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Chapter 4: A Deeper Darkness

Turn 87: The Black Cyst

Tenaris withdrew Danton’s maps and notebooks, found the map of the Outer Fane, and crossed off “liberating prison” from the to-do list that Danton had written on the map.

”The way I see it,” said the elf warrior, “we're down to getting that silvery orb and entering the Inner Fane, and I see no reason not to do them in that order. We've now got the aid of a Prince of Furyondy -- whose kindness and courtesy does me honor and gives me succor -- as well as that of one of his knights. So there's no point in wasting time.”

”May as well pillage Naquent's nearby room -- and hope the bitch is there so that we can kill her while we're at it -- and then make for the orb,” added Tenaris as an afterthought.

At Tenaris' words, Sparhawk's eyes went wide with surprise and he smiled broadly. “Well-spoken, milady! Methinks I agree, and I hope thou canst keep up with a Knight of Furyondy wielding Caladbolg! I mayeth even allow thee to slice the ‘bitch’ up once or twice before Sir Sparhawk dealeth the coup de grace.”

Suddenly remembering who else was nearby, the paladin looked at Prince Thrommel and added, “I wish not to steal the honor from thee, my lord, but to honor thee with it! Thy Knights art loyal and true! For Furyondy!”

“It is I who am honored, Sir Sparhawk,” replied Thrommel. “Although I still feel sickened at the very thought of the acts I committed while in the thrall of the vampirism inflicted by these cultists, with two Furyondian paladins at my side, I feel some hope that we may redeem my failures and bring this cult down once and for all. Although I do not know if Pelor will ever forgive my many sins, the thought that Heironeous has sent two of his paladins--among other allies--to my side gives me some hope.”

“Sweet and tenacious Tenaris,” said Sparhawk, looking back at the elf woman, “doth thou have a plan for assaulting the witch, or shalt we simply kick in the door with swords blazing? Methinks we should try to remember that our good spy was always a bit more careful ere plunging into such places.”

“There's no time to waste—and Danton isn’t here,” replied Tenaris, “so let's kick in the door and rifle the place quickly. Varachan said that Naquent was in the library south of here, but time has passed and you never know. If she's in there, she's all mine. I've been spoiling for a good catfight. Then it will be time to acquire that orb. And, after that, the Inner Fane. Still plenty of heavy lifting to do.”

“So then we kick the tires and light the fires?” asked Syll rhetorically. “I'll be happy to be responsible for the fires, of course.”

“Oh, by the way,” added the sorcerer, looking at Vister, “here’s an extra set of strength-enhancing gauntlets that you might as well use. The rest of us already have other equipment and these have just been sitting in my pack.”

Syll extended the set of Gauntlets of Kord to Vister, who, in contrast to her reaction to the equipment Tenaris had given her previously, actually looked pleased.

“Alright then,” said Syll, “let’s go get Naquent, loot her room, and then get those other poor prisoners out so they can go with Maluccus, Renoux, and Athemal when they leave.”

With the prison liberated, the reinforced party moved out of the area, through the plush waiting area to the south of it, and then back into the main east-west hallway in the area.

“Remember that Varachan referred to Naquent as Hedrack’s ‘cunning’ instrument,” said Syll. “Given that, I think we will have to deal with nasty spells and possibly traps. That means silence and dispel will be really useful and we ought to try to disrupt any spell casting she tries to do.”

“I’m just cutting the bitch down,” hissed Tenaris while Sparhawk threw his shoulder against the door to Naquent’s room and bashed it open.

When the door gave way, Sparhawk rushed through it, with Tenaris right behind him. The pair found themselves in a twenty-foot by forty-foot living chamber. The room had a sunken area ten feet across in the middle, filled with pillows and blankets. Three chests and a wardrobe were pushed against the south wall, while the other walls were covered in dark violet curtains with black obexes embroidered upon them. There was no one visible in the room, but the air had a palpable chill to it.

“She’s not here…” began Tenaris, turning her head around to look at the others gathered in the hallway outside, when suddenly a shimmering, incorporeal form floated down from the ceiling and extending an insubstantial hand towards Sparhawk. The hand passed right through Sparhawk’s armor and into his body (6 damage taken and 2 negative levels gained) chilling his very soul with its touch.

[Initiative: Thrommel 27, Tenaris 23, Sparhawk 20, Spectre 17, Vister 15, Syll 10, Luger 8]

In a flash, Caladbolg was in Sparhawk’s hands and Tenaris and Thrommel were at his side. Thrommel slashed Justice through the insubstantial form of the spectre twice, but the sword had no effect whatsoever. Tenaris, wielding her enchanted longsword, was much more effective (attack: 16+18=34, 8+13=21, two hits: 18, 19 damage). Somehow Tenaris’ blade, currently enjoying additional magical power provided by Luger, tore through the wispy form of the ghost, nearly shredding it entirely.

Following up Tenaris’ devastating attack on the evil spirit, Sparhawk slashed Caladbolg through what remained of it (smite evil attack followed by regular attack: 19+18–2=35, 17+10-2=25; two hits but the first one has no effect; second hit does 16 damage). The first time Caladbolg went through the ‘body’ of the ghost, it somehow failed to connect with anything, but on Sparhawk’s backswing, the powerful blade found its mark, tearing what remained of the spectre to wisps of smoke that quickly faded.

