The Ingaran Adventures
Episode 45
“The First Sacrament”
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Lord Issic: Half Human, Half Gold
Dragon Warrior
Lady India: A gypsy Bard/Shadow Dancer
Lord Phaidon: A Tamer of the Beasts
Cthaat: A young warrioress
Lord Alexander Maximus: The Gauntlet of Athena
Feinor: A young rogue
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The Time: Autumn, Drauj 6, 6th year, 8th Age
The Place: Talishar – The main occupation of Talishar's
residents is fishing. There are a small handful of hunters as well, and a few
farmers have cleared land to the south for small crops, although the forest
is so thick and fertile, it is a constant struggle to fight off the encroaching
woods that seek to reclaim the cleared spaces.
In a temple room with chains, looking at the floor
stood Alexander, Issic, and the others. The chamber's dark walls were covered
in iron hooks, some of them bearing grisly stains. The floor's mazelike pattern
was gouged with deep lines that led to a six inch grate in the center. Two stone
doors stood out along the walls. They could see the pattern on the floor led
not only to the drain on the floor, but to the doors as well. The pattern was
very artistic, and it was all connected, in curves and spirals, ultimately leading
to either one of the doors or to the center grate, depending where one started.
Phaidon discovered one of the hooks on the wall was false.
With a slight sound, the hole going up to the floor above disappeared.
"This hook is false." Phaidon pointed it out to everyone.
"What does it hide?" asked Alexander.
"I do not know. Want me to pull on it?"
"Have you checked it for traps?"
"I am not trained in checking it for traps. Is anyone else? Can
anyone cast a spell that will find traps?"
Suddenly Alexander hit upon an idea. "WAIT! the
pattern is gouged! It looks like a small ball or something would roll around
in the grooves!
Phaidon said, "I would figure it channels blood."
Alexander cast minor creation over the grooves, praying to Athena
for blood. Red fluid filled the grooves, and it flowed toward each of the doors
and toward the center.
Issic grabbed
"Which way do you want to go, Alexander?" asked Phaidon. "Do
you want to see what the false hook does?"
Alexander shook his head. "Well, if it doesn't open the doors it
must be a trap." He cast light past the west door.
Phaidon said, "Good enough for me."
As light filled the room, a terrible metallic clanking rang from the west
chamber. From the west, a horrible critter came lumbering toward the door,
with three heads, batlike wings, and a long, quadruped
body. The entire beast was made of dull gray scales. Bones littered the floor
and long chains ending in hooks hung from the ceiling, swaying aside as the
metal monster brushed past them to get to the door.
Alexander cast Blade Barrier, proclaiming, "Athena's
metal is stronger then the metal of any Demon-god!" The monster rammed
right into the spinning wall of blades that sprung up on Alexander's command.
It passed through, the sound of ringing iron clashing against singing steel
loud and screeching. Phaidon fired arrows as fast as he could, and Issic swung
repeatedly with his powerful mace, denting the iron with mighty blows. The
iron chimera reared back and roared.
A man ran out of the other doorway. He was tall, and lanky. He had dark
hair, a silver rapier in hand. The thin man ran up and struck the iron chimera
with his silver rapier, sliding it between the joints repeatedly, helping in
the fight.
"I has a captive," said the man.
"You have a captive?" asked
"Sorry. I was a captive."
"What are you doing in this dark temple?" asked Alexander. "What
is your name then?"
"Feinor."
Cthaat asked, "Alexander, are you going to leave the wall up?"
She watched Feinor from behind Issic.
Alexander ended the spell. "I am Alexander Animus Litus Maximus
and I invite you to join us in destroying this temple."
Feinor put away his sword, but he looked nervously at Issic. Issic grinned
a mouthful of fangs. Cthaat nudged Issic to lead the way into the chamber of
chains.
Phaidon stepped forward. "Greetings, Feinor!" Phaidon stuck
his hand out for a hearty handshake. They shook hands. Phaidon said, "Come.
Tell us everything. Spare no details."
Issic led the way into the chamber from which the chimera had come. Issic
switched to his green sword. "Come on. Let's get this over with."
Feinor followed the others, taking out his sword. The room was filled with bones.
They had to walk slowly or risk falling or scraping against a hook. They saw
a stair case going down in the center of the west wall, and another descended
from the room's southern corner. In the southwestern corner there was a long,
narrow niche, sort of a hallway going nowhere. Another door was in the east
wall.
"We should search that hallway for doors," said Alexander.
