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Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption

Turn 79: D’Gran

After Danton explained what he had seen during his solo exploration, Sparhawk said firmly, “We canst not let this evil come to pass with our intervention. They seemth to be hatching more evil creatures to unleash their foulness across the ages. I am thinking that we mayest need a rest and an opportunity to regain our magicks for the impending battles. I for one could use a few moments of sleep to recover mine strength and wits from being chased by lion-beasts, taking a wild ride in a cart at breakneck speed, breathing in noxious dragon's breath, being ripped apart by the same dragon, and burned by the acid of that foul beast that assaulted me. I am no dwarf; I need a rest.”

“I am open to pausing,” said Danton, “though mine initial thought is that we at least dispose of yon scaly villains. Plainly, Syll and Luger hath expended their most potent magicks, but, as a group, we art quite hale and healthy in terms of swordplay. Those scaly villains can surely be killed, unless I miss mine guess.”

”But whether we wait or no,” said the scout, “I see no better route than south, through the wooden door and -- presumably -- into some more civilized and ordered area, p'raps the Air Temple itself. After all, those fungus-filled passages emanating out of the toadstool forest doth not seem to offer a good alternative, and, intuitively, if we art on our way to the bridge and the Outer Fane, methinks we won't find it through those passages. The doorway is the most likely place to go.“

”I am as ready as always to assault the evil denizens with mine new sword, Caladbolg,” said Sparhawk. “They shalt not be able to resist its righteous vengeance. I guess I hath grown too accustomed to exploding fire and the light of Heironeous ripping apart our foes. Still, after we dispatch our foes - or end up fleeing from them as we hath done recently - let us rest and regain our strength and magicks. We mayeth be able to take out these evil creatures without much anticipated trouble, but we shalt need all of our powers for the upcoming battle, if I am not mistaken.”

”I am open to killing these guards,” said Luger, “but do we know what they are or if they will be replaced at a certain time? If we kill them now and step back to rest, what will we find after our respite? Will there be even more guards? Will the enemies behind that door send out search parties to track down the killers?”

”If we kill them,” continued the cleric, “we at least need to drag their bodies back to the umberhulk lair or hide them in this cave with the rotted corpse. Perhaps the commanders of these scaly beasts will assume they abandoned their post. At the least, we cannot allow them to flee through that door and warn any allies. Our attack has to be quick and quiet. Explosive spells are certainly not needed here, even if we still had any. I have some Furydian fire that I've been holding for some time. If we need to back off and attack them from afar, that may be an option.”

”Frankly, he added, “based on Danton’s description, these guards seem familiar to me. Did we not see similar beings guarding the outer posts of the Fire Temple realms? We are heading to the fire door after all... I suppose it is possible there are still fire temple forces here protecting the bridge. I do not know how close we are to the bridge, but it may be a good idea to wear fire temple symbols as we continue down these tunnels. We were able to gain access to the other bridge by bluffing our way through. Perhaps we can do it again. I fear that this bridge may be much more fiercely protected if it is manned by the formerly most powerful temple. I cannot even imagine what could be worse than a chimera and a giant dwarf.”

”If we are going to kill these sentries,” he concluded, “then let’s get on with it, but I think we should rest and recharge and attempt to walk through the area with the fire symbols tomorrow.”

“Hmm,” mused Danton, “Luger's reluctance to attack until we art ready to proceed maketh sense, particularly if those beasts art sentries who wilt be missed. While their absence might signal abandonment of their posts, for all we know, it could also easily suggest that they had been killed or kidnapped. Very well. Luger hath persuaded me: why take the risk? If we art to hunker down anyhow, let's simply do it now before going any further. Then, when we come upon them we can p'raps dispatch them quietly ... as with magically enhanced silence.”

“Fine by me,” said Syll.

”The immediate question is, then, where to hunker down?” asked Danton rhetorically. “Staying here striketh me to be rather too close to the scaly villains. Mayhap they wilt hear or smell us. Staying in the toadstool forest seemeth to offer its own risks, as does entering any of the passages that emanate therefrom.
However, methinks I'd like to go back to the toadstool cavern and then take the tunnel to the southeast, which, unless I misremember, is where that awful insectoid beast we slew hath come from. Surely, there cannot be more of the same within. So p'raps we can find a place to rest there ... and who knows, good Syll, maybe this booty you seek wilt be there.”

”The only alternative I might offer is to return to the large cavern we fought the dragon in and hole up in the empty shack atop the wooden platform in the middle of the cave,” said Luger. “It would offer us a location which would not be stumbled upon and give us a good vantage point to spy anyone moving down below. My only concern would be the dragon returning and knocking the whole thing down around us. At the same time, my only concern about the fungus caves is the fungus itself. I do not wish to sleep in the midst of the fungus or breathe its spores.”

Seeing doubtful looks on the faces of all of the others, Luger added, “While I hate dealing with such vile creatures, perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement with the dragon. We might pay him for information and a ceasing of hostilities as we pass through his ‘realm.’ We did not come here hunting dragons and are really just passing through on our way to the bridge complex. I would be surprised if the dragon is actually aligned with any of the forces here, but he may have a great deal of knowledge about them...”

Danton shook his head. “Mine concern be that the wyrm wilt decide to have another go at us. And, since it is intelligent -- based upon Syll's somewhat self-serving exegesis -- it won't be so stupid as to attack us openly and obviously. It might be able to sneak up on us or use magic to render itself invisible. If it wants vengeance, we wilt have just placed ourselves in the position of convenient hors d'oeuvres for it.”

“Self-serving exegesis?” asked Syll with a laugh. “You’re just jealous because you ain’t half-dragon like me—or a quarter anyway.”

Danton ignored the elf. “Luger, I doth appreciate your reticence regarding the fungus and spores, but, keep in mind, I hath snorted a slew of them and suffered no bad effects.” He smirked at the cleric and added. “I am frankly not much for hallucinogenic drugs, but those 'shrooms really doth have much to commend them. Knoweth this: psilocybe is your friend, not your enemy.”

