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Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption

Turn 54: The Troglodytes

Speaking out the side of his mouth in the shadows, Danton whispered to the others, “Methinks we cannot avoid this encounter without drawing attention to ourselves. I wilt demand the direction to the bridge, and we shalt go that way.
Let us seek to avoid violence -- these lizards be mere boot-scum and likely knoweth nothing of value. But if violence cometh nevertheless, let us hack them down quickly and quietly and prevent the raising of any alarms.”

“Agreed,” said Syll. “If we have to trash these guys, we need to do it quick and quiet. If anyone comes to see what has happened, we may still be able to bluff our way out of it by saying that they offered us cheek, and we don’t take trash off of lackeys.”

By this time the party had entered earshot of the two reptilian figures guarding the northeast passageway and there was no more time for discussion. Danton strode up to the duo, planted his hands on his hips, and proclaimed:

“Now, see here! I am seeking the bridgeway to make passage to the southern entrance, with which I am familiar. Which is the way? And quickly now!” (bluff 8+7=15)

“Bridge past Earth Temple,” hissed one of the lizard men in thickly accented Oeridian. “But you’re going wrong way—South Entrance is other way…back way you came.”

Realizing he had made a mistake, even if a small one, Danton moved to cover it quickly: “Who are you to offer such comments to me, Delchin the Despicable? Now, out of our way!”

The two lizard men moved to the sides of the passageway to allow the party to pass and Danton motioned for the others to follow him through the gap and down the crude stairs beyond. Once the group was down the stairs and sixty feet or so past the two guards, the tunnel grew so dark that the scout had no choice but to remove and activate his everburning torch. The green light illuminated the tunnel, which was roughly ten feet wide and high. Ahead, the tunnel branched almost immediately, offering both north and northeast passages.

Wanting to get as far away from the guards as quickly as possible, Danton nodded towards the left—the north tunnel. The party followed it as it wound back and forth for sixty feet, and then came to a dead end.

“Hmmmm,” mused Karzak as he gazed around at the tunnel walls, floor and ceiling. “I'ma wonderin' if these baddies somehow killed off the dwarves that dug this here mine an' befouled their stronghold. Mebbe they dun' even worse. Do ya think they enslaved the dwarves an' forced them ta build it? Either way, they is a' ginna pay a heavy price fer their sins at the edge a' me axe. Suddenly yer battle with this here cult jus' git a whole lot more personal fer this dwarf. We also is a' ginna need ta check the dungeons an' make sure they ain't git any dwarves locked up an' a' waitin' fer execution.”

”If there are dwarves enslaved here, we will free them,” said Luger solemnly. “However, I've heard talk of evil dwarven cousins living in the Underdark alongside the Drow. Is it possible that they could have built this place instead of your brethren? Maybe we'll find they are very much still active and working alongside the cult here. I'll wager your axe will find their blood to its liking as well.”

”Evil Dwarves?” spluttered Karzak. “Watch yer tongue, laddie! Mebbe they be un'er the control a' some evil demon, but talk 'bout ‘evil dwarves’ is a' ginna git ye in trouble. There ain’t no such thing! Ya hear me? If there are dwarves un’er the control o’ some baddie, I be thinkin' that once we kill the head honchos 'round this evil temple, the dwarves will be released from the spell an' re-build this palace ta make it a magnificent structure the likes a' which ye humans rarely git ta see an' kin never duplicate!”

Luger shrugged. “Regardless, we cannot stand here and dally. Let us continue on so as not to raise the suspicions of those lizard guards. The cult sent a powerful lizard priest to the moathouse, so perhaps we can find another such priest to question. We must seek to learn all we can of the inner workings of the cult.”

Syll scratched his chin in the green light. “I like yer plan of depriving them of artifacts, and dusting high and mighties ain’t a bad idea either, but we should also not let any opportunity to cause mayhem pass us by. I mean, if we can find ways of disrupting the inner workings of this place, we should note them and be prepared to implement them when a good time arises—probably on the way out would be good. You know, things like destroying foods stores, releasing slaves, destroying or diverting water stores or streams, demolishing critical structures, laying traps and the like. But, of course, we should do nothing that might draw attention to us or to the presence of enemies in general until we are finished with our primary goal and can get out real quick-like.”

“I think goin’ through these mines is the right idea,” added Nanoc. “If this place were made by dwarves like Karzak done said, maybe there is still some o’ them down there. Why I bet they’d know all the ways to git ‘round. Plus it’ll make it harder for the bad guys to trap us if we is in the mines, and it’ll keep down the numbers they can throw at us. Heck if there is enough dwarves down here in the mines, we might even get an uprising done started, and that’d distract all these low totem pole guys leavin’ jus’ the higher ups to us!”

