The Temple Quest
Flocktime/14: We went back to town
& spent the night at the tavern. An
incredibly beautiful lady came in
but she was accompanied by little
dog. Now I like dogs but this
one was undead ... a skeletal form
without any flesh whatsoever. I
thought at first this might be the
necromancer Scarza. I asked this
of the party and was told no. I
did however ask the question in a
certain way so that I learned that
the party had indeed, before my
joining, been involved in the
burglary of the necromancer's
residence.
The lady seemed to
take offense at Trina's presence,
and I learned this was not just a
class conflict but that Trina's
wolf had dug up the dog's body &
damaged some of it's ribs. Though
I find necromancy distasteful, it
is an arcane magic & not always an
evil art (though it Usually is).
Later a large fellow came in, &
DEVOURED more food than I think
our entire party had ordered.
We managed to engage him in
conversation, being careful to keep
our fingers clear of his dining.
He presented himself as a cleric
of Tymora, goddess of luck. He
was in need of aid. His temple
had been wiped out by orcs who
had taken up residence therein.
He needed help to clear them out.
(LUCKY thing he bumped into us,
yes??) We agreed to help him
even though he had nothing to
offer in payment.
Unfortunately,
the party decided to buy horses
to ride out to the temple. I
myself would have much preferred
a two day walk to a one day ride.
The expense seemed unjustified,
but I bowed to the vote of the
party. This DID delay my acquiring my familiar in a timely way
but I bow to the democracy of the
situation.
On the way to the temple
we bumped into a wood carving artisan
with incredible statuettes. I bought a wooden owl
& the druid purchased a
wondrous carved faerie. Later
that night, on a hunch, I cast a
detect magic on the items which
both possessed a faint dweomer.
The druid cast her spell which I
by now figure to be some sort of
divination and told me that the
owl radiated neutrality & the
faerie radiated chaotic good. I
hope this is simply an enchantment
in the manufacture & not
that the artisan is somehow trans-
forming small woodland creatures
into wooden forms. It brings to
mind the chests in the artisan's
wagon. Could one of these be a
transmutative magical device??
We will have to investigate after
we clear the temple. The artisan
said he would be staying in town a
few days so we should try to be as
expedient as possible in clearing
the orcs out.
We arrived at the temple which was
fairly large, with some good sized
outbuildings. The cleric could not
make a map of the interiors except
the main temple main floor. I
took this to indicate this to mean
this was NOT his home temple - or
perhaps he is NOT what he portrays
himself. We briefly checked out
the hall of one of the outbuildings,
a hospital but there were no signs
of habitation so we advanced to the
main temple.
(The hospital would
make a Wonderful orphanage or house of
charitable nature). As we came up toward
the temple, we saw there were a west entry &
2 OPEN south windows. I am looking forward to
trying out my color sprays. (I have cast for
myself Mage Armor & plan to cast Shield as we
enter the temple.)
Flocktime/16: A sad day for us.
I should not jump ahead of myself
so I will detail the battle as I
perceived it to occur. We were
gathered at the west door & the
dwarf went to peek in the south
windows of the temple. He was
surprised when an orc was standing
there, bow nocked & ready, who
fired upon him. The dwarf tried to
grab the orc before he could raise
the alarm but the orc was too fast.
I & the locksmith ran to the south
windows to back up the dwarf & the
rest of the party burst into the
temple via the west door. Some of
the orcs were just awakening, but
we soon discovered we were out-
numbered 18 to 7 (including the
cleric). Actually the orcs also
had a massive hound which brought
their numbers to 19.
The druid
cast a fog spell (interesting) as
we entered - a good precaution -
so the orcs would not know how many
men we had. Then I assume she ran
to the north entrance of the temple
(as this is where I later saw her
make entrance from). The dwarf
made entry into the temple, & as
I moved up I cast shield upon
myself. As I came up to the window
I saw our friends engaged in
fierce combat with the orcs. I
tried to gain access to the room
by jumping up to the sill, but my
athletics were NOT up to the simple
task. I fell back, & was delayed a
few moments regaining my balance.
