Temple of Elemental Evil - part 62 (session 27)
"On second thought, Jeremiah," Milo said, looking over the gaunt barbarian, "You'd better give that potion to Mazi. I think you're going to need a hit from the old staff of healing after all."
Milo drew the gnarled staff of unmarked wood from his bag of holding as Jeremiah handed the vial of Bull's Strength to Mazithra. He had to think for a moment to recall the activation word to restore strength to Jeremiah's considerably drained muscles. Jer stood watching, mute. His armor hung on his gaunt frame, making him look almost skeletal from the shadows' draining touch. Milo lightly touched the staff to Jeremiah's bare head.
The power of the staff coursed through the weakened body of the barbarian. His muscles expanded rapidly, as if he were flexing everywhere at once. His armor creaked as he grew to fill it. His sallow face burned with new strength and his sunken cheeks filled out. In seconds a newly restored Jeremiah grinned at his companions, flexing his muscles in appreciation.
"Thanks." came his usual one word reply.
"Don't mention it big guy. I know I was drained a couple of times, but I don't feel as bad off as Jeremiah looked. How about you, Mazi?"
"I think I'll be alright with this," she said as she held the potion to her lips.
As soon as she swallowed the draught, Mazi's muscles swelled like Jeremiah's. The power of the potion seemed to stop short before restoring her to full strength though. Her clothes were still slightly baggy on her lithe elfin frame.
"It'll do." she said.
"I'll wait until I can heal myself tomorrow. Let's get back to the woods."
A deathly quiet lay over the temple as they traversed its empty halls. The complete absence of sound other than the that of their feet hitting the stone floor filled Milo with a strange sense of foreboding. Milo shared his sense of dread with the rest of his companions as they climbed the stairs to the main floor of the temple.
"Ach Milo, yer jus' paranoid. We've kilt everythin' from here down. Relax, we'll be in tha safety O' tha woods 'fore ya know it." Brigit assured him.
"You're not out of the temple yet!" boomed a voice from the main hall, just ahead.
The hairs on the back of Milo's neck stood on end. Out in the pillared hall he could see a mass of humanoids armed with maces, rusty swords, rocks, claws, and teeth. He groaned out loud.
"You were saying, Brigit?" Milo said as Trollgrater burst into flames.
Her answer was cut short by the voice's next word, "ATTACK!" The deafening roar dozens of monster's battle cries drowned out any more conversation. Milo took a quick survey of the forces surging towards them. Two groups were set to flank them, each led by two men, one armor clad, the other robed. Milo guessed the armored men were priests of some sort judging by the devices on their armor and their blunt maces.
To their right towered four hill giants, hefting boulders in their ham-sized fists. Eight or so trolls, seemingly puny next to the giants but huge in their own right, snarled at the group as they dragged their knuckles towards them. The first to reach them from the right flank wouldn't be the trolls though, two rows of nine bugbears began a disorderly march to attack, and the drool on their tusks gleamed in torchlight.
Their left flank was in no less peril. The two commanders stood behind four more giants, these with two heads and great big clubs in each hand. The ettins towered impatiently above a dozen ogres. Their vacant eyes filled with hate.
"Ah was savin' this fer a rainy day," Brigit said as she uncorked her haste potion, "It's lookin' overcast ta me."
"It's going to be raining alright, and me without my umbrella." Milo quipped. "Let's see if I can even the odds a little bit."
Milo prayed that Usamigaras would confuse his enemies and pointed to the left flank. He let out a whoop of joy as he saw almost the entire motley crew stumble in their advance and stare at each other in bewilderment. Even the cleric and his mage companion seemed unsure of their surroundings.
His joy was short lived. Arcane speech filtered in from behind the giants to their right and a wash of power dispelled Milo's confusion. He glared at the robed man hiding behind the giants. The mage simply smiled back, smug in his small victory.
It was then that the rain began. Boulders whistled through the air, hurled with considerable force from the giants' hands. Most crashed to the floor and shattered into rocks. One unerring missile met its mark though. Even with the extra speed afforded by the haste potion, Brigit was hit. The boulder slammed into her stomach, forcing out her air and denting her plate armor.
Mazi turned from the spectacle to utter her own arcane words. A lightning bolt thundered from her fingers towards the left flank. The jagged lightning streaked through the ogres, leaving them smoldering, but still intact. They lurched forward again intent on reaching the heroes, but their advance was halted once more, permanently. Holy flames sparked into existence above their heads before crashing down like a waterfall of fire. His three companions turned to Milo in wonder as the flame strike burned all but one ogre to a crisp.
