Test of Faith
That night, no one slept well at all. Those who didn't toss and turn from nightmares spent the night awake and expecting Sindel to come back through the teleporter like an enraged animal ready to kill. Most affected by the evening's shocking events was Will; not only was he worried because he'd be the only healer in the party now, but he couldn't help but repeat to himself that he knew Sindel would eventually go crazy and flip like she did. There were two attempts at retrieving Sindel after her hasty exit, but both failed; Sindel was nowhere to be found.
In the morning, Will made a quick telepathic connection with Khelben and told him of the recent happenings. Khelben said nothing about the incident with Sindel, only that he had expected something of the sort to happen. Instead, he concentrated his time on mourning the unfortunate death of his scout, Amber. Amber's body was teleported from the resurrection chamber and was taken back to Khelben; Will couldn't help but wish Khelben could teleport the rest of the team back to the city too. The communication ended on the note that Will and his team should stay as far away as possible from Dran Draggore; the high-priest was much too dangerous to mess around with, Khelben warned.
Although Will was the most affected by Sindel's outburst, the whole team suffered a bit of change. Masoj and San-Raal gained importance amongst the team and became doubly protective of Meeks and Elyxya; the two warriors themselves were overcome by a sense of being toyed with in some way by either Dran or Khelben; Nightshade and Pryzma both became just a little more paranoid and jumpy; Izzy's heart was darkened at the loss of Amber, and she seemed so troubled, that even Nightshade and Pryzma didn't bother to torment her.
Now, gathered around the stone carving in the lobby, the eight remaining members of the party braced themselves for whatever lay beyond the wall before them. "Here are all four horns; South, West, North and East. Hopefully this'll work like we think." Elyxya said, pulling the silver horns from her backpack, "So we just blow in em, right?" Elyxya asked once she held all the instruments in her hands. "Yes." Meeks said decisively at Masoj's side, waiting with surprising curiosity the following events. Elyxya nodded, took a deep breath and blew softly, to avoid making too much commotion, inside each of the glittering horns; the sound each of them made went from high-pitched to low and cavernous. As the entire group watched in awe, the carving of the four clouds that had made Meeks laugh so much dissipated into nothingness. Now, instead of the wall, there was a staircase going up; a relatively short one that promised light at the top.
"I knew it!" San-Raal cheered as he strode forward and examined the edge of the wall that had once been juncture to the disappearing carving, "Fascinating." He echoed to himself. Being trapped inside Darkmoon's catacombs and being forced to do chores and such for the last few years of his life, San-Raal didn't get to come into contact with the magical things he would normally come across every so often as a mage. The group stormed past the awestruck wizard and climbed the stairs quickly, "Wait!" San-Raal called as his gang mounted the last steps; he shook his head and tore after them.
At the top of the stairs was a large, well-lit room that sported walls with odd patterns carved into them. There was a large area up ahead that went further back, and two separate rooms: to the left and to the right. "Oh...crap." Nightshade's voice came from the back, frustrated and a little frightened. What had caught Nightshade's attention caught the rest of the team's attention as well; the floor of the large area up ahead was covered with round plate-like devices that generated columns of electrical energy. The electrical charge created by each plate shot straight up and was then absorbed by another plate-like device on the ceiling that matched the one on the floor; the current stopped for about two seconds time and then started up again, leaving little time to pass. Electric plates such as these also bordered the entrance to each of the rooms to the left and right; the only difference was, that the plates bordering the entrances to the left and right room didn't have the two-second time lapse between jolts of electricity, the current was constant.
Pryzma frowned and decided that having the whole group running through these electricity columns would be stupid; too many members would get hurt while few others wouldn't, and no one really knew how strong the electrical jolts would be, "Maybe we should split up." She opted, getting everyone's attention away from the cruel plates, "It would save time, and possibly even injuries. We don't have two clerics anymore," She gave Will a confident nod, "so we'll have to keep risks low. If we split up and go in the three different directions that lay before us, I think we could make better progress." She explained. Masoj nodded and then looked around and back to Pryzma, "Sure...but, where do we meet up again? How do we know all these different rooms don't lead to others that'll cause us to separate from each other?" He asked, bringing up a good point. Pryzma closed her eyes in thought and then clasped her hands together, "Well, Masoj, why don't we all meet up here? If any of us run into lots of options -as in places we could go- we just come back here and wait for the others to come back. We just have to go as far as we can without straying too much and then we come back here. Make sense to you?" She said with a pleasant and content smile.