The monk took the brunt of attacks
at first. I managed to leap up
into the window sill & cast my
color spray. 2 orcs were blinded &
1 was struck unconscious. (Again,
this shows they were fairly strong
creatures individually). The badly
wounded monk leaped out as I came
in - and the cleric ran up to heal
her.
The battle continued on with
numerous attacks upon myself: which
I survived only because of my Mage
Armor & Shield spells. I took a
number of minor wounds. It looked
like we were holding our own when
a series of bad events befell us.
The dwarf was glowing, apparently
from some spell he had thrown upon
himself. (He mentioned during the
battle that he had taken up some
clerical arts.) The dwarf was in
mid attack on the leader of the
orcs when he stumbled, and fell
upon his axe with his full weight.
He dropped unconscious instantly
& was near death. The cleric did
rush up with curing spells & band-
aging. The battle continued on
with all of us taking damage (except
perhaps the druid, I did not see
wounds on her following the fight
but then she has healing spells.) I
did notice 2 dead orcs from where
she & her wolf entered from the
north but once within the temple
proper her luck turned bad & she
scored few hits. Her wolf though
was Highly effective.
As I was saying, the battle went
on & I was attacked numerous times
& VERY pleased with my new spells
of protection. However, the 2nd
Major turn of bad luck fell upon
us (If you don't count my lack of
grace entering the window or the
druid's ill fated attacks after
she entered the temple. The
leader of the orcs struck the
Ranger a massive blow. He was
already mildly injured but this
didn't matter much. This horrific
attacked dropped him on the spot
& he was obviously dead before he
hit the ground.
It was truly
horrifying to see one's friend &
companion slain before one's eyes.
I honestly considered fleeing, as
at that point the numbers were
still against us, but I was not
about to leave my companion fallen
among such foul creatures. The
rest of the party did not appear
to hesitate & also continued the
fight. Even the dwarf, healed but
weak from bloodloss, rejoined the
battle.
We stuck to our ranks,
& I must say my spells were fairly
effective. The monk got the final
killing blow upon the orc leader
with her thrown dagger. We were
wiping up the last of the orcs who
I must say stood their ground fairly
well, until it got down to the
last two. Only THEN did they turn
to flee, numbers now being on OUR
side. We managed to finish them,
the wolf running down and killing
the last one outside.
With the battle over, we have
time to consider our injuries &
most of all - the loss of our good
friend. Tymora may be the goddess
of luck but I must say, our party
suffered mostly ill fortune within
her temple walls. Though I am much
comforted by my beliefs, I mourn
the loss of my friend. I hope the
others manage all right with it.
It is especially sad that the
Ranger did not get to see the renov-
ation of the Cottage completed. He
seemed as enthusiastic as myself
in recent days. ~
I hope that he carries with him
into his future lives, the knowledge
that he accomplished much
good in his too short life. And
the world was a better place for
his efforts. I hope I may die as
well as he did. (Though as always,
I have the feeling that I am destined
to make great changes upon
the world for good. And I have
always had the feeling it will be
in THIS incarnation.)
I leave the rest of this page
blank ... to remind me of the
silent emptiness we all must feel.
We journeyed back to town, bringing
our friend's body back with us. We
kept the body cool, while we healed
up. We cleaned & redressed it.
Mending spells were thrown upon it
for the funeral & the party bought
a pine coffin. We buried our friend
in a clearing chosen by the druid,
who presided over the services. We
planted trees in the clearing which
coincided well with my beliefs. We
buried him with his melee weapons
but kept the magic & cash, given to
the druid's keeping - both to keep
the temptation of looting away &
for the future good these items
would provide for the populace. We
returned to town & I personally
rose to meet the dawn as is the
way of Lathander's followers.
We
met the next night at the Tavern &
a flautist was playing. After a
bit, who should walk in but the Plar
himself, daughter & entourage. We
vacated, having taken the Plar's
favored table, & I feigned high
respect for the lord. (His daughter
was incredibly lovely.) We were
outside when a ruckus began & the
flautist & a peasant were arrested
for insulting the Plar - & the
tavern was closed. We discussed
the matter but it did not truly
concern us - & we did not have the
power to make any changes at any
rate.
