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| Underwater Hell |
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| The day was a bit hot and humid as the host of
Nox gathered atop the dry land that marked the entrance to Kedge Keep.
Raljah master of the dark arts, Bamor the erstwhile clansman accustomed
to sneaking about, Garrobo the pious monk, Yukloong the outdoorsman, Dorkus
the enchanting, and Aamadar of Mithaniel.
The gathered companions stared about furtively as the assembled host grew in size. Galane appeared as did Angelboy, Andred, Maluss, and a host of others. Ringman with his ever-present sense of humor dallied about as he preached the virtues of a follower of Tunare. Now mind you I am not adverse to these diversions by fellow companions of the cloth but in my biased opinion Mithaniel Marr of the sacred Marr Twins is the bringer of light and peace in troubled times. Raljah looked to me from within his dark hood and with a nod of assent we set about calling upon our deity's to bless us all. As this transpired my young apprentice called upon his mastery of the dark arts and transformed into a undead spectre of his former self. His icy touch went to each and everyone of us and bestowed some of his strength upon us all. We would need this touch to survive the rigors that awaited us as we were to journey to the underwater realm of Kedge Keep. Many shiver at the thought of entering that watery hell and rightly so. It is located deep underwater in a long forgotten land. The legends surrounding this keep are as fleeting as the actual visitors to the keep. There are tales of sharks able to consume a man whole and mermaids to sing a song to you. To lull you into a sense of well being before claiming your soul. Or of the seahorses the willing servants of these same mermaids of lore. Yes this place would pose a problem for us but as we swam along I gave silent thanks in prayer to Mithaniel for having such brave companions as I had. Galane the master of the outdoors was, with the rest of us, about to be thrust into a utterly alien world. A world readily dangerous and utterly unforgiving of mistakes. Galane was on a quest for a epic weapon. Rumor had it that part of that quest would take him through the watery environ's of Kedge. He put out the call to his fellow Nox and they along with friends answered his summons. With a band of 18 souls we set out and entered into Kedge. The waters immediately became cool and penetrating as it seemed the water itself was alive with the arcane energies harbored within the dark and dank keep. Swimming and twisting through passages that had not been looked upon in many ages one got an appreciation of the splendor this keep once must have had. Schools of fish swam lazily by us oblivious to us and rather friendly and not fearing of our presence. Further reason to be on our guard. It was not long before we entered into a grand sunken ballroom. The tapestries and paintings on the walls long since rotted and algae ridden greeted us. There was still a visceral beauty in the surroundings as the grandeur of the hall both surprised us and held us in awe. I turned to note to Raljah my apprentice with Mithaniel to note the beauty of the place. Bamor shouted out a warning that was almost lost to us in the eerie underwater domain. A seahorse made straight for us. We were momentarily perplexed by its beauty but when it knocked Yukloong halfway across the room it announced its intentions. Raljah immediately called upon his dark arts to summon forth a creature that still makes my skin crawl. It settled upon the seahorse devouring the life energies of the poor creature. Bamor and Yukloong had sprang to its aid and jumped in close to assist the "pet" as it started the long painful process of dying. The rest of the assembled host joined in, Galane calling upon his powers that were in no way diminished by being here, he called forth a swarm of water insects to beset the creature. Maluss, Andred, and Garrobo jumped into the fray landing blow after blow upon the hapless creature. The mages started summoning forth creatures of their own. Reigning blow upon blow on the creature the relentless force of the Nox finally beat the creature down. I was giving a silent prayer of thanks to Mithaniel when two of the beasts masters suddenly appeared. The mermaids had long flowing hair that floated in the style of the elves behind them. Dorkus and Ramencha immediately started a barely audible chant that mesmerized one of the creatures. Raljah's pet still hungry from the tasty morsel it had consumed immediately jumped on the unsuspecting Mermaid. With that ascension came the full fury of the Nox as the majicks flowed throughout and the water was tinged with a fluorescent glow from the power being wielded. The Mermaid turned its attention away from Raljah's pet and attacked Bamor. Apparently she did not like Bamor's Rapier leaving her wounded and bleeding from many punctures. With a indifferent sweep of her hand the clansman was tossed across the room. I thank Mithaniel that it was underwater or he would have lain broken and untended against the column in the hall. I called upon the sacred Marr to give me the energy to heal and revitalize the brave clansman. The healing majicks channeled through Aamadar and allowed Bamor to re enter the fray. Maluss with his mighty two handed sword was garnering attention as well but I would have to leave that to Ringman as I started another healing prayer for Yukloong. The mighty Yukloong bloodied and armor rent was still defiant as Mithaniel answered my prayer with healing majicks. There was little I could do for the armor but his wounds had healed sufficiently to carry on. The odds started to go bad as Aldaan gathered the attention of yet another Mermaid. I was in a constant state of prayer as I constantly let Mithaniels power channel through me into Aldaan. I was able to save the stalwart mage as he worked his own majicks upon the foe. It was touch and go there for the longest time. Raljah lost in the ecstasy of his dark arts, Galane calling upon the forces of nature, the clerics calling upon their various deity's and the brave souls who waded into the fray laying waste with sword and rapier. In the end three of the Mermaid's had fallen and the Nox could breath a sigh of relief. We looked about us all and gave off a nervous laugh and clapped one another on the backs thankful we had survived. We learned allot about each other that day in the underwater hell. Things that will bring us closer together and nightmares for a few others. We fought many battles that day and some of the wounds were severe but Galane found what he was looking for and we can be proud of that.
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