Temple of Elemental Evil - part 27 (session 11)
Brigit's steel-clad foot making contact with the wooden door broke the quiet. The heavy planks swung back on their hinges to reveal a room full of growling, snarling, and drooling enemies. A huge ogre stood in the doorway before Brigit and Jeremiah. A dozen bugbears, a couple of gnolls, the rogue, and a man dressed in priestly robes were in the room beyond.
Brigit attacked immediately, counting on Jeremiah to back her up. Unfortunately the priest was waiting for them. They couldn't hear him casting, but the effects were readily apparent. Jeremiah stiffened, his eyes glazed over, then he toppled backwards, frozen in mid-swing.
Milo struggled with the prone form of his friend, trying to drag him away from the range of the ogre. The huge beast was busy with the dwarf and something Mazi had conjured up. The willowy elf had cast a spell that summoned up a swarm of the subterranean temple's inhabitants to harass the ogre. Rats of all sizes scurried across its massive feet, nibbled on its massive toes, and crawled up its massive legs.
The ogre roared and stepped forward out of the swarm, taking a mass of tiny wounds from the rats in the process. This left a single narrow space for the bugbears to advance in, stemming the tide of monsters that threatened to overrun the heroes.
Brigit finished off the ogre with two quick attacks from her waraxe, then taunted the waiting bugbears, tempting them to charge into the space occupied by the squirming mass of rats. Instead they began jostling each other to get through the small space between the wall and the swarm.
Mazi could feel the priest's presence, pushing on her concentration. Her spell held but she could see the priest's own spell fizzle away. He failed to dispel her swarm of rats.
Milo moved into the space formerly occupied by his large barbarian friend and drew his axes, ready for the melee. The three standing heroes were now in a reverse "L" formation with Mazi's swarm directly in front of Brigit. This formed a small pocket in which the bugbears would drop into that all three of the heroes could attack. Unfortunately this left Mazi exposed to an attack from the latest bugbear. Her concentration was broken with the wound but she told them the swarm would last for a few more moments.
Brigit cleaved through another gnoll before freezing for a split second. Milo could see a frightened look pass over her face momentarily. Brigit's icy resolve took over and she continued to fight, but Milo could tell she was struggling now. He recognized the evil effect of another of the priest's spells.
Two more bugbears moved through the gap and attacked. Mazi took another blow while preparing to cast a different spell. She carried on valiantly while Milo tried to distract the monster. Brigit fielded a minor wound as well, shrugging off its effects but still struggling with the priest's spell.
Just then a brilliant idea hit Milo. He had the perfect way to disable the priest and he knew it was something that couldn't be countered easily. He hurriedly reached for his scrolls.
Brigit was slowly taking her toll on the bugbears, taking one out at a time. Milo glanced up to see the priest cast another spell, he held his breath in anticipation. After a few seconds he recognized that the priest was casting a protection spell on himself, a protection against good of all things! Milo let out his breath and grinned evilly. He found his scroll and cast the spell scribed upon it.
A sudden unnatural silence fell on the room. The snarling and growling of the bugbears could only be heard from the ones in the short hallway occupied by Mazi's swarm. Milo laughed and pointed at the furious priest. The robed human was opening and closing his mouth as if to speak, but no words could be heard. Milo had finally found a use for the silence spell they had found in the cursed caves.
Milo's attention was soon drawn to the battle at hand as he felt the sting of the bugbear's sword. He bounded to the left to dodge another blow. From his new angle he noticed the rogue sneak out of the room through door he hadn't explored earlier. An arrow whistled by from Mazi's bow as she tried to take out the bugbears before they could attack en masse.
He focused once again on the bugbear and attacked, between he and Brigit the bugbear joined its fallen ilk on the floor.
"Do I have to do everything today?" Milo heard Mazi say with a slight grin. She started to chant another spell. Suddenly a blast of heat washed over them as a flaming sphere appeared in the short hallway. The ball of fire slowly began to roll forward, directly into the first bugbear to step in its path. The bugbear screamed in pain as its flesh was seared. Mazi's face was a mask of concentration.
Milo finished off the burned bugbear with his axes. He then noticed that the priest had left the room as well. He wasn't surprised, it's hard to cast many spells when you can't make a sound. He grinned evilly again. Milo heard a low growl from behind him, it appeared that Jeremiah had come to and wasn't all that happy.
Just then Mazi's swarm of rats dispersed, disappearing into the cracks and nooks they emerged from. The bugbears swooped into the now empty space and attack the three adventurers. Milo dodged a blow by tumbling backwards, leaving room for Jeremiah to enter the battle. Brigit and Mazi were able to avoid the blows from their attackers as well.
Mazi directed her sphere into another one of the bugbears, the acrid smell of burnt fur and flesh filled the room. Jeremiah jumped into the fight, slashing his greatsword at the bugbears in the tight confines of the hallway. He traded blows with one particularly ugly and large bugbear that hadn't felt the flames of Mazi's spell.
The rest of the bugbears and the two gnolls fled the room through the doorway Milo had gone through before. "Cowards!" Milo shouted after them.
Brigit, Mazi, and Jeremiah took out the last four bugbears that remained. Mazi's sphere burned into the last bugbear, dropping him as it fizzled out of existence.
