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Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption Turn 63: The Dark Lake
“Well,
I didst not know that our plan, such as it was, would so rapidly
become a proposed trip down this track in a cart for a wild ride into
the dark depths!” said Sparhawk incredulously. “Art thou sure that this is the only way to proceed? Is this our only
‘road’?” Danton
shook his head ruefully in the green light of his torch. “I
must admit that I too am not terribly keen on exploring these
mines—even if coming south was originally mine idea. While 'tis
possible that the mines go somewhere useful, by all appearances this
is unlikely. They frankly seem abandoned. Thus, 'twould appear that
we must reverse course.” Tenaris
nodded her head approvingly at Danton’s words, while Syll still
looked anxious to go for a ride in an ore cart. “Instead,”
said the Velunese, watching Syll, who continued to gaze at the ore
carts as if longing to go for a ride in one, “we might need to
try Syll's proposed plan: returning to the Earth Temple to use it as
a base of operations, at least temporarily. If we do that, we then
hath two real options: exploring the dark lake that we found or
exploring the passage with the bloody trail that we located. Frankly,
I dislike both options, but I cannot think of a good third option at
the moment. The bloody trail seemeth likely to lead us only into more
pointless mayhem with those awful apes, and, this time around, we
hath not the mighty thews of Nanoc to see us through. The dark lake I
doth not like at all -- I fear what liveth in the lake, for surely 'twill assail us if we endeavor to cross it. That having been said,
of the two options, methinks it more likely to find something useful
by braving the lake than the bloody trail. If we do choose the lake,
we must needs put together a crafty plan for crossing its fell
expanse, with an eye toward both fending off an almost certain
submerged attack as well as to prevent from drowning those of us,
like mineself, who art not good swimmers.” “But, a query, ere we proceed,” added the Furyondian swordsman, “Wilt the foul beasts who eyed and smelled us back there, in the Earth Temple I believe thou named it, be suspicious that we return? Mayhaps you should think of what thou wilt say in response to questions, or wilt thou merely disallow questions from such underlings as part of thy disguise? Doth thou thinkest yonder beasts wilt tell thee the right path if thou asketh?” “I really don't know which way is best to go at all,” said Tenaris pleasantly, “but I'm sure Danton will make the right decision. By the way, Danton, aren't you supposed to be coming up with an appropriate nom de guerre for me?” Danton smiled broadly at Tenaris’ words, while Sparhawk absently stroked his chin. Danton smiled even wider and winked at Tenaris as inspiration struck. “For the present,” he said, addressing the entire group, “I am not greatly troubled by Mereclar's crew. As the terrible 'Delchin', I hath no need to explain mineself and mine comings and goings to that rabble. That being so, I could walk right past Mereclar and give him little attention. However, I intend instead to speak to him directly. I am going to ask him precisely what these mines are used for and who, if anyone, traverses them. Methinks these mines are a total dead-end, but there is no harm in confirming that.” Danton paced about in a circle as he spoke, clearly making up his plan as he went along. The others stood silently and watched as he went around them. “I shall demand to speak privately with Mereclar -- that is, away from his toadies -- and I shall ask the information bluntly, with a suspicious tone. Whether he asks or no, I shalt let slip that, amongst mine many purposes in the Temple, I am seeking to uncover an ancient dwarven relic which wast secreted in the mines. But I hath found that the relic hath been taken from its secret resting place, known only to a handful in all the hemisphere ... and, upon command of mine exquisite mistress, Ventanarix, Dark Princess of Blackmoor…” Danton paused and winked again theatrically at Tenaris. “…There is now hell to pay. Mereclar shall speak to me of what he knows, or he shalt suffer the consequences.” Although
he pretended to move on and was nominally looking at Luger when he
spoke again, Danton watched Tenaris out of the corner of his eye.
When he saw her silently mouthing the word ‘Ventanarix’
to herself several times and then smiling, he knew that his quick wit
had served him well once again. “Ventanarix,”
he added, looking at Tenaris, “you, mine Lady of Darkness, may
simply nod solemnly and no more -- a high lady of Blackmoor ought not
lower her beauteous self to converse with mere rabble, after all.
Your servant Delchin shalt act as your hands and lips, so to speak.
P'raps, after all that, Mereclar can act as our sponge in the Temple,
absorbing information and passing it along willingly. It may be that
we wilt not see him again, but, if we do, I'd like to put him ‘on
the payroll,’ so to speak.” “So, Ventanarix,” he finished, smiling and giving an exaggerated bow, “mine terrible and worshipful mistress, doth thou approve of your Delchin's scheme?” “I approve of your plans, Delchin,” replied Tenaris with her hands on her hips. “You shall live...for now.” Seemingly
oblivious to the interplay between the scout and the elf woman,
Sparhawk said solemnly, “Good Danton, thou speakest with
wisdom. I think this is the best plan yet that thou hast conceived.
