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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1655946" data-attributes="member: 1210">Into the Temple of Elemental EvilMorning, 9/3/96 O.L.G.Malford poked at the fire.  It was still small, but it was quickly growing.  He tossed a few more pieces of kindling on it, warming his fingers over it, thinking about breakfast.A heavy sigh emitted from the lump of bedding that contained Dexter.  He never wanted to get up early enough to get an early start.  Malford shook his head, smiling to himself.  At least the kid was still alive.The gnome turned to the ring in his hand, emblazoned with an odd triangle.  Not magical, yet... something about it...Lochenvare joined him at the fire, bringing a skin of wine with him.  “Morning,” he said.  Malford nodded to him, deep in contemplation.Finally, “I think we should go back to that stone block.”Lochenvare looked at him in surprise.  “Why?”Malford tossed him the ring.  “There were several of these in there, on various things- one of the ogres, those guys we thought were maybe adventurers, the lead goblin...”  He looked at Lochenvare.  “There was nothing actually happening in there.  They were part of some kind of cult, but we missed the real action.  I’m convinced of it.”The big fighter nodded slowly.  “All right, sounds good to me.  Just as long as there’s something to kill.”***Noon, 9/4/96 O.L.G.There was a secret trap door in a room beneath the stone block that only turned up after a search that included moving the goblin bedding.  Our heroes gathered around it and Dexter threw it open while Lochenvare held himself at the ready; but what was revealed was a passage.After a brief scouting foray by Malford that turned up no immediate sign of danger, the group dropped into the hall and began exploring- and, unknown to them, the very rings that Malford had been examining the morning before, were the keys the group needed.  One step past a certain part of the passage and they passed through an invisible portal and to a dreadful set of passages, rooms and halls beneath a ruined temple.  Not that they knew that, of course.Almost immediately as the group moved along they encountered a room full of guards.  These were dispatched handily, and Charlotte frowned at the strange symbols they bore.  “Evil cultists,” she muttered, distaste evident in her voice.Lochenvare grinned.  “Whatever, as long as we get to kill ‘em.”  She grimaced at him.The band of adventurers tore through several more rooms of guards with ease.  The bandits they faced, used to bullying peasants and halflings, were no match for a band of ogre-slaying adventurers.  Charlotte’s holy wrath terrified the guards; and the expression of lust on Lochenvare’s face as he cut through them almost broke more than one band of guards.  But whatever fear they felt of him was not enough to break the hold of the terror they felt of their masters; and the guards fought to the death.Numerous minor wounds and cuts were on the party by this time; their major wounds had already been healed by Dexter’s relatively new clerical talents to bruises and abrasions.  Nonetheless, nearly out of spells, they retired back to the surface (again unknowingly passing through the portal) and rested up for a couple of days.  Then they descended again to do more of the same.  They found ample evidence that this place, whatever it was, had once thrived with more activity.  Abandoned armories, occasional rotten stores of food, thick layers of dust and cobwebs- all swore to the fact that once, this place had been much more thickly inhabited.  Then the group ran into a room hosting a pair of gnolls, led by a dazzlingly handsome man in full plate and shield embossed with a scarlet flame.  His green eyes burned with the intensity of the mad.  The room was smoky with the vapor from a dozen braziers that burned.  At one end of the chamber was a huge pit of blazing flame.  “There!” the fire cultist screamed.  “Get them!” –and the gnolls raced forward to engage our heroes.While the party dealt with his lackeys, the evil elementalist priest- for so he was- cast a fire shield.   Then he turned to the great pit of fire and began raving weird nonsense-sounding syllables.  And the fire seemed to respond- a great serpent of fire started to emerge!Our heroes by this time were ready for the cultist, however.  Malford warned the others, “Don’t hit him directly!  That fire shield will burn you if you do!”“Then what am I supposed to do?” growled Lochenvare, waving his cutlass threateningly as the elementalist drew his mace and moved in to attack.  Lochenvare parried, then grinned as a series of arrows and stones whacked the man.  “You fools!” the elementalist raved.  “The element of fire will consume you all!”The serpent of fire lashed out, grabbing Lochenvare.  He yelled as it drew him into its blazing coils.“Uh-oh,” muttered Dexter, and lashed out with his staff of combat despite the dangers of the fire shield.Clunk!“Stoneskins,” groaned Malford.*The party danced with the elementalist, throwing things, shooting arrows, casting spells (Burning hands probably won’t work too well against this guy, Malford thought ironically).It was a difficult battle.  Lochenvare struggled to free himself from the constricting tendril of fire, and Malford managed to dispel it and free him.  Meanwhile Lady Charlotte fired her crossbow at the foe again and again while Dexter drew him on about the chamber.  Hmm, Malford thought desperately, what if he isn’t warded against fire?  His fire shield looks to ward against cold- which is logical- but...Desperate, he sprang close to the man and cast his burning hands at him.Rubis- the elementalist in question- gave out a yell of pain.  Gotcha! thought Malford.  Then, suddenly, there was a terrible explosion.  Malford threw himself flat, avoiding the worst of the blast, but Rubis was not so lucky.  He had worn a flask of oil of fiery burning and it had been caught by the spell; he could not survive that.The party backed off while his body blazed.  When it finally burned out, they searched his remains and found that a pair of potions had somehow survived (not so a few other items).  They took them and, badly wounded, retired.On their way out, Lady Charlotte commented, “This place is evil to the core.”Dexter nodded.  “I can’t help but have the feeling that something bad is going to happen here.”The group, still oblivious to its existence, passed through the portal once again and returned to their camp site.Indeed, though he wouldn’t know it for another few days, Dexter was very right: something was to happen there that would change him forever.  Something terrible.*In 2e, stoneskin made you pretty well immune to a certain number of physical attacks.Next Time: What’s up with Rajah, anyway?</blockquote>

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