While the others spoke, Danton gazed around the dead-end cavern, seeking to discern any signs of a hidden door or passage (search: 15+13=28), but he found nothing.

”Whether the dwarves who delved this temple be evil or not,” said the Velunese finally, “methinks we should regard anyone we find in this dreadful place to be an enemy, unless they be shackled prisoners. And even the shackled prisoners should be regarded as at least potential enemies -- for the wicked take one another prisoner, too. Mine admonitions are true for all, dwarves included. Even a goodly being canst become corrupted and wicked after generations in the dark, and, meaning no offense to you good Karzak, but I hath met enough rotten folk of all races to know that neither the color of a man's skin nor his stature proveth his trustworthiness. In short, trust no one.”

Karzak looked as if he were more than ready to argue this point, but Danton did not give him the chance and continued speaking:

”Regarding our larger goal, I think Luger hath advanced the best plan thus far: seek out relics or those who canst speak intelligently about them, at least. They might be lizards or men or some other such being, though methinks they won't be mindless gnolls or ogres -- such are surely mere strongarms and cannon fodder. In the short term, for want of any more specific direction, let us seek out this ‘bridge’ and work our way inward. If, along the way, the opportunity presents itself to seize a likely knowledgeable foe without raising alarms against us, then let us seize him, or her, and learn what there is to learn.”

“Trust no un', huh?” asked Karzak sarcastically. “That include ye, lover-boy? Actually, I be trustin' ya even if ye left me behind fer the rats. But that's ancient history . . . though ya better not be leavin' me 'hind this time. 'Specially this time
by the looks of it! But the very idea, ‘evil’ dwarves! It’s downright insultin’! I dun heard 'nough speculatin' 'bout all that. I be willin' ta fight anyun' who's 'bout ta stick a sword in me belly, but I also be bettin' that any dwarves in here will be prisoners or magicked ta fight 'longside the Great Evil 'Un . . . though I reckon' he ain't so great 'specially compared to the Dwarffather, who is . . . “

Karzak trailed off, smiled sheepishly in the light of Danton’s torch and finished lamely, “Oops, sorry. I dinna mean ta go on babblin' an' prattlin' on down here when we supposed ta be quiet an' all.”

“No matter,” said Danton, “but let us be on our way. There is nothing to be found here—we travel the northeast passage.”

“Just one more thing to consider,” interjected Syll. “We might want to avoid mentioning the bridge or any other specifics unless we absolutely have to—doing so nearly got us into a real mess back there. Guards and the like can’t know we’re going the wrong way if the don’t know where we are going. It’s the old, ‘I meant to do that’ defense. But if we must mention some destination, we should do it in such a way that someone else looks bad if we are going the wrong way. Perhaps something like, ‘Milktoast, may the Great Dark One long remember his fell deeds, hath pointedeth us in this direction, and advised that we seeketh the bridge. Which way be’eth it?’”

Danton nodded to acknowledge the elf’s point and then the group moved out once more.

After retracing their steps to where the paths had diverged, the party members turned northeast once again. The tunnel ran for a hundred and twenty feet before it split again—once more offering the party a choice between taking a tunnel running north and remaining in the one that continued to the northeast. However, before the group could make this decision, they would have to confront three more reptilian guards who stood at the junction of the two tunnels. Like the previous pair, these sentries wore studded leather armor and carried scimitars, javelins, and wooden shields. One had actually been shaving a wooden javelin with a knife to make it straighter when the party approached, but all three now stood at the ready in the intersection and blocked the way forward.

“Stand aside, lackeys!” spat Danton. “Delchin the Despicable doth make his way to the bridge and he cannot tarry to banter needlessly with rabble such as you!” (Bluff: 13+7=20)

“We not block,” said one of the reptilian humanoids, “but no one go through Earth Temple with no escort—no one. You want go, you come with us.”

“Rubbish!” said Danton, raising his voice. “Mine entourage is already large enough! I cannot be slowed further by additional groupies and assorted hangers-on! Now, out of my way!”

“No,” said the lizard man firmly. “You go with us or you go back way came. Your choice.”

Danton would have liked to be able to discuss with the others whether to turn back, accept the guards’ conditions, or attack them on the spot, but the situation made any such discussion impossible. He thus sighed loudly, muttered, “Oh, fine. Then let us get on with it,” and motioned for the rest of the party to follow him.

