried to attack him with the giant metal fists, but they were much slower, and much easier for the nimble fighter to avoid.

Even after studying his opponent the fighter still didn't know what it was. He had never fought anything like this before. Well maybe the dracoliches. It had no 'weak' spots... it was literally a magically animated slab of iron. All his skills focused on vital spots. Throat, knees, groin. Attacks that would stop the opponent and end the fight. Heart, lungs, nerve clusters, places that would kill if it came to that.

With no better ideas he continued pounding on the right leg when he heard a noise he couldn't place. A screeching noise of metal on metal. Something he did finally seemed to have an effect, as the giant statue started to topple. Dodging quickly to the side, the golem landed hard shooting clouds of dust into the air. Elric moved in close to get a closer look and nearly walked into the waiting creature's still grasping hands.

Leaping back he watched with a heavy heart as the thing climbed back to it's feet and start walking toward him again. Only to promptly fall back down with a resounding thud. This time Elric noticed the problem. The leg that he had hit so many times was no longer moving. At all!

The thing was a living block of Iron. It had no joints, or places where two pieces became one... Yet it still moved. The 'knees' bent, it's arm still flexed and had a remarkable amount of mobility for something that was essentially an anvil. Creature borne from magic, and magic is what let it work!

Somthing about the damage he had inflicted must have disrupted the magic. It was no longer granting the leg the flexibility and mobility it was used to! That six foot leg, was now an unyielding slab of iron and the golem didn't know how to adapt... though it did keep trying. 'Techniquely' it wasn't destroyed... and if they got TOO close, it would still kill them, But as far as Elric was concerned the battle was over. They could get around it with limited effort, and there were other battles in the near future to deal with.

The half-dragon paused just out of reach for a moment to catch his breath. Suddenly a familiar looking axe slid past him. He glanced behind him and saw Thornton reeling from a blow that would have caved a mountain. He didn't seem injured, so he must still have Therogeon's protections working. Unfortunately the golem he was fighting didn't seem injured either.

In what seemed like a single move he kicked the axe up into the air and snatched it with his weary hands. As he approached the one sided battle he called out Thornton's name and tossed him it's weapon. With Thornton parrying and helping to divide the behemoths attention, Elric started going to work on the new enemy.

The iron automaton kept coming after him. After a particularly brutal blow that Thornton was sure would destroy him, but miraculously did not, he had been pushed to the side, and he expected the statue to pursue someone of more importance, and it almost did, until Thornton got back up again.

A plan began to formulate, and Thornton made up his mind. He was going to lead this thing around by the nose. He was quicker than the big thing, and if it only attacked him, he could lead it around in circles without testing the limits of his invulnerability. He did pretty good for a minute or two, and then the long arms caught up to him against the wall, and Ivy's axe went flying. It would be harder to deflect blows without that, and he wished that someone would come to his rescue soon, and then Elric called his name.

With a quick glance, Thornton realized the axe was coming back, and he grabbed it, ducking another blow coming his way, and started doing his backward circles again, hoping to stay just out of its reach, as Elric came in hard.

The wizard aimed his wand again, discharging another bolt into the remaining golem. As the lightening arc'd over the metallic construct Therogeon turned away and activated another function of his staff.

With his sight once again enhanced by his Analyze Deweomer, he looked again at the golem as it targeted Thornton and got pounded by Elric. One of those things might just come in handy someday and if he could see the magic that animated it, he could devise a way of creating one of his own.....only with improvements.

Electricity danced over the monster as Therogeon's spell caused it to jerk and shudder. Tiny sparks swept over the metal creature and for a moment Elric was concerned he was too close, that it would arc off and hit him too. Before his eyes he watched as the electricity was absorbed into the iron and drastically slowed it town.

Elric didn't understand why, but for some reason this monster completely ignored him. Thornton wasn't so lucky. Perhaps it's magic was to attack the second one in the room, as he had attracted the first one... perhaps it just hated other golems...

Thornton seemed to be keeping one step ahead of it, while Elric focused all his energy on crippling it. To the warrior's surprise, as it slowed, Thornton actually slowed down to make sure he kept it's attention. He wondered if that was Thornton's idea, or if Eddick had trained it to be 'bait.' Regardless it worked.

Elric lost track of how long it took, but with the creature slowed down and without being counterattacked the creature was soon crawling with it's sibling. By now the first one was trying to crawl toward him, but with his enchanted boots, It didn't pose a threat. More of a threat was the occasional cloud of gas they spewed forth... but by now they knew enough to stay out of range... and Thornton seemed immune.

With the path now cleared, Elric turned his attention back towards the next door. On his way he pulled out a healing potion and drank down the foul concoction. Elric hated the taste of things... Herbs and liquids that were never meant to go together, but you couldn't deny the results. Bruises seemed to almost disappear and the pain that he was almost getting used to, simply faded.

He had two healing type spells still ready, but he didn't want to use them yet. Therogeon's version would be better as an attack they weren't expecting... and Ashara's, Well... despite being in the front taking the damage, he just didn't feel right healing himself... Therogeon didn't take a hit as well as he did, and he knew he should save the healing power for him if possible...

He didn't know how Ashara was able to make decisions like that on a regular basis...

The grating sound of iron dragging across stone, rang through the room and out into the cavern as the golems vainly attempted to accomplish their purpose of destroying intruders to Semerot's private quarters.

Ahead of the trio, a single oaken door stood, unadorned aside from a large, brass latch. Elric could see through his magical sight that no traps had been placed on it, but when he tried the latch he found the door to be locked tight.

Therogeon stepped up to remedy the situation, easily recognizing the magic on the door as a Wizard Lock, and after speaking the word infligo, the magic was temporarily suspended allowing the half-dragon to unlatch the door.

Beyond that door was a hallway about forty feet long, with a single door on the opposite end. The door was oak, as the others had been, and was decorated with an intricately carved depiction of an older man lifting a young boy into the air as if in play. Beneath that image was carved a string of unfamiliar pictureglyphs.