Before any answer could be given to Pryzma's question, a holographic image of a well-dressed bearded man appeared before the group, "Making plans already? Magnificent!" The image spoke, "Welcome, postulants, to the Test of Faith!" He exclaimed in a friendly voice. Meeks stepped forward and put her hands on her hips defiantly, "But we're not here to become cleric-" She began to protest but Elyxya nudged her and cut her off, "Tell us of the test, kind sir." She said formally; Elyxya didn't want to alert the holographic image so that it would be forced to ask why -if not for gaining the title of clerics of Darkmoon- the party was there. The man before the group was the most pleasant-looking individual that they had encountered to this day in that temple, "I can tell you nothing of the test, m'lady. Only that you must trust yourselves...and nothing else!" He declared mysteriously and began to vanish.
"Wait!" Will called, but the image was gone as quickly as it came, "Well that was pointless! He appeared, told us to trust ourselves and nothing else, and then disappeared. What kind of a preparation to a test is that?" He grumbled as he turned to face the others, he'd hoped that the holographic man would have said more. Elyxya shook her head in disbelief, "So we're in for the Test of Faith, eh? To become clerics of this place? I always thought that to become clergy you'd only have to answer simple questions like `do you believe in God?' or something...but not passing through electrical fields!" She commented, throwing her hand out towards the room ahead that shimmered with the many bolts. San-Raal held up a finger and stepped behind Elyxya, "Isn't this where Amber died?" He paused and rolled his eyes, "Well..the first time anyway?" He corrected himself. The crew smiled -all except Izzy, who's eyes began to water- and Meeks nodded empathetically, "Oh, yeah-" She said and then, "But we're gonna pass!" She cheered suddenly.
"That would be the first test you'd ever pass..." Elyxya said mischievously and gave Meeks a friendly slap on the back. "Shut up, Elyxya." Meeks snapped, sticking out her tongue at her friend, "Miss `an apple is a vegetable'." She taunted, recalling something Elyxya had said the day before in the resurrection chamber. Elyxya pursed her lips and turned up her nose, "Alright...how about those teams? Who goes with who?" She asked, changing the subject to avoid getting into a little fight with Meeks like the one they'd gotten into the first time they'd come to Darkmoon.
Izzy spoke her opinion first, "Um, don't put all the fighters together and scatter the magic-users." She said justly, hoping to god that she wouldn't be stuck with either Pryzma or Nightshade...I mean, she wanted to come back after all. Nightshade and Pryzma didn't do anything too awful to Izzy when they were together, but Izzy figured that it was because they couldn't figure out who would get to kill her; alone, the opportunities were numerous... "Great idea, Izzy!" Meeks exclaimed loudly, with a gleam in her eye; she grasped Masoj's arm and pulled him to her, "I'm with Masoj." She declared, all the while giving Izzy a look that said `as if I'd let you go with me or Masoj'. Masoj smiled and waved at Izzy insolently; at least he wouldn't be stuck with her.
"There's three directions to take and we are eight, so I'll go with Elyxya and San-Raal." Will said in a confident tone and the three gathered, leaving Izzy behind with Nightshade and Pryzma. "NOOOO!" Izzy yelled shrilly; she couldn't believe that she was stuck with not one, but both of her bullies. Hopefully it's not for long, she thought to herself as Pryzma smiled at her and beckoned her to come near with her finger. "Come here, my pretty pretty. You'll be in good hands." Nightshade said raspily and patted Izzy's head.
"Teams look fair enough." San-Raal said and then he looked back into the rooms beyond, "Now who goes where?" He asked and hoped he'd get to clear out a particularly dull area. Meeks ran to the edge of the room directly ahead and looked into the electrical jolts to see what lay at the end of the long line, "I'm going in there!" She decided and the rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief, happy that they wouldn't have to do that particular area. Masoj brought his hands up to his face and whimpered, "Why? Why couldn't you have picked something simpler?" He whined; Meeks turned and walked up to him. She reached up and touched the drow's nose, then brought her hand down and patted his behind playfully, "You're up to it, you just don't know it yet." She said simply and Masoj put on a totally desperate expression that made Meeks smile.
