"We will keep our word, general," Green Arrow assured the ghost. Amalla then ran to the sarcophagus and spoke the word Irk had revealed. With a grinding noise, the sarcophagus slid sideways to reveal a steep stairway leading downward.
While Green Arrow put Lou’s body into the portable hole, Firiona shapechanged to astral deva form. Green Arrow cast light on Amalla’s sword to provide light for those who, unlike Firiona and Amalla, lacked darkvision. The adventurers then headed down the stairway.
About twenty-five feet down the stairway, the party came to a landing. Lightning bolts suddenly sizzled, but the party managed to avoid being hit by the trap. Beyond the landing, the stairway continued downward for about forty-five feet, ending at a locked door. Arnold quickly picked the lock, and the party passed through.
They found themselves in a 10' x 10' room, with another door opposite the door they had entered. Suddenly, the party heard a voice speaking to them: a magic mouth had appeared!
"Bloated goat prince, hail to thee! Servants of undeath, walk free. But woe to those who come unbidden, seeking what herein lies hidden," the mouth warned. "Sounds serious," remarked Miae.
Again, Arnold managed to open the door at the other side of the room. It opened into a wide, unlit hallway that extended to their right about fifty feet, bending right after that. No doors were visible. The party advanced into the hallway.
They followed the hallway as it turned right, then quickly turned left into another section of about thirty-five feet. The hallway suddenly ended in a door, locked as had been the others. Arnold quickly opened the lock, and found that the hallway continued for another fifty-five feet, before making a left turn. As they pressed onward, Green Arrow suddenly became aware of a secret door to his left, but could find no way to open it. "Must only open from the other side," he thought.
Just as the party reached the end of that section of the hallway and were about to turn left, they found their way blocked by a party of guards advancing toward them–ten skeleton guards!
Firiona quickly attacked the nearest of the skeletons, destroying it easily. Miae tried to turn the undead, but, to her surprise, none of the turned! "Bolstered!" she cried. "Not good." But Arnold wasn’t deterred, and destroyed another of the skeletons. The skeletons now turned their attentions to Amalla, slightly wounding her but missing Firiona and Arnold. Amalla in return shot at another of the skeletons, destroying it. A fireball from Green Arrow eliminated the remaining skeletons.
The fight was over, but the party had made a lot of noise. Little chance remained of moving silently past any further guardposts.
Knowing of the secret door Green Arrow had found, Amalla jaunted into the hidden room. Once inside, she quickly located the secret door. Firiona also went into the room, and the two began to examine it. It appeared to be a large laboratory, equipped for both magical and alchemical research. In the southeast corner of the room, the adventurers found what appeared to be a magical circle of some kind. A trove of magical items lay strew about the room. The two women grabbed them: ten potions, ten scrolls and ten wands. A handsome booty!
Firiona began to identify the magic items. Meanwhile, back in the hallway, Miae cast find the path, seeking a way to reach Edward. The knowledge came upon her in an instant. "I know where he is!" cried the half-elf. "He’s far down below us, but there’s a direct route to him."
Just then, Arnold heard a door slam. Footsteps echoed in the distance. Amalla saw three fleeing figures. "They’re going to raise the alarm!" she exclaimed. Quickly, Green Arrow drew his bow and fired a volley of arrows. Two of the figures fell immediately. One was only wounded and tried to escape. Amalla shot him, but still he continued to flee. Green Arrow’s seeker arrow finally brought the fugitive down.
Meanwhile, far below the adventurers . . .
Preparations were being made for another night of vile rites. Edward had felt pekid again, but managed to fight off the weakness threatening him. Hours later, he had been dragged back to the torturer’s chamber where Soiartze had previously worked him over, and was roughed up again, leaving him barely conscious.
He opened his eyes at last, and saw that he was no longer alone. A pale figure, robed in black, sat on a chair near the wall to which he was chained. A quasit perched on the figure’s shoulder. Edward recognized who it was.