It should definitely point us in the right direction and use these
evil minions for the foul knowledge they possess. But why not gain
the information about yonder body of water from them while thou art
at it? Thou couldst ask them what manner of creature stirs underneath
the water, waiting to assault the good humans who befoul the Temple
of the Great Despicable One?” “It seems to me that a solution to crossing the lake was obvious from the outset,” interjected Luger, “use the row boat to cross. I can pray for a spell which would allow a person to walk on the water's surface as if it were earth, but I can only acquire three of them per day. I suppose three of us could escort the boat across on foot while two use the boat. I have another spell which would allow me to part the water, but I'd have to take a closer look to see if we can ascertain how deep the water is, as it has limits to the volume of water which can be displaced.” “But before we cross the lake,” said the cleric, “I think we should return to Nanoc's body and give him a fitting farewell and ensure our enemies do not befoul it. By the way, I managed to collect a few of his things before I slunk out of the temple, and these should be put to use.” As he spoke, Luger slipped his pack off his shoulders and began to unload several of the items he had taken after Nanoc was killed. “I believe these gauntlets would benefit anyone in melee combat. While they would no doubt aid me in my swing, I think they would better utilized by a warrior or even our fine scout.” Luger tossed the infamous gauntlets to Danton and said, “I'll let you guys decide where they are best used.” “Nanoc also had this fine cloak,” continued Luger. “Like my own, it aids the wearer against attacks of the more complex sort. I think any of you would find it useful. Nanoc also had potions of spider climbing and water breathing which might come in handy here. These two rings I will keep for myself for now. I intend to return Aseneth's ring when I have the opportunity and I find the idea of leaping upon our enemies with Geistblatt held high appealing.” As he finished, Luger placed one ring on each of his two ring fingers. After a brief discussion, the other party members agreed that Sparhawk should wear Nanoc’s gauntlets, while the cloak went to Tenaris, the potion of spider climbing to Danton, and the potion of water breathing to Syll. Given the history of the gauntlets, it somehow seemed best to give them to one who had not been present when the gloves were at the root of a dispute that had bitterly divided the party. “Well darn,” said Syll when the items had been divided. “I kind of liked the idea of zinging through the dark mine in a fast moving ore cart, but maybe we can still do it later. Getting Mereclar on the payroll may not be a bad idea, but it would have to be done carefully. After all, Tessimon may already be paying him, or that ogre. Now, I agree we need to go back for Nanoc's body, and bury him, but I also think we may want to investigate the room that giant was in that you told us about, Luger.” “As far as getting across the lake,” added the smuggler, “I might be able to help with that. I can't make us fly, but I do have some spells that would allow me to levitate us. I could use them to raise us up to the ceiling, and then we could work our way across the walls. I only have a limited number of those spells, and I would like to keep some of them for an emergency trip back, but I think if I cast them on the stronger members of the party, and then have the rest hang on to them, it should work, at least in theory. Depending on the surface of the walls and ceiling of that cavern, and the distance across the lake, it might not be the best way to go.” “Good, then,” said Sparhawk. “Hieroneous has indeed blessed us with the means and the forethought necessary to travel safely across this lake thou speakest of. I would appreciate any succor any of thee art willing to provide me in crossing. I thank, thee, Luger for these gauntlets, may they aid us in the struggle against evil and allow us to complete this mission in particular. For mine part, I am satisfied to wield Justice and wreak it upon these slathering servants of the Dark One! And shouldst thou be forced to give my name to these blackguards, thou may name me…Belthazar the Beheader!” Ventanarix, Lady of Darkness, rolled her eyes at her overly excited underling’s comments, distracting Danton once again. ”Euh,
er, for
reasons both business and personal in nature, I agree that we should
attempt to recover Nanoc's body,” said the Velunese when he
managed to gather his thoughts once again. “However, methinks
that we won't find it in the room where Nanoc met his doom, if we
find it at all—after all, more than two full days hath passed
since Nanoc fell.” “In time, it might be possible that I could return Nanoc to the living if we could keep his body safe until such time that I can raise him myself, or present him to another cleric,” said Luger. “Though I personally have never seen such a thing done, I have read several treatises on the subject and understand the theoretical and theological underpinnings of what would be required. The body can be dead for no more than a week for Nanoc to be raised, however, I can keep him in a gentle repose indefinitely by casting another spell on him once per week.” “Luger, it is truly possible to raise Nanoc from the dead?” asked Danton, tearing his gaze away from Tenaris for once. “If so, I take it that we hath only one week to act. I despair of being able to accomplish this within a week -- indeed, less than that now -- but methinks we should do whate'er we can to see it through.” “But I foresee at least one glaring problem,” said the Velunse. “What to do with the body? We simply cannot haul it around with us in the Temple. The logistics alone defeat such a proposition. Can you raise him from cremated ashes? If not, can you, or good Syll, create an extradimensional space into which to inter him temporarily, or at least render the body invisible and odorless so that we might stash him someplace?” “All this talk of thy friend saddens me,” said Sparhawk, his earlier levity now gone entirely. “I shalt aid in whatever way I canst, including carrying his body, even if of large proportions. Thy plan, companions, seemeth like a good one. Bully this Mereclar, get thy intelligence, and cross yonder lake. Let us proceed then.” “It
can be done, Danton,” said Luger. “With the gentle
repose spell, I can maintain Nanoc's body indefinitely and he
will be able to be raised for as long as I can keep his body
in such a state. His body would not decompose or smell—any more
than in life,” the cleric added with a smile, “while so
enchanted. If we could find a powerful enough priest, Nanoc could be
resurrected from even the smallest piece of his person which
could be done at any time within the next 130 years.” “And speaking of resources, if you wish to bribe Mereclar, I have over 2000 silver coin I do not wish to lug around. In fact, I have quite a bit of coin recovered from Nanoc, which we should probably disburse among the group.” Rummaging
around in his pack again, Luger poured out a large quantity of gold