Will nodded in complete agreement to Meeks' choice of course and then pointed to the room on the right, "San-Raal, Elyxya, and I are going to the right." He pointed out and began to move towards that entrance. "We'll meet you guys back here, promise!" Elyxya called to her pals and followed San-Raal as he took her hand and pulled her towards the right electrical pod. Pryzma, still in the same spot, shrugged, "Alright then, me, Izzy and Nightshade are going this way." She said and pointed towards the left entrance, then added under her breath, "Like we have a choice."
Both Meeks and Masoj watched forlornly as their friends went in opposite directions; they would stay right where they were...until Meeks decided to make a kamikaze run through the electrical curtains. They watched as Elyxya, the first to go through one of the electrical fields, ran through the silver-blue light of one of the pods. The red-head yelped and then yelled back to her group that it didn't hurt that bad; and now Meeks and Masoj knew what to expect.
***
The night before, after a near-death experience with Masoj and San-Raal, Sindel tore out of the resurrection chamber like a demon out of holy water. Weak, enraged, and desperate, Sindel made her way up to the clerical living quarters and used one of the well-furnished rooms to get some rest in and began to heal her injuries. The cleric who rightfully owned the room came in while Sindel tended to herself and demanded of her what she was doing there. The cleric did not suspect that Sindel wasn't from Darkmoon. Sindel lied to the man and told him that she had gotten injured in the catacombs while doing tasks, and that she had taken his room because it was closest to the stairs. The cleric thought her story plausible and then asked her nicely to leave; Sindel then told him that she had to have a word with Dran and asked the cleric to take her to him. The confused cleric asked her why she needed his help to go to Dran and Sindel, truthfully unaware of Dran's whereabouts in the temple, told the man that she needed an escort because she could collapse at any moment.
Once Dran's `floor' was reached, which was situated at the very top of the temple, Sindel's escort hastily left her and returned to the lower chambers. Not truly wounded as to need the help of an escort, and quite capable of walking, Sindel stood in the center of an absurdly large room -unlike any other she had seen in the temple- and stared around her. The room was carpeted in red, black, yellow, and white; the walls were a gold color and sported odd patterns, including carved winding snakes that framed each wall portion. The lighting was low and comfortable for one's eyes, it was quiet and only the sweeping of robes could be heard once in while -the sweeping of clerical robes, Sindel figured.
"How...imperial." Sindel commented to herself as her eyes swept over her surroundings. She whirled around and spotted a staircase to her right, a long-seeming hallway to her left, and two turnoffs: at her back and ahead of her. Her feet made no sound as she walked up to a wall to her left and ran her fingers over its shimmering, golden surface. "And drow hands built this...?" She sneered as she remembered that the entire temple was a fine work of the Drow. She touched one of the engraved snakes and marveled in the intricacy of the sculpted grooves; so life-like they seemed...
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A calm voice sounded from behind Sindel and shocked her witless. She jumped and spun around, "Dran!" She cried suddenly and looked up at the overlord. Sindel hadn't seen Dran face-to-face since her troubles with Khelben; she'd forgotten how tall he actually was, Dran had close to a foot on Sindel. He was clothed in black and wore a scarlet clerical overcoat that resembled a cape from the back. "At last you came! It took a little more time than I'd thought it would, but that's alright." Dran said and smiled down at Sindel. A frown formed on Sindel's features and she crossed her arms over her chest, "Well you can thank Masoj Hun'ett and San-Raal Dragonsphere for my coming to you." She said scornfully and set her jaw at the thought of the two tricksters. Dran raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, "Oh really?" He said mysteriously and made eye-contact with Sindel.
Sindel shook her head confusedly, "What do you mean?" She asked quickly and dully, her eyes darkening with apprehension. Something about the glint in Dran's snake-like emerald eyes told Sindel that she was going to learn something tonight. Dran sighed and adjusted the cuffs of his red, gold-trimmed, clerical overcoat, "Sindel, I really thought you would have caught on earlier but...Anyway, the fight you just had with the two dark elves was almost entirely my fault." He stated and waited for Sindel to react. When Sindel looked away from him in response, Dran continued his revelations, "It's quite obvious that you don't like Masoj or San-Raal. So it struck me as very simple to amplify your hatred for them through magical means and force you to fight them." He said pointedly and examined Sindel as she thought.
