Endur's Return to TOEE part 2


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As Torn steps into the boats, she notices three small bags of coins in the boat. Opening one of the bags, she sees platinum coins stamped with a hammer and anvil (approximately 50 platinum pieces per bag).

Alien thoughts enter the party member's minds,

"Bribe Provided
Must Avoid Suspician
Three Groups of Guards Must Pass"


The woman falls beneath the waves once more as the other party members enter the boats.
 
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Lenya

“I couldn't provide a better plan, so let's see how this works out,” Lenya says as she enters the boat, invoking her powers and the Dark One's Own Luck to strengthen her mental resilience after the encounter in the second temple, where she really lost her mind for a short while.
 
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A woman in black robes with her cowl pulled up over her head, disguising her face, enters a well-decorated office, lit by lanterns. An older, balding man with a goatee sits behind the desk, reading a scroll.

The woman speaks,
"Master, with the Earth and Air Temples destroyed and both the West Gate and South Gate captured, and the dwarves back in the mines, I think its time to pay serious attention to the Crater Ridge Mines. I think we should coordinate our actions closely with our surviving minions in the Fire and Water Temples, invite them into the Fane for their safety, and strike out and destroy the dwarves."


The man laughs, in a sarcastic manner.

"Please. Keep in mind that the last thing I want is regular visits from these dirtbag, ignorant peons cluttering up the Fane. So I don't want to make it easy for them to show up on my doorstep. I like keeping the Gates locked and listening to their pathetic screams when they can't even defeat a dwarf or two.

"In fact, I don't want to hear from you at all. If there is something that needs my attention - trust me, I already know about it. I have a prophet who works for me, remember?

"So don't drag your grubby little butt all the way over to the Fane just to interrupt my Important Plans and whine about how some high-minded band of halflings waltzed into the pathetic little earth temple and cudgeled the stinky reptilian mooks in the kneecaps.

"I don't care, because if I needed to care, I'd already know about it.

"Get it?

"So send me a letter. You're literate, right? You know how to make marky-marky on papey-papey? Great. Go write up a report, every week.

"Address it to Hedrack. That's H-E-D... Wait. No, no. Address it to VARACHAN. That V-A-R-ackin. He'll make sure all of your oh-so-important and dire missives come to my immediate attention.

"Now get outta here, I have a Champion to find. Where did I put that mirror..."
 
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As Craven steps into the boats, he ponders the wisdom of their current course.

He did not sense evil from the woman, if woman she truly was. And yet, she did not feel good either. Her thoughts were strange. Could anything in this foul place be other than evil?

Craven's thoughts drift back to the ceremonies and rites he went through before he was admited to see the Holy Chalice of the Order.

After drinking from the chalice and meditating, he had a dream.

The sun was rising and a far away voice spoke.

"Those with blackened hearts
Can find the light once more
selfless acts are the key
Before the battle draws nigh
And death will be the cost
give what has been forgotten
And believed to be lost"


Could this attack on the Fire Temple be what the voice spoke of? Or are those events yet to come? Craven continued to ponder while rowing the boat.

Above the lake, a storm raged and flung lighning bolts. The Storm does not block the night sky and you can see the stars above. Occassional rain drops fell onto the boat, but not as many as you would expect considering the violence of the storm. Belaver feels that the storm is unnaturally small and centered above the middle of the lake, where the Island of Evil sits.

As they row across the lake, their way lit by the flashes of ligtning and stars above, the party can from time to time see the Strange Woman appear, guiding your course for a moment, then disappearing.

After several minutes of rowing, the party arrives at a bridge. The party ties the boat to the bridge with rope and climbs off the boat onto the Earth Bridge.

The unseen Woman's thoughts echo in your mind.
"Travel Right
Bribe Human Guards
Go to T intersection and turn right
Bribe Trolls and pass through door on right
Bribe Ogres and turn left
Two Hundred Steps
Slay Fire Guards
Open Doors to Fire Temple
Destroy Altar, Slay Priestess, All Done"



After taking precautions, the disguised party walks along the bridge until they reach a pair of heavy wooden gates, bound in iron. After knocking on the gates, they hear the sounds of bars being removed and the gates swing inward.

On the other side of the double doors is a large 40' by 40' chamber with two exits, one opposite the double doors that leads to a T intersection and one exit to the right. The large chamber has light grey plaster covering the walls, peeling and chipped in places. A fresco on the southwest wall shows hooded figures with torches riding galloping horses. Another on the northeast wall depicts a grisly scene of human sacrifice and creatures -- possibly bugbears -- dancing around a fire. In the western portion of the wall, eight human warriors armed with crossbows and wearing heavy armor have gathered to accept your bribe.

The warriors ask no questions after they are paid and even avoid looking at your faces, as if they do not want to know who is passing them by.

The chamber is dank and fetid and occupied by several Trolls that remind Lenya of Slaazh.. Three straw mats are near the west wall, and the rest of the floor is covered by broken, gnawed bones. The plaster on teh walls has been clawed off. One of the trolls sniffs the air and drool drips out of his mouth, but the party moves on quickly past the trolls.

After passing through the next door, they enter a 20' by 60' room occupied by a pair of Ogres and four gnolls. The Ogres happily accept their bribe money and otherwise ignore the party.

The party turns to the left and walks through several unoccupied caverns.

