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Story Hour
Selm's Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
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<blockquote data-quote="Selm" data-source="post: 76282" data-attributes="member: 1592"><p><strong>Episode 4-1</strong></p><p></p><p>Episode FOUR - Still exploring the moathouse - Part 1</p><p>(The Late Paladin strikes ... or would like to ... </p><p>part two, the curse continues.)</p><p>- Moonday 17th Planting, mid-afternoon -</p><p></p><p>We meet again our heroes in the moathouse great hall, where they first</p><p>encountered Utreshimon the terrible blue dragon, and after that a</p><p>dangerous band of gnolls backed by an evil priest. </p><p>They are curently discussing what will be their next action. They have</p><p>quickly scanned the ground-floor, no other gnoll or any other</p><p>monster. They should explore the underground of the moathouse but the</p><p>first attempt by Diane and Rousing Fox revealed that this part is full</p><p>of undeads and especially ghouls, which seems to make them think twice</p><p>before rushing towards the dungeon. </p><p></p><p>Then Gandigoot, who is guarding the entrance of the stairs to the</p><p>lower levels of the fortress since he heard of ghouls undeground, sees</p><p>a hooded face looking into the room which quicly withdraw when they</p><p>see each other. </p><p>Immediatly the gnome warns his friends and strongly enjoins the man to</p><p>show himself and advance into the light. This gnome could be quite</p><p>authoritative when he wants, or is it the bloody fight with the gnolls</p><p>still in his veins ? </p><p>The man advances and reveals himself as Spugnoir, the potion maker of</p><p>Hommlet. His obvious weariness, his clothes and the small black cat</p><p>following him are enough proof for the party. Spugnoir is quickly</p><p>helped and Killasha use some healing magic to help him while Gandigoot</p><p>gives him his own sandwich ... what a heroic act from the gnome, his</p><p>MEAL ! As Mayaheine is helpfull today, Spugnoir thanks her but doesn't</p><p>know more than others who is this Mayaheine Killasha is speaking of</p><p>(to be paladin of a young godess as some attached duties, like</p><p>explaining who is your godess <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ). Our adventurers are eager to hear</p><p>his story, where he was and what has he done since three days ? </p><p>Sugnoir went to the moathouse three days ago. He started to explore</p><p>the dungeon, as he was doing since several weeks (one or two days a</p><p>week, no more because he also has a daughter and a shop to run), when</p><p>he was surprised by some gnolls and evil priests, he hid himself for a</p><p>time and was hoping to be able to sneak out at night. But the same</p><p>day, a young dragon decided to use the old fortress as a new lair,</p><p>trapping the clerics and Spugnoir into the underground part of the</p><p>dungeon. The clerics tried to go out but were severely wounded by the</p><p>dragon, two of them were slain, since this time, they were waiting in</p><p>the underground complex ... until some foulish adventurers save them</p><p>by forcing the dragon to flee. Spugnoir himself tried to sneak out the</p><p>dungeon but was also wounded by the dragon and compelled to hide in</p><p>the first part of the undergrounds (where there is less clerics), he</p><p>was waiting there until this very moment. </p><p>Our heroes are quite surprised and afraid when hearing that several</p><p>other clerics surely await them ... with the ghouls ! Spugnoir gives</p><p>them a rough plan of the underground complex that he draws upon a</p><p>scroll fom Lywen. He tells them about other gnolls, wearing black</p><p>cloaks with a burning eye symbol and that the clerics and gnolls were</p><p>working in the outmost part of the complex, doing a lot of noise</p><p>... even if doesn't know more about that. When some members of the</p><p>party are asking themselves how to enter the lower level without</p><p>falling into a trap, Spugnoir explains them that several months ago he</p><p>used once a back-entry, it is a secret passage leading to the other</p><p>side of the undergrounds than the stairs. Diane is quick to rally the</p><p>others to the idea of entering the undergrounds by this secret passage</p><p>where they will be less expected. </p><p></p><p>Once again they quit the moathouse after a bloody fight, but this time</p><p>they are decided to continue the exploration. Following the directions</p><p>given by Spugnoir, they continue on the track in the swamp until</p><p>several hundred meters from the moathouse, there they enter the swamp</p><p>and found, not so far from the track, the entry of the secret</p><p>passage. It is not really hidden but surely hard to find by</p><p>yourself. The entry is a flight of stairs going right into a dark</p><p>underground. Gandigoot spot some tracks let by animals going into the</p><p>passage, the animals must be something like big