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<blockquote data-quote="Neverwinter Knight" data-source="post: 430497" data-attributes="member: 596"><p><strong>Nulb</strong></p><p></p><p>The party returned to Homlet on the night of Sunday. Percifona had taken ill during the ride, maybe a wound taken from their fight with the Ant-Men at the moor. It was clear that she would have to lay back a few days and rented a room to be close to the temple of St. Cuthbert, if she needed it.</p><p>The friends new companion, the Samurai, had to doublecheck with his master for the course of action to follow, now that the sword was stolen. He knew that it was priceless and had to be recovered at any cost, but it was his duty to inform his master of the events. Also, it had become clear that the thief had a base in the area, she would still be around when he returned.</p><p></p><p>Kruskar had stayed in Homlet to train with his master and had told his friends that he'd wait for them in town, but he was nowhere to be found.</p><p></p><p>Maria, in the meantime, wanted to make a go for the temple. Her desire for revenge had greatly changed the once hearty cleric of Kord. It was all that Ike and Merlos could do to make her rest for the night in the Moathouse and go to Nulb the next day.</p><p>They almost expected some ghuls to have risen in the Moathouse that was now their base, but none were to be found this time.</p><p></p><p>After a good night's rest, the party decided to venture into Nulb. It was a poor place, every building run-down and only four places worth taking note of: a low tavern and inn called the Waterside Hostel, an even lower place called the Boatman's Tavern, an herb shop and the smithy. They remembered that the smith was Elmo's elder brother Theleb and decided to start their search for Smigmal in there.</p><p>A rat-faced boy answered the door and introduced them to his master. Theleb himself was a powerful man, sweating from his work on the sword he had just been making.</p><p></p><p>"Hello strangers", he said. "Who are you and what do you want?" After the three worshipers of Kord had introduced themselves and mentioned that they knew Elmo he seemed a little friendlier.</p><p>"I want to find myself a female for the night, if you now what I mean." Ike always liked to speak out blankly. "I heard that there is a nice half-orc girl around, something like Redfoot, Redfinger or ... Redhand!" After that, Theleb told them to go to the Waterside Hostel for these kind of services and to leave, if they didn't have the intention of buying anything.</p><p></p><p>Disappointed, they did as they were told. Since it was around noon, they found the hostel almost empty: two men behind the bar and only two tables taken, one by a couple of peasants, the other by two toughlooking half-orcs and a human. Ike went to the bartender and repeated his request. Although trying not to show it, the bartender, who had introduced himself as Wat, had reacted to the name. "Interesting", thought Ike, "maybe we can have a private little interrogation later." It was then that Maria nodded to one of the half-orcs and asked her two friends to accompany her outside. After renting three rooms from the unfriendly hostler with the name Dick Rentch, they left the building.</p><p></p><p>"What's the matter?" Merlos did not have a clue as to what Maria had planned. "Just wait here, by the house", was her reply. "We are meeting someone!"</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>The half-orcs and their human colleague had watched the three friends enter the Waterside Hostel. Grud, their sharp-eyed leader said "These are Kord scum. We should cut them down." "Easy, Grud", the other half-orc replied. "Dick Rentch won't want a fight in here." "I'm not afraid of that bastard! But you are right, this is the best place in this god-forsaken nest. Prost to that!" The three toasted to new exploits in the future and finished their beers.</p><p>After the Kord folk had left, the other half-orc got up. "Grud, I need to get something from the Market. I'll be back later." "Whatever..."</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>Kruskar drew back his hood and went down the street. It was good to have seen his friends again, although he did not want to blow his cover. For the past two weeks, he had been in the company of Tolub and his river pirates. His master Roshi had given him the advice to go check on Nulb and hire on as a mercenary. And hire on he did. He had met Grud in the Boatman's Tavern. The half-orc had taken a liking to him immediately and he had been on-board since then. It was a good thing that he had chosen this under-cover approach, he had thought. Because the band of pirates was a large one: He estimated around sixty of them and they roamed the river on two small ships. Tolub, their leader, was a tough and brutal man. During these two weeks, two pirates had met their death by his hands because they had dared to complain. In Kruskar's eyes no big losses. He was glad, though, that there had not been a raid during his two weeks there.