Hallway of Death

“What do we do?” Dare shouted over the explosive sound of stone slamming down on stone. He was holding his thigh. Blood trickled through his fingers and down his leg. Ahead of him was the hallway lined with whirring blades. Behind him, the stone wall edged ever closer. “Any ideas?”

“I have one,” said Mystic.

What she didn’t say was that she was only partly sure it was going to work. It all had to do with the bright, blue crystal at the end of the hallway. If it was what she thought it was, then there certainly was a chance.

She closed her eyes and visualized a giant wolf spider. She felt her body shrink and contort until the transformation was complete. In spider form, she easily scurried up the wall and onto the ceiling — out of reach of the blades that filled the hall. She’d made it about halfway when she heard an explosion from behind.

Lilvari and Nazzeth were both casting spells at the blades. Lilvari hit them with blasts of Eldritch energy while Nazzeth was unleashing fireball after fireball. The last one had caused some of the small hairs covering her spider body to singe.

She hurried onward until she reached the pillars that were constantly slamming down to the ground in front of her. There was no room to squeeze by on either side so she’d have to get to the floor and run through the normal way… and not get smashed in the process. Mystic looked down. At best, there was maybe five feet of space between where the blades ended and the pillars began. Climbing down would be the safer bet, but one glance behind told her that every second counted. The back wall had been moving all this while. It wouldn’t be long before her friends were forced into the blades. She got herself into position, said a prayer, and let go.

As Mystic fell, she readied herself for the pain — being sliced to pieces from the back or smashed into a paste from the front, but her prayer (it seemed) had been answered. She hit the ground lightly in her spider form and was still alive a moment later.

SLAM!!!!!

The pillar smashed down not more than six inches ahead. The sound punched through her. The ground shook, and she instinctively stepped back. But then she felt the wind of the blades and froze. One more step, and she would have been cut in half.

“You’re okay,” she told herself. “You’re okay. Keep going.”

The blue glow of the crystal was ahead, and it spurred her onward. When the pillars all lifted by a certain amount, Mystic had, at most, a few seconds to see it clearly. The crystal was about the size of her palm. It was fused to the back wall a foot or so off the ground maybe fifty feet away. It was blight rot. It was powering all these death traps. She knew it. She could feel it in her bones.

She spent a moment studying the falling pillars for a pattern, but there was none – or at least, not one she could discern. Behind her, her friends continued attacking the blades. Several were damaged, but not all, and the wall was closing in fast.

As soon as the closest pillar lifted, she ran. The ground beneath her had been smashed to pieces and almost tripped her up. The first pillar slammed down as soon as she cleared it — it wasn’t something she saw but felt. She made it past the second pillar by mere inches, but she wasn’t fast enough to clear the third. Above, there was only blackness as it rushed down to meet her.

Nazzeth saw Mystic disappear beneath the pillars and hoped she was okay. Regardless, there was nothing he could do for her right now. Moments ago, he was about ten feet from the back wall, casting fireballs at the spinning blades. Now, the wall was pushing at his back. The blades were damaged. Several had broken off completely and now lay on the stone floor of the hallway. Others had been warped from the fire’s intense heat and were slowed considerably. Perhaps one more well-timed hit would do it.

He concentrated until he was as sure as he could be. Then he snapped his fingers and watched as a small spark floated towards the middle of the hall. It exploded into a ball of fire. When the smoke cleared, not one blade was left spinning.

“Fuck yeah!” Dare shouted. He rushed towards the pillars, towards where he’d seen Mystic’s spider form disappear.

Mystic dove out of the way of the last pillar. The force of its impact was so strong that it lifted her off the ground, sending her forward on a rush of air. She transformed back into her normal form mid-fall and landed squarely on her feet. She’d made it. The crystal was just thirty feet ahead of her, and there were no more obstacles blocking her path. This close, she was quite sure it was blight rot, which meant she’d find a small crevice on its underside. With the correct amount of pressure, the crystal could be deactivated. She hurried over.

Kneeling down, eyes closed, she felt for the spot. She knew the moment she found it because the crystal’s glow intensified, but there was something else she wasn’t expecting: the sudden burst of pain that bit into her fingers. It was as if shards of ice cut through her hands and flooded her bloodstream. Not one bit of her wasn’t in pain.

“Release me,” a voice commanded in her head, and in that moment, Mystic had never known such fear. She was on her feet and running, trying to put as much distance between her and the crystal as she could. The fact that she was nearing the pillars was of no concern.

