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<blockquote data-quote="SolidSnake" data-source="post: 983" data-attributes="member: 102"><p><strong>Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Session One – “A DRAGON? ALREADY?!?”</strong></p><p></p><p>“News? Strange things have been going on. Why, just yesterday, a huge pack of wolves carried off all our children! Then Bigby himself showed up to take possession of the castle on that hill for his own personal use, and an evil dragon came rampaging through town eating only people who had black hair..."</p><p></p><p>The bartender’s dripping sarcasm stunned Strider. All he had asked the woman was if there was any news in the quiet little town of Hommlet, and she’d rolled her eyes and launched into that litany of tall tales. <em>What’s her problem?</em></p><p></p><p>Just after cleaning out the Forge near Blasingdale, Strider, Eblis, Aramek, and Bandar had received summons signed by an undersecretary of Mordenkein to go to Hommlet. Aramek had decided to take care of some business and catch up to the group later, saying “Bah, wu’ll be fightin’ side by side soon ‘nuff.” </p><p></p><p>The other three followed Mordenkein’s directions, though no explanation about the summons was provided. Throughout the ten-day journey, silent helpers provided them with fresh horses, and their lodgings and fares were all pre-paid. Someone wanted them in Hommlet, and fast.</p><p></p><p>Which is why their welcome made no sense. Nobody in the sleepy, homely town gave the trio further directions. Hommlet was ordinary, peaceful, friendly, and boring. What now?</p><p></p><p>Strider showed the sarcastic bartender his summons from Mordenkein, and Bandar produced his copy as well. The poor woman’s nasty tone faded into silence as she read the notice. Showing it to her didn’t help much, because she was so stunned that all she could do is gape at Strider. Apparently she hadn’t heard about the summons…</p><p></p><p>The guards at the castle were not too helpful, either. They said they would pass word to Rufus and Bern, the reclusive rulers of Hommlet, but the group waited the rest of the day without hearing anything.</p><p></p><p>What was going on?</p><p>--------------------------------------- </p><p></p><p>A walking suit of full plate armor came into town from the North, covered by a thick cloak. The suit walked up to the Temple of Pelor and knocked. The acolyte who answered did not recognize the armored man who lifted the face guard and claimed to be Lathandar, a cleric of Pelor. High Priest Yethir came and listened to the newcomer’s brief story, noting Lathandar’s gorgeous, almost feminine face and serious tone. Lathandar had summons from Mordenkein to proceed to Hommlet for an unknown reason. Yethir knew nothing of the summons, but allowed Lathandar to stay at the Temple as long as he performed his share of chores. The somber cleric agreed and did as he was told, praying to Pelor during his spare time.</p><p></p><p>---------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>A strange but beautiful elven woman sauntered into Hommlet, seeming to know her way there though she had never seen the town before. She wore provocatively tight black leather that hugged her lovely form and exposed plenty of skin. Her hair, lipstick, eyeshadow, and nail polish all were pitch black, which tended to unsettle normal folk she met. Around her neck clung her ferret Slim, and she carried a longsword and bow. </p><p></p><p>After poking around Hommlet, seeming to reacquaint herself with her surroundings, the elf found a grove of trees near the castle and ventured into it. A young man and a wolf confronted her as she trespassed, but she easily won over the wolf using her familiarity with animals. Introducing herself as Merkaeytl Thelandria, she put the young man named Yundi off guard with her direct manner. Learning that a druid named Jaru owned the grove, she asked for him, and soon the old man arrived, put out by the disturbance.</p><p></p><p>Merk wasted no time in grilling Jaru about the foremost topic on her mind – the latest news on the Moathouse and Temple. Jaru bristled at her attitude and probing questions, but she did learn that the Jaru and the two men who lived in the castle, Rufus the warrior and Bern the wizard, had been part of the group that had destroyed the evil in the Temple twenty years ago. The old druid had retired from adventuring and had no current knowledge of the Moathouse and Temple, and had no interest in finding out. Jaru then shooed Merk out, telling Yundi not to let anyone into the grove without his permission.</p><p></p><p>Merk wandered back toward the street and saw a handsome man emerge from the Welcome Wench Inn, and with her usual subtlety, shouted “Hey! You!”</p><p></p><p>Strider turned and noticed the gothic elf. Full of curiosity and drawing himself up to his full height, he approached. The two introduced themselves and took stock of each other, having a conversation that was half-inquisitive and half-flirting. Strider showed Merk his letter from Mordenkein explaining why he was in town, eliciting a scornful laugh from the elf, who’d been alive too long to believe anyone even mentioning the great wizard. <em>But if there is evil in the Temple again, maybe Mordenkein would summon adventurers such as Strider</em>…Merk caught Strider’s ears with snippets of knowledge about the Moathouse, demonstrating that she had hints about what was going on and could be valuable. Strider asked Merk to dinner at the Inn in the evening so they could discuss this matter more, and she acknowledged his invitation with a playful smile.