</p><p></p><p>But now his friends had returned. He could now tell them of all the things he had learned. A few times he had seen men in robes come to the ships and load cases and barells onto wagons and roll off down the High Road in the direction of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Sometimes these wagons would also stop by the hostel and pick up some goods there as well. Kruskar was a little concerned about Percifona, however. He had not seen the Thief with his friends and hoped she was well.</p><p></p><p>He saw them wave at him from behind a small house and went to meet them. "Greetings, my friends", he said. "Good to see you again, even in this low-down town." "Kruskar!" Merlos and Ike had only now recognized their fellow adventurer. "Yes, hello Kruskar." Maria seemed friendly, but did not smile. "I recognized you in there."</p><p></p><p>They exchanged their information quickly and both sides were surprised at the news from the other. "Have you heard anything about this Smigmal Redhand", Ike wanted to know. Kruskar had not, though. "Well, I can check the others and try to find out. Tolub's first mate Grud seems to know and talk alot!" "OK, then you go in there, and we will visit the rest of Nulb."</p><p></p><p>So Ike and Merlos went to the Boatman's Tavern to ask their usual question; Maria decided to tag along. This place was even more run-down than the hostel. They were told to leave since they did not want to buy anything and the were not able to find out more about Redhand. On their way out, a drunken villager pointed to their holy symbols and told them,"I'd hide these, if I were you. We do not like your kind in Nulb!" The friends thought about it and tucked their symbols under their cloaks. Altough they did not want to deny their god, they felt that they needed the advantage of being incognito. Their last stop before retiring to their rooms at the hostel was the herb shop.</p><p></p><p>All kinds of different smells greeted them as they entered, the mixture of which was a strong, but pleasent odor. Immediately feeling refreshed, they looked around the room and saw two incredibly old women at the back of the shop, who introduced themselves as Mother Screng and her daughter Hudra.</p><p>"Well look, daughter. It's the Kord Clerics", Mother Screng called out when she had taken a look at them. The party looked surprised: It had only taken an hour or so for their religion to have become public knowledge. Damn! "Well", continued the old woman, "there are worse." "Such as Llolth", said Merlos. "Yes", Mother Screng looked almost scared, "Llolth is worse."</p><p>After asking the Redhand-question (they did not find out anything, of course) they looked around the shop. "What do you have to offer?" Merlos was interested in anything magical, while Ike was of course always on the lookout for new things for his wagon. Mother Screng did not have much, but sold Merlos a vial, claiming it to be an old potion of healing that she had purchased from some cannoness Y'dey some while ago.</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>Back at the hostel, Kruskar asked Grud about Smigmal Redhand. "Ah, Smigmal, now that's a pretty lass - but very dangerous! I only saw her two or three times, when she recruted some people, but I hear she's taken a set-back and that her force was destroyed. Well, I drink to that." "Really Grud, but I have heard some things about her and I was told that you can make some money there." "OK Kruskar, Tolub's ship is back due this evening. There will be some people that will pick up some goods, if you know what I mean. I could introduce you then. So come here tonight and we can do that. 'till then I have to get things ready for when Tolub comes back, it means that we leave town tomorrow."</p><p></p><p>Kruskar smiled. He was going to meet Redhand and find out more about the temple! Things were going well. He searched Nulb for his friends and told them to be a the hostel that evening as well. Maybe they could hire on as well or they might follow them and attack from behind, if Redhand herself was present.