Dare was on the opposite side, running towards the pillars at full speed, giving no thought to looking for a pattern whatsoever. The ground shuddered around him. The closest pillar had just begun its ascent as he neared. He closed his eyes and let out a roar as he barreled onward. He didn’t open his eyes until all the noise was behind him, and the first thing he saw was Mystic — wide-eyed and screaming — running right at him.

Thinking wasn’t Dare’s strong suit, and even if it was, there was no time for it now. He arced his shield outward, aiming for her head — his goal only to stop her from running into the pillars. But she ducked underneath and kept going.

“STOP!” he bellowed, and surprisingly she did. She spun around just as the nearest pillar thrust downwards. It clipped her shoulder, and Mystic cried out in pain. Dare hurried to her.

“You okay?” But he could already see that her shoulder hung at a sickening angle. “Here, give me your arm.”

He yanked it hard, feeling the bones snap back into place. Mystic’s face was contorted with agony, but her screams were lost under the constant bombardment of the pillars.

“Underneath,” she said to him through gritted teeth.

“What?” he yelled.

She got closer to his ear. “Underneath the crystal. Feel for a crevice. Need to push. Just be careful. It–“

She was going to tell him about the crystal’s ability to cause fear, But Dare was already on his way.

Now that the blades have been dealt with, Lilvari, Nazzeth and Mercarri entered the hall. The pillars were next, and then beyond that, the glowing blue crystal — whatever that was. They’d just caught glimpses of Mystic running away from it, terrified. Did it contain some type of fear-inducing magic? Lilvari thought that perhaps Nazzeth would know. She turned to him, but he was on the ground, sitting with his legs splayed before him.

The first thought to cross her mind was that he’d been nearly knocked out cold again — perhaps from some errant blade that had somehow bounced off the wall and hit him upside the head — but that wasn’t the case. Not only was he conscious, he was in the process of dipping a small brush into one of his jars of magical paint that he had set out before him.

“I’m going to paint a big metal cube and push it under the pillar,” he said before Lilvari got a chance to ask.

“Um, okay,” she said, eyes narrowing. “how big?”

Nazzeth shrugged. “Maybe ten feet in all directions.”

“Yeah, how about we say it out loud? See if it still makes sense. You are going to make a large metal box that’s probably too heavy to lift and then try to what? Quickly push it under these pillars that are slamming into the ground once every two seconds.”

Nazzeth stopped painting and considered Lilvari’s words. Then he said, “Maybe I’ll paint a dolly too. You know, to help me push it faster?”

Lilvari sighed and turned to Mercarri. “I don’t think we’ll get any help from him, but whatever. I have an idea.” She told Mercarri what it was then said, “When you’re ready.”

Mercarri nodded, then closed her eyes. She muttered a blessing and focused on the faces of Lilvari, Dare and Mystic as well as herself. She knew what the crystal was capable of and how they might overcome it. When the warm sensation of her spell could be felt deep within her core, she looked to Lilvari. “Now!”

Lilvari grabbed hold of Mercarri’s arm. There was a flash of light and a crack of thunder. To Nazzeth, Lilvari and Mercarri had simply disappeared.

The glow of the crystal was blinding. Dare tried to shield his eyes as he knelt down before it. Underneath, he could feel a break in the crystal’s rough texture, but no matter how much he tried, his fingers wouldn’t fit in the crevice. An icy feeling bled into his fingers, then proceeded through his hands, wrists and up his arms. “Release me,” came a voice from within his own head. “Release me and die!”

A spike of ice-cold fear shot through Dare’s heart and began to radiate outward. He needed to get away from this crystal as quick as possible. He needed to–

There was a sudden sensation of warmth. For the briefest of moments, it was as if the warmth was at war with the cold. Then the warmth won out, washing over him completely. The fear was gone. He pulled Talon free from its scabbard and gripped it with both hands. “You little bastard,” he growled as he lifted the magic sword above his head.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Lilvari and Mercarri were right in front of him. Dare jumped back in surprise. His foot came down on a loose piece of stone, and he fell on his backside. Talon clamored beside him.

“Where’d you come from?” he asked, but they were already at work on the crystal, both of them digging their hands underneath. As Mercarri’s fingers grazed the crevice, she felt the same cold sensation try to worm its way into her, but she easily shut it out. Just before Lilvari had teleported them to this side of the pillars with her Thunderstep spell, Mercarri had cast Beacon of Hope on not just herself but Dare, Mystic and Lilvari too. She hoped that it would be enough to overpower the fear caused by the crystal. It turned out that she was right.