birds ... going</p><p>underground in a small passage ... strange for sure, at least it is</p><p>enough to incite them towards prudence. </p><p></p><p>At this point, they part into two groups. Alahija, Lywen and Xaod are</p><p>escorting Spugnoir to Hommlet while the others continue the</p><p>exploration of the undergrounds by this secret passage. - This could</p><p>seem strange but Alahija and Lywen players were not present for this</p><p>game, simple when you know that no ? - </p><p></p><p>So the group formed by Ezekiel the priest of Kord, Killashalandilis</p><p>(yes this name is too big) the paladine of Mayaheine, Rousing Fox the</p><p>monk, Gandigoot the gnome ranger of the Lortmills Mountains and Diane</p><p>the stylish fighter from Chendl is entering a small, dark and stinking</p><p>flight of stairs going underground towards a dungeon full of eveil</p><p>priests, gnolls and undead ... at least ... yeah, it's better like</p><p>that <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p>Gandigoot is carrying a bullseye lantern while Rousning Fox and Diane</p><p>are using torches. Slowly they advance into the passage. The stairs</p><p>are not long, they quickly give upon a small passage carved into the</p><p>stone, it even seems natural. After two minutes they enter a natural</p><p>cave were a small river if flowing, Gandigoot is first, scouting for</p><p>the party. There is a ford made nearly in the middle of the cave, it's</p><p>old but surely not natural. The exploration continues. </p><p>After the cave, the passage is slowly changing. After one or thwo</p><p>hundred meters, it starts to be real masonry walls, they are entering</p><p>the complex. The passage is wider here but still no more than one</p><p>meter and a half ... this fact could be important as we will see</p><p>soon. They are still advancing and two more hundred meters after that</p><p>point they approach a door. In fact two doors were hear, one in front</p><p>of them, still in good shape and closed, and another on their right,</p><p>but this one is totally broken, only remains of it are still scatered</p><p>on the floor. </p><p></p><p>Diane starts to study the closed door, it's a big wooden door</p><p>reinforced by metal, as it will be hard to break and she decides to</p><p>give a try to her rogue's skills. During this time the others are</p><p>speaking with low voices, still wondering about the aim of the</p><p>clerics, what are they doing there ? </p><p>They weren't there for more than one or two minutes when Gandigoot</p><p>hears a sound coming from the right corridor, Rousing Fox also heard</p><p>it and he throws his torch into the passage. Fithteen meters farther,</p><p>the torch hits the ground ... at the very feats of an hawfull</p><p>creature, something like an hybrid of cockerel and lizard with bat's</p><p>wings. They will learn afterwards that this creature is a</p><p>cockatrice. But for the moment the creature utters a terrible shriek</p><p>and charges the monk. But the adventurers were aware of the dangers</p><p>and on their guard, Gandigoot and Rousing Fox quickly shoot on the</p><p>creature, two crossbow bolts hit the monster. Dropping her tools on</p><p>the ground, Diane is also quick to respond, she jumps up the gnome and</p><p>stab the creature, this was enough to kill it. Some of you could ask</p><p>themselves were is the priest of kord and the paladin ? Ezekiel was as</p><p>paralysed when he saw the cockatrice, even if he finally resumed to</p><p>normal after a round, this was enough to frighten the</p><p>others. Killasha, her, discovered that huge greatswords are not quite</p><p>good in small corridors. Used to fight in the open like during the war</p><p>against the froces of Iuz the evil, the paladine was not prepared for</p><p>such a situation and is quite powerless when her friends are attacked</p><p>by a monster, it really seems to shake her. </p><p>But the danger is not passed, Diane sees another hideous cockerel</p><p>coming right on her. She retreats a little before tumbling beside the</p><p>creature and stab it from behind. Gandigoot is then firing crossbow</p><p>bolts onto it, using his great shooting skills to prevent any bolt</p><p>from hitting Diane. Even before Rousing Fox is able to drop a punch on</p><p>the creature, it falls to the ground, dead. Good fight ! I was</p><p>impressed <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p></p><p>Breathing again, our heroes resume their occupations. Diane is back on</p><p>the door, Gandigoot continues the exploration of the right corridor</p><p>(where the cockatrices came from), Killasha and Ezekiel (who is also</p><p>using a greatsword) are searching improvised weapons to use in those</p><p>small corridors, Rousing Fox is listening and guarding the group. </p><p>Killasha decides to follow the gnome few minutes after his departure</p><p>and she joins him in a room full of garbage at the end of the right</p><p>corridor. He is quietly and prudently exploring the room, a quick</p><p>search reveals