</p><p></p><p>Merk had a way with some people, but not with others. She entered the Inn and rented a room. She talked with the bartender Meridisan over the terrible, screeching ‘music’ that a flamboyant elven minstrel named Redethador was playing to the nearly deserted room. A man sitting and drinking an ale seemed to be physically pained by the bard’s howling, but the other patron, a small gnome, actually seemed to be enjoying the performance! Quickly reaching the end of her rope, Merk screamed “SHUT UP!” at the minstrel, who immediately stopped, looking at her in outrage. One thing led to another – Merk described exactly how bad the elf’s music was, he challenged her to a duel, and the next thing they knew, they were both outside, taunting each other and getting ready to throw daggers in a duel.</p><p></p><p>The touchy Redethador bemused Merk, and she felt no regret over telling him exactly how bad his music was. When he declared they would march five paces and then turn and throw, Merk prepared to knock him out when his back was turned. The town militia put a stop to her fun, pouring out of the building next to the Inn in heavy armor, led by a scarred and grim man who ordered their weapons down. Both elves continued to taunt one another as they laid down their arms, each trying to get in the last word. The militia master, Elmo, threatened to throw them both out of town if there was another disturbance. Redethador soon stalked off in a huff, and Merk pushed her way back into the Inn.</p><p></p><p>Merk topped even herself shortly thereafter, telling the friendly innkeeper Vesta to “shut up,” and being completely banned from the Inn. <em>I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, but at least I got my deposit back. That throws a kink into my plans…</em></p><p></p><p>The cocky elf wandered over to Elmo’s building, where the experienced fighter sat in his office with his boots on the table. One of his eyebrows raised as she entered, but he became friendly after she started asking about the details of guarding Hommlet. Seeing Strider returning from his run, she called him in, and both adventurers chatted with Elmo about the Moathouse and Temple. Apparently, he had helped clean out the Moathouse twenty years before but hadn’t explored the Temple, and as far as he knew there was nothing in either place any more. However, none of his town patrols got close to either site, and the retired heroes of the town showed no interest in learning if anything was living in those places. Strider and Merk agreed to meet the next morning and travel to the Moathouse to see if anything was going on, and parted ways.</p><p></p><p>At dinnertime, Strider sat down with Eblis and Bandar and reviewed what they had learned that day. As they quietly discussed their plans for going to the Moathouse, the flamboyant Redethador approached their table, clearly expecting an invitation to sit. Awkwardly, Strider asked him to join their table. The trio soon found that the elven minstrel took offense easily at imagined slights, and was very emotional. Lacking any subtlety, Redethador told the group that he has all sorts of tales of the adventurers who destroyed the Moathouse and Temple, which caught their attention. Shortly thereafter Redethador, oblivious to the group, was nearly in tears because the Moathouse is mere rubble these days. He sighed, bemoaning the lack of a great struggle against evil where he might play a central role and be sung of forever more in legends. The group was beginning to tire of the elf’s rambling, interminable discourse.</p><p></p><p>Strider said “Redethador, things may seem quiet…on the surface.” He looked slyly at the bard and continued “But what if something is going on…<em>behind the scenes</em>…” he trailed off, looking at Redethador knowingly, assuming the minstrel would catch on to his joking manner.</p><p></p><p>Instead, Redethador grew suddenly very intrigued and very serious: “Behind the scenes…yes…something <em>behind the scenes</em> might be going on…I see…” he intoned, fascinated by Strider’s suggestion. </p><p></p><p>“Mwwfff!” the three adventurers barely suppressed their laughter.</p><p></p><p>“I shall investigate what is going on – <em>behind the scenes</em>!” Redethador said with a flourish, his stage whisper quite possibly audible to every individual in the noisy room. Then he snuck out of the Inn, his eyes shifting back and forth, his cloak pulled cloak as if he were already outside and hiding from prying eyes.</p><p></p><p>“HA HA HA!” the table burst out laughing, scarcely believing that someone could be so naïve and so easily manipulated. In between bouts of laughter, Strider wondered if there actually was something going on “behind the scenes” that someone as clueless as Redethador might stumble into and wind up dead. <em>Could I have just doomed that foolish man?</em> He thought, uneasily, but brushed the thought aside.</p><p></p><p>The three adventurers slept overnight in rooms at the Inn. Accustomed to living in the forest, Merk found a nice tall tree and went to sleep on one of its branches, comfortable as possible. </p><p>---------------------------</p><p></p><p>After breakfast, Eblis announced that he had “things to work out” and wouldn’t be joining the others for an exploration of the Moathouse. Strider and Bandar accepted this excuse with curiosity, and went out of the Inn. They soon found Merk, no longer as stunning because she wore bulky leather armor for the journey.</p><p></p><p>Just at that moment, Lathandar emerged from the Temple of Pelor, having just learned from High Priest Yethir that other individuals had Mordenkein’s summons to Hommlet. He could easily identify the trio as strangers to the area and approached them, introducing himself very formally. The others invited him to go to the Moathouse, and he accepted, having them wait until he suited up for the journey. Lathandar wore his shimmering suit of full plate and carried a strange box, as well as his weapons.</p><p></p><p>The Moathouse was a full day’s journey from Hommlet – the group struck out at daybreak and reached there before sunset. The only person they ran into was a trapper named Odel, who claimed to have seen walking dead, strange priests, and a dragon around the Moathouse, and warned the party to stay away. <em>Maybe it isn’t abandoned</em>.