"But why?" Sindel asked as she realized that she had really gotten into trouble now, "Why would you do that? My troubles with the wizards are as personal as your troubles with Khelben." She stated, shaking her head defiantly. Slowly, Dran's eyes shifted away from Sindel in an annoyed fashion, "And you interfered in my affairs, therefore you're in no position to tell me not to interfere in yours." He snapped, moistening his lips and giving Sindel a glare that seemed to say `just shut up and let me talk'. "Look, the reason I did all this is because that I knew you'd come running if social matters amongst you and your team got too stressful." Dran continued before Sindel could come up with a snappy comeback that would only be a waste of time to respond to.
With a tedious expression, Sindel shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot, "And why, may I ask, do you want me to come running?" She asked, beginning to wish she'd waited until the next morning to have this chat with Dran; she was tired from her earlier fight and needed a good night's rest. A rather contempt grin found its way onto Dran's face as he reached out and set his hand down on Sindel's shoulder, "Well obviously! How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want you involved in the destruction of Darkmoon? As I said before, this fight is not yours; your presence here is mearly...a mistake...on the part of the lords of the Waterdeep. Had they known you had no intention of barbarically ravaging my temple, they would have fetched another priestess to fulfil your position." He explained in a breath, visibly on the defensive now, "And...aren't you pleased to be here? Don't you feel relief that you won't have to go through what your teammates will go through?"
Sindel sniffed and frowned up at the taller cleric, "I don't know," She said in a suspicious tone and raised an eyebrow quizzically, "Am I supposed to be feeling relief?" She grilled further more, fearing that this may be another of Dran's undesciferable mind tricks. An angry emerald fire erupted in Dran's eyes, "Sindel, this isn't a mind game I SWEAR! My powers over you have ceased!" He yelled, his ill temperament clear and imposing. So maybe there was more than one cleric in the world with a devastating temper.
"Fine! YES! Yes I AM relieved to be here!" Sindel shouted back, feeling her energy slow almost to a halt after the sudden outburst. She needed rest and quickly. "Ohhh lord," Sindel moaned as dizziness hit her, "Dran, I'm not very healthy right now..." She squeaked and doubled over; the wounds that Masoj and San-Raal had inflicted on her earlier that night were finally getting to her. Dran's expression softened and even his posture changed as though their past argument had never happened, "Will you be alright?" He asked in a gentle tone, leaning closer to Sindel, "Maybe we should continue this chat when you've fully recovered from this night's happenings." He offered. Sindel took a deep breath and nodded, "Not a bad idea." She breathed weakly and stood up straight, holding her stomach and her head in her hands.
Dran took her arm and pulled her towards the staircase on the right, "Come now," He said and hurried Sindel away, "You may stay in my chambers until you are well, there's plenty of room across the hall." He said and lead the wounded priestess up the plush staircase and into the chambers beyond.
***
"Holy mother of-owww!" Masoj yelped as he crossed another electrical pod, "Son of a-ouch! Oooh hell!" He cursed as the electrical current jolted him and bruised him under the skin. When all the other groups had departed for their own scouting, Meeks had wasted no time in commencing her trek through the shimmering bolts of energy--and had wasted no time in pulling Masoj along with her. The shock received from each pod was mild, but strong enough to feel a slightly disturbing jolt. If the currents were crossed repeatedly, the shock would eventually feel stronger; a normal occurrence.
Meeks, of heavier build and of stronger resistance to physical pain, took the electrical jolts rather well. But Masoj, alien to bodily anguish and wearing no armor what so ever to lessen the intensity of the shocks, suffered more and more every time he would cross one of the cursed pods. The charge that the pods dealt was intervalled by a two-second delay; so the shocks came repeatedly if the person wishing to cross them didn't move on fast enough.
Watching Masoj suffer and not liking it one bit, Meeks frowned sympathetically and grabbed the wizard's hand, "Come on, just a few more left," She urged, taking note of the tormented expression in Masoj's widened, scarlet eyes, "I know you're suffering and I'm sorry for picking this place, but I know you can do this so just hang in there." She soothed. Masoj looked ahead to see just how many plates remained and there seemed to be about three, "If I die, Meeks, it's your fault." He said, his normally calm voice now trembling and hoarse. A quick nod was Meeks' response and it was hastily followed by a sharp tug on Masoj's arm that pulled the two through yet another death pod.