In a 40' by 20' cave, a strange stone statue mounted on stone wheels stands near the middle of this room. The statue once portrayed a large horsehead mounted on a solid square block, the whole thing being ten feet high and six feet wide. Now it is smashed and marred, its features only barely discernable. Its pieces lie in rubble all around it, as if it were long ago smashed by weapons. Mixed with the stones are numerous bones, broken weapons, and rusted armor pieces. Lylamwyn thinks that this might once have been a magically animated Juggernaut before it was destroyed in some past battle, months or years ago.

The next 40' by 20' cave is unremarkable except that the dark stone of the floor is worked smooth and a large diamond shape is worked into its surface, the carved outline filled with reddish iron. A bit of broken chain lies in the western side of the room. There are two exits from the room, one in the direction that the Fire Temple must lie and the other exit leads to a cave from which you hear a dripping sound.

(Search DC 28 Glyph of Warding magical trap: Kerwyn's search check 4+12=16, Toriah's search check 3+4=7, neither saw it; DC 18 reflex save; Kerwyn reflex save 20+, Toriah reflex save 6+9=15 fails; Kerwyn dmg 18; Toriah dmg 37)

Flames burst out of the ground onto the front row of the party, burning Kerwyn and Toriah severely. The flames nearly consume poor Toriah.

One hundred twenty feet away are the great brass doors that lead to the Fire Temple, but even closer, from inbetween you and the doors and around a corner, you hear the sounds of a dog beginning to bark.
 

Round 1:
21: Torn casts Magic Circle Against Evil on herself, protecting all party members within a ten foot radius
13: Lylamwyn casts Enlarge Person on Raner, making Raner larger and more powerful
11: Belaver (Brown Bear, Barkskin +3 ac) heals Toriah (Cure Moderate Wounds for 18)
11: Neshi (Barkskin +3 ac) growls
10: Raner (Enlarged, cursed: -4 to attack rolls, saves, ability checks) moves to the front of the party
9: Kerwyn (-18) casts Shield upon himself
7: Toriah (-19) drinks a potion of Cure Light Wounds (healing 6)
7: Hound with reddish fur and red eyes and black muzzle runs around the corner into view of the party. It moves to within twenty feet of the party and stops barking when it sees the cultist symbols and cloaks that the party wears.
6: Lenya casts Shield upon herself with her wand
3: Two Serpentine Humanoids slither around the corner behind the Hound. Red and Black scales cover their bodies. Flame-shaped spines sprout from their back, arms, and head. They carry spears made entirely of iron and are thirty feet from the party.
1: Craven casts Bless Weapon on his Warhammer and moves to the front of the party
 
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Amazed that their disguise has worked as well as it has Raner shakes his head as the dog starts barking. "I knew this couldn't end well."

Raner readies his axe & shield; worried about just what sort of hellspawn the barking dog is going to turn out to be.
 

Craven and Lylamwyn recognize that the red hound fits the description of a fiery creature from the lower planes known as a Hell Hound that is capable of breathing fire. Lylamwyn recognizes that the Serpentine creatures look like creatures described as Salamanders, more evil fire outsiders.

Round 2:
21: Torn (Magic Circle Against Evil ) casts Silence on one of the Salamanders (will save 2+8=10 failed)
13: Lylamwyn casts Magic Missile at the Hell Hound (dmg 9)
11: Belaver (Brown Bear, Barkskin +3 ac) charges the Hell Hound (13+14+2=20 hit, dmg 15, improved grab 7+19, Hell Hound is grappled and unconscious)
11: Neshi (Barkskin +3 ac) charges and bites the Hell Hound, slaying the hound (6+7+2=15 hit, dmg 8)
10: Raner (Enlarged, cursed: -4 to attack rolls, saves, ability checks) drops his shield and moves and attacks a Salamander, swinging his axe in two hands (13+13-4-4PA=18 hit, dmg 12 + 8 PA + 6 Str +1 magic +2 specialization = 29)
9: Kerwyn (-18, Shield, cursed) drinks a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (healing 11)
7: Toriah (-13) charges a Salamander, but is impaled on a spear and misses with his rapier (Spear AOO: 13+11=24 vs. AC 23 hit, dmg 14; rapier 5+7+2=14 miss)
6: Lenya (Shield) summons a Stone hand to grasp a Salamander
6: Stony Grasp (ac 18, hardness 8, hp 32) attempts to grab a Salamander (touch attack 7+12=17 success, AOO: 2+11=13 miss, opposed grapple check: 2+12 vs. 16+11, Salamander escapes Stony Grasp)
3: Two Silent Salamanders (-29, -4) armed with iron spears. The one facing Toriah steps back and impales Toriah, slaying him, and spearing and tail slapping Raner (PA5: 18+11-5=24 hit, dmg 23 Toriah is dead, Cleave 14+11-5=20 hit, dmg 27, 18+6-5=19 barely misses Raner, 17+9-5=21 hit, dmg 18, improved grab grapple attempt 15+11=26 vs.13+16-4=25, Raner is grappled, constriction damage 11). The other Salamander spears Raner (PA5: 7+11-5=13 miss, 19+6-5=20 hit, dmg 15, 11+9-5=15 miss).
1: Craven (Bless Weapon ) drops his shield and charges the Salamander that killed Toriah, calling upon St. Cuthbert to avenge Toriah (2 handed PA for 8, Spear AOO: 6+11-5=12 vs. AC 19-2=17 miss, Smite Evil, 14+13+2+1-8=22 hit, dmg 5+8 smite +16 pa +2 magic +3 str=34)
 
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