Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 20 (session 9)

The gnolls didn't carry much by way of valuables and the group had moved on within moments. They were aware that they had probably roused the whole area of the temple by then, and they didn't want to stand still with gnolls and ogres tromping about. The room the gnolls had sprung from was mostly nondescript. There was a fireplace on one wall and a table with chairs in the middle of the room. Watered-down wine sat in heavy clay mugs atop the table and a few cloaks hung from pegs on the wall.

All four searched the room quickly, each taking a quarter of the room. They all came up empty-handed though. Milo was a little disappointed but he took solace in the haul they found under the barrel of spears in the other room.

They were soon moving out of the room, deeper into the temple. Brigit chose to listen in on the next door. She also heard the shuffling of feet, but she could tell it was much more than just one set. Ever ready to barge in head first, Brigit gripped her axe and kicked in the door.

The sound of trickling water could be heard from within the room. Brigit had interrupted the inhabitants in mid-preparation for battle. The trickling came from a font set in the wall to her left. Wood was stacked along the other wall, probably for the fireplace in the last room. Another door was set in the far wall as well as an alcove near the entrance. Over half a dozen gnolls and one nasty looking bugbear stood with weapons drawn, snarling at the intruders. One gnoll near the back held a wicked quadruple heavy crossbow.

"Attack! the bugbear shouted in common. The battle was joined.

The four friends spread out slightly, with Brigit furthest in front. Milo was able to reach one of the gnolls that moved to bracket Brigit. Reft bit deep into the thick matted fur of the gnoll right before Brigit's axe finished it off. Intent on aiding Brigit, Milo didn't see the longsword meant for him until it was almost too late. He took a glancing blow from the blade, wounded nonetheless.

As the battle began the air seemed to fill with missiles. Four bolts from the gnoll's special crossbow zoomed towards Jeremiah while a single arrow from Mazi's bow sped towards the bugbear. Only one missile hit it's mark, the crossbow bolts whizzed by Jer a hairsbreadth from the top of his head. Mazi's arrow sunk deep into the bugbear's chest.

Jeremiah was unfazed by the proximity of the bolts, he charged the bugbear, intent on felling the leader of the gnolls. They traded blows, only Jeremiah was able to land a hit though.

The crossbowman was the only enemy that was not engaged in melee as it frantically tried to reload just one of its bolts. Mazi took aim and fired another arrow with her elven bow, wounding the gnoll but not killing it.

The gnolls in the room foolishly surrounded Jeremiah, hoping to separate him from his companions. The barbarian loosed a primal roar and attacked the bugbear again. Jer's swing knocked the bugbear's sword completely out of his hands. The blade clattered to the floor, followed shortly by its owner. Jer was in frenzy as he attacked the other gnolls again and again. Three more bodies littered the ground by the time Jeremiah was done.

Fear entered the eyes of the other gnolls, they looked ready to bolt. Brigit didn't give them the option. The two gnolls within the range of her axe fell quickly, leaving the crossbowman the lone enemy. The action was over so quickly it didn't even realize it was alone. Milo finished it off while it was still struggling to load the crossbow.

Milo moved to the far door as soon as the last gnoll was dispatched. He listened intently for a few moments. He could hear nothing on the other side. It seemed they were safe for the time being.

They set about searching the bodies. Mazi came up with a gold chain woven with gold coins that hung from the lead bugbear's neck. The others found a few coins on each body, but nothing more. Milo began searching the room, not sure if he'd find anything but game to try. He was surprised when he found that one particularly large log of wood had a hollow compartment. Inside he found a coin purse full of silver and gold pieces.

Brigit took a couple of minutes to dismantle the large crossbow the gnoll had been using. She stowed it in her pack, "Just in case" she said.

Jeremiah had found how the gnolls knew they were coming. "They saw us here."

"Here what? Ohhhhhh." Brigit started before she saw what Jer had discovered. "Handy lil' peephole in this alcove, they saw us comin' before we got anywhere close ta tha door."

"See anyone coming?" Milo asked as he strained to see the peephole. Being small had its advantages, seeing through human-constructed peepholes not being one of them.

"Nah, nobody's comin'." Brigit replied as she peered through the small chink in the rock. She was just tall enough to see through it.

"Let's check out the next room then. Just because Milo didn't hear anything doesn't mean there's no one there." Mazi said.

"What, you don't trust my sensitive ears Mazi?" Milo replied in mock sorrow. "Here, let me try again." Milo pressed his ear to the wood of the door as he had before. "Nope, nothing! Happy Mazi?" He grinned at the elf.

"Quit trying to be cute. Let's go." Mazi said with a wrinkle of her nose.

The door led into another corridor. Not too far from the room they came from they could see another door. Milo gave Mazi a pleading look as if asking permission to listen in on the door. Mazi just rolled her eyes at the dramatics and waved him off. Milo grinned as he padded ahead to the door.

He heard faint noises on the other side. It sounded guttural, probably gnoll. Milo whispered back to his friends, "Sounds like gnolls, don't seem to be moving around much. Either they know we're here and they're waiting for us, or they have no idea and we can surprise them."

"Better safe than sorry, I'll be a lil' quieter this time." Brigit whispered back.

She approached the door rather silently. An impressive feat considering how much metal she wore. Unlatching the door, she pushed it open and they all entered the room.

Three surprised humans stared back at them from a game of dominoes at the table. A fourth seemed a little more prepared, he had a crossbow and had just stood up to face the door, kicking his chair back in his haste.

The crossbowman didn't get his bolt off. Jeremiah swooped down on him before he could take time to aim. The other three guards were barely on their feet before he hit the ground.

Brigit and Mazi worked as a unit. Mazi fired an arrow to weaken one guard and Brigit would follow up with her lethal axe. Meanwhile Milo had moved up to Jeremiah's side, darting in to tag a guard with his axes when the chance presented itself. Jeremiah followed Milo's attack through with his weapon, finishing the guard off.

