A/N: And here's the next chapter! Our heroes continue deeper into the ruins of the dwarven citadel, not knowing what they might find.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.
Chapter 28: Arundil
We made our way out of the ruined shrine, and into the adjoining hall. Ahead, I could see a large chamber with a dark pool in the center. Bit of smashed furniture and other debris were scattered about the floor. This plac was likely quite beautiful in the past, but now all that was left was the ruins. Beyond that, I could see another hallway similar to the one we were currently in. Then, I heard an strange moaning, slowly resolving into a voice.
"Sounds like Dwarvish," whispered Charles, "some rather choice profanities at that".
The voice rose to an angry shouting and grew closer. Then, the translucent form of an armored dwarf appeared through the wall and moved to attack!
Narcrath was quickest to react, firing off a Chomatic Orb at the ghost. It struck true, but seemed less effective than expected. Charles moved up next, delivering a might blow to the ghost, but again, it wasn't as effective as expected. The ghost attempted to attack Charles, but its attack went wide. Lydratir moved up, drawing his rapier and driving it into the ghost's form. The blade struck true, and seemed to have full effect. I tried maneuvering around to get a clear line of attack, but the hallway was too narrow to allow me to move around. Krisyra pointed her towards the ceiling above our foe, and a column of pale, silvery light shone down, looking like a beam of moonlight. It was actually quite beautiful, but it was followed up by mystical flames searing the ghost.
Narcrath also decided to hold back for now, conserving his energy for what might be ahead. Charles struck at the ghost, but in remained standing for now. The ghost tried to strike Charles again, and again it missed. Lydratir struck at the ghost, causing it to dissipate from the Material Plane… for now.
We continued on down the hall, coming to the pool before entering the opposite hall. The first door we came upon to the right in the area looked more ornate than the others, so we decided to check it out.
The door opened to what appeared to have been the personal chambers of an important dwarf. It was decorated with tapestries and furnished comfortably, although age had clearly taken its toll of the contents. Even more interesting, it appeared this chamber hadn't, unlike the other areas we'd seen, been looted. A beautiful rug covered the center of the floor, and a simple bed and writing desk stood in the southwest corner.
I stepped into the room, but suddenly the rug shifted, wrapping itself around me. The rug began squeezing, trying to crash me to death. However, I managed to push my way out, and repositioned to fight back against this hostile décor. Lydratir drew his bow, and put an arrow into the rug. The rung attempted to engulf Narcrath but it missed. Krisyra summoned up a small flame, singeing the rug. Charles moved up, and slashed at the rug with his greatsword, leaving the rug looking a bit tattered. Narcarth stepped up, catching the rug with a Shocking Grasp, and leaving the rug looking like it was about to fall apart. I moved it, and tore into the rug with my claws, leaving it to fall as a tattered heap.
With the area clear, Krisyra moved over to me and healed my wounds. W searched the chamber, finding a small wooden chest under the bed, containing a decent pile of silver and copper coins, as well as a star sapphire and two blue topazes. On the desk, Charles found a journal and quickly browsed through it.
"It seems this was the personal chambers of a Dwarven mage named Arundil, the advisor to Durgeddin himself," said Charles, "when the Orcs attacked, Arundil fled, only to find his kin dead upon his return. From there… his writings descend into madness. It seems he used some… rather extreme measures to protect this place".
"The ghost," said Lydratir, "I think that ghost we encountered might be this 'Arundil. If his grief over the death of his kin was great enough…"
"There's a lot of sorrow in this place," said Krisyra, "Perhaps, if we encounter the spirit of Arundil again, we can attempt to convince it that this place has been cleansed. If so, maybe he can find his rest".
"What exactly do you mean by 'extreme measures'?" I asked.
"It's tricky to work out, in between the fact that Arundil wasn't particularly sane by then end and the fact I'm not a wizard. It looks like he raised some of those who'd fallen as undead, created a series of animated objects, and even attempted some sort of summoning ritual. I can't work out what he might have been trying to summon, but I doubt it was anything good".
We moved on, continuing down the hall, arriving at a common area. The hallway led to this larger open chamber. Three doors led out of the area, and a dark pool filled a low stone basin in the center. The floor was littered by the remains of the warriors who once defended this place. The bone of at least seven dwarves lay where they'd fallen, surrounded by the remains of at least a dozen orc warriors. The dead had been stripped of their gear, only a handful of broken weapons and shattered shields remained. As I looked around the room, I caught a scent from somewhere to the south, an acrid scent carried on a breeze blowing from somewhere deeper within these caverns. I remembered what Ashardalon had told me previously, that there was likely another dragon in this area. I could only hope whoever it might be, they'd allow my companions and I the leave in peace.
A/N: And there we are! Next time, our heroes continue even deeper, and discover more of what the Dwarven mage Arundil did to protect this place. to his detriment. see you then.