and silver coins to each of the other party members (525 gold and
430 silver each). “This one is almost as clever as you, Delchin,” said Tenaris. “Your mistress is indeed pleased at the plans and myrmidons you have placed at her disposal.” Luger snorted. “If my name needs to be given to the toadies, I think I'll stick with Luger—simply Luger who kills whomever he is told to kill. I'll try to look menacing too.” “I hath thought about it,” said Danton, “and there is an additional use to which I wish to put Mereclar. Still under the angered eye of Ventanarix -- Blackmoorish princesses art very high maintenance, alas,” “I bet you don’t know the half of it yet,” muttered Syll, causing Danton to stumble on his words for a moment. “Er, hmm, what wast I saying? Oh, yes, 'Delchin' is going to demand that Mereclar show us about the immediate area so that we might see if this 'dwarven relic' hath been stashed nearby. If I can get him to do this, it might enable us to have a better look about the vicinity of the Blasphemous Hall -- after all, there are many unopened doors and unexplored places around this area, and if we merely start opening doors without obvious purpose, the locals shall get suspicious. If, however, I can get Mereclar to 'give us a tour,' so to speak, getting in and out wilt be academic.” Holding up one of his unrolled parchment maps for the others to see, Danton added, “Assuming that we move on to the Earth Temple, methinks we should explore these two stone doors before doing so. The first door is next to what we hath named the javelin room before heading to the lake. Frankly, I cannot remember if we attempted to open that stone door, but methinks we should try again. Second, we are going to try to recover Nanoc's body, so we might as well attempt to open the stone door where this gigantic beast was living. Assuming that we find no better leads to explore at that point, mine vote would be to head on to the lake ... for good or ill.” “Your ‘vote’ means nothing,” said Tenaris, “for this is not a democracy. However, I find myself in an unexpectedly good mood today, so I shall only subject you to twenty lashes rather than cut out your tongue for such temerity.” “Yeesh!” grunted Syll, patting Danton on the back. “Be careful what you wish for there, bud. I’m not sure she was joking about that whipping.” *** Because the party had only come a very short distance into the mines, the trip back to Mereclar and the gate complex was not a long one. When the party emerged from the room with the empty bins into the long north-south hallway that intersected the Blasphemous Hall, the gnolls and men on guard duty were clearly shocked at the group’s sudden reappearance. One of the gnolls near the small table at the southern end of the corridor rang the large bell that hung from the ceiling over the table, causing a general uproar in the hall as men, gnolls, and even a few troglodytes rushed into the corridor from all directions. They did not attack, but it was obvious that they remained at a high state of alert. Mereclar and the goggle-wearing ogre were in the hallway moments later, and the pair stalked down it to confront ‘Delchin’. “Why have you returned so soon?” asked Merclar, obviously highly annoyed but trying to control it. “Surely you have better things to do than march back and forth through the gate complex all day.” “Indeed we do,” hissed Danton, “and I would discuss them with you in private.” (Diplomacy 12+7=29) “Fine,” replied the half-elf guard captain, “but these others remain here while you and I speak.” “Naturally,” said Danton smoothly, “My Lady of Winter, the Dark Princess of Blackmoor, would not deign to lower herself for such a conversation, and these others are little more than lackeys.” Withdrawing up to the intersection of the two hallways, where they could converse in relative privacy if they spoke in low tones, Danton and Mereclar stood no more than a foot apart and stared at one another. Danton then related the false quest for the supposed ‘dwarven relic’ and set out the list of demands he had articulated with the other party members earlier, insisting that Mereclar provide a detailed description of the mines, show him around the gate complex, and relate all he knew of the underground lake and the Water Temple and other surrounding areas. (Bluff: 20+7=27) “Now, look,” replied Mereclar when Danton was finished, “after what happened at the bridge, I got told not to mess with you, but that doesn’t mean you can just order me around. There ain’t no dwarven relics in the gate complex and I don’t give guided tours of it to anybody. If you want to know about the old mines, explore ‘em yourself. They’re completely abandoned as far as I know—except for the occasional monster that comes crawling out of them—that’s part of why we have the guard post here. I don’t know what’s in or beyond the lake or those other places you were talking about—that’s not my job either.” “Who hath told you not to ‘mess’ with us?” asked Danton, his curiosity piqued. “Word came down, and that’s all you need to know,” replied Merclar. “Now, I’d appreciate it if you moved along. Having your lot here all the time is making my crew nervous, and the last thing we need is somebody doing something stupid.” Danton was tempted to press the man further, but something (sense motive: 12+7=19) told him not to do so. Instead he switched tactics entirely, handed Mereclar a sack of gold and silver (200 gold and 200 silver) and said, “The Dark Princess wishes this as a gift for you, to ensure your continued goodwill in the coming strife.” Mereclar gave Danton a strange look, but accepted the bag, and then the Velunese turned, bowed in the direction of Tenaris and the others and made a sweeping motion with his hand towards the northern end of the hall and out of the gate complex. As before, the gate area garrison watched the party every step of the way, but did nothing to hinder its passage through the corridor and into the mines north of the complex that had previously belonged to the Earth Temple. “This is very strange,” said Syll when Danton related his conversation with Mereclar. “Why on Oerth would anyone be giving orders to those guys not to attack us, particularly after what they know we did at the bridge and suspect we did to the Earth Temple?” “It is the tendency of all evil to turn upon itself,” said Sparhawk sagely as the group trudged into the dark mines and he and Danton lit their enchanted torches once again. “Good work, by the way,” he added to the scout. “That wert a close call. I couldst see even from a distance that thou commandest the evil fiends as a real leader. I hope that I do not need to worry that Delchin may replace Danton at some point?” he added with a laugh. The trip through the long, dark tunnels of the Earth Temple was generally uneventful, but it was not without at least one surprise: as the party made its way along, the group saw a few troglodytes here and there. Their numbers were nothing like what had inhabited the Earth Temple before the party destroyed it, but it did appear that at least a small number of new trogs had come to the temple area. Whether their purpose was to loot anything