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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 83521" data-attributes="member: 202">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.</blockquote>

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