Chapter 3: The Temple of All-Consumption

Turn 62: Picking up the Pieces

Although the reading of the foul tomes recovered from the Temple of All Consumption had occupied the small group hiding in the foothills outside of Rastor for most of the day, when evening came and the reading was done, the reality of all that had happened in the last two days sank in once again.

"Luger," said Danton as the group sat around a small fire surrounded with rocks, "you hath brought greater sorrow to me than I might have imagined. I simply cannot believe that Nanoc is dead. He wast like a brother to me o'er these many months, and, though our parting was aggrieved, 'twas not my intention and 'twas to mine great regret. Mine final words to him—about whether one of us would not live to see the morn—now haunt me. If there could possibly be any greater insult to this injury, 'tis the fact that his corpse lieth inside that foul Temple—although, by now, it hast surely become fodder for some ill beast … or, worse, some evil cleric might be conversing with Nanoc's soul. I doth not criticize you, good Luger, for your straits were dire, but 'twould have been for the best if you had tossed Nanoc into the water or burned him into ash."

Danton's breath caught in his throat and his voice changed as he moaned, "O Nanoc, you wilt never now know your lady's embrace again! P'raps 'twould have been best—best for the whole Oerth—if I had died in that foul place and not you. But I am not the master of Fate, and Fate does what it will—as it always has and always will."

Wiping his eyes and visibly composing himself, Danton continued, "But as terrible as Nanoc's death is, and as foul as the enemy inside the Temple may be, I must tell you plainly: my role there hath come to an end. And, if you art a sane man, your end, too, hath come. For the Temple is now on the highest possible alert. Indeed, I cannot imagine how you managed your escape. And even were we to somehow regain entry, we art now without Nanoc—and you know as well as I that we would ne'er have survived so long in there without him. 'Tis an indisputable point, and I trust that Sir Sparhawk wilt take no offense in mine opining that he is no easy substitute for Nanoc the Barbarian."

"Besides, there is a more salient point here," said the Velunese. "I would not going back into the Temple were every barbarian from all the Oerth in mine company. I am through with that despicable place. One thing alone would compel me thither, and I shall not speak of it, lest Fate rear its ironical head again and deal me more woe. If you and Sir Sparhawk wish to venture there, 'twill not be in mine company. I cannot speak for Syll and Tenaris, naturally, but you frankly hath caught us in the midst of deciding exactly where to go from here—and, I assure you, the Temple of All-Consumption was decidedly not an option. So there 'tis, plain and simple. Yours was a fair and moderate voice in attempting to aid me in resolving the infamous 'glove dispute,' so I am hopeful that Syll and Tenaris, my companions, wilt agree to your accompaniment. You wished, like me, to resolve the conflict peaceably."

At this point, Danton looked at Sir Sparhawk, who had been scowling at him across the fire all while he had been speaking. The scout's voice hardened noticeably as he said, "As for you, Sir Sparhawk, in all candor, you hath offered nothing but condemnation and reproach from the first moment. You wert in great haste to die inside the Temple, and, if 'tis still your desire to do so, you art most welcome, at least from where Danton Verbrugge is standing. Now that you hath heard the impossibility of your charge, I doth not know your present intentions. If, however, you wish to accompany Syll, Tenaris and me, this is something that we three must need discuss privately. However, I hath no hesitation in stating one non-negotiable term: we wilt not endure further haughty arrogance, high-handed style and flippant condemnation of behavior and decisions of which you art fundamentally ignorant. In short, if you art to accompany us, we must needs come at such arrangements as equals—full equals, if you take mine meaning."

"Now," finished Danton, "we three must have a discussion." Motioning for Tenaris and Syll to follow, he got up from the fire and walked off into the shadowed trees farther up on the hillside with the two elves in tow.

"You hath heard mine feelings," said Danton when the trio was out of earshot of the others. "Attacking that Temple isn't mine idea of courage—'tis more like suicide. And I am not a suicidal man. I hope that you twain share mine feelings on this matter. For mine part, I urge you to permit Luger to rejoin our group. As I said publicly, he is a good man, and he endeavored in good faith to resolve the 'gauntlet dispute.' Moreover, he is mine friend. And finally, for sheer practicality, he is a healer, and we art sorely in need of one.

If Luger wishes to plunge back into the Temple, however, he is alone—or, at a minimum, he wilt not be in mine company. If he wishes to harry the Tharizdun cult by other means … well, I am not necessary in opposition to that. Lady Tenaris, I hath confessed at length mine desire to tour the Oerth with you—Luger's reappearance, joyous as 'tis, doth not change that an ounce. I am willing to aid an effort against the Tharizdun cult, but I am no longer willing to devote mine life to it. If a mutually agreeable arrangement can be made, I will welcome it. But I most definitely would hear your mind on this—both of your minds.

Finally, as for Sparhawk, I also meant what I said. If he wishes to accompany us, I simply won't endure any of his heavy-handed behavior. The man hath criticized and savaged us from the first moment. He is presumptuous and fiery to the extreme. If he wishes to come with us, I wilt not oppose it … so long as he packs away his righteousness and exchanges it for genuine friendship. I would enlist Luger in this regard. He is a devotee of Heironeous, too, and p'raps he can show Sparkhawk the error of his ways."

Standing in the darkness with the weak light of the small fire illuminating Luger and Sparhawk in the distance, Tenaris put her hand lightly on Danton's arm, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through the Velunese.

"Danton, I'm so sorry about your friend," she said. "It should never have come to this and, though he was chiefly responsible for the division of our group, I regret my part in it just the same. I have no quarrel with Luger, and it is fine with me if he joins us once again. And I agree with you entirely on this Sparhawk fellow. If he offers naught but verbal abuse, then we will show him the door, so to speak."