“Well done, milady, my prince,” breathed Sparhawk as he struggled to catch his breath in the cold room whose chill seemed to have sunk into his bones.

“I told you guys to be careful,” said Syll, pushing his way into the room. “We were told Naquent’s a tricky customer, so whatever that was, it may not be the last of the ‘surprises’ in her room. So, everybody out in the hall and nobody touch anything until I see if there are is any more magical unpleasantness waiting for us here.”

The sorcerer then cast a simple spell (Detect Magic) and walked slowly around Naquent’s chamber. Aside from a strong magical aura that permeated the entire chamber, Syll found additional spells on two of the three chests and the wardrobe. These three latter spells he judged were almost certainly traps.

With the others out in the hallway so that they would not be affected by what he was about to do, Syll detonated a powerful dispel magic in the center of Naquent’s room, hoping to take down all three magical traps and whatever spell it was that permeated the entire room (Syll caster level checks: 10+10=20, 9+10=19, 18+10=28, 4+10=14). When he was done, Syll cast detect magic a second time, and determined that he had managed to dispel every spell in the room, except for the one that filled the entire area.

At this point, the whole party quickly rifled Naquent’s room. As it turned out, the wardrobe contained only mundane clothing, while all three of the chests were locked. Rather than waste time trying to bash them open here and now, the party decided to haul them back to Varachan’s chamber to open later. Since there was nothing else of apparent value in the room, the party moved on quickly. The group only delayed long enough for Luger to cast a spell from a scroll to remove the chill that the ghost had placed on Sparhawk that just would not go away otherwise (Luger casts restoration from a scroll on Sparhawk; Sparhawk loses the two negative levels the spectre put on him.)

While most of the large group had remained out in the hallway while the core party had rifled Naquent’s room, when everyone was back together and moving towards the aviary to liberate the prisoners there, Sparhawk found himself next to Maluccus. Seeing the lion-like body of the party’s latest ally, Sparhawk had an idea.

“Good Maluccus,” he said with a malicious grin, “how wouldst thou like to hunt some wicked lions 'ere thee departs? If so, Luger couldst explain the foul corruption of those beasts to you. If you are game, I think the hunters mayeth become the hunted.”

“Ukemil is a reptilian priest of Tharizdun,” explained Luger, “and he is accompanied by four fiendish lions with reptilian scales that resist both fire and blades. They have been hunting us for some time and, unless someone deals with them for us, I am quite certain that we have not seen the last of them—however Varachan may seek to keep them off our trail.”

“They sound rather formidable,” said Maluccus. “I would not fear to engage them, nor would Renoux, I am sure, but for us to fight them while accompanying Athemal and these other helpless prisoners we are to free, well, we might be able to distract and occupy them for a time, but I doubt we could eliminate them for you. Still, when you are ready to make your next move against the cult, all you need do is point us in the opposite direction to serve as what distraction we may. When and if things turn dangerous for us, I will teleport our whole group out of the mountain.”

“Fair enough,” said Luger as the party approached the room where the other prisoners had been held. The cleric withdrew the two earth temple keys, placed them together, and then touched them to the door, which opened immediately, just as it had before.

Once again, the party found four humans, two dwarves, and an orc in the dark, dingy room behind the door.

“Awright,” said Syll as he motioned the prisoners to come out into the main hallway, “we’re springing ya. You guys are all coming with us for a short time, but then we’re going to split into two groups. Our group is going to stay around here to cause more trouble for the Doomdreamers, but you guys are going with Maluccus and Renoux here,” he said, pointing at the lion-like creature and the flaming man, “they’re going to make a bit of a diversion for us and then leave this place for good using magic. All you have to do is stick with them and when they go, they’ll take you out of the mountain with them. After that, you’re free to go wherever you want, although I advise you all to get far away from this awful mountain. Everybody got all that?”

Although none of these prisoners could speak—courtesy of the Tharizdun cult having removed their tongues—they plainly understood Syll’s words and their meaning. Several of them actually embraced the sorcerer, to his obvious discomfort.

With the second group of prisoners freed and a truly large entourage now accompanying the party, the mass of people and creatures made its way west around the northern part of the Outer Fane and back to Varachan’s chamber, where the three chests taken from Naquent’s living quarters were quickly deposited.

“So our plan wast to obtain yon fell orb next, was it not?” asked Sparhawk. “It seemeth to me that this was next on Danton’s list, though I remember not how it was we were supposed to accomplish the feat.”

“Why don’t we first rest up and recharge spells?” asked Syll. “I’d like to try to figure out two things: one, where Ukemil is, and two, how we can destroy that machine. The machine needs to go down sooner rather than later, and from as far away as possible. Some literal firepower may well do the trick. There should be nothing left but ash when we’re done. Then, after we’ve done all that, we can go looking for silvery orbs and whatnot. I’d also really like to check out you-know-who,” he added with a whisper, “but he still isn’t around. I still just worry that we’re somehow getting used by him.”

“I don’t think resting is an option just yet,” said Luger. “We have far too many people here to hide in Varachan’s chamber and we know of no other even theoretically safe place to sleep.”

“I also do not think it a good idea for all of us to stay here for so long,” said Maluccus. “I wish to report back to those I serve and Renoux wants to do the same. We are happy to provide a diversion for you before we go, but we cannot wait until tomorrow to do it.”