As we were gathered outside
the tavern, we began talking to
another ousted customer who after
a bit expressed interest in joining
our party. We agreed.
6-4-5:We journeyed back out to
the temple, & decided to clear the
hospital first. It consisted of
mostly smaller rooms & narrow
halls. We did bumped into some
bloodsucking bird-like creatures.
These wounded the monk before
being killed. In another room we
saw some other birds (apparently
the roof here is in bad shape),
but I closed the door before they
could attack - using my Mage Hand
spell.
We explored the remainder of the
hospital with little problem. Two
more bloodsucking birds were found
and dealt with. The druid took my
advice and cut a small hole in the
other birds & examined them. They
were natural creatures, but rather
rude ones in that they actually
lay their eggs in carrion, which
then hatch and develope in the
manner of larva. Perhaps the
birds can be smoked out without
harming them. (It made me glad
we had sectioned & burnt the orcs
bodies or we would have flocks of
these hereabouts.) In a healing
room we recovered a magical light
and in another a magical cauldron -
used apparently as a tub. The 1st
was definitely church property &
the 2nd probably was.
We then checked the barracks,
a plant lay in the place - and the
druid was feign to harm it. We left
with one room there left to search.
We moved on to the stables & made
short work of some rats. We found
some rather hungry horses & riding
gear, presumably the horses or
booty thereof. In a store room,
the party saw a very small dragon
of red coloration. The party, save
for the monk, held their attacks &
she but tossed a dagger at the
creature. I tried to speak to it
in draconic but got no reply. It
flew away, & I worry we allowed
an evil beatst to escape. But I
& my friends were feign to kill a
possibly innocent creature. I
shall have to research it once we
get back to town. If it was evil
we should try to hunt it down.
The druid has expressed a need
to journey far away to a gathering
of her cult for a religious rite.
Though not of her religion, I
admire it & think we should go
with her (assuming no deeds of
but higher calling prevail upon us.)
Our next duty will be to clear
the basement of the temple - then
we will probably be free to aid
the druid - barring injuries etc.
We held a brief conference & decided
to search the Barracks before going
downstairs. I myself thought it
dangerous to search underground with
a room yet uncleared above - with
perhaps a nasty creature blocking
our exit. The druid claimed she
knew about plants & was immune to
this species - and could harvest
it (the plant produced a natural
sleep gas) while being unaffected.
I thought of tying a rope to her
but bit my tongue, deferring to
her knowledge on nature. She
no sooner stepped up to the plants
& the stump animated ... itself
being a dangerous plant, with
viscious animated tendrils.
As she was being thrashed my friends
rushed up foolishly, and began to
drop one by one from the gas.
They themselves began to be attack-
ed by the tendrils, helpless to
their attacks. Well, we managed
to destroy all the tendrils but
nearly our entire party was fast
asleep and unwakable.
For 4 hours
they lay as if dead, while my Mage
armor spell faded to nothingness.
Compounding this was the fact that
I needed to keep watching the
stables. Again, the foolishness
of buying horses has still weighed
upon my mind. WHY had we rushed
to clear a temple which had been
untended for 25 years??
So, Finally the party awakened.
They healed & bandaged - then they
became all fired up to rush down
into the temple basement. The orcs
had made a sturdy barricade against
that area & they all wished to rush
below - low on spells (especially
in my own case - I fear in not
waiting til morning I shall be
nothing but minor support to our
party.
And while fighting the
tendril plant I was remarkably
unlucky, reinforcing my thought
that Tymora's temple may be a
place of only Bad luck.) If the
horses are slain while we are
below ground, I shall be sure of
it. Hopefully no one will die.
