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Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption

Turn 65: Dark Alliance

As the woman and the kuo-toa looked expectantly at Danton, Sparhawk whispered in the scout’s ear:

“Well, thou hast done much better this time around, master Delchin! This call for an alliance wert exactly what we needed to navigate through the temple to the leaders. Let us not get too caught up in the ruse however that we art trapped in a situation or battle that we cannot escape from. Moreover, let us deflect any attempts of theirs to discover who we really are. No spells, physical searches, or the like canst they be allowed to cast!”

“Our goal is the ‘relic’ and we do not have time to participate in their civil wars,” hissed Luger in Danton’s other ear. “Tell them your Dark Lady needs to speak with Hedrack regarding the relic.”

“Luger, I agree,” hissed Danton, “except that I'd prefer not to close the door on the possibility of aiding them altogether. If we hath nothing else to offer them -- save only the threat of violence if they anger us -- then they may simply opt to fight us. I'll try not to commit us, while keeping open for ‘negotiation’ the possibility of aid down the road.”

Speaking more loudly to address the woman across the pit into which Sparhawk had fallen, Danton said, “Very well, my lady, perhaps we might retire to a more comfortable location for negotiation where we wouldst not be required to shout at one another across a ravine.”

“Excellent,” said the woman. “We will make use of my throne room behind you. Go back there and wait while I gather those of my followers who need to be involved in our planning.”

Although no one in the party was particularly happy at the idea of the woman gathering additional underlings to her side, they decided to play along for the time being. The party made its way back across the throne room and stood together near the throne itself. A minute later the kuo-toa from the far side of the ravine appeared in the room and walked past the party and back the way they had come. The party was then left alone for several minutes and used the time to plot strategy.

“My lady,” said Danton to Tenaris, “methinks you should still let me do the talking. Given the lack of impact of the Heironeous blasting spell on you, methinks that your disposition doth not make you the best speaker with these evil fiends. As for me, well, mine previous job hath made a trained liar out of mineself. 'Tis not a thing about which to be proud, but it doth have its uses.”

”Besides,” he added with a laugh, “you art a princess of Blackmoor and hath little use to bandy words about with these wretched folk, whatever elevated opinions they hold of themselves. I shalt do the talking, while you look peeved, annoyed and otherwise displeased with the continuing delays.”

“I only make executive decisions, Delchin,” said Tenaris sharply. “I'll leave the messy details of generalship to you.”

“As you wish, mine Lady of Despair,” replied the scout with a bow.

Sparhawk again looked nauseous, but Danton paid him no mind.

“These ‘civil wars’ Luger hath mentioned may actually be exactly what we need,” said Sparhawk a moment later to distract himself from the unseemly spectacle he had just witnessed. “We need not actually participate. Just feign our agreement and then slaughter these evil creatures at the first possible opportunity. Let us see where this takes us, as long as it does not take us to manacles. Let us also not become footmen for the likes of these... There would likely be just as much advantage in warning the Fire temple about any plans we become privy to here.”

“Sir Sparhawk, I approve heartily of your deceit and dissembling. I'll make a worthy spy out of you, yet!” laughed Danton.

“I think there really could be something to be gained in talking with the Water Temple people,” said Syll. “If they want to wipe out the Fire Temple, I have no problem with that. The more mayhem and disruption we can cause out here the better. I vote we chat with this lot a bit and gather some more information while remaining relatively noncommittal. If Delchin can carefully gather more information than he gives, we may finally get somewhere. If this lady is angry enough and cocky enough, we may be able to get her to spill more than she should. In addition, maybe she could tell us who has been telling them to leave us alone.”

Syll then smirked and leaned in close to say something that only Danton could hear. “Oh, and Danton, it might not be the best idea to tell your girlfriend you're a professional liar.”

“If the water princess threatens violence in any way, I think it best were we to try and stay her hand through your rough diplomacy,” said Sparhawk, even as Syll was whispering to Danton. “If she is still bent on suicide, I shalt help her to the Underworld for an eternity of torture by her own false god. If we do not join a foray against the other temple and she does not let us pass, she shalt have to eject us violently. This is our road, and we wilt march along it, with or without her consent. Make that plain in the course of your twisted diplomacy.”

”As for ‘joining’ with her,” added the paladin, “explain to her that her interests match our own, albeit for our own reasons, just as she has hers. We hast a common enemy, if admittedly not trust, tell her. Trust is for fools who desire a knife in their back here in the Temple of the Great Dark One. I think we should join and wait for a favorable moment of mayhem and chaos to cut a swatch of destruction upon their heads. But we march out on our terms, not hers. If she doth not like it, she can join the other temples in being destroyed.”

At this point the party’s conversation was cut off by the appearance of a large number of kuo-toa from the passageway to the west. Danton had only enough time to whisper to Syll:

“Your advice is sage ... or at least would be under normal circumstances. However, I hath already advised Tenaris that, in mine prior life, I wast a spy for Veluna. Tenaris is bright enough to understand what that would entail, methinks, and so I hath decided not to pretend otherwise. I am hopeful she wilt judge mine actions toward her, but only time wilt tell. But, setting that aside, good Syll, do you truly think that Tenaris considers herself mine 'girlfriend'?”

“Man, Sparhawk ain’t the only one around here who’s gonna be sick,” muttered the elf. “Suddenly I feel like losing my lunch too.”

