The Rune Stone

Maker

Initially the temple weilded nothing more than empty halls and fozen pillars, but one thing was certain, the deeper they went inside, the more rough and caverous the place looked. Eventually the party was no longer in a temple but a cave network filled with winding pathways and a maze of dead ends. It was here that they entered a huge gallery that was considerably warmer than any of the others they had been into. The massive geysers pumping out hot steams at regular intervals from the bowells of the mountain seemed to be the cause of this. There was a large number of them peppered throughout the cave floor, amongst the stalagmites and stalagtites. More importantly, amonst these, in pools of what appeared to be boiling water, massive eggs were submerged. Easily the size of an human child. " These must be some really big fuckin' chickens they grow here. " mumbled Nicholas as he knelt beside one of them. " There was only one thing that can come out of eggs that size, and it is not something you'd want to eat or meet, mister Hook. " retorted Kralich as he moved further in, ingniting a small orb of light in the palm of his hands. However, as soon as he did that. A loud screech was heard echoing through from the deeper reaches of the cave. Then, rushing towards them came dozens of giganting, four legged lizards, brandishing their fangs and talons towards them, ready to strike. " Watch out ! " managed the mage to yell out just as Nicholas embedded an arrow into the skull of one of the creatures. Torstein and Varonno both drew their weapons as well, moving forwards to assist the mage who was now crouched down into a small barrier dome with dozens of the creatures attempting to claw their way to him. As soon as the two others joined him, he pushed the energy from the barrier outwards, knocking their foes back and allowing them to strike back at them. Luckly for the company, the lizards they were fighting were clearly freshly hatched, their hides soft and bones brittle. Despite this, their overwhelming numbers still posed a threath as when one fell two others took its place, pushing them back against a wall and managing to inflicit flesh wounds upon them all, ripping through their padded clothing and leather armor with ease. Eventually however, after considerable strain from the mage, focusing all his energy into a cone of cold sprayed towards the last remenants, the group came out victorious.

" Lovely. They have f*****g dragons now. " exclaimed Nicholas, pulling one of his arrows free from the fallen body of one of the lizards. " Drakes. " corrected Kralich. " These are not fully fledged dragons. Not yet anyway. And you should be thankful for that. If they were, you would not be sitting there complaining about them. " sighed the mage in the end. " You are half right however, where there are eggs, there must be a mother too. A big one at that. " he added as he inspected one of the bodies. " What about the eggs, should we not get rid of them ? " asked Varonno inspecting one of the many pools with submerged eggs within. " That will take far too much time to do. We have more pressing matters. Plus, I really do not want to risk meeting their mom. Do you, ranger ? " responded Kralich. " I suppose not. But still. They will pose a threath for everyone in the lands below if the are not dealt with now, when they are vulnerable. " " They shall kill eachother in no time, it is their way, only one will remain in the end, reigning over the whole territory that was once his mother's. " said the mage. " Let nature take its course, i say, safer for everyone involved." he'd end before getting back on his feet.

Just as the company was about to proceed deeper inside three armored men appeared before them, with many more behind them, some clad in mage robes or simple civilian garb. " Stop ! You will go no further. " said one of the men, who stepped forwards to meet the company, seemingly unafraid of them. " And who might you be ? " asked Kralich taking a step forwards from the rest himself. " You do not have any right to demand my name ! You have defiled our temple. You have spilled the blood of the faithful and killed our young. " began the man, gradualy raising his voice. " No more ! You will tell me now, intruder, why have you done all this. Why have you come here ? " he demanded, now meerly a few steps away from the mage. Kralich frowned slighly. " Tell me your name then. And I shall tell you why we are here. " began the mage, standing his ground. " I am father Kolgrim. Leader and guide to the Disciples of the Temple. " responded the dark skinned man, seemingly growing even taller. " Kill us, and you shall face the Maker. He will smell our blood and the blood of his children on you. And His wrath shall be great ! " boomed the priest. Kralich simply quriked a brow up. " What are you on about man ? " " The Maker has overcome death itself and returned to his faithful in a form more radiant than you can imagine ! Not even the pagan mages with all their rune stones can hope to slay him now ! What hope have you ?! " continued the man pacing around in a fanatical frenzy. Kralich hummed. " Really ? I wish to see this newly risen Maker, then. Will you show him to me ? " he'd ask in the end, in a calm manner.