Danton was so distracted by the feel of Tenaris' hand on his arm, that he could hardly breathe, much less speak, and the woman continued:

"What do you think we should do now? Believe me when I say I have no more desire than you to go back inside that nightmare of a mountain, but can we really all leave this cult unchecked? When we left yesterday, I thought it was okay because some were staying behind to continue the fight, but now... I don't know. Is there some other way to fight the cult besides going back into the mountain? Is there someone else we could get to do the fighting with us? Or for us? I think we're technically in Verbobonc here and not Celene, although the border isn't always clear, so shouldn't the Viscount or someone do something about this problem? I want to see and experience the world...that's the whole reason I left Celene...but if we don't do something, will there be a world left to see?"

Syll smirked briefly at Danton's evident paralysis before offering his own opinion.

"I ain't got no quarrel with Luger, and I ain't inclined to turn my back on this problem now that there is no one dealing with it. If I remember right from what you said during the trip through the mountains, the Viscount ain't likely to be a big help. I don't think we can go turn this matter over to him. I think we got no choice but to burn this cult to the ground. Anyone here who wants out can walk away with no hard feelings, but I think that if we can band together and avoid misunderstandings, we can bring these idiots down. But we have got to work together."

"Given what Luger said about those cultists he overheard," added Syll, "it sounds like they think we are genuine cultists under the command of Delchin the Despicable. We may be able to re-infiltrate the temple by stating that we are taking over the Earth Temple after having liberated it from the inept rule of the troglodytes. We have no idea who the babe in the fire temple is, but Uskathoth, after some persuasion, told us we could get into the Inner Fane. Obviously he lied and the idiot at the gate attacked us. He was dealt with accordingly. Delchin then transported outside to gather in our new brother. We have more information, and can drop some more names. We can tell them that we serve Ogremoch, and we can drop the names of the other princes. We would need to hurry, before they can consult with each other, but we do have a window of opportunity."

"Anyway," said Syll, his voice suggesting he was coming to a conclusion, "there is some food for thought. I am sorry about your friend, and sorry about the rift in the group. We must avoid such things in the future. But we finally have some information, and I think that we can put it to good use."

Finally starting to absorb what Tenaris and Syll had said, Danton shook the cobwebs from his mind, "Let me be sure that I am understanding this correctly. After this tremendous brouhaha over -- frankly -- nothing, which split the party and possibly caused the subsequent death of mine best friend, a death that wilt forever haunt me, after which furthermore we conducted a daring escape which can only have further alerted and alarmed the cultists, we art now going to return to the Temple? I doth not know whether to laugh or cry."

Looking down at Tenaris and still keenly aware of her touch on his arm, Danton said, "But if you, Lady Tenaris, ask it of me, I shall go. But only if you ask it of me. I hath been whipsawed about over the last two days so much that I barely know which way is up and which is down. I knoweth one thing alone: I wish to be in your company. So, if you ask it of me, I wilt return to the Temple of All-Consumption. Even Nanoc, were he to return from the dead this moment, could not convince me to return. But for you, Lady, I wilt do it.

Lady, I hath not the time to tell you about my past, and so much the pity. I would tell you many things -- and, frankly, not all of them favor me, I confess. But let me say this. Before I ended up in this most unlikely place, I wast a spy -- an agent of Veluna infiltrated into Ket, seeking knowledge and filtering it back to mine masters. A disreputable job? P'raps -- certainly not one that paid well or that was sufficient to keep mine masters from sending this spy into the cold. Disreputable or not, mine job taught me the virtues of knowledge, patience and prudence. Given those books that Luger absconded with from the Temple, we hath gained more knowledge, I grant. But where is the patience or prudence?

At the minimum, we need a plan. A great general of Veluna hath a saying: 'Plans are nothing; planning is everything.' While I might quibble with him, I take his wisdom: we must plan out our approach, even if circumstances force us to abandon one course of action for another. Syll hath offered a plausible plan to enter the Temple, but what exactly is our plan once we art in it?"

"Danton," said Tenaris, "I left the mountain yesterday because Nanoc said it was him or me. I thought he was going to try to kill me if I stayed. The truth is, he gave me and Syll no real choice in the matter. I didn't think much of the fact that we wouldn't be fighting the cult any longer because he and Luger were staying behind to do so. But now, everything is different. I feel we have to do something--we can't just walk away now. But what that something is, I don't know. You are right that we need a plan--we shouldn't just act without thinking as this Sparhawk would seem to want to do. But if anyone is going to come up with a viable plan, I think it will have to be you. Luger and Syll seem to know a lot too and can help with ideas, but I think you are the one who has to lead here."

Although part of him felt nothing but dread at the thought of returning to the temple, the greater part of Danton felt only the presence of Tenaris at this point. A devil-may-care grin flashed across the scout's face in the dimness as he said, "Lady, you are as oblique as Danton Verbrugge when you hath a mind to be. I see that you doth not wish to direct Danton to aid you … but 'tis plain where your heart lies. Very well, back to the Temple it is. Do not fear, Danton will do his best to conceive of a suitable plan. As I hath said, suicide is not mine intent. I choose to remain alive as long as Fate permits it."

While Danton and the elves had spoken privately, Luger had sat in silence with Sparhawk, but now he loudly addressed the paladin, his voice carrying across the hillside.

"Well met, Sir Sparhawk," bellowed the cleric. "I fear you have come to us at an unfortunate time. The power in the temple above is bent on releasing the fell god, Tharizdun and I do not believe there to be anything that can be done to stop it. Our foray into the temple has been met with death and deceit. I do not doubt that you would march into the temple bravely to face the evil, but I can assure you that it would be in vain. There are hundreds of wicked men and creatures in there and the assumed leaders, these Doomdreamers, are cloistered in an impenetrable fortress in the center of a lake."

"I think it far better we spend our remaining days enjoying life," added Luger boisterously. "I've lost my family to evil and now, in the span of two days, I've lost two dear friends to more evil. If the wicked of this world are so set on destroying it, then I say let them have it."

Luger shifted where he sat and shouted across the hillside, "Danton! I would travel with you and Syll if for no other reason than your expertise and knowledge of brothels across the Flanaess. I have need of whores and drink and I'll leave it to you to find me the best of both!"