The dozen kuo-toa that had just arrived fanned out in a semi-circle around the party and the throne next to which the party stood. Most of the fish-men appeared to be warriors. They wore leather armor shaped to fit the dimensions of their bodies and carried short spears. They stood, on average between four and five feet tall, but three stood out from the rest.

The first was the kuo-toa wearing the shell and fish vest that the party had first seen when he appeared across the pit trap with the woman who apparently led the Water Temple. When the kuo-toa party arrived now, this one went back around the pit and disappeared from view. The second kuo-toa that stood out from the crowd was a tall one, tall by the standards of the species, at least, standing five and a half feet tall. He wore no armor, but had metal bracers around his wrists and a harness on his back carrying a half-dozen spears.

But it was the third unusual kuo-toa that truly stood out from the crowd. Standing no less than six and a half feet tall and carrying a massive steel shield, this kuo-toa had glowing red eyes, a massive horny ridge that started at the bridge of his nose and went up over his head and back down his spine, as well as a pair of massive greenish-black wings that looked large enough that they might actually be functional. So different was the appearance of this one, that had he not been standing amidst a dozen other kuo-toa, the party members might not even have identified him as a member of the species.

There was little time to ponder all of this, however, as moments later the woman with the blue-green hair stalked into the room with the shell-wearing kuo-toa right behind her. She appeared very angry.

“Why have you slain my guards?” she demanded as she stalked forward and stopped with the kuo-toa arrayed to either side of her. “And who are those men in the boats?” she added, looking at Tenaris.

Danton was caught off guard by this verbal barrage, having forgotten both the catatonic men the party had recovered from the lair of the lake hag and the garrison the party had wiped out shortly thereafter. But he had not lived as long as he had by being slow to react.

“Mine priestess, do not presume to make demands of the Dark Princess of Blackmoor. I, Delchin the Despicable, am her chosen hand and mouth—until she, and no one else, determines otherwise. You wilt talk with me … or you wilt talk with no one. But come, let us not have conflict over such unimportant details. I am but the mouthpiece of mine terrible and beautiful mistress. When you speak with me, you necessarily speak with her. Her will is mine will. Her words art mine words, and I shall explain what hath transpired.”

“We did slay those men,” continued Danton bluntly and truthfully. “They hath insulted mine Lady of Despair and sought to bar her entry that we might parley with you. The Dark Maiden doth not tolerate such temerity, and we hath cut down and burned those fools to the last man—just as we hath done earlier with the Earth Temple when Uskathoth sought to obstruct our goals. You must teach your other men to recognize their betters if they are to avoid such a fate in the future. As for those two fools in the boat, the Princess hath her purposes for them. She hath yet to reveal what said purpose may be and I will not hazard to lose mine tongue by asking her. When the time doth come, she will reveal her purpose to us all, and not a moment sooner.” (Danton bluff: 11+9=20)

“Very well, Delchin,” replied the woman, her anger passing quickly. She walked across the room and sat down to face the party in the throne. The shell-wearing kuo-toa and the huge one with the wings followed her and took up positions on either side of the throne. “But do not harm any more of my followers or my tolerance will be at an end.”

“Now that we hath met and are to negotiate to our mutual benefit,” said Danton, “I anticipate no further difficulties…if your remaining underlings learn the harsh lesson the Princess of Blackmoor hath taught their fellows. But enough of such unpleasantness. I believe you have a proposal for the Lady of Winter?”

“Yes,” said the woman, speaking to Danton, but largely watching Tenaris, who scowled and feigned indifference. “I am Kelashein, High Priestess of the Water Temple. I plan a great blow to the Fire Temple, one from which it will not recover for a very long time, if ever…assuring the ascension of the Water Temple to the pinnacle of power in the Temple of All-Consumption and my passage to the ranks of the Doomdreamers. Through divination and espionage, we have discovered the means to penetrate the defenses of the Fire Temple and reach the temple sanctum itself. Once there, we mean to destroy the Fire Temple’s altar, which will disrupt the entire organization in serious ways. I believe you understand this, given that one of your first acts in the mountain was to destroy the Earth Temple’s ziggurat.”

“Naturally,” said Danton sagely. “And how do you mean to accomplish all this? Your plan is intriguing and we would hear more. If the plan is viable, we could perhaps, in our own way and by means of our own choosing, augment an assault on the Fire Temple.”

“In the competition amongst the elemental temples for the favor of the Doomdreamers, the cursed Fire Temple has long been the strongest, followed by Water, Air, and Earth in that order,” said the woman. “The Earth temple was frail long before you obliterated it, for the forces of Fire had administered a similar drubbing to it last year.”

“It shall not rise from the ashes so easily this time,” said Danton vehemently.

“No, it shall not,” agreed Kelashein. “And, it might please your mistress to know that it was your group’s destruction of the ziggurat that inspired our own plan against the Fire Temple. The physical temple structures and the altars upon them are the keys to the power of the four elemental temples. By destroying the Earth Temple ziggurat, you destroyed the power of that temple utterly. Followers and clerics can be replaced, but to rebuild an altar would be a far more difficult undertaking. We mean now to do to the Fire Temple precisely what you did to the Earth. We shall launch a lightning strike into the heart of the Fire Temple, destroy its inner sanctum and withdraw before the adherents of Fire realize what has happened.”

“Do go on,” said Danton. “My mistress is…intrigued.”

