n earch f he ey - Part 2

"Hello Hespin, hello friends. Have you found anything interesting?" Raritol looked almost directly into Trimus' eyes as he said that and it was all that Trimus could do not to blush. "Anyway I came to find you in order to remind you that the banquet is this evening and you need to dress your best, I have managed to get you seats at my table near my cousin the Duke."

With a ducal servant in attendance they revisited the towns shops that afternoon. They all found clothes that would reflect their status at that nights feast. Trimus bought an extravagant doublet with long sleeves in the most up to date style that even Raritol blinked at when he saw it.

That evening they were escorted to the dukes table by members of his household guard. The duke himself, sitting a handful of seats away looked to be the same age as Raritol but was wan and pallid compared to his cousins rich almost florid colouring. The ducal sceptre was on a carved wooden stand in front of the duke and this sight caused Trimus to gasp.
"Ako." He whispered once the general hubbub of conversation had built up enough to cover his comments. "That sceptre. It's the control rod for the Phoenix." "Are you sure Trimus?" replied the cleric.
"Yes, look at the bird on the top, its the same as the one in the drawings we found in the cave."
"Shh." Hissed Ako. "The young man beside the duke, Turok I think his name is, is looking at us."
Ako was right, Turok, only son of the duke, had noticed their intense interest in the sceptre and was casting a surly eye at them.

The meal seemed to consist of scores of courses. Most very rich and containing many exotic and unusual ingredients. Well before the end the duke, who seemed to be having difficulty breathing, left the banquet accompanied by his son Turok. Trimus and the others stayed to the end, making small talk with Raritol and the other wealthy guests.

The next day they returned to the Hall of the Artefacts and once more checked the appearance of the Nidus against Rintrah's description. They then left the castle to find Lagro Deepstone, regarded as the finest silversmith in the region by those they had talked to at the banquet. He seemed a little suspicious at first but when Grabthroat explained that the armband was to be taken back to Rockhome he became more enthusiastic and offered a few other choice items as well. He also recommended an elf Coval Greenbow for the crystal work needed to build a replica of the Phoenix key.

They returned to the keep and asked Raritol if they could gain an audience with the duke.
"It's unlikely that he will see you. As you know he is not well and he sees no one. His son Turok holds most of the court appointments now." Explained the duke's cousin. "But I will try."
He came back a few moments later with a smile on his face. "Yes he will see you. I mentioned that you had saved me from having my pocked picked and that you have an interest in the family artefacts. That clinched it."

They were ushered into the duke's private apartments. The duke sat in a big chair on a dais looking down on them as they approached.
"What is it I can do for you?" murmured the duke through dry cracked lips.
"we wish to explore the chambers below the old tower." Explained Trimus. "We have travelled far following rumours of Duke Zagra's power and we wish to see the ruins for ourselves. I am a mage of some note in Karameikos." Boasted Trimus.
"Raritol, cousin, have you explained the dangers to these young fools?" the duke said wearily. "You have. Very well. I don't often give my blessing to such foolery but I am feeling generous today. Please bring anything you find to me so that I may decide whether Hespin should add it to our collection. Raritol, lead them to the tower ruins and tell the guards I have sanctioned their entrance into the crypts."

As they were led out Ako turned to Trimus and whispered. "Someone is drugging the duke. You could see it in his eyes."
"Who do you think it is?" replied Trimus looking around to see if Raritol could overhear them. "Raritol? Turok?"
"I don't know but Turok would be my bet, a shifty character if you ask me."
"Well you can't be seen doing anything about it Ako, you know how they feel about clerics around here. Shh. We're here."
Two guards stood beside a solid looking oaken door set into the side of a small rectangular building that appeared to have been built from shattered and burnt rubble. Probably the remains of the original keep. Having shown his pass to the guards Raritol unlocked the door and swung it open.
"I will lock it again once you have entered. Beware many doors will be warded and protected to prevent unwelcome intrusions. Knock three times and utter my name then know twice more and the guards will unlock the door again. I hope to see you later." For once the normally flamboyant man is calm and serious.