"Don't look at me! I can't cast that spell!"
Their enemies looked just as surprised as they did. The four commanders' heads shot back and forth as they tried to identify this new threat. The other wizard suddenly winked out of sight as he cast an invisibility spell. Then the world went unnaturally quiet as his cleric companion cast another spell. Mazi shouted mutely in frustration as the magical silence settled upon her and her companions.
Jeremiah and Brigit ignored the magic battle, instead focusing on the very real threat of the closing monsters. Their bowstrings twanged in quick succession as they fired into the crowd as fast as they could manage. For himself, Milo recognized a silence spell. It was one of his favorite tricks to foil magic users. He tumbled outside of the stillness and cast his own spell at the cleric, half expecting it to be resisted. He was just as surprised as the priest to see the hold person spell take effect. The cleric's muscles tightened and his face froze in the surprised expression of one taken off guard. With a newly immobile target, Brigit and Jeremiah began to focus all of their fire on the held cleric.
A breath of cold washed over Milo from behind. He whirled to see that a wall of ice now spanned their only means of retreat. Once again the wizard far beyond their enemies grinned smugly. The creatures continued to advance as the heroes backed themselves to the wall. They still had a few seconds of breathing space before the crush of enemies would reach them.
Milo heard the sound of crashing boulders to his right. He turned, surprised to hear sound from the silenced area. He looked just in time to see two boulders crash into his friends. One huge stone nearly knocked Mazi from her feet, she was hurt badly from the huge stone The other added another dent into Brigit's well-used armor. The doughty dwarf shook off the pain and drew another arrow.
The other wizard roared in frustration at the heroes' unseen dispeller. He too winked out of sight as he employed his own invisibility spell. Mazi cast another lightning bolt a moment too late to hit him, this one aimed at the giants and bugbears. The giants easily shook off the electricity but four of the encroaching bugbears fell from the arcing energy.
An unholy presence seemed to appear above them. Milo looked up just in time to see another flame strike, this one aimed at the four heroes. He nimbly dodged the flames and heard the satisfying sound of the wall crumbling under the unholy fire. Even more satisfying was the outraged scream of the wizard that had put the wall there in the first place.
Desperately low on spells, and unwilling to spend any that he may need for healing later, Milo pulled out one of his many scrolls. He aimed the sword stream at the party of bugbears and let the spell do its damage. Shards of hardened air slammed into a row of the goblinoids, one that had managed to stay afoot after Mazi's earlier attack toppled.
The heroes took a moment to prepare for the imminent press of the advancing hoard. Brigit and Jeremiah slung back their bows and drew their other weapons. Mazi cast a spell and a transparent shield barrier shimmered before her.
All four friends cheered as another flame strike rained fire down on the approaching trolls, leaving them smoking. An unexpected animal roar grew louder and louder to their left. Suddenly a dire bear charged into the fray. The huge beast lumbered unerringly towards the held cleric. It stopped short, reared back on its hind legs, and swiped its massive claws through the seemingly empty air. A very visible head materialized as it separated from its now visible robed body. The bear had killed the invisible mage in one swipe!
Just before the bugbears and ettins could reach the heroes, Jeremiah let loose a blood-curdling battle cry. His eyes widened in the barely controlled madness that was a barbarian's rage. It was then that Milo noticed that Mazi was barely standing on her feet as she fought for concentration. He tumbled away from the attacking bugbears, through the breach in the ice wall, and to her side to lay a healing hand on her shoulder. As the healing magic flowed from his hand Milo could feel the press of unfriendly magic in his mind. With all of his will he shrugged off the spell, foiling the other cleric's attempt to silence him.
Jeremiah and Brigit soon had their hands full with the ettins and bugbears. They mostly ignored the ineffectual attacks of the goblinoids and concentrated instead on the two-headed horrors that rainied blows from their huge clubs. Jeremiah swung back to hit one of the ettins when five globes of force slammed into his chest. He shrugged off the damage in his battle rage, but Milo could tell that the magic missiles wounded him greatly. The offending wizard winked back into existence with his smug expression still plastered on his face. Milo vowed silently to wipe that off personally.