The last guard fell with a feathered arrow protruding from his throat, downed by Mazi. As he lowered his axes Milo could hear booted footsteps running down the corridor towards them.

"Quick everyone, switch to your range weapons, they'll run right into us." Milo told everyone.

"I'll cast my web on them, Brigit you throw some oil on it after we've softened them up." Mazi said, trying to hammer out a plan before the reinforcements arrived.

Jeremiah was sheathing his sword when eight guards rounded the corner to enter the room. Before any could attack Mazi finished her incantation. A mass of sticky strands expanded into existence right in the middle of the guards. Its mass soon reached from the front to the rear of their party.

Brigit, Jeremiah, and Milo all fired into the morass. All three of their missiles lodged in the web, missing the front two guards. Milo threw his hands up in disgust and began an incantation he had used may times before. The air around his outstretched hand began to sparkle, then coalesce, and then harden into small triangular daggers. The daggers shot through the air and sliced into the trapped men.

Brigit followed up the knife spray with a flask of oil she rigged to explode. The flask burst open on impact and showered the web with liquid flame. The web caught on fire in a flash, creating an instant conflagration. The flames died quickly, only singing the occupants of the web.

Newly freed, the second row of guards flung javelins at the heroes. Neither the javelins nor the swords of the first two guards hit any of the heroes, but the battle became much closer in the few seconds after the fire.

Determined to put an end to the battle, Milo began his incantation again. The two front guards chose that moment to attack. One slashed down on Brigit and the other Milo. Neither made contact but Milo's spell was almost thrown off. He completed his incantation despite the alarming distraction and stretched his arm out towards the guards. The air coalesced around his hand again, rocketing forward on divine winds. The weakened guards couldn't handle another wave of the crystal hard daggers, all but one hearty human survived the volley. Jeremiah finished him off with an arrow from his longbow.

No sooner had he dropped than a blinding light flashed down the corridor towards them. The light zeroed in on Brigit and jagged towards her. She jumped out of the way but was tagged in the leg by the streaking lightning. The lightning dimmed and they could see the shape of a jagged javelin before it crumbled to dust.

Brigit struggled to her feet to see two humans charging up the corridor at them. One had an obvious rank, a captain of sorts. That was all the group could make out before the battle was begun again. Milo and Mazi moved back to fire with their missile weapons while Jer and Brigit fought up close.

The guard reached them first, nearly impaling himself on Jeremiah's sword. Brigit spun in with her axe and nearly burst the guard open with her attack. The captain quailed at the vicious blow, distracted long enough for Milo to get in a vital shot. The bolt punctured the captain's lung, causing him to gasp for air.

Mazi followed up Milo's bolt with an arrow of her own. Brigit and Jeremiah swung at the captain simultaneously, their blades meeting in his midsection. The large human fell, nearly cleaved in two by the rush of attacks.

"Wow." was all Milo could muster.

"I can see a room down tha hall, looks empty tho." Brigit said, already looking for the next threat.

They peered down the hall, seeing that it ended in an oddly shaped room. Milo cautiously led the way down the hall, wary for traps even though the humans had just trampled down the corridor moment ago. As they drew near they could see the room was in the shape of a triangle. The corridor ended at the base directly opposite from the apex. Bunks lined the walls and a custom fit desk was wedged into the peak. A large triangle table sat in the middle. The room was indeed empty. They had dealt with the last of the guard.

Mugs and dishes were scattered on the table, food half-eaten. "Looks like we disturbed dinner, that's too bad." Milo said with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Oh aye! I'm sure yu're all choked up 'bout that, Milo." Brigit laughed.

"I'm more choked up about those," Milo said as he pointed at four large chests at the end of each double bunk bed. "A closed chest is a sad sight to see."

Milo went to each chest in turn, rather disappointed at what he found. They appeared to be simple wardrobe chests, full of clothes and not much else. In the third chest he found a ceremonial bronze dagger and harness, not worth keeping. The fourth chest had a little more interesting contents, but not by much. He found a parchment with a scribbled note:

Remember to check augury chamber to see if Belstro is lying.

"I think we've already been there," Milo said, "Remember the room with the low bench and circular depression? I think I'll stick to my own augury methods."

"I do wonder who Belstro is though." Mazi thought out loud.

"Think while ya walk, we ain't gettin' much younger. You least O all, Mazi." Brigit interjected.

"What's that supposed to mean? I look as young now as I did forty years ago!" Mazi looked insulted.

She pulled out her mirror and checked her face, distressed to find a smudge of dirt on her chin. The others left Mazi in the room, frantically scrubbing at the dirty spot with a kerchief.

As Milo was looking over the body of the captain down the corridor he noticed something odd about his uniform. "Did you guys notice that we're not fighting the Triangle Gang anymore?" he said as he pointed at a star that was stitched on the captain's uniform.

The triangle patch had been ripped off and replaced by a poorly stitched eight pointed star. Milo could still see the threads from the triangle that had so recently adorned the uniform.

"Interesting, so do you think we're done with the Earth cult? I wonder what the star stands for?" Mazi wondered aloud again.

"Don't know. I'm willing to bet that the next cult isn't going to be any easier to get rid of than this one. Oh well, one down, three to go." Milo said.

"Even so, I'd rather fight them than what's trapped at the bottom of this place." Mazi said with a shudder.

 

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 21 (session 10)

The door out of the guardroom led to a long passage with two diagonal branches leading to the southeast and northeast. After listening for movement down both corridors, the group decided to go southeast. The passage led into a grand hall stretching west from where they entered. Complete skeletons and broken bones were scattered throughout. Milo made a quick count and came up with sixteen complete skeletons. He had a sneaking suspicion that they weren't going to remain harmless if they set foot in the hall. Weapons lay near the piles of bones, morningstars, swords, and the odd hammer. Most were rusted beyond repair, but they could see that a few had lasted the years.