“Sorry, Syll,” added Tenaris, “but there’s no rest for the weary. Why don’t you take Danton’s notebook and read what we need to do to get the orb? Then let’s get on with it. Maybe we can even find Naquent and kill her while we’re at it.”

Resigned to the fact that he had been outvoted yet again, Syll sighed and took the notebook from Tenaris. Reading quickly back through Danton’s notes from the party’s conversation with Varachan, he then said, “We have to get one of these torches of revealing and a black thurible. Since we haven’t found either of those in our explorations—no doubt in part because we almost never stop long enough to really explore or loot thoroughly,” he added with a note of obvious annoyance, “it looks like we’ve got to find this ‘vestry’ in the southern part of the fane where those things are supposed to be kept.”

“That means either going south from here—past the dragon,” said Tenaris, looking at Danton’s map, “or making our way all the way back around the fane in the other direction—through a large area that we have yet go explore at all.”

Syll scratched his chin. “What would Danton do in a situation like this?” he asked half to himself and half to the others.

“Most likely complain about the lack of fine wine and high culture!” said Sparhawk with a laugh. “Oh, how I doth miss him!”

Syll exchanged a silent glance with Tenaris.

“I think it might be time for another appearance of the Dominatrix of Dread or whatever awful name it was Danton gave you,” said the sorcerer. “Let’s get all decked out in our cloaks and evil symbols again and then just waltz right past that dragon chamber like we own the place. Remember—we were all invisible when we came in here, so that critter has no idea what we actually look like.”

“A risky plan,” commented Sparhawk, “what if the beast hath been given our descriptions by Naquent or Ukemil?”

“That’s why we’ll wear the hoods too!” said Syll blithely.

“Let’s do it,” said Tenaris firmly.

“Sometimes sheer boldness can carry the day,” interjected Thrommel.

Sparhawk smiled. “’Tis plain that there is a new fighting spirit among mine companions. The renewal of the Prince and the liberation of mine fellow paladin and our temporary allies hath had a salubrious effect, make no mistake. Whilst the Temple hath grinded on mine own body and soul in past days, I am now filled with life and hope. Very well, may the providential agency of Heironeous continue to make itself manifest. Lead on, good elf.”

With Maluccus and Renoux agreeing to wait with the other freed prisoners in the large hall just south of Varachan’s chamber until either they were attacked, the party returned, or one hour passed, the rest of the group removed the black and ochre robes that they had worn previously when masquerading as the associates of ‘Delchin the Despicable’. Decked out in these robes, and with inverted Y and inverted pyramid symbols hanging outside their clothing, the group headed south. Tenaris, Sparhawk and Thrommel were in the lead, followed by Luger and Syll, with Vister serving as rear-guard.

When the party came to the corner of the dragon’s chamber that it had no choice but to pass through, Syll urged that everyone march right through it, without slowing, looking into the dragon chamber, or doing anything else that might suggest they were anything other than fully at home in the fane. As it turned out, though this part of the trip was fraught with tension, it passed entirely without event. There was no sign of the dragon—either it was absent or once again invisible—and the party moved through the corner of its chamber without incident.

Once past the dragon chamber, the group marched sixty feet to the east, past the doorway from which the ogre guards had come and then turned south. The hallway leading south remained wide—twenty feet—and it ran for at least a hundred and fifty feet. The walls were lined with burning torches at regular intervals and there were three openings on the eastern side of the hallway. The first, just twenty feet south of where the hallway turned south, was a set of stairs leading upward. The second was a narrow hallway twenty feet past the stairs, and the third was a wide hallway heading east at the far end of the north-south hallway.

Since Syll was not sure which of these three routes would lead to the library or the vestry that was supposed to be near it, he motioned for Sparhawk and Tenaris to check all three systematically. The pair thus led the party up the short flight of stairs to the east and then, almost immediately thereafter, around a corner leading north. Once the party was around the corner, it came almost immediately to a closed metal door. The face of a demon had been carved into the door and the eyes on the face glowed an unnatural green. There was no sign of any door handle or lock on the door.

“Euhhhh,” muttered Syll when he saw the door. “That doesn’t exactly scream ‘library’. Let’s, uh, check the other two halls and come back here only if we have too.”

The demon face on the door made everyone in the group uncomfortable and no one was inclined to argue with Syll, so the party turned around, made its way back to the main north-south hallway, and then went east down the second corridor, a narrow passage that ran for fifty feet before ending at a closed wooden door, which, thankfully, did not have a demonic visage on it.

Sparhawk opened the door, which was not locked, and led the party into a chamber that was twenty feet wide from north to south and thirty feet long from west to east. The eastern side of the room had no wall; that side of the room appeared to merge into a hallway heading southeast. Hanging from hooks along the north and south walls of the room were robes of two different colors: ochre and deep purple. An ornate box, two feet to a side, with hinged doors on two sides, rested on a stand in the center of the room. Images of processions of people, all garbed in robes and cowls, were etched into the sides of the box.

“Take all of those robes,” said Luger. As it turned out, there were six ochre robes—one each for everyone present, and four purple robes. That latter were identical to the Purple Robe of Tharizdun that the party had taken from Hedrack’s room and that Luger now carried. With the four new ones obtained, the party now had five—enough for everyone except Vister to have such a robe.

“What do you bet the torch and censer we need are in that box?” asked Syll. He cast detect magic on the container, finding that while there did appear to be magic items inside the box, the container itself was mundane.

