After a few moments of respite, the group gathered in the area near the Three Head's cot and table. Zeroth, having ingested a healing potion to mend his wounds very recently, turned his attention to Tingle. The gnome, though visibly fatigued and sporting singed marks from the magical assault, managed a nod and a weary smile.
"Are you alright after being drained like that, friend? Seems like the Three Heads took quite a lot out of you," Zeroth inquired, concern etched on his face.
Tingle, wiping sweat from his brow and brushing off bits of charring, responded, "Tingle has had better days, but thankfully magic isn't needed for my main weaponry." Despite the exhaustion, a resilient spark gleamed in Tingle's eyes. The gnome's indomitable spirit seemed to override the physical toll exacted by the sorcerers. With a nod of acknowledgment, Zeroth decided to investigate the immediate surroundings, eyeing the table near the cot where the Three Heads had rested. Zeroth began to walk closer to the table, hoping there was something of informational value he could use. The table, cluttered with books and scrolls, hinted at the dark machinations of the sanctum. One particular scroll caught his eye, boldly labeled with the ominous word "captives" in red text. A list of names sprawled beneath, some cruelly crossed out, sent a shiver down Zeroth's spine. He hoped against hope that the crossed-out names didn't signify a fate already sealed. Realization dawned on him—the room they were in might be the sacrificial chamber. The scrolls and notes hinted at nefarious rituals, and the oppressive atmosphere only reinforced the notion that the sanctum was a place of malevolent practices. He also noted the brazier and half-crescent stone pillars on either side of it were placed in a very peculiar way. While Zeroth delved into the unsettling information, Varic's keen eyes scanned the surroundings. His gaze fell upon a barred metal door at the back of the room they were in, the torch nearby seemed to barely be lit. Zeroth looked up to watch Varic attempt to open the door only to hear muffled voices coming from the area which sounded afraid. Once the door was opened, Zeroth, Tingle, and Ardric filed behind Varic to get a look at what was behind the metal door. As Zeroth approached, he could hear shuffling sounds and muffled whispers as everything grew quiet once more. Seeing the room ahead had very little to offer in terms of light, Zeroth pulled his battle axe off his back and held it as if danger were near, and in response, the axe alit in flame.
"Hah! Glorified torch and dangerous weapon for war. What can't you do?" Zeroth chuckled. Using the axe as a source of light, Zeroth lead the way into the room to notice many barred cells lining the large room. All the torches were extinguished and it smelled of filth and decay causing Varic to pinch his nose and heave slightly.
"Is anyone in here? We aren't here to sacrifice you or anything of that sort and we've already killed the Three Heads." Zeroth said as he began to approach one of the cells.
"Allow me to fix this darkness problem, Zeroth. You do look scary, holding that flaming axe in the darkness." Varic said as he began to use some of his magic to conjure flames upon one of the torches then lighting the rest with it.
The newfound light revealed the harsh reality of the cells—grim quarters filled with desperate souls who had been robbed of their freedom and forced into the abyss of the Whispering Abyss Sanctum. Tingle let out a gasp of shock to see the decrepit state of his fellow gnomes, young and old.
"Tingle must free these poor gnomes! We must lead them out of here to safety!" Tingle said as he looked around, his face contorted into one of shock. When Zeroth approached one of the cells, he saw the two gnomes inside had a zombie-like look to their faces, as if they were in some form of trance.
Slamming his battle axe into the lock of the gate, smashing it open, Zeroth approached one of the gnomes and asked, "Are you alright? Why do you look so sickly and out of it?"
In a cell nearest to Tingle, a raspy voice rang out, "They won't answer. They've been prepped for sacrifice. Just about all of them were prepped and ready before you lot came along and I guess I was the lucky one to be missed." While Zeroth lightly shook one of the gnomes, Tingle walked closer to the cell that the voice came from, taking a torch off the wall for more light. In the dimly lit cell, a frail figure huddled in the shadows. As the torchlight revealed the captive's face, the lines of age etched deep into the wrinkles, telling tales of years long past.