"Must have been some battle here." remarked Milo.

"Look at the bones, there's more than human remains here." Mazi said, "There's plenty of orc and gnoll bones there too. I wonder when this happened, and if it was infighting or an outside attack?"

"Judgin' from tha stuff we seen already I'd say infightin'." Brigit ventured a guess. "It don't look like tha differnt factions here be too friendly wi' each other."

"True, but who knows how long ago this happened?" Milo said, "Maybe we'll find out as we get further in. What worries me more are those intact skeletons. You just know they're gonna jump out at us as soon as we go in."

"Ach, yer paranoid, Milo. Let's go." Brigit replied.

For a moment it did seem that Milo's fears were unfounded. The group moved as one into the hallway, keeping their eyes on as much area as they could. Milo's head was constantly craning as he scanned from skeleton to skeleton.

Before long they came upon a "T" intersection, the grand hall continuing west as well as an equally large offshoot to the south. As soon as Jeremiah's foot landed on the first tile of the intersection, Milo's fears were realized. He groaned as the skeletons rattled to life before his eyes.

"Not again," was all Milo said as he drew out the club he brought along for this very purpose.

The four stood back to back, making a small circle. Brigit drew her warhammer while Jer and Mazi had only their swords to rely on for the time being. The skeletons, all sixteen of them, formed a loose circle around the heroes and closed in.

The skeletons attacked a few at a time. Four of the undead attacked at once, three in the range of the pummeling head of Brigit's warhammer. Brigit was well rewarded in her investment with the hammer. All three crumbled easily from the powerful slams of the blunt weapon. Jer expended much more energy dispatching the fourth skeleton. His sword didn't inflict quite as much damage as Brigit's bludgeoning.

More of the undead moved in while the heroes waited. One of the skeletons scored a lucky blow on Mazi, stabbing her in the arm with its rusty sword. She held her hand to the wound and kicked the skeleton away from her.

Brigit brought two more skeletons down with her hammer, demolishing the bones into a fine powder with her powerful swings. Jeremiah fared better during that wave of skeletons. He found if he could manage to sever the spinal cord the skeletons had less of a chance of staying cohesive. His sword bit through two spines in quick succession, the skeletons flew apart from the attacks.

Milo and Mazi waited for more to come into range. As soon as one of the hapless skeletons drew near they both struck out with their weapons. They managed to wound the undead creature but it somehow kept together, defying their efforts. The clumsy attacks from the undead were not able to wound any of the heroes, their circle defense serving them well.

Brigit finished off another skeleton with her hammer but was unable to reach any of the others. Their dim intelligence seemed to recognize the threat of her blunt weapon. The remaining skeletons focused their attack on Jeremiah instead, to their misfortune. Jeremiah had mastered his technique in dispatching the undead. First the skeleton his companions wounded was destroyed, next came the skeleton approaching from the right, followed shortly by the undead attacking from the left. Jeremiah crowed.

Four skeletons remained, all of them circling the group. One jumped in to attack Milo, slicing a gash on his shoulder. He retaliated with a double-handed swing with his club. The skeleton was obliterated from the impact. It was Milo's turn to crow, he hated undead, really.

Brigit finished off the other three with some help from Mazi. The skeleton she wounded with her Sylvanglade fell quickly to Brigit's hammer. The other two followed shortly.

"Let that be a lesson to all you undead!" Milo said loudly.

"Ya did purty good there, Milo. That was a nice swing O tha club." Brigit told him.

Milo swelled at the complement before getting down to the work of searching the room. With all of the weapons, some in good repair, Milo figured a magic detection cantrip was in order. He uttered the incantation and concentrated on the hall before him. Nothing seemed to react to his newly augmented vision. Nothing but the considerable amount of enchanted gear he and his companions carried.

"There doesn't seem to be anything magical in this mess," Milo told his friends, "But Jeremiah and Mazi would probably do well to pick up a couple of those nice morningstars for any more skeleton encounters."

Both agreed quickly and rummaged through the remains for serviceable weapons. Brigit and Milo searched the rest of the room, finding that it had obviously been picked over before. There didn't seem to be anything worth noting besides the weapons.

They skipped the intersection and moved on west. Near the end of the great hall another slanting passage exited to the northeast. Figuring that the passage led back to the original corridor, they passed by that one as well. One last corridor led from the end of the great hall to the south. The corridor zigzagged south and west until it ended in another long passageway. This hallway stretched from north to south, well beyond Milo's vision.

The southern passage led through a four-way intersection, into yet another four way intersection, and ended in a "T".

"Let's check out the first intersection before these." Milo suggested.

"Aye, we'll see it all anyway." Brigit agreed.

They headed west at the first intersection, passing a door on the southern wall before seeing that the corridor ended in a door on the west. They found that a large chain locked with a sturdy padlock secured the southern door. Milo's trained eye could see the lock was well oiled and had been used often. The door to the west was a normal portal, unlocked and untrapped.

"Decisions decisions, let's take the normal one first." Milo suggested. "I bet the other door has captives. We don't need them running around."

"Agreed, I'm sure whatever is guarding them is inside this door." Mazi said, indicating the unsecured door.

"Well then, to tha door!" Brigit said as she raised her boot to charge in.

One half-destroyed door later found the heroes face to face with six bony white-skinned creatures.

"Ghouls. Of course." Milo said.

Jeremiah and Brigit moved as one. Their cooperation made short work of four of the ghouls. Mazi and Milo fired their weapons at a single retreating ghoul in the rear. Their missiles didn't stop the undead creature from making its way out of the door to the side of the wide room.