</p><p></p><p>Lathandar opened his curious box, which contained holy texts inside, and he sat down to pray for thirty minutes, with little explanation. Once he was done, impatient Merk asked whether he’d be doing that often, to which Lathandar icily replied “I stop everything for God. What is more important than God?” Surprised, Merk backed off.</p><p></p><p>As the shadows grew long, the four adventurers approached the ruined Moathouse. Its towers and roofs were caving in, walls crumbling, and nothing seemed to stir. The swampy moat around the place limited them to entering through the front gate. As the party neared the drawbridge, they spotted something round and greenish hidden in the reeds. While the others readied their weapons, Strider stealthily neared the object. The huge frog that reared up caught him by surprise, and in an instant its tongue shot out and wrenched him bodily to its razor-sharp teeth.</p><p></p><p>Strider’s longsword was useless at close-quarters, so he drew his shortsword and dagger and slashed at the creature, inches from a horrible bite. Lathandar rushed forward to help, soon joined by Bandar as Merk shot at the frog from afar. Strider took the brunt of the monster’s attacks as the group slowly wore it down. Finally the beast collapsed, dead, and the group heaved a sigh of relief. Lathandar healed Strider, and the group cautiously entered the Moathouse.</p><p></p><p>Immediately apparent was the streak of dried blood proceeding from their spot, all the way across the courtyard and up the main steps into a large room some distance away. Merk and Strider silently explored the immediate area for any dangers, and once they determined all was safe, Merk told the rest about what creatures had resided in those places when the last group had cleaned out the Moathouse. She apparently has studied with some elf who had adventured with the prior group, and had told Merk all about their exploits.</p><p></p><p>Strider and Merk explored the tower to the right of the entrance and found that the coast was clear, so Lathandar and Bandar entered behind them. As the two in the vanguard moved down the hallway, followed closely by their friends, their world erupted in light and pain. An instant later, Bandar lay unconscious; Lathandar and Strider stood burnt and shocked; Merk’s quick instincts had saved her, so she remained unscathed. </p><p></p><p>The party members’ brains caught up with events, and those still able leapt behind the closest wall as the blue dragon down the hall chuckled and approached. [Player’s aside: I’ve been playing AD&D for eight years and never dreamed of sending an <em>adult dragon</em> against a group of four fourth-level characters! Even though we’re very experienced players, eight of our PC’s died in the Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury. Now our DM throws a DRAGON at us? Oh, how I hate him.]</p><p></p><p>Strider and Merk scampered away from the monster, firing at it ineffectively as it easily pinned Lathandar. Merk continued to shoot in desperation, but Strider understood what the dragon was telling them – he threw down his weapons and held up his hands.</p><p></p><p>“Alright, you win! What do you want from us in exchange for getting our friends back and leaving you alone?” he called out.</p><p></p><p>Bemused, the creature stoked a claw across Lathandar’s face, and answered, “Give me all your valuables and I’ll let you and your <em>friends</em> go.”</p><p></p><p>Minutes later, all the party’s treasures from past adventures were in the dragon’s possession, including gems, money, potions, scrolls, and magical armor and weapons. Strider retrieved Bandar’s charred body, and Lathandar was freed after he stripped off his beautiful armor. </p><p></p><p>The blue dragon remained in good humor throughout the group’s humiliation, urging them to kill the “pesky little holy men” who resided in the dungeon levels of the Moathouse. He warned the party not to try to bring a band to kill him because “You won’t win,” he confidently announced. As a parting shot, the arrogant creature offered to have the group stay the night. “I’ll cook!” he joked, roaring with laughter, “Get it?”</p><p></p><p>Slinking away in shock and defeat, the dragon’s laughter echoing in their ears, the band recouped briefly. Lanthandar healed Bandar back into consciousness, and the others briefly explained what had happened. The dwarf thanked them somberly, shame-facedly. <em>After vowing to free others who suffer in slavery as I did, I disgrace myself by needing to be saved again.</em></p><p></p><p>The party trudged back to Hommlet through the night, not speaking to one another, each immersed in dark thoughts. Strider and Bandar had to wake Vesta to get into their rooms, while Merk found her tree and Lathandar returned to the Temple of Pelor. <em>A poor first attempt at the Moathouse – we lost everything and barely stayed alive!</em> Strider thought as he drifted into an uneasy sleep.</p><p>-------------------</p><p>Coming together after breakfast, the party members, joined by Eblis, debated what to do next. </p><p></p><p>Merk announced “We should tell the town leaders – they’ve all crushed evil before, and they certainly can’t ignore a dragon and evil priests next door! We can’t face that dragon alone without lots of experienced help.” </p><p></p><p>Strider spoke up “Notifying the authorities won’t help us. They either already know about the dragon and haven’t done anything about it, or they’ll learn about it and not care. They haven’t been helpful so far.”</p><p> </p><p>Merk: “You don’t want to raise the alarm that there’s a dragon in the area? We could save their lives, and what ruler wouldn’t find that information helpful? What’s the worse that could happen?”</p><p></p><p>Strider: “We don’t know what’s going on, it’s best not to go telling everyone what we’ve seen and done. It could be dangerous.”