Episode 28 -prelude to revenge
July 12th, 2008Once the equipment of the fallen leaders of the Fire Temple had been plundered, the matter of Tessimon’s corpse had to be decided. Prior to their abandonment of the party, the Water Temple had agreed to safely transport the adventurers across lake Stalagos to the Outer Fane and open the Water Door for them - provided they produced the head of Tessimon. Of course now things were different, and the party didn’t feel much like cooperating with the Kuo-Toa. The subject of what to do next was heartily debated. The only thing that everyone could agree on was that the Water Temple’s desire for Tessimon’s head probably went beyond merely wanting her dead. There was magic that could make a corpse speak its secrets, and the fish-men no doubt wanted to know something that Tessimon had taken to the grave. No matter what the party did next, they certainly weren’t going to help the people who had abandoned them. The fiery pit that served as a centerpiece for the Fire Temple provided the perfect crematorium for Tessimon’s body.
During their assault of the area, the party had passed many interesting rooms in favor of expediency. Before moving on, the adventurers put aside their argument in favor of searching the rooms of the Fire Temple for treasure. In Firre’s bedroom, the disturbing area with bloody organs hanging from chains, the party found a strange amber figurine hidden in the false bottom of a chest. Its vague, subtle carving suggested a curled, sleeping demon. Whoever held it heard light whispers from the corners of the room, too faint to make out. Incredibly, Circe recalled of hearing of such a thing in arcane legend. It was a minor artifact known as a ‘Demon Stone’. Legend held that its owner need not even carry it with them to benefit from its powers, but the stories were vague as to what those powers were. Circe had also heard that ill fortune followed the stone wherever it went. Rather than subject themselves to whatever influence this item had, Terese conjured a floating magical disk to carry the figurine - as well as any other treasure they could find.
In Tessimon’s room the mistress of Fire’s vanity was apparent in the small fortune in gems and jewelry that she kept. The party also found another letter from the man named Hedrack, from the Outer Fane. It mentioned a ‘prophecy’ and a ‘champion’ among other things. There was no doubt that the Doomdreamers were somehow connected to the signs of the end times that had been appearing all over the Flaeness. Whatever they were doing, it had to be stopped.
Near Tessimon’s was a trapped cave with a large stone statue of a dragon holding a box. After the traps were disarmed the party recovered ‘The Book of the Dark Eye’ from the box, an evil cannon describing the rituals of the Elder Elemental Eye. It detailed how the drums, candelabra, and altar on the floating platform could be used in combination with Tessimon’s tentacle rod to sacrifice a sentient being to the Dark God. Leaving behind the means to commit such atrocities was too much for the adventurers to stomach. Returning to the temple proper, the party hurled the black drum and candelabra into the fire pit where Tessimon’s bones smoldered. For a moment the flames howled and jumped to twice their height, turning a vivid lavender color. Clearly the Elder Elemental Eye was displeased.
Further exploration of the Fire Temple’s caves uncovered what could only be described as a torture chamber. A rack, iron maiden, an oven with hot coals and and irons, and a table full of rusty knives, thumbscrews and other terrible implements were arranged about the room. The party felt some satisfaction knowing that the perpetrators of the crimes committed here had been given their just desserts. On a whim, Stelios opened the iron maiden only to discover that it still held its victim. The man was alive, but only just barely. His abused body told the story of a long and excruciating imprisonment. Cassius immediately channeled the power of Pelor to heal him of his wounds, but the damage the stranger had suffered was more than physical. He stared back at the party with the blank look of one whose mind has experienced so much horror that it has closed in on itself. Although the stranger could be led wherever the party wanted to go, it was clear he was completely helpless, and would be in grave danger should the party find itself in a combat situation. The party decided it would be best to return to Rastor, by way of the Southern Gate in the Air Temple. This would at least give them the chance to check out the hidden cache of the Cloakers they had left untouched on their trek to the Fire Temple. First, Cassius wanted to try one more thing to heal the stranger’s mind.
The Aasimar had just enough divine energy left to cast his most powerful restorative magic on the poor soul. The light of Pelor flowed through Cassius into the man, cleansing his soul and erasing the damage that had been inflicted on his psyche. Slowly the spark of comprehension returned to the man’s eyes:
“Am I finally dead?.. No, I can’t be, I’m still in these hells damned mines. You don’t look like the Cultists, more like adventurers… please tell me you gave that bloody Gnome what was coming to him!”
He introduced himself as Jurrikath Musseloto, one of the members of Tymerian’s party who were attacked by the lightning towers that stud the Outer Fane. After the adventurers explained who they were and what they were doing Jurrikath told them his story. After losing sight of Tymerian his companions set down on the volcanic island in the center of the Stalagos. There they were attacked by powerful undead and he was knocked unconscious and taken prisoner. He was kept in the Outer Fane for a time and tortured before being traded to Firre of the Fire Temple. Jurrikath’s memories were clouded by the torture he had endured, but he did remember a huge Red Dragon guarding the Fire Door. The party took note of Jurrikath’s information, particularly the Dragon, and equipped the fallen adventurer as best they could for the journey out of the mines to Rastor. With that they left the Fire Temple and headed back from where they had come less than an hour earlier.
When the party neared the Docks, Stelios crept ahead to the lair of the Cloakers. There he quietly lifted the loose flagstone and retrieved the creatures’ hidden treasure. Then he gave the rest of the party the signal to run. Before the Kuo-Toa on the nearby dock could organize themselves to investigate, the adventurers were long gone, on their way out of the mines.
