A/N: And here's the next chapter, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas,
Chapter 34: The Mad Temple
We arrived at the next floor, and the unnatural chill that filled this place hadn't lifted. The corridor turned to the east, and came to a t-intersection. As we approached, something about the wall tugged at the edge of my senses: there was something here, and I didn't like it.
"There's something here," I said, "do you feel too?"
Kirsyra stepped forwards, and looked at the wall carefully.
"You're right," said Krisyra, "there's the remnants of some sort of shrine here. I think it's best if we didn't mess with it".
We moved on, and decided to check the north room first. As we entered, we were assaulted by a horrible droning sound, followed by the arrival of two large creatures resembling an oversized fly. The sound made me feel tired, but I shook it off, as did my companions
Lydratir raised his bow, and put and arrow into the Chasme, and the swiftly unleashed a 2nd arrow, still on target. Krisyra pointed her staff at the Chasme that Lydratir had attacked, and a column of pale light descended to surround it, but the demon seemed to resist its effects. Garurt moved in, swinging his axe at the injured Chasme, striking two good blows against our foe. The Chasme attempted the strike back at Garurt, but he deflected its proboscis. The other Chasme attempted to attck Laydratir, but it missed as well. Narcrath fired off a small translucent orb of magic, which flew past both Chasmes before shattering with an audible thunderclap. The Chasme near Garurt seemed to resist the effects, but the one near Lydratir didn't. Charles stepped around to help Lydratir fight off the Chasme near him, and struck two solid blows with his greatsword. I moved up to the enemy near Garurt, and tore into the insect-like demon with my claws, but it evaded my follow-up bite. The Chasmes' droning continued, but we once again shook off the effects.
Lydratir swapped to his rapier, and drove it into the Chasme. He went for a second swing but the demon evaded once again. Krisyra's Moonbeam continued to shine down, the Chasme resisting its effects again, but Krisyra surprised with a blast of flame. It resisted this as well, but it looked to be in bad shape. Garurt swung his greataxe around, only for the Chasme to dodge his strike. He snarled in rage, and brought his axe around again, taking the Chasme down with a mighty blow, leaving it to begin dissolving into acrid smoke. The remaining Chasme dived at Lydratir again, this time hitting and leaving him in very bad shape. Narcrath fired off a chromatic orb, which struck the Chasme with a thunderclap. Charles took two might swings with his greatsword, leaving the Chasme in poor condition. I moved up to the badly damaged Chasme. It dodged the swipe of my claws, only to get crushed by the swing of my tail.
With the area clear, we turn to attend to our wounded ally. Lydratir was looking pale, and I realized that that demon had siphoned off lifesblood. After a careful examination, Krisyra gave her diagnosis.
"He'll live, but he needs rest to recover from the damage he took," said Krisyra, "I cannot heal this damage fully".
"Let's rest up here," I said, "We'll have to sleep in shifts to make sure we're safe".
I took the first shift, carefully examining the room we were in. The main point of interest was a fountain on the western wall, engraved with glowing symbols. It didn't appear to be anything dangerous, but it was still a bit unusual. On the southern wall, someone had scrawled 'iron, emerald, black, sapphire, sapphire, jade'. I had absolutely no idea what this might mean, or what it might be a clue to. Eventually, my shift ended, and I lay down to rest. As I rested, I slipped into a dream.
I was in the same room I was when awake, with Ashardalon examining our surroundings. He looked at me and smiled.
"Ah, you always take me to the nicest places," said Ashardalon, "this is a dark place, my young friend".
"Do you think we'll find what we're looking for here?" I asked.
"In all honesty, I know not," said Ashardalon, "I've never seen anything like the condition that black dragon was suffering from. You understand the risk to your own health and sanity in this task?"
"I do, it's for the best of the world as a whole to deny Jiublex such a powerful servant," I said.
"Then it seems we are in agreement," said Ashardalon, "even if you don't end up finding this sure you seek, it's worth trying. Did you notice these ruins seem quite ancient, far predating the current occupation".
"I don't claim to be an expert on architecture," I said, "but, it does seem like that".
Ashardalon moved over to examine the stonework of the walls, and then nodded.
"Ah, this appears to be dwarven craftsmanship," said Ashardalon, "I'd bet that this was once a dwarven stronghold long ago, before being conquered, likely several times over".
"There's something else," I said, "there's something about this place, something that puts me on edge".
"Good. Do not ignore what you instincts tell you," said Ashardalon, "You are growing stronger Valignatirisk. Keep following the path your heart leads you down, and you will become truly great".
I awoke, and saw my companions preparing to set off again. Krisyra was checking over Lydratir once more, and seemed satisfied with his recovery. Luckily, nothing disturbed us during the night.
A/N: Their road takes them deeper into the temple. Who knows what horrors my await them in these twisted corridors?