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Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption

Turn 70: Reunion

“Let me take a look at everyone to see what I can do,” said Luger while Danton, Syll, and Tenaris poked about the forge area. “Peter, be still and let Heironeus' power heal your wounds,” (Convert Summon Monster IV and Control Water to Cure Critical Wounds X2: Sparhawk + 50 HP).

While Luger treated the paladin, he called out to Danton, “Tell us more of this ritual or ceremony that needs to be performed to allow Peter to wield Caladbolg. I have holy water and I'm certain we can acquire Heironeus' blessings if needed.”

”Syll,” added the cleric, “I think you will appreciate what Heironeus has in store for our enemies after tomorrow morning. While I cannot unleash the level of devastation you enjoy, the sight of a column of holy fire descending from the heavens and engulfing our enemies is a sight to behold—my powers have increased yet again.”

“Nice, very nice,” said the elf approvingly. “Nothing like opening up with a ball—or a column—of magical fire, and having both is the best of all.”

“Yea . . . a sight to behold,” muttered Sparhawk. ”Mayhaps, if there is strength left in mine arm, and Heironeous blesses me, Sir Sparhawk wielding the ancient Caladbolg wilt also be a sight to behold and a tale for the ages from the lips of bards. But for now, mine good and powerful elf, a little more caution from thee would be much appreciated. ‘Jump out of the way before I fry thine arse with a fireball,’ is hardly a sound strategy for fighting. Poor Danton here is living proof of that. I welcome thine aid. And thine new magicks are especially welcome. But, please, for the sake of all of this companionship, use them a bit more prudently…such as when we art not engaged in the fog of war and have our enemies at our feet. For that, I shalt thank thee.”

Syll twisted his arms about and dropped into a crouch as if he were ducking and launching a fireball at the paladin. Then he laughed. “No worries, Pete, I’ll be good from now on—or at least I’ll try to be. I do feel bad about scorching you and Danton though. I’ll figure out how to make it up to ya somehow.”

“Unless I hath drawn mine maps incorrectly,” said Danton, pausing in his search of the forge, “we art down to two choices. First, there art the iron double-doors in this forge, and, second, there is the wooden door in the cavern beyond. The latter we hath conjectured might lead to the Air Temple, but is there reason to believe that this door also doth not lead there? Mine thought is that we ought to explore this room first and loot it for all 'tis worth. Then, unless any think otherwise, let us try the double-doors first.”

Danton rolled the map back up and looked about at both the weapons scattered about and the bits of discarded metal that were all over the tables..

”Say, hath anyone seen some nice pieces of metal -- appropriately in two distinguishable colors -- that might serve as adequate chessmen? Sir Sparhawk, hath you spied any when you wert collapsed against yonder wall?”

“Why the sudden interest in chess, Danton?” asked Luger, looking up from his work with Sparhawk. “I enjoy a good match as well as the next man, but I fail to see the attraction of indulging in such a game in our current situation. Do I need to call upon Heironeus to heal your mind, or is chess used as foreplay in Veluna?”

A look of obvious shock flashed across Danton’s face for several seconds before he caught himself and replaced it with an annoyed smirk.

”Luger, if you must know,” he said in a disdainful tone, “I hath been wanting to acquire a chess set for months on end now, e'er since leaving Veluna. Thus, mine interest is by no means ‘sudden,’ though it may admittedly appear so to you. I hath had a very fine set once upon a time, but mine ... er, departure from Veluna wast rather too rushed, and I forgot it. I meant to acquire a new set for relaxation and intellectual exercise but when Nanoc and I wert highwaymen, I'm afraid our late barbarian friend wast never keen on learning such an involved and civilized game.”

”Yet,” continued Danton in a grander tone, “here I am now in the Temple of All-Consumption, surrounded by wizened, if occasionally foul-mouthed, clerics, noble paladins and, of course, brilliant elves. Though death knocketh at the door, I hath need nonetheless for relaxation during down times. A man cannot remain crouching and cowering in every dark hole and hollow waiting for combat, combat, and still more combat. Nay, in what time is left to me, I would still live. And the good life, amongst very many other fine things,” he concluded with a wink at Tenaris, “includeth chess. So, the short answer is ‘yes,’ we Velunese are fond of chess ... though not for the rather base reason you suggest.”

“I dunno, Luger,” said Syll doubtfully, “I think you must have hit pretty close to the mark to get ‘im all riled up like that…”

Luger laughed out loud at Syll’s comment, while Danton shifted uncomfortably.

“Well,” said the cleric, “if we manage to get out of here alive and save the world, I will give you one of the finest chess sets you're likely to find outside of dwarven halls. My father had significant relationships with the finest merchants in Greyhawk and I remember a curio shop on Banir Street that specialized in extravagant games. My father was actually gifted one of the shop's exclusive chess sets in return for some successful negotiations with the local thieves guild.”

“Indeed?” asked Danton, his curiosity piqued.

”These sets were hand carved from dragon bone by an obscure druid sect living in the barrens of the Bone March. The board itself was made of interlocking dragon scales polished smooth and attached to a box encased in an integument made of hardened dragon hide. The pieces themselves were carved in the likeness of dragons, with their eyes containing a fiery glow and each unusually warm to the touch. If my friends in Greyhawk have not given up hope on my return and still keep my most valued possessions safe, I will give this set to you. If not, I will purchase another one for you myself.”

“Hmm,” said Danton. “I hath said ‘wizened’ cleric, when I should have added ‘generous’, and evidently, lucky, as well. I tip mine hat to you, Luger. I'll bet your brother was also an excellent chess player, though I don't doubt he would cheat if the opportunity arose. We shall have to play a game, you and I.”

“For all that, however,” continued the Velunese, still casting about the chamber and picking up a particularly well made dagger, “I cannot hold off another game of chess until and unless I survive this catastrophic abomination. Thus, I wilt continue to seek out suitable pieces so that I might yet cobble a serviceable set for use here in this dark pit. But, worry not, mine acquisition of such a set is of purely secondary concern,” he finished, slipping the fine dagger into his belt. (Acquired masterwork dagger)

Throughout most of this exchange, Tenaris had been preoccupied going through the many swords in the racks scattered about the room. She had finally found a longsword that apparently met with her approval, and Danton watched as she swapped it for the one she had previously carried.

”Say, mine most malevolent mistress, hath you e'er played chess whilst growing up in Celene? If so, I would match mine wits with you in good sport, and, if not, 'twould be mine pleasure to teach the game if e'er I can put together an adequate, if crude, set.”