When all three remaining electrical fields were crossed, the warrior and wizard's path was blocked by a wall. In fact, the room containing all the pods that the two had just went through seemed to be just that; a room with pods in it, no treasure at the end, no nothing. Grief and embarrassment washed over Meeks' face and the lady exhaled loudly in disappointment, "Oh no." She breathed. She looked over at sweaty, frightened Masoj who bore a stern and despaired expression, "Damn. This is really the final insult, huh?" She commented. Masoj sneered and brought his hand to his head as a wave of dizziness claimed him, "Yes. Now that we've been here and we've seen that there's nothing to see, I hope you're happy. I'm not going back until I can see properly again, every nerve in my body is throbbing." He spat then leaned against the wall behind him and stared straight forward into the flashing, blinking electrical currents that had caused him so much pain.
A thought crossed the wizard's mind as he gazed into the glittering room, "Hey," He said in a quizzical tone and then got off the wall and looked up at the electrical plate above their heads, "This pod isn't sending any more currents. We've been here for at least thirty seconds and it hasn't relapsed yet." He commented and smirked contentedly, wondering why he hadn't noticed before. Meeks looked around her pointlessly and then smiled up at her partner, "You're right." She said simply then, "So?".
Masoj shook his head and threw out his hands exasperatedly, "Just saying is all." He said in a low tone. Seeing as this was `a safe place' to rest, Meeks sat down and removed her backpack. She opened it up and began rummaging inside of it as though it was a bottomless pit, "I'm sure I have--oh, got it." She said as much to herself as to Masoj who sat down at her side and leaned back against the wall. The confusing warrior removed a healing potion from her bag and held it up like a trophy, "I knew I had one!" She gasped triumphantly and then turned to Masoj suddenly, "Take it and heal yourself, I don't want to stay here forever and wait until you get better." She said brightly and pushed the little glass bottle into Masoj's hands. A mocking grin crossed Masoj's lips and he held up the bottle so that Meeks could see it clearly, "Meeks...this is healing potion." He began slowly, "Healing potions heal wounds and, I don't know if you realize but," He paused and his eyes flared abruptly, "I'M NOT WOUNDED!" He finally yelled, shaking the bottle as well as his other fist, his hair flying out of place and into his eyes.
As comical as Masoj looked when he was angry, Meeks didn't dare laugh. Instead, she took the bottle from his long hand and held it to her chest, "Sorry." She said in a tiny voice, ashamed at herself for not having made the connection and for having angered Masoj, "I just thought-" She babbled but decided not to argue when Masoj covered his face with his hands and shook his head annoyedly. The healing salves were precious, and every party member had only one; it would have been a shame to waste one of them so. Without further dialogue, Meeks placed the bottle back into her bag and hugged her knees to her chest then leaned her head down on her forearms. Masoj looked over at the afflicted lady and wished he hadn't lost his temper; she was only trying to help, but he couldn't understand how absent-minded she could be sometimes...it made him so angry. He meant to touch her then, to tell her that he was sorry...but his pride wouldn't let him do it.
***
With a swift sweep of her blade, Elyxya slew the creature that jumped before her. The six-foot, olive-green preying mantis-looking thing collapsed to the ground in a heap. Gathering about the corpse, Will, Elyxya and San-Raal began to chatter, "Wow, that thing is...well-- big and ugly. What is it?" Will asked, peering into the monster's unclosed, bulbous yellow eyes. He looked back at San-Raal, thinking the wizard might have read about it before, but the dark elf shrugged non-commitedly. "It's a mantis warrior--I don't know what it's really called--but Meeks and I have always called them mantises." Elyxya said from beside San-Raal and gave the wizard a smug smile, "They come from another plane of existence, but I don't know which. I've fought them before, they're real fast and usually have poisoned daggers on them, and the leader wields a polearm." She explained to her two friends, glad to be of service.
"Ah." Will said, nodding his understanding and wondering if the fact that Elyxya mentioned a `leader' meant that there was more mantises to come. The green beast had been waiting to pounce once Elyxya had traversed the first and only electrical pod that bordered the right turnoff. Once the mantis was cut down, the group had a good look at the room they now stood in. It was square with one gate-door directly in front of the three party members as well as a turnoff at the far right corner of the room. The mystery of the mantis now solved thanks to Elyxya, the small group headed for the gate directly ahead of them. It was quiet inside, but just in case, Elyxya's longsword drew up in anticipation, "Open it." She ordered quickly, motioning to the iron gate with her sword.