They passed beyond the door into a large empty chamber. The wall sconces which once would have held large torches to illuminate the space were empty. The light from their continual light gems lit the room fitfully as if some greater power was fighting them for control of the darkness. Grabthroat walked to the opposite corner of the room and tried the door. He yelped as he was thrown back by a strong electrical discharge. The dwarf's beard and hair standing out in a most comical way has he scrambled to his feet. Trimus used his rod to knock open any locks on the door and the dwarf, a little more cautious this time, tried again to open the door. Again he was jolted back. Grabthroat glared at the mage who shrugged and took a ring from his pouch and put it on. Concentrating hard Trimus pitted his will against the weight of the door. Focusing his mind through the ring of telekinesis on his finger he made the door handle turn and the door slowly swing open. Grabthroat rushed in and jammed his axe under the door to stop it from closing again. Beyond the door a stairway descended deeper into darkness and another door. Grabthroat, cautious this time, placed his ear against the wooden door and listened.
"Nothing." He stated still trying to drag his beard and hair into some sort of order as he did so. Darkhawk pushed the door open and they all entered a square room some ten paces to a side. Unlike the previous room this one was lit by some strange phosphorescent glow from the ceiling. Three other doors led from the room, one in the centre of each wall, the doors identical to the simple wooden one they had just come through. Darkhawk and Grabthroat led the party towards the door on the opposite side of the room. Suddenly the floor opened up beneath them. Darkhawk leapt for the opposite side of the gap and managed to hold on to the edge at the expense of losing his sword which clanked to the floor of the pit. The others fell in a heap amongst a pile of bones which cushioned their fall.
"Can you climb up and through down a rope?" called Trimus as Darkhawk struggled to get his leg up and over the lip of the pit.
"I … think … so." Gasped the fighter whose powerful arms eventually managed to lever his heavy, muscular frame out of the pit. "I'll throw a rope down. "Look out! Behind you!"
A clacking, clicking, scratching sound alerted first Darkhawk, then the others to the horrible sight behind them. The bones that had cushioned their fall were now forming into a hideous creature. Instinctively Ako drew his holy symbol and presented it strongly in front of him but the creature took no notice. Trimus knelt and started to scrabble around amongst the debris for Darkhawk's weapon. He had no success until he cast a detect magic which caused the sword to glow brightly. Grabbing Darkhawk's prized weapon Trimus returned to aid the others.

Cain was attacking the bone monster with his staff while Ako and Grabthroat used hammer and axe respectively. Trimus threw Darkhawk's blade up through the now closing pit doors. Turning back to his foe the mage unleashed a volley of three magic missiles then ducked as splinters of bone flew through the air.
"Darkhawk! Drop us a rope!" shouted Ako as the doors seemed to gain speed. The burly fighter tied a rope around his rope and dropped the loose end down to his companions through the now narrowing gap. Trimus was the first to climb up as Ako and Grabthroat held the beast off as best they could. Cain leapt up without the aid of the rope while the remaining two brave warriors unleashed a rain of attacks that forced the beast backwards. On a signal from Ako Grabthroat ran for the rope and squeezed through the gap.
"Come on Ako! It's now or never." Yelled Darkhawk frantically. The cleric leapt for the rope and with the aid of the others pulling made it through to the room. Trimus pointed a finger through the narrow gap and unleashed a fireball. The noise and heat was awesome and the doors closed. But not before a charred and bony hand made a grab for the hem of the mage's robe. Trimus pulled away and the hand was crushed in the closing maw of the doors with a satisfying crunch.

They rested for a few moments to get their breath back before continuing their mission. Ako looked back into the room as he and the others left with a look of disgust on his face. Continuing down a plain corridor they came to a side passage, the main corridor ended a few yards further on in a serious rock fall. They followed the side passage to a door set back in the east wall. After checking for traps and sounds from beyond the wooden portal they entered. The room, much the same size as the previous one, contained nothing but a few scraps of metal and stone. A quick search amongst the debris revealed nothing of the rooms purpose or history but they did find a few small nuggets of gold and copper.

Continuing south along the corridor they came to a cross-roads. The south passage was blocked and Grabthroat shook his head.
"That looks very unstable. Could come down at any minute. What I could do with a few of my brothers and some good solid timbers…" he muttered to himself.
They turned east and came after a dozen paces to another four way junction.
"Do you think that bone creature was the reason the Duke has had this boarded up?" asked Darkhawk.
"I don't think so." Replied Trimus. "It would be easy to jam the mechanism on the trap or build a walkway over it. No there must be something more horrible and dangerous down here."
Darkhawk shivered and the turned south down a short passage that ended in a stout wooden door with no less than three heavy iron bars holding it shut.
"They didn't want anyone to get out of there." Commented Grabthroat dryly.
They removed the bars and entered what appeared to be a torture chamber with one, long dead orc occupant stretched on a rack. A table close by held a remarkable array of rusty implements to rend, stretch, crush, twist and slice. Ako shuddered at the sight of them and retreated slightly paler to the corridor soon followed by the others who did not have the heart nor stomach to search the room.