“No magical traps at least,” he said. Moving to try to open the box, the elf found that it was locked. “Man I miss, Danton,” he muttered. “Unless someone has other ideas, we’re gonna have to bash this thing open. The only question is whether we do it here, which could draw all kinds of guards down on us, or haul the whole thing back to Varachan’s, which could look pretty suspicious if anybody sees us.”

“Let’s take it and brazen it out,” said Tenaris, grabbing one end of the large box. When Sparhawk took the other, the pair was able to lift and maneuver the box off the stand. With the two warriors hauling the container, the party was able to move back west through the doorway, down the narrow hallway, and then north through the wider corridor. The rest of the trip passed without event and fairly quickly, requiring only the occasional pause for Tenaris and Sparhawk to adjust their grip on the box. Before long, the party was back outside of Varachan’s chamber where they found Maluccus, Renoux, and the others waiting.

Sparhawk then removed a spare mundane longsword that he carried and began using it to bash open the box from the vestry. Given the paladin’s great strength and the relative weakness of the wooden container, the only real questions were how long it would take him to bash open the box and how much damage would be done to any items inside by the time he got it open.

In less than five minutes, Sparhawk had the box open, having smashed one of its sides. Inside were a single long black metal torch, a single black censer, which had been scraped a bit by Sparhawk’s sword, but which was still basically intact, and ten pieces of incense—four black balls and six cones. Some of the pieces of incense had been smashed or cut during the process of opening the box, but the pieces could still be gathered up and carried. Syll collected the torch and thurible, and then swept all the pieces of incense into a small bag.

With all of this accomplished, the time for the party to bid farewell to Maluccus, Renoux, Athemal, and the other prisoners had come. Since the party would be heading east and then south, Maluccus and the others agreed to go south and then east in order to divert attention from the party’s attempt to pierce the Outer Fane’s so-called ‘Greater Temple’ and steal the Orb of Silver Death.

“Good luck to ya all,” said Syll. “Maybe when this is all over, we can get together in Woodstock sometime for one of their seasonal festivals or something.”

“Not a bad idea,” agreed Luger. “I’d be curious to see how things are going in Woodstock now that we rooted out the Scarlet Brotherhood there.”

“Just remember to look out for Ukemil and those lions!” said Sparhawk. “Even if thou couldst eliminate one or two, ‘twould be a great help!”

“We’ll do what we can,” said Maluccus. “Good luck, and good hunting.”

“Remember,” said Renoux as the two groups separated, “Dread Imix once again walks the world, and the other elemental princes may not be far behind.”

“Don’t worry,” said Tenaris firmly, “I’ll put them on our hit list.”

Before long the party moved around the corner north and east of Varachan’s chamber and lost sight of the other group. Once again, they were only six, but Sparhawk remained in high spirits.

“We shalt maketh our foes tremble at the sight of Heironeous' faithful and true servants and his holy symbol and name!” proclaimed the paladin. “O! The glory!”

“If we ever see Varachan again,” mused Syll, “I have a lot more questions for him, such as what he knows about the green goo, what he has observed about that other adventuring company out in the mines, if he knows who took Nanoc’s body, and what exactly the Air and Water Temple people are up to. I don’t want to completely turn a blind eye on them. They could still be trouble. I would also like to know the location and nature of the creatures guarding the other temple doors here in the Outer Fane.”

“By the way, Luger,” continued the elf, “based on what Danton told me and what I read in Hedrack’s journal, I think you guys actually met this ‘Lareth the Beautiful’ person back in Nulb. From what Danton said, it seemed like Lareth just wanted to be left alone. Given that, we may be able to get him on our side, if we can get to him before the cult does.”

When the party passed by Naquent’s chamber, the door was still open from Sparhawk’s previous bashing of it, and there was no sign that anyone had been here since the party ransacked the place.

“It worries me greatly that we have no idea where Naquent and Ukemil are,” said Luger. “So much time has passed since Varachan told us their whereabouts, that they could be anywhere by now.”

“Maluccus shall deal with them, or we shall,” replied Sparhawk lightly. “Either way, their defeat and destruction is only a question of time.”

Syll and Luger exchanged a worried glance at this blithe confidence, but neither said anything.

The party passed through the chamber with the red pattern on the glass in the floor, saying, “The Dark God is Watching,” as they always did when they passed through this area, and then headed east. Once through the doorway, they went south until they stood in the passageway leading into what Syll called the “green goo room.”

“You mark my words,” said the sorcerer, “that goo is gonna attack us or something, so everybody watch it and be ready for trouble the minute we walk in there.”

Remembering that Danton had said there was an awful chill in the ‘goo’ room, the party members removed their Purple Robes of Tharizdun from their packs and put them on. Only Vister lacked such a robe, but she tried to compensate for this by putting on as many sets of the ochre robes as she could. Thus prepared, Tenaris and Sparhawk led the group into the cold chamber.

As Danton had described, a chill immediately settled on the skin here, but at least for those wearing purple robes, the cold was bearable. The area was really more of a long, wide hallway that ran south than a ‘room’ per se. About every 10 feet, a purplish stone panel had been set into the walls on both sides. The panels were carved with intricate images of robed and hooded people in procession, each carrying a special torch that the party members now recognized as torches of revealing.

