The ground shook some at the structure rose, causing some rocks to fall from the edge of the waterfall before it finally grew still, looking as if it had always been there. It was marked with odd runes on the sides, and a set of stairs circled its walls, leading to the top of the structure.
“Um, what’s that?” Lucerin asked of the Tiefling. But he looked as shocked as all the rest. “I’ve never seen this before,” he responded quietly, his dog standing behind him with hackles raised, growling at it.
Before anyone could decide what to do, a smooth, eerie voice echoed around them. “Won’t you come in?”
“No. No. Absolutely not.” Ruthrrien whispered harshly. “We should just take the flowers and go. We have what we came for.”
But the magic users were too intrigued to let it go. “There could be something useful in there…,” said Ainz cautiously. “This is powerful magic.”
“Which could also get us killed!” she replied angrily. But none seemed to share her caution as the rest moved forward. Anune seemed more wary as well, and as she grudgingly followed the rest, he brought up the rear. They climbed the stone steps to the top that was smooth a flat except for two posts with torches that guarded the entrance in the floor. As soon as Anune to the last step, the torches lit.
“This is a bad idea,” she grumbled in a low voice.
“As bad as picking up giant spider eggs?” replied Ainz snidely, though keeping his eyes on the door as they continued to move forward.
She huffed but didn’t respond and began descending the steps into a dark hallway lined with torches. When she crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut, locking Anune out.
“Oh great!!!” she snapped.
“Shhh!” whispered both Lucerin and Ainz sharply.
She glared at them, a faint growl in her throat which none of them seemed to hear as they moved forward. With no other choice, she grudgingly followed.
“Don’t be shy.” said the eerie voice again.
She gripped her axe tighter as they continued deeper down the hall. Finally, the hall emptied into a large circular room lined with torches. In the middle, and simple stone altar, where an unnaturally tall thin figure stood, leaning lazily against it.
They all froze at the sight of him; a creature unlike any they had seen. His skin was bleached white, like it had never seen the sun, and stretched tight against his skeletal frame. He was dressed in a black and white pin-stripped suit, with a top hat to match that came down over his face covering where his eyes should have been. The edges of his form seemed to be fuzzy, like he was made of a very thick smoke.
“You….intrigue me.” He said with a wide grin that revealed long thin pointed teeth that seemed far too large for his mouth. None of them could move. She could tell the magic users were even trying to cast spells, yet nothing was working.
He chuckled lightly and stood straight, twirling his cane once before leaning on it, one long spindly hand on top of the other. “Your magic and your might will not work here.” The air in the room seemed to thicken and the torches started blinking on and off, creating a strobing effect. The figure began to twist and turn unnaturally, long arms bending at unreal angles, in time with the flickering torches. He reached one long figure out towards the drow and the moment he touched the elf’s forehead, all went black.
The Whitney Scott 