Alter Aeon The Great Library

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AABN:  48337
Title: the Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 7

The Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 7

by Sparity Ket, Captain of the Order of the White Knights

The party then went north into what was once a comfortable and
well-appointed sitting room where visitors could exchange light
conversation with the master of the house.  They discovered two chairs and
a couch, each with their tasteful auburn upholstery still intact.  Time had
been kind to the furniture in this room.  A small wooden table, perhaps
once used for refreshments, was also present.  The was, however, a sharp,
bitter odor in the air--an odor that reminded one of a smoldering fire or
recently blown-out match.

A stand-out object in this room was an old, yellowed skull, sitting on
another small table by itself.  The top of the skull was gone, and a stubby
candle placed within, making it looks something like a jack-o-lantern. 
After much deliberation, the party decided to leave it alone.

One exit lead eastward to what appeared to be a small study, but the group
chose to go north to a much larger room.  This great room, once likely an
elegant ballroom, was now bare.  Two exquisite chandeliers still hung from
the ceiling, but they were the only trace of the chamber's former use.
Nothing of a dining hall remains, no chairs, no table, no hangings--all had
been stripped clean, though there were a few smallish piles of debris and
refuse here and there throughout the room. Despite the chill, rat s and
other tiny vermin scurried and scuttled about, and a few bloated insects
buzzed slowly to and fro.

As a matter of fact, the room was so clean that they failed to see the
transparent gelatinous cube that took up a good portion of the room, and
Jamarkas walked right into it and was immediately paralyzed by its venom. 
While he fought to free himself from the ooze's grasp, the others
retreated, using ranged weapons and spells to stay out of its reach. 
Silliriun's fire spells seemed to work the best against the creature, and
with a few well-placed blasts, the cube collapsed to inert goo and Jamarkas
was freed.  Using a wand, Kenwick healed the acidic wounds that covered
his body while the party searched the room for treasure, finding a handful
of loose coins.

From there the party retreated back to the entrance to rest a bit before
pressing on.  They explored the narrow hallway that lead toward the
southeast corner of the keep.  They found the base of a square stone tower.
The upper floors had been torn out as if swept away from some great wind,
and the areas was open to the cold sky above.  The floor was littered with
rocks of various sizes-debris  left from the destruction, which were
covered with a thick layer of snow.  Strings of ice that looked like they 
were jets of water frozen in midair by the sinister winds of winter formed
a sparkling latticework throughout the tower remains.  As brisk winds from
outside slipped across the glistening strands, they seemed to hum like the
strings of a harp.

The party proceeded cautiously.  After using his ability to detect evil to
see nothing within the icy web, Justice began using his halberd to cut down
the frozen strands.  Jamarkas and Silliriun also worked to clear the
webbing while Zorat and Kenwick doubled back to take a look at a room that
they had passed.  However, they were soon forced to return as two giant
white spiders that had blended in with the ice suddenly attacked the
others.  Jamarkas and Justice were bit, but only the former succumbed to t
he icy venom that left him frozen and helpless.  The spiders tried to drag
him up the wall but forced to drop him because of Silliriun's acid splash
spells.  While Zorat assaulted one spider with an earthern grasp spell,
Kenwick summoned a celestial badger and hurled it upward, where it seized
upon the other spider and brought it to ground level where Justice could
stab it.

Soon the spiders lay dead, and Kenwick summoned a fire elemental to warm
Jamarkas up and free him from the venomous curse.  They took a minute to
search the tower and found 130 gold coins.  Satisfied, they proceeded
northward up another hallways.  Passing another entrance to the dining room
they had already passed, they decided to head to the next room, where they
had heard some activity.