Tenaris still seemed preoccupied with her new blade, and it was Luger who spoke up.

“Mauser was no match for me in chess, nor was our father, for that matter, but our mother was a master of the game,” he said. “As far back as I can remember, in my matches with her she was relentless and gave no quarter. I have to admit that any skill I may enjoy in chess was gained in my thousands of defeats at the hands of my mother. As Mauser grew in his study of magic and service under Boccob, he did manage to beat me on occasion, but I suspect deceit…though I'm at a loss as to how he cheated. I had thought I'd beaten my mother once only to find it was Mauser taking her form and wearing one of her gowns...”

“Mauser wast ... er, a curious fellow,” said Danton, turning away from Tenaris to look at the cleric. “I wish we still had his company. He could have pulled quite a few deceptions in this terrible place ... all well deserved.” The Velunese paused for a moment and then continued, “Still, he wast, if nothing else, a headstrong and mercurial fellow. He might have come to a particularly bad end -- and us with him -- here where there art many opportunities for the recklessly bold to commit suicide. I'm sure 'tis best for us all -- to say nothing of the Oerth -- that we hath you, good Luger, in our company.”

“Doesn’t look like much here I could use,” grunted Syll as he poked through the various weapons and bits of armor scattered about.

”Thinking of mine old chess set and hearing tales of Mauser maketh me think of other lost friends,” said Danton wistfully, “such as good old Nanoc. I do wish I'd had had a chance to teach him chess.... still, even rightly holding a salad fork proved a challenge for the man.”

Danton could not help but chuckle at this point.

“Heironeous, prithee deliver me from mine friends,” said Sparhawk, getting to his feet at last. “Mine stout, new friend with the razor-sharp epee hath revealed his dandy side whilst in the nest of our enemies. Or is an opportunity to play chess a means of training the mind for our upcoming strategy, which by the way, might be an excellent thing to discuss. As for the one with the tales of cross-dressing brothers, canst thou take a break from thine story-telling and help me sweep the field of weapons and armor and select any that might glow a certain blue?”

“What, now you’re gonna dump Caladbolg just as quickly as you did Justice the moment you found out Caladbolg had more oomph?” asked Syll sarcastically.

“Nay,” said the paladin solemnly as he held aloft and tested one of several finely made metal shields, “I shalt continue to wield Caladbolg and take mine rest whilst I keep mine silence about the vices of mine family members and mine associates.” Judging the shield to be superior to his own, Sparhawk swapped it for his old one (Gain masterwork large steel shield).

“Hmm, speaking of silence,” said Syll thoughtfully. “I wonder if one of your silence spells might be effective against those sonic monsters, Luger. Any thoughts on that? Oh, and on a side note,” he added to Danton, “I am almost as good at chess as I am at poetry.”

Danton sniffed at Syll’s comment. “I take it, then, good paladin, that you hath seen nothing approximating the shape of a knight or bishop amongst any of the flailing metal with which you wert repeatedly skewered? P'raps one of the pieces of metal protruding from your holier-than-thou flesh might serve as a chess piece -- a pawn, appropriately enough?”

“Nay, good Danton, alas, I hath not found any pieces matching thine needs,” said Sparhawk acidly. “Mayhaps thou canst melt down Rat's Tail for one of thy knight's swords on thy game board. As for the metal in mine body, it hath gotten there protecting thee, lest thou forgets and giveth me enough verbal barbs to match the metal ones in mine flesh.”

“I shall take that as a simple ‘no’, said Danton. “’Tis a shame. But, fear not, for I shalt make do without precisely machined pieces. We all must make sacrifices, is it not true, mine terrible dominatrix?” he asked Tenaris.

“Huh?” said the woman, finally looking away from her now sheathed new blade. “What’s all this about playing chess? Surely we aren’t going to do that here?”

“I think loverboy here wants to teach you,” said Syll with a smirk.

“I've heard of the game,” said Tenaris, looking at Danton, “but never played it. I fear Syll will have to maintain the honor of Celene in any matches to be organized.”

While the banter continued, Luger first cast another spell (Detect Magic) and then walked the length of the forge, finding that nothing in the room, save for items already carried by the party, resonated the presence of magical power. When he was done, the cleric picked up two items of equipment he had seen during his walk through the area that appeared superior to what he currently carried, a fine shield and the most solidly-made mace he had ever seen. Like the others, he quickly upgraded his equipment (Gained masterwork heavy mace and masterwork large steel shield). Once he had done this, the cleric began dumping items out of his pack, sorting out that which he wanted to keep from the large quantities of useless junk he had gradually acquired during his travels with the party.

“This shield doth fit mine arm well,” said Sparhawk, testing his newly acquired protective device. “Although my dear Caladbolg and Justice requireth mine two strong arms to wield them, a strong shield canst be a good ally at times.”

“What else do you remember of this ritual for Caladbolg, Danton?” asked Luger, prodding the Velunese once again as he continued rooting through his pack.

Danton tore his attention away from Tenaris and looked across the forge at Luger. “Something about pouring holy water over the blade under the open sky whilst offering up a large sacrifice or tithe in gold and gems,” he said. “Once this is done, the new wielder takes up the sword and proclaims his bond with the weapon and his intention to wield it for Good and against Evil, or some such thing.”

“Good Danton, thou art a man of many unexpected talents indeed,” said Sparhawk. “I would not have thought thee might hath such knowledge of ancient blades and the like - no offense intended of course. I wilt hand over all of mine earthly wealth - Justice excepting - to thee, Luger, for safekeeping and tithing to a temple of Heironeous in need. I shalt return to yonder open-air area where our path recently led. There I shalt pour holy water on mine new blade and fill the heavens with the resounding sound and fury of Heironeous' righteous goodness! I wilt humbly and willingly bond mineself to this gift and promise to rout the forces of darkness as they flee in fright!”

The paladin looked about at the others, “If any of thee art willing to donate to this cause or allow me to claim some of our treasure now, I pledge I shalt repay each of thee tenfold whilst there is still breath in me or renounce mine claim to be a paladin of Heironeous.”

”Caladbolg, Caladbolg, come alive in mine hand! Speaketh to mine mind and soul and heart. Come alive that I might wield thee and release thy power o'er all of Oerth!” whispered Sparhawk under his breath.