The three lizard men turned to the passageway to the north and walked ahead of the party, but one of the three constantly turned his head to ensure that the group followed closely. The passage ran north/northwest for eighty feet and then the group came to another intersection. The tunnel widened here and ran due north, but off to the southwest there was a set of stone stairs leading upward. Two tunnels leading to the east, both located north of the party’s current position, were also visible in the light of Danton’s torch.

Closer at hand, a woven-fiber mat lay on the floor in the southern part of the cave, near the bottom of the stairs. Hanging over it were two greatswords, mounted on the wall. Standing in front of the cot and the sword display was yet another reptilian humanoid. This specimen was larger than any of the others the party had yet seen—standing a full six feet tall. He wore half-plate armor and had a third huge greatsword strapped to his back. When the party and its three escorts entered the chamber, the lizard man with the greatsword stalked towards the group, saying something in a language that no one in the party understood…except for Luger.

<<What the hell are you idiots doing here? Why aren’t you at your post? And who the hell are these scum you have with you?>>

Although the tongue was totally incomprehensible to the others, Luger recognized it as a crude form of Draconic, a language he had studied in Greyhawk.

<<That guy in yellow is a priest trying to get to the bridge, Swordmaster>> replied one of the party’s escorts, pointing at Danton. <<We were gonna escort them through the temple so they wouldn’t…>>

<<Shut up!>> said the larger lizard man, cutting off the smaller one with a slap to the face. The bigger humanoid then turned to Danton.

“Who are you and what do you think you’re doing in the Earth Temple? You should know you have no business here! If you’re going to the Inner Fane, there’s no need to go through our temple! Why didn’t you take the South entrance?”

Danton was experienced enough to recognize that this was a creature of greater stature and intelligence than those he had thus far browbeaten into allowing him and the party to pass. He thus adjusted his tactics accordingly.

“Greetings, I am Delchin the Despicable,” said the scout. “Mine companions hath traveled the land for many months now, serving the Great Lord of the Dark by spreading his worship amongst the commoners. But now the time hath come that we must report on our deeds to the true Masters. We seeketh the nearest bridgeway and hath been told that it doth lie in this direction. We want no trouble with your Earth Temple, only to pass through its territory.” (Bluff 12+7=19)

“Hmm,” sniffed the reptilian creature. “We don’t get many visitors…or ‘passers through’. I don’t like it, but it’s not my decision. We’ll let Uskathoth decide. Follow me—and no trouble, or you’ll regret it.”

Without giving Danton the opportunity to say anything else, the humanoid spun on his heel, barked out a command to the three lizard men (<<You three bring up the rear!>>), and headed off to the northeast. With little choice other than provoking an immediate conflict, the party followed. Trailing behind them came the other three humanoids.

When the ever-larger group marched off to the northeast, it quickly entered an area where the cave looked as though its roof had once been quite unstable, and the ceiling was now propped up by wooden beams. The floor was covered with loose rock, but appeared fairly flat. Off to the east were the two tunnels the party had spotted earlier, but the light from Danton’s torch did not penetrate very far into either and there was no time to investigate them.

Beyond the two eastern tunnels, the passageway to the north that the party followed ran for nearly a hundred feet, winding back and forth periodically, until it finally opened up into the largest cavern the group had seen thus far. It was at least a hundred feet long and sixty feet wide in most areas. The cave had a well-worn path running through its center, where the ground was most level, running roughly north-south The rest of the floor was jagged and uneven, filled with loose boulders and rocks.

The reptile men led the party through the large cave, keeping to the cleared path, until the group reached the far end, where two exits were visible. The first was a tunnel running off to the east, while the second was a set of stone stairs leading up and to the northeast. It was up these stairs that the party’s ‘escorts’ led them. The stairs ran into a narrow passage that continued off to the northeast. Karzak could not help but note that the worked stone walls showed clear signs of iron ore in great quantities, making it obvious what had drawn dwarves to this place at some point in the past.

The floor was uneven in this area and covered with scree. A hundred feet past the stairs the tunnel split in three directions, running northeast, east, and southeast.

Standing in this intersection was one of the strangest creatures the party had ever seen. It was the brown color of rich dirt from head to toe, stood about four feet tall, and looked as if it had sprung from the rocks of the mine itself. It had a stocky build, but a vaguely elfin face and small wings that protruded from its back. The little creature gave the party a baleful stare as they passed through the intersection and into the southeast tunnel, but it said nothing to either the reptile men or the party members.

