Estelrien looked at Tulko and said, “don’t tell me you are going to let some spooky sounds scare you? Now take point my good man and lead us into the next chamber.” Tulko blushed realizing he had in fact begun to loose his nerve. He proceeded to turn around and head back down the corridor as the side passage they were in was a dead end. The main chamber contained spike traps that would spring up through the floor when stepped on. In the middle of the room stood an obelisk with unknown markings on it. The room seemed otherwise empty except for a riddle door on the opposite side.
Tulko begin to stride across the room only to stop short when spikes emerged from the holes in the floor. Umin said,” you have to watch your step here, that last step can be a bad one.” Tulko agreed and they reached the second door with the following inscription:
“ On a face I say much without even speaking,
I am useful for searching and watching and seeking,
Use me well and there is naught you will not find.
Do not use me at all and alas you will be just blind.”
Estelrien laughed and said the answer is as plain as day. She proceeded to, “ Look” at the door which opened it quickly enough. She giggled and said,” this is kind of fun if you ask me.” Tulko rolled his eyes, he had never been good at riddles and found this labryinth tiring.
The next room had more holes in the floor and appeared to be a dead end. Umin said,” don’t be fooled, the traps in this room may still be working.” They searched the room and found a lever mechanism. Upon operating the mechanism a door opened and skeleton warriors emerged from the floor. Estelrien yelled, “ To Arms!” Tulko and Eoforn drew their weapons and engaged the skeleton warriors. The battle did not last long. The moaning skeletons were cut down quickly and the piles of bones from which they emerged were crushed by the heroes. “Well done, “ said Umin. Tulko looked at him disapprovingly and said, “You did precious little fighting.” Umin just smiled and said,” I am a scholar and not much of a fighter. I suppose I am lucky to have you all along with me then!”
The next room had metal poles with blades attached to the them. Umin warned,” do not step on the pressure plates, they activate the spinning blade traps.” Eoforn asked him, “How do you know what is down here?”. Umin said in reply, “researching the lore of this place has been my life’s work. Believe me we will be lucky to escape with our lives.” Upon approaching the traps, more moaning could be heard. They were more zombies laying in wait in the passage. Estelrien lead the way attacking the undead monsters and managing to keep her feet off the trap mechanisms. With little effort the group moved through the obstacles until they reached the last blade trap. Here an undead archer stood behind the pressure plates. The group moved on past this enemy while evading the missile attacks. As they passed out of the traps the archer laughed, “ I have the key to the exit and you will now never escape.” They knew not what he meant, but they soon would.
The heroes moved on into another corridor of spinning blade traps and spike traps that were activating in sequence. Between them lay piles of bones from which undead enemies spawned. They looked at one another and shook their heads in disbelief. The passage looked nearly impossible. Estelrien then raised her sword in the air and yelled, “Forward, for death and glory!” The three with Umin in tow ran past the traps while momentarily inactive and assaulted the undead foes in the first bone pile. The battle was fierce and swift and the enemy gave way quickly. They sang as they slew the foul creatures for the joy of battle had now come upon them spurred on by their intrepid captain. The frenzy of the traps going off all around them and the undead creatures spawning from their graves had no more terror for them.
Upon exiting the maze of traps the group encountered a last riddle door. It read:
Thirty red horses on a hill,
first they champ, then they stamp,
then they standstill.
The group puzzled for some time, regaining their wits from the battle frenzy that was upon them earlier. Wounds they had sustained from the traps and enemy weapons and now the intellectual puzzle presented to them simply gave them a chance to rest. “This place is full of riddles, between the doors and the enemies I must admit I am befuddled,” said Tulko. “Despair not. This is an easy chesnut.” Said Estelrien confidently. “We won’t have to CHEW on this one very long.” The door then opened when she said the word “CHEW” with emphasis.
The group passed through the door to enter another area containing a necklace on a stand. Umin greedily approached the necklace and grabbed it from the stand. Tulko yelled, “Umin, wait!” but it was too late. He had set off a trap that caused a cave in. The group ran out into an adjoining passage as Umin was sealed in. After the dust of the cave in cleared it was obvious that they could not go back for Umin, he was lost in this forsaken place.
The next area they found themselves in contained many tombs. The writing on the walls was unintelligible to them and all exits appeared to be blocked. “There might be a secret door or lever in these tombs”, suggested Eoforn. It seemed like a good idea so Tulko and Eoforn proceeded to open the closest tomb. Immediately they were attacked by undead skeletons which they quickly slew. Inside was a lever. Eoforn attempted to operate the lever but it would not move. The group opened the other tombs and slew the enemies within and finally found the 2 levers that opened the exit door. “Well, at least we have slain every abominable creature down here. There should be no further moaning anyway,” said Estelrien.
