The Taunts of Tersoal

Left alone at the head of the newly-discovered stairs, Sack dangled silently in the darkness, brooding. After a while, his attention was caught by a coil of what looked like smoke roiling around the corner from the direction of the thronehall where they'd fought and slain Cullinan. After a few moments, the smoke thickened and coalesced into a dozen or so humanoid figures, which Sack's trained senses immediately discerned as vampires.

The half-orc waited until the retreating undead were directly below him, and then dropped, suddenly and silently; the awesome stealth capabilites of Bramandin's armour were sufficient that even a drop from a ceiling ten feet up could be achieved without sound. The vampires were thus taken completely by surprise, first realizing they were under attack when Bloodfang and the Blade of the Sun started tearing into them. Half of their number went down in the first thirty seconds, and the rest promptly vaporized and fled back into the cracks in the stonework.

A few minutes later, the others returned. They'd been travelling and fighting for many hours by this time, and agreed to camp for the night, eating and resting in shifts, before venturing further.

Fens of Korvux, Stryre, 14^th February 1602

The next morning, they gathered their equipment, and prepared to descend the stairs to explore what lay below. The first step was information, and with this in mind Hildraft proceeded to Scry the lich they had seen a projected image of - Tersoal. The liquid cleared, and a picture appeared; a circular tower room, richly appointed, with Jart guards standing around a throne. On the throne, his withered hand resting possessively on the Sancrist crystal, was the lich Tersoal.

His head lifted immediately, and he looked up at the spell's magical point of view. Clearly he could see the spell, and he greeted them with irony, complimenting them on their progress so far, but warning them to come no further. They tried (again) to claim that they'd stripped the Army of the Dead of its' officer corps. Tersoal chuckled drily.

"Leaders? What need has my army for leaders? What do they do? Transmit orders. My Jart receive their orders directly from me; I need no officers. My victory is at hand. Come ahead, and die. Then you too shall be mine."

They cut the spell and descended the stairs, reaching an exit leading into a vast chasm under the hill. Projecting out into the abyss was a stone bridge, terminating in a vertical frame supporting another blue portal interface similar to the one they'd found before. The same bitter cold clearly surrounded it, as crystals of ice were clearly visible on the stone near to it.

Ranged along the bridge, guarding the approach, were two ranks of shadowy forms, standing still and silent on plinths at the edge of the platform. These were perceptibly undead, and worried the heroes no little.

Returrning to the first of the portals, they utilized Stone Shape to close it off, sealing the entrance to the stairwell with tons of stone and burying the access forever. Sack laid a Warding on it, and Hildraft Melded through to place a Symbol of Hopelessness on the inner surface.