three big nests in the room. It stinks hawfully and the</p><p>nests are built of a lot of rubbles, bits of wood, pieces of clothes</p><p>... Gandigoot even search the nests without fiding anything</p><p>interesting. He, there is three nests ... and probably three</p><p>cockatrices ... </p><p>The two adventurers are already gone since a quarter of an hour and</p><p>Ezekiel is worring for them, Rousing Fox is sent to find them. He</p><p>joins them at the entry of the nests room and finds Gandigoot carrying</p><p>the head of a rat carved into stone, a really big head, really neatly</p><p>carved ... as is real ... </p><p></p><p>The three come back at the cross where Diane just finished to open the</p><p>door and the whole party advance into the new corridor. The structure</p><p>of the walls is the same massonry indicating that they must be in the</p><p>good direction. But twenty meters after the door, they find a stone</p><p>wall. This is a dead-end ! This was not expected for sure ... How</p><p>could a door open on a twenty meters corridor finising on a dead-end !</p><p>There must be a secret passage and they all start to search for it. </p><p>Ten minutes later they don't have found anything approaching a secret</p><p>panel or lock or lever or paddle or ... anything in fact. But a</p><p>strange fact appears to them, the blocking wall seems to be made of a</p><p>stone different of the side walls, and the stone are not really</p><p>connected the ones to the others. After a detect magic from Ezekiel</p><p>revealing a faing magic aura, they conclude that this wall should be</p><p>magical ... but this doesn't help them anyway and they are blocked on</p><p>their way towards the moathouse under-levels. </p><p></p><p>They are forced to continue the exploration trough the cockatrice</p><p>rooms. No sooner said than done, they are back into the nests</p><p>room. The room is a real pile of rubish, a whole mess, but they are</p><p>able to cross it. Once again Gandigoot is scouting ahead and enters</p><p>another room connected to the nests room. </p><p>The gnome finds a room in the same state as the first, probably an</p><p>ancient guard room but all furnitures are broken and rubble is</p><p>everywhere. Gandigoot decides to slide on the ground hoping to see</p><p>something. And he spots something, the feet of a big bird ... the</p><p>third cockatrice shrieks and rushes on him at this very moment. </p><p>Gandigoot is then alone in the room, Rousing Fox is not far behind and</p><p>rushes to his help. The gnome has seen the power of those creatures</p><p>when Ezekiel was paralysed and chose to blind fight the monster, the</p><p>gnome is used to underground and knows how to fight without seeing,</p><p>his master of blindfighting will soon be demonstrated and it perhaps</p><p>saved his life. </p><p>The gnome is not touched in the first rush but only has the time to</p><p>drop his crossbow and take his short sword and dagger, as ranger he is</p><p>trained to fight with two light weapons (light because gnomes are</p><p>small you know). In the second round of fighting, the creature misses</p><p>him once again but the gnome scores a hit on it, getting a shriek of</p><p>pain as sole reward. Rousing Fox is then into the fight, and the other</p><p>members of the group are aware that something is wrong in the other</p><p>room, they enter it one after the other seeking to help their</p><p>friend. Next round, the cockatrice hits Gandigoot, an hawfull</p><p>paralysing sensation courses trough his body but he is able to resist</p><p>to the magical effect and responds by hitting once again the</p><p>creature. Rousing Fox hits it also with a good punch (hopefully for</p><p>him, only the beak of a cockatrice could turn you to stone ... yes TO</p><p>STONE !). They are now all into the room which is lit by the torches</p><p>of Rousing Fox and Diane, once again the paralysing power of the</p><p>creature hold one of them, but this is Killasha this time. Next round,</p><p>the monstrous cockerel tries to hit the monk but he quickly evades the</p><p>attack, Gandigoot then stabs it again and Ezekiel charges the</p><p>cockatrice (or tries to as there is so much rubble in the room), he</p><p>lands a good strike on it and the monster falls to the ground ... an</p><p>action after the paladine is on the monster at last ... quicking the</p><p>corpse as hard as she can. You know, when you are doomed to always</p><p>arrive too late .. it's hard for a fighter, especially a paladine</p><p>devoted to the protection of others ... as Killasha <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p>This time it must really be finished, the three monsters are dead on</p><p>the ground, they can quietly explore the rooms at last. </p><p></p><p>During the fight, Diane discovered a door, still intact behind a</p><p>broken risen table. She starts to investigate this door when Gandigoot</p><p>and Killasha explore the rest of the room. The two find another room,</p><p>as a mess as the two others, connected