</p><p></p><p>Lathandar: “We can return and go through the dragon’s lair to get at the evil priests, as it offered. It might give us our equipment back, it seems set on getting rid of the priests. I must get my armor back. It’s <em>extremely</em> important to me.”</p><p></p><p>Merk: “You’re going to negotiate with a dragon? It’ll let you do its dirty work by killing the priests, then take all the treasure we get and kill us as well!”</p><p></p><p>Lathandar: “It’s a choice of greater evils: priests and their undead, or a powerful dragon whom we know is willing to abide by an agreement. He could’ve killed us and taken all that we had, but he didn’t.”</p><p></p><p>Bandar: “There must be a back entrance to the lower levels of the Moathouse – the priests can’t possibly have to get past the dragon every time they have to get out or in. Then we wouldn’t have to negotiate with the dragon and worry about him holding up a deal. We can’t fight him and win.”</p><p></p><p>Merk and Strider debated the merits of talking to the authorities or not. After Eblis pointed out that they could not divine what the town’s leaders were thinking or what they would do, the group eventually sided with Merk, and Strider conceded. </p><p></p><p>They went to the castle and asked to see Rufus or Bern, or both, about an urgent matter. No matter how much they argued and warned, the captain of the guard permitted them only to relay a message, which they did. The group talked some more and decided that they should take on the dragon with as much help as they could muster</p><p></p><p>As the party waited for Rufus and Bern’s response, Merk tried to recruit Jaru and later Elmo, using all the powers of persuasion she possessed. Neither budged. Jaru got angry and said “I really don’t care what’s over there, and neither do Rufus and Bern. We’ll deal with what comes when it comes.” Merk soothed him as best she could, and eventually Jaru offered to send Yundi to help, if he wished to go.</p><p></p><p>Doubtful, Merk talked to Yundi and sensed that he was inexperienced, but she knew the group needed all the help they could get. She did not paint a pretty picture about the upcoming battle, but she urged Yundi to come because the cause was good and he could be useful at the rear doing healing. Yundi agreed.</p><p></p><p>Strider talked to the gnome and the man who hung around the Inn. He found that the gnome was a cartographer seeking to map out the Moathouse and Temple, but had no skills in a fight and wouldn’t be too useful against a dragon. He did recruit Chatrelan, the bald human warrior who was looking for such a challenge. He also convinced Eblis to join the group. Although no response came from Rufus and Bern, the party was now a sizable group, their minds focused on the upcoming fight.</p><p>----------------------</p><p>The next morning Strider, Merk, Lathandar, Bandar, Eoblis, Yundi, and Chatrelan set off for the Moathouse. They discussed many different plans of battle before settling on one. Everyone who had helpful spells would cast them on Strider, who would hopefully corner the dragon in its lair so it couldn’t fly, or in the trees where he could entangle it with growth. As they neared the Moathouse at dusk again, Lathandar cast all his best spells on Strider, including <em>bless, magic weapon, protection from evil, shield of faith, aid, bull strength</em>, and <em>resist lightning</em>. He bound his lifeforce with Strider’s using <em>shield other</em>. They were set to go.</p><p></p><p>The group wanted to catch the dragon in its lair, but instead found it waiting for them in the courtyard of the Moathouse. Quickly adapting the plan, Strider charged forward, hoping to catch its breath weapon with his protective spell still activated. Merk ran as fast as she could to the side, quickly arriving in the beast’s lair, arriving at its rear. The others fingered their weapons or readied spells.</p><p></p><p>The blue dragon beat its wings, hovering in the air and driving the dust in the courtyard to swirl around it, effectively blinding everyone. From then on, the dragon could use its blindsight to hit whomever it wished despite the cloud, while the party was lucky to unleash spells or arrows in the right area. <em>I hate smart dragons!</em> Strider thought, running to where it had been and slashing with his enchanted weapons. He connected and was pleased with the pained roar in reply.</p><p></p><p>Over the next minute, Strider and the Dragon ripped into each other as the others tried to help. Everything rested on Strider – if he died, the dragon could kill the others without much of a problem. As Merk flailed around with her longsword behind the dragon, Chatrelan and Eblis fired their bow in the dragon’s direction. Bandar used his powerful mind to mentally pummel the dragon, sending waves of force to it every few seconds, which took their toll. Lathandar set vials of oil on fire and threw them at the dragon, but his main function was to share Strider’s pain and suffering through the shield other spell. Yundi stood by Lathandar and healed him frequently, greatly aiding the party.</p><p></p><p>Strider hacked at the dragon, occasionally missing, but often goring it horribly, although he could not see. The beast raked him with its claws and mauled him with its teeth, until he was on the verge of collapse. Having fought more furiously than he ever had in his life, Strider was horrified that the creature was still alive, and he was grimly certain that his death would mean the death of all. With his last remaining strength, he slashed at the dragon, only to find that the dust was settling. The monster had flown off! He sunk to the ground in total exhaustion and relief.