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Chapter 6

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Added Tue Oct 3 01:55:29 2023 at level 45:

Stirges fluttered about like gnats in the cold tunnels beneath the temple.
Their thin, batlike wings burned brightly, lighting up the darkness ahead of
them as Yfetris invoked fire to keep them and their sharp, blood-sucking
proboscises away from her party.

Strange. These tunnels were sealed. While she could imagine stirges
infesting this place while it was still active, the blood of ritual sacrifices
enough to appease a demon god must have ran in rivers, there couldn't possibly
be enough left to keep these leeches satisfied after so long.

Undeterred, the group continued forward, walking over the ashes of the
creatures, the cries of their brethren echoing through the tunnels ahead. As
they progressed deeper, the stirges only grew more numerous, and the metallic
stench of rotten blood began to assault their senses.

The tunnels opened into a large room sloping downwards, in the center of which
was a massive stone altar with cruelly-barbed shackles hanging from each
corner. Though the altar was dry, beneath was a pool of blood, the depth
impossible to tell. Stirges could be seen fluttering just above the stinking
pool, dipping their proboscises down into it to feed.

For a moment, Yfetris regretted having come to this place. But she steeled
herself. Knowledge worth acquiring is only to be found where others fear to
tread.

She ignited the creatures, their cries echoing through the room in an almost
deafening wail. While she could see well in the dark, the illumination of
burning wings showed that something seemed to be moving within the blood.