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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 154059" data-attributes="member: 202">Temple of Elemental Evil - part 34 (session 14)After a turn to the east then another to the north they arrived at a north/west intersection.  They could see the left passage led to a charred doorway.  Intrigued, the adventurers decided to investigate.  The doorway led into a room covered in soot and ash.  The door had been blown off its hinges and scorch marks were evident around the frame.  Charred bones were scattered about with mostly burnt pieces of furniture."Hmmm, I wonder what happened here?" Milo asked to no one in particular."Mebbe these air temple guys pissed off some O tha fire temple guys." Brigit guessed."Your guess is as good as mine.  I'm inclined to agree with you though.  It looks like we could be in for quite a fight in the fire temple then." said Milo.If there was anything of value in the room before, it had long since been taken.  They left the room as they found it.  The north passage turned to the northeast before straightening to the east.  Another intersection lay ahead, this one continuing east as well as leading back to the southwest.The southwest passage led to a unique room.  It started narrow and expanded towards the south.  An odd-shaped alcove bent out of sight to the east of the entrance.  The contents of the room appealed to Milo more than the shape.  Supplies were neatly arranged along the walls and in the middle of the room.  Ammunition and hand weapons were in barrels and hung on the walls.  Rations and waterskins lay upon shelves, crates and boxes full of gear were stacked around the room.  Milo's eyes lit up with the possibility of treasure hidden in the room, or restocking supplies at the very least.The room was not unguarded.  As they stepped forward to look into the supplies a beastly growl emanated from near the ceiling.  A huge lumbering shape dropped from above to land in the middle of the room.  Four hairy arms stretched outwards as the blue furred beast roared.  Milo had heard of a creature such as this in Darokin."A girallon!" Milo shouted, "Wait for it to come to us, and don't let it get more than one claw into you!"Milo trusted in Brigit and Jeremiah enough to take a moment to utter a prayer to Usamigaras to bolster his friends and weaken his enemies.  Mazithra was busily preparing as well, "Zaboomifoo!" she shouted as she pointed the wand of enlargement at Jeremiah.The girallon roared once more before striding forward to attack.  The creature towered above all of them but Jeremiah, its reach extending beyond even Jeremiah's greatsword.  A glimmer of intelligence sparked in its eyes as it stopped just outside of that reach.  It's huge hands, all four of them, grasped for Jer.  Jeremiah wasn't fast enough to avoid the surprisingly fast attack.  Two of the girallon's claws grasped him at the shoulders before tearing into him in a horrific rend.  A third claw inflicted even more damage.Jeremiah was wounded badly, but not incapacitated.  He roared his own defiance and bridged the gap between them.  His sword chopped into the beast twice, drawing gouts of blood both times.  Milo took more time to strengthen Jeremiah's defense, casting a shield of faith on his friend.  Mazi also took another moment to enlarge Brigit as well.The relatively huge dwarf stepped in near Jeremiah and finished the fight in one mighty swing.  The girallon fell with a severed artery in its leg, crashing into some of the supplies before coming to a rest face down.Jeremiah staggered slightly as his wounds caught up to him.  Milo quickly came to his side to administer some minor healing spells.  Jer downed a healing draught as well, repairing most of the wounds the girallon inflicted.  Meanwhile Brigit proceeded to dismember the girallon corpse, not willing to fight an undead version of the huge beast.Once Milo was done healing Jeremiah, he turned his attention back to the room of supplies.  He was certain something would be stashed in the room somewhere.  He was dismayed to find nothing but run-of-the-mill supplies and some very grisly corpses.  It was obvious that the girallon was feeding off of past victims.  The adventurers restocked their ammunition, Milo taking an extra set of crossbow bolts as well.  They also marked the room on Mazi's map for future reference.  Once she was done with the girallon, Brigit scoured the room for oil flasks.  "Ah want ta be ready for any more O those slimes." was all she would say.She found some casks of lantern oil but no flasks to hold them.  Brigit ultimately left empty handed.  Back at the intersection they followed the eastern passage to a corner leading to the south.  They came across another intersection after a few minutes of exploration, this one to the east while the passage continued south before turning east itself.The eastern intersection led down a long passage that opened into a small room."What is that smell?" Mazi said in disgust.There was a distinct odor filtering towards them from the end of the hallway.  Mazi wrinkled her nose at the putrescent smell.  The scent grew stronger as they neared the small room.  By the time they reached the end even Brigit and Jeremiah were breathing light to avoid drawing in too much of the stench.  The source of the smell was obvious, the room was full of garbage."Uh uh, no way.  That's garbage, garbage means rats, I don't do rats." Mazi said, shaking her head."Hang on, I see something." Milo said as he peered into the garbage heap, "There's a coffer in there.""Ya can stay out here, elfie, we'll go in an' brave the eensy weensy rats." said Brigit.Brigit, Jeremiah, and Milo waded into the garbage towards the coffer.  They were mere feet away when the trash heap burst outwards.  Two suckered tentacles snapped out of the garbage towards the three.  