”Very well,” said Luger. “I yield to your logic. While I'd prefer a dry building to bunk in for the night, I do not wish to be gobbled up by a dragon while I sleep.”

With an agreement reached, the party exited the cavern with the dead umber hulk, made its way back down the steep set of stairs leading to the north, and re-entered the fungal forest. Danton offered to scout ahead alone along the path to the southeast, but given that he would have to carry his magical torch for a light source and would thus be detected by anything with eyes—no matter how quiet he might be—the others decided to stay with him.

The tunnel ran southeast for sixty feet before opening up into another irregularly shaped cavern. Patches of dark fungus grew on all the dark, rocky walls. The cave was roughly forty by forty feet and, aside from the entrance the party had used, there one other tunnel that exited from its southwestern corner. However, rather than explore further, the party decided to stop here and camp for an extended period. As it was likely only mid-afternoon in the world outside the mountain, the party would have a long rest ahead of it if it waited until morning to continue the trip to the south.

Most of the party remained awake for many hours, checking and cleaning equipment, updating maps, re-reading scrolls and papers captured from enemies, and so on. Hours later, the group finally began to sleep in shifts, with Syll and Sparhawk taking the first watch, Danton and Tenaris the second, and Luger the last.

During the dark hours of the night, Danton tried to draw Tenaris out and improve her mood by inquiring about her childhood in Celene. What was it like to be an elven girl in Celene? How long was one a “girl”, considering how long elves lived? What did Tenaris like to do as a girl—outdoor exploration? Playing with animals or toys? Cooking? Listening to or playing music? Dancing? Reading prose or poetry? Writing? Sports?

Unfortunately, Tenaris was not in a mood to talk, simply turning all of Danton’s questions around and asking about him. Thus the scout ended up telling a long series of stories about his own misspent youth in Veluna. As Danton had hoped, Tenaris seemed to be amused by most of the anecdotes, particularly by those in which Danton had engaged in some sort of outlandish, socially unacceptable behavior. By the time Luger awoke to take the final watch, the elf woman’s earlier anger at Danton seemed to have dissipated entirely.

Hours later, when everyone was awake on what should have been the 20^th of Kolovoz in the world outside, Luger cast a pair of minor healing spells, one on himself and the other on Sparhawk (Cure Light Wounds, +12 and +11 HP, respectively) in order to take care of lingering injuries from the previous day.

“Let us begin another day of violence and war in this vile place,” said Sparhawk when the healing was complete. “Let us attempt subterfuge to get past these guards, if that is what they art. If it cometh to a fight, mine sword wilt be ready and strong, I canst assureth thee. But let us not expend too much of our resources on fighting mere guards, for it seemeth the bridge is near and we wilt be in need of our strength for a battle of epic proportions.”

“One last idea before we depart for the south,” said Luger. “Are you still all against attempting to parley with the wyrm? I speak Draconic, which is the same tongue of the lizard men we've encountered. Perhaps addressing the wyrm in his own tongue will at least impress him enough to consider a truce. I have no doubt we can destroy him now that we've recharged our magicks, but to what end? Should we risk life and limb to do so?”

Danton looked doubtful. “At bottom, what would be our endgame? What do we realistically wish to obtain from the dragon? I suppose I can conceive of several things we could ask for -- alliance, information, knowledge of an additional exit from Mt. Stalagos, et cetera. But I'm just not sure that we really hath anything to give the dragon in return. We hath not much cash to offer him, and we really don't want to part with magic items. So, if we cannot offer him booty, what can we offer him? Finally, even if we could make an offer that he would accept, could we trust him? I am doubtful on all of these scores.”

”Methinks we should forego it,” concluded Danton. “If there wert not other goals to achieve, methinks I'd favor finding and slaying the wyrm. But, as it is, I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.”

“I hath no desire to battle that dragon again and I think it wilt not help us,” agreed Sparhawk. “Dragons hath their own intentions, most of them evil. I think we ought to follow our new road to the unknown hazards to the south.”

Even Syll agreed—in a roundabout sort of way. “While the dragon simply attacked us earlier,” he said, “it might be more ready to talk now that we have thrashed on it a bit—that sort of thing can get you respect with dragons. On the other hand,” he added with a shrug, “dragons are crafty and it might play along for a time so that it could get some serious payback later. In the end, I would be leery of trusting it.”

”I’d like some ‘payback’ myself,” said Tenaris, “but there will be another time for such things. Let’s move on.”

At Luger’s suggestion, when the group marched out, Danton wore prominently the inverted triangle pendant with the red diamond symbol underneath that he had taken from the Fire Temple. Whether this would help in his efforts to bamboozle the guards he had seen the previous day would soon be put to the test.

The trip back to the main fungal chamber, up the stairs, past the beheaded umber hulk and down the long corridor to the southeast passed quickly and without event. The party made no effort to keep silent, so it was hardly surprising that when Danton and Sparhawk rounded the final corner, the guards there had heard the group coming. Just before the party entered the chamber, Luger cast Tongues on Danton in order to enable him to communicate with whomever or whatever awaited the party.

The two greenish creatures Danton had seen previously were still present. They stood nearly nine feet tall and had twisted, pocked, muscular bodies. They wore little clothing, but one of the two did sport a necklace of bones that had a number of jewels interweaved into it.

Danton drew breath to begin some sort of ‘Delchin-the-Despicable’-esque routine to confuse the pair of guards and earn the party passage through the door behind them, when suddenly they simply snarled and attacked before he could get so much as a word out.

[Initiative: Luger: 22, Danton: 19, Creatures: 19, Tenaris: 18, Syll: 11, Sparhawk: 10]

“Magical silence, Luger! Immediately!” hissed Danton as he drew Rat’s Tail and hacked with little effect at the nearest of the massive creatures (attack: 15+11=26, 2+6=8; one hit; 4 damage).

“I forgot to prepare silence spells, and I don’t have a scroll handy!” muttered the cleric as he came around the corner and joined Danton in hacking at the creature (attack: 17+10=27, 20+5=25; hit and potential critical hit—2^nd roll: 14+5=19; critical hit; 10, 14 damage). “I also want to save spells for the bridge—so let’s do this one the hard way!”