</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>Later that evening the party sat in the main room of the hostel, all sipping on some beers. Maria seemed very tense. The others hoped she would be able to control her temper. Luckily Wat was not present this evening, although the hostel was full. The party was thankful for that, because he had spotted and recognized their holy symbols of Kord.</p><p></p><p>Some time later, Grud entered with three people, all cloaked in brown cloaks. Two of them were very large and they went to stand guard next to the door. The smaller figure drew back his hod to reveal a young and handsome face. Grud brought him over to where Kruskar was sitting and introduced the man as Hartsch.</p><p></p><p>"So, Kruskar, Grud here tells me you'd like to hire on with Smigmal Redhand. That so?" "Well, she has a good reputation and the pay's supposed to be good", Kruskar replied. He did not want to push his luck by bluffing too much. "Ah, no, my friend, you don't want to join that band of loosers. In fact, her whole troup was wiped out a couple of weeks ago! If you'd been with them, you'd be dead now." Hartsch let out an evil laugh that clearly showed he felt no sympathy for the dead brigands or their leader. "But the group I represent has much more power than Smigmal! From what Grud here tells me, you could be very useful to us. In fact we have suffered some losses recently, but these were stupid brutes with no brains. We could use a captain to coordinate them. AND, we pay more than Smigmal. What do you say?" "I say: How much!" The monk wanted to play the role of a greedy mercenary to the best of his ability. "Well", grinned Hartsch, "I could offer you 3 gold pieces per day. Your duties would be to protect our terretory and maybe some occasional raids." "3 gp per day ?? It's a deal."</p><p></p><p>Hartsch looked around the room. When he saw the rest of the group, he stopped and looked at them. He got an idea. "Hey, you." He pointed at Merlos. "What can you do? You a mage?" "Well, actually, ... No, it's OK. Yes. I, Merlos, am a mage, altough I do prefer the term Sorcerer!" Merlos was proud of his class! "Excellent! How about you come with me, and I take you to my master. He is looking to employ a mage like yourself and would pay very well for your services. And who are these? Your bodyguards?" Hartsch pointed at Ike and Maria. "Me Ike. Me smash things." Playing the dumb brute was not difficult for a man with Ike's looks. Maria just nodded. "Well then, Merlos, would you accompany me?" Hartsch seemed excited.</p><p></p><p>They left Nulb with a wagon full of goods in the direction of the temple. A group of six Gnolls had waited for them just outside Nulb and were accompanying them. The heros were pleased. Things had been easy thus far. Too easy.</p><p></p><p>The wagon really did go to the Temple of Elemental Evil. Hartsch did not speak much on the way but looked intently at the group, especially at Merlos and Kruskar. They entered the Temple Area through one of the small side doors and proceeded down to the first underground level via the left staircase. Then they turned north for some time, passing many passages that went off to the left and right. Before they came to the end of the passage, Hartch warned them. "Watch this. There is a trapdoor in front of this door." He went around the trap and knocked on the door. A shutter opened and Hartsch said, "Praise to the Elder Elemental Eye." The door was opened and they entered a room with some 20 guards inside. The guards bowed to Hartsch and opened another door for him. This one also had a similar trap door on the other side. Bypassing that they continued down a passage until they came to a door. Hartsch knocked. Again, a shutter opened and he repeated, "Praise to the Elder Elemental Eye." They entered a small room with four guards. "Please wait here. I'll inform the master." With these words, Hartsch left the room through a door to the north.</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>A soft knock on the door disturbed him from his thoughts. That damn fire temple. He had to do something about their raids. Enraged he shouted, "What is it?" A familiar voice answered through the door. "Master Romag, it is me, your servant Hartsch. May I enter? I have important tidings to bring you." "Come in, then." Hartsch entered the room with an excited look on his face. "Master, I was able to recruit new people. One fighter was recommended to me by Grud of the river pirates and one of the others is a mage!" "A mage? This sounds good. Have you screened them, Hartsch?" "Yes, my master. Neither the fighter nor the mage are good-aligned. The mage also has one bodyguard and a female companion, but I deemed them not important." Romag looked pleased. "You have done well, my young apprentice. With their help we may finally stop the raids of the damned fire temple and maybe even have the power to overthrow them. Take me to them, NOW!"