They turned back to the crossing and tried the door a few paces to the east. Beyond it were four pairs of cells behind solid wooden doors, each with a perforated grill near the top. Using a set of rusty keys hung on the back of the first door they searched each cell, finding nothing but the remains of two orcs and one human prisoner. Whether they had been killed by the battle that destroyed the tower or forgotten and left to starve Ako and the others could not tell.

Leaving the scenes of pain and despair behind them they walked silently back west along the long corridor, only their footsteps and the creak of armour breaking the silence that weighed heavy on their shoulders. At the far western end the corridor they came to a tee junction. Choosing the shorter southern arm Grabthroat listened at the door, a better quality one than any of the others they had seen so far. Opening the unlocked door after the dwarf reported no noises beyond they walked into a spacious bedroom. A table with a pair of chairs, a bed covered in once lush velvet covers now as fragile as cobwebs were the only furnishings. A decanter stained with the dregs of the last occupants fine wines and a pair of crystal goblets were collected and placed carefully in Trimus' pack wrapped in one of the more resilient sheets.

They shut the door on leaving and took the north fork which turned west before ending in a stout door of oak studded with large bronze bosses.
"Interesting." Mused Grabthroat after pausing to listen, "Feel the door."
"Trimus put his had on the door and withdrew it sharply. "It's cold!"
"Yes. You're the mage, what could that mean?"
"Magic of some sort, open the door and let us see." The mage added with a glint in his eye.
"The door opened easily revealing a hemispherical room, some fifty foot in diameter and twenty five feet high at its apex. The floor was made of a marble, dark as night and as cold as snow. A circle of white marble barely a finger's width thick but thirty feet in diameter divided the room into outer and inner zones. At each of the cardinal points on this circle there were delicate silver bowls each half full of ash. To the left of the door was a small silver box which Trimus knelt and opened. To his disappointment their was no magic scrolls or other impedimenta of the old duke, just a handful tapers and a small wooden box of incense. Packing the bowls and the silver box with its contents away they left the icy cold chamber to return to the surface.

They had barely left the dome before a monster similar in form to that that had attacked them in the pit confronted them. Ako blessed the party and Darkhawk changed form, instantly blasting the creature causing large amounts of bone to fly in all directions. Ako gulped down a potion of speed and joined Darkhawk and Grabthroat in attacking the creature. After a frenzy of blows the corridor was littered with shattered fragments of bone. No sooner had they caught their breath than another emerged from the shadows some dozen paces away. Trimus cast a fireball that had everyone seeing stars for a few moments but the creature came on, scorched and charred but still mobile.
"Look at it!" yelled Trimus, "It's gathering the bones of the other creature!" He was right, as the hideous construct slid over the ground it accumulated the bones of it's fallen comrade into itself, growing taller, wider, stronger as it did so.

Cain, Ako, Darkhawk and Grabthroat stood their ground and attacked for all they were worth. For the most part they avoided the bony claws that sought to shred their flesh though none escaped injury all together. A final flurry of blows from Ako scattered the final remnants of the creature and they stood for a few moments chests rising and falling in rhythm as they recovered from their ordeal.

To their surprise, the trap in the room where they first encountered the bone monster was shut tight, the fragments of bone from the shattered hand still stuck in the edges of the doors.
"There must be another room we haven't found." Deduced Trimus.
"Or they were wandering around and hiding from us?" Suggested Darkhawk.
"They didn't seem intelligent enough for that." replied Ako. "They could have been gated in from somewhere by a trap we triggered." The cleric suggested.
"We should have a check to see if we missed anything." Suggested Grabthroat.
Following the dwarves suggestion and using his experience of underground passages and methods of construction they searched the passages and chambers for any secret, hidden ways but found nothing so tired and bruised they returned to the entrance and gave the secret knock to summon the guards.

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