The massive creature ignored Danton’s negligible attack and concentrated its wrath on Luger, who appeared as if he had actually hurt it. The thing smashed the cleric in the face with one mighty claw (hit for 9 points), but the cleric managed to block its other claw and its teeth with his shield. Seconds later a salvo of magic missiles from Syll slammed into the monster that towered over Luger and Danton (15 damage).

Sparhawk was not so fortunate as Luger. The second green-skinned monster had rushed the paladin and it now succeeded in grabbing him with both clawed hands—the claws digging deep into his arms as it did so. The thing then tried to literally rip the paladin in two (hit for total of 32 damage). Sparhawk’s armor twisted and tore under the strain and the paladin screamed in agony even as the troll finally lost its grip and he stumbled backward.

“You shall pay for that, evil one!” hissed Sparhawk as he caught his balance and then surged back forward (Smite evil attack followed by normal attack: 11+12+3=26, 5+7=12; smite evil attack hits: 19 damage). Tenaris was at the paladin’s side seconds later and she too slashed away at the monster, driving it back—at least temporarily.

Danton and Luger continued to slash away at the first of the green-skinned monsters (Danton attack: 8+11=14, 13+6=19; two hits; 3, 3 damage; Luger attack: 2+10=12, 14+5=19; one hit; 11 damage). Their combined onslaught drove the beast back, but the thing still managed to claw Luger once again (hit for 11 damage) before Syll finally finished it with a second volley of magical projectiles (Magic Missile: 16 damage).

When the first creature went down, the second one began screaming wildly at the top of its lungs. Thanks to the tongues spell that was still in effect, Danton understood exactly what it yelled:

<<Krall! Slaazh! We’ve got some bad-boys out here! Get your sorry asses out here and help!>>

Even as it was screaming, the second monster continued to assail Sparhawk, clawing and biting him with wild abandon (hit for 16 damage). The paladin was staggered by the many blows he had taken in such a short time and Caladbolg slipped in his grasp as he tried to defend himself and counterattack (attack: 3+12=15, 10+7=17; both miss). Tenaris kept hacking away at the monster, but it ignored her in favor of its single-minded destruction of Sparhawk.

“Kill that thing quickly, Lady Death!” hissed Danton. “I fear we are about to have more company!”

Danton, along with Luger, was moving to aid the elf warrior when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that his senses did not want to believe: the first green-skinned creature, which Syll had felled with magic missiles, was somehow getting back up off the floor of the cavern.

“What in all the Oerth?” spat Danton in sheer disbelief as he turned to face the beast once again (attack: 12+11=23, 11+6=17; one hit; 3 damage). Now that he looked closely, the scout could see that all of the many wounds the monster had suffered were slowly, but surely, closing up.

“Trolls!” shouted Luger. “These are trolls! I have heard stories of their regeneration ability, but I had never seen one before to know exactly what they looked like! We must knock them down and then use fire to finish them!”

The cleric joined Danton in trying to hack the monster back down before it could re-enter the fray (attack: 16+10=26, 15+5=20; two hits; 9, 6 damage). Between the cleric and the Velunese, the troll was soon back on the ground. Syll then rushed up, carrying the magical torch that Danton had dropped when the fight started, and ran the flame up and down the length of the troll’s body, setting the carcass alight.

While all of this was happening, the second troll hit Sparhawk for the third time, clawing and biting the paladin until he collapsed senseless to the ground (hit for 18 damage). Tenaris was now alone facing the second monster.

Before Danton and Luger could go to the elf woman’s aid, the door at the far end of the tunnel to the south burst open and two more massive trolls lumbered through it. However, unlike the pair guarding the outer chamber, the two newcomers wore massive suits of full platemail and carried huge weapons—one a massive greatsword and the other a long double-bladed sword.

Even as Danton rushed to try to help Tenaris finish the last of the original trolls (attack: 1+11=12, 6+6=12; both miss), he shouted back to Luger:

“Methinks the time for magic hath come or there may be no later battle at the bridge!”

Much as Luger wanted to conserve the power of Heironeous, he could not disagree. Calling down the divine fire of the Invincible, the cleric dropped it on the heads of the two onrushing armored trolls (Cast Flame Strike: 34 damage in a 10 foot radius). One of the two was engulfed fully by the flames, while the other seemed to avoid the worst of the fire, but both howled and screamed in pain and anger as they closed on the party.

The troll with the greatsword moved to engage Luger, bashing the massive weapon through the cleric’s defenses and nearly knocking him off his feet (hit for 12 damage). The other one, with the long two-bladed sword, went after Danton, swinging the blade in a wide, spinning arc that the scout managed to duck and roll under.

Tenaris obviously realized that neither Danton nor Luger could stand up to such foes alone and she threw herself at the second of the original trolls with abandon, trying to finish it quickly in order to be able to aid the others with the clearly more formidable reinforcements. She hit the troll twice more and then Syll, firing away from the back of the cave once again, brought it down with magic missiles (10 damage). While the sorcerer then rushed forward to kill the fallen monster with Danton’s torch, Tenaris moved to help Danton.

Hard pressed though he was, Luger managed to call down Heironeous’ fire a second time—and to catch both surviving trolls in it—no mean feat (Cast Flame Strike: 33 damage in a 10 foot radius). The trolls screamed in pain as they burned in their metal armor, but their attack did not let up. The one with the twin-bladed sword harried Danton back and forth across the chamber and around the pit in its center, but somehow the Velunese was always one step ahead of his larger, less dexterous foe. He slipped Rat’s Tail through a gap in its armor, but to little effect (19+11=28, 3+6=9; one potential critical hit—2^nd roll: 15+11=26; critical hit; 8 damage). Tenaris, now wielding Maicarya rather than her longsword, pursued the troll as it chased Danton about, slashing it and setting it afire again and again until it finally collapsed from all the fire and abuse it had suffered.

