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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DustinGebhardt" data-source="post: 5393088" data-attributes="member: 82905">Session 32What  is evil? Is it the action of opposition to good? The temple of  Demigorgon virtually radiated an aura of evil, a terrible weight on the  shoulders of those of us who could feel it. But I left wondering, would  the worshipers of this immortal not feel the same oppression in a temple  to a good deity? I decided later in life that it is not the action that  makes the deed, but the intention behind it. Now, what to say of  inaction? Can a good person see evil and do nothing? The  companions regrouped in the large chamber and began investigating the  various avenues of escape. “What does your sense tell you Eriks?” Kamal  asked thoughtfully, “Can you isolate where the evil presence is coming  from?” It was a good thought, and as the rogue shifted his  perception to reveal the auras of evil around him, he almost fainted.  Catching himself before he dropped to the floor, Eriks reported. “Except  for your own silhouettes, this whole place is pulsing with a vile ambiance.”“Well, we should waste no time then.” Mythyria stated matter-of-factly.  The team begins systematically checking the exits, and finds three  doors. The door on the first level leads to a room filled with offal,  refuse, and other smells that they dare not imagine. “Whoa! What a  wonderful smell you’ve discovered” Mort exclaims to Eriks, after the  human insisted on opening the door that had been locked moments earlier.  A rusty grate topped the room, no doubt the dumping ground from above.“Can we please move on?” Hekuba asks with his face nearly buried in his leather armor. The group climbs the stairs once more, Eriks’ flying magic having  expired some time before. Opening the door to the room above the refuse  dump, they see six columns bordering a short hallway around the rusty  grate, and a throne carved in stone and embossed with several depictions  of demonic apes and monkeys, all with sinister evil grins on their  faces that seem to cast knowing glances to the group. “There should be more to this room” Karyan remarks. “I think there is something behind this throne.” They are rewarded for the diligence of the ranger when the throne  slides forward to reveal a small room that smells of rotting wet fur  with two rusty treasure chests. Eriks barely stops Mort from walking  straight toward them.“A little more caution elf, they may look old, but I doubt anything here is easy pickings.” True to his prediction, the rogue discovers that one treasure chest is  rigged to explode upon opening unless a small trigger is held the entire  time that it is open. Looting the belongings of both chests, the party  comes away with a wand, some coins, and an oddly shaped ape paw.“May  I?” Mythyria asks extending her own hand to the carved piece. The  wizardress examines the paw and reports. “There is a dweomer of some  kind on this, similar to the red and blue rods from the underground  path. I’d wager this is a key of some sort.”“Our way out, perhaps?”  Karyan asks hopefully. To this point, none had given another mention to  the fact that there seemed to be no exit back into the jungle or even a  guarantee that they were still anywhere near the jungle. With only one door remaining, the group moves on.“Worry  not friends, we do good work here, and Sarenrae will not abandon us.”  Kamal’s words come as a welcome comfort as the doors to the third room  reveal piles and piles of bone that speak to the past occurrences of the  temple. Twin fountains shaped as baboons spewing a murky liquid that  could barely be called water donned the wall on the right. Eriks began  work immediately to unlock the double doors across from their own  entrance.“There is another ape paw here.” Hoppup announced as he  peered into the deeper pool beneath the fountains. “Perhaps I should  turn off the water with this valve.” The lizard wizard’s hand begins to  reach then he pauses. “Eriks, should it be this easy?” Startled,  Eriks looks to Hoppup and frowns, “No, it should not.” Asking Mythyria  to finish unlocking the doors, the human examines the valves and notices  that one-the one Hoppup very nearly turned-was indeed trapped. He took  several moments and his frown turned into a frustrated scowl. “I cannot  determine the nature of the trap. I’m sorry, but I think you are getting  your hands dirty.” Hoppup sighs in disgust and dares not to look as  he reaches in the bubbling murk. He sinks all the way to his shoulder  and is forced to lie on the floor to at last grip the paw. “Done with  that door yet?” the lizard man implores, clearly ready to be gone from  the room.“Ready when you are.” Kamal is the first to enter, and  tries hard to mask the slump of his shoulders. “I see where the paws go,  I am not sure I want to attach them.”  Directly across the room is  another set of double doors made of solid iron. In the center of the  polished marble room, two giant simian statues of iron stand; each  missing a paw. “Maybe, we can open the door without using these.”  Eriks states more to himself than anyone else. The unspoken fear of  animating the iron statues hangs heavy in the air. After what seemed  an eternity of waiting, and several bouts of whispered cursing, Eriks  walks away from the iron doors and shakes his head.