Exactly as Syll had predicted, trouble did come from the alcoves in the northern wall that were filled with the nasty-looking green goo that Danton had described. The green muck of two of the alcoves twisted and shimmered and then out of those two alcoves charged a pair of horrible looking creatures that looked as if they had been sewn together out of the body parts of a wide variety of humanoids. Screaming incoherently with an ear-splitting high pitch, the two creatures closed towards Tenaris and Sparhawk, who, thanks to Syll’s warning, had been prepared for trouble.

[Initiative: Thrommel: 27, Tenaris: 25, Syll: 24, Creatures: 19, Sparhawk: 18, Vister: 16, Luger: 10]

As the creatures charged, Thrommel rushed to Sparhawk’s side, but once again Justice proved totally ineffective against a foe. While the blade had simply passed through the spirit the party had fought earlier, it struck and cut these creatures, but the wounds healed so quickly that the blade had no effect in the end. Fortunately Caladbolg was more effective, and Sparhawk hacked large chunks of flesh away from his attacker as it came at him (attack: 13+15=28, 12+10=22; two hits; 12, 17 damage).

As Thrommel went to aid Sparhawk, Vister did the same with Tenaris. Unfortunately, her efforts were no more successful than those of the Furyondian prince. The elf paladin was plainly uncomfortable wielding as small and light a weapon as a rapier and it showed—she tried to use the weapon the way she might have employed a longsword or bastard sword, but succeeded only in striking empty air with the dueling weapon.

However, Tenaris did not really need any help. She hacked and slashed at the second of the creatures from the goo (attack: 6+18=24, 6+13=19; two hits; 16, 18 damage), ducked below its two massive swinging fists, and then separated its upper torso from the rest of its body (attack: 12+18=30, 10+13=23; two hits; 19,18 damage). In little more than the blink of an eye, Tenaris had cut the second creature to pieces and its remnants lay quivering on the floor.

With few offensive spells that he could use in such close quarters, Syll decided to augment his defenses (Cast Stoneskin: 100 points worth of protection for 100 minutes) and then see how the fight developed. Luger had moved forward to assist Tenaris and Vister, but he failed to even strike their opponent (attack: 1+12=13, 4+7=11; both miss) before Tenaris eviscerated it.

The first of the attackers from the green goo, though badly damaged by Caladbolg, still managed to punch Sparhawk squarely in the face with one of its massive fists (Sparhawk hit for 14 damage) before the paladin struck it down with Caladbolg (attack: 6+15=21, 15+10=25; two hits; 15, 12 damage).

Sparhawk’s nose was smashed and blood ran down his face, but still the paladin exulted in the party’s latest victory as he stood over the remnants of the creature that had attacked him.

“Heironeous is with us! O’ the glory of fighting with such allies! Truly, the Doomdreamers haveth not a chance of victory!”

“Maybe not,” said Vister, approaching Sparhawk, ” but that one got in a good hit. Let me see what I can do about it.”

The elf woman placed her hand on Sparhawk’s face, uttered a few words, and the bleeding stopped immediately. It was a strange sensation, but Sparhawk even felt the bones of his nose snapping back into place (+14 HP).

“You have my thanks,” said Sparhawk with a bow.

“No big deal,” replied Vister with a shrug.

“I don’t know why nothing came out of that third gooey alcove,” commented Syll, “but let’s not wait around to find out. Come on.”

With the two attackers destroyed, the party walked the nearly eighty feet down the corridor to the set of massive double doors at its far end. These doors too had a massive demonic face engraved in them, but at least the eyes did not glow like those on the door the party had encountered earlier.

When the party reached the massive set of doors, Syll removed the torch of revealing, put one of the black incense cones in it and then had Sparhawk light it with flint and steel. The incense lit easily, but instead of creating a normal flame, it instead produced a violet light that carried strongly for a ten-foot radius. In that same ten-foot radius, the temperature dropped still further, and Vister pointedly stepped well away from Syll and the torch as soon as it was lit.

Holding the torch in one hand and Danton’s notebook in the other, Syll motioned for Tenaris and Sparhawk to open the double doors. The metal doors were heavy, but not locked, and they slid silently open.

Beyond the doors was an area of impenetrable darkness—impenetrable that was, until Syll drew close to it with the torch of revealing. Once that happened, the purple light from the torch drove away the darkness—at least in the radius of effectiveness of the torch, allowing Syll and the others to see as they walked into the room beyond the doors.

It was very cold in this room—far colder than in the hallway outside—and Vister, bereft of the protection of a set of purple robes, began shaking and shivering immediately. Even more strangely, only the center of the room was lit—by a light source that was not evident.

In the middle of the lit area, a wide, ebony table with silver inlay, each of the four legs carved to look like a serpent, held a huge iron horn, etched with images of fire, flood, wind-storm, and earthquake. The north wall was partially covered by a folding screen of ebony, fashioned entirely from interlocking, three-inch triangles with an upside-down Y engraved within them. The western, eastern, and southern walls were all obscured by areas of impenetrable darkness, but when Syll drew close with his torch, the party members could see that the total dimensions of the room were sixty by eighty feet.