After getting off his second flamestrike, Luger managed to block two staggering blows from the troll’s greatsword with his shield, but the pain that shot through his arm with each impact was blinding and he knew he could not sustain such an onslaught for long. The cleric tried to counter with Geistblatt (attack: 14+10=24, 17+5=22) but each of his strikes was blocked by the well-crafted platemail the troll wore. Then the troll struck again and Luger’s arm broke under the impact of its blade on his shield. A second later, the gigantic greatsword smashed into his body. The troll then spun the blade and ran Luger through with it (suffered two critical hits: 63 total damage taken). As Luger lost consciousness, the troll lifted its right leg and kicked the cleric’s body off the blade of its sword with a howl of victory.

When Tenaris had dropped the first of the armored trolls, Danton had used the reprieve to rush to Sparhawk’s side and pour one of his potions of cure light wounds into the paladin’s mouth (Sparhawk is raised to 0 HP). As Sparhawk came to, the scout was trying to help him sit up when he heard Luger scream and looked up to see the cleric run through by the last troll. Syll was still occupied in burning the body of the third troll, so it was left to Tenaris to face the monster that had just—by all appearances—slain Luger.

While Sparhawk laid his hands on his badly injured body and called on Heironeous to heal him that he might rejoin the fight (Lay on Hands: +18 HP), Danton rushed to Luger’s body and repeated what he had done with Sparhawk—hoping against hope that he was not too late—and poured his last healing potion into Luger’s mouth (cure light wounds: +7 HP; Luger is raised to 2 HP).

To Danton’s immense relief, Luger spluttered as the potion went down his throat and his eyes opened. The sound of blades crashing against armor echoed in the background as Tenaris and the last troll slugged it out near the pit in the center of the cavern.

Once he saw that Luger was conscious, Danton stood up, and rushed off to aid Tenaris, shouting as he went, “Throw everything you have at this villain! Let not Lady Death fight alone!”

Syll, finally freed up from troll-burning duties, heeded Danton’s call and blasted the troll with magic missiles (15 damage), even as the Velunese stabbed Rat’s Tail into the troll’s back (sneak attack: 15+11+2=28; hit; 19 damage). This attack was so devastating and caught the troll so much by surprise, that it actually drew the monster’s attention away from Tenaris. The troll spun about, looming over Danton with the gigantic sword that had nearly killed Luger. Danton’s life flashed before his eyes as the blade started to come down, but then a bolt of purest white light struck the monster in the head, blasting the head clean off its shoulders (Luger cast Searing Light: 14+9=23; hit; 24 damage).

The headless body fell backward onto the ground next to the pit. Syll took no chances, burning both the body and what remained of the head with Danton’s torch.

And with that, the fight, which had proven far more challenging than anyone in the party had ever imagined, was over.

“Luger, my friend,” said Danton, “the next time we suggesteth that you prepare spells of magical silence, please remember to do so!”

“Indeed,” said the cleric, getting painfully to his feet. “Two of those things were more than enough. We had no need for all four at once. My apologies.”

“And you!” said Danton to Sparhawk in an accusatory tone, “can we not have even one fight in which you do not get dropped on your arse and leave Tenaris to face the enemy alone?”

“’Tis an unfair accusation!” shot back the paladin. “That horrid monster that wast the pet of the giant who crashed our ore cart hath destroyed mine fine armor, leaving me with an inferior defense,” he added with a gesture at the chainmail he now wore in place of the platemail that had been destroyed by the rust monster.

If the party was to continue on, Luger had no choice but to expend large quantities of his remaining spells on healing (Convert Detect Evil and Command to healing on Tenaris: +20 HP, Convert Summon Monster IV and Bull’s Strength to healing on Sparhawk: +42 HP, Convert Sound Burst (x2), Obscuring Mist, Summon Monster IV and Light (x3) to healing on self: +67 HP).

With the healing complete—including the repair of Luger’s broken arm, the group was finally able to search the cavern, but there was apparently nothing of value to be found. Anything the trolls had carried—including the necklace with the jewels had been destroyed when their bodies were burned. The pit and nests contained nothing but foul-smelling refuse.

From the southern end of the cavern to the door that the two armored trolls had left open when they rushed through it, was a distance of only fifty feet or so. Danton and Sparhawk led the way through the doorway and into a small chamber twenty feet from north to south and thirty from east to west.

A simple black iron chandelier held ten lit candles over a crude, but sturdy wooden table in the middle of the room. A longspear had been wedged, point upward, into a crack between two floor stones near the table. A large black head, with compound eyes and massive mandibles, was thrust atop the point of the spear, its blood long since dried on the shaft and the floor. A large longbow and a quiver of arrows leaned against the southeast wall.

“Guess we know what happened to that headless insect guy now, huh?” said Syll with a nod at the head on the spear. “Too bad ol’ Delchin wasn’t able to persuade those trolls to go hunting more bugs and leave us alone.”

Danton shook his head and then made for the only other exit from the room, a closed wooden door on the south side. He examined the portal and then put his ear up against it (search: 2+16=18, listen: 12+8=20), seeing nothing unusual and hearing nothing at all.

The scout was about to signal for Sparhawk to open the door, when Syll held up a hand to signal that he should wait.

“Given how tough those guys were,” said the elf, “I got a feeling the bridge is real close now. We also can’t afford to get trashed like that again and I might have a way to prevent that. I’ve finally worked out a new spell that might be able to offer us a certain amount o’ protection in the next free-for-all we get into. I can only do it four times, but that will be enough for all of you—I’ll go without since I prefer to be ‘in the rear with the gear’ as Danton would put it.”

Without further explanation, Syll went to each of the four others in turn and touched them briefly while whispering words of power (Syll casts Stoneskin four times).

“Now,” said the sorcerer when he was finished, “this will dramatically reduce the amount of hurtin’ any of you take from any physical attack—weapons, fists, whatever. But keep in mind it won’t last forever, and the more abuse you take, the more rapidly the protection will be used up. It also won’t do a thing to protect you from magic—so don’t nobody go and get cocky,” he finished with a look at Sparhawk and Tenaris. “And don’t forget that I ain’t got no such protection—so don’t go leaving me alone to face the cultist hordes!” he added with a smirk.