In reality, Tenaris looked bored and annoyed, rather than interested, but Danon knew this was all part of her act.

“Nilbool,” said the priestess with a nod towards the shell-wearing kuo-toa on her left, “and Urlurg,” she continued, looking at the bracer-wearing kuo-toa standing amidst the warriors circling the party and the throne, “will lead a force of our warriors across the lake. When they reach the east bridge, they will climb it, bribe the garrison there to allow them passage, and make their way through the tunnels to the northern end of the Fire Temple complex. There violence will be required, as the Fire Temple guards will allow passage to no outsider. Once the guards are overcome, the way will be opened to the heart of the Fire Temple.”

“So easily?” asked Danton dubiously.

“Yes,” said Kelashein. “Although the Fire Temple is large and strong, its heart lies very close to its northern end—a strategic mistake of construction. And although neither you nor we could hope to take on all its forces in a straight-up fight, together we can reach their sanctum. Once there, the temple shall be destroyed with a spell, and your lady’s forces and mine can withdraw before the Fire Temple fools even realize what has happened.”

“And how do you think the Air Temple and the Doomdreamers shall react to this assault?” inquired Danton.

“The Air Temple is isolated far off in the south of the mountain. It is no threat to our power,” said Kelashein. “And the Doomdreamers shall react as they always have—rewarding the strong who have culled the weak from the ranks of the faithful.”

“And where will Tessimon and the other Fire Temple leaders be in all this?” demanded Danton skeptically.

“Espionage reveals that the Fire Temple holds its ceremonies in its inner sanctum in the early morning and late evening,” replied Kelashein. “When we strike in the late morning or early afternoon, it will be empty. Tessimon will be outraged, of course, but with the temple destroyed, her power will fade, as will that of her lackeys.”

“And assuming the assault succeeds, then what?” asked Danton.

“Then your raiders and mine shall make their way back across the lake, and your lady and I can plot our ascension to the ranks of the Doomdreamers with no obstacles left in our way.”

”And when would you launch this attack?” queried the Velunese.

“This very afternoon, if you are ready. Or, tomorrow if you prefer to rest first. But, now, tell me more of this relic your mistress seeks…”

“’Tis an ancient relic of significant, dark power,” hissed Danton. “But mine cruel dominatrix hath not traveled from Blackmoor to divulge secrets of this relic to others who might then abscond with it. Above all, take us not for fools. Let me be clear: Ventanarix the Cruel is not asking you to find this relic—she requires your aid, and wilt provide mutual assistance in return, to help us find it. ‘Twill be her hands, and no others, that seize this item. Suffice to say that we wilt know it when we see it. The Fire and Earth Temples hath crossed us by obstructing our efforts to recover the relic—do not make the mistake they hath made.”

“Very well, Delchin,” said Kelashein. “Do we have a bargain then? Your lady’s forces will augment my own for an assault on our mutual enemies in the Fire Temple, after which I will provide her such assistance as she desires in finding this ‘relic’?”

Danton turned and looked at Tenaris directly and tried to gauge the views of the others out of the corners of his eyes. Syll and Sparhawk both smiled slightly and gave what might have been nods of approval, while Tenaris continued to exhibit bored disdain and Luger’s reaction was inscrutable.

“We agree,” said Danton, turning back to Kelashein.

“Good,” replied the woman. “Your forces may rest until morning on the shore of the underground lake where you landed earlier. When the time comes to launch the assault, we shall come for you.”

***

For the remainder of the day and what passed for night in the underground world of Mount Stalagos, the party camped on the edge of the dark lake. The two men they had rescued remained uncommunicative, but when Luger offered them food and water, they did manage to rouse themselves from their torpor enough to eat. But they did not speak.

While Luger and Sparhawk prayed to Heironeous for guidance and protection and healed all of the party’s remaining injuries and Syll finally identified Tenaris’ new bracers (Bracers of Kord[Strength] +2), everyone also discussed endlessly the potential risks and benefits of the alliance, however temporary, with the Water Temple. Amidst all of this, Danton tried to find some time alone with Tenaris, which he finally managed late at night when the pair shared watch duty.

Taking a different tack this time, Danton spoke at length of the greatest Velunese artists and their achievements: Johann Bachistra, the great composer of fugues and tocattas; Claudius Monetugge, the famous impressionistic painter; and Augustus Rodino, the notable sculptor. He told Tenaris of the first time he ever heard one of Bachistra’s pieces at the concert hall in Veluna City and of how he longed to take her there one day for a performance.

Tenaris confessed she had never heard such music, for the songs of the elves were entirely different and one had to hear them in order to understand their nature—it could not be described with mere words. Instead she tried to explain to Danton the magic and the majesty of the Elven Grand Court in Enstad, which imbibed the Fey Mysteries, from the frolics to the passions, and was entrusted with performing and defining such rites for all elvenkind. But it was obvious that Tenaris had never before tried to explain any of this to anyone, much less to a non-elf, and she succeeded only in confusing Danton and frustrating herself when he seemed unable to grasp the concepts she related.

“Well, Danton,” said the elf finally, “I guess I’ll just have to visit Veluna at some point—and smuggle you into Enstad so you can see and experience the Mysteries with your own senses. That’s forbidden, of course, but surely if anyone could sneak in and out of Celene like the wind, it would be Delchin the Despicable.”