"And what did you mean when you said they were prepped for sacrifice? Tingle knows about the sacrifice itself, but not the prepping. And who are you?" Tingle asked with a look of worry on his face.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The old gnome sighed deeply and said, "My name is Eldrin. When the sorcerers want an easy way to get their captives to cooperate, they daze their consciousness making them act as pliable as they need. No consciousness, no fighting back." As Zeroth, Varic, and Ardric worked on breaking the locks of the other cells, Tingle listened intently to Eldrin's somber explanation.
"They use a concoction, a vile potion that clouds the mind, rendering the captives docile and compliant," Eldrin continued. "They call it the Shadow Elixir. It saps away one's will, making them susceptible to the dark rituals they perform. They refer to the process as "prepping" them."
Tingle's eyes widened with a mix of horror and anger. "And what do they gain from all this? What is the purpose of these sacrifices?"
Eldrin's gaze darkened as he spoke, "The Three Heads believe that by channeling the essence of the sacrificed into their dark rituals, they can enhance their powers. It's a grotesque and forbidden practice, forbidden even among the magic-wielding communities. But these sorcerers, they've embraced the forbidden, twisting their powers for malevolent purposes."
Tingle clenched his fists, his face a mask of determination. "Well, they won't get away with this. Tingle is going to put an end to their madness and rescue everyone they've taken."
Zeroth, having successfully opened another cell, nodded. "Right, that's why some are more mutated and others appear fairly normal. It goes to know, if it's forbidden, don't use it." Zeroth glanced at his axe, feeling a strange flash of heat that disappeared as soon as it came. "Anyway, if they are compliant, at least getting them out should be fairly easy."
Ardric nodded in agreement, opening another cell and corralling three more gnomes out. "It might be cynical but compliance will help to prevent them from panicking and getting killed by accident." Zeroth walked toward Eldrin's cell, the last one to open, and slammed his axe into the lock, breaking it open and opening Eldrin's cell door.
As Zeroth assisted Eldrin in leaving his cell, Varic approached them and asked, "So, does anyone know the exact way out of here? It was like a maze just coming in."
Eldrin let out a wheezy, small laugh and said, "Well, all you got to do is go up. This place was built in a canyon system and if you paid attention, you would've noticed you all went down the entire way here." Nodding, Zeroth took note that there were only nine living gnomes they were currently able to lead out, and the only way out was through many of the kobold sorcerers.
As Zeroth processed Eldrin's words, a sense of urgency washed over him. Leading a group of gnomes out of the Whispering Abyss Sanctum was no easy feat, especially with the lurking threat of the kobold sorcerers.
"Up it is, then," Zeroth said firmly. "We'll stick together and make our way out of here. Varic, keep an eye out for any sorcerers lurking in the shadows. Tingle, stay close to Varic and be ready to cover our retreat if needed."
Tingle nodded eagerly, clutching his gunblade tightly, while Varic nodded in agreement, his senses alert for any sign of danger and his eyes beginning to glow green. With Eldrin and the other gnomes in the center of their formation, Zeroth and Ardric took the lead, their weapons at the ready. The group moved cautiously, navigating through the sacrifice room where the corpse of the Three Heads remains, Tingle and Varic scanning around the rear of the group for threats as they continued along. Finally, the group exited the large room and began to head up-slope down a corridor. As they approached a junction in the passageway, a faint echo of footsteps reached their ears, and Zeroth's heart quickened. "Stay alert," he whispered to the group, his grip tightening on his battle axe, small embers beginning to flicker along the blade of the axe. With tension thick in the air, the group pressed forward, their eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of danger.
As they turned a corner, Zeroth shouted, "Stop! We've got company!" Down the passageway, in the opening of a larger door, stood two mutated kobolds and three shorter, normal-appearing kobolds. The mutated kobolds had elongated claws and misshapen limbs, a testament to the dark experiments they had undergone. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural light, fixated on the approaching intruders. The trio of regular kobolds, although lacking the grotesque mutations, carried an air of malevolence. Their eyes gleamed with intelligence, indicating a level of cunning that made them dangerous despite their size. Zeroth signaled for his group to Ardric to prepare for battle, and the tension in the air became palpable. The fate of the gnomes and the success of their escape hung in the balance as they faced this formidable obstacle within the Whispering Abyss Sanctum.