We entered the basement, & at first
glimpse I could tell this was no
cellar or tomb. The halls were
huge & I estimated them to reach
not only under the temple but the
grounds as well. The first room we
checked was a libary, with most of
it's books intact. Bless us Athena,
for knowledge is always power and
power should be used for good. I
hope perhaps research for a useful
spell might be found therein - for
Ezrak or even myself, or even the
druid ... our new advocationist of
haste rather than wisdom. And upon
completion of this rushed task, we
are to rush down to a druidic
festival. I almost wish one of our
party would be not too seriously
injured so we would be forced to
stop & rethink. I am wondering at
the clouded thinking of my friends.
Gods save us from our haste
and hubris.
Notes: Get a mule or 2
Get familiar
Make some acid potions
Get a file & hammer/chisel
Make custom spear
Buy oils (esp. for the druid)
Buy pick-sledge-containers
Also: I found a skeleton beneath
the tendril plant & kept the skull.
Personal Note: The 1st of the next
month is approaching. So
guild dues must be paid.
31 days til the druid's
summer solstice holy day.
Why is she in such a hurry??
How FAR are we going to
journey??
As the others stayed below to
check the library a bit more, I
decided to go above and check the
condition of the horses. Two of
them had run off, so I secured the
remainder and rode off to find
them, leaving a chalked note
behind. I was tired upon my return,
& decided to rest a short while. I
must have dozed off in the stables,
for I awoke a very long time later.
I wonder if perhaps it was a
delayed effect of the vapors from
that plant. I would ask the druid,
but I am having doubts as to her
knowledge in horticulture.
No one had come up above, so after
making preparations, I headed down
below to check on them.
I caught up with the party at the
NW corner of the dungeon (at least
assuming the place does not loop
around and extend well beyond the
temple grounds). As I approached
I heard the monk say "Down
Boy" so I can only assume the
dwarf was getting frisky. I
spoke to them a bit, & learned
that in my absence they had
disturbed & attacked the ghost
of a priestess of Tymora. She
drained the dwarf of much life
energy, and indeed he looked
pale & weak compared to his
normal vigorous self. She said
that for her to rest, her bones
must be put to rest & the temple
cleared including the basement.
Then & only then would she grant
the dwarf his life energies
back. Also they had battled a
tentacled monster, & cleared a
number of the rooms. In the NW
chamber we discovered a small
chest with money, but coated with
contact poison, & also a bamboo
tube which was sealed with wax.
We took these with us.
We next
went to the Northeast, to a long
corridor running eastward. In
the corridor we encountered an
ooze-like creature, but the monk
managed to spot it before it caught
us by surprise. We killed the thing
with a combination of alchemical
fire & missile attacks. It did
manage to hit the monk once, and
gave her a nasty acid burn. I missed
and hit Mohr, the new man, with a
dart but Guerin patched him up.
Again, reinforcing my belief that
this place is cursed or unlucky or
both. The remains of the ooze
filled the corridor, & rather than
leap it we decided to check other
areas first. At the end of a short
interior hall, we discovered a bed
chamber with a small altar. As
the dwarf entered, webs on the
ceiling charged with energy and
blasted him with electricity. We
managed to destroy the webs with
water, and nonconductive attacks.
In the room was a chest which our
locksmith could not open. The
dwarf & I carried it back to the
ooze and splashed some of the
creature upon the hinges and were
able to open the chest. Inside
were some gems & a magnificent
collapsing staff.
I chopped out
the lock for it's monetary
value. It needs but be tooled
with a new key.
Notes: there was a lavatory,
which I would assume has some
chamber pots in it (since it
also has a well). Either that
or hopefully some good plumbing.
A couple cleaned chamber pots
might be useful in collecting
parts. (I did obtain samples of
the ooze in a vial, & also the
mass of electrical webs.)
The locksmith was in an odd mood,
with none of his usual bravado.
Perhaps the encounter with the
ghost had disturbed him also. I
am simply glad I did not enter
that chamber, having briefly
taken her head from the rest of
the body. (My fellows had gone
above & retrieved the skull from
my saddlebags in the stables
while I was gone. I assume they
made proper burial thereof. But
perhaps I should check with
them ... I have learned not to
make assumptions with my friends).
We went down the eastmost of the 3
N-S hallways, & checked the 2 doors
on the east wall. These were bed
chambers - 1 of which had a hole in
the wall ... perhaps gigantic rats.