***

When morning came, the shell-wearing kuo-toa that Kelashein had called ‘Nilbool’ appeared out of the tunnel from the northeast with four fish-men in tow and told the party to follow him down the southeastern tunnel. He spoke Oeridian with a rough accent, but was easily understood.

“Bring the boats,” he added as the party gathered up its belongings. “You’re going to need them. Leave the men here. We will take care of them until you return.”

Curious at this comment about the boats, the party members shouldered their packs and then Luger and Sparhawk hoisted one of the wooden boats while Danton, Tenaris, and Syll carried the other. They followed the fish-men down the southeastern tunnel, where a combination of torchlight and natural light gradually became visible.

The tunnel ran southeast for eighty feet. It then angled due east and widened slightly. In the wider area, a ten-foot, blue-green square made of smoothed, painted rock filled the center of the floor of the path. On either side of the tunnel, a golden brazier hung from the ceiling on a chain. The smoke that came from the braziers smelled strongly of fish and salt.

Beyond the braziers and the painted rock, the tunnel continued for sixty more feet before coming to a set of rough stone stairs leading downward. At the stairs, torches hung from the walls, but the natural light from somewhere farther down the tunnel was so strong that the torches were not really necessary, at least during daylight hours.

Past the stairs, the tunnel switched back and forth for another fifty feet before coming to a second set of stone stairs, also leading down. At the bottom of this second set of stairs, the tunnel opened into a large cavern running southeast, roughly forty feet wide and at least eighty feet long.

The walls here were still somewhat rough, as those of the tunnel had been, but here they had been carved to resemble waves, with the occasional fish carved as well, and painted a dark green-blue color. Flickering torchlight, under blue-green glass hoods, gave the waves motion, although the effect would likely have been more impressive at night, when the daylight that entered the cavern from the east would not have competed with the torchlight.

The center of the cave sported a huge green marble statue depicting three fish-headed humanoids—clearly kuo-toa—clutching squirming, terrified human prisoners as they rode atop a long, eel-like serpent. The massive statue was 25 feet long and, coupled with the painted walls around it, seemed to be swimming deep underwater. A strange, heady smell hung in the chamber, like old incense or heavy perfume.

As the party, still hauling the two boats, walked across the room behind the five kuo-toa leading them, a set of stairs was visible on the northeastern wall, leading down into darkness. There was also some sort of alcove visible on the southern wall that was obscured by a curtain of hanging seaweed. The last exit from the cavern was the one the kuo-toa led the party to: yet another set of descending stairs that led to a short tunnel that quickly widened into a cave that was completely filled with water. Daylight seemed to enter the cave from somewhere off to the south that the party could not see, but there was also an eerie, flickering blue glow that came from the southeast, likely bright enough to dimly illuminate this cave even at night.

“Get in the boats and follow us,” said Nilbool. Without waiting to see if the party complied, he and the other fish-men walked into the water and then began swimming easily along the water-filled tunnel and towards the larger lake visible to the southeast.

“We’re taking an awful risk here, Danton,” commented Luger as the group set the two boats down at the edge of the water.

“I know,” hissed the Velunese. “I believe the gamble shall pay off, but be ready for anything.”

Luger and Sparhawk climbed into one of the boats, while Danton, Tenaris, and Syll clambered into the second. With the paladin and cleric leading the way, the party paddled down the gradually widening tunnel for eighty feet or so until it angled farther to the southeast and finally opened up to give a good view of the larger lake.

As the party followed the five kuo-toa, other shapes were just visible in the dark waters below their boats. Although only outlines could be seen in the dimness, some sort of creatures that appeared to be a mix of humanoid and fish swam around and under the two boats. Whether these were more kuo-toa or something else entirely, it was impossible to say.

Once the two small boats exited the tunnel and emerged into the lake, what had to be the Water Temple itself became visible at last.

The huge cave the party entered had a ceiling that rose 20 feet above the water level. Out in the center of the cave, a 50-foot-square platform, crafted from dark green stone, rose above the water about ten inches. It appeared to have a number of pools within it, different from the water around it. The entire cavern shimmered with a blue radiance, flickering along the slick walls and ceiling. The place reeked of brine and fish and the entire place gave off a strong feeling of wrongness, as if the place itself were somehow cursed with a fell presence or influence.

The cavern was at least a hundred feet from northeast to southwest and twice that length from northwest to southeast. Two other caverns or water-filled tunnels were visible on the northeastern and southeastern sides of the massive cavern. And the southwestern side of the cavern seemed to be open to the outside world, as natural light poured into the cave from that direction.

As the party drew closer to the platform at the center of the cavern, they could see there were three pools were within the platform. One was clear, the second was green and slimy, and the last was black. The pools surrounded a translucent blue cube. Atop the cube were a curved knife and a pair of brass horns shaped like fish.

Standing atop the platform were several kuo-toa warriors, as well as Kelashein, the huge kuo-toa with the green-black wings, the warrior with the bracers and a strange little blue imp-like creature with wings of its own. Nilbool and the kuo-toa warriors that accompanied him swam straight for the platform, climbing out of the water to stand atop it when they reached the structure.

As the party members paddled their two boats up to the platform, they could see, off to the southwest, that the cavern did in fact open up onto the gigantic lake they had seen previously when they tried and failed to cross the bridge to the Outer Fane. It looked as though a bridge—although probably not the same one if Danton’s maps were correct—was visible far off in the distance to the southeast across the vast lake.

