III. a. The Deeper You Go

General Summary

Morrsday, 5803 Suncrest 34

You are miles and miles below ground, searching for the treasures you are sure await you - after all, why would someone build this labyrinth if not to protect something, you've reasoned. So with the day ahead, you treaded cautiously forward down the untaken path. And it was that caution that gave you evidence of a trap ahead that threatened to swallow you whole.

With some bold acrobatics, Dreamhawk was the first to make it past the trap. Ash copied his bold moves and Tort soon followed - he requested that Max chuck him across, which happened much like one chucks the carcass of a holiday goose. However, Tort's size played to his advantage as he smoothly stuck his landing. Boran followed Dreamawk's lead, next, and narrowly made his landing. Max, left alone on the other size of the trap, was contemplating how to get his bulking weight across the trap when Dreamhawk was struck with an idea. He quickly fished out his crowbar and jammed it in between the stone plates of the trap. Max tenderly tested the sturdiness of this machination, found it was holding, and quickly made his way across to join the rest of you.

Around the corner you find another long stretch of maze, offering you many, many pathways. However, it is the door at the far end of the hall that captured your attention. The agonizing walk to your new destination took far longer than you expected, as the hall seems to stretch on and on, at some points even feeling like you were getting no closer at all.

But, alas, you did finally reach your new destination. You found another set of stone doors, much like the ones at the end of the Hall of Light. Here, there is an inscription around the door in the ancient Elven tongue that Dreamhawk was eventually able to translate for you. It told of a mage that went mad with power - though there didn't seem to be an end to the tale. Inside, you found four cauldrons, long emptied but stained a recognizable red-brown. On the floor was the recognizable symbol of The Celestial Concord; gods that had aligned for the protection and balance of Vetharyan. Around it was an inscription that spoke of an ancient war. The Before-Time War was fought between primordials and Deities; the primordials were unhappy with the Deities attempts at making their creations permanent, instead of allowing them to flow away with the Astral see, as they deem is the nature of all things to do. It was a hard fought victory for the gods, and they lost as many as they had slain.

With the inscription read, the room began to glow as the symbols brighten, giving way to another symbol. Max, accepting the invitation from the gods, steps into the circle, receiving a million million years of memories and history and knowledge in mere moments. His comrades watched in horror, unknowing what to do to help him. At last, his standing seizure stopped, and his eyes returned to their normal color. Though he seemed unchanged, you all eyed him wearily, no one sure of what had just happened.

Beyond the first room, you found another containing a large alter surrounded by four small alters, all stained in that familiar red-brown. There were two more doors - one containing a small room of running, fresh water fountains and the other seeming to have perhaps been what they considered the rubbish heap. Ash immediately wanted to leave this place, while Dreamhawk insisted on an experiment. He sliced his hand and squeezed blood onto each of the alters, ending with the largest.

At first, there seemed to be no reaction, then the growling, scratching and clawing started. Before you knew it, there were ghouls rushing you, summoned by your inadequate attempt at The Ritual. The fight against the undead was not an easy one, though you did eventually find yourselves victorious.

Battered and bloodied, you face the rest of the long hall and it's many choices. With so many twists and turns that lie beyond, where will you go next?