Much too close to the ettins, Mazi cast another defensive spell and five mirror images of the elf winked into existence around her. The ettins clubbed at them one by one and they shattered into tiny reflective shards before dissipating into the air.
The group of singed trolls came closer to the heroes, the lust for blood evident in their eyes. They were cut off from the group in moments as another wall sprang into existence. This time it was a wall of fire and it was centered on the trolls. The wall curved around in a perfect circle, hedging in the flame-phobic monsters. Five of them drew the courage to jump through the blazing barrier but suffered even more burns.
The tide of the battle seemed to be turning in their favor. Milo allowed himself a breath. Again he felt the influence of unfriendly magic worm its way into his mind. This time not even the luck of Usamigaras could help him resist it. Milo looked around himself in confusion, trying to gain his bearings. He watched as all six images of Mazi turned to Jeremiah, drew their bows, and fired point blank into the raging human. He roared in pain and turned to attack the latest threat.
Another wash of power flowed over the whole group. Once again, confusion was dispelled. This time they could see their benefactor. One of the giants that seemed to be hanging back as the others advanced seemed to melt in on itself. Standing in its place was a human woman, almost regal in a wild sort of way. She stared hard at Jeremiah and seemed to judge his character as he lofted his sword over Mazi's head. Mazi started, saw her arrow protruding from Jer's shoulder, and sheepishly hid her bow behind her back. Jeremiah's tenuous control of his own mind turned his rage back towards his real enemies and the woman seemed satisfied.
Meanwhile, her dire bear companion trundled up to the still held form of the cleric. It took one look at the immobile human, reared back again and brought its huge jaws down. The cleric fell, very dead.
Two more trolls emerged from the flames, howling in pain and fear. The cleric from the right flank attempted to dispel the wall, but his spell was not enough to surmount the power of the unnamed woman.
Brigit and Jeremiah cleaved through bugbears like hot knives through butter, but always ended their attacks on the ettins. The first two-headed giant was brought down by Trollgrater with a roar from its wielder.
Jeremiah's matching roar was suddenly cut short. The giants had finally arrived in force. The lead giant, towering over even its companions slammed down with both fists. Milo looked on in sheer horror as the ham-sized fists completely crushed Jeremiah's skull. His friend toppled to the ground, out of reach from even his strongest healing spells.
Rather than breaking their spirits, the death of their dear friend Jeremiah seemed to galvanize the heroes. Mazi used her newfound wand of lightning bolt and aimed through two ettins and four trolls. The ettins continued to fight, destroying the last of her mirror images but the trolls dropped to the ground. Already their wounds began to heal though; they would be back in the fight in moments.
The dire bear continued to wreak havoc to the rear of the enemy, taking down another troll. Brigit made to crouch over Jeremiah before she was unceremoniously shoved aside by their benefactor. Brigit's protests died on her lips as the woman bent down to sigh gently into Jeremiah's dead lips. His eyelids fluttered as the last breath was granted to him. The woman almost passed out from the strain of the casting, her own life energy drained to bring Jeremiah back to the living.
Overjoyed, Milo tumbled past the outstretched claws of the trolls and rolled to a stop next to Jer. He quickly used the staff of healing to further strengthen the life granted by the woman. The two strangers shared a mutual glance of relief as Jer began breathing healthily. The woman simply said, "I am Kellah." It was enough for Milo to know she was on their side. Milo pointed to a vial at his belt and mimed drinking. Jeremiah got the idea and downed a healing draught.
To their left Mazi was too busy to spend much thought on the amazing events unfolding. Her wand flashed again and again, eventually toppling one of the giant ettins.
The trolls, their dull wits finally turned to the more immediate danger of the dire bear, began to retaliate. Though the bear was able to bring one more down, it suffered greatly for the effort. Blood mingled with fur as their sharp claws gouged the great beast.
As Kellah cured herself from the intense drain of her spell, Milo realized he had one more spell that would help all of his companions. Milo prayed for protection as a magic circle against evil radiated from his being. Brigit and Mazi soon found it easier to dodge the blows from the evil creatures assaulting them.
During the excitement Milo had lost track of the other two commanders. He now noticed that both were considerably closer to the fray. Apparently they were coming in to deal even more magical damage.
Mazithra hoped to kill two of the trolls attacking her with a burning hands spell. The flames washed over ettin and troll alike, but were not strong enough to bring down any of them. Kellah understood Mazi's intent. She conjured into existence a flaming sphere directly on top of one of the trolls her bear brought down. The green-gray flesh of the troll blackened as it expired.