Gathering around the table, Syll read from Danton’s notes:

“’In the vestibule to the Greater Temple are areas of unnatural darkness, where terrible cold prevails and no light penetrates.’ Huh, guess we found that. ‘On the north wall of the vestibule, hidden behind a black screen, are three switches that can only be seen in the light of a torch of revealing. You need to flip the first switch—the one farthest to your left when you face the wall, then blow on the horn you will find on a table in the center of the vestibule. But you should only blow the horn after touching it with a Master Key—that is your Earth and Fire temple keys all combined together. If you do all of this, a black column will appear on the southern side of the room. Then flip the second switch and blow the horn again. Now a second black column will appear. Finally, flip the third switch and blow the horn one more time. This will cause the area between the two black columns to shimmer—creating a veil of energy.’”

“Well, I sure hope Danton got all that down right,” muttered Syll when he finished reading.

Syll walked up to the northern wall and held up the torch of revealing. Syll moved to the left end of the folding screen and pushed it to the right. It slid away easily, revealing three switches on the stone wall behind it.

“Here goes nothing,” muttered the sorcerer, flipping the leftmost switch.

When nothing happened, Syll added, “Luger, the horn, if you would, but touch it with all our combined keys first.”

Luger nodded, combined the two earth temple keys and the two fire temple keys, and then put the two resultant larger keys together into a single ‘Master Key’ as Varachan had called it. When he had combined all the keys, Luger touched the Master Key to the horn. Once again, there was no visible result.

Luger leaned over the horn, placed his lips to it, and blew. At first nothing happened, and the cleric redoubled his efforts. Somehow the effort of blowing the horn was incredibly taxing (-1 constitution loss), but Luger eventually managed to produce a long, low note that echoed throughout the chamber and into the hallway beyond it. When the note sounded, a six-inch diameter column of black nothingness rose up from the floor at the edge of the darkness to the south, rising to a level of eight feet above the floor.

Luger gasped for air and had to put his hands out onto the table to steady himself. As he did so, Syll, after consulting Danton’s notebook once again, flipped the second switch.

“We better move quickly,” said the sorcerer. “That horn probably carried a long way. If there’s anybody left in this place who wants to stop us, they’re probably gonna come a running now. Tenaris, Sparhawk, shut those doors just in case. That might give us a little warning someone is coming.”

While the elf warrior and the Furyondian paladin complied, Luger steadied himself and approached the horn once again. Although he knew what to expect this time, the effort of producing a note from the device was even worse than before (-1 constitution loss). As the note sounded, Luger’s knees buckled and he nearly collapsed form the strain. A second eight-foot high column of blackness rose up from the floor on the southern side of the room.

Syll flipped the third and final switch, and Luger willed himself to blow the horn one last time (-1 constitution loss). This time the effort was simply too much, and as the horn sounded for the third time, Luger finally did collapse to the floor with a metallic crash.

While the others rushed to Luger’s side, Syll watched as the area of empty space between the two black columns came to life. The columns were roughly 30 feet apart and now the entire area between them shimmered with purple energy.

“Get Luger back on his feet,” said Syll as he moved towards the field of shimmering energy. “I’m not planning to be long and we want to move quickly once I get back. If I don’t come back, well, I’ll see you all on the other side.”

And with that, Syll stepped through the field of purple energy and disappeared.

Sparhawk and Tenaris helped Luger to sit up and put his back against one of the legs of the table.

“What hath happened?” asked Sparhawk.

“The…effort…of blowing that horn…” breathed Luger. “…has taken a lot out…of me. I hope…the effect…will not be…permanent.”

There was nothing that anyone could really do for Luger at the moment, but he did slowly recover from the shock of what had happened. He was still much weaker physically than he had been before blowing the horn, but before long he was at least able to stand and carry his equipment once again.

While Luger’s semi-recovery was encouraging, as the minutes dragged on and Syll did not return, the tension amongst the five remaining party members grew palpably. Vister was also plainly suffering greatly from the cold and she paced about the lit area of the room in a vain area to ward off the terrible chill.

Noticing that Thrommel appeared to be lost in thought off in the northwestern corner of the room, Tenaris approached him and said, “a copper for your thoughts?”

“They are hardly worthy of even that small bit of coinage,” replied the man with a bitter laugh. “I alternate between thinking of all that I lost twenty years ago and all that I did thereafter. Hardly a worthy way to pass the time while others are sacrificing and risking their lives, but I find that in this dark, cold place, my mind can focus on little else.”

“You told me earlier that you too lost someone,” said Tenaris. “Who was she?”

“Jolene of Samprastadar,” replied Thrommel, his gaze distant. “A noblewoman of Veluna,” he added when Tenaris’ expression made it plain that the name meant nothing to her. “We were to be married…before…before I was taken. My father threw us together when we were still teenagers—no doubt thinking of the possible reunification of Veluna and Furyondy, but I knew nothing of that. I only knew how Jolene made me feel when I was with her. By the time I realized what my father had done and why, it was too late. I was in love with Jolene and she with me. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. But then we received reports that the Temple of Elemental Evil was rising again. My father asked me to lead the force that would investigate—then the marriage could take place. The separation from Jolene was awful, but I assumed it would only last for a matter of weeks, or months at the most. Little did I know…”

“Perhaps she yet lives,” said Tenaris when Thrommel trailed off. “Twenty years is not such a long time.”

“I hope so,” replied the prince. “But even if she does, surely she must have married another by now. And even if not, after what I have done, I would hardly be worthy…”

The man trailed off again, but this time his gaze was not on Tenaris, but somewhere across the room.

When Tenaris turned her head to see where Thrommel was looking, she saw Vister, now standing in place and pounding her feet on the stone floor. The other woman’s skin seemed to be turning a pale shade of blue as the cold sank deeper into her.

