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<blockquote data-quote="SolidSnake" data-source="post: 61832" data-attributes="member: 102"><p><strong>Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Session 6- “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” –Sun Tzu, The Art of War (or “OK, so when they come around the corner, we hit them on the head…”)</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>The group was discussing their next move outside of the Dirk Tavern when they spotted an unusual site along Rastor’s main road. Approaching was a valiant half-elven knight, mounted upon a majestic steed. His polished armor reflected the rays of the sun, bringing its engravings into sharp focus for all to see. Dr. Noh and Lathander immediately recognized some of the symbols on his armor as those of Heironious, the Valiant God of Justice. Without so much as a pause, the paladin rode his horse through the throng of onlookers toward the gathered party. His dismount was as abrupt as his personality, for he began to speak the second his armored feet hit the ground.</p><p></p><p>Paladin: “My name is Sentian Thann and I have heard of great evil in the mines not far from this village. I seek your aid in not only destroying this evil, but also to find one of my men. He was sent here to confirm the rumors of this mine, but he has not returned. Will you help me?”</p><p></p><p>Everyone was stunned, both from the intensity of the proclamation and the amount of information it carried. Strider was the first to recover his composure and extend his hand.</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Good to meet you Sentian. My name is Strider and I too am interested in the mines.”</p><p></p><p>With some instance from Bandar, Strider led Sentian and the rest of the group out of earshot into a nearby alley.</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Our group has been chasing some members of a strange cult in order to bring them to justice...that path has brought us here.”</p><p></p><p>Sentian: “The man I spoke of before, Tenaris Glimmerdawn, was on a quest for the Citadel when-"</p><p></p><p>Lathander: “The Citadel?! You are from Greyhawk!”</p><p></p><p>Sentian: “Yes, I am stationed there.”</p><p></p><p>Lathander: “I trained in Greyhawk as well…”</p><p></p><p>Aramek: (sarcastically) “Well I’m glad that we’re all chummy now. Let’s get us some supplies and get going.”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Aramek is right, we should stock up on supplies before we head out. Since we are going into the mines, I would suggest stabling your horse…the man who can arrange that is inside, his name is Tal Chammish.”</p><p></p><p>Sentian: “Very well, I will make arrangements for Xerxes and meet you at the edge of town shortly.”</p><p></p><p>With that the group dissolved, each man running last minute errands before heading towards the edge of town. Strider even had the forethought of obtaining a local guide to steer the group clear of danger on their trek up the mountain. Unfortunately for Aramek, the only available guide was a half-orc with an unpronounceable name. The dwarf kept his mouth shut, but his eyes never left the half-orc as they traveled. A few miles into the journey, the guide stopped the party in the middle of the path and began to sniff the air. Aramek snorted in disgust at the sight, but his smirk quickly gave way to shock as he saw five figures materials out of thin air and converge on his companions. One was a large orc with a great axe, another was a human priestess donning familiar ochre-colored robes, the third was a demonic-looking witch, and the last was the human killer Merkaeytl had described earlier…leading them all was a man the group had fought with before: Chatrilon.</p><p></p><p>Without mercy Chatrilon thrust his rapier into Dr. Noh chest, while the human and orc warriors hacked Lathander to pieces…the witch and the priestess amused themselves by pelting the party from afar with dark energies. Lathander recovered quickly from the assault and attempted to paralyze the orc attacking him. Dr. Noh stumbled backwards and began to heal the deadly wound Chatrilon had inflicted upon him, while Bandar caused the earth to quake with his psionic powers dropping both the human and orc warriors to the ground. Strider and Sentian engaged the adept Chratilon, but his sword proved to be to fast and accurate to allow any contact. Aramek, on the other hand, put an end to the witch’s magical reign of terror by caving in her face with his warhammer. The once fearsome enemy force that had hoped to destroy the party had been reduced to Chatrilon and a priestess. Any thoughts of victory that the enemy had were quickly