</p><p></p><p>The group postponed its celebration until it got into the dragon’s lairs and secured the entrances as best it could. They retrieved their equipment that the dragon had taken. However, there was no treasure horde, and Lathandar’s magnificent armor was nowhere to be found. The bodies of two priests of some rare and evil cult lay on the floor, the source of the blood across the courtyard. Nothing was in the adjacent rooms on the first level, but there was a stairwell down. [Player’s note: Sometimes the toughest fights have the least award – no treasure, <em>and only 217 experience per person!</em> Reference above note about how I hate my DM.]</p><p></p><p>The group returned to Hommlet with their heads held high.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SolidSnake, post: 983, member: 102"] [b]Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, Session One – “A DRAGON? ALREADY?!?”[/b] “News? Strange things have been going on. Why, just yesterday, a huge pack of wolves carried off all our children! Then Bigby himself showed up to take possession of the castle on that hill for his own personal use, and an evil dragon came rampaging through town eating only people who had black hair..." The bartender’s dripping sarcasm stunned Strider. All he had asked the woman was if there was any news in the quiet little town of Hommlet, and she’d rolled her eyes and launched into that litany of tall tales. [i]What’s her problem?[/i] Just after cleaning out the Forge near Blasingdale, Strider, Eblis, Aramek, and Bandar had received summons signed by an undersecretary of Mordenkein to go to Hommlet. Aramek had decided to take care of some business and catch up to the group later, saying “Bah, wu’ll be fightin’ side by side soon ‘nuff.” The other three followed Mordenkein’s directions, though no explanation about the summons was provided. Throughout the ten-day journey, silent helpers provided them with fresh horses, and their lodgings and fares were all pre-paid. Someone wanted them in Hommlet, and fast. Which is why their welcome made no sense. Nobody in the sleepy, homely town gave the trio further directions. Hommlet was ordinary, peaceful, friendly, and boring. What now? Strider showed the sarcastic bartender his summons from Mordenkein, and Bandar produced his copy as well. The poor woman’s nasty tone faded into silence as she read the notice. Showing it to her didn’t help much, because she was so stunned that all she could do is gape at Strider. Apparently she hadn’t heard about the summons… The guards at the castle were not too helpful, either. They said they would pass word to Rufus and Bern, the reclusive rulers of Hommlet, but the group waited the rest of the day without hearing anything. What was going on? --------------------------------------- A walking suit of full plate armor came into town from the North, covered by a thick cloak. The suit walked up to the Temple of Pelor and knocked. The acolyte who answered did not recognize the armored man who lifted the face guard and claimed to be Lathandar, a cleric of Pelor. High Priest Yethir came and listened to the newcomer’s brief story, noting Lathandar’s gorgeous, almost feminine face and serious tone. Lathandar had summons from Mordenkein to proceed to Hommlet for an unknown reason. Yethir knew nothing of the summons, but allowed Lathandar to stay at the Temple as long as he performed his share of chores. The somber cleric agreed and did as he was told, praying to Pelor during his spare time. --------------------------------------- A strange but beautiful elven woman sauntered into Hommlet, seeming to know her way there though she had never seen the town before. She wore provocatively tight black leather that hugged her lovely form and exposed plenty of skin. Her hair, lipstick, eyeshadow, and nail polish all were pitch black, which tended to unsettle normal folk she met. Around her neck clung her ferret Slim, and she carried a longsword and bow. After poking around Hommlet, seeming to reacquaint herself with her surroundings, the elf found a grove of trees near the castle and ventured into it. A young man and a wolf confronted her as she trespassed, but she easily won over the wolf using her familiarity with animals. Introducing herself as Merkaeytl Thelandria, she put the young man named Yundi off guard with her direct manner. Learning that a druid named Jaru owned the grove, she asked for him, and soon the old man arrived, put out by the disturbance. Merk wasted no time in grilling Jaru about the foremost topic on her mind – the latest news on the Moathouse and Temple. Jaru bristled at her attitude and probing questions, but she did learn that the Jaru and the two men who lived in the castle, Rufus the warrior and Bern the wizard, had been part of the group that had destroyed the evil in the Temple twenty years ago. The old druid had retired from adventuring and had no current knowledge of the Moathouse and Temple, and had no interest in finding out. Jaru then shooed Merk out, telling Yundi not to let anyone into the grove without his permission. Merk wandered back toward the street and saw a handsome man emerge from the Welcome Wench Inn, and with her usual subtlety, shouted “Hey! You!” Strider turned and noticed the gothic elf. Full of curiosity and drawing himself up to his full height, he approached. The two introduced themselves and took stock of each other, having a conversation that was half-inquisitive and half-flirting. Strider showed Merk his letter from Mordenkein explaining why he was in town, eliciting a scornful laugh from the elf, who’d been alive too long to believe anyone even mentioning the great wizard. [i]But if there is evil in the Temple again, maybe Mordenkein would summon adventurers such as Strider[/i]…Merk caught Strider’s ears with snippets of knowledge about the Moathouse, demonstrating that she had hints about what was going on and could be valuable. Strider asked Merk to dinner at the Inn in the evening so they could discuss this matter more, and she acknowledged his invitation with a playful smile. Merk had a way with some people, but not with others. She entered the Inn and rented a room. She talked with the bartender Meridisan over the