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-----A benign smile spreads across Sol's face, as he turns to regard his friends. "I have decided to go with Thalog's battle plan concerning the witches. After all, I don't mind being a decoy..." He finishes with a chuckle. At that Sol rapidly turns and begins to run at a furious pace up the hill.
-----Raven shakes his head and then takes after Sol.
-----"Let us back them up with stealth," Thalog says to the others. Then he carefully follows Raven and Sol up the hill.
-----Sarah begins to follow Thalog up the hill.
-----Raven winces as he and Zentil follow Sol as he recklessly charges and climbs the hill. The undergrowth and the plant stalks swish and squish as the young man presses on. Thalog, Sarah and Rand carefully move as they keep an eye on the trio ahead of them.
-----Two thirds of the way up the hill, Sol leaps boldly over a fallen tree and stops. Something in the air catches his attention. Behind him, Raven and Zentil likewise stop, peering around and listening.
-----Suddenly, everyone catches a sound that eerily mixes with the light breeze moving through the forest. It sounds like a low echoing voice chanting some unspeakable ritual. Peering up slightly above them among some overgrown vines clinging to some rocks, they see the dark opening of a cave leading inside the hill.
-----"HAH!" Sol exclaims happily as he spies the cave opening. Quickly he scampers up to the cave opening, and then promptly dashes inside.
-----Raven says, "Sol! Hold up!" Raven mutters, "Damn fool. What does he have, a death wish?" Raven advances slowly to the right hand side of mouth of the cave. He notices human-sized tracks entering and leaving the cave. He also notices that a few seconds after Sol enters the cave, the low droning voice stops.
-----As the rest of the party enters the cave to follow Raven, the tunnel suddenly opens up to reveal a huge cavern area. The rock walls and floor extend off in the distance giving no hint to the size of the interior.
-----Ahead of them, about fifty feet, they see Sol engaged in combat with three forms. Their weapons clang as they meet.
-----About a hundred feet, they also see a large pool of dark water, about sixty feet in diameter, illuminated by brazier fire around its perimeter. A human-sized dark figure at the opposite end of the pool lifts its arms and murmurs something.
-----Sarah stays where she is at the mouth of the cave and murmurs something.
-----Suddenly, one of Sol’s foes is dispatched, downed by the young man’s sword. In a quick desperate move, Sol dodges the other two and begins to race toward the pool beyond. Raven begins to run to his aid.
-----As the others begin to move into the cavern, they hear an imposing voice from the dark figure say, "Who Dares?!" The figure then mutters something in a low voice and appears to stab something in its hand with a knife. It then points the knife in the general direction of the group.
-----A strange sensation seems to pass through each member of the party. A cold sensation followed by a feeling as if the hair is standing up on the back of their necks.
-----Suddenly Zentil drops his bow as he, Rand, and Thalog turn to run toward the cave opening to the outside. However, their way is blocked by three human-sized forms standing in the tunnel.
-----Raven takes aim and fires at the dark figure. The arrow goes straight and hits the dark form in its right shoulder. It then goes down on one knee. Raven then looks back and sees who needs help, but suddenly the two that Sol was fighting turn toward him. A familiar horrid odor comes to Raven and he sees the two are undead bone men.
-----Rand backs away from the three human sized figures, a look of abject terror on his face. He glances all around him as if looking for some place to escape to. Glancing back Rand sees Raven and calls out to him "Raven! Help us please!"
-----Sol, ignoring the words and actions of the dark figure, continues his run towards it. As he nears he brings his sword to bear, ready to strike at the rather ominous opponent. The figure is still on one knee, its left hand up on its right injured shoulder.
-----It looks up at Sol and he can see it is a man clad in black leather armor. The puffy sleeves the man wears feature stripes of orange. A hood of sorts, held in place by a band encircling the forehead, covers the man’s head. A veil covers the lower part of the face and all Sol can see are two of the darkest eyes he has ever witnessed.
-----The dark veiled man points toward the cave opening and tells Sol in a voice devoid of feeling, "Drop your weapon . . . or they die." Looking toward the front of the cave, Sol can see the three forms advancing on the apparently defenseless Rand, Zentil and Thalog.
-----Raven puts his bow away and draws his swords. Raven yells to Rand, "I'm coming! Fight the charm and defend yourselves!" He turns to face the three undead coming that are attacking the group. Raven lets out a loud howl and runs towards the nearest monster. As he runs, a skeleton behind him swings, barely missing the charging ranger.
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