Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 37 (session 15)

Mazi noted a portion of their map that indicated a door near the prison that held her friends. They decided to check that area out before venturing back into the Water Temple. Milo was careful to check for any more traps like the one that exploded on Brigit and Jeremiah. They ran across no more glyphs on the way to the prison block. The door they marked opened into a long changing room. Empty wardrobes and armoires lined the east wall.

"Quite a walk for a changing room, Mazi." Milo said sarcastically.

Mazi ignored his tone as she walked to the end of the room. "Something doesn't feel quite right over here."

Sarcasm or no, Milo trusted in her innate sense to find hidden portals. It appealed to his 'inquisitive' nature. He joined her at the south end of the room where Mazi was examining the wall. An especially large wardrobe towered above them, taking up most of the wall. Milo peaked inside and noticed one of the hooks was crooked and seemed to be loose.

"Mazi, will you pull that hook, it's a little too high up for me." Milo asked.

"Sure thing, 'little man'." she laughed as she reached for the hook.

The back wall of the wardrobe swung out, revealing a room with two exits to the south. Brigit and Jeremiah were soon with them as they entered the large room. Tables much bigger than any human used were set in the middle of the room. A gurgling fountain circulated the water in a pool to the right of the entrance and a warm fireplace lit the room from the southern wall. Five very surprised bugbears wearing short red capes sat at the table where they had been picking at a haunch of cold meat.

Two were cut down where they sat by a lightning fast attack from Brigit, Mazi, and Milo. The other three sprung from their seats, one shouted an alarm in their growling language. Jeremiah dashed in and cut the shouting bugbear down. His sword wounded another that was soon brought down by one of Mazi's arrows. Brigit finished off the last bugbear before it could turn from Jer.

They stood still for a moment, waiting for a response to the alarm. All they could hear was a scritching sound growing louder from the southwest passage. They hurriedly employed the bugbear's tactic by dumping over the table and drawing their ranged weapons from behind the makeshift barricade. The sounds grew louder as whatever was making them drew closer.

The scritching was soon revealed to be the wiry bristles of a huge spider's eight feet. The bulbous body of the spider hovered into view from the passageway. It's many eyes searched for its prey. As one the adventurers looses their arrows and bolts. The spider couldn't withstand the barrage. The spider crumpled in a heap of legs and green ichor. After a few seconds it began to shrink. In moments a small, dead spider lay in the middle of a jumble of arrows. Brigit walked to the spider and stamped down with her metal-clad foot for 'good measure'.

They listened down the hall for any more approaching sounds. After a full five minutes of silence they went about searching the room. Brigit got down to her usual business of dismembering the corpses after the others divested them of a few coins found in pockets and pouches.

When they were ready to move on Milo led the way down the southwest passage. After a few feet it ended in a closed door. Taking a deep breath, Milo cast a magic circle against evil before they entered the next room. The adventurers found themselves in a small room with another door to the south. There was a writing table with some blank parchment as well as a chest in the corner. Before Milo could move to investigate they all heard some shuffling coming from behind the door.

Brigit and Jeremiah were through the door before Milo could object. Mazi and Milo followed behind just in time to see a glowing glyph explode into their friends. Brigit and Jeremiah managed to jump back enough to minimize their exposure. They didn't have a chance to recover as all four were then blasted with another spell. Another explosion rocked the room and burned them all. Brigit then stood stock still, a look of anger and fear plastered on her frozen face. Milo could tell a hold person spell when he saw one. He growled at the situation and their lack of tactics.

Two human priests populated the room they had blundered into, more than prepared for battle. Milo took in the room quickly. The floor was covered in thick carpet. Tapestries adorned the walls depicting the usual grotesque scenes of the elemental evils. The ceiling was painted with murals of demons and humans engaged in lewd activities. A table with an ewer and cups sat next to the west wall along with a large box. The two clerics flanked a door leading south.