It returned shortly with six more ghouls in tow, the room started to get cramped.

Another shot from Milo's crossbow whistled through the air as the battle heightened. His bolt stuck into the chest of one of the ghouls, not even slowing it down. The ghoul snarled and lunged for Jeremiah, landing on his sword and ending its own existence. Jer withdrew his sword and lopped off the head of another.

That's when the other ghouls retreated, forming a rough semicircle around the group.

"What is that stench?" Milo gagged.

A rotten stink filled the room, emanating from the door the ghouls had entered through. Milo doubled over, retching. The others fought off the foul effects of the approaching odor. Two large, ghoul-like creatures emerged from the doorway. The odor was almost visible, emanating in waves from the undead monstrosities.

"Gh-ast-s." Milo managed to choke the word out between heaves.

Brigit drew her bow in a flash and she, Mazi and Jeremiah took down two more of the ghouls before the ghasts could join the battle.

Three of the four remaining ghouls crouched for a moment before throwing themselves full speed at Brigit and Jeremiah. Just before they could attack, the ghouls leaped into the air, bounding over the heroes.

Brigit and Jeremiah made short work of the first jumper, slicing it to pieces midair. Milo and Jeremiah tried to do the same to the next, both able to plant missiles into the flying ghoul, but not killing it. The last ghoul leapt unchallenged, none of the heroes had enough time to strike at it as well.

Now surrounded by the ghasts and the ghouls, the party was assaulted by a fresh wave of the stench. It was the others' turn to gag and retch. Milo still hadn't recovered from the initial blast of stink.

One of the ghasts lumbered to the front, swiping at Jeremiah. He took the blow full on, struggling to overcome the paralyzing effects of the ghast's claws. He retaliated with Sharda wounding the great undead creature.

Milo and Mazi readied their melee weapons, now uncomfortably close to the undead ghouls. Jeremiah and Brigit struggled to quell their stomachs and fought back. Jeremiah cut past the ghast's claws and chopped through its abdomen, toppling the large creature to the ground. Brigit moved forward through the gap and attacked the other ghoul. She slashed through the ghoul as if it weren't there. Her blow wounded the remaining ghast, gouging a wound in its chest.

The stench in the room seemed increase, washing over the heroes as they struggled with the remaining undead. Two giant ghasts heaved their bodies into the room, filling the limited space with even more sickening fumes.

Jeremiah choked back his bile and leapt forward to help Brigit. He destroyed the ghast that Brigit wounded and stabbed at one of the new larger ones. Near the entrance to the room Milo and Mazi had their hands full. The ghouls lunged at them repeatedly. Both friends were able to wound the undead but Milo bore a bite to his right arm as well. His axe skittered to the floor.

Brigit dodged a blow from one of the ghasts and hammered her axe towards the wounded one. The ghast loosed an unearthly, shrill scream at the wound but did not fall. The ghast reared back to strike, leaving itself open for Jer's attack. He jumped at the opportunity and felled the first of the two large undead creatures.

Milo grabbed at his axe while Mazi fended off the ghouls. Her Sylvanglade wounded one of the lunging undead. Milo recovered in time to follow the attack with his own. The ghoul fell with a gurgling sigh. The two friends turned as one to face the last ghoul.

Inside the room behind them Jeremiah advanced on the wounded ghast. His sword flashed brightly in the torchlight of the room as his inexorable swing completed its arc. The last ghast lay before him, truly dead.

Brigit remembered the leaping ghouls. In one fluid movement she spun on her heel, dropped her axe, drew her bow and an arrow, and fired. The arrow sped through the arrow, coming to a dead stop directly in-between the ghoul's eyes. It was just enough of a wound to fell the last of the undead.

 

[Rel]

Milo, just dropping in to tell you I'm still reading. As far as the tweaking of your writing style, I'd say the "mix" you've got going now is right on. Keep up the good work.

 

[Milo Windby]

Thanks Rel. I've tried to add a little more dialog in lately and shorten the fights a little, but I have a hard time paring it down any more. I think this is working so far. I'm also trying to update more regularly.

On that note, back to composing!

 

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 22 (session 10)

Looking around the room Milo could see a startlingly lifelike relief carved into the south wall. A large face protruded from the rock, staring into the room. The face was human shaped, but flattened, crowned with a mushroom-shaped cranium.

"A little grotesque, don't you think?" Milo asked out loud as he examined the carving.

"It ain't purty, that's for sure." Brigit agreed.

A demolished sandstone altar sat at the rear of the room. Smaller carvings covered the walls depicting obscene and unholy acts performed by various demons and grotesque creations. Milo's gaze passed over them fleetingly, looking for any important clues or hidden switches.

Finding none, he instead centered his attention on a large wooden box in the corner. The box was unadorned, nothing indicating the contents within. Milo examined it quickly, checking for traps. The wooden box was quite unremarkable. He lifted the lid and found nothing but rotten clothes inside. It appeared to be full of old robes and other accouterments fit for unholy rituals. Under the robes and rags he found a carved ivory statuette, certainly worth some gold pieces. A pile of copper pieces lay under another robe further down. Milo began loading the rags back in the box.

Mazi and Brigit had checked the bodies of the undead while Milo was occupied. He didn't mind, the farther away from those smelly ghasts he was, the better.

"Nothing over here, you find anything on the Great Stinky Undead?" Milo asked his companions.

"Aye, more jewelry fer our fancy elf." Brigit said as she held up a gold chain set with three sizable rubies.

"Looks like a matching set." Mazi said, lifting a gold ring set with a ruby.

"Probably, let's stash them for later, I'd like to see what was in the big ghast's room." Milo said as he stowed the statuette and copper coins that he found.

Milo gagged as they entered the next room. If anything the smell inside was worse than the ghasts themselves. He couldn't figure out how anything could smell as bad as the undead creatures, the smell of the grave was preferable to their stench.

