Temple of Elemental Evil - part 58 (session 26)
After a day of identifying items, Mazi gleefully waved her new wand of lightning bolt above her head. She took a few seconds to rattle off the other magic items but was obviously more interested in her new toy. There was an enchanted hammer, stronger than their other magic warhammer. Brigit happily hefted the weighty weapon, eager to deal even more damage than before. The crossbow with no string turned out to be a crossbow of speed. Milo perked up considerably upon hearing that.
"Ach, the thing's got no strings. We'll sell it mayhap." Brigit said.
"Uh uh, you're not selling my crossbow!" Milo said vehemently.
"Okay, okay. Yeesh Milo, quick ta claim tha', weren't ya?"
"Anyone else use a crossbow? No? Then no one will have a problem with me hanging on to this one, right?" Milo said, slipping the defunct weapon into his bag of holding
"Nah, jus' thought it'd be more trouble than it's worth ta get tha thing fixed." Brigit said.
The other items were split among the group before they headed back into the temple. Once inside, they made a beeline for the troll room and it's sloping passage. That morning Milo and the others agreed that they needed to clear out the current level of the temple quickly so they could move on to the next, and hopefully last. An increased sense of urgency seemed to spread among the four friends. Perhaps it was the continued absence of Brigit's father or the imminent revival of the ancient evil buried under the temple. Milo wasn't sure about the others, but his anxiousness stemmed from the urgent summons by his deity, Usamigaras. He hoped they would soon be finished with the temple and Brigit's quest.
The room was as they left it; charred remains of the trolls tarnished the smooth, polished floor near the corner room. They had explored all five doors and found that four led to identical rooms. The fifth was the focus of their attention. The passage sloped down to a large chamber, at least twenty-five paces to each side.
The first thing Milo noticed was the two-headed giant in the far corner. The strange beast noticed them as well. Both heads split into twin toothy grins at the sight of fresh meat. The ettin grabbed its two clubs and began stomping towards the adventurers. Milo only had a few seconds to take in his environment before the giant was upon them.
A large fire pit dominated the room. Dangling above the pit were thick, heavy chains. At the end of one hung a large iron pot, presumably the ettin's dinner. There were four doors that led from the room in addition to their entrance. Two doors were set in the north wall and two in the east wall opposite from their passage. Another passage led out from the southeast corner. An especially strange feature of the room was the multiple eyebolts set throughout the chamber, each with a heavy iron chain that reached the floor at least.
Milo had no more time to devote to the details of the room as the ettin covered the ground between itself and the adventurers in a matter of seconds. The huge two-headed monster stopped short of their reach but swung one of its clubs easily into Brigit's smaller frame. She was slammed to the side from the blow but shook her head clear and glared up at the ettin.
A plan came to Milo. If he could summon a creature behind the ettin, he could tumble in and take out a few chunks with his axes while it was distracted. Milo quickly cast his most powerful summon spell. A small creature with pebbly, loose skin suddenly popped into existence behind the ettin. The xorn had three oddly placed clawed arms and a mouth as wide as its body. It immediately attacked the ettin, clawing and biting for all it was worth. The giant's thick skin protected it from all but the strongest of its blows.
Slightly surprised by the addition of the xorn, Brigit counterattacked anyway. Her axes rose and fell with a wicked rhythm. Mazi matched her blows with two arrows from behind, both piercing the ettin's shoulders. The great two-headed monster roared with twin voices.
Those voices were soon cut short. Jeremiah stepped into the ettin's range carefully then swung his sword with a vicious passion. The ettin crumpled on Jer's sword with a gurgle from both throats. Its heavy clubs clattered loudly, sending a reverberating echo in the large chamber.
Milo's summoned xorn disappeared a minute later. Milo shrugged. He stood next the thick ettin's corpse. He didn't even need to bend down to reach its belt. There was a sack tied to the wide band of leather. Milo untied the bag and emptied its contents one piece at a time. A hefty amount of gold pieces as well as a couple dozen semi-precious stones. Near the bottom Milo fished out a box of incense. The fragrant smell of the incense wafted from the box. Milo couldn't figure out why an ettin would be carrying around something as obscure as incense. He cast a quick detect magic cantrip and concentrated on the box. As he suspected, the incense glowed with the distinct aura of magic.