“There lies your destination,” said Kelashein when the two boats had pulled alongside the platform. The woman pointed out across the huge lake towards the bridge. “Moor your boats at the point where the bridge meets the mountain, climb up to the bridge, and follow Nilbool and Urlurg to your destination. The downfall of the Fire Temple is at hand!” she said, virtually giddy with excitement.

The woman then nodded to Nilbool and he and the four warriors that had accompanied him to collect the party, along with the larger bracer-wearing kuo-toa called Urlurg and the little blue imp-creature, all jumped into the water and began to swim across the cave and out towards the main body of the huge lake beyond.

As the party paddled its two boats after the swimming creatures ahead of them, Danton gazed back periodically to see that Kelashein and the others who remained on the platform stood and watched them as they exited the cavern and moved out onto the dark waters of the lake itself.

Once out of the cavern, the party members had the best view of the interior of Mount Stalagos they had yet received and they at last began to understand the actual structure of the mountain. From what they could see, the mountain appeared to be largely hollow in the center and filled with water. It might well have been an ancient volcano, the interior of which had been inundated at some point lost to history. All of the areas they had explored thus far appeared to be in the outer perimeter of the mountain.

Past the cave systems and mines of the outer perimeter lay the vast lake, and at the center of the lake was some sort of island. This island was dotted with the lightning towers that the shopkeeper Tymerian had described in Rastor. Since, according to Tymerian, the lightning towers made it impossible to approach the island by air, the only routes available were by water or via a bridge from the perimeter of the mountain.

However, from what the party could see as they paddled across the lake, approaching the island by water would have been difficult, for its sides were rocky and sheer, extending hundreds of feet up out of the water, and there were no entrances visible.

There were at least two bridges leading to the island that were visible from the party’s position on the water. One of these was off to the west, extending from the northern side of the island to the northern end of the lake. Danton judged that if his maps were correct, this was the bridge the party had tried and failed to cross days earlier.

The second visible bridge, the one towards which the party now paddled, extended from the eastern side of the island towards the eastern side of the lake, where, according to Kelashein, the Fire Temple lay.

From what the party members could see and based on what they had observed when they first saw the lake days earlier from the northern bridge, the lake seemed to be roughly circular, with a radius of a thousand feet. The trip from the Water Temple cavern to the eastern bridge would be roughly that same distance.

As the two boats moved slowly across the still waters of the lake in the wake of the seven creatures swimming ahead of them, Sparhawk and Luger paddled their boat closer to the other one and the paladin hissed to Danton and the others:

“Whatever happens, we must march together as a group and seek to join the most powerful soldiers in the rear—somewhere that wilt not raise undue suspicion but that wilt allow us to launch our own attack against the forces of the Water Temple or step out and attack both camps, depending on what doth transpire. We shalt not allow ourselves to be flung against the enemy in the initial clash.”

“Agreed,” said Danton in a low voice. “We should also save our most lethal and expendable abilities to aid ourselves, keep a constant sense of the larger battle and be ready to turn on a dime if things go south, and finally, we should be prepared to betray the Water Temple at any propitious moment—and expect the same from them.”

“Speaking of which,” interjected Syll. “I trust it hasn’t escaped your notice that as long as we’re in these boats, on water, we are incredibly vulnerable to any double-cross these aquatic poseurs might try. I think we’re safe on the trip to the Fire Temple, since they want our help, after all, but if we win at the temple, I think they might well try to get rid of us on the way back. It’s what I would do—if I were in their shoes. After all, how hard would it be for those swimmers to capsize our boats and pick us off while we’re trying not to drown—particularly knowing we can’t go into the air or we’ll be blasted by those towers! In short, whatever else happens, I don’t think we should plan to make the trip back across the lake with these guys.”

“Wise counsel,” mused Danton. “Frankly, if an opportunity arose to deal a massive, lethal blow to both Temples, I think we should avail ourselves of it. If remotely possible, I'd prefer that we do this in such a way that we could claim plausible deniability afterward -- i.e., our effort was to destroy Fire Temple folk, but we miscalculated and nailed a wider swath – so as to not immediately draw the ire of the Water Temple survivors. Obviously, that is highly circumstantial.”

“But, having said that,” added the scout, “if it is possible to annihilate the Fire Temple while remaining in cooperation with the Water Temple, I think we may as well see that effort to an end -- why betray them in the middle of things unless a real opportunity arises to deal a lethal blow to both? In the end, if the Earth and Fire Temples end up destroyed, we can then figure out what to do about the Water, and Air, Temples later. Even if we chose not to accompany the water forces back to their lair for the reasons Syll hath mentioned, we might still be wise to consider letting them go unmolested so as not to raise the ire—or the suspicion—of their priestess should we choose to strike them later. After all, the woman might well decide to smash the Air Temple for us next. Why turn on her before she hath had the chance to do that?”

“Methinks it is imperative to use this battle to bring down the forces of evil,” said Sparhawk. “Let us stay with the Water Temple as long as it is in our interests to do so. Of course, it would be best to allow the two temples to fight each other and when all hell breaks loose, we add to the destruction of evil by killing as many of both sides as possible, or less militantly, making a convenient escape if we know wert we goeth.”

“Keep one other thing in mind,” said Luger, gazing up at the island at the center of the lake. He thought he might just be able to see the top of some black tower or structure extending slightly above the sheer sides of the island itself, but the steep angle and the bright sunlight overhead made it difficult to be sure.