Danton looked up from his search for chess pieces for a moment. “I wilt gladly contribute to the ‘Sparhawk fund,’ as much as reasonably needed. So, good paladin, think not that I only send barbs your way. Your rigid devotion to goodness hath mine admiration, and you art a good-humored and reasonably cultured fellow too ... for a non-Velunese, that is.”

”Once we hath searched this room thoroughly, before opening any doors, we may as well ceremoniously wed Caladbolg to Sir Sparhawk. Following that, then 'twill be a matter of choosing which door to open: wooden door or metal doors.”

”After a bit of thought, methinks we should try the wooden door. Chances are, that blade spirit 'twould be a threat to anyone, good or evil, and so the Air Temple clergy probably doth not have it sit on their very stoop -- which makes me think that the iron doors beyond may not lead into the Air Temple but into an abandoned area instead. All this is purest conjecture, of course, on mine part. But, upon reflection, mine vote would be for the wooden door.”

”I am persuadable to try the metal doors, however,” he added with a bow, “if the majority desires it ... or Delchin's terrible Dominatrix commands it, of course.”

Finishing his bow and standing back up, Danton added to Tenaris, “Fear not, mine Dark Lady. For 'twill give me great pleasure to teach you chess, and, believe me, 'tis a game worth knowing. 'Tisn't a mere crude pastime as darts or knucklebones, but, rather, 'tis a genuine intellectual exercise. Assuming I can cobble a set from all these metal parts, p'raps when we relax before the next donnybrook, you can watch me square off against Luger or Syll. Then, after that object lesson, I shalt take it upon mineself to tutor you in the precise tactics associated with each respective piece as well as to the metastrategy that one must needs eventually understand in order to prevail against a seasoned foe.”

”Methinks 'twill prove enjoyable to you, Tenaris ... er, Ventanarix. After all, chess is a wargame of tactics and strategy. The warrior in you wilt appreciate its nature.”

“I dunno,” said Syll, “after Luger and I kick your sorry arse at the game, Tenaris may want to take her lessons from one of us.”

”We shalt see,” said Danton as he resumed his search for makeshift pieces, “we shalt see.” (search: 15+15=30)

”I shalt prepare for what is to come,” said Sparhawk to no one in particular, “to become truly a vessel of Heironeous' righteousness on Oerth. To fulfill mine destiny.” The paladin removed a whetstone and began trying to sharpen the barbed greatsword. “I must shine and hone this ancient relic lost for a great time but now . . . come to me. If mine soul canst not be pure enough, I canst at least maketh Caladbolg outwardly ready and appropriate for the ceremony of bonding mine will to it.”

Running the blade slowly over the whetstone, Sparhawk added, “Yea, yea, that shalt do very nicely, indeed. Very.”

Watching Sparhawk fulminate over the sword, Danton laughed and whispered to Tenaris, “Paladins are an odd lot. They evidently prefer to make love to weapons over women. 'Tis foreign to me, I wilt not deny, and methinks 'tis the result of oppressive religious dogma. But, Tenaris, believe me, there are odder things still to see in the wide world.”

Tenaris nodded and made a face while looking at Sparhawk, and then Danton addressed the whole group.

”Well, I too shalt leave it to Luger to figure out the which and way of this business with Caladbolg. I hath related pretty much all I knoweth on the subject -- I am but a man, not an encyclopedia. Still, I hath now gathered from this assorted bric-a-brac all of the pieces I think 'twill serve for chessmen, and 'twould appear that we've all relieved this haunted place of finely crafted weapons. So let us be off to the ledge overlooking the Inner Lake and have done with the necessary ceremony.”

”Time is wasting, and methinks we should get ourselves into fullest readiness -- including healing and this Caladbolg business -- before we broach the wooden door and enter what we suspect might be the Air Temple. Because, if you'll pardon the pun, methinks we wilt find nary a breath of fresh air in that place.”

Sparhawk looked up from his ministrations of Caladbolg. “Who is wasting time rooting about for game pieces in this armory, good sir? We shalt be about ‘this Caladbolg business’ soon enough, I assure thee. As for which door we shalt choose, I wilt leave it to thee and stay at thy side to receive barbs from mine enemies . . . and friends. After that, our enemies shalt see a paladin of Heironeous and an ancient relic joined and re-born.”

Danton grinned and looked at Tenaris again, “All this talk of ‘joining’ and ‘birth’ doth make me think that mine most recent jest at Sir Sparhawk's expense wast not far from the mark: a paladin's interest in his weapon seemeth to be more than platonic to mine eyes.”

“Yeah,” grunted Syll, having overhead the remark, “I’m starting to think that guy needs some serious therapy.”

”Believe me, Sir Sparhawk,” said Danton more loudly, “especially seeing you armed with Caladbolg, I would not dare to throw barbs if I thought you wert not sufficiently hale, humorous and self-deprecating to absorb them. In short, I jest with you because I enjoy your company. As to whether mine search for chess pieces wast a waste, well, opinions admittedly differ on such things. I promise you this: if I thought there wast a snowball's chance in Hell to find a bottle of Furyondian red in this dank pit, I'd search for it too....”

“And, if thou findest one,” replied the paladin, “I wilt be sure to drink to thine health and courage, mine good fellow. Particularly to celebrate mine new, and ancient, weapon, though surely to toast the true blade, Justice, as well.”

“Justice the true blade?” asked Syll snidely. “Yeah, right. You dumped that like a sack of garbage the moment you found out Caladbolg might be something special—not that I’m complaining. I actually wish I could persuade Danton here to do the same thing with good ol’ Rat’s Tail. Sometimes you just gotta retire an old weapon when you find something better!”

***

By the time the party members gathered up their gear, left the forge, and retraced their steps back up the slope and arrived at the ledge overlooking the lake, darkness was falling outside. Sparhawk set Caladbolg down on the ledge, under the darkening sky, and then Luger poured all three of his vials of holy water over the blade, from hilt to point. The cleric then dumped out all of his silver coins and half of his gold and scattered it around the blade.

Once Luger was finished, Sparhawk approached the blade and emptied his own coin pouch completely. The paladin then withdrew the jewelry box the party had taken from Tessimon’s chambers and began setting out items from it around the sword, including three gold bracelets set with a variety of gems and two gold necklaces. There were more items in the jewelry box, but Sparhawk did not know if they would all be necessary. Danton, Syll, and Tenaris each contributed smaller quantities of coins, and before long, Caladbolg was literally surrounded and covered with coinage and fine jewelry.

