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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 1717" data-attributes="member: 202">Temple of Elemental Evil - part 2 (session 7)With the threat gone, the party checked the bodies. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Just seven large, bearded men, each with their own battle axe. There were a few silver pieces on each."That's it?" Milo said, "He stole that urn and all he could get was some silver?" He finished in disgust. Milo would have got a few hundred gold out of it at least."He must have used the rest to buy those axes. He really wanted that axe, Brigit." Mazi said with a slight smile."Want it or not, it won't do em no good where he's at now. Good riddance!" Brigit replied as she spat on the mountain man's corpse again.Not wanting to take the time to deal with the bodies, Milo convinced the barge master to have someone come back and dispose of them properly after he dropped them off in Specularum. Yomann agreed hesitantly and they unloaded the corpses to the shore. Yomann used his steering pole to detach the rope anchoring them to the bank and they glided back out onto the river. Once again underway, Milo relaxed a little. All of the adventurers kept their wits about them, wary for another ambush further down the stream. There were no more traps between them and Specularum. It took two more days to reach the capital city of Specularum. They could see the city from miles upriver, stretching from the banks of Highreach to the grasslands beyond. A large forest could be seen in the distance. A few hours later they pulled into the special port designed for river barges. Yomann helped them unload their goods then bid them farewell. He seemed eager to get back on the river. Milo couldn't tell if it was a desire to be back on the water or to get away from them. He did hear the portly man mutter something about cleaning the stains off the deck.Walking out from the port into the city was a blase experience for Milo. Specularum was big, but not as grand as the jewel city of Darokin. Mazi seemed similarly unaffected. Brigit and Jeremiah had obviously never been in a big city before though. Brigit's head craned this way and that to catch all of the sights, sounds, and smells. Jeremiah's mouth gaped at the assaults on his senses. Milo worried for a moment about the barbarian, afraid that he may have a problem with the massive amount of people bustling about their own business. He didn't worry long, Jeremiah's face split into a wide grin when Brigit pointed out to him all of the taverns near the port."Um, before you go making a permanent indentation on any barstools, let's find slightly nicer accommodations. I don't fancy spending the night in my armor sitting on my gear in case some foolhardy cutpurse decides we're easy marks." Milo said to two eager friends."Ya worry too much, halflin. Fine. We'll do it yer way, but I don't see what tha fuss is about. These look like my kinda people!" Brigit answered with a broad sweep of her arms."Drinking buddies are one thing, greedy bottom-dwellers are another. Trust me, this is the perfect place to catch travelers unaware. I speak from experience. Let's head farther into the city and find a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow we can get outfitted for our trip to Luln." Milo said.With that the group headed into the city. They passed a huge outdoor market. Hawkers could be heard competing with each other as they tried to sell their wares. Jeremiah's head whipped back and forth as he tried to take everything in at once. A few entertainers could be seen plying their trade for a coin or two. A fire-breather puffed a gout of flame right above Brigit's head as they passed by. Jeremiah giggled. Milo was amazed at the change the city had on the normally dour barbarian.Once past the market they found more taverns. Not the nicest places in the city, but a far cry from the dilapidated buildings littering the wharf district. Mazi and Milo examined a few inns from a distance and agreed on one to spend the night. The Shorn Sheep looked to be the classiest inn in the district. They headed in, under the sign displaying a rather bald ruminant. The common room was well lit and busy, especially for the early hour of the evening. The four made their way to the bar and stood by as Mazi made arrangements with the barkeep for their room and board. After obtaining a key to an upstairs room they were warned against causing any disturbances on the premises and the strict consequence of breaking the peace. Once their gear was settled they decided to go back downstairs and get a real dinner before surveying more of the city. The fare was passable, better than any of the rations they had been eating on the journey to the capital. Brigit challenged Jeremiah to a drinking contest before the last bite had been eaten. They headed off to the bar with the flimsy excuse of the contest to enjoy the ale in this strange new city. Milo and Mazi laughed at their eagerness as they finished their meals. They split up after dinner and scouted out the immediate surroundings of the inn.Milo found that most of the shops closed up shortly after nightfall. He mentally marked the shops that were best suited to outfit them for the journey. He learned of a halfling district after speaking with a countryman passing by. They exchanged pleasantries and found that their home shires were neighbors. They swapped a couple of stories about mutual acquaintances before the other halfling had to leave to finish his errand.Once back in the inn Milo found that Brigit and Jeremiah were well on their way to a drunken stupor as they