</p><p></p><p></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hartsch returned to the smaller room with his master. "Master Romag, this is Kruskar. He is the one Grud recommended." "Yes, I see. Kruskar, we need a man to handle a troup of Ogres, Bug Bears and Gnolls. These stupid brutes were destroyed by a rival faction some weeks ago. We need more intelligence in that area, especially since this area is the entrance to this temple level. They might not exept your authority right away. Is that going to be a problem." Kruskar smiled. "Leave them to me." "Are you pre-occupied with a religion, Kruskar?" "No, my lord, but Hartsch tells me you are a powerful group. AND pay well." "Yes we are powerful. We are the special Elite group that may worship the Aspect of the Earth, the favoured element of the Elder Elemental Eye. You will see the power when you participate in our rituals. As for the pay, I think Hartsch has increased your salery to ten times your salery of your river pirate occupation. Is that not enough for you?" The tone of his voice told Kruskar that trying to strike another deal would not be a good option. "No, this is generous", was his reply.</p><p></p><p>"Well, then", Romag continued. "You must be the magician, Merlos." Merlos simply nodded, although he hated being referred to as a mage. "We have great use here for one such as you. What is your speciality? Can you summon demons? What about torture? We have some prisoners here that we could use skilled help with!" "No, sir, but I am very effective in direct combat." "A battle mage, eh", Romag seemed almost happy, "that is great as well. With your help we can finally fight back the forces of fire! What about your companions?" He turned to Ike and Maria. "Woman, do you have faith? If yes, in who?" Maria just shook her head and looked to the floor. Her hands were trembling, she was just a the brink of loosing her control. But Romag turned to the half-orc. "You, do you share your brethen's belief in Gruumsh One-Eyed, because if that is so, you have no place here. You should instead worship the Elder Elemental Eye." "Ike managed to say "Me strong." He pointed to his muscles. "Me smite things!"</p><p>Romag was pleased. He was just about to give praise to his apprentice, when he felt something vibrating at his side. He took Nightbringer, his mace imbued with the powers of Evil Earth, in his hand. "Look at him", it called out. "Don't you see it?" The weapon granted him the vision of auras. As he looked around, he barely noticed the aura of good around the woman. What shook him was the aura of the stupid half-orc in front of him.</p><p></p><p>Never in his life had he felt such an aura of the purest good. The half-orc seemed to glow in bright, white light. And were these wings protruding from his back. In a vision that was like a daydream he saw the wizard shooting lightnings at him and his new captain of the guard Kruskar hitting him in the back. It was all he could do to shake of these visions and the aura sight. He called out, "GUARDS, GUARDS, HELP ME, KILL THEM !!!" And then things went very quickly.</p><p></p><p>Ike was incredibly fast. He with super speed he jumped, drew his sword and slashed at Romag. Had his blow landed right, he might have killed the master of the Earth Temple where he stood, but Romag wore good armor. Maria also jumped at the cleric, while Kruskar started to work on the guards. As more guards came from the northern room, Merlos blocked their way with a flaming sphere.</p><p>Romag and Hartsch managed a few spells, but they lasted only rounds against the incredible fighting force of Ike and Maria, who had cast Bull's Strength on herself before with maximum effect. As Romag went down, the guards fled to the room in the north.</p><p></p><p>By that time, Ike's Barbarian Rage was over and he had to recover. They took some time there and went on. After listening on the door, Merlos overheard some people talking. They opened nevertheless and were surprised by a powder keg rolling towards them. It exploded with a big band and the group took heavy damage. Ike pressed on and picked a fight with eight people in the next room. With help from the others, they made short work of the remaining guards.</p><p>Three surrendered and were spared - for the moment. Kruskar, judge of the party, judged them guilty of being in the evil temple. That would be good enough for him to take their life. These guards, however, revealed to them that the prisoners were in the north-west of the complex and warned them from venturing too far to the south-east, where undead had killed some of their unfortunate colleagues.