terrible, screeching ‘music’ that a flamboyant elven minstrel named Redethador was playing to the nearly deserted room. A man sitting and drinking an ale seemed to be physically pained by the bard’s howling, but the other patron, a small gnome, actually seemed to be enjoying the performance! Quickly reaching the end of her rope, Merk screamed “SHUT UP!” at the minstrel, who immediately stopped, looking at her in outrage. One thing led to another – Merk described exactly how bad the elf’s music was, he challenged her to a duel, and the next thing they knew, they were both outside, taunting each other and getting ready to throw daggers in a duel. The touchy Redethador bemused Merk, and she felt no regret over telling him exactly how bad his music was. When he declared they would march five paces and then turn and throw, Merk prepared to knock him out when his back was turned. The town militia put a stop to her fun, pouring out of the building next to the Inn in heavy armor, led by a scarred and grim man who ordered their weapons down. Both elves continued to taunt one another as they laid down their arms, each trying to get in the last word. The militia master, Elmo, threatened to throw them both out of town if there was another disturbance. Redethador soon stalked off in a huff, and Merk pushed her way back into the Inn. Merk topped even herself shortly thereafter, telling the friendly innkeeper Vesta to “shut up,” and being completely banned from the Inn. [i]I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, but at least I got my deposit back. That throws a kink into my plans…[/i] The cocky elf wandered over to Elmo’s building, where the experienced fighter sat in his office with his boots on the table. One of his eyebrows raised as she entered, but he became friendly after she started asking about the details of guarding Hommlet. Seeing Strider returning from his run, she called him in, and both adventurers chatted with Elmo about the Moathouse and Temple. Apparently, he had helped clean out the Moathouse twenty years before but hadn’t explored the Temple, and as far as he knew there was nothing in either place any more. However, none of his town patrols got close to either site, and the retired heroes of the town showed no interest in learning if anything was living in those places. Strider and Merk agreed to meet the next morning and travel to the Moathouse to see if anything was going on, and parted ways. At dinnertime, Strider sat down with Eblis and Bandar and reviewed what they had learned that day. As they quietly discussed their plans for going to the Moathouse, the flamboyant Redethador approached their table, clearly expecting an invitation to sit. Awkwardly, Strider asked him to join their table. The trio soon found that the elven minstrel took offense easily at imagined slights, and was very emotional. Lacking any subtlety, Redethador told the group that he has all sorts of tales of the adventurers who destroyed the Moathouse and Temple, which caught their attention. Shortly thereafter Redethador, oblivious to the group, was nearly in tears because the Moathouse is mere rubble these days. He sighed, bemoaning the lack of a great struggle against evil where he might play a central role and be sung of forever more in legends. The group was beginning to tire of the elf’s rambling, interminable discourse. Strider said “Redethador, things may seem quiet…on the surface.” He looked slyly at the bard and continued “But what if something is going on…[i]behind the scenes[/i]…” he trailed off, looking at Redethador knowingly, assuming the minstrel would catch on to his joking manner. Instead, Redethador grew suddenly very intrigued and very serious: “Behind the scenes…yes…something [i]behind the scenes[/i] might be going on…I see…” he intoned, fascinated by Strider’s suggestion. “Mwwfff!” the three adventurers barely suppressed their laughter. “I shall investigate what is going on – [i]behind the scenes[/i]!” Redethador said with a flourish, his stage whisper quite possibly audible to every individual in the noisy room. Then he snuck out of the Inn, his eyes shifting back and forth, his cloak pulled cloak as if he were already outside and hiding from prying eyes. “HA HA HA!” the table burst out laughing, scarcely believing that someone could be so naïve and so easily manipulated. In between bouts of laughter, Strider wondered if there actually was something going on “behind the scenes” that someone as clueless as Redethador might stumble into and wind up dead. [i]Could I have just doomed that foolish man?[/i] He thought, uneasily, but brushed the thought aside. The three adventurers slept overnight in rooms at the Inn. Accustomed to living in the forest, Merk found a nice tall tree and went to sleep on one of its branches, comfortable as possible. --------------------------- After breakfast, Eblis announced that he had “things to work out” and wouldn’t be joining the others for an exploration of the Moathouse. Strider and Bandar accepted this excuse with curiosity, and went out of the Inn. They soon found Merk, no longer as stunning because she wore bulky leather armor for the journey. Just at that moment, Lathandar emerged from the Temple of Pelor, having just learned from High Priest Yethir that other individuals had Mordenkein’s summons to Hommlet. He could easily identify the trio as strangers to the area and approached them, introducing himself very formally. The others invited him to go to the Moathouse, and he accepted, having them wait until he suited up for the journey. Lathandar wore his shimmering suit of full plate and carried a strange box, as well as his weapons. The Moathouse was a full day’s journey from Hommlet – the group struck out at daybreak and reached there before sunset. The only person they ran into was a trapper named Odel, who claimed to have seen walking dead, strange priests, and a dragon around the Moathouse, and warned the party to stay away. [i]Maybe