slammed back pint after pint. Apparently Specularum ale was agreeable. Mazi entered the inn a few minutes later and they compared notes. There were plenty of shops in the area that would do well to prepare them for the next leg of the journey. After dragging Brigit and Jer away from death by inebriation they settled in their room with plans to visit the shops the next day. The next day extended to three days as they went from shop to shop, finding all of the gear they needed or wanted. Jeremiah had been saving his gold for a great war-horse. Not exactly a steed needed to ride from one town to the next, but Milo figured it was his coin to do with as he pleased. He returned to the inn that night with a great smile on his face, leading a huge grey gelding with military tack. Brigit found a reasonably sized pony for a dwarf-sized rider and Mazi purchased a lighter steed, a white and dappled grey mare. For his own mount Milo found the halfling district and tracked down a dog stable. He picked out a riding dog with white and black fur and light blue eyes. They took to each other immediately. The Shorn Sheep had accommodations for halfling mounts in their stable so he had no trouble keeping the dog.On the third night the companions sat around a table in the common room, discussing the journey to Luln. Brigit was getting impatient to be off and find her any clues to her sister's whereabouts. They decided that they were as ready as they ever would be and they would leave early the next morning.Just then a commotion broke out on the other side of the inn door. Shouts could be heard as well as a crashing. The night fell unnaturally silent for a few moments. Milo glanced at his friends and nodded, they all reached for their weapons. The doors to the inn burst open, throwing splinters and chunks of wood all over the common room.A slumped figure shambled through the debris, Milo strained to make out its features in the gloom that surrounded the entryway. He heard Mazi groan and say, "Not again."The figure slouched into the light and Milo saw what prompted those words from the elf's lips. A slack jawed face stared at them, its flesh was stitched together crudely and it limped horribly. Worse of all, he recognized the gaping wound in the creature's forehead. It was Bordamere! Brought to life again, this time as an animated golem pieced together after the battle in the caves. Milo was the next to groan.The unnatural automaton shambled towards Mazi. It made no sound but the scraping of its limp foot on the ground. The silence was eerie. Milo stowed his crossbow and reached for his axes, the drawing of the twin bone hafts breaking the preternatural silence in the common room. As if the silence had bound him, Jeremiah charged forward at the sound. His sword dived down at the animated golem, inflicting serious harm. With blinding speed he slashed sideways as well, shearing off more of flesh from the beast. Brigit hung back from the fray and drew back the string in her bow. Her aim was precise and the arrow flew true, straight into the ex-Bordamere's chest. It was unfazed. Mazi shouted, "Magic only, it's a magic construct, your weapons have to be enchanted!"Distracted by the shout Jeremiah was surprised by the speed that the golem displayed as it moved to attack him. The construct slammed Jer with a double-fisted blow to the head. Jer staggered under the critical blow, stars swimming in his vision. A nasty wound bled from the side of his skull. Milo noticed that fragments of bone were protruding from the golem's fists, the better to wound its victims.Mazithra drew back her own bowstring and knocked one of the special magic arrows she had been saving. She fired the missile at Bordamere but was disappointed as it skimmed past his head, mere inches from the wound her arrow caused it in life.Milo started towards the creature but was passed by Brigit. With expert speed she had stowed her bow and drawn her waraxe in one fluid motion. Before she reached the flesh golem Jeremiah recovered from the massive blow to the head to rally an impressive round of attacks. He slashed fiercely at the golem, sloughing off flesh and breaking stitches. Bordamere was all but falling apart by the time Brigit reached Jer's side.She skidded to a halt and lifted her magic axe. The enchanted metal swung down heavily, whistling in the air above the golem's head. It crashed upon its skull, shattering the damaged bone and cleaving it in two down to its chest. The golem fell backwards from Brigit as she kicked it away from her axe."Alright, tell me now, how do we get rid O this guy fer good? How many times do we gotta kill em?" Brigit said with an exasperated sigh.Any forthcoming response was interrupted by the arrival of the city guard. Luckily the adventurers had kept the damage to a minimum, the only property destroyed was the door to the inn. No patrons were harmed and the barkeep had hid behind his bar through the whole battle. Nevertheless, they were detained by the guard and put under house arrest while an official investigation was conducted.They were each questioned individually by the court inquirer. After the stories were correlated and scrutinized the party was released. It was determined by the investigators to be a single episode of revenge directed towards the group. They were held liable for repairs on the inn door but suffered no other consequences. All in all the process took two more days. Milo was impressed, he had seen lesser infractions lumber through the system for months in Darokin. Apparently flesh golems bent on revenge were commonplace in Specularum.</blockquote>

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