The southeast tunnel ran for some seventy feet before opening up into a cavern roughly thirty feet square. Here the lizard men stopped and everyone in the group was glad they did, for every inch of the cavern in front of the party swarmed with insects. Bugs of every conceivable variety covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, creating an audible hissing sound that filled the air. The smell of something rotting mixed with something acrid to create a thoroughly unpleasant odor. Hundreds of centipedes and millipedes were here, drawn for some unknown reason, but only a few of these were large enough to pose a threat. Over the low hum produced by the movement of the insects, chanting in words that a human mouth would be hard pressed to produce greeted the party’s ears from somewhere beyond the cavern.

<<High Priest Uskathoth!>> shouted the reptile man with the greatsword. <<It is the Swordmaster! I have brought you visitors who claim they wish to make their way through our temple!>>

When these words were shouted out, the chanting from beyond the cavern stopped. Luger had just enough time to whisper a translation in Danton’s ear before yet another lizard man appeared at the far side of the cavern, just at the edge of Danton’s torchlight. As this newcomer made his way through the chamber, the insects on the floor parted for him as if by magic, closing back together again in his wake.

When this reptile man, apparently High Priest Uskathoth, came into view, the party could see that he, like the Swordmaster, was larger than most of his fellows. He wore full plate armor, carried a massive steel shield and a morningstar, and had brown triangles tattooed over every visible inch of his scaly flesh. He also had an inverted black triangle symbol imbedded in his forehead. Something about the creature’s very aura made everyone in the party uneasy as he drew close.

“Something tells me this one’s gonna be trouble!” hissed Syll.

When Uskathoth passed through the last of the insects, the Swordmaster approached him and whispered in his ear for several moments. The newcomer then turned to Danton and the blade-bearer took up a position next to the cleric.

“I am the Senior Priest here,” said Uskathoth, “and I don’t know you—Delchin.”

“Of course not!” said Danton with a slight laugh. “The temple of He-Who-Waits-In –Darkness is vast and the field of action of his clerics is grander still! We hath been abroad in the land for many, many months. As I hath told your associate, we regret having to bother you at all, but must needs travel through your temple on our way to the bridge. We hath been recalled for an important conclave and time is of the essence.” Bluff 14+7=21

The priest was silent for several moments, and Danton used the opportunity to try to gauge the creature’s reactions (sense motive: 4+7=11). Unfortunately, he found the reptile man to be completely inscrutable and could not gain any insight into what Uskathoth was thinking.

The silence lasted for several uncomfortable moments, and then the priest closed his right hand around a black metal inverted triangle symbol he wore around his neck and began performing what was obviously some sort of ritual or incantation.

“Now see, here!” protested Danton, but to no avail. Moments later the priest finished his spell. He then extended his right hand towards Danton. Nothing visible happened and then the creature moved his hand towards each of the other party members in turn.

[Sense motive: Danton: 18+7=25; Nanoc: 18+1=19; Luger: 19+4=23; Karzak: 14+2=16 ]

This time the priest’s reaction was not so difficult to read, and almost everyone sensed immediate danger in his behavior. While the reptilian humanoid did not react visibly when his clawed hand pointed at Danton and Aseneth, his lips twitched and his teeth showed when he pointed at each of the others.

<<Enemies!>> shouted the priest in his own language. Instantly all of the other lizard men drew weapons and closed on the party.

[Initiative: Danton: 5, Nanoc: 20, Luger: 22, Karzak: 21, Aseneth: 15, Syll: 12, Priest: 19, Swordmaster: 23, Guards:12, Insects: 22]

As the party members drew their own weapons and sprang into action, a foul stench, emitted by the bodies of the reptilian humanoids all around them, assaulted their senses, threatening them with nausea even before the battle began [Fortitude saves: Danton: 17+1=18; success, Nanoc: 14+7=21; success, Luger: 13+9=22; success, Karzak: 18+9=27; success, Aseneth: 16+2=18; success, Syll: 8+4=12; failure].

Although the awful smell was much stronger this time than it had been when the party fought only a single reptile man under the moathouse, the previous experience that most of the group had there enabled them to shrug off the effect. While it was new to both Karzak and Syll, the dwarf was able to resist the effect as well, unlike the elf, who coughed and gagged.

As if the awful smell were not enough, the sea of insects that had been behind Uskathoth the priest now surged towards and over the party. Within a matter of seconds, everyone in the group had bugs crawling all over his or her body. While most of these insects were only an annoyance, some were large enough to do real damage and these began to bite through clothes and armor (Luger bit once for 1 point: fortitude save: 15+9=24; success, Nanoc bit twice for 6 damage, fortitude saves: 17+7=24, 18+7=25; both succeed). In response to the insectoid surge, Syll and Aseneth began firing spreads of magic missiles at the largest of the bugs, blasting many of the vermin to bits. Still, the two spellcasters were crawling with the creatures themselves and each was bitten multiple times.