dispelled as the flat of Strider’s blade slammed into Chatrilon’s face, sending him reeling backwards. Sensing the futility of the battle (and the pain of a broken nose), Chatrilon glided away from the battle, produced a wand from his belt, and disappeared. Sentian finished the orc with a swift slash to the throat, while Aramek killed the priestess with a single blow to the head. Lathander was more interested in answered questions than revenge, so he merely knocked the human warrior unconscious. While Strider tied him up, Aramek and Bandar removed his arms and armor. The half-orc guide looked on with disinterest, having secured the northern stretch of road with his longbow while the party fought Chatrilon and his thugs.</p><p></p><p>The human killer was just as Merk described: pale blue eyes and a wicked scar that ran across his nose. Aramek held onto his weapon, a serrated bastard sword, while Strider shook him awake. The man’s eyes opened slowly and deliberately. He surveyed his surroundings without any hint of emotion.</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Who sent you.”</p><p></p><p>The man looked at Strider and then spit blood on the ground in front of him.</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Talk!”</p><p></p><p>The man responded with silence.</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Are you not speaking because you have no tongue? Open your mouth!”</p><p></p><p>Ripping his dagger free from its sheath, Strider jammed the point into the human’s mouth and tried to pry it open. Unfortunately, his efforts ended in frustration as only a thin line of blood trickled down the man’s lip. Angry, the ranger began to slice the man’s cheek open in savage fury. Bandar immediately reacted to this behavior by shoving Strider in the chest and watching him topple backwards onto the ground.</p><p></p><p>Bandar: “What are you doing?! Stop it!”</p><p></p><p>Strider: (after picking himself up off the ground) “Get out of my way! You followed me here, not the other way around! If you don’t like the way I do things then LEAVE!”</p><p></p><p>Bandar: “I followed you because I thought you were a good man. You can’t treat prisoners this way…it isn’t right. There must be rules...”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “This man tried to kill Merk! This is a quest for vengeance, not some pretty thing you have concocted in your mind!”</p><p></p><p>Aramek: “Aye, he did try to kill her, but it seems he didn’t do a very good job lad. It looks like he ain’t gonna talk though. I’ve seen his type before…he’s a mercenary. We should just give him to our guide to turn over to the authorities back in Rastor, since we can’t take him with us.”</p><p></p><p>Sentian: “I concur with Aramek. Torturing this man won’t undo what he has done Strider.”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Very well.”</p><p></p><p>Although the communication was difficult, the party somehow managed to convince the half-orc guide to take the bound prisoner back to Rastor for the sum of a platinum piece. The guide directed the party the rest of the way through the use of a diagram drawn in the dirt. On the way to their destination, Strider tried to explain his actions to the patient Lathander. The priest nodded in understanding, but his worried frown hinted at his unease around the once-perfect leader of the party.</p><p></p><p>The entrance to the mines was exactly where the half-orc said it would be, surprising the suspicious Aramek. The grand double doors were embedded into the side of a cliff face. Strider’s keen eyes immediately saw the arrow slits carved in the stone near the entrance, but interestingly he noticed no movement within. Easing the doors open, he and Aramek led the party inside. Torches lit the interior, revealing disturbing murals of sacrifices and demons. On the ground were four symbols: an upside down brown triangle, an amber diamond, a white circle, and a blue-green square. The main antechamber branched off into two other hallways and stopped at another set of double doors. Strider and Sentian heard noises down the right hallway, so they sent the ranger to go investigate. Down the hallway, four gnolls seemed to be engrossed in a game of dice around a table; piles of coins were scattered over the surface of the table and their weapons lay on the ground next to them. After discussing what he had seen with the party, Strider laid bare his plan of attack: one of the party members would walk down the hall and challenge the gnolls, who would be unable to resist a lone target and thus would run into the waiting hands of the party. Since no one disagreed with the plan, Sentian volunteered to be the bait. While the party positioned themselves, the bold paladin marched down the hallway yelling praise to his god and the wrath his blade would bring to the evil of this mining complex. The gnolls, who had been very content dicing the day away, looked up in anger and began picking up their weapons. Three of them moved to intercept Sentian, while the last grabbed at thin chain that dangled from the ceiling. Strider, who had placed himself at an excellent vantage point, had not noticed the chain until the gnoll reached for it. <em>Oh no…</em> In desperation Strider drew an arrow to his cheek and fired…unfortunately, the projectile missed its mark and the gnoll was able to pull the chain.