A key challenge

by Gael

Alistan stepped in front of Luke just as one of the devils’ spiked tails lashed toward him, barely deflecting the blow before its claws raked across his chest. In retaliation, Luke unleashed a torrent of scarlet flames. But the devils walked through the fire as if it were nothing more than a spring drizzle.

Enraged, Liliana and Rhyme, her winterwolf, charged to Alistan’s side. Her blade gleaming with holy light, carving openings that allowed Dadroz to strike with deadly precision. Still, the devils proved relentless.

Trying to shift the tide, Hayley attempted to curse one of them into the form of a harmless turtle. But as if protected by some dark design, the flames from the pit surged up around it. Shielding it from her spell.

The battle was hard fought. But eventually we drove them back. Cutting them down with blade and spell. Silence returned. Only broken by the crackling flames in the pit.

Staring into the flames, Luke spotted a small key lying in the fire. Using a simple spell, he retrieved it. Obtaining the red key.

Wounded but emboldened by our success, we pressed on. For if one key had been hidden here, surely the others were close by.

Soon after, we came upon another door. This one black, trapped, and engraved with a single word: Death.

Once Dadroz disabled the enchantment, we entered a room much like the one before. A ruined burial chamber, its walls adorned with human skulls. Whatever furniture inside lay shattered. Save for a single candle and a door bearing another riddle:

“I have no arms or legs or torso,
no head, or neck or feet below,
Yet I stand tall in youth
Getting shorter when I’m long in tooth.”

Opening the door revealed a large fountain in the centre of the chamber. Filled with dark, oily water. Following the pattern from the last trial, Alistan placed the candle in the fountain.

Waves of necrotic energy surged outward. Only his shield sparing him from being blasted across the room. Then, two massive skeletal figures emerged from the waters. Each bearing a smaller skeleton trapped within its ribcage.

Wasting no time, Hayley cast a weakening spell upon them. It proved vital. For one of the creatures let out a deafening wail that drained the life from our bodies.

Liliana and Alistan recovered quickly. Focusing their attacks until its screams were finally silenced and its body crumbled.

But the second creature released a wail of its own. And this time, it was answered in kind.

Wraiths emerged from the walls, surrounding me. And it is here that I made a critical mistake.

Seeing them clustered together like that, I tried to back away in order to cast a powerful spell of my own. But in doing so, I let my guard drop. And they quickly pounced and overwhelmed me. Darkness closing in around me.

It felt eerily similar to my death at the hands of the redcaps. A single lapse in judgment. A single careless moment and everything unravelled. Leaving naught but regret.

Then, a sweet fruity flavour touched my tongue. And a spark of life returned. Alistan, while fending off two wraiths nearby, had dropped a goodberry into my mouth. Saving my life yet again.

I forced myself upright, scanning the battlefield. The second skeletal creature was down and most of the wraiths had already been defeated. Victory was near, but it had come at a cost. Each of us was battered and bloodied. And worst of all, Luke lay unconscious. Not breathing.

As the others finished off the last of the wraiths, I crawled to Luke and placed a goodberry between his lips. Relief flooded me as colour finally returned to his face and his eyes slowly opened.

The undead were defeated and we had claimed the second key. And though Hayley’s magic restored much of our strength, the wounds Luke and I carried would take longer to heal. So Alistan suggested returning to the keep to regroup for now.

Yet Luke and I steadfastly refused

We were too close. Only one more key remained between us and the hopeful salvation of Galiene. If the answer truly lay within the tomb, we couldn’t allow a single moment’s delay. Especially not due to my mistake.

Our determination eventually won over the others. Continueing onward, we reached the final door. This one green in colour.

The room differed from the last two. Inside were four small shrines, each holding a statuette with a name inscribed at its base. At the far end stood another sealed door with a new riddle:

“I start the day
and end the end
and do the same for your dear friend”

The chamber beyond was larger than the previous ones, containing four empty shrines each marked with a symbol for sun, star, moon, and sky respectfully.

After a moment of thought, we concluded the answer was the letter D. So we selected the only statue whose name included that letter, Eldrin Sunchaser, and placed it on the sun altar.

Vines lashed out, attempting to ensnare both Alistan and Liliana. They fought themselves free as four centaurs appeared out of thin air. Rach standing in one of the corners of the room. Raising their staffs in defiance.

Before we could react, a single ray of searing flame struck Hayley, blinding her. She stumbled back, casting a healing spell to recover.

Alistan and Liliana charged, cornering one of the centaurs who fired wildly in an attempt to fend them off.

The remaining three lined up perfectly, just in time for Luke to unleash one of his fiercest fireballs. As flames scorched the chamber, Dadroz put an arrow between one centaur’s eyes, then spun and shot another in the neck, opening him up for Alistan’s final strike.

On of the last centaur, eyes blazing with rage, hurled a fire ray at Luke. Striking him in the chest, as he collapsed.

Which was the first thing Hayley saw upon regaining her vision. Her brother falling with smoke rising from his open chest. Her fury exploded, shaking the tomb itself. Stones rained down on the centaur as she rushed to Luke’s side.

Luke stirred. Weak, but alive.

With a trembling hand, he summoned a final spell. Conjuring a pillar of flame that twisted into a humanoid form. The fiery figure struck the last standing centaur with brutal force until he finally fell.

We had passed the third trial and claimed the final key.

Now only one challenge remained: the King’s chamber.

Continue reading...

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30th of Daga, 121 year of the tree

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30th of Daga, 121 year of the tree

Departure
1st of Lug, 121, Era of the Tree

Dreams and Peril
2-5 Lug, Year 121, Era of the Tree

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5th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree

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6th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree

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7th & 8th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree

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8-11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

For now I am the hunted
11th of Lug, Year 121, Era of the Tree

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12th of Lug, Year 121 Era of the Tree

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13th - 14th of Lug, 121 Era of the Tree

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15th of Lug, 121 Era of the Tree

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1st - 2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

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2nd of Nuan, Year 126, Era of the Tree

Heart of fire
3rd - 4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

A festive day
10th Nuan, Y126 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

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14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

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The battle for Ravensfield part 1
16th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

The Journal Entry’s title

The battle for Ravensfield part 2
16th - 17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Return to Keralon
18th - 21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

The Embassy ball
22nd - 23th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Searching for Norgar
23th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

The fall of Robert Talespinner
23rd of Nuan, Y126 E.O.T.

Intermission: Letter home

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28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

A new beginning
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Breaking and making deals
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Nightly intrusions
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

The Journal Entry’s title

Dinner for Seven
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Graduation Day
25th of Aran, Y126 EOT

A love for the ages
24th of Aran, Y126 EOT

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26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

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26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Fire in the night
2nd of Brigan, Y126 E.O.T.

Lord Quinn I presume
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

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5th - 6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Wurms and Dragons
6th - 8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Gold in the dark
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Heart of Acid
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Meeting Grandmother
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

A shadowy evening
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

The Journal Entry’s title

Latebra Velora
16th of Brigan, Y126 E.O.T.

A dragon's fate
16th - 17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

A royal summons
17th - 20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

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21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

A Rabbit and a Mole
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Hall
Hopefully 22th - 25th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

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I think 25th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

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No clue

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7th of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Whitewail
still no idea

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29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

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30th of Gobu 126 Era of the Tree

The Tournament
1st of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

The Wolf and the Knight
1st of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

The Fey Dance
1st of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Home at last
2nd of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree

Getting back on track
4th - 10th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

Entering the King' Tomb
11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

A key challenge
11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

A key challenge

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