to this one as the first nests</p><p>room is (the three room are vaguely forming a U). They start to search</p><p>the two rooms for anything valuable. Then Killasha hears a cry from</p><p>Diane : "An undead a skeleton, turn it, turn it !". As fast as</p><p>lightning (eager to fight monsters) the paladine is beside the</p><p>fighter-rogue, the door is open and a skeleton lies on the ground in</p><p>front of them. Killasha calls the powers of Mayaheine and channel</p><p>positive energy to fight the undead creature ... and nothing happens,</p><p>nothing at all, the skeleton still lies on the ground, untouched</p><p>... it was only a normal, real and dead skeleton ... Diane quickly</p><p>present her excuses to Killasha, she was surprised and frightened</p><p>because of the ghouls earllier in the day she says ... and she really</p><p>seems to be frightened. (In fact the rogue wanted to play a little</p><p>with the paladine, and with the passive support of Ezekiel and Rousing</p><p>Fox who didn't said anything she sets up the "trap"). </p><p></p><p>Anyway the door opens onto another small room, it seems to be a</p><p>bedchamber, but an old one ... a sent of dust is everywhere in the</p><p>room. A bed in in the center, a desk on the left, a wardrobe against</p><p>the right wall. Tapestries hang to the front and left walls. One</p><p>depicts a flaming eye and the other a swirling purple design. </p><p>Just in the entrance, on a carpet, lies an ols skeleton. It was a man</p><p>dressed in priest robes and wearing the Elemental Eye symbol. On the</p><p>desk, they also found a scroll written in a language not known to any</p><p>of them. Ezekiel uses his last spell to read the scroll, it speaks</p><p>about a man devoted to Lolth (the dark spider queen, godess of the</p><p>drows) and working for the Temple of Elemental Evil. There was a</p><p>spider symbol hidden into the rolled scroll, probably a holy symbol of</p><p>Lolth. They conclude that this must be the corpse of Lareth the</p><p>Beautifull, a priest of Lolth and the Elemental Eye who worked for the</p><p>temple during its second rise, ten years ago. This seems to connect to</p><p>the story of the black gnome illusionist who wanted to search for</p><p>facts about this man, in the moathouse. </p><p></p><p>Gandigot was searching the other rooms during this time, it took him a</p><p>good part of an hour, but he is not able to find anything of value</p><p>beside two bucklers, a short sword and other small things. Lareth's</p><p>room is also ransacked but nothing of interest lies within it. There</p><p>is nothing more to find here ... and no more access to the moathouse</p><p>dungeon. </p><p></p><p>What a shame after so much efforts ! But they are now forced to</p><p>backtrack and two hours after they entered the secret entrance in the</p><p>swamp, they are once again at this very point ... good try but this</p><p>dungeon will not be finished so easily. Anyway Diane is really upset,</p><p>she was hoping to go round the ghouls by this way but it only push</p><p>them in the claws of cockatrices ... and they still have the ghouls to</p><p>fight ! </p><p>It is now late, and their moral is shaked. Our heroes are once again</p><p>going back to Hommlet ... tomorrow will be the final strike on the</p><p>moathouse, at least it is what they have decided. </p><p></p><p></p><p>... soon ...</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Episode FOUR - The gnomish night - Part 2</p><p>(Those gnomes know how to feast.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Selm, post: 76282, member: 1592"] [b]Episode 4-1[/b] Episode FOUR - Still exploring the moathouse - Part 1 (The Late Paladin strikes ... or would like to ... part two, the curse continues.) - Moonday 17th Planting, mid-afternoon - We meet again our heroes in the moathouse great hall, where they first encountered Utreshimon the terrible blue dragon, and after that a dangerous band of gnolls backed by an evil priest. They are curently discussing what will be their next action. They have quickly scanned the ground-floor, no other gnoll or any other monster. They should explore the underground of the moathouse but the first attempt by Diane and Rousing Fox revealed that this part is full of undeads and especially ghouls, which seems to make them think twice before rushing towards the dungeon. Then Gandigoot, who is guarding the entrance of the stairs to the lower levels of the fortress since he heard of ghouls undeground, sees a hooded face looking into the room which quicly withdraw when they see each other. Immediatly the gnome warns his friends and strongly enjoins the man to show himself and advance into the light. This gnome could be quite authoritative when he wants, or is it the bloody fight with the gnolls still in his veins ? The man advances and reveals himself as Spugnoir, the potion maker of Hommlet. His obvious weariness, his clothes and the small black cat following him are enough proof for the party. Spugnoir is quickly helped and