Mercarri applied pressure to the underside of the blight rot, and this time it didn’t brighten as it did for Mystic. This time, it sparked as if shorting out and then went dark. But that wasn’t all. The pillars immediately withdrew into the ceiling — for good this time. At the far end of the hall, the wall which had been moving closer, reversed direction. It was now sliding back towards its original position. Team Ramrod had beaten the trap.

Mercarri rushed over to Mystic who was sitting against the wall, holding her shoulder. While she helped her to her feet, Lilvari and Dare investigated the walls near the crystal for a way out.

“Anything?” Nazzeth called. He was heading in their direction.

There wasn’t. Nothing they could find, anyway. Lilvari was starting to have the sneaking suspicion that whatever brought them to this place never intended for them to leave. For now, she kept that idea to herself.

At the far end of the hall, the wall continued its slow trek back to where it had begun, not that they could see it. Without the blue glow of the blight rot, the only source of light was Mercarri’s mace, and it wasn’t strong enough to reach the opposite end of the long hallway. But they heard it — the low grumble of stone against stone.

They walked along the walls, heading back the way they started, looking for secret doors. They passed a few swathes of dried paint — Nazzeth’s unfinished cube. Nazzeth tried to look anywhere but at the paint as they passed. His embarrassment made Lilvari smirk. Serves him right, she thought. She was still convinced that it was his fault they were here to begin with.

“Hey,” said Dare, “I don’t remember seeing that before.”

He pointed, but there was no need. The hallway ahead, which only moments ago was nothing but darkness, was now bathed in light. It was coming from the room in which they started. At the far end of the left wall stood an opened doorway. Light poured out of it.

“No, it definitely wasn’t there before,” Mystic said, still holding her shoulder.

“And doesn’t the room seem, I don’t know… bigger?” Mercarri added.

It did. As they made their way closer, they saw that the wall which had been moving had gone beyond its starting position. In fact, that’s why they couldn’t see the doorway earlier. It had been behind the wall. A few moments later, the wall finally rumbled to a stop.

Nazzeth peeked through the open doorway and into an expansive, well lit, room. His jaw dropped.

“What is it?” Mystic asked.

“It’s… amazing,” he said and headed inside.

A Study of Magic

The rest of Team Ramrod followed. To one side, dozens of feet away, was a roaring fireplace surrounded by expensive-looking furniture — a couch and several cushioned chairs as well as a solid oak coffee table. To the other side were several aisles of floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hundreds of books. Candles twinkled throughout the room, giving it a warm glow, and Mercarri couldn’t help but think of its contrast to the last room they were in.

“What is this place?” asked Dare as he walked in, spinning in circles, trying to take in everything at once. A large statue stood on either side of the entrance. Beyond each was a tall wardrobe made of cherry wood. Further in was a globe that was twice as tall as him. It looked to be made of brass or gold. He headed there first.

“It’s some sort of wizard’s study,” Nazzeth replied. “I’d bet on it.” He was already making his way towards the aisles of books. “Just be on the look out for traps.”

“Yeah,” said Lilvari. “It’s a shame one of us doesn’t have a wand that can find traps and secret doors, isn’t it?” She said it extra loud so Dare would hear. Dare had stopped in front of the globe. He was looking at it with interest, and Lilvari could easily see the wand sticking out of his belt. It was the same wand they’d found at that disappearing tower, the one that could detect traps and secret doors.

“Yeah,” Dare said. “A shame.”

“Dare?”

It was Mercarri. When Dare turned to face her, she pointed to her own hip, to where the wand would be if it was on her and not Dare. He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you doing?”

“The wand, Dare,” she said. “You have a wand that can detect traps and secret doors!”

“Oh right! The wand.” He pulled it out and held it like a sword. He felt a tingle immediately, one that appeared to be coming from the other side of the globe. Dare started in that direction while the rest of Team Ramrod kept investigating their own areas of interest. Lilvari was checking out an expertly crafted lute that sat next to the couch; Mercarri and Mystic were examining the statues just inside the room’s entrance and Nazzeth had just cast Detect Magic while standing in the middle of the book aisle, hoping to find something more valuable than just regular books.

No one saw Dare touch the small red gem embedded in the far side of the globe that the wand had led him to, and no one saw him wink out of existence a moment later.

Mystic had moved on from the statues, leaving Mercarri behind. She followed the same path Dare had gone a few minutes earlier to the rear of the globe. Behind it a ways, near the far wall, stood an immaculate desk made of dark wood. On it were several large maps and other things, though she’d have to get closer to see exactly what they were.