The room was littered with broken furniture and the usual pile of cushions acting as a bed. The walls were covered with torn and ratty tapestries. A barrel full of stagnant, tainted water sat in the corner along with a lumpy sack. Another door led to the north.

Remembering the barrel of spears in the ogre's den and the trove underneath, Milo scurried to the water barrel and examined the floor underneath. His curiosity paid off, there was definitely something under the heavy barrel.

"Brigit, Jeremiah, will you two see if you can budge this barrel? I think there's something underneath it." Milo asked his friends.

Brigit had been examining the sack near the barrel and was disappointed to find nothing but clothes.

"Fine wi' me. There be nuthin but old clothes around here. Ya could cloth a village wi' all tha stuff we found here. Wha's with that?" Brigit complained as she set her shoulder to the barrel.

Jeremiah took his place wordlessly, helping Brigit shove the barrel off the floor tile. The stone was certainly loose, Brigit heaved the tile up without too much effort. A small sack lay in the space underneath. Milo grabbed the sack before Brigit dropped the slab back into place. It held a hefty amount of silver pieces, nearly two hundred by Milo's estimate.

The door to the north was slightly ajar, apparently not trapped. Milo checked it anyway, ever paranoid.

"Nothing on this door. Never know though." Milo responded to the quizzical looks he was given by his companions.

They entered the room cautiously, set for another undead assault on their olfactory senses. Surprisingly this room was a little easier to breathe in. The room was devoid of undead occupants, or any live occupants that they could see. There was an alcove in the north wall with a door at the end of the shallow hall. The walls were at one time plastered with the grimy brown and tans that ran throughout that section of the temple. The plaster had long since molded in some places and peeled in others.

A large ironbound chest squatted in the northeast corner, near the alcove. Rotten cushions were piled in the opposite corner. Heaps of bones were piled in the alcove itself, almost blocking the door.

"Do yer thing Milo, that looks ta be a nice treasure chest there." Brigit said.

"Way ahead of you." Milo said, already crouching at the chest and examining the sturdy padlock that secured it.

He checked the lock for a trap, knowing that if there was one it would have to be relatively small to be encased in the padlock itself. Milo wasn't able to find anything suspicious. He withdrew his picks and went to work on the mechanism. After four attempts and subsequent slips, he was able to manipulate the final tumbler into position. The "click" he lived for signaled the opening of the lock. He threw back the lid and the rest of the group peered into the chest.

They found a sack of silver pieces, quite a bit more than the last, a shiny golden broach, and a silver scroll tube. Milo opened the tube and pulled out the parchment inside. Inscribed on the scroll was a divine spell for warding a person against evil.

"Now who leaves a protection from evil spell in an evil temple?" Milo asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't complain, they've served you well so far." Mazi said.

"You mean they've served Brigit and Jeremiah well so far." Milo fired back, teasing their two front line fighters.

"Do ya want ta get in tha front next time, Milo? Ya kin cast them spells on yerself if ya do!" Brigit retorted.

"You know I'm only teasing Brigit. You look so much better when you're knee-deep in the mayhem. I couldn't take that from you." Milo said.

While they were talking Jeremiah was already checking the alcove. None of the bones swirled up to fight him so he ventured further. The door opened easily and Jer was halfway into the room before the others noticed.

"Jer!" Milo managed to squeak out before realizing that Jeremiah set off no traps and was perfectly safe. He followed the others through the door.

The next room was a hallway that ran east to west, ten paces each way. Broken cases and empty hooks along the walls indicated the nature of the room.

"Looks to be some sort of trophy room." Mazi said.

Jeremiah was inspecting one of the broken displays, grisly trophies rested on the broken shelf, scalps, skulls, and other more disgusting spoils of war. A few old weapons and armor still hung from the walls here and there. On a hunch, Milo cast his magic detection cantrip and concentrated on the contents of the room. As he thought, one item glowed out of the wreckage.

"Jeremiah, will you go take down that shield over there? I can't reach it." Milo asked.

Jeremiah walked to the large shield and pulled it down from its mounting. He handed the heavy shield to Milo who examined it closer. The glow from the shield was very similar to Brigit's.

"Looks like an enchanted shield," he told the others. "I think this is our fourth."

"Aye, yer tha only one that don't have one, Milo." Brigit said.

"I don't think I want this one, it's a bit heavy." Milo answered the dwarf.

"Ah well, let's save it fer later then." she said.

Behind the clutter at the east end of the hallway they found a door. Mazi predicted that it would lead right back into the north-south corridor they came from. After the all clear from Milo they tested the prediction. Mazi was right, the hallway yawned to the north and south.

"Let's check the door that was padlocked." Mazi suggested. "I'm willing to wager whatever behind there is something the ghasts were keeping captive, judging from the condition of the lock."

"How very astute, Mazi." Milo said to the elf, "I'm impressed."

They traveled south then west to the door in question. Milo checked the door first, making sure there were no traps in the door's lock, he checked the padlock next.

"With how well oiled and used these are you'd think we'd have found a key around here." Milo muttered as he withdrew his picks. He was only half-serious though, he loved the challenge of the lock, especially padlocks. They always seemed to have a little extra complexity.

One try each and two satisfying "clicks" later, Milo had the door open.

"Some days I got it." He said as he pocketed his tools and backed away.

They entered the room in their usual formation, Brigit and Jeremiah first with the other two following. The room beyond the door was dank and reeked of human refuse. About a dozen humans huddled in the corner, clothed in rags and emaciated. Milo counted nine men chained to each other and the wall as well as two women that were unfettered. All cowered at the light, clearly expecting a more horrific sight at the door.

"Uhh, hullo." Brigit ventured.