[Tenaris, Danton, Luger, and Sparhawk all each have up to 10 points of damage reduction against each physical attack. The spell will last for 80 minutes or until 80 points of damage have been absorbed—whichever comes first.]

“Impressive, Syll, most impressive,” said Danton. “Mayhap now our good Furyondian knight can last more than a few seconds when next we go into battle.”

Sparhawk only sighed and said, “My thanks, good elf.”

And with that, the paladin opened the southern door. Beyond the doorway was a narrow hallway, clearly carved out of the stone of the mountain by humanoid hands—yet more evidence that the party was once again heading into a more ‘civilized’ part of Mount Stalagos. The hall ran south for forty feet and then bent to the east. There was a single closed wooden door on the western wall, near the southern end of the corridor.

When the party neared the southern end of the hallway, they could see that while it did bend to the east, it only did so for a foot or so and then immediately went south again. Before looking around the corner, Danton checked the door on the western wall (search: 3+16=19, listen:16+8=24). He found no traps on the door and heard no sound beyond it, but he, and some of the others, could now hear voices and other sounds of activity from off to the south, just around the corner and down the second part of the hallway.

Since the door was unlocked, Danton opened it quickly and saw an empty ten-foot by ten-foot room with no other exits. Rather than waste time searching this, he shut the door again and moved to the corner of the first hall in order to peek around into the second one (hide:15+14=29, spot: 20+10=30).

From what the scout could see in the brief moment he stuck part of his head around the corner, the hallway to the south ran for a very long distance—200 feet or more. There were doors and hallways all along the hallway, at least four on the western side and three on the eastern side. The hallway was also quite wide—25 feet—and was lit with torches all along its length. However, roughly halfway down the long hallway there also appeared to be natural light entering on the eastern side.

Standing in the center of the hallway right at its center, where the natural light entered from the east, was an odd collection of beings. Danton thought he had seen a huge winged ogre, a strange person with short black hair wearing some kind of tight-fitting yellow and orange clothing, what might have been a half-orc, and a pair of twelve foot long, six foot high bipedal reptilian creatures with long tails, small arms, brightly colored skin. As far as Danton had been able to tell in his quick glance, this strange group was standing about not doing a whole lot.

“We have come at last to the bridge,” said Luger. “I can…feel it. A great battle lies before us, my friends, followed by passage into the unknown. We still know not what awaits us at the center of the mountain, but it is likely that the enemies we find there will be much more powerful than those we have encountered out here. Be ready.”

“Bring ‘em on,” said Syll. “Who wants to live forever?”

“I doth not know about forever,” replied Sparhawk, “but it would be nice to make it to see tomorrow, at a minimum.”

“Let me see what I can do to facilitate that,” said Luger. The cleric then cast a pair of spells, one on Tenaris (Bull’s Strength: + Strength: +2 to attack and damage rolls) and the other on Sparhawk (Endurance: +5 Constitution: +12 HP among other benefits). Following this, Syll cast Invisibility spells on Danton, Tenaris, and Sparhawk in the hope that this would enable their first attacks to be made with surprise.

When these spells were cast, Danton’s disembodied voice asked, “Is everyone ready?”

“Yup,” said Syll. “Let’s do this. We’ll start it the fun way—my way. You three head down the hallway and as soon as there’s any sign you’ve been heard, I’ll start the fireworks.”

Danton, Tenaris, and Sparhawk complied, moving invisibly around the corner and, knowing what was coming, keeping to the sides of the corridor (move silently: Danton: 3+23=26, Tenaris: 10–3 =7, Sparhawk: 13-4=9). The group did not get far before the clanking and rustling of Tenaris’ and Sparhawk’s armor drew the attention of those in the center of the corridor, and then Syll stuck his head around the corner, launched his fireball, and all hell broke loose.

[Initiative: Syll: 24, Luger: 23, Tenaris: 19, Danton: 19, Foes base: 14, Sparhawk: 5]

Syll’s fireball (26 area effect damage in a 20 foot radius) exploded amidst the cluster of humanoids and creatures, badly burning both of the colorful reptiles and what Danton, Tenaris and Sparhawk could now see was a woman in the yellow-orange clothes. A half-orc man that was in the group was incinerated, while the great winged ogre seemed untouched by the conflagration.

Luger followed up immediately with a bolt of holy light at the winged ogre (Cast Searing Light: 8+9=17; 28 damage). The bolt clearly struck the creature, but, like the fireball, it seemed to have no effect.

While the three invisible members of the party rushed towards the survivors, the winged ogre flew up into the air and then simply disappeared. The two reptiles rushed down the hallway with blinding speed, right past Tenaris, Danton, and Sparhawk, and towards Syll and Luger. At the same time, the woman in the garish clothes launched a fireball of her own, giving Syll—and Luger who had the misfortune of being near the sorcerer—a taste of his own medicine.

“Run!” screamed the elf as he saw the flaming projectile coming in. “These things are much less fun on the receiving end!”

Running and diving in opposite directions, the sorcerer and cleric each managed to avoid the worst of the blast, but both were still scorched (reflex saves: Syll: . 13+6=19; success; 11 damage taken, Luger: 13+7=20; success; 11 damage taken). By the time each had picked himself up off the ground, the reptiles were upon them. One threw itself at Syll, raking him badly with its claws and knocking him right back to the ground (hit for 13 damage), while the other did the same with Luger. Thanks to the cleric’s magical protection, he was not hurt nearly as badly as Syll (Luger hit for 3 points).

Before he bothered to pick himself up off the ground a second time, Syll fired off a salvo of magic missiles at the reptile that was circling for another attack, its jaws now open wide to reveal row upon row of razor-sharp teeth (16 damage). The series of blasts was enough to finish the creature, which had already been badly burned by his earlier fireball.