This shout from Luger shocked Danton out of state of near reverie into which he had slipped the moment he felt the weight of Tenaris' arm on his own. Sensing danger of an altogether different sort than Luger's shouts might have been expected to bring down on the group, the scout stalked back towards the campfire. Syll and Tenaris followed, exchanging quizzical looks.

"Good Luger," said Danton firmly as he reached the camp ahead of the elves, "methinks you know not what you say. You art too goodly a follower of Heironeous than to give yourself over to depravity. Methinks you art suffering the ills of post-traumatic stress disorder, a term I hath heard in Veluna City. Some rest and relaxation -- of a decidedly virtuous nature -- 'twill set you upright. Why not enjoy some chamber music with Tenaris and me? In any event, if 'tis truly debauchery that you seek, I regret you'll not find it with Syll and me. I hath never heard it said that Syll practiced such behavior, and mine unruly days are happily behind me...."

Danton gave Luger a pointed look as Tenaris and Syll reached the camp. "... if you take mine meaning, as I trust you do."

Luger laughed loudly. "Whatever you say, Danton! Perhaps having the object of your affection closer at hand," he said glancing obviously at Tenaris, "your heart will not stray. As for myself, I have a lot of catching up to do and I've been pious long enough. If you'll not partake yourself, at least loan me your dance card and point out the finer 'ladies.' I fear my tastes are a bit more discriminating than the late Karzak Dragon Slayer."

Not liking the look on Tenaris' face one bit, Danton scowled, but Luger nevertheless plunged on:

"I say we return to Woodstock. We are heroes there, after all, and I wouldn't mind getting to know the Baron's daughter a little better. Peter, there are two lady paladins of Heironeus there who I'm sure would enjoy your company."

Danton leaned in closely to Luger and hissed in his ear:

"Prithee, do not be boorish about it, good Luger. In sooth, I hath turned o'er a new leaf, and I would appreciate it very much if you would not make things difficult for me, for friendship's sake if nothing else. If you wish for cheap women and swill, that is your business, and I wilt not try to further dissuade you. As you hath noted, I had mine own moments. But now, believe me, I hath turned from that road. Regardless, I hath no desire to head back to Woodstock, unless it is literally to pass through that place. When we left, I swore never to return, and nothing hath changed mine mind in that regard ... or likely will."

Looking utterly baffled by all of this bizarre behavior, it was Sparhawk who finally managed to bring an end to Luger's tirade:

"I must admit that I am at a loss kind sirs and lady. Your friend has died and
been left to the depravity of the evil minions of the temple. The destruction of the world may very well be imminent and you art prepared to shake the dust from thy boots and be done with this entire business? And a follower of Hieroneous canst think of nothing better to do than to give o'er his final days to a run of debauchery and poor living?"

Apparently sensing that his words might have drawn Danton's annoyance away from Luger and back to him, Sparhawk held up his hands in a placating gesture and added, "Prithee, allow me to tread somewhat more lightly and state . . . no, plead with all of you to reconsider the path thou art choosing. Perhaps thou canst glean important information from the books and choose a strategy. Maybe thou canst set the evil ones at odds with one another and let them do the killing. Remember that the forces of evil are not stronger than the forces of the light. We canst prevail with good thought, strong arms, pure hearts, loyalty, and unity. Surely the only experience thou hast gleaned from thy foray into the temple is not the utter hopelessness and futility of doing so. I don't choose suicide. Nay, I want to live. I want to live in the light of Heironeous, not in his afterworld. The world promised by the forces of evil may not truly be an end at all, but merely the introduction of untold suffering by countless innocents."

"One more thing, good Danton," said the paladin, "whilst I will admit that the terms of thy friendship are thy own, I wilt not stand to have thee presume to tell me how to judge actions. However, mayhaps I was too impetuous in the wood and I apologize for giving offense. You art right to point out that I do not know all the circumstances. After all, your friend, Luger, here doesn't seem to mind that you left him in the temple, so I shall not presume to. Of course, I hope that if your friendship is mutually valued, that it will be repaired and blessed by Hieroneous."

"Sir Sparhawk, I welcome your words," said Danton, deeply relieved that Luger had at last fallen silent. "Believe me, I hath no stomach to fight with anyone, least of all possible friends or allies. I hath had an unfortunate falling out with mine best friend in yon temple, and now I learn of his demise. If I hath judged you too quickly, I recall it ... and willingly. I am sure you art a goodly man, and, perhaps despite all appearance, so is the entirety of the company that you art presently keeping."

Taking a deep breath and addressing both Luger and Sparhawk, Danton continued, "Some things hath changed and we three hath decided to return to the Temple of All-Consumption. We wilt take the fight to the Tharizdun cult, but we wilt do so according to some kind of reasoned plan. Syll hath advanced a plausible plan to gain reentry to the Temple, but we must needs conceive of a broader plan than that. We must have direction, and I wilt do mine best to conceive of some."

"How exactly have things changed?" asked Luger loudly, anger still evident in his voice. "Did you honestly think that Nanoc, who was so injured he could barely stand, and myself, depleted of spells and healing, were going to destroy the cult, the temple and the Doomdreamers by ourselves? The three of you left knowing our intent to investigate the next room. The giant we found would not have been a challenge for the five of us, but it proved too much for Nanoc in his weakened condition, and I barely managed to escape death."

"I'm not sure what upsets me more - your betrayal, Nanoc's death or Nanoc actually expecting me to abandon him as well. And now, now that Nanoc is dead, you think we should burn this temple to the ground? What possibly motivates you to even care? To put it plainly: I don't know that I could trust the three of you in such a dangerous situation again. If I offend you will you leave me to die?"