The Swordmaster, the largest of the reptile men, drew the massive two-handed sword from the sheath on his back and rushed at Nanoc. The barbarian brought his massive axe up just in time to block the strike, ducked low when the Swordmaster followed with an attempt to bite him, and then immediately countered (attack: 8+14=22, 9+9=18, both miss). Although his axe slammed into the Swordmaster twice, Nanoc was stunned when his opponent’s metal breastblate turned the axe away both times.

Hoping to take down Uskathoth as quickly as possible, Luger began launching the most powerful spells that Heironeous granted him at the evil cleric (Cast Searing Light: 21 damage). The priest fired a beam of pure white light directly into Uskathoth’s face. Any lesser foe would have been staggered or destroyed by the divine power Luger channeled, but Uskathoth shrugged it off and brought his holy symbol down on Karzak, who had turned to help deal with the humanoid guards behind the party (Karzak will save: 17+3=20; success).

Engaged in melee with one of the guards and shouting curses in dwarven as he was, Karzak did not even notice the touch on his shoulder, but rather concentrated on slamming his waraxe into the chest of one of the three reptile men (attack: 12+10=22; hit; 16 damage). The blow staggered the guard, but did not drop him, and Karzak bore down on the creature to finish him even as another of the guards came at him from the side.

When the melee began, Danton spun about to face the third (and final) guard, whipping Rat’s Tail into the reptile’s face before the lizard man knew what had happened (attack: 17+8=25; hit; 5 damage). Although blood flowed freely, the cut was a superficial one and the humanoid countered quickly, but ineffectively with his own blade.

Although Nanoc could feel insects biting him from all sides, climbing all over his body, and even squirming through his hair (bit again for 1 point; fortitude save: 18+7=25; success), he ignored them and concentrated on the Swordmaster. The lizard man moved with blinding speed, and he knocked Nanoc’s axe aside, slashed the barbarian across the chest with his blade, and then rushed in for a follow-up bite (hit twice for a total of 17 points). Unfortunately for the blademaster, this aggressive move left him wide open to Nanoc’s devastating counter—as the lizard man backed off to bring his blade to bear again, Nanoc caught him full in the side with his axe (attack: 20+14=34; possible critical hit—2^nd roll: 13+14=27; critical hit: 45 damage). The strike seemed to open up half the Swordmaster’s body in a welter of blood. Whether he could have survived such a brutal strike would never be known because Nanoc followed it with an attack to the chest (attack: 18+9=27; 17 damage) that dropped the blademaster to the ground permanently.

Now facing two lizard men, Karzak found it difficult to strike either (attack: 3+10=13; miss) without opening himself up to an easy attack by the other. Concentrating mostly on defense and waiting for an opportunity, the dwarf relied on his banded mail, helmet, and heavy shield to ward off the blades of his two foes.

When Luger blasted Uskathoth a second time with Heironeous’ divine power (Cast Searing Light: 15 damage), he finally succeeded in getting the other priest’s attention, and the reptilian cleric turned and tried, without success, to bring his holy symbol into contact with Luger’s body. Magic missiles continued to flash about in the confused melee—this time part of someone’s salvo obliterated several larger insects that had been biting at Luger’s feet.

Danton felt like he was holding his own against the third lizard guard reasonably well—taking advantage of his greater speed—until some large bug that had crawled up his back stuck its head into his ear and bit into the sensitive skin there (hit for 2 points; fortitude save: 2+1=3; failure). The scout screamed in pain and clapped his hand to his ear. Blood flowed over his hand and he felt weakness seep through his body. The reptile he fought took advantage of his distraction and slammed its sword into Danton’s chest. The scout’s armor took the worst of it, but Danton could still feel blood running down his stomach now as well as the side of his face (hit for 4 points). He swung Rat’s Tail wildly in an attempt to hold off his foe while he regained his bearings (attack: 4+8=12; miss).

With the number of dangerous bugs being rapidly reduced by volley after volley of magical fire from Aseneth and Syll, the remaining insects were little more than a nuisance and it gradually became easier for the other party members to concentrate on their more dangerous foes. Luger remained locked in a magical duel with Uskathoth, now trying unsuccessfully to immobilize the evil cleric (Cast Hold Person—fails). Uskathoth tried again to touch Luger with his holy symbol, but missed once more.