</p><p></p><p>Everyone but Strider was surprised when they heard the deafening ring of bells going off in all directions.</p><p></p><p>Aramek: “Come on! Help Sentian!!”</p><p></p><p>Leading the charge, the dwarf flung himself into melee with the rest of the party in his wake. The four gnolls defended themselves with admirable skill as the party attempted to fell them quickly. Four opponents was nothing new to the party, but four became eight and eight became twelve as doors began to open up and down both hallways. Backing off, Strider tried to defend the party’s rear from the oncoming assault. Setting himself for the charge, Strider saw the double doors at the end of the antechamber burst open. A swarm of human and gnoll warriors armed for battle were led into the antechamber by an ogre and a half-elf astride a fiendish steed that howled as it ran. As the enemy force charged, they exposed two ballistaes…<em>Ehlonna have mercy…</em> Strider had only an instant to hurl himself to the ground as he heard the tension from the siege weapons release and hurl their payload in his direction. As his face hit the stone he heard the wood from the spears shatter against the door behind him. Before he arose, the howling fiend and its half-elven rider were upon him. When the Howler bit into his arm, poisoned quills shot from the beast’s body and sank into Strider’s flesh. Bandar used his psychic concussions to pummel the ogre and thereby diverting its attention from the dying ranger. The brave dwarf was bracing himself for the inevitable pain from ogre’s huge club, when fog began to fill the area around him. From the shouts of surprise that went up all around him, he was sure that both friend and foe were taken by surprise with this new development. <em>Who did that?</em></p><p></p><p>Lathander saw Dr. Noh casting just before the cloud of mist hit. His vision was greatly obstructed, but his ears definitely picked up the shouts of pain coming from Strider. Making his way through the dense haze, Lathander found the warrior locked in deathly combat with the Howler and its rider. The punishment Strider had endured was obvious from the blood soaking through his clothing. Lathander wasted no time in healing him and screaming for help. It was then that Noh appeared from the mist and used one of the scrolls Yether had given him to restore Strider back to his original state of health. It went on like this for quite sometime: Strider taking brutal punishment from the Howler and its rider, while Noh and Lathander used every ounce of their divine power to keep him alive…</p><p></p><p>Sentian was having an easy time of things. The fog that blocked his vision also blocked that of the few enemies surrounding him. Although they were adept fighters, they were no match for Sentian. The paladin had trained for many months with some of the finest warriors the Freecity of Greyhawk had to offer. He had seen nearly every style of fighting there was…his instructors were harsh and thus made sure that their lessons were well learned. These gnolls and humans that fought him were more afraid of not seeing their companions than Sentian was of succumbing to their attacks. Sentian had to count on himself many times before, so isolation was nothing new to him…this was not the case for his would-be adversaries. <em>This is almost funny.</em> Another gnoll fell and then another. The divine knight merely snickered and waited for others to take their place…</p><p></p><p>Aramek was crushing human soldiers when he heard Strider’s cry for help. Oblivious to the enemies surrounding him, the dwarf carved a path to the origin of the sound with his warhammer. His only thoughts were on helping his friend, but all of that quickly changed when he found himself nearly face to face with the ogre. From the numerous cracks along the floor, Aramek was pretty sure that Bandar had avoided the worst of the ogre’s attacks. <em>Sorry Strider…</em> With a roar, Aramek charged head long into the fray swinging his hammer with inhuman strength. He knew that he connected solidly when he heard the familiar sound of bone crushing. The ogre answered right back with his great club, breaking most of Aramek’s ribs and nearly knocking him unconscious. Bandar kept up his psychic assault, giving Aramek enough time to recover…the dwarf wasn’t sure if the shock of the impact had knocked his senses loose, but he was pretty sure he heard Lathander screaming about light and Pelor. <em>Just what we need: undead.