A third tentacle lined with eyes emerged above an elongated mouth of teeth.  The reek of the room grew worse.  "Dinner" the putrid stench of the creature's breath washed over them.Not willing to be anyone's dinner, much less the garbage monster's, Milo waded in with both axes.  Mazi's arrow and Brigit's waraxe soon followed him.  The creature fell before it could even bring a tentacle to bear."That's an otyugh, even worse than rats!" said Mazi, "I'm glad I stayed out here." she finished with a shudder.Brigit and Jeremiah dragged the coffer from the garbage heap into the hallway before anything else could jump out at them.  Milo took some time examining the lock.  It was an intricate, complicated piece of work.  He took several attempts to open the coffer, thankful that there were no traps to set off when he'd slip now and then.  It wasn't too long before he heard the click of the lock disengaging.  He sat back on his haunches and lifted the lid.A small treasure trove of scrolls lay inside the coffer.  Milo lifted on to read and found the arcane markings eluded him.  He passed it back to Mazithra to study.  Mazi glanced over the runes excitedly."This is a web spell!" she said.  Milo handed her another, "This is a new one, a slow spell, I think."In all there were six arcane scrolls: web, slow, knock, Rary's mnemonic enhancer, magic missile, and a charm spell Mazi wasn't quite clear on.  "Any time we can brave the horrors of garbage pits, rats, and otyughs to bring you scrolls, you let us know Mazi." Milo said sarcastically.Mazi patted Milo on the head condescendingly, "Thank you so very much, you big, tough, meanie."Once the main passage turned east again they could see a branch to the south just ahead, as well as a funny intersection beyond.  The intersection led to the south, east, and southeast.  They chose the first branch before investigating the intersection.  A short hallway led to an old storage room.  This one was not in as good repair as the last.  Broken containers long empty lay strewn about.  Cracked tables lined the walls, laying empty and bare.  There didn't appear to be any secret doors or passages from the room either.  Being the methodical sort, the adventurers chose the southern passage at the intersection first.  After a brief walk they came to a western bend that led directly into the grand hall.  They emerged at the eastern end of the room.  Still it was empty of life, and unlife Milo was relieved to find.  The southeast passage led to a more interesting find.  Once it straightened to the south they came across a door set in the western wall.  Milo found no traps so they cautiously proceeded.  The door led into a short north/south hallway.  To the left the hall cut to the west, to the right it opened into an angled room, much like the triangle they found upstairs.  Torches lined the slanted wall ahead.  From his vantage point Milo could see a bugbear dressed in solid black seated at a table.  He quickly fired a shot from his crossbow before the bugbear could react.  The arrow missed, but the battle was on.Jeremiah was itching for combat since the fight with the otyugh was too short.  He charged at the bugbear, directly into a club wielded out of sight.  The unseen assailant had reach and clobbered Jer as he ran by.  Jeremiah stumbled from the critical blow to his head but continued his charge nonetheless.  His sword met the bugbear as it was drawing its weapon.  The unused longsword clattered to the ground, shortly followed by the bugbear's body.It was then that Jer turned to see what hit him like a bag of rocks.  A black-clad ogre grinned maliciously back at him.  Mazi stepped into the room, sighted the ogre, and loosed an arrow.  The missile reached the ogre seconds before Brigit who charged in past the elf.  Brigit was able to hold off the ogre and allow Milo to tumble in and attack from the other side of the room.  His bolt sunk into the ogre's chest and elicited a hearty roar.  Jeremiah cut the ogre short as he stepped in and slashed into the beast.  They quickly glanced around to make sure no other enemies were about.  Milo found that they were standing in a prison.  Cells lined the inner wall.  They found the hall leading to the west ended after a few paces and also was lined with cells.  In all they found three human men and four elves, three men and one elven maid.  Mazi let out a startled gasp when she looked into the cell with the elves."<Lady Tillahi?>" Mazi said in elven.  Milo was glad he had taken the effort to pick the language up in Darokin.The elven woman peered out into the bright torchlight, "<P-princess Mazithra?>"Mazi looked extremely embarrassed at the sound of her title."<Yes, it's me.  What are you doing here?>"Brigit and Jeremiah were completely lost in the conversation.  They set about searching the corpses and investigating the other cells."<My consort, Sir Juffer, and I were abducted months ago.  Surely you knew?  We've lost track of all time down here. But what are you doing here?  Why aren't you with the others?>""<Wait, months?  That's impossible, I was with you up until the day I ran awa...left, the day before the ceremony.>""<No my lady, we were kidnapped long before the day of your ascension.  I fear that we have recently outlived our usefulness.  We were insurance until they spoke of sacrificing us.>""<They?  Who do you mean?>""<The priests of the water temple.>'"""<What do you know of all this, princess?>""<Probably less than you.  We need to get you out of here.>"Milo turned away at that point to search the jailers.  He found the keys to the cell on the bugbear's corpse.  He noted again the bugbear and ogre's uniforms.  They were both completely black with no insignia at all.  He turned to Mazi and handed her the keys.  