Luger was similarly forced to concentrate on his own defense for the time being. He hacked at the second reptile with Geistblatt (attack: 9+10=19, 13+5=18; two hits; 10, 4 damage), keeping it at bay long enough to Syll to finish it as he had the first one—with magic missiles (13 damage).

While Luger and Syll were dealing with the reptiles, Danton, Tenaris, and Sparhawk, all still invisible, reached the spot in the center of a what they could now see was a four-way intersection where the entire enemy force had originally stood. In their charge, the trio had passed a hallway on the western wall, then a pair of doors—one on each side of the wide main hallway, and finally come to the intersection.

Twenty feet to the west were a closed pair of bronze doors. To the east was a wide, sixty-foot long hallway that led out to open air—and a great bridge with the distant island at the center of Mount Stalagos at its far end. Off to the south, the hallway continued for at least another hundred feet. Off in that direction, one more door was visible on the eastern side of the hallway and one more hallway on the western side.

If it was indeed the bridge to the Fire Door that Danton, Tenaris, and Sparhawk could see off to the east, then the party’s long journey through the mines had come to an end.

Closer to hand, Danton and the others could see that the woman in the awful, tight-fitting yellow-orange outfit had a tattoo of a bat that covered most of her face. The woman was busily casting another spell in the direction of Syll and Luger when Danton slipped up behind her and stuck Rat’s Tail into her back (sneak attack: 19+11=30; potential critical hit—2^nd roll: 17+11=28; critical sneak attack hit: 33 damage).

The woman was dead—and her spell ruined—long before she hit the floor, but Danton’s invisibility went with her. The Velunese stood in the intersection looking for more foes when suddenly he heard a voice from somewhere overhead. Looking up, Danton saw that the winged ogre had reappeared in the air just below the ceiling and looked to be casting some sort of spell (Danton will save: 1+4+5 bonus since the caster is fighting Danton’s party=10; failure).

“Quickly!” boomed the ogre’s voice to Danton. “Secure the bridge! Your companions can hold this area! Wait there until they have done so!”

“Right! I’m on it!” shouted back the scout, running towards the bridge. As he charged down the corridor to the east, 2 truly huge giants clad in leather armor and wielding massive clubs rushed past him going the other way, along with eight armored human warriors. Danton paid them no mind and rushed out onto the bridge. Once there, he spotted no more enemies, but did as had been told and took up a guard position on the bridge, confident he could hold it against all challengers.

Even as Syll was killing the second dinosaur and freeing up Luger, the two spellcasters saw Danton run off, followed by the arrival of the enemy reinforcements in the intersection where they presumed Sparhawk and Tenaris were still invisible and still waiting.

“What on Oerth is Danton doing?” asked Luger.

“You gotta take this shot, man,” said Syll, pointing at the arriving giants and men. “If I do it, I’ll torch our crew too.”

Luger nodded and then cast the most powerful spell still remaining in his arsenal (Cast Holy Smite as 10^th level cleric: 20 points damage in a 20 foot radius centered on the middle of the intersection). The effects were stunning, particularly for Tenaris and Sparhawk, who had been waiting invisibly for the enemy force to draw close. There was a flash of brilliant white light that had no effect whatsoever on the elf woman and the paladin, but that burned the men and giants all around them. All eight of the warriors were killed instantly. The effect on the giants was much less severe, but even they were burned and, at least temporarily, blinded by the light.

Tenaris and Sparhawk used this distraction to launch their attack on the giants. The woman moved first, and Sparhawk followed her lead—attacking the same giant she had (attack: 19+12+2 flank bonus +2 invisibility bonus=35, 20+7+2=29; two potential critical hits—2^nd rolls: 11+12+2+2=27, 7+7+2=16; one critical hit and one normal hit: 30, 15 damage). The effect of the joint surprise attack on the giant was devastating, as both Sparhawk and Tenaris struck the massive humanoid multiple times. However, the creature somehow took the incredible punishment and remained standing. He flailed about at Tenaris with his club, as did the second giant. Despite the giants’ difficulties seeing her, the woman took multiple hits and it was likely only Syll’s stoneskin that kept her standing as she was pummeled again and again.

It had not escaped the notice of the winged ogre that Luger and Syll were using long-range magical fire to kill large numbers of his allies, and he now turned his attention to them. The ogre cast some sort of spell that caused a cold, cloying cloud of greasy, nasty darkness to surround them, filling their lungs with smoke and poison (fortitude saves: Luger: 6+11=17; success; 4 damage taken, Syll: 6+6=12; failure; 8 damage taken and suffers a –2 to all rolls).

“We…ugh…gotta…get that guy!” gagged Syll as he and the cleric moved forward slightly to escape the noxious cloud.

“Look!” said Luger, pointing towards the far end of the long hallway, past the intersection. “More reinforcements!”

At least a dozen armored gnolls had appeared from out of some room at the far end of the hallway and were now rushing towards the intersection, where Tenaris and Sparhawk already had their hands full with the giants.

“You torch them and I’ll do what I can to protect you!” said Luger, casting a healing spell from a scroll on the elf (Cast Cure Moderate Wounds: Syll +13 HP).

Syll launched his second fireball past the melee in the intersection and detonated it amidst the charging hyena-men (28 area effect damage in a 20 foot radius). There was a distant, bright explosion, and when the flames and smoke faded, none of the gnolls remained standing.

Although Syll would normally have wanted to cheer at such an outcome, his preoccupation with the gnolls gave the ogre another free shot at him and Luger, this time in the form of a blast of cold and ice that washed over the cleric and the sorcerer (reflex saves: Luger: 17+7=24; success; 9 damage, Syll: 2+6-2=6; failure; 18 damage). As before, Luger was able to weather the magical attack relatively well, but Syll, who was not accustomed to taking so much sustained abuse during the party’s battles, was nearly knocked unconscious by the shock of the cold that washed over him.