</em></p><p></p><p>Lathander was trained well in the destruction of undead. He knew everything there was to know about their existence, especially how to obliterate them. When he saw that zombie shambling towards him, his first reaction was to smite it. <em>So why wasn’t it reduced to dust from my power? Why does it simply flee? True, its eyes had been replaced with the symbols of Tharizdun, but that seemed hardly enough to protect it from Pelor’s might…unless there was another priest around. That must be it!</em> The priest’s pondering was brought to an end when the fog that had mysteriously filled the antechamber and both hallways suddenly vanished. Aramek, Bandar and Strider were all standing over the body of the ogre…apparently Strider had managed to dispatch both the Howler and the rider after Lathander left him to go fight the zombies. Sentian was walking up the southern hallway alone and completely unscathed. It was troubling that Dr. Noh was nowhere to be found…that and the fact that more of those strange zombies poured out of the northern hallway. Lathander tried another Turning, but it had little effect on the shambling creatures, causing only two out of the ten to flee. Although Strider, Aramek, Bandar, and Sentian were not equipped with Pelor’s wrath, they made short work of the undead. Once the battle had ended, the party had the opportunity to gaze upon the bodies littering the floor.</p><p></p><p>Bandar: “Where is Dr. Noh?”</p><p></p><p>Lathander: “I heard him call upon Pelor’s might during battle, but I don’t know where he went.”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Calm down, I’m sure he is around somewhere. Let’s just check the immediate area.”</p><p></p><p>Aramek: “Aye, and check the bodies too!”</p><p></p><p>Once the party had finished relieving the dead of its valuables, they began to set check the doorways along both halls. Most of them led off into unfamiliar territory that no one was willing to explore at that moment. One of them; however, contained a few craven guards that had apparently barricaded themselves in once the fighting began. With little violence, Strider was able to convince them that their current employment was not conducive to their future…they quickly ran.</p><p></p><p>Sentian: “I think it may be a good idea to remain here for the night and rest up. It is a very defensible position and the arrow slits provide us with a view of the main entrance. We are in no condition to look for Dr. Noh as we are now.”</p><p></p><p>Aramek: “The man’s right.”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “Alright, we stay here for the night and rest up.”</p><p></p><p>Guard duty was pulled in doubles: one man to guard the door and another to watch through the arrow slits. The only thing fairly interesting that happened that night was a few humans fled through the entrance…probably more craven guards that needed a career change.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, the party went from room to room searching for any signs of Noh. Many of the rooms contained a bit of treasure and odd trinkets. Strider acquired a new bow in addition to the magical leather armor he got off the dead half-elf, Sentian found a quiver of well-crafted arrows along with the magical cloak he procured from one of the fallen, and Bandar added more coins to the party’s already growing horde. Lathander was more interested in the letter he found addressed to a person called Naquent, implicating members of the “Outer Fane” with the search for the “Champion of Evil.” No one could make heads or tails of what it meant, but Strider remembered the name all too well in the note Redithador had left him. More exploration revealed that the worked stone of the main entrance ended with both the northern and southern hallways. The group decided to go north, as that is where the zombies came from. Leading the party, Strider scouted ahead to make sure the way was clear. Tunnels fanned out in every direction, but ultimately they seemed to be uninhabited. Sets of worked stairs made many of the tunnels crisscross one another, creating a veritable maze. It was at one such intersection that the party began to discuss the direction they wanted to take when Strider heard a muffled voice echoing down one of the tunnels. Not far from their position, they found Dr. Noh tied and gagged in the center of a small cavern. Taking no chances, the party spread out all the tunnels leading into and out of the cavern before sending Aramek to untie the helpless gnome. It was just as the dwarf began to undo the cords binding Noh, when a vaguely humanoid piece of wall detached itself from the environment and struck the wooden beam supporting the cavern. Everyone looked up as the ceiling began to collapse, showering rock everywhere.