Arriving at the Grand Hall

Silax was the first to step into the hallway, after a few steps he felt his feet sink into the floor, immediately a slight breeze blew across his face. The torches along wall lit up, lighting the whole stretch of the hallway.

He looked down at where he had stepped, he noticed that a small square segment of the floor was depressed. Then he looked at the wall and saw a small round hole, and on the opposite side of it a spike was lodged into the wall. Right in front of him across the floor was a scorch mark.

A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as he traced the scorch marks on the ancient stone floors. The flickering torchlight cast long, menacing shadows across the dusty hallway, highlighting the jagged holes where spikes had recently sprung from the floors and wall.

Silax, placed his hand on the hilt of his dirk and glanced back at the group trailing behind him.

"We're definitely not the first ones here, and whosoever came through here didn't exactly tiptoe through."

Nervous glances were exchanged amongst the group, their faces etched with a mixture of apprehension and grim determination. This wasn't an ancient ruin gathering dust; this place was, or had been, very much alive with danger.

The traps had been triggered haphazardly. The blackened scorch marks hinted at powerful sorcery, and the disarmed spikes implied a cunning foe.

More importantly, the fact that he had sprung the trap and could've ended up with a spike in the face sent a shiver down Silax's spine.

Elara's eyes narrowed in concentration as she scanned the floor for hidden triggers.

"We need to move cautiously."

Her voice was low and firm.

Kal approached Silax and took the lead, then he said in a carefree manner.

"Eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Alarynn, stay alert for any sorcerous residue. The rest of you, watch your step."

He received a series of grunts and nods in response.

Silax took a deep breath and steeled himself for what lay ahead. The pressure plates embedded in the floor was a stark reminder that if he had been the first to come through here, he might not have been so fortunate. 

With a deep breath, he stepped past the pressure plate, his movements measured and cautious.

The rest of the group followed close behind, each step echoing in the oppressive silence, their nerves stretched taut as they ventured deeper into the treacherous hallway.

The question gnawed at him: what kind of danger awaited them at the end of this hallway, and were they prepared to face it?

They walked the whole of the hallway fully alert and in silence, fortunately no traps were triggered. Whosoever had come through her before had triggered every single one of them.

This end of the hallway was wider than where they had come from, wide enough for the whole group to stand before the grand double doors that ended it.

The doors were made of moonstone, a rare stone mind from within the caves of the dark-elves, the stone always emitted a soft radiance, glowing with light akin to that of the moon.

Kal walked up to the doors and tried to push them open, but the doors didn't budge. He kept on trying and looking for a way to open the doors, then he saw the inscription written across it.

On its surface, in swirling elven script, almost invisible unless you stood directly beneath it, was an inscription.

He called Susan over, she traced the text on its surface and read it aloud.

"A connection lost, a spirit asleep.

A vessel unfilled, a song unheard.

Touched by the moonlight, yet devoid of its grace.

The whispers of the forest reach all ears, yet the heart remains silent.

The door opens to the silent cry of the Ælf's plea." 

"A poem? What's it supposed to mean?" Elara asked.

While they were trying to understand the meaning of the inscription, Silax was thinking to himself.

'A connection lost? A vessel unfilled? Devoid of the moon's grace? I think I know what it means, it has to be an elf who isn't a spiritualist. What I'm not sure of is if it's one who hasn't started absorbing orenda, or one without the ability to do so.'

Silax walked up to the doors, thinking to himself that there was no harm in trying, he placed his hands on the door and pushed. As soon as he did, the glow of the moonstone seemed to become a little bit brighter, then the enormous doors groaned open.

"What did you do?" Elara pulled his arm and asked.

Silax was just as confused as she was, he didn't think all it would take was him making contact with the door.

"I just touched it and it opened."

"Kal and Susan, both touched it, but nothing happened." Elara retorted.

"Maybe because they are not elves?" Silax said, not wanting to say anything about his suspicions of its connection to the fact that he wasn't a spiritualist.

Kal went between bottom of them, stepping into the pass the doors.

"That's not important now, let's see what this place has to offer."

The group followed him into the Grand Hall, the sight of it stole their breath away. The room was bathed in vibrant lights in different hues of emerald, ruby, and sapphire. The lights shined across the polished marble floor of the Grand Hall.

Towering pillars carved from a single, pale stone, marched down the hall like silent sentinels, their smooth surfaces reflecting fragmented rainbows of light. Towering arches stretched towards a vaulted ceiling that seemed to disappear into the heavens.

Intricate patterns were carved into the floors of the hall. The air hummed with a faint energy, a subtle thrumming that resonated deep within one's bones. 

At the far end, opposite the entrance, a slab of black stone rose from a dais, dominating the space. Its surface shimmered with an otherworldly glow, pulsing faintly in rhythm with the ambient energy that filled the room.

Although the hall was magnificent and filled with a lot of things that awed one, it was quite bare. The only thing in the hall was the slab at the other end.

A few of them went closer to inspect the slab while Elune remained closer to the door keeping watch. The slab was a kind lectern with smooth edges all around and stood waist high. It had an image and an inscription on its front, and placed on it ceremoniously was a chalice.

Susan noticed the image on its surface and went closer to examine it, she knelt in front on it and traced her hand on the image, as soon as she touched it, the lectern pulsed gently.

Then, a bloodcurdling shriek shattered the silence. From the shadows at different corners of the hall, three ghoul-like figures emerged, their hulking bodies had pallid flesh stretched taut over skeletal frames, eyes gleaming with a feral hunger, and their claws gleaming in the light of the hall.