Killasha use some healing magic to help him while Gandigoot gives him his own sandwich ... what a heroic act from the gnome, his MEAL ! As Mayaheine is helpfull today, Spugnoir thanks her but doesn't know more than others who is this Mayaheine Killasha is speaking of (to be paladin of a young godess as some attached duties, like explaining who is your godess :) ). Our adventurers are eager to hear his story, where he was and what has he done since three days ? Sugnoir went to the moathouse three days ago. He started to explore the dungeon, as he was doing since several weeks (one or two days a week, no more because he also has a daughter and a shop to run), when he was surprised by some gnolls and evil priests, he hid himself for a time and was hoping to be able to sneak out at night. But the same day, a young dragon decided to use the old fortress as a new lair, trapping the clerics and Spugnoir into the underground part of the dungeon. The clerics tried to go out but were severely wounded by the dragon, two of them were slain, since this time, they were waiting in the underground complex ... until some foulish adventurers save them by forcing the dragon to flee. Spugnoir himself tried to sneak out the dungeon but was also wounded by the dragon and compelled to hide in the first part of the undergrounds (where there is less clerics), he was waiting there until this very moment. Our heroes are quite surprised and afraid when hearing that several other clerics surely await them ... with the ghouls ! Spugnoir gives them a rough plan of the underground complex that he draws upon a scroll fom Lywen. He tells them about other gnolls, wearing black cloaks with a burning eye symbol and that the clerics and gnolls were working in the outmost part of the complex, doing a lot of noise ... even if doesn't know more about that. When some members of the party are asking themselves how to enter the lower level without falling into a trap, Spugnoir explains them that several months ago he used once a back-entry, it is a secret passage leading to the other side of the undergrounds than the stairs. Diane is quick to rally the others to the idea of entering the undergrounds by this secret passage where they will be less expected. Once again they quit the moathouse after a bloody fight, but this time they are decided to continue the exploration. Following the directions given by Spugnoir, they continue on the track in the swamp until several hundred meters from the moathouse, there they enter the swamp and found, not so far from the track, the entry of the secret passage. It is not really hidden but surely hard to find by yourself. The entry is a flight of stairs going right into a dark underground. Gandigoot spot some tracks let by animals going into the passage, the animals must be something like big birds ... going underground in a small passage ... strange for sure, at least it is enough to incite them towards prudence. At this point, they part into two groups. Alahija, Lywen and Xaod are escorting Spugnoir to Hommlet while the others continue the exploration of the undergrounds by this secret passage. - This could seem strange but Alahija and Lywen players were not present for this game, simple when you know that no ? - So the group formed by Ezekiel the priest of Kord, Killashalandilis (yes this name is too big) the paladine of Mayaheine, Rousing Fox the monk, Gandigoot the gnome ranger of the Lortmills Mountains and Diane the stylish fighter from Chendl is entering a small, dark and stinking flight of stairs going underground towards a dungeon full of eveil priests, gnolls and undead ... at least ... yeah, it's better like that :) Gandigoot is carrying a bullseye lantern while Rousning Fox and Diane are using torches. Slowly they advance into the passage. The stairs are not long, they quickly give upon a small passage carved into the stone, it even seems natural. After two minutes they enter a natural cave were a small river if flowing, Gandigoot is first, scouting for the party. There is a ford made nearly in the middle of the cave, it's old but surely not natural. The exploration continues. After the cave, the passage is slowly changing. After one or thwo hundred meters, it starts to be real masonry walls, they are entering the complex. The passage is wider here but still no more than one meter and a half ... this fact could be important as we will see soon. They are still advancing and two more hundred meters after that point they approach a door. In fact two doors were hear, one in front of them, still in good shape and closed, and another on their right, but this one is totally broken, only remains of it are still scatered on the floor. Diane starts to study the closed door, it's a big wooden door reinforced by metal, as it will be hard to break and she decides to give a try to her rogue's skills. During this time the others are speaking with low voices, still wondering about the aim of the clerics, what are they doing there ? They weren't there for