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SolidSnake, post: 61832, member: 102"] [b]Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Session 6- “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” –Sun Tzu, The Art of War (or “OK, so when they come around the corner, we hit them on the head…”)[/b] The group was discussing their next move outside of the Dirk Tavern when they spotted an unusual site along Rastor’s main road. Approaching was a valiant half-elven knight, mounted upon a majestic steed. His polished armor reflected the rays of the sun, bringing its engravings into sharp focus for all to see. Dr. Noh and Lathander immediately recognized some of the symbols on his armor as those of Heironious, the Valiant God of Justice. Without so much as a pause, the paladin rode his horse through the throng of onlookers toward the gathered party. His dismount was as abrupt as his personality, for he began to speak the second his armored feet hit the ground. Paladin: “My name is Sentian Thann and I have heard of great evil in the mines not far from this village. I seek your aid in not only destroying this evil, but also to find one of my men. He was sent here to confirm the rumors of this mine, but he has not returned. Will you help me?” Everyone was stunned, both from the intensity of the proclamation and the amount of information it carried. Strider was the first to recover his composure and extend his hand. Strider: “Good to meet you Sentian. My name is Strider and I too am interested in the mines.” With some instance from Bandar, Strider led Sentian and the rest of the group out of earshot into a nearby alley. Strider: “Our group has been chasing some members of a strange cult in order to bring them to justice...that path has brought us here.” Sentian: “The man I spoke of before, Tenaris Glimmerdawn, was on a quest for the Citadel when-" Lathander: “The Citadel?! You are from Greyhawk!” Sentian: “Yes, I am stationed there.” Lathander: “I trained in Greyhawk as well…” Aramek: (sarcastically) “Well I’m glad that we’re all chummy now. Let’s get us some supplies and get going.” Strider: “Aramek is right, we should stock up on supplies before we head out. Since we are going into the mines, I would suggest stabling your horse…the man who can arrange that is inside, his name is Tal Chammish.” Sentian: “Very well, I will make arrangements for Xerxes and meet you at the edge of town shortly.” With that the group dissolved, each man running last minute errands before heading towards the edge of town. Strider even had the forethought of obtaining a local guide to steer the group clear of danger on their trek up the mountain. Unfortunately for Aramek, the only available guide was a half-orc with an unpronounceable name. The dwarf kept his mouth shut, but his eyes never left the half-orc as they traveled. A few miles into the journey, the guide stopped the party in the middle of the path and began to sniff the air. Aramek snorted in disgust at the sight, but his smirk quickly gave way to shock as he saw five figures materials out of thin air and converge on his companions. One was a large orc with a great axe, another was a human priestess donning familiar ochre-colored robes, the third was a demonic-looking witch, and the last was the human killer Merkaeytl had described earlier…leading them all was a man the group had fought with before: Chatrilon. Without mercy Chatrilon thrust his rapier into Dr. Noh chest, while the human and orc warriors hacked Lathander to pieces…the witch and the priestess amused themselves by pelting the party from afar with dark energies. Lathander recovered quickly from the assault and attempted to paralyze the orc attacking him. Dr. Noh stumbled backwards and began to heal the deadly wound Chatrilon had inflicted upon him, while Bandar caused the earth to quake with his psionic powers dropping both the human and orc warriors to the ground. Strider and Sentian engaged the adept Chratilon, but his sword proved to be to fast and accurate to allow any contact. Aramek, on the other hand, put an end to the witch’s magical reign of terror by caving in her face with his warhammer. The once fearsome enemy force that had hoped to destroy