of value and leave, to re-establish the Earth Temple, or something else entirely, the party could not say, for the few trogs they saw kept a wide berth from ‘Delchin and Company’, as the group’s reputation obviously preceded it. At least as of yet, there was no such trog activity in the large cavern where the Earth Temple’s ziggurat had stood. This chamber was, apparently, still ruined and abandoned, and the party made its way through the rubble and out the eastern exit in the hope of reaching and penetrating the first of the two stone doors Danton had identified for further examination. The party passed the so-called ‘javelin room’ and then came at last to the first stone door, which remained closed. Danton examined the door (search: 12+13, listen 5+7=12) and then, seeing and hearing nothing, turned to attacking the lock on the door (open locks: 1+10=11;failure). The scout had assumed that picking the lock would be the least of any obstacles the party might face here, but this assumption turned out to be incorrect, and one of Danton’s picks actually snapped off in the lock when he tried to force it. “It would seem your skills are slipping, Delchin,” said Tenaris helpfully from behind the scout’s back. “You had best redouble your efforts. My patience is not without limits!” Snorting loudly, Danton pried out his broken pick and began a more systematic, careful assault on the lock (open locks: take 20: 20+10=30). Although it was time consuming, the more patient approach bore fruit: fifteen minutes later, Danton had the lock open. When Sparhawk opened the door, he and the others saw a square shaped room thirty feet to a side. A huge bed, 20 feet long and eight feet wide, nearly filled one wall of the room. On the east wall, there was one other exit, a closed wooden door. Although this chamber was new to most of the party members, such was not the case with Luger. “That door on the far side of the room is the one Nanoc and I opened when we were alone. The giant or whatever it was that killed Nanoc resided in this chamber—hence the oversized bed.” Danton pored over his maps for a moment and then came to the obvious conclusion. “There were never two stone doors in this region—only one. We hath discovered another area where mine two maps doth link up. The bridge complex, and the body of Nanoc if nothing hath changed in the intervening days, should lie just beyond yon wooden door. Is that not so, Luger?” “Yes,” agreed the cleric. “We should be ready for anything.” As the party made its way through the room of the dead giant, Luger could not help but notice that the chest and other items he had briefly spied here when he and Nanoc opened the far door were all gone. In short order, Danton pronounced the far door safe and said he could hear nothing beyond it (search 4+13=17, listen 11+7=18). Once Sparhawk opened the door and the party members stood in the long west-east hall that ran the length of the bridge complex, they could see that all of the doors that could close off sections of this hallway were open, allowing them to gaze down the over 100 foot long corridor. What they saw was very strange. First, Nanoc’s body was not where Luger said he had fallen, near the door through which the party had just come. Also absent was the corpse of the giant Luger reported he and Nanoc had killed. There were, however, numerous other bodies present. Scattered up and down the length of the long hallway were the corpses of at least a half-dozen dogs and nearly a dozen men dressed in banded mail and wearing the same sort of black cloaks worn by Merclar’s guards at the main gate and by the guardsmen the party had fought here at the bridge days earlier. However, everyone in the group, save Sparhawk, of course, remembered that virtually all of the fighting they had done here had taken place on the bridge and in the large chamber at its northern end, and not in the long west-east hallway that led to the bridge. As the group made its way east along the hallway, and passed body after body, it also became obvious that these men and dogs had been killed relatively recently, not days earlier. As if all of that were not proof enough that something strange had happened here, when the party finally reached the far end of the corridor and looked south towards the bridge, they could see that the body of the chimera and of all the men and creatures they had fought here were also gone. “What in the world is going on here?” asked Syll rhetorically. “It’s like somebody cleaned up after our fight here, but then they decided to have another fight, and nobody’s done the mopping up on that one yet!” “And there is no sign of Nanoc’s corpse anywhere,” sighed Danton. “Luger, you were here most recently. Have you any explanation for…for…well, all of this?” The cleric, who had kept close to Sparhawk and remained silent throughout most of the party’s trip through the Earth Temple complex, looked about in obvious frustration and confusion. “Truly I had hoped Nanoc’s body might still be somewhere nearby,” he said. “I suppose we could hope that Aseneth has been here, has the resources to have Nanoc restored to life, and took his body for such purpose, but it seems strange that she would or could have come directly here. When she told me to hold on to the ring she gave Nanoc, I had the distinct impression she meant to use the ring as a means of finding—and coming to—our location when she was ready. Beyond whatever we may conclude from all that, I really have no idea what all this might mean.” Aside from the bodies in the corridor, which Luger realized almost instantly (healing: 20+13=33) had been slain by a combination of blades, arrows, and fire of some sort, rather than claws, effectively torpedoing Syll’s guess that more ‘wild apes’ had assaulted the bridge area, there were only a few other clues as to what had happened. First, Luger judged that the bodies had been dead for somewhere between six and twelve hours. Second, the various barracks and living quarters surrounding the bridge area had all been thoroughly ransacked, with no effort made to conceal the fact that someone had rooted through all of them. Although the party itself had looted all of these areas after its own battle at the bridge days earlier, presumably leaving little behind for anyone else to take, it seemed obvious that someone had systematically gone through all the rooms, either looking for something specific or simply trying to find and take anything of value. When the party exited the bridge complex via the door leading to the very long west-east tunnel that ultimately led to the underground lake, they saw that the bodies that had been here days earlier were also gone. The blood trail leading into the tunnel running off to the north was still visible, but the blood was now dried and dark rather than fresh. Syll made one last appeal for the group to search this area before trying the dark lake, but no one else in the party favored such a course and the elf smuggler shrugged and went along with the others. Although it was only midday, judging by what the party had seen of the sky when they passed through the bridge complex, Luger advocated camping a bit back from the lake