Nightmare beneath the Evermore Way

[Mayhem]

Wolfril grinned at his companion as he followed her into the cave.

"Isaniel, I swear you are even more impetuous than... - what the...?"

His jovial comment was interrupted by a screaming nightmare, 9 feet tall, with scythes where its hands should be. It lunged for them with murderous intent

Isaniel calmly blasted the creature out of existence with magic, but there were more of them. Wolfril quickly stepped to the fore, knowing that his companion's magic would be all the more effective if he could stop the creatures from reaching her. Easier to cast a spell when you are not dodging claws.

Shouting a battle cry, he engaged the first, and it fell to a combination of enchanted axe and powerful spell. The next proved equally as easy to slay. Bolstered by Isaniel's protective spells, Wolfril laughed with the joy of battle, feeling invincible.

Then the next horror reached out, and with a sweeping blow of its scythes, it shattered the blade of Wolfril's axe. As the young warrior fell back in surprise, it casually stepped past him, brushing him off like an annoying insect, and stalked towards the Elven spellcaster.

"Damn you!" cried Wolfril. He grasped for his warhammer, before realising that he had left it back in his tent. The only weapon he had left was a skinning knife, its tiny blade honed to a razor edge. With no choice, he drew it and threw himself back into the fight, leaping on the creature’s back and stabbing, stabbing, until it fell.

Panting and swearing, he looked up at Isaniel. As ever, she seemed completely composed and unconcerned, confidant that her spells would protect her. She turned, and walked off along the tunnel.

Getting his breath back, Wolfril followed. It did not take them long to get past the strange creatures of living water, and then they found themselves in front of a heavy iron grate.

"It's trapped." they both muttered, in unison. "It looks a little rusty..." Wolfril said, and experimentally hurled a throwing axe at the bars. As he expected, it glanced off, leaving nothing more than a scratch in the rust, showing gleaming solid steel beneath.

"I'll, ah, try breaking it down if you really wish..." continued the young warrior, forgetting for a brief moment that his battle-axe was nothing more than broken shards of metal.

Isaniel simply gave him an amused glance, and with a wave of a hand sent a battery of powerful spells crashing into the barrier. Seconds later, all that was left where glittering fragments of steel littering the floor.

They stepped though...

The tunnel became narrower and sloped upwards, exiting from a hole in a flagstone floor. They had barely had a chance to glance around, finding themselves in a tiny room with a stone door, before the hunting spider attacked. Grimly, Wolfril tried to fend it off with his knife, as Isaniel plunged arrow after arrow into its chitinous body. Aiming for the eyes, he was pleased with the amount of damage his makeshift weapon was doing, and then the stone door behind them swung open...

"Intruders!" screamed the Duergar, raising his crossbow. Distracted, Wolfril turned, and the spider sunk fangs into his neck, pumping him full of burning venom. With a scream he turned back to the creature, trusting Isaniel to deal with the Duergar, not realising that his Elven comrade was exhausted. Nonetheless, they prevailed.

As both the spider and the dark dwarf lay dying, Wolfril pushed the door shut, and met Isaniel's gaze.
"Duergar... I'm not ready to face a fortress full of them... we should go back."
"I agree."
They turned back to the way they had entered. Wolfril stared in disbelief.

"It's collapsed. It's completely blocked... we can't get out that way..."
"Then I must rest." replied Isaniel. "If we are to have any chance of escape, I need to replenish my spells.

At which point, the door swung open again...

Wolf plunged his knife into the first Duergar's throat, and snatched his enemy's axe from his hand before he had even hit the floor. The next died with Elven arrows in his chest. The battle that followed was a hellish nightmare. Undead warriors hacked at them with greatswords, whilst Wolfril’s axe skittered harmlessly off their ribs. More Duergar warriors attacked, and crossbow-men sent their deadly bolts into the melee. It was a never-ending assault of blades and bolts, spells and arrows, trying to keep each other alive at all costs, ducking beneath blades whilst clutching at healing potions and trying to read the enchantments from scrolls. The Duergar mage with her skin like rock, making a mockery of their attempts to harm her. The gigantic summoned wolves. The skeletal warriors, with their permanent mocking grins.

The tide turned. Wolfril's looted axe finally broke through the Duergar mage's stony armour, after which, weakened by one of Isaniel's last spells, she died quickly to his frenzied blows. As the grim Duergar warriors concentrated on bringing Wolfril down, Isaniel's arrows took their toll. Finally, only a single crossbow-man was left, a look of horror on his face as Wolfril, covered in his own blood and that of several foes, finally cut him down.

"We did it! Hah ha! By the gods, I've never come closer to dying, but we did it!" cried Wolfril, in exultation.

Isaniel only smiled weakly, tried to say something, then collapsed to the floor. A green mucous spilled from her mouth and eyes as the Duergar poison overcame her. Wolfril reached for his last healing scroll, but too late, and the taste of victory turned to ashes in his mouth...

"No!"

****

Wolfril sat up, his own shout still ringing in his ears. Confused, he looked around. He was safe, in his own tent. He remembered, now. They had never breached the grating, never travelled through the tunnel. No giant spider, no Duergar, no desperate battle in the dark dwarf halls. No horrible, poisonous death...

Instead, they had turned back and returned to Triboar, where a grinning Master Foehammer had repaired Wolfril's broken axe. They had parted company in Westbridge, and Wolfril had returned to his tent.

Scratching idly at the bite-scars in his neck, he turned over and tried to get back to sleep...

[rushxxi]

Very engaging! I was screaming "Nooo!" along with you.

[Rusty]

Dreams of Isaniel? You know I hear she's... oh, never mind.

[Mayhem]

Dreams of Isaniel? You know I hear she's... oh, never mind.

Aren't you all?

[Rusty]

AHAHAHA... wait, you've no idea what I was talking about. AHAHAHA.

[rushxxi]

Dreams of Isaniel? You know I hear she's... oh, never mind.

Zaa met her for one brief tryst... How inviting she was!