We searched it, blocked the hole &
left. Going north we found a closet
full of janitorial supplies - which
this place DESPERATELY needs: A good
cleaning. We found a dining hall &
I was attacked by a giant fire
beetle & injured. We slew it & I
managed to remove the 'eye' glands.
We went on into the kitchen, & we
found a nest of beetle eggs in the
stove. We also found in the pantry
a massive colony of mold, which the
druid thought might be of a danger.
We continued & found
an exquisite bedroom, w/ an altar of
Tymora & under the bed we found an
enchanted chest which animated and
formed wings, legs, & teeth. The
dwarf managed to grab it & it bit
him. He hit it with a spear and it
did but minor damage. The monk calmed
the 'creature' by saying 'Down Boy'.
And we found some interesting items.
Apparently this was a word she had
found written in the NW chamber,
& it was NOT the dwarf taking
liberties. We also checked a
wine storage room, and we had
trouble getting in. The locksmith
picked the lock but didn't tell
us & as I was kicking the door,
the Cleric of Tymora swung open
the door & I went crashing into
the winerack, breaking many
bottles of sacramental wine.
It
hurt me & showed him to be more
careful ... or perhaps was simply
the unlucky aura of this place
kicking in again. We moved on and
found a huge grid of halls with a
series of 10x10 ft sleeping rooms.
As we were searching, a ghoul made
an attack on us. It struck the
druid. She appeared for a moment
to be paralyzed, but shook it off-
whether by act of will, class or
race I do not know. Her wolf & I
made short work of it, and she
wisely beheaded it.
We regrouped
with Guerin, who was grateful for
our help but seemed in a hurry for
us to leave (probably so he could
begin Spiritual cleansing of the
place. Perhaps the luck will change
then. I almost forgot to give him
the light orb back It will be very
useful in his operations in the
underground chambers. Lathander
bless his endeavors, & of course his
his own diety. We rested and in the
early morning, I went through & used
my spells to clean the place. I
checked the odd blank spots in our
map, incl. all the walls surrounding
the spots W of the stairs, S of the
exquisite room & NE of the wine room.
No secret doors detected manually or
by spell. Also I checked for magic,
none detected save what we had
already found.
I gathered the following items:
The lock I had cut out
The small chest w/contact poison
Ghoul parts, (Head, hands, heart)
Electrowebs
Vial of acid from the ooze
Fire Beetle 'eye' glands & shell
Fire Beetle eggs
Mold Samples
Empty Wooden chest (/ghoul parts)
We began our journey back, & a
freak possibly unnatural storm
whipped up. The dwarf was hit
by a bolt of lightning, & we
ALL were hurt by HUGE hail.
The druid, previously hurt, was
knocked out. We healed her &
continued on.
We sadly found
a horse near it's dead master,
slain by a tree fallen by the
storm. A halfling - the horse
apparently a pack animal for
the poor fellow. A letter was
found on him, which I will
have to cast comp. languages on
when we arrive in town. As we
continued toward town we talked
about it & came to the theory
that the storm was due to the
anger of Auril, goddess of cold
& evil ... angered at the
reopening of another church in
the area. I would hate to think
of what would have happened if
this had occurred during HER
season ... Winter.
The question before us now, is where
to go next. I thought I heard the
monk express interest in the diety
of our dwarven friend. This did
surprise me, as I thought her a
follower of Athena. I heard talk
of going to visit the dwarf's
church. The druid, of course, has
her holy meeting to get to. As a
follower of a nature diety myself
I shall probably accompany her,
though of course, I am closer to
the dwarf in empathy. We will have
a few days while the new man makes
recovery from his injuries.
Notes:
Review Previous Notes
Dig a cold storage cellar
Clean the Cottage & Secure it
Secure the previously cleared sewer area
Check shopping list for travel
make sure a metal file/included
Search for info on the dragonette
Magic Bastard Sword for New Man
Previous Notes (review):
Make acid potions
Get Summoning materials
Pay Dues/Guild