“I think we had better do something about…” began Thrommel.

“I think you’re right,” said Tenaris. “Since only these awful purple robes seem to do anything against the cold, somebody better share with Vister.”

“I can do it,” said the prince, but Tenaris only laughed.

“Right, you and Sparhawk are so tall and bulky in your armor that you can barely fit into the robes yourselves, much less squeeze in someone else. It’s not much better with Luger. Me, however, I’m practically drowning in this robe, so I’ll share. I should have thought of it sooner. I probably would have if she hadn’t been so ungrateful when I gave her that other equipment earlier.”

Vister was so frozen by the time that Tenaris moved next to her, removed one arm from one of the sleeves of the purple robe and put half of the robe around the other woman that she did not even react in any way. While the two women huddled close together, Thrommel retreated into his silent brooding and Sparhawk and Luger sat in silence watching the shimmering energy field through which Syll had disappeared.

***

Beyond the purple veil, the rounded black walls of an entirely different place stretched out around Syll. It was completely black here, yet it was still possible to see the size and features of the room—as if here shades of darkness could be seen. A dark, oblong orb, like an egg, rested atop a long black block. The orb was shrouded in swirling mist.

Suddenly a rumbling bass voice erupted from the darkness around Syll:

“Once more mortals trespass within the Black Cyst. Kneel before the essence of Tharizdun and accept his gifts. Mock the Dark God and face annihilation.”

Reading from Danton’s notebook in the light of the torch of revealing, Syll kneeled in front of the black block, said the word “Tharizdun” and then stood up. Breathing in deeply, Syll shifted the notebook into his left hand with the torch and then reached out and picked up the egg-like object with his right hand.

A deep booming voice said, “The Orb of Oblivion has already been taken to prepare for my second coming. Take this instead and serve me.”

The moment the egg was in his possession, Syll somehow knew that he carried the Orb of Silver Death. A voice whispered in the darkest areas of his mind that the orb’s powers were now his to command. He could discern good and evil at will and know the lies mortals told. He could use the orb to frighten and poison the weak, and the voice encouraged him to do so at every opportunity.

Syll removed the black thurible from his pack, stowed away Danton’s notebook, and then filled the thurible with incense. When it was full, he used the torch of revealing to light the incense in the thurible. Much like the torch, the censer produced a purplish light, along with a fragrant, purplish smoke that seemed almost hypnotic as Syll watched it move and breathed it in.

Shaking his head to retain his concentration, Syll picked up the thurible. Holding it tightly in one hand and the torch in the other, the elf twirled the thurible in a circle around him. The spinning, combined with the smoke and the purple light, made Syll dizzy. He spun about until he began to lose his balance and nearly passed out. His eyes closed, and when they opened again, he was…somewhere else.

The cold that gripped Syll was incredible. It was no normal drop in temperature, but rather a chill that reached into the soul—even with the Purple Robes of Tharizdun. Syll found himself standing in a roughly hexagonal room eighty feet from one side to the other. Off in one direction, a 40 foot wide hallway extended towards pitch darkness, its sides flanked by a deep purple stone railing that appeared to be made of writhing serpents, worms, or tentacles. The railings both extended 40 feet into the hexagonal portion of the room, the ends each bearing black iron cressets that could hold small cone-shaped inserts.

In the portion of the room where Syll stood, six cantilevers on two of the walls supported small statues of scowling demons, each subtly different from the others. A square plate of violet stone, 20 feet across, was set into the floor at the point where the railings stopped. A black circle was circumscribed within the plate. And Syll stood within the black circle.

Close at hand, a short flight of steps led up to a raised platform in the end of the room farthest from the hallway. The platform and steps were made of gray stone with black and purple flecks. Atop the platform was a black altar, a lavender altar cloth draped over it, and two black tallow candles set in fixtures at either end. Like the thurible that Syll still held in his right hand and the torch that he held in his left, the two candles gave off a strange, flickering purple light.

As Syll looked around and tried to gain his bearings (spot: 7+9=16; success), he noticed some sort of stirring in the darkness at the end of the hallway. Two shadowy forms that might have been part of the darkness itself—Syll could not be sure—moved towards him, slowly at first, but then picking up speed. What looked increasingly like a pair of great hounds—but hounds of purest darkness—loped silently towards Syll as he stood in the black circle wondering what to do.

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 88:

Please send postings for Turn 88 by the end of Friday, March 21^st.

Current date/time/location: 22 Kolovoz; approximately 2000; The Outer Fane of the Temple of All Consumption

Items gained this turn and not yet divided: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold/left behind this turn: Luger’s use of restoration from a scroll, Hedrack’s chest and some of Danton’s equipment left behind in Varachan’s chamber, along with three chests from Naquent’s chamber.