and crossing it only after he had a chance to prepare spells designed specifically to deal with water. No one objected to this and the group made a makeshift camp just southwest of the lake in an area out of view of the main tunnel leading back to the west. During the hours that followed, Syll largely kept to himself, while Danton lounged about in conversation with Tenaris, and Sparhawk and Luger walked back and forth along the edge of the lake. Seeking to make good use of his time and increasingly paranoid about everything he encountered in the mountain, Luger first cast Detect Magic on the water of the lake, hoping to determine whether it had any unusual properties. When the spell failed to detect anything unusual, Luger next threw rocks into the water, both close to the shore and as far out as he could, to see if anything would react. Syll called out that this was not a good idea, but Luger ignored him. But no matter how many rocks he and Sparhawk threw into the lake, all they produced was dark ripples across its surface. Danton took advantage of the long period of down time to have the longest conversation he had yet had with Tenaris, relating to her the general outline of his prior life, leaving out for the time being such details as he judged might upset or disturb the elf woman. When Tenaris asked the inevitable questions regarding his forced departure from Veluna, Danton’s answer was generally honest, albeit vague. Taking a deep breath, he finally mentioned Vanessa and her father, adding quickly that his relationship with the young noblewoman had been short and long ago. “While I hath thought on Vanessa now and again over the months,” he concluded, “I frankly hath not thought of her recently; mine mind hath been on other things.” Danton was an astute enough judge of people to tell that Tenaris had been put off to at least some degree by his tale (sense motive: 9+7=16), so he quickly moved to change the subject of the conversation to Tenaris herself, inquiring into her own background and her reasons for leaving Celene. Although he did not make reference to his conversations with Syll about the woman, he did make use of them, claiming that he had recognized Tenaris as having the grace and beauty of a highborn elf from the moment he met her. “My family is from Enstad,” replied Tenaris. “And it is a prominent one—we are distantly related to the royal family. I received the same sort of education it sounds like you did—a bit of everything and all for the purpose of future leadership in the family and in the state. But I always preferred to be out hunting and hiking in the forests with a blade or bow in my hand and no one looking over my shoulder. I even trained with the Knights of Luna, although I was never a member, before Prince Brightflame took the entire order into self-imposed exile to protest the Queen’s decision to seal Celene off from the outside world.” “Anyway,” continued the woman, looking out over the dark lake as she spoke, “with my hundred and twentieth birthday approaching…” Danton choked at this point, and his coughing fit was so severe that it might have proven embarrassing had not Tenaris been so engrossed in her tale that she did not notice. “…my family was determined to force me to ‘grow up’, stay in Enstad all the time, and start taking on some real responsibilities. So, I did what anyone in my position would do: I slipped out of our home during the night, rounded up a few friends and others I had met during my wanderings and snuck out of the city under cover of darkness. Once outside Enstad, we made our way north towards the mountains and towards Verbobonc—the quickest way out of Celene if you are starting in Enstad. Ten days into our journey, we were waylaid in the mountains…and you know the rest.” “And now, my Delchin,” said the woman as she stood up. “I think I shall go and throw rocks with Luger and Sparhawk. It looks like great fun and it seems to be causing Syll a fit, so how can I resist?” *** Although no night ever came to the dark world within Mount Stalagos, eventually the party members sought to get some sleep. They extinguished Sparhawk’s bright yellow torch and had those on watch keep Danton’s green torch lit well away from the sleeping area. At Luger’s suggestion, Sparhawk was to keep the first watch with Syll, followed by Danton and Tenaris, and finally by Luger himself. The first watch passed uneventfully, and when Syll woke Danton and Tenaris for their turn, the latter pair moved to the north end of the cavern, near where the single rowboat was moored, and passed the time in conversation. Although Danton tried to turn the conversation back to Tenaris’ background, she changed the subject every time, constantly inquiring about Verbobonc, Furyondy, Veluna, Ket and other places Danton had been. [Danton listen: 13+7=20, Tenaris listen: 5+2=7] Despite the (welcome) distraction of conversation with Tenaris, Danton had not lived as long as he had by being careless, and when he heard a shuffling sound of something large moving along rock off to the west, he hissed Tenaris to silence, withdrew Rat’s Tail, and whirled about with his green torch in his free hand. When he did so, he immediately caught sight of two huge creatures making their way down the long tunnel towards the lake. They were at least 8 feet tall and walked on two legs. The things also had two powerful-looking arms or forelegs that ended in long claws. Their color was difficult to determine in the greenish light of Danton’s torch, but they seemed to be covered with a mix of fur and feathers and their heads looked like those of great hunting birds or owls, with large beaks and eyes that shone red even in the green light. [Initiative: Danton: 21, Tenaris: 10, Owlbears: 20] “To arms! To arms!” screamed Danton. “Get up, you layabouts! Horrors from the dark are upon us!” There was no time to shout any more, for as soon as Danton swung about with his torch, the two creatures broke into a shambling run, and they were upon Danton and Tenaris in a matter of moments, even as Syll, Luger, and Sparhawk began to rouse themselves in the camp. Physically interposing himself between Tenaris and the onrushing creatures, Danton slashed one of them in the wing/arm as it came at him (attack: 16+8=24; hit; 3 damage). The creature then slammed into the scout, clawing him twice in rapid succession (hit for 14 damage), while the second beast went around the first and bit Tenaris through her armor even as she tried to join Danton in bringing down the first monster. [Initiative: Syll: 5, Luger: 20, Sparhawk: 13] The other three party members were on their feet in a flash and saw what was happening across the cavern. Syll fired his first salvo of magic missiles into the beast Danton was fighting in the blink of an eye (11 damage) causing the creature to shriek in pain. Luger and Sparhawk did not bother with their armor, but each did take a moment to grab up his blade, Geistblatt and Justice, respectively. Danton and Tenaris both continued to hack at the first of the bird-bear monsters (Danton attack: 16+8=24; hit; 2 damage), but to little evident effect, and both the scout and the elf woman continued to take a terrible