Uruuna moves to support her husband and defend her friends. Unfortunately, her attack comes up short.
Badly wounded, Delia falls back to allow the rest of you to move in.
Dramm's spell falters against the bloody bones, but Tabog manages to land a good shot. The faerie shrieks and recoils as the arrow lodges in its body, the touch of iron impairing it!
Uruuna and Imedren move in, the latter landing a powerful blow on the bloody bones. Joy feeds a healing berry to Anophth, and then the goblin calls on dark forces to empower himself as he rises to his feet!
Babbling fragmentary words in High Archaic, the monster lashes out at Anophth and Imedren. The magician dodges its strike, but it latches on to the goblin and leaves terrible gouges in his flesh!
Dramm slashes an effigy to pieces, grunting as bruising appears on his arms. Cracks appear in the bones of the abomination!
Seeing how dangerous the monster was but also seeing how resilient Anophth had become, Imedren quickly calls upon the chaotic magic he's used before.
His vision swam, the world turning red and hazy. He could feel the magic build up, it wasn't nearly ready to use fully, but it was enough.
He reappeared, only a good leap back from where he'd been. But then he switched to the lavender magic which allowed him to see a haze of possibilities.
"Uruuna, I'll guide you!"
Uruuna nods in determination. She grips her sword and waits for Imedren to tell her when to strike. At the opportune moment, she stabs upward, with a cry of, "Hiii-yah!"
Dramm's spell wracks the bloody bones with pain, and in the instant that it staggers, Uruuna drives her sword upward from its chin into its brain! The faerie thrashes as it falls to the floor, dead long before its body finally realizes that fact and stops convulsing.
Delia presses her hand to her side where the bloody bones has left deep claw marks. "Nice work. Bastard got me pretty good. We're all pretty beat up, aren't we? Maybe we ought to rest before we go any deeper into this accursed place."
"There's more?!" Dramm's voice betrays a bit more frustration than he may have intended. "I despise shrines. I did not know that."
He begins to pace around the bones and meat pile to search for anything of value. If nothing of interest turns up, he explores the rest of the cavern.
There doesn't seem to be anything valuable among the gore-splattered room. This cavern is just a small, circular chamber. There doesn't seem to be anywhere else you can go aside from the door in the previous room.
Imedren breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the Bloody bones died.
"Well that was too close for comfort." Imedren said, then he looked at the giant cube of bloody meat.
He stretched his back which was still extremely sore and now that the adrenaline of fighting for his life was wearing off, he felt pain and fatigue setting in. "I agree with Delia, we should probably rest before proceeding onwards. But first... what are you?"
He cast a simple spell of feeling for magic.
"Well that is magic. But there doesn't seem to be anything else here in this room. Perhaps this was sustaining them for however long? But unless someone wants to take some of this with us, I'm in favor of resting somewhere else. Preferably with the light of day and not the smell of old rot and decay."
You swim back out to the entry well and climb up the stairs out of the shrine, then you return to Delia's campsite to rest and recover.
It rains again overnight, but fortunately soggy bedrolls are the most you have to worry about. You awake in the morning still sore but feeling a bit better, and with your spellcasting abilities replenished.
Moments after the attack ends, Anophth passes out. He seems perfectly fine, but then the power surging through him fades and he stumbles. Then he falls flat, unconscious.
Joy gives Anophth the last of the healing berries, receiving him to consciousness.
Later, at camp.....
You want to know why that meat was down there? I know why.
You see, Bloody Bones are not necromantic in nature. They come from the Fae. It's a punishment for transgressions.
It's a vile curse to condemn a man or a Fae to an eternity of suffering, their oozing bodies stripped of skin and forced to endure the agony of exposed nerves. Someone mightily pissed off someone else powerful enough to cast that curse, and that same person wanted to ensure they suffered for eternity. They created an everlasting cube of meat to ensure those folk inside would never starve. And therefore, their punishment would last indefinitely. That's also why the writing on the wall was there telling people not to disturb the place. It's not a shrine or a tomb or anything like that. It was a prison.