The vampire, Arvid.
"Welcome back," the vampire said maliciously. "I trust you are well." Edward refused to answer.
"Of course you are well. So, let us discuss your recent activities, and your wonderful weapons." He waved his hand. Suddenly, Edward felt his mind become cloudy, as if simple concepts were no longer comprehensible to him. But cloudy-minded or not, the paladin’s will was sufficiently intact. He resisted answering.
"If you won’t talk to me, maybe someone else will prove more persuasive," Arvid said. The vampire rose from his chair, quasit still on his shoulder, and left the chamber.
Shortly, that someone else returned. A disturbing, but compelling, song filled the chamber. Soiartze’s power of suggestion was at work, and Edward was powerless to resist this time. He felt an irresistible urge to embrace Soiartze, though his arms were chained to the chamber wall. Soiartze quickly fulfilled his desire, and her kiss was blissful. It also left Edward feeling weaker and more drained of energy than ever.
"I think we’ll really have fun tonight, sugar," she cooed to Edward.
Meanwhile . . . .
Miae examined the three bodies and sighed. "Did you have to do that?" she demanded of Green Arrow. "Seriously! Look at them! Two old ladies and some guy in a robe. They were just, just, flunkies!"
"Better safe than sorry," retorted Green Arrow. "Besides, they were about to raise the alarm, unless I miss my guess."
"For all we know, the alarm’s already been raised. We haven’t exactly been quiet down here, have we?" said Miae. "Well, I’m going to get some information out of this one at least." She began to cast speak with dead on the robed man. Firiona took advantage of the time to identify the various potions and scrolls the party had seized. Green Arrow and Amalla stood watch.
After ten minutes, the spell was completed. Miae had twenty-four questions. She doubted she’d need all of them.
"Who are you?" Miae began.
"Esarhaddon," answered the corpse.
"What did you do here when you were alive?"
"I was Khadija’s sage."
"Where can we find the paladin?" continued Miae.
"Paladins live near churches," said dead Esarhaddon. Miae chuckled. Such a literal-minded corpse.
She continued questioning Esarhaddon. He disclosed that the party were on the level occupied by Khadija and her servants. Khadija’s quarters were ahead down the corridor and to the left, through large double doors. Inside were a living room, bedrooms, a laboratory and library (which accorded with Amalla’s report), her valet’s room, and . . . a secret cabinet! There was also a magical circle in the laboratory, which proved to be a teleportation circle, activated by stepping on it, that led to a secret location far to the northeast, in the Howling Hills.
Miae continued the interrogation. "Where is the prisoner’s equipment?"
"Prisoners have no equipment."
"Who is Khadija’s valet?"
"Parmys."
"Who is the boss of this place?"
"Khadija." As the party expected.
"What is Khadija’s weakness?"
"She no longer has a familiar." Unexpected, but possibly useful.
"What guards this stronghold?"
"Worshippers and allies." Allies?
"Where are the worshippers located?"
"In the shrine below."
Miae asked the rest of the party if they had any other questions. No one did. They then decided to hide the bodies somewhere. Amalla jaunted into the laboratory and opened the secret door. The rest of the group hauled the three bodies into the lab and threw them into the teleportation circle. They immediately vanished.
There were double doors in the west wall of the room. Arnold opened them and found a hallway extending north-south, with two doors at either end of the hallway to the west and another door at the north end of the hallway that appeared to be an exit. Arnold entered the door at the south of the hallway, and found himself in a laboratory storeroom, with typical laboratory supplies. Miae and Amalla entered the door at the other end of the west wall. They found an extra-large and very luxurious library, evidently Khadija’s primary information source. There were great numbers of books on necromancy, religion, arcana and the planes, as well as other general works. Firiona’s detect magic located a book that appeared to be magical. As she removed the book from its shelf, suddenly a huge mouth appeared on the front cover and attempted to engulf her! She managed to exert her will sufficiently to keep the mystical maw from taking her, and promptly put the carnivorous tome into the portable hole.