pounding from the claws and teeth of their two attackers (Danton hit for 13 damage). “My lady!” screamed Danton through the pain, “Withdraw! Save yourself!” He slashed at the monster for a third time, drawing the most blood he had yet (attack: 13+8=21; 6 damage), but knew it was to no avail. He and Tenaris were simply outmatched. “Not a chance in hell!” yelled back Tenaris, even as she was bludgeoned again and went down under the mass of the other monster. Danton’s scream of horror echoed through the cavern, but was then cut off when he too was hit again and knocked senseless (hit for 11 points). Rather than immediately cross the distance to the melee, Luger called on Heironeous to burn the creatures that he had watched lay Danton and Tenaris low. He targeted his first spell on the beast now standing over Danton’s body (Cast Searing Light: 13+7=20; hit; 19 damage). The beam of light that shone forth from Luger’s hands and slammed into the monster was so bright in the darkness of the cave that even the cleric, Sparhawk and Syll saw spots in front of their eyes. The effect on the creature was even more devastating, as its fur and feathers caught fire. As it staggered backwards, more of Syll’s magic missiles slammed into it, but these were unnecessary overkill at this point, for the shock and fire of Luger’s holy power had effectively finished the monster. It collapsed into the cave wall and fell to the ground, still burning and giving off an awful smell. Yelling at the remaining creature to draw it away from the bodies of Tenaris and Danton, Sparhawk rushed into melee without benefit of his armor. It felt strange to go into battle in such a condition, but Sparhawk did not hesitate for a moment. With Justice in his hands and Heironeous in his heart, victory was certain, armor or no armor. Unfortunately for the paladin, Luger’s spell blinded him just enough to cause him to miscalculate his first swing at the eight foot horror standing over him, and Justice went wide (attack: 2+9=11; miss). Although the bear-creature was blinded too, its sheer size gave it a great margin of error, and it managed to claw and bite the unarmored paladin (hit for 12 damage) anyway. Sparhawk was staggered briefly, but so was his opponent when massive magical firepower blasted into it from both Syll (Magic missile: 11 damage) and Luger (Searing Light: 15+7=22; hit; 16 damage). The beast roared in pain—Syll’s attack had blasted half its beak clean off, while Luger’s attack had set it alight, just as he had done with the first beast. Sparhawk made it pay dearly for allowing itself to be distracted by these magical strikes (attack: 20+9=29; potential critical hit—2nd roll: 19+9=28; critical hit; 25 damage), running the monster clean through with Justice and all the force his two arms could put behind it. Although the still-burning monster had taken staggering damage—more than had proven necessary to kill its fellow—this was evidently a stronger specimen, and even as Sparhawk withdrew Justice, it slashed him with both claws and what remained of its beak (hit for 24 points). The paladin’s body was rent and torn and many a lesser man would have fallen from the pain and shock alone, but somehow Sparhawk remained standing. Switching to another spell, Luger fired a sonic attack at the monster’s head (Sound Burst: 2 damage). Somehow the cave dampened the attack and the explosion was not nearly as loud as Luger would have liked, but it still served to stun the beast just long enough for Sparhawk to run it through with his blade a second time (attack: 5+9=14; hit; 13 damage). This was clearly more than the thing could take and as soon as the paladin removed his blade and slipped aside, it pitched forward into the mud and water at the edge of the lake. With the fight over almost as suddenly as it had begun, Luger, Syll, and Sparhawk turned their attention to Danton and Tenaris. Both were still breathing, albeit grievously injured. A lesser cleric might not have been able to save Danton, but Luger’s power was such that he was able to convert enough spells to healing to bring both the scout and the elf warrior back to consciousness and even heal the worst of their wounds, with a little bit of healing left to assist Sparhawk with his injuries (Luger converts all non-domain spells to healing, and Sparhawk uses both Lay on Hands and his one healing spell; Danton restored to 28 hit points, Tenaris to 19, and Sparhawk to 39). While Sparhawk had taken his injuries stoically and Tenaris seemed unconcerned by her brush with death, Danton was clearly shaken by the attack, not because of his own injuries, but because of the horror of seeing Tenaris fall. Seeing the haunted look on the scout’s face, Tenaris said, “Don’t worry, my Delchin, Ventanarix is not so easy to kill!” After Syll told him how Sparhawk had rushed unarmored to engage the second monster after it had felled Tenaris, Danton thanked the paladin profusely, so much so that the latter eventually became embarrassed by all the attention. "Now about this plan of yours we are going to try in the morning,” said Sparhawk in an effort to change the subject. “This is going to work, right? I don't feel like sinking to the unseen bottom and being fed on for years whilst I decompose." *** When ‘morning’, such as it was, came and everyone in the party had slept as much as he or she needed, Luger and Sparhawk engaged in their morning prayers while the rest of the group made other preparations for the trip across the lake. Luger asked the Invincible to bless him with numerous water-related spells and, when all was ready, he explained his thinking to the others. “I mean to lower the water all around our boat as much as possible. I may also be able to exert additional control over the water to use it against anything that might attack us. If I can part it enough, we may simply be able to walk across the bottom of the lake. If not, I will cast another spell on Peter and myself, allowing the two of us to walk across the surface of the water. Perhaps Syll could take that spider climbing potion you have, Danton, and use it to walk across the ceiling. This would put him in a good tactical position to cast offensive spells should we need them during the journey. Peter and I can walk to either side of the boat, which will contain only Danton and Tenaris. Perhaps, Danton, you can recite poetry to her while you row the boat.” Syll snickered. “Good plan. I have just one refinement. I’ll cast levitation spells on both Danton and Tenaris before we set out. If all goes well, they won’t need to use them, but if anything happens to the boat, the two of you will at least be able to float up out of the water and, hopefully, out of the reach of anything nasty that might be in it. We’d then have to figure out how to get you the rest of the way across the lake, but at least you wouldn’t be stuck in the water with who-knows-what.” Since they would all have the benefit of protective magic to keep them out of the water, everyone in the group kept their armor on for the trip across. All other gear was loaded into the boat and then Syll drank the potion of spider climbing and cast his two levitation spells on Danton and