His eyes narrowing and his voice growing harder still, Luger addressed the two elves in their own language, a tongue Sparhawk did not understand—but Danton did: <<For all the wisdom of your people, I would have thought you could have had more patience for Nanoc. He would have given his life for either of you and you forsook him over a ridiculous misunderstanding. Danton is a slave to his concupiscence, but I expected better from you two!>>

Reverting to Oeridian, the cleric added, "No, I will not enter that temple again - not without an army of righteous warriors. I think we should return to Hommlet to warn the clergy there and possibly raise an army to fight the evil once again. I don't think the cult is going to leave the artifact we uncovered there alone. I also think Nulb deserves a more thorough examination. If we can track down this Lareth the Beautiful, perhaps we can learn more about Hedrack and this champion of elemental evil. I think we should try to persuade the warrior we encountered in Nulb to share more of what he knows."

Tenaris' eyes flashed dangerously at Luger's words. Staring at him, she hissed, <<I will address this subject one last time and then never again. Whatever I may have thought about your chances and Nanoc's alone in the temple, it was he who said that one of us must go, not I. If you believe that he would have changed his mind had Syll and I stayed after we were told to leave, then I think you did not know your friend very well at all.>>

Luger looked away from the woman. "I would welcome all your company and assistance, but I expect nothing. If you truly wish to end this scourge I will berate you no more, but it may be some time until I am able to consider you friends."

With some of the anger and shock he had felt burning itself out of his system, Luger turned to Sparhawk and said, "Peter, I must beg your forgiveness at my indiscretion earlier. I pray that Heironeus will also forgive me for speaking out of anger and grief."

"Luger, you know as well as I that there wast no 'betrayal' in the temple," said Danton. "What there wast, wast a terrible and foolish misunderstanding, and no more. You said it yourself, as I specifically recall. I loved Nanoc as a brother, which you may choose to believe or no. But mine love for him doth not stop me from recognizing the pivotal role that he played in the misunderstanding that sundered our group. It was he, after all, who initially accused Syll of larceny, when there wast not any suggestion of it. Now, I doth not blame him -- confusion reigned, and I would not be surprised to find that the temple itself was asserting division upon us. But let us not collapse the truth into itself. You tried to broker a fair end to things, as did I. We failed. The party was sundered, and mine heart went where only it could -- with Tenaris. Call that not betrayal. Shall a man betray his own self ... and yet remain true to others? I think not."

"Reluctantly, I must add that no hand but your own -- or Nanoc's, for I wast not there to see -- opened that door containing the beast that slew him. Whether that was a valiant act or folly, I wilt not say, though I readily profess your good intentions in all things. But, in fairness, do not blame us for that decision, however terribly it went awry."

***

Exhausted after what seemed like an endless day of reading and debating, the group finally turned in. Danton offered to take the first watch and asked that Syll accompany him in his vigil. When the others were asleep, the Velunese approached the elf and said quietly:

"Syll, I am going to communicate something to you that I wilt tell no one else, least of all Tenaris. I am going back into the Temple solely for love of her. She wishes it, and so I wilt do it. I may die there for this wish, but what wish of hers would not I die for? With all this in mind, what I hath to say to you is this: The fate of the Oerth is as nothing to me without Tenaris. If she dies in the Temple, I shalt likely follow suit. And if death wilt not claim me there—which seemeth most unlikely—then I wilt likely abandon the quest on mine own. Fear not: I doth not mean to abandon you all at a perilous moment nor act so recklessly as to doom mine friends. Indeed, mine preference would be to leave at a suitable moment. But I cannot but tell the truth to you, at least: If Tenaris dies, mine own life is without meaning and forfeit. Without her, the cult of Tharizdun can have the whole Oerth, save only the opportunity for me to exact some last, fleeting measure of vengeance for vengeance's sake."

"Prithee, speak not of this to Tenaris or to anyone else. I hath told you so that you would know mine mind. For if I die and not Tenaris, then, prithee tell her all that I hath told you so that she would know, futile though it be, the depth of mine admiration. I am not what I once was, Syll—a mere debaucher and walking scandal. Mere sight of Tenaris hath transformed me … and, if I should die, I would have her know it."

For once, Syll had no witty comment or comeback, and he only nodded and stared into the dark trees beyond the group's hillside camp. Soon thereafter, the sorcerer wandered off, slowly circling the camp and picking his way between the trees.

Left effectively alone, Danton knelt and prayed first to Olidammara and then to Kord. "You knoweth not me, O Lord of Might and Battle," he began the second prayer, "nor have use for my trade or personage. But prithee listen to me, O Lord, for I speaketh to you of your servant, Nanoc the Barbarian…"

***

In the morning, Luger, having largely regained his composure, announced that he intended to cast two spells: one to send a message to Aseneth regarding Nanoc's death, and the other to seek guidance on what he and the party should do next (Luger cast: Sending, Divination).

First the cleric sent the message to the absent sorceress, "Aseneth, it pains me to inform you of Nanoc's death at the hands of evil. I will come to your aid once Nanoc is avenged."

Although some of the others had misgivings regarding the sending of such a message, they kept these doubts to themselves, and watched as Luger sat silently waiting for Aseneth to reply. When the answer came, only Luger heard the woman's words in his mind:

"Keeping my ring Nanoc was wearing. I will soon escaping and coming to you finding you from ring. This not standing."

Next Luger prayed to Heironeous for guidance and for forgiveness for his intemperate words of the previous day. Specifically, he sought the Invincible's answer to the following question: "Will returning to Nulb and the Temple of Elemental Evil or re-entering the Temple of All-Consumption provide the best avenue of thwarting the minions of Tharizdun?"

When Luger was done, he stood up and informed the others of the two messages he had received in response to his own missives. As the group came to terms with the seemingly clear guidance that a return to the Temple of All-Consumption would indeed be necessary in order to bring low the Cult of Tharizdun, Danton was the first to speak.

"Well," said the scout, "if we wert looking for a spark from heaven, we seem to hath found it. Luger wilt be the ultimate interpreter of Heironeous's words, naturally, but it sounds to me that we must venture back into the Temple of All-Consumption. P'raps I can think of more later, but a few things occur to me. First of all, it appears that we incorrectly believed that that 1000-foot long bridge was the entry point to the Inner Fane. If I correctly understand some of the overheard conversation that Luger reported, 'twould appear that it was an entry point to the Outer Fane. I know not what great distinction this makes, but, at a minimum, it soundeth to me like there was farther to go than merely penetrating that stone door."