the party had been reduced to Chatrilon and a priestess. Any thoughts of victory that the enemy had were quickly dispelled as the flat of Strider’s blade slammed into Chatrilon’s face, sending him reeling backwards. Sensing the futility of the battle (and the pain of a broken nose), Chatrilon glided away from the battle, produced a wand from his belt, and disappeared. Sentian finished the orc with a swift slash to the throat, while Aramek killed the priestess with a single blow to the head. Lathander was more interested in answered questions than revenge, so he merely knocked the human warrior unconscious. While Strider tied him up, Aramek and Bandar removed his arms and armor. The half-orc guide looked on with disinterest, having secured the northern stretch of road with his longbow while the party fought Chatrilon and his thugs. The human killer was just as Merk described: pale blue eyes and a wicked scar that ran across his nose. Aramek held onto his weapon, a serrated bastard sword, while Strider shook him awake. The man’s eyes opened slowly and deliberately. He surveyed his surroundings without any hint of emotion. Strider: “Who sent you.” The man looked at Strider and then spit blood on the ground in front of him. Strider: “Talk!” The man responded with silence. Strider: “Are you not speaking because you have no tongue? Open your mouth!” Ripping his dagger free from its sheath, Strider jammed the point into the human’s mouth and tried to pry it open. Unfortunately, his efforts ended in frustration as only a thin line of blood trickled down the man’s lip. Angry, the ranger began to slice the man’s cheek open in savage fury. Bandar immediately reacted to this behavior by shoving Strider in the chest and watching him topple backwards onto the ground. Bandar: “What are you doing?! Stop it!” Strider: (after picking himself up off the ground) “Get out of my way! You followed me here, not the other way around! If you don’t like the way I do things then LEAVE!” Bandar: “I followed you because I thought you were a good man. You can’t treat prisoners this way…it isn’t right. There must be rules...” Strider: “This man tried to kill Merk! This is a quest for vengeance, not some pretty thing you have concocted in your mind!” Aramek: “Aye, he did try to kill her, but it seems he didn’t do a very good job lad. It looks like he ain’t gonna talk though. I’ve seen his type before…he’s a mercenary. We should just give him to our guide to turn over to the authorities back in Rastor, since we can’t take him with us.” Sentian: “I concur with Aramek. Torturing this man won’t undo what he has done Strider.” Strider: “Very well.” Although the communication was difficult, the party somehow managed to convince the half-orc guide to take the bound prisoner back to Rastor for the sum of a platinum piece. The guide directed the party the rest of the way through the use of a diagram drawn in the dirt. On the way to their destination, Strider tried to explain his actions to the patient Lathander. The priest nodded in understanding, but his worried frown hinted at his unease around the once-perfect leader of the party. The entrance to the mines was exactly where the half-orc said it would be, surprising the suspicious Aramek. The grand double doors were embedded into the side of a cliff face. Strider’s keen eyes immediately saw the arrow slits carved in the stone near the entrance, but interestingly he noticed no movement within. Easing the doors open, he and Aramek led the party inside. Torches lit the interior, revealing disturbing murals of sacrifices and demons. On the ground were four symbols: an upside down brown triangle, an amber diamond, a white circle, and a blue-green square. The main antechamber branched off into two other hallways and stopped at another set of double doors. Strider and Sentian heard noises down the right hallway, so they sent the ranger to go investigate. Down the hallway, four gnolls seemed to be engrossed in a game of dice around a table; piles of coins were scattered over the surface of the table and their weapons lay on the ground next to them. After discussing what he had seen with the party, Strider laid bare his plan of attack: one of the party members would walk down the hall and challenge the gnolls, who would be unable to resist a lone target and thus would run into the waiting hands of the party. Since no one disagreed with the plan, Sentian volunteered to be the bait. While the party positioned themselves, the bold paladin marched down the hallway yelling praise to his god and the wrath his blade would bring to the evil of this mining complex. The gnolls, who had been very content dicing the day away, looked up in anger and began picking