“This place was made by the lich’s magic… not skilled hands,” Tarl warned as he examined the ceiling with a dwarf’s eye for stonework which told him that it clearly couldn’t sustain the massive weight of stone above. “It’s dying with him.” “Out… now!” Aeron commanded from the entry to the main chamber, motioning for the others to flee. Although he knew they had little chance of escaping back the way they’d come. It’d taken them days to get here… so it would likely take nearly as long to get back to the surface, and he doubted they had more than a few minutes before the entire mountain came crashing down on them. “Not that way!” Elzabeth’s voice rang out with authority from across the chamber, standing in the doorway to a shadowy side passage, her staff’s ruby crystal alight, providing the only illumination. “Even a lich prepares contingencies. This was to be his escape should he faced the unthinkable.” Larger and larger pieces of debris rained down as the rumbling above became increasingly loader, so no arguments were made when the companions filed through the door behind her. Faeryl and Tana rush in first, their arms loaded with the young warrioress’ armor, clothes and gear, with Galen right on their heels, Nykira followed, slinging her now loaded magical pack on her back, while Tarl did his best to keep pace while balancing a small chest on his shoulder, Aeron having waited by the door to assure they all made it out before escaping himself. Just a few dozen yards down, the darkened passage gave way to naturally hewed stone, while just minutes into their headlong flight a deafening roar announced that there was no going back. The natural tunnel climbed steeply, heading eastward by Tarl and Aeron’s best estimation, as they continued in near darkness, with Elzabeth’s staff providing the only light. Tarl’s and Faeryl’s darkvision allowed them to navigate through the gloom easily, the drow priestess aiding her young warrioress charge, while Nykira’s natural ability to see in low light and Aeron’s similar sight gained from his enchanted belt helped them avoid obstacles, but Galen had to remain close to the witch to avoid stumbling. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably more like a quarter of that, the tunnel ended in a great round slab of stone which looked to weigh several tons. “All that just to be trapped at a dead end,” Tarl huffed in frustration as he plopped down on his chest. “I don’t understand! He said this was his escape of last resort… there has to be a way out,” Elzabeth exclaimed in near panic while frantically searching the walls for some trigger device to move the stone slab. “Let me have a look,” Nykira moved forward, carefully running her hands along the wall while scrutinizing every clack and seem with both the skill of a gifted thief and the natural acumen for hidden entrances of an elf, until she finally found a small piece of stone that pushed inward. Sunlight spilled into the tunnel, causing the witch to recoil and shield her eyes as she hadn’t seen it for years, as the massive slab rolled to one side with the resounding groan of stone grinding on stone. The companions where temporarily affected as well, having spent several days in the oppressive gloom of the lichdom, but when their eyes adjusted to the light they looked out on a small, forested terrace in a steep cliff-face overlooking the rocky Frost Hills. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Disclaimer: Some of the material presented here may be the property of Wizards of the Coast, LLC© taken from the Dungeons & Dragons® Forgotten Realms® Campaign Setting authored by Ed Greenwood & Sean Renyolds, the Dungeons & Dragons® Forgotten Realms® Campaign Accessory Silver Marches® authored by Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl and/or other sourcebooks registered to Wizards of the Coast, LLC©. This is unofficial “Fan Content” permitted under Wizards of the Coast, LLC© Fan Content Policy, it is not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast, LLC©.