There was a door in the north wall of the library. The adventurers opened it, and looked out into a huge, lavishly furnished room about sixty by seventy feet. A huge black carpet woven with white skulls covered the central area of the room. Couches, chairs, footrests, cabinets and tables were located throughout the room. The walls were hung with tapestries, and paintings, sculptures and other artworks, most of an evil nature, completed the decor. "Must be Khadija’s quarters," observed Amalla.
The south and east walls of the chamber were broken by numerous doors, including large double doors to the east. A heavy, free-standing armoire stood next to the north wall. Something gleamed from within it. "Wonder what’s in there?" Arnold cried. The rogue made a beeline for the armoire. He saw that within the armoire were gold dinner plates and other service for two. An electrum ceremonial dagger with a star ruby in its pommel lay between the plates. On a shelf above the dinner service was a more ominous object: a small gold image of Orcus.
The other adventurers called to Arnold to accompany them, so he left the golden objects alone and followed along. The door in the west wall opened into an ultra-luxurious bedroom. "She certainly has taste in furniture," observed Firiona. The room held a huge four-poster bed, with accompanying night stands. Tables and chairs as well the party saw. The walls were hung with black velvet. As in the main living room, various artworks of evil nature stood in niches or on pedestals. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling.
Curiously, the party detected no magic in the room. To the north was a set of sliding doors. Firiona opened them, and stared into Khadija’s closet, filled with luxurious women’s clothing and shoes. She went in and found that, amazingly enough, she and Khadija were the same size! Six outfits and as many pairs of shoes quickly went into the portable hole.
Other doors led to a bathroom and utility closet, searches of which revealed no secret passages or magic. The party left Khadija’s bedroom, and found one door remaining unexplored, in the southwest corner. Arnold checked the door for traps. Finding none, he easily unlocked the door, and the party entered. The room appeared to be another servant’s room, with an ordinary bed and private bathroom.
No secret doors appeared to Green Arrow. Arnold, however, looked under the bed. There was something moving! Quickly, Firiona assumed planetar form and lifted the bed. The party found a cowering human female, who looked up fearfully at the creature holding her bed above her. No magic appeared to be on the woman.
"Are you a slave?" inquired Firiona. "I’m no slave!" the woman retorted proudly. "Why are you hiding under the bed," Firiona continued. "Well, what would you do?! Unknown intruders breaking into mistress’ private quarters, and me unarmed and defenseless!" cried the woman.
"Are these your quarters?" Firiona asked. "Well, this room is mine at least," replied the woman.
Amalla’s detect evil found none. Miae then asked, "Would you happen to be Khadija’s valet?"
"How’d you know?" the woman answered, surprised. "We know quite a few things," said Amalla.
Amalla’s sense of diplomacy told her that the woman, strangely enough, was friendly. "What’s your name?" she asked. "Parmys," the woman answered.
"OK, Parmys," continued Amalla, "do you know if a paladin of Hieroneous has been brought to this place? And if so, what became of his gear?"
"I don’t know for sure," said Parmys. "Many are brought here. Few ever leave." She shuddered. "But Khadija has a treasure room! Maybe what you seek is down there!"
"Where is the treasure room?" demanded Green Arrow, butting into Amalla’s questioning. "If I tell you, will you let me go?" asked the frightened valet.
The party agreed to let her go if she gave them the necessary information. "There’s a switch behind the armoire," Parmys informed them. "It makes the armoire slide sideways. There’s a circular stairway that goes down into Khadija’s treasury!"
Arnold ran over to the armoire, found the switch, and pressed it. Just as Parmys had said, the cabinet slid sideways, revealing a circular stairway extending downward about twenty feet into an unlit chamber.
"Let’s go!" he cried, and practically ran down the stairway. Green Arrow and Miae followed him. Meanwhile, Amalla asked Parmys where her mistress might be. "Probably at another ritual tonight," the woman replied. "They’ve been going on for days."
