Keith Strohm - The Tomb of Horrors

In the remaining light of the taproom, Kaerion could see that what he’d first thought armor was actually a thick collection of wicked barbscovering the monster’s whole body-including the length of a meaty tail thatwhipped back and forth behind the creature’s substantial bulk. The barbsglistened with blood.

At that moment, Kaerion heard a familiar voice shout something at the creature. He looked again at the panicking crowd and saw both Vaxor and Majandra. The two had placed themselves in front of the crowd.

“Gerwyth, we have to do something to distract that… thing ,” Kaerion shouted. It was clear that the two nobles couldn’t hold outmuch longer. The bard’s hair was caked with blood that streamed down from avicious wound on the temple, and the priest’s once-shining chainmail lookedseverely battered and rent in several sections.

The elf nodded assent and knelt. “I have just the thing, myfriend,” he said, and then in one fluid motion drew two arrows from his quiver,knocked his bow, and released them in swift succession. The wooden missiles flew unerringly across the space and caught the creature between barbs in the juncture of neck and shoulder.

They had no effect.

The creature opened its mouth, revealing row upon row of needle sharp teeth, and let out a high-pitched ululation. Kaerion dapped hands to ears and watched in horrified fascination as the monster advanced. The twin arrows fell from the monster, as if worked out by unseen hands.

Gerwyth let out a curse and grabbed two more arrows. This time he rubbed the curved length of his ash bow and spoke several words in Elvish. The weapon’s silvery runes pulsated with a blue-tinted glow as theranger took aim and fired. This time, the arrows streaked across the room, leaving a trail of blue fire in their wake.

The creature let out another wail, this one even worse than before, as the missiles pierced the hollow beneath its right arm. It stopped its advance and whipped itself around to face Kaerion and Gerwyth. The creature’stail struck out behind it, and only Vaxor’s hastily raised shield protected himfrom a deathblow to the head.

Kaerion rushed forward to meet the creature, swinging his own sword in an arc. The steel rang loudly as it struck the monster square in the chest. Sparks flew out from the violent contact, but the creature did not slow. He ducked once as the figure lashed out with its own razor sharp claw, just barely missing him. He took a step back, hoping to find some weak spot on the beast-

And cried out as the monsters tad struck him hard on his shieldless side. The pain was incredible. It was as if thousands of needles penetrated his skin and were simultaneously making their way through his veins toward his heart. He felt as if his blood had turned to ice and his stomach churned with a familiar sensation-fear.

Kaerion cried out again as the walls of the inn melted away and he found himself surrounded by walls of solid stone-white stone, carved andworked like the walls of a temple. He knew this place, and the knowledge caused him to choke with panic. This was the scene of his disgrace.

“No!” he shouted in defiance, and the stone wallsdisappeared.

Kaerion lay on the ground, curled up in a ball. Around him, he could see Majandra and Vaxor attacking the barbed beast, keeping it distracted, unable to concentrate on killing its fallen victim. Three more arrows thudded into the monster, one catching it in its baleful red eye, and at last it gave ground.

Kaerion rolled to his feet. Anger had replaced the fear that had chilled him, and he let out a bellow as he rushed in. The beast struck out with its barbed tad, but he managed to deflect the blow with his shield. The shock of that contact nearly broke his forearm, but he kept pressing forward. Twice he landed blows that would have felled a bugbear, but the monster just shrugged them off. The third time, Kaerion blocked the creature’s razor clawwith his own blade and then spun, slicing out with his sword as he turned with his hips.

The steel bit deeply into the creatures throat and it let out a shocked gurgle. A small trickle of steaming black blood fell on to the blade, and then the wound closed, pushing the blade out.

Kaerion shouted in frustration. He backed away, letting Vaxor and Majandra keep the creature busy. Another two arrows buzzed angrily as they struck the creature, this time in the chest. Their enemy let out a roar and swept his tail before him, knocking Majandra and Vaxor out of the way. Quickly, the beast turned and faced Gerwyth. It pointed the wicked curve of a single claw at the elf archer and spoke a single, horrific word. A green bolt of energy shot out from the beast’s claw. Kaerion saw the elf try to roll out of the way, butit was too late. A green bubble of energy coalesced around the ranger, freezing him in place.

“Here, take this!” Majandra shouted at him and threw her ownblade at Kaerion. “I have to help Vaxor.” She indicated the fallen cleric, whowas struggling to rise.

Kaerion reached down and took the blade, catching a glimpse of a silvery glow before he was forced to dodge another barbed claw.

Time seemed to slow as Kaerion met the creature’s blows withsword and shield, his world reduced to the ring and clash of steel on barbed flesh. It wasn’t until the creature launched forward with both claws that he sawhis opening. Ducking under the beast’s attack, Kaerion let his momentum carryhim forward and slightly left of the creature. With a curse, he spun and brought his sword down hard on the meaty expanse of tail.

The beast recoiled as the mystic blade severed the section of tail. Kaerion tried to take advantage of the beast’s vulnerability, but hissword had bitten too deeply into the wood of the inn’s floor. He could not raiseit up.

It only took a moment for the barbed monster to recover, and Kaerion found himself hastily raising his shield. One of the creature’s clawedhands struck him hard on the shoulder, laying open muscle and sinew. The other batted away his shield and then lashed out, catching him directly in the chest.

Numbed by loss of blood and fatigue, he could not muster the strength to free himself. The creature chuckled low in its throat as it brought Kaerion inexorably closer to its spiked chest. Once impaled, the fighter knew that he wouldn’t survive long.

Just then, he heard Vaxor’s voice, deep and intense, chantingover the sounds of combat and the cries of the frightened crowd. A circle of white light formed behind the creature, a circle whose intensity grew by the moment. The beast must have noticed it, for it stopped trying to pull Kaerion closer and turned to look.

The circle burned brilliantly now, like a miniature sun. With a high-pitched squeal, the monster threw Kaerion to the ground and fled.

Kaerion cast about the room and saw Vaxor, bloodied and bruised, holding a section of the beast’s severed tail above his head with onehand. The other traced holy sigils in the air, glyphs that remained visible, burning with unearthly potence in the panicked atmosphere of the inn.

Suddenly, the circle of light spun open, like the iris of a human eye. Power flooded into the room, white-hot and palpable. Kaerion nearly wept at the familiar presence. Vaxor had called upon the power of Heironeous, and the god answered, filling the room with a fragment of his puissance.

Without thinking, Kaerion fell to his knees. Never in the time since his betrayal had he placed himself so close to the power of the god he had once served. The presence was like a knife that cut open a half-healed wound, and Kaerion ached with the sense of loss that swept through him.

The creature, on the other hand, screamed in agony as tendrils of energy reached from the circle, pulling the creature toward its opening. It struggled vainly against the god-wrought force, and Kaerion watched in fascination as the monster fell into the opening and disappeared with a final, high-pitched wail.