The humans squinted at the light streaming in from the hall. It took a few moments to sink in, but eventually they all realized that the four were much different than the captors they were used to.

"H-h-hel-lo?" said one of the men. He had loose skin, as if he was accustomed to eating well but had lost a lot of weight. "Ar-re you g-g-o-ing to t-t-ake us to be sac-sa-sa." the man couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Sacrifice?" Milo finished for him, "No no no, nothing like that. We just found the ghasts in the other room."

The prisoners winced collectively at the word "ghasts", Milo figured they had been treated harshly by their captors.

"You're all free to go," Mazi told them, "Who are you?"

The speaker introduced himself as a traveling merchant with his wife, men-at-arms, and servants. They had been captured on the open road and taken to the temple.

"These must be yers then," Brigit said, tossing the sack of clothes she found to the merchant.

"Hang on, let me take care of your manacles," Milo said as he moved towards the men with his lockpicks.

The manacles were opened easily and Milo had the eleven prisoners free in moments. Their only request was to be pointed the way out. Rather than tell them the direct route Milo and Mazi explained how to reach the hall with the weapons and bones. The merchant expressed his gratitude and told them that if he ever saw them again he would reward them for their liberation.

The heroes saw the prisoners down the hall and let them go from there.

"I'd be surprised if they found anything here. I think we've just about decimated this place so far." Milo stated.

 

[Milo Windby]

Temple of Elemental Evil - part 23 (session 10)

Once the prisoners were out of sight the heroes returned to the first ghoul room. There was still a door that had not been explored to the west. The door opened into a hallway that traveled to the north for a good space before cutting to the east. It ended with an open archway to the north.

Beyond the arch was an enormous banquet hall. Long trestle tables dominated the room, stretching the length with a grand table at the far end. Many chairs were still intact but the majority were nothing more than kindling. Tapestries lined the walls, depicting grotesque scenes and acts of war much like the others they had already found in the temple.

"This place ended in a mighty battle." Brigit said in hushed tones, seemingly loath to break the silence in the hall.

Milo could see what she meant. Skeletons of men and beasts lay all over the hall. Only a few were complete, most had been toppled or scattered. Rusty weapons lay near the bones, evidence of the battle. A grand archway led out of the hall on the east wall, dead center. A smaller passage led to the east from the other end of the hall as well.

"Looks like they caught them at supper though." Milo said quietly, pointing at the fully dressed tables.

Cheap plates and goblets were lined up along the table, broken here and there by a slumped skeleton draped over the table. The food had long since decomposed, if there ever was any. It was obvious that the battle took place long ago.

"Let's check the place out, it's getting eerie just standing here." Milo said. "I don't care if any of these ones come to life, better that than the ominous quiet that's settled on this place."

Milo needn't have worried about any undead in that hall. Their actions brought no animation to the long dead warriors. They spread out, four abreast, and walked down the hall slowly, searching along the way for anything of note. Since rusty weapons and old dishes were not too noteworthy, they progressed the length of the hall quickly.

The passage to the east led into a large kitchen. A large fireplace was set in the north wall like a yawning mouth waiting for the next meal. An intact ogre skeleton was slumped next to the fireplace, its hand still on the spit handle. Open cupboards stood bare, long since picked over by whatever inhabitants inherited the temple after the battle. Three doors were set in the west, south, and east walls.

Milo moved to the middle oven and peered in, thinking he saw something from a distance. Saw something he did, a huge snake darted out from the darkness to bite him in his forearm. Milo fell back, his vision swimming as the snake's venom coursed through his veins. He soon recovered, his body fighting off the poison.

Mazi reacted immediately, drawing an arrow from her quiver faster than the eye could follow. The arrow flew straight and true, piercing the snake's scales farther down its body. It withdrew into the oven after the first strike. They could hear its dry slithering as it retreated up the ventilation shaft.

"Huh, musta not liked wha' it tasted, eh Milo?" Brigit said.

"Very funny. This bite stings!" Milo said, rubbing his arm.

"Are you feeling well though? Was it venomous?" Mazi asked, concerned.

"I think so, but I feel fine. I was a little woozy when it first bit me, but I'm okay now." Milo answered.

They searched the rest of the room. Milo concentrated on cupboards, leaving the other ovens to the armored ones, Brigit and Jeremiah. They found ash, a few cracked bones, but nothing else. The three doors led into old pantries, long since empty. The eastern pantry had a back door that led back into the north-south hallway they started in.

"The only thing left down here is that other intersection at the end of this passage." Milo said after they finished searching. "What about those other elementals? I just know there's something in that room. Why else have four earth elementals guarding it?"

"Hah hah, leave it up ta Milo ta sniff out tha treasure!" Brigit laughed. "Ah'm up fer another battle, they won't hit me so easy this time."

"How about it Mazi, Jeremiah?" Milo asked, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of unlocking the secret in the main chamber. "We'll take em down one at a time!"

"Alright, let's do it then." Mazi agreed.

Jeremiah only nodded his assent. They readied themselves for the battle, Milo casting defensive spells and Mazi readying what she had by way of offense. The way back to the elemental room was clear. It appeared that they had really cleared out the inhabitants of the upper level.

They entered the room from the curtain on the east side of the room, opposite from their previous entrance. Brigit and Milo split from the others and stepped onto the packed earth floor of the room, remembering where the first elemental had surfaced.

As soon as they were within ten paces of the central pyramid the ground rumbled. All three of the earth elementals rose from the ground slowly, dirt cascading down from their lumbering forms. The southeast corner's elemental rose in-between the two groups, right where they predicted.

Jeremiah charged forward, his sword held high, flanking the elemental between the four of them. The next few seconds passed in a blur. Jeremiah's sword bit into the elemental on one side while Brigit and Milo's axes carved dirt from the other. Mazi's sword added to the melee proved to be too much for the newly formed elemental. It crumbled to pieces as Brigit's waraxe cut through its torso.

