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Detheriel
Feeling bouyed by the success of the party, Detheriel led them confidently forward in a brief search of the surrounding area, making sure that no bandits lay in wait to ambush them from behind if they moved deeper into the structure.
"I think we should try that second door now" he whispered back to his companions. "We must make haste, yet remain as quiet as possible. Let us try and preserve whatever element of surprise we have left after all that noise." Drawing his sword carefully, the scraping of metal seeming terribly loud to his sensitive ears, he noticed his heart beating fast with excitement and fear. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves in these unfamiliar surroundings he briefly eyed the second staircase down towards the cellar before leading the others on.
The corridor and steps down were lit by dripping candles mounted at regular intervals and these cast long flickering shadows along the stone walls. Taking full advantage of these, Detheriel, Zakaria and Telryn scurried along in the gloom, hunched over, moving with all available speed.
Finally, with a brief raised hand signal, Detheriel halted the small group by the entrance to the cellar at the bottom of the second stairway. After a final look behind him to check that both his companions were ready, every muscle tensed and screaming for action, he checked the impulse he had to launch himself around the corner blindly. Inwardly cursing the stonework that obscured his vision in a way that the forest did not, he slowly craned his head around the stone archway to see inside the cellar.
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