“Now what?” asked Syll.

“Give it a moment,” said Luger. “I suspect that the sword will take the offering itself, but if nothing happens, I’ll accept it as an offering to Heironeus until we can get to a real church to tithe.”

Sparhawk motioned for the others to back away and approached the blade once more. He fell to one knee and placed his hands on the hilt of the sword.

“Reveal thine secrets to me Caladbolg. Reveal thyself. Speak in my mind's eye. I wilt hear thee. Use mine arm as a tower of strength to smite all of Heironeous' enemies and drive them from the Oerth. Make mine a force of righteous vengeance that Evil hath only heard whispers from 'til now. Let the force of Good rage like a flooding torrent through me. It is the appointed hour for Sparhawk to humbly reveal his quality to all the malevolence that walks in darkness and offends Heironeous. Reveal thyself! Unlock thy secrets! Whisper them to mine soul…”

As the others watched, there was a flash of brilliant, blinding white light that was so strong, it must have been visible all across the lake that filled the interior of Mount Stalagos. When their vision returned, Sparhawk stood, holding Caladbolg above his head in both hands. Just as Luger had predicted, the coinage, jewelry, and holy water were gone.

“I can feel the power of Heironeous coursing through my veins,” said the paladin. “And Caladbolg hath spoken to me and told me something of its powers! I sense there are more secrets it has yet to reveal, but our bonding hath begun!”

(DM’s note: in game terms, Caladbolg now gives Sparhawk a +2 strength bonus whenever he wields it or has it on his person or nearby. It will also give him a +4 bonus when making a ‘bull rush’ attempt, and enable him to push his opponents back a greater distance when his bull rush attempts are successful.)

While most of the party gathered around Sparhawk to congratulate him, Syll looked down onto the dark waters of the lake.

“Truly a spectacle to behold, Peter,” said Luger. “Heironeous truly has blessed you and judged you worthy. Let us go forth and do His work and use his power to the fullest—finding and smiting Evil—as we travel further into the unknown.”.

“Mine congratulations, Sir Sparhawk,” said Danton, “and when next we share a bottle of your countrymen's vintage, I shalt drink to your newfound power and righteousness. I ask only that you drink to Tenaris's health and courage -- mine mistress hath the latter in spades, but mine hope is that Fate favors her with the former, as well. If all the elves of Celene are as courageous as she, a band of them could wipe this temple from the memory of man in an afternoon. 'Tis therefore her health that I pray the gods favor ... since they have plainly blessed her with bravery and beauty without equal. Beyond that, for mine part, I shalt toast your noble swordarm.”

“And,” added the Velunese, “I shalt also raise mine glass for good Nanoc, whose regrettable and untimely death frankly remaineth in mine conscience ... and likely will for some time.”

“I wilt be honored to do as thee asks,” replied Sparhawk, “especially to toast thy beautiful lady. Milady,” he finished, with a flourishing bow to Tenaris.

Then looking at Danton once more, the paladin added with a smirk, “I wilt also pray for thy health and that thine eyebrows grow back whilst thou dithers thine time away playing chess whilst Caladbolg and I battle the forces of evil.”

“Sorry to interrupt the post-wedding congratulations of the bride and groom,” hissed Syll from farther out on the ledge, “but there’s movement down on that lake—looks like at least three or four boats moving to land somewhere to the west of here—and whoever is in them couldn’t help but have seen that flash of light. I think if we’re wise, we’ll make tracks out of here pronto!”

Although none of the humans in the party could see well enough in the growing darkness to make out the boats Syll had spotted, Tenaris could see them, and her confirmation led to the party’s rapid departure from the ledge. The group made its way quickly back down the slope and into the large empty cavern with the wooden door. While Danton examined the door (search 3+15=18, listen: 20+8=28) and found that while it was locked, there did not seem to be any traps or anyone standing behind it, Luger cast a spell that might alert him to the presence of enemies nearby (Cast Detect Evil) and urged Sparhawk to be sure to use his own innate ability to do the same.

Danton’s initial efforts to pick the lock on the door (open locks: 6+12=18;failure) were fruitless and the party members grew increasingly nervous as the minutes went by and Danton attacked the mechanism more systematically (take 20: 20+12=32; success).

When Danton finally opened the lock and Sparhawk pulled the door open, the party members saw a stone corridor running westward. The path had clearly been carved by tools, and the walls were lined with lit torches.

“I think we’re leaving the wild kingdom and entering the Air Temple,” said Syll. “Stay sharp, ‘cause I’m wondering if maybe the Air Temple has had a clever public relations campaign to make themselves seem weaker by far than they actually are. I mean, think about it. Those sonic critters were pretty tough. That in itself was interesting. Consider as well, if you will, that both the Water Temple and the Fire Temple were guarded primarily by humanoids, and they were regarded as the toughest temples. We need to be cautious and not underestimate the ol’ air force here. Apart from that, air by its very nature may be far more difficult to deal with. We need to press on, and continue with our search, but we need to use extreme caution here, and not assume that we can bluff or blast our way through.”

The corridor ran due west, without any bends or turns whatsoever. It was fairly narrow—only ten feet wide—and continued for about 140 feet before coming to a closed wooden door on the north side of the hallway. Just ahead, no more than thirty feet away, the corridor opened up into some larger chamber and then widened and continued on beyond that chamber.

“I sense the presence of a large number of evil beings beyond that doorway,” whispered Luger as Danton crouched down and placed his ear against the wooden door. “A dozen at least, and some of the auras are very strong.”

Danton listened as best he could against the door, but while he could not detect any traps on the portal, nor could he hear any sound of whatever beings Luger had detected (search: 4+15=19, listen: 4+8=12).

“Didn’t that fungus guy say something about a Water Temple outpost being around here, and that we should avoid it if we wanted to go straight to the Air Temple?” asked Syll quietly.

“The man hath indeed said something to such effect,” agreed Danton.

“Then let’s continue on,” said the elf. “I’m pretty much tapped out on fireballs today, and I want to be fully loaded when we take on the Water Temple goon squad—just in case I need to torch them while Sparhawk is standing in their midst.”

The paladin ignored the barb, and he and Danton led the group farther down the corridor and into the chamber beyond. Forty feet square, this large room bore stonework reliefs on both the north and south walls. These depicted dwarves in battle against dragons, trolls, and orcs, with the dwarves victorious. However, in various places the images had been defaced with obvious intention—the faces of dwarves were missing, spikes were hammered into dwarf warriors’ bodies, and so on.