Mazi recovered first and fired off three magic missiles at the cleric to the left. The priest grunted as the glowing balls of energy slammed into him. Milo readied a spell of his own, waiting for one of the priests to try to cast. As soon as the other cleric rose his hands and began to chant Milo let loose his sound burst. A thundering boom filled the room, deafening the two clerics. The casting priest lost his spell as he flung his hands over his bleeding ears. Jeremiah moved to stand between the humans, shrugging off their attacks. He slashed into the cleric on the left who was also trying to manage another spell. The offense caught him off guard and his spell fizzled as well.

Their confidence returned, even with Brigit held. Milo moved in to attack the priest to the right with his axes. His over-confidence caused him a wound as the priest took the open opportunity to attack. Mazi swung up her hands to cast another spell. A dull orange glow grew brighter and brighter from her fingertips, forming into a flaming sphere. She sent the burning ball towards the cleric that struck Milo. One more attack from Jeremiah's greatsword sealed the other cleric's doom. He turned to survey the battle.

The other cleric took a step away from the sphere and Milo and began to cast again. Milo struggled for a few seconds with a sense of extreme dread as the priest's bestow curse failed to take hold. He stepped forward to press his attack, scoring a hit with one of his axes. Jeremiah joined him, taking an ugly wound from the cleric after his near run. The priest paid for it in kind.

As they fought the southern door swung open. A tall warrior in glittering chainmail entered. In one hand he carried a flaming longsword, the other a coiled rope. Two bugbears followed him. Jeremiah swung at them as they entered, felling one of the bugbears. The human reacted quickly, shouting a command word and tossing the rope at Milo. The halfling soon found himself struggling against the ever-tightening bonds of the rope of entanglement. He despaired as it constricted, cutting off all movement. He was no more mobile than Brigit.

Just then Brigit broke free from the effects of the hold person spell and sprung into action. She snarled as she raised her axe and charged the human. The warrior grinned and parried the incoming blow before striking with the flaming sword. The flames burst into a small fireball, exploding into Brigit! She was badly burned from the explosion as well as the exceptionally sharp blade. Milo was even more concerned than before as he struggled to escape his bonds.

Brigit recovered from the flaming attack and surged forward again, this time doing some damage of her own with Trollgrater. Mazi followed Brigit's attack with a flaming arrow spell. It was the human's turn to writhe in flames as her spell slammed into him. The fiery arrow proved too much for the warrior, he fell dead at Brigit's feet.

Jeremiah rushed to Brigit's side to fend off the last bugbear's attacks. Two slashes of their weapons brought the last foe down. Milo escaped the rope just as the bugbear died. He fumbled with his pack, trying to draw out the staff of healing for anyone that needed it before any more reinforcements arrived.

The four stood quiet, battle-ready for a few moments. They could hear no more approaching feet coming from the open door or from the way they came. Not wishing to tempt fate, they quickly looted the bodies. Milo cast detect magic to make sure they didn't leave anything important. He was amazed as he saw that not only did the rope and the flaming longsword glow, but the human's chainmail and shield as well as one of the cleric's warhammers. They gathered up the gear as well as all of the coins and gems the priests and others were carrying. The clerics and human also wore amulets with fire emblems, they didn't show as magic, but they were set with crystal clear rubies. Milo stashed them in a pouch as they left the room back the way they came.

The chest in the other room contained a vial of liquid as well as some clothes. Mazi cast detect poison on the vial, wary of a trap. Her suspicions were rewarded when she found that the draught was indeed poisoned. They left the chest and its contents to the temple. Jeremiah, Brigit, and Milo were all in sore need of healing. The party wasted no more time in leaving the temple to heal their wounds and fight another day. Milo figured that their last battle was won by luck as much as by skill.

 

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 38 (session 16)

Their next trip into the temple brought them back to the secret door leading into the Water Temple. Mere minutes ago the decision was made to finish their explorations past the watery room by the flip of a coin.

"Okay, heads for water, tails for fire." Milo said as he flipped a copper piece.

The shining coin spun in the air, reflecting the light of the sun filtering through the trees near the Temple of Elemental Evil. Milo snagged the coin mid-spin and opened his palm.

"Heads. Water Temple it is. Maybe we'll meet up with old stony." he said after viewing the coin.