In the intersection, Sparhawk could scarcely believe how much punishment the wounded giant had taken from him and Tenaris, but it simply would not die. The paladin (attack: 12+12+2=24, 1+7+2=10; one hit; 12 damage) struck the massive humanoid with Caladbolg yet again, but still it would not fall. Both giants continued to ignore Sparhawk in favor of pounding on Tenaris. A ball of fire roared over Sparhawk’s head, but he had no time to pay it any attention as he tried again and again to bring the giant down (attack: 1+12+2=15, 5+7+2=14, both miss).

While Luger cast another healing spell on Syll from a scroll (Cure Light Wounds: Syll +10 HP), he and the nearly-frozen elf saw yet another group of reinforcements—this one comprised of a cluster of armored men—approaching the intersection. This group had come from the south as well, but out of a different door than the gnolls. Although Syll wanted to hit the ogre to stop its spellcasting, he knew he had to deal with the group of warriors first. The elf launched a third fireball (32 area effect damage in a 20 foot radius) past Sparhawk, Tenaris, and the giants, exploding the projectile amidst the men, scattering and killing them all just as he had the gnolls before them.

“How many more men can they have?” asked the elf. “At this rate, we’re gonna run outta spells real quick.”

Although Luger and Syll had expected the ogre would use the distraction of the latest reinforcements to hit the duo with magic yet again, to their surprise the ogre instead withdrew a huge two handed sword it had worn on its back and descended into the fray with Sparhawk, Tenaris, and the giants, striking the paladin from behind hard enough to blow right through his magical defense (12 damage taken).

“Keep an eye out for more reinforcements and keep shooting!” said Luger to Syll, even as the cleric ran off down the corridor to join the melee. “I’ve got nothing left, so you’re all the long-range fire we have!” he yelled as he ran.

Seeing no more reinforcements for the moment, Syll targeted the ogre with a cluster of magic missiles (13 damage). “That’s for that nasty cloud o’ gas, ya shitball!” he yelled towards the winged creature. “If ya got gas in the future, point it at somebody else!”

Moments after the winged ogre entered the fray by attacking Sparhawk, Tenaris finally finished the first of the two giants, cutting its legs out from under it and bringing it crashing down. However, the second one continued to pound away at her, and Sparhawk could see that her movements were slowing; he judged that she had little fight left at this point. But the paladin had problems of his own, as the ogre struck him once again, cutting right through his flimsy chainmail armor (hit for 17 damage). The creature was so powerful that Syll’s stoneskin spell once again offered only minimal protection. The paladin tried to counter with Caladbolg, but the ogre flew up into the air and out of the blade’s reach (attack: 3+12=15, 6+7=13; both miss).

“Coward!” yelled the paladin. “Come back here!”

“Leave the other giant for later!” suggested Luger as he arrived at the intersection and took a pair of wild swings at the flying ogre (attack: 10+10=20, 3+5=8; both miss). “Get the flier! He’s got to be the leader!”

Although Luger had missed, Syll did not. More magical projectiles struck the flying ogre (12 damage). Luger and Sparhawk could hear Syll’s foice from the the far end of the corridor:

“And that’s for the blast o’ cold!”

Ironically, although she was in terrible shape, it was actually Tenaris who finally brought down the ogre as he swooped around to attack Sparhawk again. The woman’s longsword struck the creature twice, disrupting his flight and causing him to crash heavily and loudly to the stone floor. However, Tenaris’ victory was short lived, for a second later the second giant hit her on her armored head with his massive club, causing her to crumple to the ground without so much as a scream.

“Crap!” hissed Syll, seeing Tenaris go down. “And now I’m out of useful long range spells too!”

Like Luger before him, the elf saw little alternative but to charge down the hallway towards the melee.

Faced off against the remaining giant, who appeared to be largely untouched by the battle thus far, Luger and Sparhawk did their best to remain on opposite sides of their huge foe in order to keep him off balance. The cleric darted in and out of the giant’s guard, slashing Geistblatt about all the way, but to no effect (attack: 2+10+2=14, 1+5+2=8, 5+10+2=17, 12+5+2=17; all miss). For his efforts, Luger suffered two hard hits and found himself once again very grateful for Syll’s spell (3, 7 damage). Sparhawk was more effective, using Caladbolg to hack and slash at the giant’s legs and back (attack: 5+12+2=19, 13+7+2=22, 20+12+2=34, 6+7+2; one regular hit and one possible critical hit—2^nd roll: 16+12+2=30; critical hit; 12, 28 damage).

When Syll arrived at the intersection, the elf withdrew his longsword and was about to rush into the melee when he suddenly stopped short.

“Man, what am I smoking?” he asked himself out loud as he watched bodies, blades, and a huge club whirl about in a dance of death. “I ain’t going into that mess without a drink!”

The elf guzzled a healing potion (cure moderate wounds: +19 HP), and was about to join Sparhawk and Luger in fighting the giant, when he saw that the winged ogre—who was supposed to be dead—had begun flopping about on the floor.

“WHAT?” screamed Syll in disbelief. “You gotta be kidding me! This guy’s a troll too?”

The elf proceeded to rush over to the ogre, who was trying to pick himself up off the ground, and ran his sword through the monster’s left eye. When this succeeded in putting the ogre back on the ground, at least temporarily, Syll continued to hack at his body again and again.

Wondering when his magical defenses would give out and he would join Tenaris in unconsciousness or death, Luger continued trying to do what little damage he could to the giant (attack: 17+10+2=29, 4+5+2=11; one hit; 8 damage), who seemed too stupid to realize that Sparhawk was the greater threat and ignored the paladin in favor of pounding on Luger. And then the fight was over.

“Thou art a fool to turn thy back on a paladin of Furyondy!” yelled Sparhawk as he pushed Caladbolg through the giant’s back with both hands (attack: 20+12+2=34; potential critical hit—2^nd roll:14+12+2=28; critical hit; 29 damage). The giant fell forward and crashed to the ground with Caladbolg still stuck in his back. The massive club the giant had carried clattered and rolled across the stone floor as it slid from his lifeless grasp.

With the fight apparently over, Sparhawk withdrew his magical torch and used it to help Syll ensure that the flying ogre stayed dead. Then he recovered Caladbolg. At the same time, Luger crouched to tend to Tenaris.