There were three exits from the room, including the one the party had used to enter it. Off to the west, a twenty-foot wide corridor lit by torches ran a very great distance. In the southeastern corner of the room, another corridor, this one narrower, like the one the party had come from, went off to the east—in utter darkness. The entrance to the western corridor was an arch carved like a huge dragon mouth

Seeing nothing of interest, Danton motioned for Sparhawk to head into the room. The paladin did so, with the others following behind him in a spaced out line. Halfway across the room, something large and dark fell from the ceiling, and landed on the paladin. Whatever it was, the thing looked like a huge black blanket or cloak and when it fell on Sparhawk, it engulfed the paladin from head to toe, pinning him in place.

At the same time, an awful moaning sound arose from somewhere in the room, causing a chill to go through all of the party members bodies and producing a powerful urge to flee the area (will saves: Sparhawk: none needed—immune to fear; Danton: 20+3+4 bonus for proximity to Sparhawk=27; success; Syll: 4+8+4 bonus for proximity to Sparhawk=16; success; Luger: 16+13=29; success; Tenaris: 15+3=18; success) that they all somehow managed to resist.

[Initiative: Tenaris: 25, Luger: 23, Enemies: 13, Sparhawk: 10, Syll: 9, Danton: 8]

“There’s a second one on the ceiling,” shouted Tenaris, who was the quickest to react, as was almost always the case. The woman pointed up at a dark spot on the stone roof near where the other thing had fallen on Sparhawk. In a flash, the woman launched a pair of javelins at the dark shape on the ceiling, but it moved and skittered about on the roof with incredible speed, easily dodging both projectiles, which struck the stone and then fell to the ground below.

Luger reacted almost as quickly, casting a spell on Tenaris to increase her combat abilities (Cast Aid: Tenaris +5 HP, +1 to attacks and saves vs. fear)

With Sparhawk trapped within the folds of whatever it was that held and blinded him, something tried to bite him, but failed to penetrate his heavy armor. However, something else lashed and whipped at his legs, drawing blood (hit for 9 damage). Unable even to bring Caladbolg to bear, the paladin let go of the sword and concentrated on using all his might to throw the biting rug or creature or whatever it was off him (opposed grapple check: 11+11=22; failure), but to no avail. Whatever had fallen on the paladin was incredibly strong and held him pinned in place while it continued to bite and whip him.

The second creature, the one on the ceiling, shifted the sound of its moaning slightly, concentrating the effect on Tenaris, but whatever it had intended, the woman did not appear to be affected, and she launched two more javelins at the beast in quick succession. This time, under the effect of Luger’s spell, the woman at least managed to hit the thing with one of the two projectiles.

Syll might have been tempted to torch one or both of the creatures under other circumstances, but as it stood, he could not hit either one with a fireball without hitting everyone else in the party, so instead he summoned a huge eagle out of thin air (Cast Monster Summon II) to harass the monster on the ceiling.

“Hold on, Sparhawk!” called out Danton as he rushed towards the engulfed paladin with Rat’s Tail in hand. The scout tried to slash at the creature without harming Sparhawk (attack: 12+10=22, 9+5=14, one hit: 5 damage—3 to creature and 2 to Sparhawk), but so closely had the monster fused itself to the paladin, that it was virtually impossible to harm the creature without hurting the man underneath.

Luger came forward to join Danton in trying to cut the monster off Sparhawk, using Geistblatt as carefully as he could (attack: 17+10=27, 20+5=25; hit and potential critical hit—2^nd roll: 10+5=15; miss; both hits are thus ordinary hits: 11 total damage—6 to creature and 5 to Sparhawk).

Even as Sparhawk felt himself cut and nicked by his friends’ blades, the monster holding him continued to bite and flay him (hit for 12 points). Screaming in rage, the paladin wrenched and twisted with all his might, trying desperately to somehow get the monster off him before it and his own party members cut him to pieces (opposed grapple check: 12+11=23; failure), but without any effect.

“By Heironeous!” he screamed. “This is worse than one of Syll’s fireballs! Get this cursed thing off of me already!”

The other monster on the ceiling continued to concentrate its sonic attacks on Tenaris, but to no visible effect. Syll summoned a second eagle to join the first in attacking the creature (Cast Summon Monster II), while Danton continued hacking at the monster on Sparhawk (attack: 7+10=17; 3+5=8; both miss). Unfortunately, the paladin and the monster were thrashing about so much, that Rat’s Tail failed to make contact.

“Forget this javelin business,” muttered Tenaris as she gave up on hitting the monster on the ceiling and came forward to help the others in hacking at the creature on Sparhawk. She slashed a nasty gash all along one side of the creature with her newly acquired blade, but cut Sparhawk badly in the bargain (Sparhawk hit for 10 points).

With Tenaris, Danton, and Luger all hacking at the monster, it was growing harder for it to avoid their blades (Luger attack: 20+10=30—2^nd roll: 15+10=25; critical hit, 8+5=13; miss; critical hit does 8 damage to creature and 8 to Sparhawk).

Screaming in pain and rage as blades, teeth, and more tore into his skin (hit for 17 damage), Sparhawk wobbled until his strength and ability to endure finally gave out and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious before he hit the stone.

While Syll summoned a third eagle (Summon Monster II) in a seemingly futile effort to drive off the second monster, Danton realized he dare not cut the creature on the floor further, out of fear of killing Sparhawk. He thus switched to his crossbow, and cracked off a shot at the second beast (attack: 6+8=14; miss). Looking at the monster on the ceiling closely for the first time, Danton could see its wide, toothy mouth and piercing red eyes glaring down at Tenaris even as it continued its obnoxious moan.

“Heal him while I keep hacking at it!” screamed Tenaris to Luger. “It’s the only hope!”

The woman waited long enough for Luger to pull of one of Sparhawk’s boots off and press his hand to the skin of the paladin’s leg (Convert Dispel Magic to Cure Serious Wounds: Sparhawk +27 HP). A fraction of a second later, Tenaris struck the monster again (Sparhawk hit for 3 points). Apparently sensing life returning to Sparhawk’s body, the monster wrapped around him bit him (hit for 8 points), even as it lashed out ineffectively at Tenaris with its long black tail.