"Aye, an' mebbe this time he won't run through a solid wall. Ah canna stand cowards." Brigit spat, remembering their last encounter with the head priest.

"I just don't like how much he knew about me. That and the whole 'vessel' thing." Mazi said with a chill, despite the warm morning sunlight.

Into the temple they went. Milo noted as they traveled through the depths that many of the dismembered corpses were still present. Good, he thought, I hate undead. The corpses meant no undead, but they did leave quite a stench. As if the temple wasn't repulsive before, the mess they were making was leaving an even more grotesque mark on its vile stones. Milo's musings were cut short when they reached the secret door. He stepped forward and triggered the release. The heavy stone wall swung back to reveal an empty hallway stretching to the south and a door to the east.

"We tried the door before, shall we head down the hallway this time?" suggested Milo.

"Sure, let's see where this leads." Mazi agreed. She wasn't eager to meet up with the priest quite yet.

The hallway twisted to the southeast before straightening south again. A single door stood on the west wall. The door led to another set of stairs leading down. They left the stairs for later, intent on eliminating the evil on one floor at a time. The stony passage led away from the door through many twists and turns. They eventually turned to the east again, according to Brigit's cavesense. After some time the passage led north to an intersection. It continued north while a branch led to the east. They could make out a fair sized room from their vantage point.

"Into the slaughterhouse my friends?" Milo asked good-naturedly.

"Oh aye, but not fer our slaughter." Brigit said with a malicious grin.

Just as she spoke Trollgrater hummed to life in her hands. A ruddy glow suffused the chamber, centered on the legendary waraxe. There were crates, boxes, barrels, and sacks all along the walls. A door led to the east. The room reeked of dung and spoiled meat. Brigit took a look around and spoke one word:

"Trolls"

What they thought was a pile of refuse lying in the corner suddenly shifted. A mass of warty green skin rose until the stooped figure of a troll glared at the intruders. Drool dripped off its tusks in thick strands as the thought of its next meal filtered through its mind. It stretched out its claws as Brigit's axe flamed in its full glory. Brigit's face was highlighted by the strong glow and her eyes burned much as the axe as she stared down the troll. With a scream of recognition, then rage, the troll sprung at them.

It's claws swiped down before they could get into range to bring their own weapons to bear. Luckily it appeared either the troll was dim-witted or sluggish from sleep. Brigit, Jeremiah, and Milo dodged its claws and teeth easily. They each moved in, harrowing it as they tried to surround it. Mazi fired her arrows into the melee as the others attacked. The troll screamed again as Brigit's axe cleaved through its thick skin. It was obvious that the creature was not used to the pain that the flaming Trollgrater inflicted.

Their attacks quickly wore down the large troll with Brigit's flaming weapon dealing the final blow. They paused to take account of themselves. It seemed they all made it through the fight unscathed. Brigit wasted no more time, while Trollgrater still burned she decapitated the troll and proceeded to completely dismember the beast.

The others searched the room and the containers lining the walls. All they found were rotting food, watered wine, moldy grain, and old clothes.

"They sure are fond of the threadbare here, aren't they?" Milo said as he lifted a tattered cloak from a crate with his handaxe.

"Perhaps no one has told them that it's out of style." Mazi said with a completely straight face.

"Uhm, yeah, right." Milo said, unsure whether she was serious or not.

Brigit joined them as they examined the door. It led into an antechamber of sorts, a small room with another door leading to the east. This door led into what seemed like a makeshift throne room. The walls were decorated with the bones of countless creatures, mostly humanoid. Another door led to the east. A huge throne fashioned from more bones dominated the room. Sitting in the throne was an equally huge troll. Brigit's axe flamed into new life, thirsting for the blood of its enemy. The troll grinned as it fingered its club. It was dressed head to foot in a strange bone armor. One moment it lounged on the throne and the next it lunged at Brigit.

The stout dwarf dodged its blows while she lined up her own attack. Taking careful aim, she brought down the axe right into its chest. The axe burst into a small fireball, the flames licking at the troll's horrified face. Although Trollgrater inflicted a horrible wound, it didn't seem to do as much damage as it had before.