Now that the Swordmaster was dead, Nanoc turned to aid Karzak, striking one of the guards facing the dwarf hard in the back (attack: 14+9=23, 5+9=14; one hit; 14 damage). With one of his attackers suddenly preoccupied with defending his back, Karzak quickly finished the other one, which he had wounded previously, with a single stroke of his axe (attack: 16+10=26; hit: 16 damage).

The fight was rapidly turning in the party’s favor, but heavy footsteps could be heard from the direction the group had come. When Nanoc looked that direction, ignoring yet another bug bite (hit for 1 damage; fortitude save: 1+7=8; failure) he saw that three of the strange, stocky, four-foot tall winged creatures the party had passed in the tunnel were rushing towards the fight, evidently having heard the sounds of battle. Leaving it to Karzak to finish the last of the reptile men, the barbarian spun and rushed at the three newcomers, swinging his axe in a sweeping arc that beheaded one of the creatures and then carried the blade right into the body of one of the others (attack: 17+14=31, 20+9=29; one hit, one possible critical hit—2^nd roll: 13+9=22=critical hit: 56 total damage from two hits on the first enemy. Dropping first enemy activates cleave feat and gives bonus attack on second creature: 13+9=22; hit; 11 damage).

“You boys ain’t so good one-on-one, eh?” said Karzak with a laugh as he bore down on the guard Nanoc had left for him. Seeing fear in the creature’s eyes for the first time, Karzak smiled and cut him down (attack: 13+10=23; hit; 11 damage).

“That’ll teach ya to go takin’ dwarves prisoner an’ makin’ em work in yer damned mines, bug-face!”

Freed from the incessant bug attacks by the sustained work of Aseneth and Syll, Danton willed himself to fight off what he was sure was insect poison coursing through his veins in order to be able to concentrate on the guard that still harried him. The lizard man clipped Danton once more (hit for 6 points), but backed off again when Danton slashed his leg with Rat’s Tail (attack: 11+8=19; hit; 3 damage). The two foes stalked one another in a circle, each now suffering multiple wounds.

Even as reinforcements arrived for the lizard men, Uskathoth finally managed to touch Luger with his holy symbol. The cleric immediately felt a chill and an alien presence in his mind that sought to sow madness. Someone else might easily have fallen prey to the mental attack, but Luger was sufficiently strong willed to repel it with ease (will save: 20+12=32; success). Unfortunately, Uskathoth seemed equally mentally resilient, and he again shrugged off Luger’s efforts to immobilize him (Cast Hold Person—fails).

When Nanoc strode into the midst of the three strange earth creatures that had come to join the battle, the two survivors of his initial attack leaned forward and opened their mouths, spitting forth a wave of rocks, pebbles, and dirt that washed over everyone in their path—including everyone in the party and the surviving reptile men. The party members used shields, weapons, and such cover as they could find to avoid the worst of the twin blasts, but some damage was inevitable (reflex saves: Nanoc: 19+6=25, 17+6=23; both succeed; 2 damage taken; Danton: 3+7=10, 13+7=20, one succeeds; 5 damage taken; Karzak: 2+2=4, 18+2=20; one succeeds; 5 damage taken; Luger: 19+5=24, 2+5=7; one succeeds; 5 damage taken).

Not liking the rocky blasts one bit—particularly not the way the cone of rocks pelted Aseneth, Nanoc brought his axe up again and swept it down through the two rock creatures, killing both with a single swing (attack: 6+14=20; hit: 15 damage—drops foe and activates cleave feat; free attack on second foe: 4+14=18; hit; 9 damage).

Spinning about in search of additional foes to kill, Karzak’s gaze settled on the lizard man that Danton was still fighting to a draw.

“Like this, boy!” bellowed the dwarf as he smashed his waraxe onto the helmet-less head of the lizard man (attack: 5+10=15; 8 damage). The creature’s reptilian eyes rolled up into its head and it crumpled to the ground.

With his best spells exhausted, Luger withdrew Geistblatt and had at Uskathoth in an effort to prevent the other cleric from casting any more spells at him. However, the lizard man’s heavy platemail deflected the blade with ease (attack: 9+7=16; miss) and Uskathoth brought his holy symbol into contact with Luger’s body again (will save: 16+12=28). As before, Luger felt some mad presence in his mind, just at the edge of his consciousness, but his will again proved too strong for it to break.

By the time that Luger had shrugged off Uskathoth’s latest mental attack, he had Nanoc on his left side and Karzak on his right, with Syll, Aseneth, and Danton arrayed behind them. Uskathoth was the only one of the lizard men left standing—all of his guards, insects, and earth creatures had been destroyed. The reptile cleric held his morning star and shield in front of him and began to back away from the party even as Aseneth blasted and staggered him with a massive volley of magic missiles.