Now healed, Jeremiah extracted his revenge on the giants. His sword cleaved through the giant that killed him before his thrust buried it into another.
Milo felt as though he were playing a deadly game of catch-up as he turned to expend another charge from the staff of healing for Brigit. The final charge he used to heal a bedraggled Mazi. Useless, he threw the staff to the ground and drew his dual handaxes.
A streak of lightning from the other end of the hall jagged into Kellah's bear. The beast roared in pain, nearly dead from the extensive wounds made by the trolls. It fought on regardless, bringing down yet another of the regenerating creatures. Kellah continued to roll her flaming sphere over the fallen trolls, ensuring that they remained down.
Lightning seemed to jag out of Mazi's wand in a continuous bolt as she fired it again and again at the ettin and trolls. All three enemies fell before her onslaught. She reached for her flametongue grimly, aware that the trolls would soon be back on their feet.
Trollgrater, hungry for the blood of its namesake was busy fighting Brigit's ancestral enemies. She cleaved through the one Jeremiah wounded and into the last. Jeremiah, perhaps still recovering from the shock of dying, dropped his sword in his haste to attack the last giant. He stooped to grab the fallen weapon just as the giant's fist whistled over his head.
Mazi, Kellah, and the bear seemed to have the trolls well in hand as they used a combination of flame and brute force to take them out one bay one. The nearly forgotten wizard seemed intent to deal with the bear first. Five more globes of force shot from his fingers, this time they slammed into the dire bear. It howled again but clung bravely to life.
Fully aware of its plight and the debt they now owed to Kellah, Milo tumbled past the trolls again, this time to channel holy energy into the bear. He hoped that the healing would be enough to keep it alive. But once again, the orbs of force slammed into the beast, eliciting another agonized roar. The enemy cleric seized the moment and closed the distance between he and the bear. He slapped his open palm onto the bear's unprotected flank and delivered his charged slay living spell. With a heart-wrenching whine, the dire bear toppled, unable to resist the full force of the profane spell.
A hoarse yell came from Kellah's throat as her animal companion fell before her feet. She turned on the cleric in fury. Her flaming sphere followed her sight, slamming into the evil human. Unable to help the fallen bear anymore, Milo returned to the battle at the ice wall, acutely aware of his companions' suffering. His hands were busy with healing spells as he kept first Brigit, then Mazi from the brink of death.
Another cry from Kellah brought his attention round. Both the cleric and the mage were assaulting her. Ranged spells from the wizard streaked into her, first a melf's acid arrow, then five more magic missiles. The cleric tried unsuccessfully to cast hold person on the valiant woman. She slowly retreated as she cast healing spells on herself and rolled the flaming sphere into the cleric.
Mazithra methodically dispatched the remaining trolls with her flametongue. In their weakened state they were no match for the lithe, athletic elf.
Milo channeled his last spell into a healing touch for Jeremiah before readying his axes. By then Mazi had maneuvered herself perfectly for a well placed lightning bolt. The energy streaked through a troll into its real intended target, the wizard. The robed man let loose a high-pitched scream as his hair crackled from the left over electricity. He chanted quickly then popped out of existence, teleported away to safety.
The cleric turned to where the wizard stood and shouted angrily, "Senshock!"
Milo grinned at the cleric’s frustration and focused on the last troll. His first axe bit deep into the rubbery flesh and brought it down. His foot slipped in the ichor of the battle and his off-hand axe clattered to the floor. Mazithra easily brought down the bugbear that menaced him before she dealt the final blow to the last troll.
At last all but one enemy was dealt with. The cleric saw his predicament too late as the heroes closed in menacingly. Kellah continued to assault him with the sphere before she summoned a swarm of spiders from beneath his feet. Jeremiah and Mazithra relentlessly attacked, alternating lightning bolts and sword strokes. In one final blow, Jeremiah swung the Windsword cleanly through the cleric's neck. The headless body tumbled to the ground in a pool of it's rapidly draining life.
The carnage was considerable. Gore spattered each of them and they were all breathing heavily. The battle took its toll on each, some more than others. Milo scanned the room and took in the sight. As his eyes came to rest back on his friends he heard a sound that caused his blood to run cold and his skin to prickle.
CLAP...CLAP...CLAP...CLAP
Right Frog?