"Its armor must be enchanted!" Milo shouted as Jeremiah swung the Windsword at the huge troll.

Milo tumbled behind the huge troll, avoiding its attacks easily with his small, lithe frame. Reft and Rend dug into the troll's exposed hamstrings, bringing it crashing down. Brigit finished it off with a vicious chop to its now accessible neck. The flames from her axe cauterized the wounds immediately and she went to work on the rest of the huge monster.

They managed to grab a couple of things off the troll before Brigit could bring her axe to bear. Mazi found a beautiful gold necklace adorned with 4 large rubies and a belt set with 4 large emeralds. On a whim Milo sat back and cast detect magic. He could see two glowing objects in the room, but was surprised to find that neither of them were what they had already found. One was the ring on the troll's dismembered hand, the other a diffuse glow under some rags. He struggled removing the ring from the thick finger of the troll before pocketing for later identification. The glow under the rags turned out to be a vial of liquid, some potion of sorts. He tossed it to Brigit for safekeeping until it too could be identified.

Listening to the door Milo could make out some guttural growls and other troll-like sounds. Trollgrater seemed to growl back. The door opened into a large chamber with a passage leading out from the northeast. More boxes, crates, barrels, and sacks were piled around the room. A lone troll wielding a trident stood near the exit, growling in their direction.

The warriors arrayed themselves before the troll, waiting for it to make the first move. Brigit's axe lent an orange cast on the scene, four adventurers with weapons at the ready and a lone snarling troll. A dim thought seemed to occur to the beast as it stood, leaning forward, then back. Finally it seemed to make up its mind: it ran.

"Bugger! Every time!" Brigit shouted as she stood from her battle crouch.

"Hang on, before you give chase let me pump up your defenses." Milo said, prepared just for such an occasion.

Three shields of faith on Jer, Mazi, and Milo later and a short jog out of the chamber led them to a north-south passage. They could hear noises coming from the north, more than just a single troll this time though. Milo was glad he took the time to cast. The passage led to a huge circular chamber. A great post rose from the center with a sturdy iron ring at the top. Chained to the ring was a seven-headed beast, slavering at the end of its reach for the entrance to the chamber. The troll that ran away was at the other end. It had obviously skirted the edge and stood waiting to see how the adventurers dealt with this obstacle before it fled out the exit to the west.

"Hydra, just pray it doesn't grow back heads like the ones I've heard of." Mazi said.

"Let's see if I can't soften it up for you guys, plug your ears!" Milo said before chanting a quick spell.

A thunderous boom echoed from in-between the hydra and troll as Milo finished casting his sound burst. The troll was stunned but the sound only seemed to anger the hydra. Mazi made to cast her own spell but was impeded by her armor. The arcane magiks swirled around her fingers before sputtering to nothing. Jeremiah cautious approached the hydra, trying to bring his sword to bear. Brigit decided to sheath her axe for now, hoping to do more damage at a distance with her bow. She let out a frustrated growl when she lost grip of the heavy composite bow on the first loosing.

Out of offensive spells, Milo tumbled towards the hydra, hoping to avoid any heads looking his way. His maneuver drew attention from one of the hydra's heads but he was able to avoid its lunging teeth. The other six heads were busy attacking Jeremiah. His armor and sword fended off all but a small nick. By then Brigit had moved in with her axe, dealing major damage with the still burning weapon.

The troll recovered and lurched for the nearest enemy, Milo. He saw blood trickling from its hairy ears. Milo took a quick swipe at the beast as it moved in but took two heavy wounds from its trident in return. He thought twice about tangling hand-to-hand with the troll. Mazi tried another spell, this time succeeding in her ritual. The now familiar sticky strands of her arcane web sprang into existence around the hydra and troll. Mazi's expert casting ended the web right between Milo and the troll. The hydra took a second to stomp the web out of its way. Its seven heads whipped about, tearing the web around it. Mazi shrugged and drew up her bow.