"Second," said Danton, "the writings confirm what we had assumed for some time: the four elemental temples are ruled by different elemental overlords, run by differing priesthoods, and are in conflict with one another. This 'Tessimon' apparently is a bigwig in the Fire Temple, which we also now know must have smashed the Earth Temple at some time prior to the drubbing that 'Delchin & Company' hath given it."

"Third, there are two main living, or undead, as it were, targets: Hedrack and Lareth the Beautiful. A third would probably be Tessimon, the Fire Temple bigwig. But given that Hedrack wast 'rescued' from Hommlet and that the Hommlet temple was only the 'northern temple' of the Tharizdun cult, methinks that neither Hedrack nor Lareth is the primary foe in the Temple of All-Consumption. Someone seemeth to be higher up on the pecking order -- that someone, or someones, would be the best target in terms of beheading the cult, but he or she is probably prohibitively powerful and protected."

"Fourth, the Delchin ruse hath worked fairly well initially. The question is whether it is fitting and meet to resurrect it. After all, 'twould seem that a number of people remember 'Delchin' and associate him with violence at the Northern Bridge Complex, the destruction of the Earth Temple, and a failed effort to penetrate the Outer Fane. If we met the right people in the Temple, that might aid us, but, if we met the wrong people -- for instance, allies of the Earth Temple or enemies of the Fire Temple -- that might hinder us. We do have a choice in this regard. After all, Delchin wast accompanied by a barbarian half-orc and by a dwarf -- but no more. In addition, Delchin wast not accompanied by a fighter of Sparhawk's appearance and a female elf of exceeding spirit and beauty -- but now such personages are present. Finally, for mine part, I can disguise mineself. Therefore, only Luger and Syll could theoretically be stand-outs, and they art considerably more 'anonymous' than a hulking half-orc, a beautiful elfin lady, and a dwarf. So we should consider whether or not we wish to resurrect the Delchin ruse."

"Finally, I ask this question of Luger and Sir Sparhawk: Good knight, is your goodness and righteousness so obvious and transparent that having you in our company wilt raise all sorts of warning bells irrespective of any disguise we might assume? I ask because, being one who hath never been seriously accused of being transparently good and righteous, I genuinely doth not know such things. If 'tis the case that Sir Sparhawk's mere presence is likely to raise alarums amongst even low-level toadies in the Temple, methinks we hath our hands full going in…"

Sparhawk laughed at Danton's last comment. "Whilst I would like to think mine mere presence would be enough to cause the foul, fetid fiends of yonder temple to cringe and scurry in flight from mine goodness, I doubt that such is the case. I, however, wilt undoubtedly feel their evil presence that will cling to mine skin like a greasy, unclean film."

"I don't know," said Luger. "I doubt the peons will notice him, but the figures of authority will likely find Sparhawk's presence as distasteful as we have found various beings and rooms in the temple. But there is little that can be done about such risks. As for our approach, I think we should take out the door guards and confront Mereclar and his ogre pet. With any luck, the half-elf will be a fountain of useful information about the temple. With the door unguarded, we can come and go as we please."

"Very well," said Danton, "A few things seem reasonably clear. First, we art going back into the Temple. Second, we art entering through the same 'side door' through which we originally entered. Third, that wilt put us into immediate contact w/ the same group of foes who we once met but who wert buffaloed by the 'Delchin' ruse. At that point, we hath two options: try to buffalo them again or simply kill and capture them for information. For the present, I wilt set aside this question."

"But beyond that initial encounter, where to next?" asked Danton. "Syll hath suggested that we use the Earth Temple as a base of operations. I am inclined against this for a few reasons. First of all, 'tis evidently well known that the Earth Temple hath been decimated. While this might mean it is deserted, it might also mean that bands of brigands roam its corridors, looking for plunder. Second, the Earth Temple evidently lieth near the Water Temple -- if we can assume the great underground lake we encountered is any indication. 'Twas mine belief before the 'gauntlet spat' ever happened that we should put off crossing that lake unless we hath had no choice. I hath learned nothing since that changes mine mind. Therefore, mine feeling is that we explore the area south and east of the Blasphemous Hall: p'raps that area wilt lead us to the Fire or Air Temple or to a different bridge approach to the Outer Fane."

"Speaking of the Outer Fane," said Danton somberly, "I hope we art all in agreement that we shalt not cross any further bridges of that nature unless we art reasonably convinced that we can open the door at the other end. I doth not fancy another massive throw-down over a bridge."

"In sum, based on all of mine blathering, I propose that we readopt the Delchin ruse and attempt to bully and otherwise coerce and convince the guard stationed just inside the Blasphemous Hall area. We should use cunning to loosen their tongues. If violence breaks out, we should endeavor to capture as many knowledgeable folk as we can. Regardless, unless we gain information that strongly suggests otherwise, we should then begin searching that area south and east of the Blasphemous Hall, rather than go to the Earth Temple."

"Methinks this still amounts to searching for targets of opportunity, as opposed to a surgical strike in pursuit of a precise goal, but I doth not know what to do about it. For lack of a better goal, let us find and eliminate Hedrack and Lareth -- eliminate after, that is, we interrogate them."

Sparhawk nodded approval. "Considering, my good Danton, that you hath not a set of sketches of the temple provided for thee by the owner and hath not explored every inch of yonder temple, be at peace that thou art laying down a good plan and wilt carry it into execution as far as thou art able. Things wilt change for sure, as with any battle plan, so recognize that thy quick intelligence and innovation art just as important in battle."

"You speak most wisely, Sir Sparhawk," replied Danton. "P'raps I wast too soon to judge your temperament. Furyondians are a noble lot, and no sane man judges them any less. We had a comrade not long ago from amongst your people -- a nobleman named Telemachos Rhavelle. P'raps you've heard of him?