It does make me wonder if we'll find more elvish writing anywhere else, explaining what these men did to deserve such a fate.
"Anophth!" Imedren says rushing to the Goblin's side. "Oh no, Joy do you have any of those berries still?" he let out a sigh when the young girl popped one into Anophths mouth.
"That settles it. Let's get him outside now."
"What kind of treasure is buried in a prison, Delia?" Dramm's interest appears genuine.
Delia shrugs. "Lara said it was an elvish shrine. Maybe they imprisoned those creatures there just to serve as guardians. The real shrine might lie beyond that door we saw."
After the fight subsides.
"Delia, are you alright? I know that look... We've all had that look. This world, there's so much wrong with it. I'm not gonna say it gets easier but having people to talk to who've had similar experiences helps your mind keep things straight.
Anyway, let me know if you need anything."
"What kind of meat do you think it is....? tough to say for sure, magic meat I guess.. Ha"
Delia smiles wanly. "Thanks. I'll be okay, I think. Just seeing that thing wearing Lara's skin... It could have just has easily been my skin. Maybe once we're done here, I'll find a safer line of work. The life of a tavern wench may not be glamorous, but the most dangerous thing they have to worry about are wandering hands."
***
The meat smells an awful lot like raw beef...
Joy gladly hands over the berry.
It's what they are there for - to be eaten!
"I'm glad that we got out, and that no one else can be harmed by those bloody bones. They were suffering so..."
She tries not to think about it too hard.
"Suffering doesn't change intent. Evil actions make evil creatures if they lack a conscience to change course." Dramm says with a glower. "These weren't people anymore. Just tools to be broken."
After resting, Dramm casts arcane armor again before going any deeper. He also offers light healing the next morning to any who still need it.
Imedren gave an acknowledging grunt to Dramm.
"Dramm's right. I wish there was some way around it but there's not."
When you are ready, you return down the stairs and through the underwater passage before emerging once more into the shrine's antechamber. Pulling on the bronze ring of the door here causes it to open, allowing access to the next room.
A short passage ends at a circular chamber with a domed ceiling showing wild animals tearing humans apart. A bubble of red glass rises from the center of the floor and emits a soft red light. Doors to the east, west, and south each feature carvings of stern elf warriors holding swords, the points between their feet.
"What is this?" Imedren said with wonder as he walked forward toward the red glass.
"Anophth, can you make any sense of this place?"
Imedren doesn't sense any magic in the room. All of the doors are blank stone, offering no clues as to what might lie beyond.
Can't say I do. I was raised on folk tales and such, but I have never properly studied any elven history.
Anophth moves to the door to the left and says, Might as well start here. He opens the door.
Before Anophth reaches the door, the image of an elf woman dressed in a flowing gown manifests in the light above the bubble. She appears anguished, clawing at her face to tear away her skin and rip out her eyes! She holds them forth towards you in outstretched hands, blood streaming from her empty eye sockets. Then the image wavers and fades away.
What... What was that? I don't think we should go in there, Anophth says.
"Or it's just something to frighten intruders." Catching Anophth's discomfort he adds, "Won't hurt to start on the other side instead."
While Anophth is shaken, Uruuna opens the right (western) door. The door opens onto a shelf that stretches into a large cavern. The cavern floor is 10 yards beneath the shelf. Two huge statues of grim-faced elf warriors flank the door.
The cave floor is strewn with rubble, bones, excrement, and broken weapons. Numerous tunnels branch off in all directions.
Joy is startled briefly, but that is all.
She can't hurt me! *It* can't hurt me, it's only a remnant.
"Don't be frightened, she's not really here!", Joy says, not knowing if it will make a difference to anyone.
In the rubble-strewn room, she looks about, seeking traces of the old power that must have been here.