Milo felt a little more confident in fighting the now trapped troll. He scored two vicious attacks as the creature struggled in its bonds. He was dismayed as it broke free, first one ham-sized fist, then the other. Meanwhile Jeremiah managed to move in on the hydra, ducked under the heads, and dealt a deadly blow to its squat body. The hydra raised all seven heads and screamed. The high-pitched sound was cut short as Mazi's well-placed arrow brought the enormous creature crashing into her web.

The troll lumbered towards Milo. He kept his ground for one more attack, waiting for just the right moment. Reft sliced through its powerful quadriceps as Milo darted past its defenses. He quickly tumbled backwards after avoiding the troll's counterattack. Behind him Mazi had drawn her own flaming weapon, the flametongue from the human warrior. She set the web afire with the longsword and watched as the flames neared the troll, still picking its way out of the strands.

As soon as Milo was out of the way, Jeremiah moved in with his greatsword. The clash of metal on metal could be heard as he broke past the upheld trident. With no room to approach the troll, Brigit drew her bow again. She fired her arrow just as the flames from the web reached the troll. The troll was overpowered by Jeremiah's greatsword and Mazi's flametongue. She seemed eager to join the fight after her two spells seemed ineffective. It died in the flames of her web, gurgling its death.

Seeing that the room was fairly nondescript and empty, and still feeling the rush from the battle, they headed towards the exit. A passage led past huge double doors to the north and a wide staircase leading down to the south. They could hear a 'click-clack' noise from further down the hall.

"I remember that sound." Milo said.

"The caves." Jeremiah spoke.

"Yeah, that's it. Give you odds it's an owlbear."

The hallway led into a triangular room, they were in its northeast corner, a diagonal wall led southwest while the north wall stretched east before making a right angle to end at a passage in the southwest corner. The owlbear sat hunched near a post similar to the hydra's, hissing and hooting. It clacked its beak as the adventurers entered the room and hissed even louder.

"They keep odd pets here." Milo noted.

"Not 'xactly a run-O-the-mill Temple, Milo." Brigit said as she drew an arrow to her bow.

The owlbear pounced forward, drawing a heavy chain behind it. A volley of arrows from Brigit and Mazi met it, their hands moving from their quivers to bowstring almost faster than the eye could follow. Three arrows contributed their feathers to the owlbear's coat by the time it reached Jeremiah. The barbarian was waiting. He knocked away its claws and brought the sword down through its beak. The beast slumped to the ground, dead.

 

[Nail]

This module really is a meat-grinder, eh?

Nice t' see you back, Milo.

 

[Krellic]

Writer's block's a bitch.., but great when it's gone!

 

[Broccli_Head]

more like, hackfest!

nice to see you back, too Milo.

don't know if it's a meat-grinder, though. No players have become meat.

 

[frog]

don't know if it's a meat-grinder, though. No players have become meat.

Well, if I hadn't turned "softy" on them during the fight with the 2 priests and the guy with the flaming sword we would have had a TPK. The missing component to this scene was an invisible rogue/cleric in the corner just waiting to whack someone. When it became apparant that they had their hands full with this, he became the "artist formerly known as an invisible rogue/cleric in the corner just waiting to whack someone."

Yes, this is the encounter where I had to turn in my RBDM card cause I went soft on 'em. My only defense is that it is supposed to be a "fun" game and killing off Brigit and Milo as they are held motionless while a fighter with a flaming longsword creates a human candle out of Jeremiah with a critical hit (which is what Brigit took when she charged in) isn't in my definition of "fun".

Will I kill them? Yes, but only because of their own stupidity, not because I "misjudged" an encounter difficulty when creating it.

 

[frog]

Besides, how is Milo supposed to marry Mother Screng's daughter if he gets himself offed in some hair brained dungeon siege?

 

[Krellic]

Not even a RBDM wants to be haunted by Mother Screng...

 

[frog]

In our latest adventures we have:

- Giant Fiendish Octopus
- human sacrifice
- exploding zombies
- a Water Temple priest that makes Milo really mad
- a wraith that crits Brigit TWICE in a row (best rolling I have ever done in my life) and sucks 12 points of constitution in one fell swoop
- a swim that turns nasty
- and a visit with my favorite NPC ever, Mother Screng.