Regardless, he, too, wast a brave warrior. He now lieth slain 'neath a green bower, but, were I a bard, as he called me in jest, I wouldst sing you his ballad and methinks 'twould move you. Mayhap, despite our ill-fated first meeting, we can become friends, you and I, good Sir. P'raps ... though methinks you might find me a bit wanting around the edges."

Danton paused for a moment and smiled towards Tenaris before adding, "But if the gods fate it that I shouldst remain in the running to be her consort, p'raps nobility shalt grow on me yet."

"Rhavelle . . . hmmm . . . Rhavelle," said Sparhawk before falling silent for several moments. "Rhavelle . . . why, yea, I do believeth that I doth know that house. Noble, tis true. Though I liketh not to speak unkind words, they art a relatively minor noble family. Yet, noble indeed. Yea, that's it. Captain of the navy, I believeth. Though Telemachos is not his name, mayhaps thou speaketh of his son. Pity about his death—the father's that is—went down with his ship I believe."

"As for thou," added Sparhawk, "I canst tell that you art a noble man thyself, though I knoweth not thy lineage. But, in my view, nobility is bred in the heart and shown in one's actions, not merely in one's family. Though of course that is not to say one's family hath no bearing at all. I canst tell that thou hast come through many a battle against the forces of evil and art a man of some skill with thy epee. That means I can name thee friend in a general way. I hopeth that we can share some repose o'er a fine bottle of Furyondian red and the sung tales of proud warriors after our own battles to strengthen the true bonds of friendship."

***

Prior to setting out for Mount Stalagos that same morning, the re-founded party had made one last decision suggested by Danton. In the hopes of preventing misunderstandings or disputes of the sort that had previously sundered the party, it was agreed that all spoils would be divided equally. While coinage could obviously be divided in such a manner more easily than unique items, the party would seek to distribute such items to the most logical bearer, predicated on, as Danton put it, "civil discourse and fundamental fairness." If the issue could still not be resolved, it would be decided by majority vote. Whether such methods could prevent future disagreements, only time would tell.

Although Syll still favored going north and claiming the territory previously held by the Earth Temple as a base of operations from which to strike out at the other temples, most of the party seemed more inclined to follow Danton's suggestion of going south from the Blasphemous Hall, whether the guards at the gate complex were overcome by deception or force of arms.

"I'll go with the will of the majority," said Syll as the party made its way back up through the foothills later in the morning, " but I still think we ought to waltz back in and claim the Earth Temple, use it as a base, and stage various 'hits' and recon missions from there. Specifically, I think our next mission ought to be to find out more about the Fire Temple, and possibly attempt to infiltrate or destroy it."

"For now I still believeth south to be the wiser choice," replied Danton, "for I have no wish to go near that vile dark lake as long as we hath any choice about it, but if south doth bring us into contact with the Fire Temple, you may get your wish none to soon."

Syll shrugged. "In any case, we ought to have Tenaris here pose as a rather taciturn priestess, and Sparhawk as her bodyguard. Delchin could be her second in command."

Tenaris laughed. "Delchin taking orders from me? I kind of like that idea!"

Danton stumbled on a root and choked on his own breath for several moments.

"You'll also need some kind of evil priestess sort of name," added Syll helpfully. "I'm afraid Tenaris just won't cut it. Perhaps 'Delchin' here can come up with something suitable. I'm sure he has lots of ideas of names for you."

"I, er, must needs think a bit to come up with something suitable," replied Danton, scowling at Syll and still trying to catch his breath.

"There's something else we need to talk about too at some point," whispered Syll so that only Danton could hear. "And that's how to deal with Aseneth when she arrives. I still think that was a rather rash act, notifying her, but we were going to have to deal with her anyway at some point. I am not sure she will see her boyfriend's death in a rational light, and may place blame on members of this party—including you and me. We need to be prepared as to how we are going to deal with a powerful and angry witch."

When the group reached the cave high on the side of Mount Stalagos containing the west entrance to the Temple of All Consumption, all of the party members were wearing black cloaks, save Danton, who wore the same ochre one he had worn previously, and all had inverted Y pendants displayed prominently. As far as anyone in the group could tell, nothing had changed outside the entrance to the mountain. The two massive doors were closed and there was no one about.

Shaking his head in disbelief at what he was about to do, Danton walked right up to the pair of doors and then motioned for Sparhawk to open them for him. Although the paladin sought to comply, neither of the doors budged in the slightest.

"They're still barred like they were when we snuck out!" whispered Syll from behind Danton's back.

Suddenly sensing eyes on the party from behind the many arrow slits in the cave walls to the north and south (Danton spot: 9+8=17), the Velunese shouted, "Delchin the Despicable returneth with his great and terrible mistress! Let none who do not wish to join the immediate embrace of the Dark One bar his way! Open these doors immediately!" (Bluff: 12+7=19)

Sounds of all manner of activity could be heard, both behind the doors and behind the cave walls to either side. Arrows were clearly nocked and aimed at the party in the slits in the cave walls, but there were also shouts, and the pounding of heavy boots could be heard. At least two tense minutes passed and then a familiar voice could be heard from behind the wall of the cave to the north:

"Why have you returned, Delchin? And why did you attack the bridge crew after you wiped out the Earth Temple?"

"I hath had mine reasons, Mereclar," replied Danton, "and were I alone and with nothing better to do I might be willing to stand about and explain them to you, but my Lady of Darkness will not be kept waiting. We hath business with our betters—so open this door!" (Bluff: 17+7=24)

Several tense moments of silence passed as Mereclar weighed Danton's words. As the seconds dragged on, the tension mounted as everyone waited for the half-elf guard captain to give the order that would send arrows flying into the party from at least two sides. But, for whatever reason, the order did not come. Instead, the sound of the bar being lifted on the other side of the door could be heard, and then one of the doors swung outward. Standing in the doorway was the strange goggle-wearing ogre that various party members had encountered twice previously.

