Endur's Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

[Thanee]

Lenya

“We will see enough wounds before this is over, no need to also imagine them,” Lenya comments. “But I'm glad that you know so much about tending wounds, who knows what would happen with those infectuous wounds otherwise.”

She then puts the food back into the pack, since the cat doesn't seem to be hungry.

 

[Seonaid]

Toriah makes a silly face at the cat, sure she can understand them, and then turns to Craven and Belaver. "Will ev'rythin' be okay?"

 

[Xael]

Glancing at Toriah and then at the cat, Lylamwyn mumbles aloud. "Dogs have owners, cats have staff."

 

[Pyrex]

Raner Bluestone, Ftr 3, 16/32 hp

Belaver mutters "The food should be fine,"

"Well then, no sense letting it go to waste." Seeing as they're setting up camp for the evening anyway, Raner goes about preparing an evening meal from Chet's pack, making sure everyone gets a plate.

 

[Xael]

"Well then, no sense letting it go to waste." Seeing as they're setting up camp for the evening anyway, Raner goes about preparing an evening meal from Chet's pack, making sure everyone gets a plate.

Lylamwyn seems to be perfectly happy with his trail rations. "He said should...", he mumbles under his breath.

 

[Dalamar]

"Come on. You don't trust the druid to know his food stuff?"
Of course, Kerwyn's opinion might be biased by the fact that he doesn't have any food of his own.

 

[Seonaid]

Toriah watches surreptitiously as the others eat before digging in himself. "Than's, Raner," he says around a mouthful of grub.

 

[Endur]

The watches pass uneventfully. Strange noises in the distance, the occassional footsteps, howls, and other strange noises. Appearently the other denizens of the Moathouse have no interest in interacting with the party.

Dinner in the torture chamber is almost pleasant, although its hard to avoid the realization that your former party member Chat is attending a meal of a different sort at the other end of the chute.

Craven dreams ...

Craven tosses and turns in a fevered sleep. He dreams of the ghouls and Chat. Four ghouls devour the staked headless body of Chat while the fifth ghoul gnaws on one of Chat's ears. Horror sets in as you realize the 5th ghoul looks like a yellow skin and bones, hairless version of yourself.

Resistance and Desperation sets in. This must not happen.

An old man wearing the robes of the Order of the Billet in the Temple of St. Cuthbert stands beside you, looking at the ghouls.

"A curse is what you make of it. Some give into the curse. They let it control them.
"Others resist. They prove it has no power over them.
"All your life you have wrestled against the curse of the Orc Shaman.
"And you have proven your bravery against Dragons, Undead, and Evil cults."


The dream ends.

When Craven wakes in the morning, he is no longer suffering the effects of Ghoul Fever.

The party heals up and is ready to continue adventuring without further incident.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

*When Craven wakes in the morning he is in a positively cheerful frame of mind, despite the fact he has spent the night on the floor of a torture chamber while ghouls gnawed on the body of a traitor below. Some of the tension that had been present in his face since he started out for the Moathouse is gone, and he goes about his morning prayers and fighting exercises with more aplomb than usual. He prays over the bodies of the two fallen before breaking his fast with the others.*

"I could use some suggestions. It was mentioned yesterday that we should make use of Spugnoir's items to be certain of our own survival while we clear out the Moathouse, then return them to his family. I wanted to balk at that, but it is very obvious we will need every edge Heaven can grant us, even the possessions of a dead comrade. So I agree, let us use Spugnoir's items with respect and care, then return them when our task is done.

"Secondly, we need to find a way to protect Spugnoir's and Redithidoor's bodies until we're able to clear a way back to the surface so we can bury them. I don't want them eaten by ghouls or scattered by animals. Do you think there is enough heavy debris and objects to make a carin of some sort so that they'll be safe? Or does anyone have a different suggestion?" Craven asks.

 

[Thanee]

Lenya

“We could leave them near the top of the stairs. They won't dare getting out there, I suppose, since they should know about the dragon as well, judging from the corpses outside.”