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in bold.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Luger (-3 constitution)

AC: 22

Hit Points: 99/99 (currently 88/88 due to con loss)

New XP: 900

XP total: 58,299

XP needed: 66,000

Equipment: masterwork heavy mace, chainmail +1, masterwork large steel shield, light crossbow, 13 bolts, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, flint & steel, 24 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), 4 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 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, scroll of bless, hold person, and dispel magic, 2 pink pearls, large steel shield +1, scroll with neutralize poison, purple lamp (everburning torch), unknown magic morningstar, scroll with two Cure Serious Wounds spells, one Neutralize Poison spell, one Remove Disease spell, and one Remove Curse spell, scroll with Heal, one refuge stick, 8 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside,1 inverted ‘Y” pendant in a brown triangle, Journal of Geynor Ton, a folded piece of parchment with a note addressed to someone named Festrath, spider pendant, letter to Master Dunrat, ochre-colored robe, six sticks of incense of revealing, tattered dwarven book, 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, healing elixir from the fungal forest man, 2 dwarven scrolls found on the balcony over the dark lake, Fachish’s papers, letter from Hedrack to Terrenygit, Naquent letter to Dunrat, key to Varachan’s quarters, Purple Robe of Tharizdun, Lesser Tentacle Rod, Periapt of Wisdom +2, Tome of Understanding +1, Scroll with Heal and Harm, journal of Hedrack, tharizdun holy symbol, ochre robe

Spell Selection

Level 0 (6): Detect Magic (x3), Light (x3)

Level 1 (7+1): Protection from Evil (Domain)

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

Level 3 (5+1):

Level 4 (4+1): Divine Power (x1)

Level 5 (3+1): Flame Strike (x1)

Level 6 (1+1):

Syll (100 points Stoneskin)

AC: 16 (17 versus one opponent)

Hit Points: 63/63

New XP: 900

XP total: 46,068

XP needed: 55,000

Equipment: Ring of Protection +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Urrtarr’s spellbook, Masterwork Longsword, backpack, 3 water skins, 24 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 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), scrolls of blink and shield, wand of detect magic (14 charges), unknown potion from the battle at the western bridge complex, one refuge stick, studded leather armor +1 (not worn), Everburning Torch, potion of love, bracers of armor +1 (not worn), potion of hiding, potion of cure light wounds, Vacuous Grimoire, Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Scroll with True Seeing, Contact Medallion, two lilac-colored masks, ochre robe, Purple Robe of Tharizdun, Torch of Revealing, Black Thurible, 8 pieces of Incense of Revealing, Orb of Silver Death, unknown rings and rod from the Black Cyst

Spells per level per day:

Level 0: (6) 5 used

Level 1: (7) 7 used

Level 2: (7) 1 used

Level 3: (7) 2 used

Level 4: (6) 5 used

Level 5: (3) 0 used

Gold: 3737

Silver: 42

Sparhawk

AC: 20 (23 when using longsword/shield combination instead of great sword))

Hit Points: 68/74

New XP: 900

XP total: 32,473

XP needed: 36,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 24 days rations, bedroll, tent, 2 daggers, longsword, composite longbow, 1 quiver with 10 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 with special properties), two dark vision potions and one strength enhancing wafer from the fungal forest man, 2 pink pearls, suit of chainmail +1 (not worn), cloak of resistance +1, unknown magic club, 3 Greater Slaying Arrows (humans), one refuge stick, full platemail +1, javelin of lightning, large steel shield +1, ochre robe, Purple Robe of Tharizdun

Spell Selection:

Level 1 (2):

Level 2 (1):

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 6 of 6

Lay on Hands healing points left on current day: 3 of 24

Smite Evil used today?:Yes

Gold: 333

Silver: 0

Tenaris

AC: 23

Hit Points: 86/86

New XP: 900

XP total: 39,928

XP needed: 45,000

Equipment: longsword, chitin full plate mail, large steel shield, masterwork morningstar, 4 javelins, inverted Y pendant, 24 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, 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, slippers of spider climbing, one refuge stick, potions of haste, bull’s strength, and heroism, Rat’s Tail (rapier +1), boots of elvenkind, a dozen vials of lantern oil, masterwork thieves’ tools, silver and gold brooches, pouch of unknown dried herbs taken from the home of Tal Chamish, emerald pendant, a small ebony troglodyte statuette, a curved dagger, an emerald pendant, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, pearl from the Dark Lake, masterwork dagger, sack of random bits of metal intended to be used as chess pieces, 4 bottles cheap red wine, 2 pink pearls, 200’ silk rope, Rapier +1, buckler +1, suits of elven chainmail +1 (not worn), cloak of elvenkind (not worn), Potion of Lesser Restoration, Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds, ochre robe, Purple Robe of Tharizdun

Gold: 1532

Silver: 460

Prince Thrommel

AC: 21 (22 versus one foe)

Hit Points: 121/121

New XP: 900

XP total: 56,790

XP needed: 66,000

Equipment: breastplate +1, boots of striding and springing, dagger +2, gold belt, ring of protection +1, ring of counterspells, ring, amulet, necklace of Furyondian royal family, holy symbol of Tharizdun, Justice (masterwork greatsword) cloak of resistance +1, bracers of armor +1, masterwork light crossbow, 29 bolts, ochre robe, Purple Robe of Tharizdun

Platinum: 15

Gold: 68

Silver: 0

Vister

AC: 19 (20 versus one opponent)

Hit Points: 36/50 (all damage is subdual damage due to cold)

New XP: 900

XP total: 21,900

XP needed: 28,000

Equipment: Elven chainmail +1, Rapier +1, Buckler +1, Cloak of Elvenkind, gauntlets of Kord, ochre robe

Spell Selection:

Level 1 (2): Cure Light WoundsX2

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 5 of 5

Lay on Hands healing points left on current day: 0 of 14

Smite Evil used today?: No

Gold: 0

Silver: 0