Outside Jurrikath breathed fresh air for the first time in many months. Coming down the mountain to Rastor was a trip he had long ago given up on. Later, Tymerian’s shop was the scene of a tearful reunion. Both she and Jurrikath pledged whatever assistance they could give the party in their quest against the Cult of Elemental Evil - save for ever returning to Mount Stalagos again. The time Jurrikath had spent there had left scars deeper than even Pelor’s healing was capable of touching it seemed.
Terese took advantage of the day by teleporting to Verbobonc in order to sell some of the plunder they had taken from the mines. His purse still hurt from the robbery a week ago, and he was eager to fill it with some coin. They would attack the Outer Fane soon, and that might require new spells - which would mean he would need some gold to pay for the research.
The other adventurers visited the temple of Moradin to see Rerrid. They showed him the Demon Stone they had found and asked for his advice. Touching it, Rerrid seemed as disturbed by the item as the party was. Together it was decided that the best course of action would be to have Tunraug construct a sealed, lead container for the Demon Stone, and then the adventurers could take it to one of their contacts in Verbobonc where it could be guarded - or destroyed - properly.
That evening over drinks at the Gray Lodge, the adventurers debated their next move. The Pelorites felt that there was no need to deal with the Water Temple any longer. They had what they needed to get into the Outer Fane and they could use either the Fire Door or the Air door. The rest of the party felt that it was too dangerous to leave one of the evil temples standing. The threat, should they need to retreat from the Outer Fane, was too great. After more than a few flagons worth of discussion Circe and Cassius lost the argument. The next day they would attack the Water Temple. While the rhetorical reason for doing so was the threat they posed, it was clear that the real motivation for the assault was revenge for Nilbool’s betrayal. Grayzon and Terese were particularly angered by the Water Temple’s failure to honour their bargain.
Another sunrise brought the party up the mountain path towards the mines. Along the way they were set upon by a pair of lurking Hill Giants. At one time these creatures would have sent the party fleeing in fear, but the adventurers were much more powerful now. Between Circe’s spells and Saksia’s arrows, the creatures were felled before Grayzon could close the gap between them. Things did not bode well for the denizens of the Water Temple.
Nothing had changed at the abandoned Western entrance, and the party encountered no resistance travelling through the empty Troglodyte caves of the Earth Temple. It wasn’t long before they came upon the domain of the Water Temple, which, appropriately enough was blocked by a cavern filled with a large pool. There was a small skiff moored on each side of the pool, but the adventurers knew it couldn’t be that easy. Volo transformed himself into a dolphin and leaped into the pool. His new form’s echolocation not only revealed the dimensions of the pool but also a humanoid shape swimming under the surface of the water. He swam closer to investigate, close enough so he could see to make out what he was. As the blurred shape came into view, Volo found himself face to face with a hideous misshapen monster, like a twisted old crone with green putrid skin and long, stringy seaweed hair - a Sea Hag. She was so terrible to behold that Volo felt he might lose his resolve. The Hag cast her evil gaze upon the Druid and he felt his muscles stiffen with fear, but he shrugged the attack off and with a flick of his powerful tail was free of the creature and back at shore.
In an attempt to bypass the pool’s guardian, Circe used her magical slippers to scale the wall of the cave and climb around. A few moments later a crossbow bolt flew out of the water towards the Sorcerer. A dark shape in the water coming closer confirmed the missile’s source. Before the Hag could get close enough to use her evil eye Circe let loose with stream of concussive bolts of force, perforating the monster’s body. The Hag’s body floated to the surface in a pool of its own oily, green blood. The first servant of Water had fallen.
Circe proceeded to climb to the other side of the pool, only to be surprised by a retinue of Cultists with bows. A few arrows from the first volley grazed the Sorcerer but it was not the first time she had dealt with such a threat. A few words of arcane power left the charging Cultists incinerated in a ball of flame. It was almost too easy. All threats gone, the adventurers used the pair of boats to cross the pool and move deeper into the caves of the Water Temple.
After moving through what appeared to be a throne room, the party was attacked by a second group of Cultists sniping from a wooden balcony. These fell nearly as easily as the first. The Water Temple’s human troops were green and inexperienced. The fight was so one-sided that one of the fanatics even surrendered. He was full of bile and hatred for the intruders but had enough of a sense of self preservation that he told the party where they could find the Temple’s leaders. Unburdened of Weapons the Cultist fled the way the party had come, towards the Western Gate.
Following his instructions, the party found themselves in a room the Cultist had called ‘the Deeps’. The name was appropriate - a mixture of lighting and architecture made it seem like the cave was deep underwater. It was also inhabited. As Saskia and Stelios began to explore the area a curtain of dried seaweed was thrown aside by a fiendish Kuo-Toa with wings - a creature their informant had named Oomkaan. Surrounded by a thick cloud of narcotic smoke, Oomkaan snarled at the interlopers and hurled blasphemous spells at them. A moment later the rest of the party was in the room, blades drawn. Although clearly outnumbered Oomkaan attacked without fear, barking out nonsense in the alien Kuo-Toan tongue. This was a group of adventurers that had slain Dragons, and a single Kuo-Toa, even one with demonic blood, was no match for them. In short order the creature was slain and the room was secured. According the Cultist’s directions they were steps away from the altar room, where they would find Nilbool and the other leaders of the Water Temple. Revenge was at hand.