As if that were not enough, whatever the other creature on the ceiling had been doing to Tenaris all this time with the bizarre sounds it made finally had an effect—the woman froze in place and her eyes went blank. As this was happening, Syll summoned a fourth eagle to join the miniature flock he had created to harass the other monster (Cast Monster Summon II). The veritable cloud of birds followed the monster wherever it went, biting and clawing at it, but to little visible effect.

Seeing that Tenaris was out of the fight and realizing that someone had to keep trying to cut Sparhawk free, Danton went back to Rat’s Tail, but missed badly (attack: 1+10=11; miss).

His eyes fluttering open once again, but unable to see anything under the black body of the monster enveloping him, Sparhawk tried yet again to get out from under its massive body (opposed grapple check: 13+11=24; success). Whether it was because part of the creature’s body was now actually pinned under his own armored form, because of the many wounds it had suffered, divine intervention or pure luck, Sparhawk finally managed to wrench himself out of the strangling grasp of the thing that held him. As soon as he did so, Luger grabbed up Geistblatt once more and tore into the thing (attack: 13+10=23; hit; 4 damage).

To everyone’s horror, even as Sparhawk rolled to his feet, the nightmare on the floor flew into the air and threw itself at the paladin again, trying to envelop him once more (Sparhawk resist grapple attack: 17+11=28; success). But this time the paladin was able to see the attack coming, and as the monster flew at him, he grabbed it and used its own momentum to throw it into the wall, then ducked to the ground and swept up Caladbolg.

Having stunned Tenaris, the second creature turned its attention to Syll, who felt its moaning sounds directed at him, but managed to ignore them (will save: 16+8=24; success) as he drew his sword and swung it at the monster within reach (attack: 18+5=23; hit; 3 damage). Danton quickly followed suit (attack: 19+10=29, 6+5=11; one hit; 5 damage).

By this time the monster had taken so much sustained abuse from so many different blades, that when Luger slashed Geistblatt through its center of mass (attack: 12+10=22; 11 damage), it was finally too much, and the cloak-like horror finally collapsed to the stone floor unmoving. Danton then pulled the stunned Tenaris close, pushing her behind his back to where Sparhawk stood, and then the scout, along with Syll and Luger, formed a protective ring around the badly wounded paladin and the unmoving woman, even as Syll’s flock of eagles continued swarming the second monster.

Apparently deciding the game was up, the monster on the ceiling descended slightly and then flew off down the southeastern corridor and out of sight, pursued by the four eagles all the way.

“Wow,” said Syll even as Danton shook Tenaris out of her stupor and Luger turned his attention to Sparhawk’s numerous wounds, “that was truly awful. I can’t believe such things even exist. Those eagles should help keep it away for a while, but if we ever come back this way, we better shine our lights on the ceiling every step of the way.”

Sparhawk used what little healing power he had left for the day on himself (Lay on Hands + 4 HP), while Luger used a scroll (Cure Moderate Wounds) for additional healing on the paladin (Sparhawk +21 HP). Sparhawk was in much better shape after all of this, but wounds still remained, and Luger had little power left to do anything about them.

“Here, try this,” said Syll, handing Sparhawk the healing elixir Danton had given him after the group purchased all the items offered by the strange man from the subterranean fungal forest. “Consider it a way of making up a bit for torching you earlier.”

“A gracious gesture,” said Sparhawk with a nod of his head. “You have mine thanks,” he added as he drained the strange liquid. It had an odd, mushroom-like taste that was none too pleasant going down his throat, but he did immediately feel much better (+ 14 HP).

“Now if I can find some way to make Danton a chess board, I’ll be back on an even karmic keel,” said the elf with a smirk. “At least until the next time I light one of you guys up…”

With the paladin back in fairly good shape again, everyone in the group was anxious to move on, lest the bizarre cloak-creature return with reinforcements. The group made its way a bit over a hundred feet down the western hallway, which was less than half the corridor’s total length, until they came to an area with a wooden door on the north side and a pair of closed iron doors on the south side.

Checking the wooden door first (search 17+15=32, listen: 10+8=18), Danton saw no signs of danger, and Luger could discern no evil emanations nearby either. Danton then opened the unlocked door, and the party slipped into a very narrow hallway that ran west-east parallel to the wider corridor in which they had just stood. This narrow hall ran sixty feet off to the east, and the only two exits were a pair of wooden doors on the north side, one about halfway down the hall and the other near its far end. There were no torches in this area, so Danton and Sparhawk removed their magical lights.

At the first door, Danton (search: 4+15=19, listen: 19+8=27) and Luger once again sensed nothing untoward. Sparhawk opened the unlocked door, and the party saw a very small room, no more than ten by fifteen feet, that was completely empty. Sparhawk pulled the door shut once more and then the group moved down to the second door. Here again, nothing seemed amiss (Danton search: 10+15=25, listen: 13+8=21), so Sparhawk opened the door.

Beyond this door was another small room, a bit larger than the previous one. It was thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, with a hallway running off it to the east.

Three statues stood upon pedestals in the room, forming a triangle with two in the east and one in the west. Each was a life-size representation of a dwarf done in a peculiar dark blue stone. The first, nearest the door, was a warrior: a male dwarf in plate armor, with a very large shield and a dwarven ugrosh. The second, near the northwest corner, was a dwarven woman in regal robes with a crown upon her head. The third, in the eastern part of the room, was another male dwarf, carrying a pick and dressed like a miner.

“Seems pretty clear that at least some of this mountain once belonged to dwarves,” mused Syll. “Wonder what happened.”

“I suspect the cult of Tharizdun happened,” said Luger grimly.

Danton examined (search: 7+15=22) the three statues carefully for any signs of hidden compartments that might hold any sort of valuables, but he found nothing of the kind and the group moved on down the hallway to the east, which ran for sixty feet before ending at yet another wooden door (Danton search: 20+15=35, listen: 19+8=27).

Beyond that door, which was unlocked like all the others in this area, was a small square shaped room twenty feet to a side. It had two other wooden doors, one on the north wall and another in the northeastern corner. Danton examined both portals (search: 1+15=16, 4+15=19, listen: 5+8=13, 12+8=20), but found nothing.

When Sparhawk opened the door in the northeastern corner, the party saw a thirty-foot long, twenty-foot wide storage room beyond it, without any other obvious exits. Moldy sacks, wooden crates, and barrels that had burst or rotted enough to spill their contents, and a few baskets holding black lumps that might once have been some sort of fruit, filled this chamber. The rotting contents of the place gave off a foul smell.