At which point Brigit is cured...but at what cost to both her AND Milo?

All these things and more, if Milo doesn't succumb to writers block again.

 

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - Part 39 (Session 17)

Outside of the Owlbear's lair they found a long, twisting corridor. Flames guttered on old torches, casting distorted shadows on the walls as they walked.

"Fire Temple? This is the only place that's been lit so far. Not to mention I'd wager we're near where we found the warrior with Mazi's Flametongue." Milo said quietly.

"You're probably right, I wonder where their chapel is?" responded Mazi.

"We'll find it soon enough, elfie. Ah only hope tha' Trollgrater won' fail me against no flamin' elementals er whatever they got down 'ere." Brigit added.

The passage eventually twisted to the north, heading back in the direction of the fateful battle where Milo and Brigit were held helpless while the flaming swordsman attacked. The passage eventually opened into the room leading into the very place they were thinking about. They had come full circle, and it was a large circle at that.

"I'm willing to bet that if we went past the door those clerics were guarding we'd come into the Fire Temple's chapel. We had to skirt a large area through that lit passage." Mazi said as she studied her map.

"What's this little blank bit here?" Milo said as he strained on his tiptoes to see the map.

"That was near the prison where we found the Lady Tillahi and Sir Juffer. We're not too far from there now." Mazi said.

"Let's check out there before we take the Fire Temple head on, I'd rather rest up and come back for that." Milo suggested.

"Ach, ya pansy magic users, ya rely too much on yer spells when all ya need is good strong muscles!" Brigit scoffed.

"I guess I need to remind you that these pansy spells are what keep your strong muscles going after a long day, or save your bacon when we're faced by a mass of baddies." Milo said, a little miffed.

"Let em come, Ah'll always have fight in me!" Brigit said, but to Milo she sounded a bit more mollified.

The unmapped area Milo referred to led to a hooked hallway to the east of the great hall. The hallway ended in a plain door. Brigit led the way once Milo declared it safe. The room beyond was lit with a soft, warm, diffuse glow. The floor was made from polished alabaster, gleaming in the light from a cloudy crystal set in the eastern wall next to the door.

As soon as they entered Milo felt at peace, as if this were a holy place set among the evil and filth of the temple, a bastion of safety and comfort in the midst of unrest and strife. The crystal that hung next to the door was large. It stood from the floor to the ceiling and was wide enough to span from the door to the far wall. Milo could make out two floating shapes within the mirror. They were human-shaped, but he could make out feathery wings extending from their backs. Angels! Milo thought. He was mystified.

The forms drew near the crystal and Milo could make out more detail. They were human, but for their angelic wings. Their faces wore beatific smiles and their arms were folded serenely. They were clad in shimmering white robes and they were floating a few inches from the floor. One of them spoke.

"Good people, what are ones such as you doing in a place of pure evil such as this?"

Milo began to speak, but was interrupted by the other floating angel.

"It matters not. Good people, place your weapons before the Window of the Plane of Weal. We will enchant them to aid in your battle against the evil of this place. You must leave the room for the count of seventy-seven." he indicated a door opposite of the entrance. "If you enter the room before your time then you will be destroyed by the full glory of the Window of the Plane of Weal. Our enchantment will last but seven hours, if you return in seven days we will enchant your weapons once again. Now, place down your weapons."

Milo dropped his axes before the crystal without even consulting the others. He knew these were good beings without a shadow of a doubt. He was surprised to see the others hold back.

"Don't you want the blessing of the angels? Trust your feelings, this room is enchanted against the evil. It must be, don't you feel it? I think we can use any help we can get it in this place." Milo said to the others.

All but Mazi seemed swayed by his argument. Brigit and Jeremiah approached the crystal. Brigit unloaded her mass of weapons, lastly placing Trollgrater down with great care. Jeremiah did likewise, leaving the Windsword for last. Their willingness seemed to convince Mazi as well. She began placing her weapons in her own pile in front of the crystal. She reached for the bundle that held Sylvanglade but stopped.

"Everything but Sylvanglade. I won't let this out of my possession."