</p><p></p><p>All rooms were searched and the front door locked. With several options at hand, the four friends contemplated their next course of action.</p><p></p><p>to be continued...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neverwinter Knight, post: 430497, member: 596"] [b]Nulb[/b] The party returned to Homlet on the night of Sunday. Percifona had taken ill during the ride, maybe a wound taken from their fight with the Ant-Men at the moor. It was clear that she would have to lay back a few days and rented a room to be close to the temple of St. Cuthbert, if she needed it. The friends new companion, the Samurai, had to doublecheck with his master for the course of action to follow, now that the sword was stolen. He knew that it was priceless and had to be recovered at any cost, but it was his duty to inform his master of the events. Also, it had become clear that the thief had a base in the area, she would still be around when he returned. Kruskar had stayed in Homlet to train with his master and had told his friends that he'd wait for them in town, but he was nowhere to be found. Maria, in the meantime, wanted to make a go for the temple. Her desire for revenge had greatly changed the once hearty cleric of Kord. It was all that Ike and Merlos could do to make her rest for the night in the Moathouse and go to Nulb the next day. They almost expected some ghuls to have risen in the Moathouse that was now their base, but none were to be found this time. After a good night's rest, the party decided to venture into Nulb. It was a poor place, every building run-down and only four places worth taking note of: a low tavern and inn called the Waterside Hostel, an even lower place called the Boatman's Tavern, an herb shop and the smithy. They remembered that the smith was Elmo's elder brother Theleb and decided to start their search for Smigmal in there. A rat-faced boy answered the door and introduced them to his master. Theleb himself was a powerful man, sweating from his work on the sword he had just been making. "Hello strangers", he said. "Who are you and what do you want?" After the three worshipers of Kord had introduced themselves and mentioned that they knew Elmo he seemed a little friendlier. "I want to find myself a female for the night, if you now what I mean." Ike always liked to speak out blankly. "I heard that there is a nice half-orc girl around, something like Redfoot, Redfinger or ... Redhand!" After that, Theleb told them to go to the Waterside Hostel for these kind of services and to leave, if they didn't have the intention of buying anything. Disappointed, they did as they were told. Since it was around noon, they found the hostel almost empty: two men behind the bar and only two tables taken, one by a couple of peasants, the other by two toughlooking half-orcs and a human. Ike went to the bartender and repeated his request. Although trying not to show it, the bartender, who had introduced himself as Wat, had reacted to the name. "Interesting", thought Ike, "maybe we can have a private little interrogation later." It was then that Maria nodded to one of the half-orcs and asked her two friends to accompany her outside. After renting three rooms from the unfriendly hostler with the name Dick Rentch, they left the building. "What's the matter?" Merlos did not have a clue as to what Maria had planned. "Just wait here, by the house", was her reply. "We are meeting someone!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The half-orcs and their human colleague had watched the three friends enter the Waterside Hostel. Grud, their sharp-eyed leader said "These are Kord scum. We should cut them down." "Easy, Grud", the other half-orc replied. "Dick Rentch won't want a fight in here." "I'm not afraid of that bastard! But you are right, this is the best place in this god-forsaken nest. Prost to that!" The three toasted to new exploits in the future and finished their beers. After the Kord folk had left, the other half-orc got up. "Grud, I need to get something from the Market. I'll be back later." "Whatever..." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kruskar drew back his hood and went down the street. It was good to have seen his friends again, although he did not want to blow his cover. For the past two weeks, he had been in the company of Tolub and his river pirates. His master Roshi had given him the advice to go check on Nulb and hire on as a mercenary. And hire on he did. He had met Grud in the Boatman's Tavern. The half-orc had taken a liking to him immediately and he had been on-board since then. It was a good thing that he had chosen this under-cover approach, he had thought. Because the band of pirates was a large one: He estimated around sixty of them and they roamed the river on two small ships. Tolub, their leader, was a tough and brutal man. During these two weeks, two pirates had met their death by his hands because they had dared to complain. In Kruskar's eyes no big losses. He was glad, though, that there had not been a raid during his two weeks there. But now his friends had returned. He could now tell them of all the things he had learned. A few times he had seen men in robes come to the ships and load cases and barells onto wagons and roll off down the High Road in the direction of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Sometimes these wagons would also stop by the hostel and pick up some goods there as well. Kruskar was a little concerned about Percifona, however. He had not seen the Thief with his friends and hoped she was well. He saw them wave at him from behind a small house and went to meet them. "Greetings, my friends", he said. "Good to see you again, even in this low-down town." "Kruskar!" Merlos and Ike had only now recognized their fellow adventurer. "Yes, hello Kruskar." Maria seemed friendly, but did not smile. "I recognized you in there." They exchanged their information quickly and both sides were surprised at the news from the other. "Have you heard anything about this Smigmal Redhand", Ike wanted to know. Kruskar had not, though. "Well, I can check the others and try to find out. Tolub's first mate Grud seems to know and talk alot!" "OK, then you go in there, and we will visit the rest of Nulb." So Ike and Merlos went to the Boatman's Tavern to ask their usual question; Maria decided to tag along. This place was even more run-down than the hostel. They were told to leave since they did not want to buy anything and the were not able to find out more about Redhand. On their way out, a drunken villager pointed to their holy symbols and told them,"I'd hide these, if I were you. We do not like your kind in Nulb!" The friends thought about it and tucked their symbols under their cloaks. Altough they did not want to deny their god, they felt that they needed the advantage of being incognito. Their last stop before retiring to their rooms at the hostel was the herb shop. All kinds of different smells greeted them as they entered, the mixture of which was a strong, but pleasent odor. Immediately feeling refreshed, they looked around the room and saw two incredibly old women at the back of the shop, who introduced themselves as Mother Screng and her daughter Hudra. "Well look, daughter. It's the Kord Clerics", Mother Screng called out when she had taken a look at them. The party looked surprised: It had only taken an hour or so for their religion to have become public knowledge. Damn! "Well", continued the old woman, "there are worse." "Such as Llolth", said Merlos. "Yes", Mother Screng looked almost scared, "Llolth is worse." After asking the Redhand-question (they did not find out anything, of course) they looked around the shop. "What do you have to offer?" Merlos was interested in anything magical, while Ike was of course always on the lookout for new things for his wagon. Mother Screng did not have much, but sold Merlos a vial, claiming it to be an old potion of healing that she had purchased from some cannoness Y'dey some while ago. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at the hostel, Kruskar asked Grud about Smigmal Redhand. "Ah, Smigmal, now that's a pretty lass - but very dangerous! I only saw her two or three times, when she recruted some people, but I hear she's taken a set-back and that her force was destroyed. Well, I drink to that." "Really Grud, but I have heard some things about her and I was told that you can make some money there." "OK Kruskar, Tolub's ship is back due this evening. There will be some people that will pick up some goods, if you know what I mean. I could introduce you then. So come here tonight and we can do that. 'till then I have to get things ready for when Tolub comes back, it means that we leave town tomorrow." Kruskar smiled. He was going to meet Redhand and find out more about the temple! Things were going well. He searched Nulb for his friends and told them to be a the hostel that evening as well. Maybe they could hire on as well or they might follow them and attack from behind, if Redhand herself was present. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later that evening the party sat in the main room of the hostel, all sipping on some beers. Maria seemed very tense. The others hoped she would be able to control her temper. Luckily Wat was not present this evening, although the hostel was full. The party was thankful for that, because he had spotted and recognized their holy symbols of Kord. Some time later, Grud entered with three people, all cloaked in brown cloaks. Two of them were very large and they went to stand guard next to the door. The smaller figure drew back his hod to reveal a young and handsome face. Grud brought him over to where Kruskar was sitting and introduced the man as Hartsch. "So, Kruskar, Grud here tells me you'd like to hire on with Smigmal Redhand. That so?" "Well, she has a good reputation and the pay's supposed to be good", Kruskar replied. He did not want to push his luck by bluffing too much. "Ah, no, my friend, you don't want to join that band of loosers. In fact, her whole troup was wiped out a couple of weeks ago! If you'd been with them, you'd be dead now." Hartsch let out an evil laugh that clearly showed he felt no sympathy for the dead brigands or their leader. "But the group I represent has much more power than Smigmal! From what Grud here tells me, you could be very useful to us. In fact we have suffered some losses recently, but these were stupid brutes with no brains. We could use a captain to coordinate them. AND, we pay more than Smigmal. What do you say?" "I say: How much!" The monk wanted to play the role of a greedy mercenary to the best of his ability. "Well", grinned Hartsch, "I could offer you 3 gold pieces per day. Your duties would be to protect our terretory and maybe some occasional raids." "3 gp per day ?? It's a deal." Hartsch looked around the room. When he saw the rest of the group, he stopped and looked at them. He got an idea. "Hey, you." He pointed at Merlos. "What can you do? You a mage?" "Well, actually, ... No, it's OK. Yes. I, Merlos, am a mage, altough I do prefer the term Sorcerer!" Merlos was proud of his class! "Excellent! How about you come with me, and I take you to my master. He is looking to employ a mage like yourself and would pay very well for your services. And who are these? Your bodyguards?" Hartsch pointed at Ike and Maria. "Me Ike. Me smash things." Playing the dumb brute was not difficult for a man with Ike's looks. Maria just nodded. "Well then, Merlos, would you accompany me?" Hartsch seemed excited. They left Nulb with a wagon full of goods in the direction of the temple. A group of six Gnolls had waited for them just outside Nulb and were accompanying them. The heros were pleased. Things had been easy thus far. Too easy. The wagon really did go to the Temple of Elemental Evil. Hartsch did not speak much on the way but looked intently at the group, especially at Merlos and Kruskar. They entered the Temple Area through one of the small side doors and proceeded down to the first underground level via the left staircase. Then they turned north for some time, passing many passages that went off to the left and right. Before they came to the end of the passage, Hartch warned them. "Watch this. There is a trapdoor in front of this door." He went around the trap and knocked on the door. A shutter opened and Hartsch said, "Praise to the Elder Elemental Eye." The door was opened and they entered a room with some 20 guards inside. The guards bowed to Hartsch and opened another door for him. This one also had a similar trap door on the other side. Bypassing that they continued down a passage until they came to a door. Hartsch knocked. Again, a shutter opened and he repeated, "Praise to the Elder Elemental Eye." They entered a small room with four guards. "Please wait here. I'll inform the master." With these words, Hartsch left the room through a door to the north. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A soft knock on the door disturbed him from his thoughts. That damn fire temple. He had to do something about their raids. Enraged he shouted, "What is it?" A familiar voice answered through the door. "Master Romag, it is me, your servant Hartsch. May I enter? I have important tidings to bring you." "Come in, then." Hartsch entered the room with an excited look on his face. "Master, I was able to recruit new people. One fighter was recommended to me by Grud of the river pirates and one of the others is a mage!" "A mage? This sounds good. Have you screened them, Hartsch?" "Yes, my master. Neither the fighter nor the mage are good-aligned. The mage also has one bodyguard and a female companion, but I deemed them not important." Romag looked pleased. "You have done well, my young apprentice. With their help we may finally stop the raids of the damned fire temple and maybe even have the power to overthrow them. Take me to them, NOW!