“If any of you feel like rooting through that, be my guests,” muttered Syll, “but I ain’t poking through that filth. Ugh.”

“Nor am I,” agreed Tenaris.

In order to speed the decision for the others regarding whether the assembled filth was worth searching, Luger cast a spell (Detect Magic) and quickly determined that there was nothing magical in the chamber.

“I might dig through such garbage for a lost magical artifact to use against the cult,” he explained, “but in the absence of such, let us move on.”

The remaining door, the one on the north wall, led to yet another narrow corridor. This one ran east for forty feet, before bending sharply north for another twenty feet and ending at still another closed wooden door. Once around the corner, voices could be heard from beyond the door, and Luger immediately detected the presence of a large number of strongly evil auras. With such obvious signs of danger, most of the party halted at the corner, and only Danton continued up the corridor to the door (move silently: 17+22=39).

Between his own skill and his magical elven boots, Danton moved up the corridor making literally not a single sound audible to anyone in the party. It was one of the more impressive sights anyone present had ever seen. Once at the door, the scout examined it (search: 9+15=24) and then pressed his ear up against it (listen: 19+8=27).

“…more reinforcements arriving all the time,” said a voice with a strange accent.

“I grow impatient,” replied a woman’s voice. “Our other forces have already secured the main Fire Temple areas, but these delays in moving in from the west vex me greatly. I do not know what that white light was, but it might well have been a signal of some sort. We cannot wait much longer. Unless your other group of warriors arrives soon, I shall move out without them. Otherwise fleeing Fire Temple remnants may escape the area before we are able to cut off their retreat. If that happens, they could regroup and we could be faced with insurrection without end.”

“Yes, priestess,” replied the first voice.

Danton hoped to hear more conversation, but after these snippets, he heard only booted footfalls moving away, accompanied by what sounded like large numbers of other footfalls milling about in whatever area lay beyond the door, along with what might have been the sound of water lapping on stone. After five minutes of such, he decided to pull back from the door and rejoin the others (move silently: 8+22=30). His retreat back down the corridor was not quite as impressive as his advance had been, but the Velunese was still certain that no one beyond the door could have heard a sound. Once at the corner, he motioned for the others to follow him back down the hall and through the previous door before saying anything.

“I believe we hath discovered the Water Temple’s staging area in this region,” said Danton, explaining what he had heard. “I cannot be certain, but I believe ‘twas Kelashein giving orders, and the voice of a kuo-toa talking of reinforcements.”

“I’d love to torch those guys, but we’re pretty much tapped out spell-wise,” said Syll ruefully.

“Agreed,” said Luger. “Now is not the time for a showdown with the Water Temple. Their time will come later.”

“Caladbolg is always ready to slay those of evil intent,” said Sparhawk vehemently.

“Yeah, as long as nobody throws a flying, living carpet over your head and then starts chewing on you,” muttered Syll.

“Let us stay and fight,” insisted the paladin, “I can….oh…I don’t feel so good. There is a sudden dizziness…”

Although it had come on suddenly, a powerful nausea gripped the paladin, making him both lightheaded and feeling as though he might vomit (-1 penalty to all rolls).

“I thought he couldn’t get sick,” commented Syll as Danton and Luger helped Sparhawk back down the long corridor to the room with the three dwarven statues. “You know, power of Heironeous and all that.”

“Paladins are immune to disease,” said Luger as he sat Sparhawk down at the foot of the dwarven warrior statue and gave him a cursory examination (healing check: 14+16=30), “but they can still be poisoned and made ill by things they ingest…such as that foul concoction you gave him earlier. I may remind you that I told all of you not to purchase any of those items.”

“The elixir?” asked Syll dubiously. “But that healed his wounds, just as we were told it would!”

“So it would appear,” conceded Luger, “but it apparently has the side effects of dizziness and nausea. Who knows what ingredients that man put in the bottle?”

“We cannot stay here,” said Danton, “not with more Water Temple forces arriving by the minute and preparing to decamp and hunt down anyone fleeing from the Fire Temple. It still seemeth that Kelashein hath no idea we yet live, and I would keep it that way until such time as we are ready to strike at her.”

“I can walk,” said Sparhawk, forcing himself up to his feet, “but between magical fire, cuts from ‘friendly’ blades and now poisoning by mine own associates, I feel I must once again pray to Heironeous to protect me from elves and other friends bearing gifts.”

“But we checked for poison and there wasn’t any!” protested Syll again.

“I don’t believe it was poison,” explained Luger, “but rather, as I said before, side-effects of the concoction. There is a difference.”

“Not from where I am standing,” groaned Sparhawk. “The world is spinning about me.”

At Danton’s insistence, the party retraced its steps through the largely abandoned area of empty rooms, narrow hallways, and storage areas until it came back to the long, wide torch-lit corridor running westward. Danton quickly crossed the hall to the pair of metal doors and pressed his ear against them (search: 17+15=32, listen: 17+8=25). Hearing and seeing nothing, he carefully opened one of the doors himself, since Sparhawk was in no shape to take the lead.

Beyond the metal doors was a very large square chamber. Sixty feet to a side and 30 feet high, this room was easily the largest the party had seen thus far in this part of the mountain. In the middle of the room, surrounded by a 10 foot walkway all the way around, was a square pit 40 feet across. Torches in sconces on the walls provided bright illumination. The edge of the pit was rimmed with iron spikes pointed down to prevent anything from crawling out of the 15-foot-deep area. The pit itself was littered with bones, broken bits of weapons and armor, and three long lengths of chain.

“Looks like some kind of fighting pit,” said Syll. “Kind of like the wrestling pits in Woodstock, only a lot deeper and nastier. With these spikes around the edges, I get the feeling those who go in aren’t exactly doing so voluntarily.”

On the far side of the large room were two wooden doors thirty feet apart. Both were closed. As the party moved deeper into the room, Luger could sense multiple evil auras coming from beyond one or both of the doors. At least one of the auras was very strong.

With this warning from Luger in mind, Danton made his way up to the first of the two doors (search: 20+15=35, listen: 17+8=25). Hearing only the faintest sounds of metal on stone, the Velunese carefully lifted the bar that held the door shut and then pulled the door open slightly. When he did so, the smell of excrement, urine, and sweat was overpowering. The room beyond the door was long and bare, with iron manacles hanging from the walls and terrible stains on the floor. Chained to the west wall was a large brown dog. Chained to the east wall was a bedraggled looking gnome. The dog appeared to be asleep at the moment, but the gnome looked up at the faint sound of the door opening.