Tenaris. At the same time, Luger cast water walk on himself and Sparhawk and then control water on the lake itself. Even as the water parted in front of the eight-foot long rowboat, Syll scurried up the side of the cavern and hung upside down high above the rest of the party. When Luger’s control water spell took effect, the results were like nothing anyone in the party had ever seen before. The power of Heironeous was simply stunning. For a distance of at least 70 feet out into the lake and reaching to both sides of it, the water level dropped and dropped and dropped. Near to the shore, where the boat sat, the water shrank away entirely, and Sparhawk, Tenaris, and Danton picked up the boat and began following Luger as he walked down and across the muddy bottom of the lake. About forty feet out from what had been the shore, the party began to step into water again. Still holding his torch in his free hand, Danton looked back and judged that the lake bottom had descended at least a dozen feet during the walk from the shore, if not more. Apparently now, as the group approached what had to be the center of the lake, the depth was beyond the limits of Luger’s power so the boat would still be necessary. As Danton, Sparhawk and Tenaris set the boat down in the water, and the scout and elf woman got into it, the party members could see, ahead, the dark column that rose out of the water. Whereas previously it had extended only a few feet out of the lake, now, with Luger’s power in effect, it extended nearly twenty feet above the surface of the water. Off to the south there was a hole in the wall of the cave. Normally it would have been an underwater passage obscured entirely from view on the surface, but now the top of it was visible because Luger had lowered the water level so much. [Spot: Syll: 6+4=10, Luger: 15+4=19, Sparhawk: 16+2=18, Danton: 20+8=28, Tenaris:17+2=19] Although none of the others saw it, as Sparhawk and Luger pushed the boat out into the water, Danton caught a swift movement out near the column ahead of the boat. There was a faint splash and then a few ripples floated away from the column. “We are not alone!” hissed the scout. “I hath spied movement of some sort near yon column! Be ready for trouble!” Several moments passed as Luger and Sparhawk, now walking on the surface of the dark water, drew their weapons and walked alongside the boat that Danton and Tenaris slowly rowed towards the column. Syll, crawling along the ceiling, set his pace to match that of the others, all the while gazing down on them from above. Suddenly there was rapid, obvious movement in the water ahead and to the side of the boat—on the side where Sparhawk walked—and then something shot up and out of the water. What might have been the upper body of a woman, albeit twisted, filthy, and gray-green, appeared above the dark waters. A head with matted, gray-green hair and a face of such horrific ugliness that it sent a wave of shock through all who gazed on it looked up at Luger, Sparhawk, Tenaris, and Danton from out of the water and then let out a blood-curdling laugh. [Initiative: Syll; 3, Sparhawk: 4, Luger: 20, Danton: 6, Tenaris: 24, Thing: 21] Despite Danton’s warning that something stirred in the water, most of the party was still stunned by the sudden appearance of the horrific woman or whatever it was that stuck its upper body out of the water. Tenaris was the exception—she had several troglodyte javelins at the ready and threw one at the thing in the blink of an eye. The weapon only grazed the creature, but it still caused the thing’s laugh to twist into an ear-piercing shriek. However, this noise was the least of the party’s problems, for it was the horrific appearance of the water-creature’s face that truly sent shockwaves through them (fortitude saves: Sparhawk: 17+9=28; success, Luger: 13+9=22; success, Danton: 20+1=21; success, Tenaris: 5+5=10; failure). Impressively, both Sparhawk and Luger simply stared back at the horrific visage and proceeded to attack the creature. The cleric opened with a sonic burst attack (7 damage) while Sparhawk charged across the surface of the water and hacked at the creature with Justice (16+9=25; hit; 15 damage). While Danton could not simply stare back into the face of horror and evil in the same way as the two followers of Heironeous, he was experienced enough to know to look away from it as quickly as possible, and though his stomach felt vaguely queasy from the short glimpse he had gotten, there were no other untoward effects. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Tenaris. After lofting her javelin, she had looked directly at her target. When the thing made eye contact with the elf woman, the latter’s body jerked and pitched about as she flopped back in the boat, her arms and legs kicking wildly and threatening to capsize the small transport. Then the elf woman began to float up in the air and Danton had to throw himself on top of her just to keep her thrashing body in the boat. “Sayonara, whatever you are,” muttered Syll to himself from the top of the cavern as he fired off three magic missiles at the thing that Sparhawk had hacked at in the water. The creature was slipping back below the surface and away from the paladin when the projectiles struck it. All movement ceased then and the green-gray body floated face down in the water. While Syll kept an eye out for any more trouble and Luger helped Danton to restrain Tenaris, Sparhawk examined the dead thing that had attacked the group. It looked vaguely like one of the mythical mermaids in stories told by Furyondian sailors, only dirty, misshapen, and, most of all, horrifically ugly. Before the body sank below the surface, Sparhawk cut free a pouch the thing had worn at its side and removed a pair of rune-covered bracers it had worn. The Paladin threw these items into the boat and then he and Luger began to help Danton get the boat moving across the water again now that Tenaris had stopped thrashing about and seemed to have lapsed into unconsciousness. “Do we want to check out that passage off to the south?” called out Syll from the ceiling. “We’d never have seen it if you hadn’t lowered the water, but it might be worth a look!” “Mayhap later,” called back Danton. “Let us first reach the far side and see to Tenaris, then decide upon a course of action!” Although the remainder of the trip was slow going, there were no further attacks. Some forty feet past the strange gray column in the center of the pool, the water, still lowered by Luger’s power, came to an end. Danton got out of the boat and he, the cleric, and Sparhawk lifted it up, with Tenaris lying in the bottom, and carried it the remaining distance up and across what was normally the bottom of the lake. Danton judged that the lake was normally well over a hundred feet long, but this had been reduced considerably by Luger’s spell. On the far side of the lake, the huge cavern finally came to an end. Whereas there was a large area of dry ground on the west side of the cavern, on the eastern end, the ‘beach’ as it was, extended for less than 10 feet before the cavern ended. For the moment, the ‘beach’ was much larger than that, but this would end