it isn’t abandoned[/i]. Lathandar opened his curious box, which contained holy texts inside, and he sat down to pray for thirty minutes, with little explanation. Once he was done, impatient Merk asked whether he’d be doing that often, to which Lathandar icily replied “I stop everything for God. What is more important than God?” Surprised, Merk backed off. As the shadows grew long, the four adventurers approached the ruined Moathouse. Its towers and roofs were caving in, walls crumbling, and nothing seemed to stir. The swampy moat around the place limited them to entering through the front gate. As the party neared the drawbridge, they spotted something round and greenish hidden in the reeds. While the others readied their weapons, Strider stealthily neared the object. The huge frog that reared up caught him by surprise, and in an instant its tongue shot out and wrenched him bodily to its razor-sharp teeth. Strider’s longsword was useless at close-quarters, so he drew his shortsword and dagger and slashed at the creature, inches from a horrible bite. Lathandar rushed forward to help, soon joined by Bandar as Merk shot at the frog from afar. Strider took the brunt of the monster’s attacks as the group slowly wore it down. Finally the beast collapsed, dead, and the group heaved a sigh of relief. Lathandar healed Strider, and the group cautiously entered the Moathouse. Immediately apparent was the streak of dried blood proceeding from their spot, all the way across the courtyard and up the main steps into a large room some distance away. Merk and Strider silently explored the immediate area for any dangers, and once they determined all was safe, Merk told the rest about what creatures had resided in those places when the last group had cleaned out the Moathouse. She apparently has studied with some elf who had adventured with the prior group, and had told Merk all about their exploits. Strider and Merk explored the tower to the right of the entrance and found that the coast was clear, so Lathandar and Bandar entered behind them. As the two in the vanguard moved down the hallway, followed closely by their friends, their world erupted in light and pain. An instant later, Bandar lay unconscious; Lathandar and Strider stood burnt and shocked; Merk’s quick instincts had saved her, so she remained unscathed. The party members’ brains caught up with events, and those still able leapt behind the closest wall as the blue dragon down the hall chuckled and approached. [Player’s aside: I’ve been playing AD&D for eight years and never dreamed of sending an [i]adult dragon[/i] against a group of four fourth-level characters! Even though we’re very experienced players, eight of our PC’s died in the Sunless Citadel and Forge of Fury. Now our DM throws a DRAGON at us? Oh, how I hate him.] Strider and Merk scampered away from the monster, firing at it ineffectively as it easily pinned Lathandar. Merk continued to shoot in desperation, but Strider understood what the dragon was telling them – he threw down his weapons and held up his hands. “Alright, you win! What do you want from us in exchange for getting our friends back and leaving you alone?” he called out. Bemused, the creature stoked a claw across Lathandar’s face, and answered, “Give me all your valuables and I’ll let you and your [i]friends[/i] go.” Minutes later, all the party’s treasures from past adventures were in the dragon’s possession, including gems, money, potions, scrolls, and magical armor and weapons. Strider retrieved Bandar’s charred body, and Lathandar was freed after he stripped off his beautiful armor. The blue dragon remained in good humor throughout the group’s humiliation, urging them to kill the “pesky little holy men” who resided in the dungeon levels of the Moathouse. He warned the party not to try to bring a band to kill him because “You won’t win,” he confidently announced. As a parting shot, the arrogant creature offered to have the group stay the night. “I’ll cook!” he joked, roaring with laughter, “Get it?” Slinking away in shock and defeat, the dragon’s laughter echoing in their ears, the band recouped briefly. Lanthandar healed Bandar back into consciousness, and the others briefly explained what had happened. The dwarf thanked them somberly, shame-facedly. [i]After vowing to free others who suffer in slavery as I did, I disgrace myself by needing to be saved again.[/i] The party trudged back to Hommlet through the night, not speaking to one another, each immersed in dark thoughts. Strider and Bandar had to wake Vesta to get into their rooms, while Merk found her tree and Lathandar returned to the Temple of Pelor. [i]A poor first attempt at the Moathouse – we lost everything and barely stayed alive![/i] Strider thought as he drifted into an uneasy sleep. ------------------- Coming together after breakfast, the party members, joined by Eblis, debated what to do next. Merk announced “We should tell the town leaders – they’ve all crushed evil before, and they certainly can’t ignore a dragon and evil priests next door! We can’t face that dragon alone without lots of experienced help.” Strider spoke up “Notifying the authorities won’t help us. They either already know about the dragon and haven’t done anything about it, or they’ll learn about it and not care. They haven’t been helpful so far.” Merk: “You don’t want to raise the alarm that there’s a dragon in the area? We could save their lives, and what ruler wouldn’t find that information helpful? What’s the worse that could happen?” Strider: “We don’t know what’s going on, it’s best not to go telling everyone what we’ve seen and done. It could be dangerous.” Lathandar: “We can return and go through the dragon’s lair to get at the evil priests, as it offered. It might give us our equipment back, it seems set on getting rid of the priests. I must get my armor back. It’s [i]extremely[/i] important to me.” Merk: “You’re going to negotiate with a dragon? It’ll let you