more than one or two minutes when Gandigoot hears a sound coming from the right corridor, Rousing Fox also heard it and he throws his torch into the passage. Fithteen meters farther, the torch hits the ground ... at the very feats of an hawfull creature, something like an hybrid of cockerel and lizard with bat's wings. They will learn afterwards that this creature is a cockatrice. But for the moment the creature utters a terrible shriek and charges the monk. But the adventurers were aware of the dangers and on their guard, Gandigoot and Rousing Fox quickly shoot on the creature, two crossbow bolts hit the monster. Dropping her tools on the ground, Diane is also quick to respond, she jumps up the gnome and stab the creature, this was enough to kill it. Some of you could ask themselves were is the priest of kord and the paladin ? Ezekiel was as paralysed when he saw the cockatrice, even if he finally resumed to normal after a round, this was enough to frighten the others. Killasha, her, discovered that huge greatswords are not quite good in small corridors. Used to fight in the open like during the war against the froces of Iuz the evil, the paladine was not prepared for such a situation and is quite powerless when her friends are attacked by a monster, it really seems to shake her. But the danger is not passed, Diane sees another hideous cockerel coming right on her. She retreats a little before tumbling beside the creature and stab it from behind. Gandigoot is then firing crossbow bolts onto it, using his great shooting skills to prevent any bolt from hitting Diane. Even before Rousing Fox is able to drop a punch on the creature, it falls to the ground, dead. Good fight ! I was impressed ;) Breathing again, our heroes resume their occupations. Diane is back on the door, Gandigoot continues the exploration of the right corridor (where the cockatrices came from), Killasha and Ezekiel (who is also using a greatsword) are searching improvised weapons to use in those small corridors, Rousing Fox is listening and guarding the group. Killasha decides to follow the gnome few minutes after his departure and she joins him in a room full of garbage at the end of the right corridor. He is quietly and prudently exploring the room, a quick search reveals three big nests in the room. It stinks hawfully and the nests are built of a lot of rubbles, bits of wood, pieces of clothes ... Gandigoot even search the nests without fiding anything interesting. He, there is three nests ... and probably three cockatrices ... The two adventurers are already gone since a quarter of an hour and Ezekiel is worring for them, Rousing Fox is sent to find them. He joins them at the entry of the nests room and finds Gandigoot carrying the head of a rat carved into stone, a really big head, really neatly carved ... as is real ... The three come back at the cross where Diane just finished to open the door and the whole party advance into the new corridor. The structure of the walls is the same massonry indicating that they must be in the good direction. But twenty meters after the door, they find a stone wall. This is a dead-end ! This was not expected for sure ... How could a door open on a twenty meters corridor finising on a dead-end ! There must be a secret passage and they all start to search for it. Ten minutes later they don't have found anything approaching a secret panel or lock or lever or paddle or ... anything in fact. But a strange fact appears to them, the blocking wall seems to be made of a stone different of the side walls, and the stone are not really connected the ones to the others. After a detect magic from Ezekiel revealing a faing magic aura, they conclude that this wall should be magical ... but this doesn't help them anyway and they are blocked on their way towards the moathouse under-levels. They are forced to continue the exploration trough the cockatrice rooms. No sooner said than done, they are back into the nests room. The room is a real pile of rubish, a whole mess, but they are able to cross it. Once again Gandigoot is scouting ahead and enters another room connected to the nests room. The gnome finds a room in the same state as the first, probably an ancient guard room but all furnitures are broken and rubble is everywhere. Gandigoot decides to slide on the ground hoping to see something. And he spots something, the feet of a big bird ... the third cockatrice shrieks and rushes on him at this very moment. Gandigoot is then alone in the room, Rousing Fox is not far behind and rushes to his help. The gnome has seen the power of those creatures when Ezekiel was paralysed and chose to blind fight the monster, the gnome is used to underground and knows how to fight without seeing, his master of blindfighting will soon be demonstrated and it perhaps saved his life. The gnome is not touched in the first rush but only has the time to drop his crossbow and take his short sword and dagger, as ranger he is trained to fight with two light weapons (light because