Wearing a battered and chinked chainmail shirt along with rough breeches and badly worn boots, the gnome was covered in bruises and scars. He gazed at Danton even as Syll pushed his way forward to peek around Danton’s head and into the room.

“Another prisoner!” hissed the elf. “We’ve got to get him out of here! No more leaving these guys for the Water Temple goon squad!”

“Enough…” moaned the gnome in clear Oeridian. “Leave me be. No more fights. Can’t you see I can’t take any more…”

“C’mon, Danton!” pressed Syll more loudly. “Unlock those manacles, and let’s get him out of here!”

“Danton?” said the gnome, the question evident in his tone. “Danton Verbrugge? Is that you? Can it be?”

Stunned that anyone in this place could possibly know his real name, Danton held up his enchanted torch and moved into the room, trying not to step into any of the excrement on the floor. When he drew close to the bedraggled gnome and got a good look at his face, he was finally able to see beyond all the cuts, bruises, and scars, and recognition dawned.

“Erky Timbers!” hissed the Velunese. “I cannot believe mine eyes!”

“Oh, it is you,” moaned the gnome. “Thank Ehlonna! Are Nanoc, Telemachos, and Mauser here as well?”

Danton shook his head sadly. “Much hath transpired since last we met, Erky, and more than a little of it bad. But this is not the time to speak of such things. Let me get you free that we may withdraw to a safer place to talk.”

While Danton worked on the locks on the manacles (open locks: 5+12=17), Syll looked back and forth between the Velunese and the gnome, trying to place the name ‘Erky Timbers’ and figure how in the world Danton and the gnome knew one another. Tenaris and Luger remained in the doorway, propping up Sparhawk, who still seemed as woozy as ever, and watching the main chamber.

Although the conditions were hardly the most favorable for Danton’s efforts, what with the foul smell, the thoughts racing through his mind, and Syll’s questioning looks to distract him, the locks on the manacles were crude in the extreme, so it was practically child’s play for Danton to trip the mechanisms that held each of Erky’s arms in place. When he opened the second one, the manacles fell free and clattered lightly against the stone wall.

This sound was not loud, but it was enough to wake the dog at the far end of the chamber. The moment the animal’s head came up, both Danton and Syll knew they had trouble. The dog was chained in place, so it was no physical threat, but it leaped to its feet and began barking, foam dripping from its mouth, with all the force and volume it could muster.

“Come on! Move it!” hissed Tenaris from the doorway. Throwing Erky over his shoulder, Danton followed Syll out of the crude prison. Tenaris then shut the door to muffle the sound of the dog’s insane barking. Unfortunately, the seal on the door was hardly airtight and the sound, although dampened, still carried into the large chamber with the pit. Evidently it carried into the other nearby room as well, for the party had made it no more than twenty feet around the pit and back towards the metal doors when the second wooden door opened with a rush and three winged creatures stalked into the room.

“Excellent!” bellowed the largest of the three demonic-looking horrors. He had bright red armored skin and one broken horn. “More competitors for the pit!”

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 71:

Please send postings for Turn 71 by the end of Friday, September 21st.

Current date/time/location: 15 Kolovoz; approximately 2200; The Temple of All Consumption

Items gained this turn: none

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold/left behind this turn: 3 flasks holy water, coinage from everyone, and five pieces of Tessimon’s jewelry all used in the Caladbolg ceremony, Luger’s scroll with cure moderate wounds and lots of his unneeded items, Syll’s fungal healing elixir

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in bold.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Danton

AC: 16 (17 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 44/47

New XP: 420

XP total: 39,611

XP needed: 45,000

Equipment: 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, 3 waterskins, 30 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, 3 iron keys from Fire Temple forces, inverted y pendant with red diamond background, map of Fire Temple area, letter from Hedrack to Tessimon, flaming short sword +1, unknown potion (acquired Turn 66), 2 vials of unknown liquid #1 and three vials of unknown liquid #2 (Turn 66), dark vision potion and healing elixir from the fungal forest man, masterwork dagger, sack of random bits of metal intended to be used as chess pieces

Gold: 1202

Silver: 430

Luger

AC: 21

Hit Points: 80/82

New XP: 420

XP total: 36,961

XP needed: 45,000

Spell Selection:

Level 0 (6): Detect Magic (X2), Light(x2)
Level 1 (5+1): Protection from Evil (Domain)
Level 2 (5+1):
Level 3 (4+1): Divine Power (Domain)
Level 4 (3+1):
Level 5 (1+1):
Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 5 of 7

Gold: 295

Silver: 0

Syll

AC: 14 (15 versus one opponent)

Hit Points: 43/43

New XP: 420

XP total: 24,130

XP needed: 28,000

Equipment: Ring of Protection +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Urrtarr’s spellbook, Scroll of: magic weapon, Masterwork Longsword, backpack, 3 water skins, 30 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, 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, ring of feather falling, wand of fireballs (13 charges; caster level 6), unknown potion (Turn 67), unknown suit of chainmail

Spells per level per day:

Level 0: (6) (2 used)

Level 1: (7) (7 used)

Level 2: (7) (6 used)

Level 3: (5) (4 used)

Gold: 3404

Silver: 42

Sparhawk

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

Hit Points: 52/60

New XP: 420

XP total: 18,210

XP needed: 21,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 30 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, masterwork 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, gold-inlaid black urn, Tessimon’s jewelry box, golden orb set with amber, Book of the Dark Eye, Caladbolg (barbed great sword +1), unknown potion (turn 66), two dark vision potions and one strength enhancing wafer from the fungal forest man

Spell Selection:

Level 1 (2): Endure Elements

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 4 of 6

Lay on Hands healing points left on current day: 0 of 18

Gold: 0

Silver: 0

Tenaris

AC: 23

Hit Points: 54/57

New XP: 420

XP total: 17,990

XP needed: 21,000

Equipment: longsword, chitin full plate mail, large steel shield, masterwork morningstar, 5 javelins, 2 troglodyte spears, inverted Y pendant, 30 days rations, potions of cat’s grace, spider climb, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, cloak of resistance +1, black robe, Bracers of Kord (strength) +2, potion of cure light woundsX2, pearl from the Dark Lake, short sword +1, large steel shield +1, two strength enhancing wafers and one healing elixir from the fungal forest man, Masterwork longsword

Gold: 174

Silver: 30