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hartsch returned to the smaller room with his master. "Master Romag, this is Kruskar. He is the one Grud recommended." "Yes, I see. Kruskar, we need a man to handle a troup of Ogres, Bug Bears and Gnolls. These stupid brutes were destroyed by a rival faction some weeks ago. We need more intelligence in that area, especially since this area is the entrance to this temple level. They might not exept your authority right away. Is that going to be a problem." Kruskar smiled. "Leave them to me." "Are you pre-occupied with a religion, Kruskar?" "No, my lord, but Hartsch tells me you are a powerful group. AND pay well." "Yes we are powerful. We are the special Elite group that may worship the Aspect of the Earth, the favoured element of the Elder Elemental Eye. You will see the power when you participate in our rituals. As for the pay, I think Hartsch has increased your salery to ten times your salery of your river pirate occupation. Is that not enough for you?" The tone of his voice told Kruskar that trying to strike another deal would not be a good option. "No, this is generous", was his reply. "Well, then", Romag continued. "You must be the magician, Merlos." Merlos simply nodded, although he hated being referred to as a mage. "We have great use here for one such as you. What is your speciality? Can you summon demons? What about torture? We have some prisoners here that we could use skilled help with!" "No, sir, but I am very effective in direct combat." "A battle mage, eh", Romag seemed almost happy, "that is great as well. With your help we can finally fight back the forces of fire! What about your companions?" He turned to Ike and Maria. "Woman, do you have faith? If yes, in who?" Maria just shook her head and looked to the floor. Her hands were trembling, she was just a the brink of loosing her control. But Romag turned to the half-orc. "You, do you share your brethen's belief in Gruumsh One-Eyed, because if that is so, you have no place here. You should instead worship the Elder Elemental Eye." "Ike managed to say "Me strong." He pointed to his muscles. "Me smite things!" Romag was pleased. He was just about to give praise to his apprentice, when he felt something vibrating at his side. He took Nightbringer, his mace imbued with the powers of Evil Earth, in his hand. "Look at him", it called out. "Don't you see it?" The weapon granted him the vision of auras. As he looked around, he barely noticed the aura of good around the woman. What shook him was the aura of the stupid half-orc in front of him. Never in his life had he felt such an aura of the purest good. The half-orc seemed to glow in bright, white light. And were these wings protruding from his back. In a vision that was like a daydream he saw the wizard shooting lightnings at him and his new captain of the guard Kruskar hitting him in the back. It was all he could do to shake of these visions and the aura sight. He called out, "GUARDS, GUARDS, HELP ME, KILL THEM !!!" And then things went very quickly. Ike was incredibly fast. He with super speed he jumped, drew his sword and slashed at Romag. Had his blow landed right, he might have killed the master of the Earth Temple where he stood, but Romag wore good armor. Maria also jumped at the cleric, while Kruskar started to work on the guards. As more guards came from the northern room, Merlos blocked their way with a flaming sphere. Romag and Hartsch managed a few spells, but they lasted only rounds against the incredible fighting force of Ike and Maria, who had cast Bull's Strength on herself before with maximum effect. As Romag went down, the guards fled to the room in the north. By that time, Ike's Barbarian Rage was over and he had to recover. They took some time there and went on. After listening on the door, Merlos overheard some people talking. They opened nevertheless and were surprised by a powder keg rolling towards them. It exploded with a big band and the group took heavy damage. Ike pressed on and picked a fight with eight people in the next room. With help from the others, they made short work of the remaining guards. Three surrendered and were spared - for the moment. Kruskar, judge of the party, judged them guilty of being in the evil temple. That would be good enough for him to take their life. These guards, however, revealed to them that the prisoners were in the north-west of the complex and warned them from venturing too far to the south-east, where undead had killed some of their unfortunate colleagues. All rooms were searched and the front door locked. With several options at hand, the four friends contemplated their next course of action. to be continued... [/QUOTE]
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