Thricken the Thief had made his final mistake. And the group had paid the price for it.

Only the ranger Falcon Grey had escaped this horrible fate. His elven senses had warned him that something was amiss when Thricken approached the treasure chest in the middle of the mysterious Hall of Etherall. The quest until they had reached this place had not been easy at all, and if anything, they should have been more on their guard. Especially since they were so close to their goal, and all resistance had suddenly vanished. No monsters or other creatures to fight, no traps to outwit, no obstacles to overcome. Like this huge treasure chest in the middle of the grand hall was just sitting there, welcoming every adventurer or robber - the difference is neglectible - to just help themselves to its contents.

And this foolish rogue had to just open it.

Falcon ran like never before in his life. And he was right to do so. As soon as the mechanism had snapped, gallons of boiling hot lava poured from the ceiling, filling up the entire hall within minutes. Everyone else in the group - Marla the healer, the paladin Stanston, Juminos of the wild barbarian tribes in the east and Groxanos, front soldier of the dwarven armies - didn't stand a chance.  Their screams of pain and agony that ended quickly still echoed in Falcon's pointy ears.

He ran. The lava followed him through the corridors like a living being out for his blood. He threw away his weapons as it came closer to him, and he felt that his heart was ready to burst out of his chest, as hard as it was pumping. His legs started to shake, he could even feel it while running, and he knew that he couldn't keep up this speed forever. But then there was the exit. With his last remaining strength he bent his knees and jumped. The exit, a wide mouth in the middle of the cliffside, led straight to an abyss, but there was a small rock formation nearby that he caught with one hand as he jumped towards it. His fingers hurt like hell as they had to catch his entire weight, but they saved him from falling to his death.

Somehow he managed to pull himself up and rest on this rock. He stared at the lava flowing out of the mouth-like entrance into the abyss. And he mourned the loss of his companions that he had been with through so many adventures.

Bloody Thricken!