Joy doesn't sense any magic in the area.
I'm not sure we should go in there yet, Anophth says. Lots of tunnels branching off. We should check out these other rooms before exploring all those tunnels.
Anophth checks the third door.
The south door opens onto a long passageway whose south end is blocked by a statue of a striking elf woman—the same that appeared in the disturbing vision. One of the statue’s eyes has been replaced by a golden coin.
Imedren's breath caught for a moment. Perhaps it was Joy's words or the darkness already coursing through him that merely caused him to curse the elven apparition on the inside.
"Great, as if this place wasn't bad enough already. Let's check the last door just to know what we are looking at." he said, before walking over to the Eastern door and trying to open it.
The eastern door opens onto a long columned hallway that ends at an open doorway. A ramp beyond winds downward. Two armored figures stand motionless against the walls by the doorway, but it is too dark to make out much detail without getting closer, even with shadowsight.
Joy starts feeling very nervous at the glimpses of armoured figures.
"Are...are those people?", she stammers.
Imedren looks down the hallway at the armored figures expecting something more to happen, but when nothing does he shakes his head.
"Down here? I don't think so, Joy. Those are probably just more armored statues. That does look like an easy way to get down to the next room from here. But lets try staying on this floor for a time. The south door hallway seemed here. Be careful of any more ghostly images popping up though. I don't like this."
Imedren then turned and started to head to the southward door again.
Imedren and Uruuna lead the way down the south hall, approaching the statue of the elven woman. When they get within 5 yards of it, the statue suddenly lurches to life, stomping forward to attack! A powerful compulsion assaults your minds, threatening to turn you against one another!
Stepping down the hallway cautiously, Imedren felt better knowing that Uruuna and the others were with him.
Eyeing the statue of the Elven woman closely, Imedren was surprised but able to react as the statue came to life.
When the sudden demand to attack his party came,
Imedren faltered. His mind reeled and he turned to look at Uruuna.
How dare you desecrate this place with your filthy little...
Imedren's mind was furious, the drive to hurt his wife so overpowering.
No. No I can't. I won't hurt her!
You! You can't make me!
Delia's mind succumbs to the powerful compulsion. She swings her axe at Dramm, his armor just barely managing to deflect the blow.
Uruuna is caught off-guard when the statue begins to move, but she resists the insidious compulsion.
Dramm curses in a rage as the axe glances off of his magical protections, but his eyes do not follow Delia. Instead they snap to the construct, his face twisted in anger.
"Leave my mind alone!" With a furious shout he rips into the construct.
Anophth moves in to see what all the screening and yelling is about, and then he sees the monstrosities.
The construct commands Anophth to protect it. The repeated assaults on his mind over the past few months have weakened his mind and made him more pliable to following commands.
Anophth moves up the back ranks and attacks whoever is closest.
Yes, good... Kill them all! the voices in his mind scream.
He jabs again with his cane!
Both Joy and Tabog are not caught by surprise by the statue's animation. They both resist the compulsion, though they do hesitate before attacking.
Dramm's and Imedren's spells both tear into the statue, ripping chunks of stone off of its body. Despite the significant damage, the thing continues to lumber forward, swinging its powerful fists! Uruuna blocks one blow, but the other crushes Imedren, badly wounding him!
The force of the statue's blow shoves Uruuna back a few paces. Seeing her husband's dire state, she leaps into the fray, hacking at the statue's legs!
Joy desperately tries to help, sending bullets sailing towards the tyrannous statue!
"Imedren, pull away. We can hold here." Dramm releases a casting of ruin on the construct, attempting to tear it down.
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What the s#~@...!
"Half-ling wo-man,
So brave and bold,
Is going to make this statue fold!..."
Tabog, if needed, moves to remain out of melee range of the statue.
"All that is left,
Is piles of ash,
Uruuna kick this statue's ass!..."
Without missing a note, Tabog notches an arrow and lets it go!
Whiff!