“She’s in a bad way,” muttered the cleric, withdrawing his healing scroll and using it yet again (cast cure light wounds: Tenaris is raised to 0 HP).

“Comrades!” called out Danton excitedly as he rushed back into the intersection, seemingly from out of nowhere. “I hath secured the bridge and held it ‘till the battle was done as I hath been commanded! ‘Twas a terrible struggle, let me assure you one and all, but victory hath been mine and the way to the Outer Fane is now ours!”

The scout looked at Tenaris’ battered form as Luger tended to her, but he willed himself not to overreact again at seeing her hurt.

“I…er…uh…see that you all hath triumphed as well,” the scout added lamely.

“Yeah, no thanks to…whoa…we got more company!” said Syll, switching from a rebuke to a whisper in mid-sentence.

Off to the south, near the far end of the long hallway, five people were visible, walking, not running, towards the party.

“Who goeth there?” called out Sparhawk, wielding Caladbolg at the ready. “Stand thy ground and state your business or we shalt visit violence upon thee!”

“We ain’t in much shape for another fight just now…” whispered Syll unnecessarily. “But if we’re gonna fight, I wanna torch these guys at long range.”

The figures approaching were a tall, thin half-orc, a tall woman with close-cropped white or very light-blond hair, a human male, a halfling with a heavily scarred face, and a gnome most of whose features were obscured by the hood of his black cloak. The half-orc, the woman, and the man all wore heavy platemail and held unsheathed weapons.

“Looks like you had quite the fight here,” called out the half-orc. “Too bad we only caught the tail end of it or we might have got in on it—just to have a piece of the action, of course.”

As Danton looked down the hallway at the approaching group, the last cobwebs lingering from the ogre’s spell faded from his mind. What he could see of the gnome, the halfling, and the armored man meant nothing to him, but there was something strangely familiar about the woman and the half-orc…if only he could place them…

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 80

--Please send postings for Turn 80 by the end of Friday, December 21st.

--Luger has achieved enough XP to reach 10^th level. Sparhawk still needs to be raised to 7^th level.

Current date/time/location: 20 Kolovoz; approximately 0930; The Temple of All Consumption

Items gained this turn: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold/left behind this turn: Danton’s 2 potions of cure light wounds, Luger cure moderate wounds and cure light wounds(X2) from scroll, Syll potion of cure moderate wounds

Undivided items: none

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in bold.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Danton

(80 points stoneskin remaining)

AC: 17 (18 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 51/51

New XP: 3600

XP total: 48,904

XP needed: 55,000

Equipment: 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor +1, 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, boots of elvenkind, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, tattered dwarven book, pearl from the Dark Lake, 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, 2 vials of unknown liquid #1 and three vials of unknown liquid #2 (Turn 66), healing elixir from the fungal forest man, masterwork dagger, sack of random bits of metal intended to be used as chess pieces, 4 bottles cheap red wine, 2 pink pearls, 2 dwarven scrolls found on the balcony over the dark lake, cloak of resistance +1, Fachish’s papers, letter from Hedrack to Terrenygit

Gold: 1025

Silver: 430

Luger

(50 points stoneskin remaining)

AC: 22

Hit Points: 32/82

New XP: 3600

XP total: 45,654

XP needed: 45,000

Equipment: masterwork heavy mace, chainmail +1, masterwork large steel shield, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, flint & steel, 30 days rations, silver holy symbol of Heironeus, 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 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 and one large diamond shaped metal bar, 2 emerald endants, book on history and worship of Elder Elemental Eye cult, one inverted Y pendant 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, Aseneth’s House Torquann dragon ring, ring of jumping (+30 to jumping checks), 1 iron triangle with inverted ‘Y’, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, metal scroll tube, one inverted ziggurat pendant; scrolls of contagion, greater magic weapon, bracers of health +2, potion of bear’s endurance, scroll of bless, hold person, and dispel magic, 2 pink pearls, large steel shield +1, scroll with neutralize poison and silence, purple lamp (everburning torch), unknown magic morningstar

Spell Selection

Level 0 (6): Detect Magic (x3)

Level 1 (5+1): Protection from Evil (Domain)

Level 2 (5+1): Aid (Domain)

Level 3 (4+1): Dispel Magic (x1), Magic Vestment (Domain)

Level 4 (3+1):

Level 5 (1+1):

Syll

AC: 15 (16 versus one opponent)

Hit Points: 38/50

New XP: 3600

XP total: 33,423

XP needed: 36,000

Equipment: Ring of Protection +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Urrtarr’s spellbook, 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, Summon Monster II, Change self, Enlarge, Sleep X2, Wand of Monster Summon I (8 charges), potion of water breathing, potion of cure light wounds, potion of lesser restoration, ring of feather falling, wand of fireballs (12 charges; caster level 6), potion of protection from elements (fire), potion of cure moderate wounds, 2 pink pearls, eyes of the eagle (+5 to all spot checks)

Spells per level per day:

Level 0: (6)

Level 1: (7) (7 used)

Level 2: (7) (3 used)

Level 3: (6) (3 used)

Level 4: (4) (4 used)

Gold: 3737

Silver: 42

Sparhawk

(60 points stoneskin remaining)

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

Hit Points: 31 (+12 temporary from Endurance) = 43/60

New XP: 3600

XP total: 27,503

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, 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, 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), two dark vision potions and one strength enhancing wafer from the fungal forest man, 2 pink pearls, suit of chainmail +1, cloak of resistance +1, unknown magic club

Spell Selection:

Level 1 (2): Protection from Evil, Divine Favor

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 6 of 6

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

Smite Evil used today?: Yes

Gold: 333

Silver: 0

Tenaris

(+4 strength still in effect)

AC: 23

Hit Points: 0/66

New XP: 3600

XP total: 27,283

XP needed: 28,000

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 wounds, 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, Maicarya (flaming short sword +1), 2 pink pearls, longsword +1, golden dagger, golden necklace, 2 vials Furyondian fire oil

Gold: 507

Silver: 30