Khaz’s eyes were now vacant; they stared straight ahead obviously completely enthralled with the wizard’s empty promises. Pleased with himself, Primus Creed turned to Kimba and once again stroked her face with the back of his hand pushing her hair from her face and neck. “And you, my dear druidess, will be my consort.” Quick as lightning the wizard grabbed the back of her hair and painfully yanked her head back exposing her neck. He paused momentarily watching the blood pump through the veins and arteries in Kimba’s neck almost as intoxicating to him as wine used to be. His vision and mind clouded with delight before he caught the glint of bronze armor to his right.
“Ah, Krog,” Creed said dreamily; Kimba could feel the wizards hot breath on her neck. “Prepare the frost elf for the next ritual of the full moon, and then leave us.” Suddenly his eyes shot open; Kimba felt him exhale sharply as he staggered back, a bloody bone tipped spear protruding from his purple robes. Losing his concentration, the companions’ stony bonds fell away to dust. Sarel sank to the floor still dazed while Khaz looked around as if waking up from a long slumber.
Everything in the large chamber seemed to move in slow motion; Kimba noticed the bull orc known as Krog throw off his helmet revealing the hard features of Dev Von Fritz, his face contorted with rage. He pulled Kimba’s staff from his back and tossed it her way before dragging his own sword from its sheath and advancing on the wizard who had fallen to one knee holding the spear tip that protruded from his abdomen.
Dev covered the distance between himself and the wizard in a couple leaps; he was so eager to exact his vengeance. His sword swooshed through the air and should have made Creed’s head explode with the force of the impact. Instead, it just caused the warlock’s form to distort and reform, like mist; Primus Creed was slipping away.
Thinking on her feet, Kimba aimed the tip of her staff at the skull altar and uttered the words of a spell. White light crackled up and down the staff’s length before gathering at the tip releasing a white bolt of lightning that seared the air as it shot toward the skulls.
A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the chamber as the bolt hit the protective wards around the altar; it shimmered and wavered as the druidess’ energy bolt seemed to envelope the skulls, but the dark magic held up under the assault.
Pulling himself to his feet, Sarel rushed the altar bringing his sword down with all his might. The protective wards flared violently throwing the frost elf across the room where he slid to a halt against a stone table knocking the wind from his lungs and several candles from their sconces igniting the tapestries hanging from the walls.
Khaz looked around him as if wondering what was going on. Dev was hacking away at a bloody, purple-robed pulp which used to resemble Primus Creed while the druidess pointed her staff at the gray mist which issued from the corpse. The mist was taking on a humanoid form with huge bat like wings, great horns and burning red eyes; the form was laughing. Echoing through his skull the eerie laughter seemed to trigger something in the dwarf’s brain. Seeing his friend thrown across the room after hacking at the skull altar, Khaz felt his axe’s heaviness hanging from his wrist on its thong. In one fluid motion he swung his axe into his meaty hand and stalked toward the grotesque altar. He brought the blade down with all his strength; his muscled arms bulged and strained as the axe bit into the pulsing protective wards; they held briefly before giving way allowing the dwarf’s axe to come down right in the middle of the pyramidal skulls.
It seemed to Khaz that the rift in the wards created a vacuum sucking all sound from the chamber. He turned and ran toward the heavy stone table where Sarel slumped before the altar exploded crackling loudly. The whoosh of wind blew out ward, and the companions could see ghostly figures flying within it, aiming directly at Creed’s misty form, rending it asunder and scattering it before dissipating altogether.
“The souls of all of Creed’s victims!” Kimba shouted over the crackling flames that where quickly spreading to everything flammable in the room. “Come, we need to hasten from here!”
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