when Luger’s spell faded. A second boat, the same size as the first, sat at the end of the cavern, and there were two tunnels leading out of the place. Both ran east, one slightly north of east and the other slightly south of east. Faint light came from both tunnels. From the northern tunnel, the flickering light seemed to have fires or torches as its source, while the fainter light from the southern tunnel might have been natural. By the time the party’s boat had been set down alongside the other one, Syll had climbed down the cavern wall and stood alongside the others. Still lying in the bottom of the boat, Tenaris opened her eyes and looked up at the four men. “Ohhh,” she groaned. “What was that thing? I feel terrible—so weak. I’m not sure I can even sit up.” “Whatever it was,” said Syll firmly as he looked back at the dark lake, “it won’t come out of there no more!” “So what is our plan at this point?” asked Sparhawk. “We have reached the far side of the lake and would seem to have three choices. We have two tunnels leading off…somewhere. Or we could try to go back and search that underwater passage while Heironeous still holds the waters back.” “Are you alright, my lady?” asked Danton, taking Tenaris’s hand in his own. “I think I’ll be okay,” she smiled, flashing a wan smile. “But I feel so weak that I don’t think I could run or fight or anything until it passes.” “Well,” said Syll, “time and magic are a-wasting, so we better make up our minds. And if the Water Temple is near, as we suspect it is, we better come up with a plan for that too.” ________________________________________________________________ Notes for turn 64: Please send postings for Turn 64 by the end of Friday, August 3rd. Danton and Tenaris have each earned enough XP to go up a level. I will take care of Tenaris, but will need the changes and updated character sheet for Danton with or before his next posting. Current date/time/location: 13 Kolovoz; approximately 0900; The Temple of All Consumption Items gained this turn: set of runed bracers and pouch from the lake creature Undivided Loot previously gained: none Items used/lost/destroyed/sold/left behind this turn: 200 gold, 200 silver, potion of spider climbing, 1 javelin, 1 day’s rations FOES DEFEATED: Active party members listed in green. This Chapter:
Entire Cmpaign:
Current Status of the Party: Danton AC: 16 (17 vs. one opponent) Hit points: 28/30 New XP: 1050 XP total: 28,451 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, 27 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch, old journal, 8 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside,1 inverted ‘Y” pendant in a brown triangle, 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 disguise kit, letter to Master Dunrat, ochre-colored robe, potion of love, a dozen vials of lantern oil, masterwork thieves’ tools, Rat’s Tail (Rapier +1), silver and gold brooches, bracers of armor +1, potion of hiding, pouch of unknown dried herbs taken from the home of Tal Chamish, emerald pendant, a small ebony troglodyte statuette, a curved dagger, six sticks of incense, an emerald pendant, potion of invisibility, boots of elvenkind, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, tattered dwarven book Gold: 1744 Silver: 1430 Luger AC: 20 Hit Points: 60/60 New XP: 1050 XP total: 25,801 XP needed: 28,000 Equipment: 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, 25 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, scroll of cure disease, Geistblatt (ghost touch longsword +1), 5 vials of Furyondian Fire, cloak of resistance +1 (+1 to all saves), potions of enlarge, reduce, nondetection, 2 silver and 2 gold brooches from Woodstock, tattered black cloak with burning eye emblazoned on it, note from Master Hedrack to Master Uskathoth (in Draconic), one large triangular metal bar, 2 emerald pendants, upside down pyramid symbol, book on history and worship of Elder Elemental Eye cult, two inverted Y pendants in brown triangles, scroll with remove paralysis and protection from elements, Oamarthis note, 3 books: The Worship of the Elder Elemental Eye, A History of Evil Cults, and The Temple of Elemental Evil, two metal keys (one taken from Oamarthis and the other from the goblinoid), dwarven waraxe, steel shield, set of dwarven-sized full plate armor (all of these taken from Oamarthis), Aseneth’s House Torquann dragon ring, ring of jumping (+30 to jumping checks), 3 iron triangles with inverted ‘Y’, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, metal scroll tube, two inverted ziggurat pendants; Spell Selection: Level 0(6): Detect
MagicX3, Read MagicX2, Purify Food/Drink Level 2 (4+1): Sound Burst, Gentle Repose, Silence, Domain: Aid Level 3 (3+1): Dispel Magic, Domain: Magic Circle Against Evil Level 4 (2+1): Control Water, Domain: Holy Smite Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 7 of 7 Gold: 689 Silver: 446 Syll AC: 14 Hit Points: 32/32 New XP: 1050 XP total: 12,970 XP needed: 15,000 Equipment: Ring of Protection +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Urrtarr’s spellbook, Scroll of: magic weapon, Masterwork Longsword, backpack, 3 water skins, 25 days rations, bedroll, magnifying glass, 2 flint & steel, 10 candles, map/scroll case, parchment, ink & pen, mirror, oil flask, 40 arrows, clothing, longbow, 1 dagger, sack, 50’ rope, chalk, 5 torches, storm whistle, 5 bells, gold brooch, lamp, black cloak, inverted Y pendant, rose quartz gem, ring of climbing, bracers of health +2, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, scrolls of Pyrotechnics, Melf’s Acid Arrow, Protection from Fire, Animal messenger and stone shape, Summon Monster II, Change self, Enlarge, Sleep X2, Wand of Monster Summon I (8 charges), potion of water breathing Spells per level per day: Level 0: (6) Level 1: (7) (1 used) Level 2: (5) (2 used) Gold: 3806 Silver: 442 Sparhawk AC: 17 (19 when using longsword/shield combination instead of great sword) Hit Points: 39/39 New XP: 1050 XP total: 7,050 XP needed: 10,000 Equipment: backpack, water skin, 4 days rations, bedroll, tent, 2 daggers, masterwork great sword (Justice), longsword, composite longbow, 1 quiver with 20 arrows, ink & inkpen, 50’ silk rope, whetstone, 1 vial holy water, half plate mail, large steel shield, 2 candles, signet ring and sealing wax, gilded warhorn, chalk, 2 mirrors, flint & steel, 5 pitons, 20 pieces parchment, 2 empty sacks, silver holy symbol of Heironeous, Everburning Torch, black cloak, inverted Y pendant, gauntlets of dexterity +2 Spell Selection: Level 1 (1): Cure Light Wounds Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 6 of 6 Lay on Hands healing points left on current day: 12 of 12 Gold: 625 Silver: 430 Tenaris AC: 22 Hit Points: 19/24 New XP: 0 XP total: 6,830 XP needed: 6,000 Equipment: longsword, chitin full plate mail, large steel shield, masterwork morningstar, 5 javelins, 2 troglodyte spears, inverted Y pendant, 27 days rations, potions of cat’s grace, levitate, spider climb, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, cloak of resistance +1, black robe Gold: 525 Silver: 430 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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