The group then entered an empty hallway that ended in a set of steps leading up to a dias. On the platform there was a lever. They ascended the platform and attempted to operate the lever only to find it would not move. “It is the curse that the undead archer spoke of,” said Tulko. “He is somehow the key to escaping this place perhaps?” At that moment Eoforn dropped to his knees. A bleeding wound he had received in the previous battles had left him too weak to continue. Estelrien said,” I must attend to his wounds immediately, then we will go back for that archer.” Tulko said, “Nay, my lady, through all those traps and dangers, it only needs one of us to slay the archer. I will go.” She stood in front of him and looked grimly at him. Amidst the chaos of the battle and the dire circumstances they were in, Estelrien found herself feeling something completely unexpected at this moment. This soldier, this blacksmith whom she had befriended became in an instant something more. In this moment the realization of what he meant to her only made it more difficult for her to give the next order.
She knew he was right. Looking him in the eye she said, “If you come back alive I am going to give you a really big promotion.” Tulko smiled thinking only of being promoted to kinsman or officer and not realizing her statement meant something more. He then said, “Well then I had better make it back as soon as I may.” With that he left them and worked his way back through the maze. Taking care to avoid the traps he found the forsaken archer in the hallway. Its voice taunted Tulko. “The maze is cursed. You cannot get out as long as a single denizen survives foolish one!” The archer was standing in an island surrounded by pressure plates. Having no ranged weapon, there was only one solution. Tulko drew his sword and leapt across the pressure plates between himself and the enemy archer. It was no great leap for a man, but the archer was firing at Tulko point blank and the space he was jumping to was only large enough for him and the undead archer. An arrow bounced off his shield as he landed in front of the vile foe. Tulko then took the opportunity to smash his shield into the undead creature causing it to fall apart in a fantastic explosion of sound and fury. Tulko then leapt back across the pressure plates and made his way back once again through the trapped maze to his comrades.
When Tulko returned to his fellows he found Eoforn bandaged and ready to move forward. Estelrien looked at him in awe and wonder, trying not to show her true feelings. “Very good then,” she said in a stiff professional tone, “glad to have you back Tulko.” Estelrien then moved to the leaver and pulled it. It moved reluctantly making a low grinding noise as it did. To their dismay the floor quickly gave way causing them to fall and slide down an underground river. The river slide ended in a waterfall emptying into an underground lake. The lake’s only notable feature was a dock where a ship was moored. On this ship stood Umin.
As they approached the ship, Umin stood before them wearing a glowing necklace. “I found the artifact that I have been searching for and I no longer have any use for you.” Estelrien looked up over Umin’s head to see the form of a giant. As Umin moved so did the giant that stood over him. Somehow Umin’s body was controlled by the giant or visa versa. Umin strode forward and used his giant fists to smash Tulko. Tulko blocked the crushing blow with his shield. Estelrien and Eoforn moved off onto the bow of the ship. With Eoforn’s injuries, Estelrien hoped to protect him from certain death should he be hit by the lumbering Umin/Giant intent on killing them. Umin’s attention was focused wholly on Tulko who dodged, blocked and parried nearly every blow Umin tried to lay on him.
The battle continued like this for some time until Umin being completely frustrated with his inability to defeat a man less than half his size, smashed his fist through the deck of the ship. For a moment Umin was stuck being unable to free his fist from the deck. Tulko had become almost equally frustrated with the battle as the fell magic of the necklace protected Umin, making him nearly invincible and impossible to defeat. Now Eoforn had been watching this drawn of conflict for sometime and wanted to help, but knew his wounds would reopen very easily should he receive another blow. Watching Tulko and Umin fight on the deck of the ship, he noticed that the deck of the ship had spike traps in places similar to the ones he had seen in the caverns before. They remained inactive during the battle as far as he could tell, but at the moment that Umin found his fist stuck in the deck he happened to be standing over one of the spike traps. In that moment Eoforn realized that he was standing next to a mechanism on the bow of the ship. Activating it caused the spike trap under Umin to spring, breaking the spell of protection Umin’s necklace placed on him.
With the cry of pain from Umin, Tulko realized that he was vulnerable and sprang upon him. With a flurry of blows from shield and sword, Umin was laid low and the giant created by the magic of the necklace disappeared. Estelrien approached Umin and said, “ Why did you attack us, we meant you no harm?” Umin looked up at her and wept. “You see, I have made it my life to find the necklace. It is my precious. I will not let you take it from me. You are treasure hunters. I know your kind. You came down here to take my riches.” Unable to convince Umin of their intentions, Estelrien, Tulko and Eoforn found a tunnel leading from the underground lake to the surface. Turning to Umin before he left, Tulko pleaded, “Come back with us Umin, there is nothing but evil here. It will consume you for the rest of your life if you stay.” Umin looked at Tulko in disgust, “I will never return to the surface, I don’t care if I should remain apart forever. I will not give up my treasure!”
Upon reaching the surface the heroes found themselves outside the Forsaken inn. Estelrien looked at the tunnel leading back down to the underground lake and said, “We have to seal it up. The world must be safeguarded from the evil down there.” Eoforn looked at her fearfully, “ but that would seal him in there forever…” . She shook her head and said, “It is the path he has chosen, he has chosen to be among the forsaken. “
