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Tarl shrieked as the fiend gripped him about the waist and lifted him off the ground.

"Not so fast, creature of darkness!" A deep voice shouted a warning to the pit fiend. A dripping Miltiades had crawled out of the murky liquid in the pool of darkness. Brittle was nowhere to be seen. As the beast turned to its new challenger, a skeletal hand splashed syrupy foam into its eyes.

Dropping Tarl to the hard stone, the monster clawed at its face, then turned to the paladin, laughing. "Again you challenge me? Foolish creature! Come to me so I can swat you down like the pest you are! Look at your friends, all helpless! Let me squash you now so I can savor you with the rest of my prizes! Latenat!"

The paladin gritted his teeth and raised his sword. He stepped forward in determination.

Tarl regained his breath and clambered to his feet.

The pit fiend roared, rattling the entire chamber. Drawing itself to full height, the beast focused its gaze on Evaine. A low humming emanated from its throat. Twin beams of icy blackness shot from the fiend's eyes, engulfing the sorceress. Evaine thrashed and struggled to escape the beams, but she was trapped in the field of evil magic.

Her screams pierced the chamber. Tarl threw the Warhammer of Tyr at the fiend, but the monster barely twitched. Miltiades chopped at the beast, but his blade barely scratched its leathery hide. Evaine was losing the struggle. In the seconds since the magic had overtaken her, her hair became shot with gray and she appeared to age ten years. Her friends watched in horror, powerless to help her.

Andoralson struggled to his feet. "In the name of Sylvanus! Release her, beast from the pit!" The druid threw himself between Evaine and the fiend. The beam of evil magic washed over the druid, engulfing him.

Evaine slumped to the floor. The others stood by as Andoralson aged before their eyes. His hair turned white and deep lines etched his face.

Evaine sat up abruptly to stare at the seemingly invulnerable monster that towered over her companions. The words of the succubus echoed in her ears-something about the creature's name. She had mentioned the first part of a clue, but what was the second part?

Evaine clambered to her feet, shouting at the pit fiend. "Tanetal, creature from the pits of the Nine Hells, I command you in the name of all the true gods to return from whence you came! Tanetal, creature of darkness, I strip you of all powers on this plane! Tanetal, surrender your hold over others of this world and return to your dark abode!"

The pit fiend blinked, and the beams disappeared from its eyes. Andoralson lay twitching on the stone floor. Tanetal stood staring at the sorceress. Wisps of smoke floated up from the stone around it.

Miltiades and Tarl backed slowly away from the fiend, weapons still raised. The smoke rose thickly, engulfing the monster. Tanetal stood helplessly staring at his destroyer. "No! You cannot send me back! I have powers, great powers! I-you-you may command me! Call me back and I will serve you humbly! We will grow strong with the powers of the pool! You do not know the power-"

The fiend's words were lost as a whorl of smoke engulfed it and the stone beneath its feet opened. The once-powerful beast was captured in a supernatural vortex, sucked into a plane of darkness. With a deafening rumble, the chamber shook, the stone floor closed, then all was silent. A final wisp of sulfurous vapor drifted to the ceiling.

The only sound in the chamber was the panting of the exhausted companions.

Andoralson lay silently on the stone. His hair had turned a ghastly white, and his skin was drawn and livid. Tarl ran to his aid, but too late. No sign of life was left in the druid.

Tarl bowed his head and began a prayer to Tyr.

"Sylvanus," Miltiades called. "He worshiped Sylvanus."

Tarl nodded and prayed. "He died nobly. His god will have favor on him," he said after a time. The cleric lay his cloak over Andoralson's body.

Ren and Tarl finally