“Take him alive!” barked Luger. “He will answer our questions!”

With the whole party stalking towards the retreating cleric, Luger peppered the lizard man with stunning spells (Cast Sound Burst twice: 4 total damage) that failed to stop him in his tracks, even as Aseneth cast charm spells of her own. Amazingly, Uskathoth’s mental toughness was such that he managed to shrug off spell after spell from both the sorceress and the cleric of Heironeous. Finally, when the party backed the lizard man up against the stone wall of the cavern, he dropped his morning star, withdrew a curved dagger, and slashed it across his own throat.

“No!” screamed Luger, rushing forward with the others. “Try to stop the bleeding!”

The other party members moved to assist Luger and they surrounded Uskathoth’s body only seconds after it hit the ground, but it was already too late. Even as the reptilian cleric died, his eyes continued to stare at the party and his open mouth seemed to curve in one last cruel smile.

“Damn,” muttered Danton. “’Tis almost as if some fell force actively prevents us from learning anything about this vile place.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Syll. “Let’s loot these guys quick-like, along with the little hidey-hole this here fellow came from. Maybe something they’ve got will give us some clue.”

“After that, we better get back inta the mines,” advised Nanoc. “We made a whole lotta racket here, an’ those funny rock guys might not be the only ones that heard it!”

The only items of note carried by the three reptile guards were emerald pendants worn by each under their armor and coin pouches carried at their waists. Syll quickly scooped up all of these items. The deceased Swordmaster carried no coins or jewelry, but Nanoc removed and took the creature’s half-plate armor and the massive sword he had carried. Luger and Karzak searched Uskathoth, removing the priest’s platemail, morningstar, gauntlets, shield, and knife, as well as his holy symbol, three rose quartz gems, an iron key, and a strange brown triangular piece of metal.

With these items in hand, the party moved around the corner and into the chamber from which Uskathoth had first appeared. Danton’s enchanted torch revealed a roughly circular chamber some forty feet in diameter. Its dark stone walls were mostly covered with tapestries that showed creatures made entirely of rock and earth toppling buildings and killing people. On the ceiling, about 12 feet above, a dead human, skin shriveled and blackened, hung by chains horizontally in a spread eagle position. The rear of the cave had a wooden bed, a small table, a padded chair, and a chest. The small table had a bronze coffer atop it. The whole cave stunk of death.

Danton searched (search: 3+13=16) the whole chamber as best he could, but the fever from the poison in his veins made concentration difficult. Most of the contents of the chamber seemed unremarkable, and the open chest was filled with nothing but brown and black robes. Underneath the coffer on the table was a single sheet of parchment with a note on it. Danton slipped the paper out from underneath the coffer. There were runes on the paper, but they were unrecognizable and meaningless to the Velunese.

“Doth this drivel mean anything to you?” he said, passing the note to Luger.

The cleric took the paper and immediately recognized the language of the writing as Draconic. Translating into Oeridian as he went along, Luger read the note aloud:

“Master Uskathoth:

The Doomdreamers are most pleased with the reestablishment of the Earth Temple by you and your troglodytes. Since the Fire Temple crushed the old Earth Temple so completely last year, the Doomdreamers had hoped someone would take up the challenge of restoring the Earth Temple to its rightful power and glory. Rest assured that you have my full support. I am confident you will serve the Elder Elemental Eye well, as will Ogremoch.

Yours,

Master Hedrack”

“What the heck does all that mean?” asked Nanoc. “I hate these weird notes when we finds ‘em! They jus’ makes my head spin!”

Luger remained silent, reading the text over again. While he did so, Danton examined the bronze coffer (search: 13+13=26). He spotted nothing untoward about the container and turned back to Luger.

“Give me that key you found—it may open this.”

When Luger looked up from his reading and complied, Danton could see quickly that iron key appeared to be exactly the right size. Danton slipped it into the lock, turned it, and opened the lid. Inside he found ten amethysts and a silver amulet, which he quickly removed and deposited into a sack.

When all of the items the party had acquired had been gathered together, Aseneth cast a magic-detecting spell and indicated that the two-handed sword, the silver amulet, the triangular metal bar and Uskathoth’s gauntlets all radiated magic. None of the other items did.

“Well, now what, boys and girl?” asked Syll. “We better make tracks outta here before somebody comes looking for any o’ that lot we iced back there, but where are we going? Does that note mean anything to any of you?”