gnomes are small you know). In the second round of fighting, the creature misses him once again but the gnome scores a hit on it, getting a shriek of pain as sole reward. Rousing Fox is then into the fight, and the other members of the group are aware that something is wrong in the other room, they enter it one after the other seeking to help their friend. Next round, the cockatrice hits Gandigoot, an hawfull paralysing sensation courses trough his body but he is able to resist to the magical effect and responds by hitting once again the creature. Rousing Fox hits it also with a good punch (hopefully for him, only the beak of a cockatrice could turn you to stone ... yes TO STONE !). They are now all into the room which is lit by the torches of Rousing Fox and Diane, once again the paralysing power of the creature hold one of them, but this is Killasha this time. Next round, the monstrous cockerel tries to hit the monk but he quickly evades the attack, Gandigoot then stabs it again and Ezekiel charges the cockatrice (or tries to as there is so much rubble in the room), he lands a good strike on it and the monster falls to the ground ... an action after the paladine is on the monster at last ... quicking the corpse as hard as she can. You know, when you are doomed to always arrive too late .. it's hard for a fighter, especially a paladine devoted to the protection of others ... as Killasha ;) This time it must really be finished, the three monsters are dead on the ground, they can quietly explore the rooms at last. During the fight, Diane discovered a door, still intact behind a broken risen table. She starts to investigate this door when Gandigoot and Killasha explore the rest of the room. The two find another room, as a mess as the two others, connected to this one as the first nests room is (the three room are vaguely forming a U). They start to search the two rooms for anything valuable. Then Killasha hears a cry from Diane : "An undead a skeleton, turn it, turn it !". As fast as lightning (eager to fight monsters) the paladine is beside the fighter-rogue, the door is open and a skeleton lies on the ground in front of them. Killasha calls the powers of Mayaheine and channel positive energy to fight the undead creature ... and nothing happens, nothing at all, the skeleton still lies on the ground, untouched ... it was only a normal, real and dead skeleton ... Diane quickly present her excuses to Killasha, she was surprised and frightened because of the ghouls earllier in the day she says ... and she really seems to be frightened. (In fact the rogue wanted to play a little with the paladine, and with the passive support of Ezekiel and Rousing Fox who didn't said anything she sets up the "trap"). Anyway the door opens onto another small room, it seems to be a bedchamber, but an old one ... a sent of dust is everywhere in the room. A bed in in the center, a desk on the left, a wardrobe against the right wall. Tapestries hang to the front and left walls. One depicts a flaming eye and the other a swirling purple design. Just in the entrance, on a carpet, lies an ols skeleton. It was a man dressed in priest robes and wearing the Elemental Eye symbol. On the desk, they also found a scroll written in a language not known to any of them. Ezekiel uses his last spell to read the scroll, it speaks about a man devoted to Lolth (the dark spider queen, godess of the drows) and working for the Temple of Elemental Evil. There was a spider symbol hidden into the rolled scroll, probably a holy symbol of Lolth. They conclude that this must be the corpse of Lareth the Beautifull, a priest of Lolth and the Elemental Eye who worked for the temple during its second rise, ten years ago. This seems to connect to the story of the black gnome illusionist who wanted to search for facts about this man, in the moathouse. Gandigot was searching the other rooms during this time, it took him a good part of an hour, but he is not able to find anything of value beside two bucklers, a short sword and other small things. Lareth's room is also ransacked but nothing of interest lies within it. There is nothing more to find here ... and no more access to the moathouse dungeon. What a shame after so much efforts ! But they are now forced to backtrack and two hours after they entered the secret entrance in the swamp, they are once again at this very point ... good try but this dungeon will not be finished so easily. Anyway Diane is really upset, she was hoping to go round the ghouls by this way but it only push them in the claws of cockatrices ... and they still have the ghouls to fight ! It is now late, and their moral is shaked. Our heroes are once again going back to Hommlet ... tomorrow will be the final strike on the moathouse, at least it is what they have decided. ... soon ... ----------------------------------------------------------- Episode FOUR - The gnomish night - Part 2 (Those gnomes know how to feast.) [/QUOTE]
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