Khadija’s treasury was a room about twenty-five feet square. There was a rack of shelves and two chests against the far wall of the room. While Green Arrow and Miae kept watch, Arnold began to examine the first chest. No traps were found, so he unlocked the box. Inside he found a suit of leather armor of disturbing design, together with a mace, rod, staff and two rings. "Booty!" exclaimed Arnold.
Next he inspected the shelves, finding a scarab, a carved skull, and a crystal ball. "Even more booty!" exclaimed the rogue.
Finally, he reached the second chest. Again, he detected nothing suspicious. He began to pick the lock. It opened with a click.
A horrifying shriek burst from the chest. Green Arrow and Miae closed their eyes and covered their ears, trying to block out the wailing. They felt their very lives being threatened, but resisted the attack.
The wailing stopped suddenly. The two adventurers opened their eyes and looked for their rogue companion. "Arnold?" Miae called. "You OK?"
Slumped over the chest, Arnold was not OK. Arnold was dead!
"He set off a trap," observed a shaken Green Arrow. "It must have been too much for him. Wail of the banshee, I’d guess." Gently, the elven archer moved Arnold away from the second chest and opened it.
Inside the chest was Edward’s equipment!
"A high price to pay for finding these," sighed Green Arrow. Quickly, he placed Edward’s gear in the portable hole. Arnold’s body went in next. Then the two survivors ascended the spiral staircase and returned to Khadija’s living room.
Amalla told the party, "I’ve let Parmys go, as we agreed. I took her outside and told her to keep going." Green Arrow nodded. "Arnold’s dead," he informed Amalla. She sighed.
Miae briefly considered using a raise dead scroll to bring Arnold back, but Firiona advised her that that it wouldn’t work, as Arnold had been felled by a death effect.
"It’s time to get out of here," declared Green Arrow. "Spell up, then follow Miae. She knows the way!"
As soon as the party left through the double doors at the east wall of Khadija’s living room, they entered a U-shaped hallway. Instantly they felt afraid, as if some deathly evil were about. They were able to overcome the fear that emanated from the hall, and came to a long, winding stairway leading downward. Amalla advised the other three adventurers to link arms, then used her jaunt ability to bring them all down to a landing at the base of the stairway.
As soon as they reached the landing, a heavy iron door dropped down, sealing off the far end of the landing!
"What the . . . ! ," exclaimed Amalla. The party looked for some kind of switch or lever to raise the door, but without success. She jaunted past the door, but could find no release mechanism. Returning to the landing, she then used her teleport power to bring Green Arrow across, while Miae continued searching.
When Amalla re-appeared on the landing, Miae and Firiona, having failed to find the release mechanism, linked up with Amalla and teleported across to join up with Green Arrow.
They found themselves in a rough-hewn corridor that extended about thirty feet northeast, then bent northward for another twenty feet.
Terrible images of monsters assailed each of the party, but they recognized and resisted the phantasmal killer trap that guarded the corridor. But that was only the first surprise. The next was a party of minotaur zombie guards!
The first guard missed Amalla, while the second blocked the far end of the corridor. Green Arrow quickly cast light in the darkened corridor. The first guard bullrushed Amalla, pushing her back ten feet up the corridor. The second zombie struck Miae, causing serious wounds to the half-elf, who withdrew to escape further damage. Firiona landed two heavy blows against the first zombie. Likewise, Amalla struck the second guard.
Then Green Arrow loosed a barrage of arrows, felling the first zombie guard, then the second. The battle was over almost as soon as it had begun. "Wimps," said Miae.
Not surprisingly, the zombie guards yielded no treasure on being searched. The party proceeded onward. They reached a fork in the corridor, the left branch leading somewhat upward and relatively straight north, while the right branch curved east until it reached another stairway heading downward.
Coming toward the party from the left branch was a dark figure. As it advanced toward the light cast by Green Arrow, he and the others recognized who was approaching.
The vampire, Arvid.
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