Her reticence stirred something in Brigit and Jeremiah. They both silently fished out a weapon each, just in case. Brigit found her old waraxe and Jeremiah pulled out a spear he had been hanging onto. Milo shrugged and left his weapons be.

"Good people, you must leave now or be destroyed by the light of the Window of the Plan of Weal!"

Milo led the way out. They found themselves in one of the large hallways leading into the great hall. Milo eagerly counted to seventy-seven while the others watched the door nervously.

"Ah don't feel so right about this no more." Brigit said

"I didn't feel right about it in the first place!" Mazi said, "I don't even know why I left anything at all."

Milo was too busy counting to explain to them how right it all was.

"Seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven!" he finished. "Let's go!"

Milo bounded back through the door, eager to see his newly enchanted weapons. He skidded to a halt right as he passed the doorway. In the place of their weapons he saw two slavering beasts. They were half-human, half-beast, with elongated snouts and yellow eyes. Their patchy fur covered their bodies down to their backward bent legs. The feeling of peace and calm immediately left Milo.

"Werewolves!" he shouted.

The others ran into the room around him, their weapons at the ready. Milo groaned and kicked himself inwardly for not even keeping a dagger. It was then that the werewolves attacked.

Brigit and Jeremiah arrayed themselves in front of Mazi and Milo. The werewolves sprung towards them. They dodged the initial blows and the battle was joined.

"Not all of my weapons are physical!" Milo muttered.

He spoke the words to a ward against evil that would blanket the entire party. When he was finished a magic circle against evil shimmered into being, centered on himself. Brigit and Jeremiah struggled to wound the lycanthropes. It seemed that Jeremiah's spear could inflict no wounds. Brigit's non-magical axe could harm the beasts, but only from her most vicious attacks.

Mazi cast a spell as well. Her arcane chanting produced a familiar fire from her fingertips. She molded the flame into a sphere and released it towards the werewolves. Mazi was rewarded with a startled yelp as it burned the fur and crisped the flesh of one of the creatures.

The battle was even until one of the werewolves sunk its yellowed teeth into Jeremiah. Milo could see him falter for a few moments. Jer tried to focus on the battle, but Milo saw that the fangs had done their worst. He worried about the future of his barbarian friend.

Milo redirected his attention to the lycanthropes and began chanting again. This time the air coalesced before his outstretched fingers. Solid air rocketed away from him and into one of the werewolves. The creature saw them coming and was able to dodge some of the sword stream, but damage was dealt.

Brigit and Jeremiah continued to fight, but were unable to do more than scratch the werewolves. Mazi directed her sphere back into the flank of the closest monster, which elicited another howl. The beast turned from Brigit and pounced for Mazi. She dodged, unscathed.

Milo was getting desperate, he thought back on the spells he prayed for that morning and selected one dubiously. Focused on the werewolf fighting Jeremiah, he gathered his divine powers and cast searing light. Milo pointed a single finger at the werewolf as a sharp white light streamed forward. The beam shot out at the werewolf but missed by a hair. It sizzled a pockmark in the far wall.

Brigit hacked away at the werewolf attacking Mazi, who blithely ignored her and attacked the elf anyway. Mazi dodged another blow and brought the sphere back into the backside of the beast. It howled again as the smell of cooked meat filled the room.

Milo had one more offensive spell prepared, he hoped it didn't backfire on them. He chanted once again, bringing his divine powers to a focus. A piercing, high pitched sound rose to a crescendo behind the werewolves. The keening noise proved to be too much for the sensitive canine hybrid ears of the singed lycanthrope. It fell to the ground with a whine, its ears bleeding. The other werewolf howled but fought on.

The friends rallied forward with only one of the beasts left for them to concentrate on. Mazi's sphere of fire and Brigit's repeated blows from her axe eventually brought the final lycanthrope to the ground.

The four took a moment to catch their collective breath before three of them turned menacing stares towards Milo. Milo looked back, abashed.

"What? They looked like angels! Hey, it's not like I forced any of you to put down your weapons!" a light dawned on Milo, "The weapons! They've got to be around here somewhere!"