When the door opened, Danton motioned for Sparhawk to lead the way and then he and the others followed in single file. Inside the Blasphemous Hall were at least a dozen men and gnolls, all armed to the teeth. They watched every move made by the party, but did nothing to hinder their progress as they marched down the hall to the intersection beyond it.

At the intersection, Danton ordered Sparhawk to turn south. Once in the north-south hallway, at least a dozen additional men and gnolls, along with dogs, were visible, as well as a force of troglodytes off to the north. To the east, immediately in front of the large doors that the party knew led to a barracks area, was the massive beast with long quills the group had seen when it first entered the temple what seemed like ages ago. Unlike before, no chain held the beast back. The thing snarled and shook its massive head at the party, but did not attack.

These presence and readiness of these forces made it obvious that Mereclar had come to regard 'Delchin' and his group as extremely dangerous; by all appearances he had mustered what appeared to be his entire force in response to 'Delchin's' reappearance at the temple gates.

Trying to their best to appear oblivious to all of this, Danton and the others walked to the end of the south hallway, where the Velunese motioned for Sparhawk to open the door on the east wall. When the paladin did so, the group quickly made its way into the square-shaped room beyond and shut the door behind it.

"Whew!" breathed Syll once the door was safely shut. "That was too close—I don't know how many more times he's gonna go for that routine. I really thought he might just attack us either outside the gate or when were in that intersection and could be hit from four directions at once. I was ready to try an 'attitude adjustment' on 'im, but it might not've been enough!"

The room in which the party found itself was twenty feet to a side. As in the Blasphemous Hall and the broader gate complex, torches in wall sconces provided light—although there were fewer here. Large bins filled most of the room. They were made of iron with open tops. They were now empty, but considering the amount of dirt and grime in the area, they most likely once held ore of some kind. The only other exits were two closed wooden doors on the south wall.

Seeing nothing worth searching and anxious to get as far as possible from Mereclar and his guards, Danton surveyed the easternmost door (search: 15+13=28, listen: 14+7=21). Detecting nothing, he had Sparhawk open it.

Beyond the doorway was complete darkness. Danton and Sparhawk each removed and activated his Everburning Torch. While Danton's gave off a greenish light, Sparhawk's was yellow-orange—looking almost like real flames. With light thus provided, the party could see that the door opened into a narrow chamber or hallway that ran due east for nearly sixty feet. Two rows of long wooden troughs, collapsing from rot in places, extended the length of the long chamber. At the far eastern end, a dark shaft plunged downward. A thick, flexible tube made of hides was connected to a large set of bellows and then dropped down into the shaft. The other end of the tube rested limply on the ground near the eastern edge of the troughs. The only other exit was a closed wooden door on the south wall, roughly twenty feet from the eastern end of the chamber.

"'Twould appear that Karzak was right," mused Danton, "at some point in the past this mountain, or a part of it at least, hath functioned as a mine."

As the party made its way down the narrow chamber, Danton scanned the rubble-strewn floor for anything of note (search: 18+13=31). Other than all manner of rocks and scree, there was little to be seen. However, near the southern doorway, Danton spotted a broken and chipped battleaxe, an empty cloth sack, and a tattered, worm-eaten book of some sort. When the scout bent and picked up the tome, this slight motion caused the book to break into two sections. Seeing faded dwarven runes engraved on the cover, Danton carefully wrapped both halves of the book in the cloth sack and then slipped the sack into his pack.

With nowhere else to go, Danton checked the south doorway (search: 13+13=26, listen: 20+7=27). Again discerning nothing, he had Sparhawk lead the way. Beyond the doorway was a very short, narrow hall that came almost immediately to a second door. Here again, Danton found nothing (search 3+13=16, listen:18+7=25).

Proceeding through the second door, the party entered another pitch-dark area. Shaped much like the previous chamber, this cave or hall ran east-west. It was slightly wider than the previous room, but it too was approximately sixty feet long. Iron bins of ore, covered with dust and rust, lined the walls of this long chamber. A huge machine of some kind occupied the middle of the room, with a chute leading into a pair of massive stone cylinders and a wooden trough underneath. The cylinders appeared to be connected by gears to a single, huge crank, sized for a giant to turn. Small bits of stone lay scattered around the machine.

"Looks like some kind of ore crusher," mused Syll. "Like you said before, too bad the kid ain't here—I'm sure he could'a told us somethin' about all this."

As the party moved down the chamber to the west, there was a sudden burst of movement as a large spider, nearly a foot in diameter, scuttled away from Danton and Sparhawk's torchlight and compressed itself into a crack in the south wall. The party watched the spot closely as they passed by it, but the spider did not reappear.

At the far end of the long chamber, there was no western wall. Instead, the chamber opened up into a roughly rectangular area forty by fifty feet, with rough walls clearly hewn from the stone of the mountain. The area was mostly empty. Three four-wheeled iron carts were here, with high sides and a strange sort of handle on one end. One of the carts lay on its side while the other two were upright. To the south, two rough-hewn passages led out of the room, a pair of iron rails running down the middle of both, with lengths of timber supporting the rails at set intervals.

Off to the north there was a short passageway that ran first north and then east before ending at a closed door. After Danton checked the door (search 6+13=19, listen: 18+7=25), Sparhawk opened it and confirmed what the Velunese had already suspected: the door was the second one the party had already seen leading out of the storage room with the empty bins.

"This is very strange," said Luger when the group returned to the larger area where the two ore cart tracks began. "Parts of the Earth Temple and the area around it were unoccupied by temple forces, but they did at least seem to patrol them, but this area—this mine—seems to be abandoned entirely. Perhaps we should revisit my idea of taking on the gate guards and capturing and interrogating Mereclar."

"I dunno," said Syll. "But it looks like if we want to go south we'll have to follow one of these two tracks. Could be a long trip if this really is an abandoned mine—unless we want to try to ride in one of those carts; I bet that would be a much faster trip."

Tenaris laughed. "I don't think we could all fit into one cart!"

"Riding around in an ore cart?" asked Sparhawk rhetorically. "Heironeous preserve us!"