A twinkle of red light caught her eye as she started over. It was coming from the back side of the globe. The globe was of Toril — their planet. Faerûn was on the side facing her as were the lands to the east of Faerûn– Aglarond, Chessenta and Cormyr. Centered between all three was a small red gem. Was this the source of the light? Before she could think better of it, Mystic reached out, touched it and was gone.

Mercarri looked up from the statues and at her friends — the ones she could see anyway. Nazzeth was in the aisle, studying the bookshelves. Lilvari was still examining the lute. Dare and Mystic were out of sight, but she’d last seen them head beyond the oversized globe. Maybe she’d head that way next. She moved on, passing the tall wardrobes. Did anyone check inside? She wasn’t sure.

Mercarri grasped the brass handle of the closest one and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. It must be locked. She was pretty sure that Dare had lockpicks. Again she glanced in the direction of the globe but still didn’t see him. Where was he? She supposed she better find him.

Mercarri tried to let go of the wardrobe’s handle but couldn’t. Her fingers were stuck fast. She looked at the handle, first in confusion and then in terror.

The wardrobe’s door was no longer brown. It must have transformed when she turned away because now it was a bruised shade of purple and had a strange fleshy quality about it. Mercarri screamed.

Lilvari looked up. The lute fell from her fingers, but she was too focused on the scene before her to notice. Mercarri seemed to be hugging the wardrobe, only it wasn’t a wardrobe — not entirely. The back half still looked the same, but somewhere near the middle it began transforming. The part that had hold of Mercarri was a purple, fleshy thing with a mouth as wide as the wardrobe and rows of sharp, gnashing teeth. A large tongue writhed wildly in its mouth.

“It’s a mimic!” Nazzeth shouted, rushing out from between the aisles of books.

A mimic. Lilvari had heard of mimics. Mimics had the ability to turn themselves into almost any inanimate object. Then they’d wait patiently for prey to come to them. There were many stories of ill-fated adventurers that had attempted to open a treasure chest only to find themselves staring into the jaws of a mimic.

While the monster surely was terrifying, Lilvari knew that the situation could be worse. There was only one mimic against an entire team of skilled adventurers. As she was having that thought, however, the other wardrobe suddenly began to twitch. “Okay,” she thought, “two. The five of us can handle two mimics.”

That’s when she realized that neither Dare nor Mystic were anywhere in sight.

Beyond the Edge of the World

“I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to die!”

Dare screamed it over and over as he fell into infinite darkness, but even after what had to have been several minutes, he was still alive and no closer to seeing (let alone hitting) the ground.

Touching the red gem was a stupid thing to do. He knew it, but when did that ever stop him before? The moment he touched it, he had some sort of out of body experience. There was a loud ‘ZAP’, and for the briefest of moments he swore he was looking at himself through some sort of red-tinted glass. He barely had a chance to scream before all of it was gone, and since then he’d been falling end over end over end over end into oblivion.

“I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to–“

Dare hit the ground with a loud thump hard enough to sock the air right out of him. He hurt all over, but he was alive. How, he didn’t know. More magic? It had to be.

Dare slowly got himself into a standing position. Where was he? A strong whiff of rotted vegetation and dank water assaulted his nose. He tried waving it away but to no avail.

There was no light down here, wherever here was, so he was at the mercy of his darkvision. It helped him see about sixty feet into the darkness, though the stone chamber he found himself in was well beyond that. He could feel it in the way the echoes played off the dank walls. He took a few cautious steps forward. On the ground before him was a thick ring of broken stone that stretched into the darkness, and inside that was, well, he wasn’t exactly sure.

He got closer. It seemed to be a circular mound made of dull gray crystal — sort of what they’d seen in the ‘Hallway O’ Death’ above once Mercarri had put the lights out. Unlike that one, which could have fit in the palm of his hand, this one had to be at least twenty feet in diameter.

“Well, well, well,” echoed a voice from somewhere deep within the chamber, “it seems that Dorsarious hasn’t forgotten about me after all.”

Dare squinted into the distance, trying to see who was talking. He didn’t see anyone. “Umm… hello?”

There was the sound of slow, heavy footfalls — one after another — until, with horror, Dare saw a clawed foot step in from the edge of his vision. His gaze traveled upwards. The creature it was attached to was at least thirty feet tall and covered in thick, black scales. Massive leathery wings were tucked behind it, but Dare could tell that each had to have a span of at least twenty feet. Most disturbing was its eyes — deep-socketed and yellow. They pierced into his, almost seeming to smile. Dare had never stared into the eyes of a full-sized adult dragon before, and as it licked its chops, a chill played all the way down Dare’s spine.