do its dirty work by killing the priests, then take all the treasure we get and kill us as well!” Lathandar: “It’s a choice of greater evils: priests and their undead, or a powerful dragon whom we know is willing to abide by an agreement. He could’ve killed us and taken all that we had, but he didn’t.” Bandar: “There must be a back entrance to the lower levels of the Moathouse – the priests can’t possibly have to get past the dragon every time they have to get out or in. Then we wouldn’t have to negotiate with the dragon and worry about him holding up a deal. We can’t fight him and win.” Merk and Strider debated the merits of talking to the authorities or not. After Eblis pointed out that they could not divine what the town’s leaders were thinking or what they would do, the group eventually sided with Merk, and Strider conceded. They went to the castle and asked to see Rufus or Bern, or both, about an urgent matter. No matter how much they argued and warned, the captain of the guard permitted them only to relay a message, which they did. The group talked some more and decided that they should take on the dragon with as much help as they could muster As the party waited for Rufus and Bern’s response, Merk tried to recruit Jaru and later Elmo, using all the powers of persuasion she possessed. Neither budged. Jaru got angry and said “I really don’t care what’s over there, and neither do Rufus and Bern. We’ll deal with what comes when it comes.” Merk soothed him as best she could, and eventually Jaru offered to send Yundi to help, if he wished to go. Doubtful, Merk talked to Yundi and sensed that he was inexperienced, but she knew the group needed all the help they could get. She did not paint a pretty picture about the upcoming battle, but she urged Yundi to come because the cause was good and he could be useful at the rear doing healing. Yundi agreed. Strider talked to the gnome and the man who hung around the Inn. He found that the gnome was a cartographer seeking to map out the Moathouse and Temple, but had no skills in a fight and wouldn’t be too useful against a dragon. He did recruit Chatrelan, the bald human warrior who was looking for such a challenge. He also convinced Eblis to join the group. Although no response came from Rufus and Bern, the party was now a sizable group, their minds focused on the upcoming fight. ---------------------- The next morning Strider, Merk, Lathandar, Bandar, Eoblis, Yundi, and Chatrelan set off for the Moathouse. They discussed many different plans of battle before settling on one. Everyone who had helpful spells would cast them on Strider, who would hopefully corner the dragon in its lair so it couldn’t fly, or in the trees where he could entangle it with growth. As they neared the Moathouse at dusk again, Lathandar cast all his best spells on Strider, including [i]bless, magic weapon, protection from evil, shield of faith, aid, bull strength[/i], and [i]resist lightning[/i]. He bound his lifeforce with Strider’s using [i]shield other[/i]. They were set to go. The group wanted to catch the dragon in its lair, but instead found it waiting for them in the courtyard of the Moathouse. Quickly adapting the plan, Strider charged forward, hoping to catch its breath weapon with his protective spell still activated. Merk ran as fast as she could to the side, quickly arriving in the beast’s lair, arriving at its rear. The others fingered their weapons or readied spells. The blue dragon beat its wings, hovering in the air and driving the dust in the courtyard to swirl around it, effectively blinding everyone. From then on, the dragon could use its blindsight to hit whomever it wished despite the cloud, while the party was lucky to unleash spells or arrows in the right area. [i]I hate smart dragons![/i] Strider thought, running to where it had been and slashing with his enchanted weapons. He connected and was pleased with the pained roar in reply. Over the next minute, Strider and the Dragon ripped into each other as the others tried to help. Everything rested on Strider – if he died, the dragon could kill the others without much of a problem. As Merk flailed around with her longsword behind the dragon, Chatrelan and Eblis fired their bow in the dragon’s direction. Bandar used his powerful mind to mentally pummel the dragon, sending waves of force to it every few seconds, which took their toll. Lathandar set vials of oil on fire and threw them at the dragon, but his main function was to share Strider’s pain and suffering through the shield other spell. Yundi stood by Lathandar and healed him frequently, greatly aiding the party. Strider hacked at the dragon, occasionally missing, but often goring it horribly, although he could not see. The beast raked him with its claws and mauled him with its teeth, until he was on the verge of collapse. Having fought more furiously than he ever had in his life, Strider was horrified that the creature was still alive, and he was grimly certain that his death would mean the death of all. With his last remaining strength, he slashed at the dragon, only to find that the dust was settling. The monster had flown off! He sunk to the ground in total exhaustion and relief. The group postponed its celebration until it got into the dragon’s lairs and secured the entrances as best it could. They retrieved their equipment that the dragon had taken. However, there was no treasure horde, and Lathandar’s magnificent armor was nowhere to be found. The bodies of two priests of some rare and evil cult lay on the floor, the source of the blood across the courtyard. Nothing was in the adjacent rooms on the first level, but there was a stairwell down. [Player’s note: Sometimes the toughest fights have the least award – no treasure, [i]and only 217 experience per person![/i] Reference above note about how I hate my DM.] The group returned to Hommlet with their heads held high. [/QUOTE]
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