She was still communicating with Lady Tillahi in elven.They seemed to be talking mostly about personal matters so Milo gave the keys to Mazi and let them be.  He walked around the corner to where Brigit and Jeremiah were watching silently over the three men in the other cell.  Two were obviously once wealthy men, perhaps merchants.  The other was of a different sort altogether.  He was a shady individual, with a very shifty gaze.  Milo felt immediately that he may have something in common with the man.  He spoke to him first."Who are you?" Milo asked the man."I'm a...collector...of sorts." he answered."A 'collector'?  I can imagine.  I may have done some 'collecting' of my own.  So is that how you came to be here?  Did you 'collect' something belonging to the temple?"The rogue grinned before responding, "Not quite.  I found I had fallen in with the wrong sort of people and they didn't seem to want to let me leave.""Right.  What kind of people might that be?" Milo said, hoping to gain more information about the temple."Let's just say I've seen things that no man should see.  The priests here are sick, sick in the brain.""So we've found.  Tell you what, we can free you, but we need a guarantee that you won't run back to the priests as soon as you're out of our sight.  A guarantee that you won't double-cross us like they supposedly did you." Milo did his best to watch for signs of deception from the rogue.  Either he was honest or he was better at hiding them than Milo was at spotting them."I have information that may help you.  What guarantee do I have that you won't just kill me once you have it though?""Honor among thieves, eh?""I ain't no thief!""Merely an expression.  We'll let you out of your cell and give you some food as a goodwill gesture.  You tell us your story and we let you go.  Simple."The rogue studied the small halfling intently for a few moments before speaking, "Suits me, I've got nothing better to do."Milo retrieved the keys from Mazi, who had already let out the elves and was still speaking with them in a quiet corner.  He returned to the other cell and located the key to the lock.  The rogue came out cautiously, followed by the two cowering older men.  They ignored Milo completely, directing their attention towards the brooding dwarf and huge barbarian.  Milo led them to the bugbear's table, still set with a sizeable amount of edible food.  All three dug in with gusto.  Once the 'collector' seemed to have his fill Milo continued their discussion."So what kind of information can you give us?" Milo asked."I know things, things about this place.""Secret passages?  Back ways?""Nah, they never showed me any of that sort of stuff.  I know about the temples though." the rogue answered, "There are four temples, one for each of the basic elements.  Earth, Air, Water, and Fire." He stopped to take a long drink from the bugbear's watered down ale.  "None of the temples are all that friendly with each other, but its those in Black that are the real scary ones.  They're the strongest of any of them.""So none of them have banded against the ones in Black?" Milo prompted."Oh sure, they try to band together.  The Water temple is the strongest of the four.  The Fire temple is trying to enlist the aid of the Air temple and they're trying to combine with the Earth temple.  It's worse than a king's court with the intrigue that goes on in this place."It's those that are in Black that keep it from going too far.  They come up from the lower level whenever one of the temples gets too strong and break it up.  They know what they're doing.""So we've found the Air and Water temple here on this level, does that mean the Fire temple is below us and the Black ones below that?""Nah, not at all.  You got the Earth temple above, looks like you sneaked past them"  Milo grinned at that statement.  "The Water temple is in the south portion of this level, the Air is near us here, and the Fire is in the southwest area of this level.  The Black Ones are below us.  Whatever they're digging up is below that."Thing is, I don't think the four temples want it dug up.  They all go on and on about some Thari or something,"  Mazi's ears pricked at the sound of that name,  "The Black Ones speak only of Zadoom.""We've heard of Thari, who is Zadoom?" asked Milo."Don't know.  I wasn't exactly high up on the food chain here.  I've told you all that I found out in short time that I was here.  The priests didn't see it to trust me too much."I've upheld my part of the bargain, now it's your turn.""You're free to go just as soon as we're done here."  Milo turned his attention to the two older men.  "Now you two, tell me why we should let you go?"The taller of the two addressed Milo, "We are of no consequence to you.  We would cause no trouble.  We were taken in a raid on our caravan.""Fine and good, but you're going to have to make it worth our while to get you out of here." Milo answered.The two men conversed quietly for a moment before turning back to Milo and speaking three words, "Gaffer and Jaffer."Milo recognized the names.  Gaffer and Jaffer was a huge shipping company.  Their interests lied mainly on the coast but he supposed they had caravans that traveled inland.  If they were important enough in the company then helping them out could come in very handy in the future."So are you trying to tell me that you are the famed Gaffer and Jaffer?""Not at all, but if you were to help us we can guarantee that they would be very grateful.  The gratitude of Gaffer and Jaffer can go a long way in some places.""Good enough.  We'll help you out, but understand that this is drawing us away from very important matters.  This is no light task." Milo played their plight up as much as he could."We understand sir.  Completely."Mazi called Milo over for a hurried conference before they prepared to leave.</blockquote>

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