With small effort, Will pried the gate open and moved over to let Elyxya through. The red-head stepped inside and slashed her sword back and forth, fully expecting another mantis to jump out at her and stab her to death. When nothing of the sort happened, San-Raal strode past her in a huff followed by Will. The room itself was small and empty, the only thing of interest was a section of carved stone protruding from the wall to the right; the smooth stone had been carved into the three-dimensional image of a pair of lips. Knowing that if Meeks were there at the moment, the brash warrior would probably lean her backside against the carving in attempt to make people laugh, Elyxya smiled, "Okay, lips...so--what's that supposed to mean?" She asked her compatriots.
It was San-Raal's turn to smile smugly at Elyxya, "It probably talks." He said simply, raising a thin white eyebrow as he spoke. Without further adue, he reached out to the carving and ran his finger tips over the surface, and like he had predicted, the stone lips magically animated and spoke in a monotone voice: "Of the bones, I need three. Together, they are the key." The lips said and immediately reverted to their natural, lifeless state. San-Raal spun around to face his comrades and threw out his arms triumphantly, "You heard the lips, people! It wants bones, it gets bones." He declared, getting odd looks from the others. Will stepped forward and patted San-Raal's slender shoulder, "That's great, but, we don't have any bones." He said matter-of-factly, then added, "And I'm not willing to donate the ones that are already in use...if you see what I'm saying."
"There's some downstairs in the catacombs, though." San-Raal opted, holding up a finger. Elyxya grinned, bounded forward and crushed San-Raal in her arms, "You're as smart as you are handsome!" She cried happily. San-Raal's brow furrowed and he pushed Elyxya out at arms length, "Hey!" He protested defensively, then, understanding the remark in its proper sense he added, "Oh--thanks." With a shy smile. Will shook his head at the little slipup and rushed everyone back into business, "Alright guys, if we have to down to the catacombs again, we gotta do it quick. If the rest of the team meets up at the entrance and we're not there...or if we take too long to get there...they won't be happy." He said pointedly and looked over his shoulder at the dead mantis' corpse outside the gate; unexpectedly, the corpse seemed to fade and then it disappeared altogether. Will knew this as being the normal reaction of deceased beings that didn't come from his plane of existence.
Not quite ready to return to the catacombs yet, Elyxya spoke up quickly before it was too late, "Wait, there's another place to go before we get the bones. There's that corridor right outside the gate. If there's nothing of interest there than we can go get the bones downstairs." She blurted and saw the indecisiveness on her friends' faces almost immediately. San-Raal looked out the gate and then turned back to Elyxya, "What if we need what the lips will give us if we go into that other corridor you speak of?" He asked, running his fingers through his thick hair. Will stepped between his two pals and decided to solve the problem, "I got it, one of you go downstairs and get the bones and the other stays with me to scout the corridor, makes sense?" He opted, hoping he was making the right decision.
"Yes." San-Raal and Elyxya answered simultaneously. "I will go downstairs," San-Raal inevitably offered, getting an approving nod from Elyxya as well as from Will, "And I hope to meet both of you in this room after you have completed your scouting of the corridor." He finished. San-Raal didn't really want to try to find Elyxya and Will after getting the bones from the basement, and anyway, by making the leisurely trip to the catacombs, he had less chances of getting hurt. Will unsheathed his sword and nodded at San-Raal, "Good then." He said in a definitive tone and made his way out of the gate and into the larger room. Elyxya gave San-Raal a quick kiss, wished him luck and followed Will out of the gate.
After Elyxya and Will had disappeared into the corridor, San-Raal looked down at his spellbook and moistened his thin lips, "Alright book, it's just you and me now. Just like old times." He said and then stalked towards the flashing electrical pod that so vigilantly guarded the exit.
***
Nightshade, Izzy and Pryzma cleared their designed areas with speed. The passageway to the left side of the test entrance room was divided into a set of three different chambers. Instead of splitting up and each taking a chamber, the three women stayed together for fear of losing track of one-another. Within the first chamber, which was simple and small and had a window (which Pryzma tried to shove Izzy out of when the little thief was leaning on the sill), a few items were found; a halberd, an amulet, a scimitar and a ring.