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 63:

Please send postings for Turn 63 by the end of Friday, July 27th.

Current date/time/location: 12 Kolovoz; approximately 1000; The Temple of All Consumption

Items gained this turn: tattered dwarven book (held by Danton)

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

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

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in green.

This Chapter:

Character	Foes Defeated	Percent of Total	Most Powerful Defeated
Nanoc	22/74	30%	Oamarthis (CR8)
Danton	3/74	4%	Troglodyte Rougue (CR4)
Luger	7/74	8%	Athach (CR7)
Aseneth	9/74	12%	Uskathoth (CR7)
Karzak	8/74	8%	Troglodyte Cleric (CR6)
Syll	21/74	29%	Chimera (CR7)
Tenaris	4/74	5%	Master Ape (CR7)

Entire Campaign:

Character	Foes Defeated	Percent of Total	Most Powerful Defeated
Nanoc	112/333	34%	Oamarthis (CR7)
Danton	24/333	7%	Ghost (M) Nulb (CR8)
Luger	34/333	10%	Athach (CR7)
Aseneth	34/333	10%	Mind Flayer (CR8)
Karzak	14/333	4%	Troglodyte Cleric (CR6)
Syll	23/333	7%	Chimera (CR7 )
Tenaris	4/333	1%	Master Ape (CR7)
Telemachos	51/333	15%	Spellcaster in Inn (CR7)
Xaod	5/333	2%	Chatrilon Unosh (CR6)
Erky	6/333	2%	Twig Blight (CR1/3)
Mauser	22/333	7%	Shadow (CR3)
Spugnoir	1/333	0%	Grell (CR5)

Current Status of the Party:

Danton

AC: 16 (17 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 30/30

New XP: 0

XP total: 27,401

XP needed: 28,000

Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, 3 waterskins, 28 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch, old journal, 8 iron triangles with upside down 'Y' inside,1 inverted 'Y" pendant in a brown triangle, new journal, notebook, pen, ink, parchment in sealed waterproof box, pipe, tobacco, metal box, whetstone, six packets of tinder for lighting fires, gold inlaid dagger, Journal of Geynor Ton, a folded piece of parchment with a note addressed to someone named Festrath, spider pendant, a disguise kit, letter to Master Dunrat, ochre-colored robe, potion of love, a dozen vials of lantern oil, masterwork thieves' tools, Rat's Tail (Rapier +1), silver and gold brooches, bracers of armor +1, potion of hiding, pouch of unknown dried herbs taken from the home of Tal Chamish, emerald pendant, a small ebony troglodyte statuette, a curved dagger, six sticks of incense, an emerald pendant, potion of invisibility, boots of elvenkind, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, tattered dwarven book

Gold: 1419

Silver: 1200

Luger

AC: 20

Hit Points: 60/60

New XP: 0

XP total: 24,751

XP needed: 28,000

Items taken from Nanoc (none being used as of yet): 3 iron triangles with inverted 'Y', three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, metal scroll tube, two inverted ziggurat pendants; potion of water breathing, Aseneth's House Torquann dragon ring, ring of jumping (+30 to jumping checks), silver and gold brooches from Woodstock, potion of spider climb, 2 emerald pendants, cloak of resistance +1, gauntlets of dexterity +2

Spell Selection:

Level 0(5): Detect MagicX3, Read MagicX2, Purify Food/Drink
Level 1(4+1): Detect EvilX2, Protection From EvilX2, Bless, Domain: Protection from Evil

Level 2 (4+1): Sound BurstX4, Domain: Aid

Level 3 (3+1): Searing LightX2, Continual Flame, Domain: Magic Circle Against Evil

Level 4 (2+1): Domain: Holy Smite

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 7 of 7

Gold: 2789

Gold: 2166

Syll

AC: 14

Hit Points: 32/32

New XP: 0

XP total: 11,920

XP needed: 15,000

Equipment: Ring of Protection +1, Cloak of Resistance +1, Urrtarr's spellbook, Scroll of: magic weapon, Masterwork Longsword, backpack, 3 water skins, 26 days rations, bedroll, magnifying glass, 2 flint & steel, 10 candles, map/scroll case, parchment, ink & pen, mirror, oil flask, 40 arrows, clothing, longbow, 1 dagger, sack, 50' rope, chalk, 5 torches, storm whistle, 5 bells, gold brooch, lamp, black cloak, inverted Y pendant, rose quartz gem, ring of climbing, bracers of health +2, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, scrolls of Pyrotechnics, Melf's Acid Arrow, Protection from Fire, Animal messenger and stone shape, Summon Monster II, Change self, Enlarge, Sleep X2, Wand of Monster Summon I (8 charges)

Spells per level per day:

Level 0: (6)

Level 1: (7)

Level 2: (5)

Gold: 3281

Silver: 12

Sparhawk

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

Hit Points: 39/39

New XP: 0

XP total: 6,000

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: backpack, water skin, 5 days rations, bedroll, tent, 2 daggers, masterwork great sword (Justice), longsword, composite longbow, 1 quiver with 20 arrows, ink & inkpen, 50' silk rope, whetstone, 1 vial holy water, half plate mail, large steel shield, 2 candles, signet ring and sealing wax, gilded warhorn, chalk, 2 mirrors, flint & steel, 5 pitons, 20 pieces parchment, 2 empty sacks, silver holy symbol of Heironeous, Everburning Torch, black cloak, inverted Y pendant

Spell Selection:

Level 1 (1): Cure Light Wounds

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 6 of 6

Lay on Hands healing points left on current day: 12 of 12

Gold: 100

Silver: 0

Tenaris

AC: 22

Hit Points: 24/24

New XP: 0

XP total: 5,780

XP needed: 6,000

Equipment: longsword, chitin full plate mail, large steel shield, masterwork morningstar, 6 javelins, 2 troglodyte spears, inverted Y pendant, 28 days rations, potions of cat's grace, levitate, spider climb, 1/3 of Oamarthis gems, black robe

Gold: 0

Silver: 0