up their weapons. Three of them moved to intercept Sentian, while the last grabbed at thin chain that dangled from the ceiling. Strider, who had placed himself at an excellent vantage point, had not noticed the chain until the gnoll reached for it. [i]Oh no…[/i] In desperation Strider drew an arrow to his cheek and fired…unfortunately, the projectile missed its mark and the gnoll was able to pull the chain. Everyone but Strider was surprised when they heard the deafening ring of bells going off in all directions. Aramek: “Come on! Help Sentian!!” Leading the charge, the dwarf flung himself into melee with the rest of the party in his wake. The four gnolls defended themselves with admirable skill as the party attempted to fell them quickly. Four opponents was nothing new to the party, but four became eight and eight became twelve as doors began to open up and down both hallways. Backing off, Strider tried to defend the party’s rear from the oncoming assault. Setting himself for the charge, Strider saw the double doors at the end of the antechamber burst open. A swarm of human and gnoll warriors armed for battle were led into the antechamber by an ogre and a half-elf astride a fiendish steed that howled as it ran. As the enemy force charged, they exposed two ballistaes…[i]Ehlonna have mercy…[/i] Strider had only an instant to hurl himself to the ground as he heard the tension from the siege weapons release and hurl their payload in his direction. As his face hit the stone he heard the wood from the spears shatter against the door behind him. Before he arose, the howling fiend and its half-elven rider were upon him. When the Howler bit into his arm, poisoned quills shot from the beast’s body and sank into Strider’s flesh. Bandar used his psychic concussions to pummel the ogre and thereby diverting its attention from the dying ranger. The brave dwarf was bracing himself for the inevitable pain from ogre’s huge club, when fog began to fill the area around him. From the shouts of surprise that went up all around him, he was sure that both friend and foe were taken by surprise with this new development. [i]Who did that?[/i] Lathander saw Dr. Noh casting just before the cloud of mist hit. His vision was greatly obstructed, but his ears definitely picked up the shouts of pain coming from Strider. Making his way through the dense haze, Lathander found the warrior locked in deathly combat with the Howler and its rider. The punishment Strider had endured was obvious from the blood soaking through his clothing. Lathander wasted no time in healing him and screaming for help. It was then that Noh appeared from the mist and used one of the scrolls Yether had given him to restore Strider back to his original state of health. It went on like this for quite sometime: Strider taking brutal punishment from the Howler and its rider, while Noh and Lathander used every ounce of their divine power to keep him alive… Sentian was having an easy time of things. The fog that blocked his vision also blocked that of the few enemies surrounding him. Although they were adept fighters, they were no match for Sentian. The paladin had trained for many months with some of the finest warriors the Freecity of Greyhawk had to offer. He had seen nearly every style of fighting there was…his instructors were harsh and thus made sure that their lessons were well learned. These gnolls and humans that fought him were more afraid of not seeing their companions than Sentian was of succumbing to their attacks. Sentian had to count on himself many times before, so isolation was nothing new to him…this was not the case for his would-be adversaries. [i]This is almost funny.[/i] Another gnoll fell and then another. The divine knight merely snickered and waited for others to take their place… Aramek was crushing human soldiers when he heard Strider’s cry for help. Oblivious to the enemies surrounding him, the dwarf carved a path to the origin of the sound with his warhammer. His only thoughts were on helping his friend, but all of that quickly changed when he found himself nearly face to face with the ogre. From the numerous cracks along the floor, Aramek was pretty sure that Bandar had avoided the worst of the ogre’s attacks. [i]Sorry Strider…[/i] With a roar, Aramek charged head long into the fray swinging his hammer with inhuman strength. He knew that he connected solidly when he heard the familiar sound of bone crushing. The ogre answered right back with his great club, breaking most of Aramek’s ribs and nearly knocking him unconscious. Bandar kept up his psychic assault, giving Aramek enough time to recover…the dwarf wasn’t sure if the shock of the impact had knocked his senses loose, but he was pretty sure he heard Lathander screaming about light and Pelor. [i]Just what we need: undead.