"Quick, to the next one!" Milo said after the elemental was reduced to a pile of dirt.

All four of the heroes ran to the northeast corner where one of the two remaining elementals stood, stock-still. As soon as Jeremiah was within ten paces the huge creature swung to life. It's packed earth fists slammed into Jer, stopping him in his tracks. The others arrived in seconds, Mazi in time to dodge two ruthless attacks aimed at her slender frame.

Dirt rained down on the party as they surrounded the elemental and attacked. All four of them worked together to bring the beast down. Despite the massive damage the heroes inflicted, the elemental had one chance to strike back before it fell. Brigit's armor protected her from the heavy fists slamming into her. She shook the effects off in time to see Jeremiah finish the elemental off. Another pile of dirt decorated the floor.

"One more! Mazi said.

Milo was the first to reach the other elemental, this one had moved towards the center pyramid. Milo was afraid of what might happen if it made it to the middle. He wasn't expecting the speed with which the elemental reacted to his presence. Milo's body was flung to the ground as the huge fists of the elemental slammed into him. He could feel at least one cracked rib as he tried to stand a shake off the stars that swam in his vision.

The others ran to help, Mazi lifting Milo from the ground as Brigit distracted the elemental. The sturdy dwarf paid for the interference, the elemental slammed down on her twice. Brigit reeled from the blows, stumbling slightly. Milo sympathized.

By that time Jeremiah had reached them and the battle with the final elemental began in earnest. The elemental swung at Jer once before it was surrounded, Jer dodged the blow, wary from the first one. Each of them attacked at once, carving large chunks from the elemental with their weapons.

The elemental seemed diminished, but was not defeated. It's huge fists swung at Jeremiah again. He was not fast enough to dodge the blows that time. Both fists slammed into his midsection, sending him sprawling. Jeremiah struggled for breath on the ground as the others moved in for the kill. It was ultimately Milo's small handaxes that dealt the final blow, reducing the last elemental to another pile of dirt.

Jeremiah stood where he had fallen, holding his hand to his ribs. Even with the enchanted armor he had taken a wallop. Milo's own head was ringing from the surprise blow he had taken in the last run. He looked to Brigit and could tell she was in worse shape than the two of them.

"Let me take care of the wounds before we look around." Milo said, as he drew out his staff of healing. "Abercrombie!" he said, placing the staff to Brigit's side.

"Ah-FITCH!" Brigit sneezed.

"Okay, now that's just strange. What's with the sneezing every time you use that thing Milo?" Mazi asked the halfling.

"I don't know. Side effect of the healing?" he answered, nonplussed. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, my father used to say. That goes for healing staffs we find in dungeons too."

Mazi shrugged. She was the only one not wounded in the struggle against the elementals. She began to look around the room, noting her inability to focus on the double doors to the north. She instead concentrated on the pyramid while Milo healed himself and the others.

Milo joined her once he was finished, letting Brigit and Jeremiah heal the rest with the draughts they had brought from Specularum.

"There's a bronze box next to the column." said Mazi as she pointed to the large column jutting from the center of the pyramid. "I wonder if that's what the elemental was going for?'

"I don't know. Did you notice the manacles at the top of the column?" said Milo. "I'm willing to bet this is where the prisoners were being sacrificed. Ponder Earth's Elemental Evil and all that."

Mazi giggled at Milo's attempt at a bass voice.

"I'm going to try a spell I prayed for today, I thought it might come in handy." Milo continued.

The spell was similar to the magic detection cantrip he always kept ready. This one was instead tuned to detect evil rather than magic. He closed his eyes and completed the incantation. Opening his eyes he saw the world in a much different light. The room was slightly dimmer than before, as if its colors were muted. His eyes were drawn to a bright glow in the middle of the room. The pyramid itself shined with an otherworldly light, unholy and foul. Brighter still was the bronze box near the central column. It almost hurt his eyes to concentrate on it too long. Milo swung about, concentrating on any other evil, far or near. The only glow he found was the pyramid and the mysterious bronze container.

"Ohkay, that box and the pyramid are definitely bad." Milo said with an understatement. "They scream evil, kinda hurts my eyes."

"Anything else? Brigit asked. She and Jeremiah had finished and were standing next to he and Mazi.

"Nothing else evil, let me see what's magic though." answered Milo.

He quickly spoke the magic detection cantrip and concentrated on the pyramid again. The pyramid glowed with a diffuse light. He was surprised at the strong auras he could detect beyond the pyramid and near them. Concentrating harder he could tell that all four were underground, each at a corner of the pyramid.

"Wow, there's some magic stuff here!" Milo said, his eyes lighting up again. He had found the trove he suspected was here. "Something is buried at each corner, a lot of glowing Mazi, you'd be impressed."

"Do we know what it is though? What if what we dig up could be of an elemental evil nature?" Mazi asked.

"Whatever is down there isn't evil, I would have seen it when I cast the other spell. I'm willing to risk it, how about you?"

Jeremiah shrugged, Brigit seemed eager. Mazi agreed, hanging back a little from the digging in case anything else showed. They found treasure after only two feet of digging. The first hole revealed a wand case, a brass box with three jars of ointment, a dirt-caked rope, and a ring. The next hole contained a morning star and twenty-eight semi-precious gems. The third hole hid a bag of platinum pieces and a suit of chain mail. The last digging spot covered a large bag of gold pieces and a flask. Most of the contents glowed with magic to Milo's enhanced sight.

Brigit let out a low whistle. "Whew, tha's some treasure!"

"No doubt about it. We'll have to take a couple of days to have you identify all of this, Mazi." said Milo.

"I'd say, there's enough here to keep me plenty busy." Mazi agreed. "Let's check out the other two doors before we go though."