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 55:

Please send postings for Turn 55 by the end of Friday, May 11th.

Current date/time/location: 8 Kolovoz (August); approximately 1030; The Temple of All-Consumption

Items gained this turn (not yet divided): three emerald pendants, 600 gold, one two-handed sword, one suit of half-platemail, one suite of full platemail, one morningstar, one set of gauntlets, one large metal shield, one curved knife, one inverted Y pendant, three rose quartz, one triangular metal bar, one note written in Draconic, one silver amulet

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold/left behind this turn: none

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in bold.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Note: known magic items listed in bold.

Nanoc

AC: 17

Hit points: 51/79 (poisoned)

New XP: 900

XP total: 24,931

XP needed: 28,000

Equipment: masterwork great axe, great axe +1, masterwork studded leather armor, 69 arrows, 2 quivers, backpack, 3 waterskins, 29 days trail rations, bedroll, 2 sacks, 2 flint & steel, bearskin, 50’ rope, 1 sap, masterwork mighty composite shortbow, masterwork shortsword, 3 iron triangles with inverted ‘Y’, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, a bead of force, metal scroll tube, a black cloak, two inverted ziggurat pendants; potion of bull’s strength, potion of cure light wounds(X2), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of water breathing, potion of spider climbing, Aseneth’s House Torquann dragon ring, ring of jumping (+30 to jumping checks), potions of cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, invisibility, silver and gold brooches, potion of spider climb.

Gold: 1269

Silver: 1420

Danton

AC: 16 (17 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 13/30 (poisoned)

New XP: 900

XP total: 22,981

XP needed: 28,000

Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, 3 waterskins, 29 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch, scrolls with pyrotechnics and melf’s acid arrow, old journal, 8 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside, 1 protection from fire scroll, 1 scroll of cure light wounds, 2 scrolls of cure moderate wounds, new journal, notebook, pen, ink, parchment in sealed waterproof box, pipe, tobacco, metal box, whetstone, six packets of tinder for lighting fires, gold inlaid dagger, Journal of Geynor Ton, a folded piece of parchment with a note addressed to someone named Festrath, spider pendant, a wand, disguise kit, letter to Master Dunrat, ochre-colored robe, potion of cure light wounds (X2), cure moderate wounds (X2), scrolls of animal messenger and stone shape, potion of love, potion of spider climb, a dozen vials of lantern oil, masterwork thieves’ tools, scroll with summon monster II, potion of cat’s grace, Rat’s Tail (Rapier +1), scroll with change self, enlarge, and two sleep spells, silver and gold brooches, bracers of armor +1, potion of hiding, pouch of uknown dried herbs taken from the home of Tal Chamish.

Gold: 1113

Silver: 1200

Luger

AC: 20

Hit Points: 47/53

New XP: 900

XP total: 18,431

XP needed: 21,000

Equipment: longsword, heavy mace, light x-bow, dagger, 20 bolts, chainmail +1, large steel shield, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, 5 torches, hooded lantern, 3 oil flasks, flint & steel, 29 days rations, silver holy symbol of Heironeus, 3 flasks holy water, 3 healer’s kits, backpack, cleric’s vestment, traveler’s clothing, 3 waterskins, bedroll, iron triangle with upside down ‘Y’ inside, eight cockatrice feathers, scrolls of cure light wounds (3), cure disease, neutralize poison, potion of cure moderate wounds; Geistblatt (ghost touch longsword +1), 5 vials of Furyondian Fire, cloak of resistance +1 (+1 to all saves), potions of enlarge, reduce, nondetection, silver and gold brooches, tattered black cloak with burning eye emblazoned on it.

Spell Selection:

Level 0(5): Detect MagicX2, Create WaterX2, Light
Level 1(4+1): Comprehend Languages, Detect EvilX3, Remove Fear, Domain: Protection from Evil

Level 2 (4+1): Domain: Aid

Level 3 (3+1): Dispel Magic, Domain: Magic Circle Against Evil

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 7 of 7

Gold: -137 (owed to Nanoc)

Silver: 0

Karzak

AC: 19

Hit Points: 45/52

New XP: 900

XP total: 8,100

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 28 days rations, aleskin, 2 waterskins, flint & steel, heavy crossbow, 4 cases with 40 bolts, 2 daggers, masterwork dwarven waraxe, large steel shield, banded mail, short sword, silver and gold brooches, bedroll, sack, Nanoc’s silver-plated short sword, potion of levitate, black cloak, inverted Y pendant.

Gold: 58

Silver: 1200