[/i] Lathander was trained well in the destruction of undead. He knew everything there was to know about their existence, especially how to obliterate them. When he saw that zombie shambling towards him, his first reaction was to smite it. [i]So why wasn’t it reduced to dust from my power? Why does it simply flee? True, its eyes had been replaced with the symbols of Tharizdun, but that seemed hardly enough to protect it from Pelor’s might…unless there was another priest around. That must be it![/i] The priest’s pondering was brought to an end when the fog that had mysteriously filled the antechamber and both hallways suddenly vanished. Aramek, Bandar and Strider were all standing over the body of the ogre…apparently Strider had managed to dispatch both the Howler and the rider after Lathander left him to go fight the zombies. Sentian was walking up the southern hallway alone and completely unscathed. It was troubling that Dr. Noh was nowhere to be found…that and the fact that more of those strange zombies poured out of the northern hallway. Lathander tried another Turning, but it had little effect on the shambling creatures, causing only two out of the ten to flee. Although Strider, Aramek, Bandar, and Sentian were not equipped with Pelor’s wrath, they made short work of the undead. Once the battle had ended, the party had the opportunity to gaze upon the bodies littering the floor. Bandar: “Where is Dr. Noh?” Lathander: “I heard him call upon Pelor’s might during battle, but I don’t know where he went.” Strider: “Calm down, I’m sure he is around somewhere. Let’s just check the immediate area.” Aramek: “Aye, and check the bodies too!” Once the party had finished relieving the dead of its valuables, they began to set check the doorways along both halls. Most of them led off into unfamiliar territory that no one was willing to explore at that moment. One of them; however, contained a few craven guards that had apparently barricaded themselves in once the fighting began. With little violence, Strider was able to convince them that their current employment was not conducive to their future…they quickly ran. Sentian: “I think it may be a good idea to remain here for the night and rest up. It is a very defensible position and the arrow slits provide us with a view of the main entrance. We are in no condition to look for Dr. Noh as we are now.” Aramek: “The man’s right.” Strider: “Alright, we stay here for the night and rest up.” Guard duty was pulled in doubles: one man to guard the door and another to watch through the arrow slits. The only thing fairly interesting that happened that night was a few humans fled through the entrance…probably more craven guards that needed a career change. The next morning, the party went from room to room searching for any signs of Noh. Many of the rooms contained a bit of treasure and odd trinkets. Strider acquired a new bow in addition to the magical leather armor he got off the dead half-elf, Sentian found a quiver of well-crafted arrows along with the magical cloak he procured from one of the fallen, and Bandar added more coins to the party’s already growing horde. Lathander was more interested in the letter he found addressed to a person called Naquent, implicating members of the “Outer Fane” with the search for the “Champion of Evil.” No one could make heads or tails of what it meant, but Strider remembered the name all too well in the note Redithador had left him. More exploration revealed that the worked stone of the main entrance ended with both the northern and southern hallways. The group decided to go north, as that is where the zombies came from. Leading the party, Strider scouted ahead to make sure the way was clear. Tunnels fanned out in every direction, but ultimately they seemed to be uninhabited. Sets of worked stairs made many of the tunnels crisscross one another, creating a veritable maze. It was at one such intersection that the party began to discuss the direction they wanted to take when Strider heard a muffled voice echoing down one of the tunnels. Not far from their position, they found Dr. Noh tied and gagged in the center of a small cavern. Taking no chances, the party spread out all the tunnels leading into and out of the cavern before sending Aramek to untie the helpless gnome. It was just as the dwarf began to undo the cords binding Noh, when a vaguely humanoid piece of wall detached itself from the environment and struck the wooden beam supporting the cavern. Everyone looked up as the ceiling began to collapse, showering rock everywhere. [/QUOTE]
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