"After the rogue! Let's take him out before we go after the priest!" Milo shouted.
The four heroes climbed past the bodies of the bugbears and ogre and ran into the room the rogue entered. Their running footsteps didn't make a sound as soon as they passed the hallway.
The room was empty of occupants. More disconcerting was the lack of another apparent exit. It was a small room, a rug and a table sat in the middle. On the table was exactly what Milo was afraid of, an empty chest.
He cursed under his breath, "It's always the cowards that get away with the treasure."
An ewer and a cup sat beside the chest, but nothing of value could be found in the room. Convinced that the rogue had used some sort of secret exit, Milo set about searching the room thoroughly. He knew the time he took allowed their enemies to flee farther and possibly elude them altogether, but he was set on finding the rogue and taking him down.
All four of them set about searching for another exit, but no one could find anything. The walls were just as they appeared, walls. Milo cursed again. He concentrated for a moment then spoke his magic detection cantrip. Nothing in the room showed magic, but to his surprise the gear they took from the other rogue glowed with enchantments, even his coinpurse. Milo filed that away for future consideration.
"Let's check the other door, maybe we can still catch the rest of the group." Mazi suggested.
The other room was empty as well. It appeared to be a small bedroom of sorts. A bed was pushed up against the left-hand wall and a small table was set next to it. They left the room for later and charged through the door on the other side.
The next room was a bit larger, but no less empty of inhabitants. An alcove was set in the wall to the north and another door led to the south. It was closed, which prompted them to be cautious.
It was Milo who broke the silence, "Since when has the threat of certain ambush stopped us before? Let's go."
Brigit grinned and barged through the door. A passage led to the east, jagged to the south, then led to the east again. The passage emptied into a huge hall, stretching to the east. The obligatory skeletons and bones were scattered all over. Torn and frayed tapestries depicting unholy acts and battle scenes adorned the walls. Grisly war trophies and weapons laid all about as well. Long tables were set down the hall, indicating the room's purpose as a banquet hall.
Once again they were disappointed in their search for the fleeing monsters and humans. There were many exits from the room, too many to search quickly. Milo stood next to one close by, leading to the south. He could hear noises echoing from a far distance, but nothing that he could make out as fleeing feet or preparations for another attack.
Disappointed, he turned to his companions, "I think they've lost us."
"Aye, Ah'm sorry Milo. Ah know ya wanted ta catch tha priest an' tha rogue, but Ah don' think we're gonna find em this way." Brigit said.
"I think you're right Brigit. Let's go back and check the rooms we skipped." Milo agreed dishearteningly.
The room with the alcove had some broken furniture, an intact table, and nothing of value.
"If there was anything in here, they took it as the fled. Cowards." said Milo.
The small bedroom leading into the alcove room was similarly picked over. The only room with anything to speak of was the one they had fought in. By the time they returned Milo's silence spell had worn off. He set about searching the room, especially the fountain, for any secrets.
Milo found beer in the mugs on the table, old clothes in a wardrobe in the corner, and useless maps and notes scattered about, but nothing of value. The others had found a green drape on the ogre as well as three silver hairpins set with pearls in its ratty hair. The other corpses carried some coins but not much else.
"I'll take the hairpins!" spoke Mazi.
"But they were in that thing's ha-" Milo began.
"They'll wash!" Mazi said quickly, cutting Milo off.
Milo grinned and shrugged, "Ever the practical one, Mazi."
"Let's check tha other side 'O that secret passage." Brigit said, "Mebbe they weren't able ta clean that out."
They returned to the passage that started the long battle and peered down the eastern branch. The hallway turned to the left then to the right again before ending in a blank wall. A door was set to the east.
The door was barred on their side and had an opening set at eye level for a human. Jeremiah peered in but the other side was covered with a heavy curtain.
"Not another medusa, do ya suppose?' Brigit asked, not eager for a repeat of her last encounter with one of the snake-haired monsters.
"We'll just be extra careful if it is, this time." said Mazi.
Brigit's worries were laid to rest as they saw what lay beyond the door. The room was stacked with old furniture, wall hangings, and rugs. Another door led from the other side of the room, into the other hallway from the spiral staircase according to Mazi's map. There were a few wardrobes full of various types of clothing. Everything from lordly robes to street urchin's rags could be found in the wardrobes.
"Now why do you think this would be here?" Milo asked.
"I can only think of one thing," responded Mazi.
"Aye, me too." Brigit said.
"Disguises!" all three of them said together.
"I'm feeling a bit vindictive," Milo said after a few moments. "Shall we leave our cowardly friends with a parting gift?"
"What do ya have in mind Milo?" asked Brigit.
"Well it involves a healthy amount of flames and a lot of smoke." Milo's lips curved up into a mischievous grin.
"Milo!" Mazi said in a shocked tone, "You wouldn't!"
"Watch me," he answered.
Milo had a makeshift firebomb constructed out of his lantern oil in seconds. The others were waiting outside the far door as Milo lobbed the bomb directly into one of the wardrobes. The old wood burst into flames, which were soon spread to the furniture stacked next to it. Milo left the room while brushing off his hands.
"Well, shall we go? he asked nonchalantly.
Ask Frog about that. Here's an example:
We'll see how things progress from here.