”If we succeed, I fear that destroying or crippling two or three elemental temples may force the Doomdreamers to take notice of our activities. I suppose we have to face them eventually and drawing them out of their fortress might be to our advantage, but we should expect some sort of reaction.”

“Well, companions,” said Sparhawk, “the bridge draws near. Let us march to war. May Heironeous make our swords sharp and strike true. He wilt guide our discussions and our actions. He wilt show us the path to victory and opportunities to seize.”

Even as the paladin spoke, the Water Temple forces were reaching the base of the bridge. The imp-creature with the wings flew up out of the water, took hold of the end of a length of rope from one of the kuo-toa and then flew up the side of the bridge and out of sight. It must have secure the rope somewhere on the bridge, for moments later the kuo-toa began to climb out of the water and up the rope, easily scaling the side of the bridge.

When the party’s two boats reached the base of the bridge moments later, they were able to secure the boats in place by tying them to some of the larger boulders at hand. Danton was the first up the rope (climb: 13+1=14; success), scaling it easily thanks to the presence of the stone bridge to brace himself against. Thanks to his ring of climbing, Syll found the ascent to be laughably easy and he was atop the bridge only moments after Danton (climb: 8+11=19; success). Tenaris was the last one out of the first boat and even though she was hindered badly by her heavy armor, she clearly had significant climbing experience and her physical strength was impressive, particularly for her relatively small size, and she was soon atop the bridge (climb: 6+2=8; success).

Standing atop the bridge, the trio from the first boat watched as the kuo-toa knocked on a set of heavy, iron-bound gates. There was a short pause and then the sound of a bar being lifted could be heard and the gates opened slightly a moment later. Several human warriors, wearing silver banded mail, appeared in the entryway and the kuo-toa began speaking to them. Danton (listen: 8+8=16) thought he could hear the terms of a bribe being negotiated and, shortly thereafter, he saw Nilbool hand one of the soldiers what appeared to be a sack of coins. The soldiers then opened the gates wide and the kuo-toa looked back at Tenaris, Danton, and Syll and motioned impatiently for them to get moving.

Although Luger was not a skilled climber, and his chainmail weighed him down heavily, he nevertheless managed the ascent up the side of the bridge with the assistance of the rope (climb: 15-4=11; success). It was Sparhawk who had perhaps the hardest time of all. His armor and gear weighed him down and obstructed his movements so much that at one point he bounced hard off the side of the bridge and nearly lost his grip on the rope, but even he finally managed to clamber, huffing and puffing, over the side of the bridge (climb: 11-5=6; success).

Once Sparhawk had recovered his breath, the party followed the six kuo-toa and the imp through the heavy wooden gates. Inside, they found a large square chamber with smooth stone walls covered in plaster, roughly forty feet to a side. The plaster was peeling and chipped in places. A fresco on the southwest wall showed hooded figures with torches riding galloping horses. Another on the northeast wall depicted a grisly scene of human sacrifice, and creatures, possibly bugbears—dancing around a fire. Standing about and watching the party and the kuo-toa closely were a total of eight armored soldiers.

Aside from the doors onto the bridge, two exits from the room were visible, a hallway leading due east and another leading south and ending at a door after only twenty feet. The kuo-toa made for the eastern exit, and the party followed.

The eastern hallway ran for only twenty feet before coming to an intersection offering only two choices—turning north or south. The kuo-toa turned south into a narrower hallway, only ten feet wide. As the party followed, the could see, first, off to the north, that the torch-lit hallway continued that direction for some distance, with a closed door on the eastern side and, beyond that, hallways jutting off to both west and east. Farther still off to the north, the hallway appeared to open up into some large chamber.

But it was off to the south that the kuo-toa went, and the party followed. The group passed a closed door on the east wall twenty feet past the intersection. After this, a foul smell assaulted the party’s nostrils, and the hallway grew dank and fetid. When it ended at another closed wooden door thirty feet later and around a slight bend to the west, three straw mats were visible on the floor, the rest of which was covered with broken, gnawed bones. The plaster on all the walls had been scraped off, revealing the worked stone underneath. Standing in front of the door were three huge, misshapen, foul smelling humanoids with greenish-black skin. They wore hide armor and carried javelins, and all were covered with crude tattoos that seemed to have been burned into their skin somehow.

Nilbool approached the three humanoids, negotiated with them briefly, and then handed each of the three a small sack, presumably filled with coins. One of the reeking humanoids then opened the door and the trio stood aside while the kuo-toa and the party passed through the door. As soon as Luger, bringing up the rear of the party, was through the portal, it closed behind him.

The party now stood in what appeared to be a long natural tunnel running due south. Another closed door was at its northern end, just across from the door by which the party had entered the tunnel, but otherwise the tunnel simply snaked off to the south. Forty feet down the tunnel, which was almost twenty feet wide, two huge ogres stood near a cloth-covered wooden practice dummy. Both Sparhawk and Luger were outraged to see that the badly beaten practice dummy wore a silver sunburst symbol of Pelor around its neck. There was also a rope hanging down from the ceiling near the ogres and disturbing red-brown stains marked the walls on both sides of the tunnel.

As the kuo-toa approached the ogres and began the now-familiar bribery negotiations, Danton could hear Sparhawk muttering under his breath as he looked at the stains on the walls and the symbol of Pelor on the practice dummy.