“Nothing for it  then.” Mort comments and jams one paw onto the statue it clearly  belonged to. When nothing happened, Hekuba placed the other hand and  with held breath, the group watched the iron doors slowly open. A  long hallway lined with apes brandishing flaming blades and depicted as  howling to an unseen presence ends with gleaming copper doors. Mort  dashes forward, “This has got to be close to the end.”“Wait!” Karyan  barely finished the word before the ape statues begin howling. The  monk’s pace goes from brisk to sprint and he yells to the rest to  follow. Showing speed born of fear, the group dashes down the hall to  find the copper doors unlocked. They enter quickly and close the portal  behind them. Eriks nearly loses consciousness once more and is steadied by Kamal. “What news Eriks?”“That one, that’s the source.” Eriks reports. The room is rectangular with two alcoves East and two West. In each  alcove is another ape statue standing in reverence to the center statue  that stands nearly twice the height of the tall Hekuba. Where arms  should be, there are squid-like tentacles and its shoulders are fanged  heads of fiendish baboons. The statue’s stare meets the group then locks  on Eriks with hate. Its mouth crunches open and it lets out a keening  screech that strikes terror into the human. Eriks runs screaming back  through the copper doors. Undeterred, the group goes into action.  Hoppup, Mythyria, and Kamal begin their familiar spell harmony as Mort,  Hekuba, and Karyan rush in to meet the animated evil. “Courage Eriks!” Karyan yells as she knocks her bow and lets loose, the arrow bounces harmlessly off of the stone creature. “Two  can play the stone game!” Mort shouts at the enemy as the power of his  crown hardens the monk’s skin. Hekuba, seeing Karyan’s ineffectiveness,  stands defensibly and tries to spot a weak spot in the stony hide of the  animated statue.The spells erupt in a surge of arcane, divine, and  natural magic. Hoppup and Mythyria’s hands erupt with flames and their  spells meet to create scorching and molten stone on the enemy. Kamal’s  hands fly toward the sky and divine light covers the group. Eriks,  having heard his sister’s plea, and feeling the warmth of the priest’s  prayer turns back and rushes toward the creature. As Mort closes the  last few paces between the creature and himself, the floor beneath him  erupts in flames. The nimble monk avoids the fiery wisps, but the  distraction is all the enemy needs to wrap him in one of its strong  tentacles. The creature screams once more, and begins to squeeze the  monk. Hekuba, distracted by his own study of the creature begins to  shake with fear. Eriks passes the half-orc, “No time for fear friend!” he yells as he thumps Hekuba on the shoulder.  The cacophony of spells begins again as Eriks gets behind the statue  and fires his crossbow; only to have the bolt bounce harmlessly away.“Already tried that!” Karyan yells as she draws her sword and rushes the creature, Hekuba right behind her.  Mort cries out in pain as the creature wraps its second tentacle around  his already grappled body. Even over the spell trio and din of battle,  bones can be heard cracking, and the fact that the elf did not fall  unconscious then was enough to fuel his companions into a battle fury.  Three spells connected in succession, lightning, fire, and holy light  creating a blinding spell wall and causing a painful scream from the  foe.  Hekuba and Karyan arrive at the same time, the half-orc making  a feint bash with his shield. The ploy works as the creature leans to  avoid the strike, and takes a deep gash from Karyan’s blade. It bellows  in pain at the ranger and begins to draw breath for another magical  keening. The screech comes out instead as a death gasp as Eriks appears  behind the creature, his thin-blade buried half way to the hilt into the  evil thing. It goes down in a heap and releases Mort from its  tentacled grasp. As the creature’s last breaths escape into the air, the  sense of evil wanes to nothingness. The wall opposite the door melts  away to reveal the jungle, formerly the fog-mire. Mort asks Kamal  for what healing the priest can spare, as the group moves into the  jungle. “Good has been done here.” Kamal encourages the group.“Any one you walk away from right?” Mythyria replies.“I  do not know what my people will do now that the fog-mire is…” Hoppup is  cut short and wails in pain drawing everyone’s eyes to the lizard man.“Rot  grubs!” Karyan exclaims seeing the creatures burrow into Hoppup’s flesh  from the shallow pools that dot the landscape. The group looks on in  horror as the lizard wizard rolls on the ground screaming with the rat  sized insects crawling under his skin.“We’ve got to get them out!”  Hekuba cries and pushes Kamal forward. Eriks and Mythyria take his legs  as Karyan and the half-orc hold down Hoppup’s arms. Kamal begins cutting  the Nythian’s flesh and extracting the grubs. His screams turn to  whimpers, and his body goes limp, as blood pours from the wounds  inflicted by Kamal’s procedure. The priest intones a powerful healing  spell and begins the process again. And again, until the ground is muddy  with Hoppup’s blood and the last grub is out of his body.“We should camp soon, he needs rest.” Kamal says, holding back tears for the grim work he was forced to perform. Supporting Hoppup, the group finds an area of mostly dry undergrowth.  Mythyria casts some protective spells and the party takes a much needed  reprieve.</blockquote>

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