"Looks like our giant friend here had a liking for magic incense." Milo told the others.
"Magic incense? Who woulda wanted ta enchant that stinky stuff?" Brigit scoffed.
"I don't know, but I'm sure Mazi can tell us when we have time to rest. For now, let's check out these doors." Milo said.
The doors were composed of rusted iron. The pocked metal looked extremely old. Milo hoped they weren't locked or stuck. The first door they investigated, in the northwest of the room, was indeed locked. Milo peered into the lock and noted the same disuse that marked the doors themselves. He despaired of his lock picking tools having any chance of moving the rusted tumblers.
"How about those keys we found?" Mazi said.
Milo struck his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Of course! I'm so used to never having a key for any lock we come across that I didn't even think of it."
He drew one of the four keys they had found in the four troll chambers and tried the lock. The key fit the keyhole perfectly, but no matter how much he strained, it wouldn't turn. He tried the next key, and the next, and finally the last. He felt a small amount of give when he tried to turn the fourth key. This one seemed to work. He twisted the key as hard as he dared, worried of breaking their only hope of seeing what was beyond the mysterious iron doors. Eventually, the lock opened with a loud creak. Milo let out his breath and opened the door with an even louder creak.
The passage beyond led around a bend before ending in stairs leading up. The flight of steps was small, not quite enough stairs to reach the upper floor. They were curious to see where it went. The stairs led to a winding passage that eventually led them back to their original entrance to the third level. They recognized the area from the laboratories and the reliquary.
"There's nothing for us here." Milo said.
"Aye, let's go back down an' see what tha other doors're hidin'." Brigit agreed.
Milo found the right key for the northeast door on the first try. The key turned after some effort and the door swung open on rusty hinges. Another set of stairs led up after the corridor jogged to the right. The corridor continued past the top of the stairs to another bend. One hallway broke off to the right before the bend, which they left for later. The hallway emptied into a small chamber with another passage leading out on the opposite side. The room seemed to be an antechamber of sorts that led into another room behind a door to the north. There was a fountain on the south wall as well. Snarling, horrid, stone faces vomited scummy water into a fungus-lined basin. The room reeked of the putrid water.
They decided to check into the room before checking the rest of the passage. Milo declared the door safe after a few moments of searching. Brigit reared back and kicked the door in. Mazi shook her head at the headstrong dwarf. The door led into a short passage. The hallway emptied into a luxurious room. Thick carpet lined the floor from wall to wall. A curio cabinet at the other end of the room displayed mummified body parts and stone carvings of beings performing immoral acts. The room was lined with ornate candelabras and wall sconces. The sconces were placed between intricately woven tapestries depicting the usual nastiness. A huge bed dominated the room; it's four wooden posts reaching to the ceiling. There were a couple of low tables, one with comfortable lounging couches and the other with padded chairs. To the right was a large folding screen with more scenes of nastiness painted across its pleated surface. A wardrobe, dressing table and pillowed stool sat next to the screen.
All of this was secondary to Milo. What he noticed first and what kept his attention was the body on the floor. It was elf-sized and shaped. A fine dagger was protruding from the body, which lay face down on the thick carpet. The former elf was clutching a stone in one hand and the carpet in the other, obviously dying in a lot of pain. Its clothes were of the finest craftsmanship, if out of date. None of this concerned Milo though. What concerned him was the state of the body. The skin was taught on the elf's bones, mummified. Milo hated undead, really. The thought of an elf mummy sent shivers down his spine. The mummified remains in the cabinet made him worry that this body on the floor was maybe even a collector, mummifying pieces of its victims to keep for grisly trophies. A dread sense of fear settled over him like a heavy cloak.
It was then that he heard the screaming.