“Steady, my friend,” whispered the scout. “The time to give these curs what they deserve will come, but for now we must maintain our cover.”

Once more money changed hands, the kuo-toa and the party made their way past the ogres, which fortunately did not notice the foul looks Luger and Sparhawk were giving them. The tunnel wound back and forth for nearly eighty feet, with torches still spaced periodically along the walls to provide light, until the group came to a strange stone statue mounted on stone wheels that stood in the middle of the path.

The statue appeared to once have portrayed a large horse’s head mounted on a solid square block, the whole thing being 10 feet high and 6 feet wide. But now it was smashed and marred, with its features only barely discernible. Its pieces lay in rubble all around it, as if it were long ago smashed by weapons. Mixed in with the bits of stone were numerous bones, broken weapons, and rusted armor pieces.

The kuo-toa ignored the ruined object and made their way around it. Forty feet past the wreckage, the tunnel angled slightly to the west and then split, with one path running due west and the other slightly southwest. The sounds of dripping water could be heard from the tunnel to the west, but the kuo-toa ignored that route and made for the southwestern path. Shortly thereafter, they came to an area of the tunnel where the dark stone of the floor was worked smooth and a large diamond shape was worked into its surface, the carved outline filled with reddish iron. A bit of broken chain lay off on the western side of the tunnel.

Standing near the diamond shape worked into the floor, but obviously being careful not to step on it, Nilbool motioned the other kuo-toa to halt. He then said something in low tones, but Danton and Luger’s ears were sharp enough to catch his words (listen: Danton: 12+8=20; success, Luger: 20+4=24; success, Sparhawk: 8+2=10; failure, Syll: 10+4=14; failure).

“Fire is strong,” whispered the kuo-toa so softly that no one else in the party could make out the words.

Once he had said these words, Nilbool stepped onto the diamond pattern and motioned for the others to follow.

As the party and the kuo-toa moved past the diamond pattern on the floor, smoke began to fill the tunnel ahead of them. By the time they had gone another forty feet and the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern, it was difficult to see much. An iron brazier was just visible, hanging from the ceiling, eight feet above the floor. Under it, near what might have been the center of the cave, was a 10-foot diameter iron plate, cupped almost like a huge bowl.

Because of all the smoke, it was difficult to be sure, but the cavern seemed to run roughly west to east. Both the western and eastern ends were lost in the smoke, but beyond the brazier and the massive metal depression below it, the tunnel seemed to continue southward, widening as it went. The party members could not help but notice that whereas the kuo-toa had moved with speed throughout the journey thus far, they were now extremely cautious and deliberate as they moved into the smoke-filled room. The soundness of their judgment was demonstrated moments later, when movement in the smoke and the depths of the metal depression ahead manifested itself in the form of two huge, burning snake-or lizard-like forms that rose up out of the pit along with a large dog that breathed fire as it shot up and out of the pit alongside the lizards.

[Initiative: Tenaris: 26, Danton: 20, Kuo-toa: 16, Salamanders: 14, Sparhawk: 10, Syll: 8, Hell-hound: 7, Luger: 4]

“We take the dog!” yelled out Danton in the hopes of keeping the party together when he saw Tenaris moving towards the animal. The elf woman slashed her blade deep into the hound’s body as it tried to move out of the metal depression. Danton tried to finish the animal, but it snarled and dodged away from Rat’s Tail (attack: 4+9=13, 10+4=14, both miss). Sparhawk tried to assist Danton and Tenaris in killing the dog, but he was no more effective than the scout (attack: 5+9=14; miss).

Leaving the animal to the party, the kuo-toa moved in precise military style to surround the two vaguely humanoid lizard-creatures as they came out of the pit to fight. Each of the fire creatures wielded an extremely long spear, but the smaller kuo-toa darted under the weapons and harried the larger creatures with spear strikes of their own.

Interestingly, as Luger and Syll were both able to observe, given that they did not rush into melee as quickly as the others, the kuo-toa known as Urlurg went after one of the lizard-things empty-handed, dancing lightly around the massive fire creature and striking it a flurry of barehanded blows in various spots. To the surprise of both the sorcerer and the cleric, these blows must have struck critical areas, because the lizard-man staggered under their impact. Nilbool revealed something of his abilities as well, casting three magic missiles at the second lizard-creature even as two of his warriors kept it occupied.

Although the aggressiveness and effectiveness of the kuo-toa attack clearly surprised the two lizards, they both fought back, trying to use their spears and tails to impale and crush the kuo-toa warriors surrounding them. The attacks of the more badly injured of the two lizard-men, the one Urlurg had pounded so hard, were completely ineffective, but the other lizard stabbed one of the kuo-toa with its spear and then held the amphibian in place with the weapon while it smashed him with its tail. In addition to the stabbing and pounding, the attacks actually set the kuo-toa on fire and it gave off a high-pitched shriek of agony.

Despite the best efforts of Tenaris, Danton, and Sparhawk, the fiery dog remained standing and the trio was only spared a blast of fire from its maw when a wave of magic missiles (10 total damage) fired by Syll finally killed the creature just as it drew breath to spew fire at the rest of the party. Luger had been moving towards the animal to try to cut it down with Geistblatt, but by the time he reached the others, the dog was dead.

While the badly injured lizard-thing tried to use its tail and spear to hold Urlurg and two other kuo-toa at bay, Tenaris rushed at its back and plunged her longsword into it, killing the thing instantly. The other lizard fell moments later under the combined impact of the spear of a kuo-toa warrior and another barrage of magic missiles fired at it by Nilbool.

