The Rod of Osiris
Before they ran towards the altar, Shadimir and Deidra sat silently, saying a soft prayer to their deities to keep them safe.
Shadimir brought his daughter's smiling face to his mind, giving himself something to fight for and to come home to. He wondered if Deidra had thought of something to keep her fighting, but seeing her eyes gaze up at him after she was finished praying, he already knew.
Setting the torch on a holder on the temple wall, the hunter and the halfling made a dead run for the altar, ignoring any purple scaly obstacles that might get into their way. Yet Shadimir knew the three remaining minions would be ready to attack. Sadly, the silver haired hunter was right.
Less than three steps away from the altar, the three minions jumped out at the hunter, but their eyes missed the halfling, running underneath the hunter's legs. Each of their blades slashed at the hunter's leather shirt, but neither one could get a solid hit on him.
Shadimir quickly brought his weapons up, his mace crashing hard against one of the minion's jaws, while his bastard sword slashed a cut on another minion's chest.
Keeping his weapons in front, Shadimir looked out of the corner of his eye, seeing Deidra grabbing the scepter of Osiris, then leaping from the altar. The silver haired hunter prayed to Kelevmor that the minions didn't see the dark haired halfling.
Shadimir's prayers were smashed as one of the minions saw the halfling dart away from the altar, with the scepter in her arms The hunter tried to stop the minion from chasing her, but the remaining two blocked him.
"Out of my way!" shouted an angry Shadimir to the minions, who stayed silent. Seeing the minion's standing, ready to strike, the hunter knew he had no other choice but to fight cut down these two, one by one. Shadimir lunged forward and swiped his blade across the one minion in front of him. The minion tried to block the hunter's blow with his own sword, but Shadimir's sword was extended too far, as the minion's purple arm came flying off when the hunter's sword edge connected with the minion's sword tip. Shadimir pulled his bastard sword from the one armed minion's side and took a step back.
Just then, Shadimir remembered the other minion who had blocked his path. He looked to his left, no longer seeing the purple skinned minion before him, but now a large brown scorpion. Not caring if the scorpion would hesitate to attack him, Shadimir used his sword that had just taken an arm off the other minion, and thrusted his blade into the scorpion's left eye, then drove his mace hard into the large insect's back.
Before he could finish off the wounded scorpion, Shadimir felt a strong arm wrap around his throat, choking him. The hunter tried to struggle free, but minion with one arm was too powerful.
Shadimir watched the scorpion rise its stinger up, pointing it directly at the hunter's chest. The silver haired hunter could almost smell the bland odor of the Fugue Plane waiting for him. The scorpion drew its stinger back, and with lightning speed whipped it forward at the hunter.
Using whatever momentum and strength he could gather, Shadimir whirled himself around, exposing the one armed minion's back to the scorpion's tail. The stinger penetrated deeply into the one armed minion's back, causing its arm to go numb and let go of the silver haired hunter.
Quickly backing away, Shadimir saw the scorpion flinging the minion's body around as if it were a doll. The hunter decided not to stick around and run after Deidra.
Shadimir ran through the dark temple halls, praying to Kelevmor, Mystra, and Yondalla that Deidra had somehow either escaped with her life or ended the minion's that was pursuing her.
The hunter quickly turned a corner, hoping to find Deidra and the Scepter of Osiris, but stopped as a sharp stinging pain surged in the middle of his back, following the feeling of his insides turning upside down.
I knew I should have worn the jaded locket instead of the pearl locket, he said to himself as he felt his limbs go numb from the scorpion's poison.
Deidra had no idea where she was as she looked at the open field filled with columns and seats and cloudy grey skies.
The halfling had remembered running from the minion of Set who was pursuing her. She had gotten a good glimpse of him, seeing the misshapen shoulder and the large cut across his face, she figured he was the minion Shadimir first encountered.
When she turned her eyes from the minion's face, she saw herself running into a wall. Just as her hands were ready to catch herself on the wall, Deidra found herself falling through the stonewall and ending up outside in this vast arena like structure, surrounded by stands and empty seats.
Before she could come up with any sort of idea where this place was, the purple skinned white face minion that had been chasing her, came through the same wall she did, and charged at her.
Deidra didn't have much experience fighting, but she had enough knowledge and had watched many fights in the marketplace, to know when to side step a charge. When the minion passed her, the halfling brought her short sword forward, jumping at the minion hard, but falling a few feet short of him.
The minion of Set grinned wickedly at the fallen halfling, and slowly brought his curved blade above his head, ready to cleave it through the halfling's back.
Knowing her death was coming shortly, Deidra silently prayed to the gods above. Maybe if I pray hard enough, Shadimir will come and rescue me like he did earlier. .
The minion's blade came down hard, but stopped in midair. Wondering why Kelevmor or Yondalla hadn't come to claim her soul, Deidra looked up, seeing what appeared to be a large scorpion tail launched deeply in the minion's stomach.
Deidra eyes leaked soft salty tears as she looked behind her, seeing a blurry familiar form staggering towards her. "Shadimir!" she cheered, dropping her sword and running up towards the hunter's arms.
Shadimir slowly walked to the halfling, feeling the poison slowly eating away at him. He quickly looked at the scorpion's tail he had launched in the minion's stomach, and remembered how hard it was to actually rip the tail from the scorpion.
Deidra wrapped her arms around Shadimir, but quickly noticed he was staring at the minion. The halfling turned her head, seeing the wounded minion of Set, rip the scorpion's tail from his bleeding stomach and marched over to her and Shadimir.
The undead hunter tried to grab his weapons from his belt, but his hands became numb from the poison.
Deidra felt her friend's body slowly sink to the ground. The halfling went to grab her short sword, but remembered she had left it behind.
"Try..the…scepter…" Shadimir managed to whisper to Deidra, hoping his words could reach the halfling before the wounded, but very angry minion did.
Luckily for the hunter, Deidra heard Shadimir's soft breaths, and quickly pulled out the long black and white stripped scepter. "How do I use it?" she asked worriedly, holding it a few feet from the minion.
A long electrical line shot out from the rod, and shot right at the minion, driving it back. At the end of the electrical line, grew a large spiked ball. Deidra snapped the scepter's line at the minion of Set again, this time the spiky ball connected hard with the bleeding minion, instantly turning him to dust.
Deidra dropped to her knees, crawling back to Shadimir. The halfling brushed his face, feeling the coldness throughout his cheeks. She gently set her ear on the hunter's chest, feeling his heartbeat softly, then slowly begin beating rapidly.
"YOUR QUEST ENDS HERE FOOLS OF OSIRIS, PREPARE TO DIE!" shouted a loud booming voice from all around Deidra and Shadimir. Looking into the sky, Deidra saw a large jackal faced man materialize through the clouds.
Just then, materializing in front of her and Shadimir was a giant man with white bandages covering his whole body.
"Osiris and Set," whispered Deidra, amazing at both sights of the gods. She quickly tried to waken Shadimir, who she knew would want to see this.
The large avatar of Osiris turned from the jackal head in the sky and looked down at Deidra and Shadimir. "Both of you have my thanks," he said in a deep tone, but quiet voice, gently taking the scepter from the dark haired halfling.
Deidra began to feel the ground around her move and her body weightless. She looked to see Shadimir open his eyes and look at the sky at the two gods, but then a bright light that blinded him…