It was decided by Nightshade that the halberd was to be left behind; the only party member who cared to use such a weapon was Meeks, and she already possessed one. The amulet was identified and adopted by Pryzma; it was triangular in shape and was made of Crystal. Pryzma discovered the jewel to be a power recipient and transmitter. The scimitar caught Izzy's eye and the thief had snatched it into her grasp hastily, then had whined and said it was too heavy for her to manoeuvre. Luckily, Nightshade and Pryzma brought up something that they had heard Elyxya talk about the day in the resurrection chamber before the fight between Sindel and the team's two drow wizards; Elyxya had always fancied a scimitar. She had said that the sword's curved blade and comfortable weight suited her hand and fighting style. Without thinking twice, and anxious to hand the weapon over to Elyxya, Nightshade and Pryzma seized the scimitar and kept it safely. Last but not least, the ring. The ring was identified by Pryzma as being a ring of sustenance, a ring that would keep its wearer from getting hungry during a crisis; this lead to the obvious decision of handing the item to Meeks, who was in dire need of such a thing (according to the entire group).
When the thrill of the first chamber subsided, the next was scouted. It was as simple as the other, with the same type of window on the far wall, and seemed to have been recently used. It smelt as though something -or someone- had used it to sleep in and stay in for a while. Empty now and of no reason wasting time for, the small cubicle was deserted by the three women.
On approaching the final room, that drastically cut into a darkened corner once the entrance was breached, the soft yet unmistakable sound of breathing could be heard. As usual, Izzy was shoved in first, and when the girl screamed, Nightshade and Pryzma came rushing in to see what was the matter. On the floor around the corner lay a large mantis-like being that grasped its chest, green blood oozed from beneath the thing's long hand. Having never seen such a being before, Izzy yelled again, only to be brutally slapped by Nightshade. Pryzma recognized the being as a walker of another plane of existence, the same from which Illithids originated, and made an educated guess that the thing was dangerous. Moments later, the mantis creature took its last breath and its body dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a shimmering key. The key was deposited safely in Nightshade's backpack and the three ladies returned to the meeting spot that had been designed before the party split up.
***
San-Raal's feet made no sound when he tip-toed down the Test of Faith stairs and back into the lobby of Temple Darkmoon. Fully expecting to come face-to-face with a mob of clerics, he sharply turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and whipped a wand out of the folds of his robe. "Back off!" San-Raal yelped into the open space before him and waved the slender wand menacingly, sounding much like a kitten stuck in a tree meowing for help. When no spells came at his way in response to his pathetic threat, he darted out of the lobby, turned left and tore down the stairs to the catacombs.
Once he reached the bottom, he paused and looked from left to right indecisively. Which way would there most likely be bones? Left? Or right? Feeling paranoid like he never had before, San-Raal pressed his back against the stone wall to his left and closed his eyes to try and summon some intelligent thought patterns. "To the right are rooms...food storage, g-guards, barrels, prisoners-" He whispered to himself then his scarlet eyes snapped open, "Prisoners, that's it! The dungeons!" He cheered, overly loud. When he'd noticed his mistake, he shrank back and covered his mouth then turned to his left and ran full speed through the set of corridors ahead.
The nervous and fidgety dark elven wizard sped past the guards' barracks, his fingers crossed in hopes that he wouldn't disturb any of the hideously nasty fighters that served as Darkmoon's guards. He descended another short staircase that lead to the dungeons and then looked around once again. "Illusions, illusions..." He mumbled to himself, forcing his mind to remember the secret passageways that he knew were hidden in this room. With a deep breath, he turned to the right and ran across the large room towards the right wall; once he was there, he fondled the wall hastily and found the small trigger-stone that unlatched the illusion mechanism. The wall gave way and re-materialized again when San-Raal had crossed, he headed for the left wall this time and stepped right through it.
At once he found himself inside the dungeons, where, when Darkmoon was being built by his fellow drow, he had been kept prisoner for months on end. San-Raal had been taken prisoner because he refused to work and was getting others to follow him too; the clerics hadn't thought it funny at all and had swiftly dragged him down to the dungeons, saying that he wouldn't be causing any more trouble down there. A shiver crawled down San-Raal's spine as he stalked past the particular cell he had been imprisoned in and suddenly felt a great need to get back at Darkmoon for making him a slave and robbing him of his dignity for so long. He turned into a particular cell and bent to pick up a couple femurs and a skull, "You won't be needing this-" He whispered as he snatched the bleached skull from its resting place at the corner of the darkened cell.
San-Raal found himself staring at the bones for a bit. That could have been him...it really could have. He shook his head and, silently thanking his friends up in the Test of Faith for saving him, stormed out of the prison cell and back into the hallways beyond.