Glad for something to concentrate on, Milo ran up to the crystal and began looking for a secret entrance. His search led him out of the door next to the crystal and into the hallway beyond. He found what he was looking for just a few steps from the door on the north wall: a cleverly concealed entrance into another room. The room smelled strongly of dogs. He noticed two red capes lying on the floor. Piles of weapons, backpacks, and gear lay in the small room, theirs and others as well. A cupboard was hung against the inside wall. The crystal looked more like a window from his side of the room. He could clearly see Brigit, Jeremiah, and Mazi.

"Har har har! Milo's a wee little angel!" he could hear Brigit guffaw from the other room. Apparently the crystal was enchanted to show the inhabitants of the room as angelic, no matter who they were.

"I found our things!" he shouted.

Milo hoped that would be enough to exonerate him in his allies' minds. Brigit came racing in first, her armor clanking as her short legs propelled her to the pile of weapons. She lovingly lifted Trollgrater from the heap. An evil glint entered her eye as she turned back towards the crystal window.

"Ya violated me axe, now Ah'm gonna violate yer arse!" Brigit loudly exclaimed.

Absolute silence followed. Then, "Uhhhmmmm," Milo started, "Did she just say what I think she said?

Brigit suddenly started, her grimace slackened. Her brow furrowed as she contemplated her statement. Her mouth dropped open and a look of shocked horror filled her eyes.

"Ah didn't mean..." she sputtered, "Well Ah mean...ARGGHH!"

Milo was clutching his side as he laughed, "Oh, it hurts, it hurts, stop it Brigit." he gasped out. He was soon on the ground, rolling as he held his belly.

Mazi couldn't stifle her own laugh, a bell-like tinkling giggle that grew into a chuckle then a full-bore guffaw. The elf's whole frame shook as she tried to bring her laughter under control.

Brigit glowered at the two before stalking off with the rest of her weapons into the other room. She soon worked out her frustration on the werewolves' corpses.

Milo noticed that Jeremiah wasn't laughing. He instead wore a look of curious concentration. Sweat beaded his brow. He looked at Milo with a grimace, holding the bite wound on his shoulder.

"Don't - feel - so - well - Milo." he said.

"Oh frell, the werewolf's curse. Let me see your shoulder." Milo said, beckoning Jer down to his level as he stood up.

Brigit heard him from the other room and ran back in to see what was wrong with her young friend.

"Did tha werewolf get ya, Jer? Don't worry, we'll get ya fixed up." Brigit said, fishing for something in her pack.

She held aloft a small jar of Keoghtem's Ointment. She soon had a healthy dollop out of the jar and began slathering it on Jer's wound. They all waited for it to heal. Jeremiah again had the look of curious concentration on his face. After a few minutes Brigit cursed.

"Ach! This stuff is worthless!" she said, close to dashing the rest of her ointment on the ground.

"Hang on, Brigit. Don't throw it away yet. I don't think Keoghtem's Ointment can heal a werewolf bite. One second," Milo said.

He drew out their Staff of Healing and held it over Jeremiah's shoulder.

"Abercromby!"

"Ahh-FITCH!" Jer sneezed.

The wound slowly closed up under the staff, until Jer's shoulder was completely whole. It was as if he had never been bit at all. The four friends breathed a collective sigh.

Milo retrieved his weapons from the pile, inspecting each one for further treachery. He also noted the pile of weapons that the werewolves had obviously gathered from other unwary intruders. There were arrows, bolts, daggers, holy symbols, a flail, hammer, mace, morning star, long sword, two short swords, and three spears. Some of the arrows and daggers were silvered as well.

"Perfect weapons against werewolves," he said as he held one of the daggers, "too bad we found them a little late."

Before packing away any of the weapons Milo cast detect magic on the pile. None of the weapons on the pile glowed, but he could make out a faint light behind the cabinet doors. Inside were a shortsword, a dagger, and some herbs.

"Wolfsbane," Mazi said as she sniffed the herbs. "How appropriate."

They stashed the silver weapons as well as the magical ones in various packs and made ready to leave.