No one built a hallway that went nowhere, not even demons. At the end of that
hallway was a pentagram traced on the floor, ten feet across, glowing with red
energy.
Phaidon whispered, "That can not be good."
Alexander cast protection from evil on her. "Go with the power
of Athena to protect you."
She moved forward slowly. She didn't cross the pentagram, just looked
at it. She said, "The words say, 'eat'."
Feinor threw a rock at it that exploded.
Phaidon shot the newcomer an evil look. "
Phaidon asked, "Which way do you want to go, Alexander?"
Alexander said, "I am not ready to go yet. There is something else
to this circle. I was thinking that it might do that to you if you don't `eat`
as you step on it." He passed some
Phaidon said, "Maybe it is a place to partake of one of the three
sacraments?"
"Interesting thought," said
Issic said, "I was thinking that it would eat you as you step
on it."
Phaidon said, "So was I."
Feinor said, "Ass."
"Feinor? You have a comment?" asked
Alexander took a bite of the bread and stepped on the circle. Alexander
vanished. In an instant they received a psionic message from him saying, <I
am ok; follow
Phaidon said, "Well, we cannot let him go alone. Who is with me?"
Phaidon gave Zagreus a piece of bread and started eating a piece himself as
he stepped on the circle. One by one, they all followed and each of them vanished.
They appeared in a place with stifling heat. The walls were black and
made of what appeared to be course stone. They stood on a hovering platform
about 50 feet above a raging fire, or perhaps a pit of lava. It was difficult
to tell. Alexander stood there, waiting. The creators of this horrible place
had fashioned the platform to look like a giant pentagram. Worse yet, they made
it from what appeared to be the still living body parts from humans, elves,
halflings, gnomes, and dwarves. The very place where Phaidon stood was someone's
arm, and someone else's face - and the face looks up at the ranger, moaning
in misery.
Issic cared not. "A warm place at last," the half-dragon chuckled
as the heat warmed his dragon blood.
There seemed to be a central pentagon-shaped area in the middle of the
pentagram, and that area looked open. Feinor started praying as Phaidon walked
over and looked down through the open area at the fire beneath them. He noticed
a slight reflection of himself. That open area was nothing of the sort. It
was glass, or a force field.
"Alexander," said Phaidon, "come
check this out." Alexander walked over and pressed his hand against the
glass.
Phaidon said, "There seems to be some sort of glass area here."
Alexander shook his head. "I think it is a clear force field."
Alexander said, "Hand me your rope, Phaidon, and I will hold it while
you stand on the platform to see if you can walk on it."
"Let me," said Feinor.
Phaidon said, "Alright." He handed Issic and Alexander part
of the rope and all three of them held it for Feinor as he stepped onto the
center.
The clear portion of the platform started to lower when he stepped on
it, about one foot per second.
Alexander said, "Do you see anything down there?"
Phaidon said, "Alright, get off before you fry."
"Happily!" said Feinor, although he was but a few feet down.
He jumped up onto the platform with the others. The clear portion rose again
until it was flush with the pentagram platform.
Phaidon said, "I know it is hot in here, but perhaps the flames are
not real."
Issic nodded. "It is used to get down to the fires. Even if it went
all of the way to the fire it would more than likely protect you from it."
"Do you want to go down there, Issic?" Phaidon asked.
Feinor shook his head and said, "I will go."
Alexander thought this Feinor was either as brave as Apollo or crazy as
Dionysius. He asked, "Phaidon do you have a climbing spike?" Phaidon
pulled off his pack and rummaged around. He pulled out a grappling hook. "Huh.
I forgot that was in there." He handed it to Alexander. Alexander attached
the grappling hook to the pentagram and hung the rope across the clear area.
Alexander said, "I will check it out if no one else will." He
stepped on the force field.
They lowered faster and faster to the fires below. The heat climbed,
but they did not seem harmed by it. Issic grabbed Cthaat and dropped to the
platform with the others.
When the glass platform lowered to the level of the lava it stopped. A
small gargoylish demon teleported to the center of
the platform, holding a gold platter covered with small, dark red wafers with
a grinning demonic face upon them. "Consume the flesh of the Demon God
and become one with him," the quasit said. He held up the plate.
"This is the part we were worried about," said Phaidon.
Issic grabbed a wafer and ate it. After Issic took it, the quasit offered
it to the rest of them. Alexander suggested they not take the sacraments,
that only one among them needed to, so the others refused. The quasit teleported away. Suddenly, the entire group was
teleported back to the glowing pentagram.
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