With the fight over, the one kuo-toa who had been badly injured and burned removed a potion from a harness and consumed it, all of his injuries healing in a matter of moments.

“Quickly,” said Nilbool. “They may have heard some of that and we cannot fight them all.”

“So far this has gone off like clockwork,” said Danton approvingly. “But that can all change in an instant if we are too slow—move!”

Marching around the pit and the smoke brazier, the kuo-toa and the party moved rapidly down the wide tunnel beyond them, passing a more narrow tunnel on the eastern wall, from which shouts and other sounds could be heard, and soon arriving at a closed set of massive red bronze doors twenty-five feet wide that blocked the way forward. Each of the two doors was engraved with the image of a coiled, snarling red dragon that seemed to be looking for a fight.

“Tessimon dephnami ignamius,” said Nilbool, his haste causing him to make no effort to speak these words in a low voice as he had done before. [Intelligence checks: Danton: 16+3=19; failure, Sparhawk: 16+0=16; failure, Syll: 20+1=21, Luger: 20+0=20] Although Danton and Sparhawk both realized the potential significance of these words, the sounds were so strange and the stress of the situation so palpable that neither was able to memorize the words fully. Fortunately, should the words prove to be of later import, both Syll and Luger caught them clearly when Nillbool uttered them.

As soon as Nilbool spoke, two of the kuo-toa warriors strode to the doors and pulled them open. When the doors opened, a scene out of hell itself confronted the fish-men and the party.

A gigantic, sweltering hot cave stretched close to 150 feet across. An 80 foot wide pit, filled with hungry, clawing flames was in the center, and a 30 foot wide, 6 inch thick steel platform floated in the middle of the pit, right at the level of the tops of the flames. Atop the platform was an altar of obsidian, glistening in the firelight but rough edged. The altar was flanked by two tall brass candelabra, each holding five candles. A large kettledrum also sat by the altar.

The walls of the massive cavern were carved with elaborate images of fiery demons torturing people and thrusting them into the flames. The ceiling above was 70 feet high. Far off on the opposite side of the room was another closed set of red bronze doors, while small alcoves or tunnels were visible on the northwestern and southeastern sides of the circular cave. The room truly looked and felt like a vision of hell itself. A palpable sense of pure evil pervaded the entire area, much like what the party had felt previously in the temples of the Earth and Water Temples, only much stronger.

As if all of that were not enough to cause both the party and the kuo-toa to want to do what they had come for and depart as quickly as possible, the room turned out to be inhabited—contrary to what both groups had expected. For rising from a seated position to stand atop the steel platform and look down on the interlopers was a woman with long black hair with red tips, skin covered with tattoos of flames, and wearing a hooded ochre robe. In her right hand, the woman carried a strange, shifting rod that almost seemed to be alive, while what passed for her left arm was unnatural in the extreme—a long, muscular, sinewy appendage that ended in a massive black claw. The woman laughed when she saw the party, laughter of purest insanity that echoed off the walls of the cave.

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 66:

Please send postings for Turn 66 by the end of Friday, August 17th.

Current date/time/location: 14 Kolovoz; approximately 1100; The Temple of All Consumption

Items gained this turn: none

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

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

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in green.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Danton

AC: 16 (17 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 42/42

New XP: 300

XP total: 29,111

XP needed: 36,000

Equipment: 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, 3 waterskins, 25 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, pearl from the Dark Lake, potion of cure light wounds, nine inverted Y pendants with blue-green squares behind them

Gold: 1744

Silver: 1430

Luger

AC: 20

Hit Points: 60/60

New XP: 300

XP total: 26,461

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, 23 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; potion of cure light wounds, pearl from the Dark Lake

Spell Selection:

Level 0 (6): Detect Magic (x3), Read Magic (x2) Purify Food/Drink (x1)
Level 1 (5+1): Detect Evil (x2), Protection from Evil (x2), Bless (x1), Protection from Evil (Domain)
Level 2 (4+1): Sound Burst (x2), Bull's Strength (x1), Silence (x1), Aid (Domain)
Level 3 (3+1): Searing Light (x2), Dispel Magic (x1), Divine Power (Domain)
Level 4 (2+1): Control Water (x2), Holy Smite (Domain as 8th level)
Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 7 of 7

Gold: 689

Silver: 446

Syll

AC: 14

Hit Points: 32/32

New XP: 300

XP total: 13,630

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, 23 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, potion of cure light wounds, unknown potion from the Dark Lake

Spells per level per day:

Level 0: (6) (0 used)

Level 1: (7) (1 used)

Level 2: (5) (0 used)

Gold: 3806

Silver: 442

Sparhawk

AC: 17 (19 when using longsword/shield combination instead of great sword)

Hit Points: 39/39

New XP: 300

XP total: 7,710

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 2 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, potion of cure light woundsX2, pearl from the Dark Lake

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: 39/39

New XP: 300

XP total: 7,490

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: longsword, chitin full plate mail, large steel shield, masterwork morningstar, 5 javelins, 2 troglodyte spears, inverted Y pendant, 25 days rations, potions of cat’s grace, levitate, spider climb, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, cloak of resistance +1, black robe, Bracers of Kord +2, potion of cure light woundsX2, pearl from the Dark Lake

Gold: 525

Silver: 430