The first door led to a room of rocks and dirt. Pebbles and stones of every size were piled all over the room. Great huge boulders lined the walls. Piles of dirt were concentrated in the middle. There was a single stone in the very center of the room.

On a whim Milo spoke his magic detection cantrip once again. To his surprise the stone in the center of the room flared brightly at the spell.

"The only thing in here that's at all magical is that center stone." said Milo as he pointed at the rock.

Brigit moved to the stone and bent over to pick it up. She was empty-handed when she stood up though. The stone didn't budge. With a quizzical look she crouched down, got both hands under the curved sides of the stone, and heaved. Her face turned a bright shade of red and a vein pulsed in her forehead, but the stone didn't move.

"Uhm, Brigit? I don't think you should try anymore." Mazi said. "That's a Weighted Stone and it may be keeping something down that we don't want up."

"Ach, who needs tha stupid thing anyhow?" a very disgusted Brigit spat.

"That, Mazi, or these are used in whatever rituals they perform to appease the 'Earthly Elemental Evil'." Milo finished his statement in a spooky singsong voice.

Jeremiah had been exploring the room while they examined the rock. He found a path in-between rocks and piles of dirt that led to twelve kegs stacked in the rear of the room. A quick examination showed the kegs to contain oil. Since none of them had anything to store the oil in they left it be.

The back of the door had a note nailed into the wood. The note was addressed to someone named Romag. The basic message was to swear his oath to the Water Temple along with some rambling praises to the power of Water. They filed the note away for future consideration.

The other room on the other side of the chamber was obviously a robing area. One of the many wardrobes lining the walls contained brown robes adorned with triangles, certainly the mark of the earth element. One other wardrobe had shelves of ritual components, including many dishes with different colors of dirt neatly piled on top. There was also ceremonial wine along with pewter goblets. On another shelf was a bone scroll case with a protection from earth elementals spell as well as a gold brooch.

"Piles of dirt for their ceremonies? Brigit, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Milo asked the dwarf.

"Ah think so, Milo. Does it involve desicratin temples an' tha like?" Brigit asked with a grin.

"It may, it may." Milo answered slyly. "Oops!" he said as he 'accidentally' tipped over one of the trays into the dirt.

"A halflin' after me own heart!" Brigit crowed as she 'accidentally' dropped her axe on the shelf, upsetting the rest of the dishes and spilling most of the contents on the ground.

Mazi and Jeremiah watched on in amusement, loath to ruin their friends' fun. Once Milo and Brigit had finished with the dirt and thrown out the robes they returned to the main chamber.

"What do we do with that bronze box up there?" Milo asked.

"Well we're not about to stop you two now." Mazi responded.

"Actually I'm more worried about what might happen if one of us sets foot on the pyramid." he responded.

"Good point. I don't know. That box is too big for my mage hand spell to retrieve it." said Mazi

"Ach, ya stand watch an' Ah'll go get it." Brigit exclaimed.

So they stood around, waiting for more elementals to rise up as Brigit set foot on the first step of the pyramid. Nothing happened. She took another ginger step, looking quite comical as she tiptoed in plate mail. Still nothing. She sighed and climbed the rest of the steps up to the bronze box. Once to the top she reached out tenderly to the metal container. Nothing happened, no rumbling of the earth, no crashing of the temple around their ears, nothing.

Brigit shrugged and opened the bronze box. Inside were bronze ceremonial items, a knife, a bowl, a small maul, and an ewer. Brigit tossed each one to the foot of the pyramid. She finished by climbing onto the box and pulling down the bronze manacles from the central column and tossing them onto the pile at the base of the steps.

"Ah know what we gotta do wi' those." Brigit said.

When she reached the base of the pyramid she picked up the manacles and the ewer, walked to one of the holes, dropped them in, and started filling the hole back in. Milo laughed at the temerity of the dwarf then pitched in to help. By the time they were finished all four of the friends were covered in dirt and none of the accouterments were anywhere to be seen.

They left the room in good spirits, deciding to finish mapping out the earth element before starting on the next level. They assumed it would be the element of water, and that didn't promise to be any easier than what they had already encountered. They would all need to rest up before they tackled anything like that.

 

[Nail]

Re: Temple of Elemental Evil - part 22 (session 10)

Inscribed on the scroll was a divine spell for warding a person against evil.

"Now who leaves a protection from evil spell in an evil temple?" Milo asked rhetorically.

Heh, heh.

Yup, that's always been a good one.......that an' why you often find scrolls of Fireballs or the like on dead mages that have been peppering you with lesser magicks.........

Hey, it's treasure, ain't it? Who's complainin'?

I suppose you could explain your new scroll as useful by one of the evil clerical sects against another evil clerical sect......

-Nail

 

[Milo Windby]

Too true, Nail

I always thought that was funny too Nail. I'm sure Mazi wishes fireball scrolls were even more common than that. Of course we never complain about any scrolls found laying around. We LIKE scrolls, honest Frog, we do.

 

[Nail]

Character sheets?

Say, Milo.....

Didn't ya post you an' yer buddies over at the Rogue's Gallery, er sumpin'? I can't find 'em. At the beginning of this thread? (I'm too lazy to look.....;^P

If not,...well....?

Mayhap you could put 'em up at yer web site. Make sure ta include "when" the character sheet snap-shot was taken. Before the Earth Temple? After the Water Temple? Keep OTB-L?

<mutters under breath, looks at boots> Ummm......An' yer writtin's gettin' better too........

-Nail

 

[Broccli_Head]

Finally caught up and at such an appropriate juncture...you've finished the earth elementals and are now proceeding to the next 'level'.

MW, you've definitely tightened up your story hours to good effect. I like the balance between the fighting and the witty dialogue, especially the verbal sparring between Brigit and Milo.

Keep it up!