5 1/2 Hour Marathon Session
Players:
- Dog the Ranger of the Gnarley (Forest)
- Irving the Reluctant (Paladin of St. Cuthbert)
- TerryOr the Cleric of St. Cuthbert
- Dixon the Dwarven Fighter
- Oleg the Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief
- Slash the Bard (Absent)
NPCs:
- Zert the Hero
- Spugnior the Theurgist
Weather Conditions:
- Description: Freezing
- Temperature: 17.2°F to 36.3°F
- Wind: Moderate breeze (SW, 13-18 MPH)
- Precipitation: None
- Clouds: Mostly cloudy
Coldeven 11, 576 CY – Evening (Arrival in Nulb)
The party arrived in Nulb as the cold winds howled through its decrepit streets. Passing the infamous Waterside Hostel, they made their way to Mother Screng's Herb Shop. The shop, dimly lit and filled with the earthy scents of dried plants and roots, seemed an unlikely place for their mission.
TerryOr approached the elderly shopkeeper, who greeted him warmly but with a subtle glance that suggested caution. After closing the door, she spoke in hushed tones, revealing her true identity as Canoness Y'Dey from the temple of St. Cuthbert in Hommlet. On a covert mission to gather intelligence about the happenings at the Temple of Elemental Evil, she shared dire news: the enemy was amassing power within the temple. They had recovered a portion of the blasphemous Rod of Six Parts and were using it in a ritual to free the Elemental Evil trapped within its dungeons.
Y’Dey provided vital supplies, including herbs, healing poultices, and a few enhancements to their armor. She urged them to infiltrate the temple, recover the fragment of the rod, and thwart the cult's plans at any cost.
After thanking the Canoness, the group ventured to the Waterside Hostel for lodging. Paying 13 gold for a night’s stay, food, and stabling, they quickly found the establishment lived up to its rough reputation. Irving was pickpocketed during dinner, losing a small sum of gold, while Dog opted to sleep in the stables, unwilling to risk the dormitory’s safety. Those who stayed inside shared a cramped dorm room, setting watches throughout the night. Surprisingly, the evening passed without incident.
Coldeven 12, 576 CY – Morning (Heading to the Temple)
Temperature: 13.1°F to 34.6°F
Wind: Gentle breeze (W)(8-12 MPH | 7-10 KN)
Precipitation: None
Clouds: Mostly cloudy
The group departed Nulb, their breath forming clouds in the frigid morning air. The road leading to the Temple of Elemental Evil was bleak and foreboding.
[Box Text]
The road leading from Nulb to the Temple is rutted and spotted with rank weeds—thistles, burrs, thorns, nettles, etc. Some foot and animal traffic has been using the track, but it is not a busy thoroughfare. (Most traffic between these points avoids using the road, so as not to leave a discernable path.)
As you approach the Temple area, the vegetation is disconcerting—dead trees with a skeletal appearance, scrub growth twisted and unnaturally colored, all unhealthy and sickly looking or exceptionally robust and disgusting. The ruins of the Temple's outer works appear as dark and overgrown mounds of gray rubble and blackish weeds. Skulls and bones of humans and humanoids gleam white here and there amidst the weeds. A grove of some oddly stunted and unhealthy looking usk trees still grows along the northern end of the former Temple compound, and a stump of a tower juts up from the northeast corner of the shattered wall. The leprous gray Temple, however, stands intact, its arched buttresses somehow obscene with their growth of climbing vegetation.
Everything surrounding the place is disgusting. The myriad leering faces and twisting, contorted forms writhing and posturing on every face of the Temple seem to jape at the obscenities they depict. The growth in the compound is rank and noisome. Thorns clutch, burrs stick, and crushed stems either emit foul stench or raise angry weals on exposed flesh. Worst of all, however, is the pervading fear which seems to hang over the whole area — a smothering, clinging, almost tangible cloud of vileness and horror. Sounds seem distorted, either muffled and shrill or unnaturally loud and grating.
Your eyes play tricks. You see darting movements out of the corner of your eye, just at the edge of vision; but when you shift your gaze towards such, of course, there is nothing there at all. You cannot help but wonder who or what made the maze of narrow paths through the weedy courtyard. What sort of thing would wander here and there around the ghastly edifice of Evil without shrieking and gibbering and going completely mad? Yet the usual mundane sounds of your travel are accompanied only by the chorus of the winds, moaning through hundreds of Temple apertures built to sing like doomed souls given over to the tender mercies of demonkind, echoed by macabre croaks from the scattered flapping, hopping, leering ravens.
There is no doubt; you have come to a place of ineffable Evil. Still, it is most certainly a place for high adventure and untold treasures. It is time to ready spells, draw weapons, check equipment, and set forth into the maze of peril that awaits you.
[End Box Text]
As they neared the perimeter, Dog discovered tracks leading in two directions: one set of human footprints heading north toward the grove of usk trees and a second, more irregular set leading toward the temple itself. Dog scouted north, only to stumble upon a bandit patrol. Crossbow bolts whizzed past as a skirmish broke out.
The adventurers pressed on, determined to clear the tower and secure a foothold. Inside, they found stores of treasure, traps, and signs of past occupants. Among the loot were enchanted weapons, potions, and valuables. They decided to fortify the tower as a temporary refuge.
During the night, TerryOr was ambushed by a drelb, its spectral touch nearly overwhelming him. The group rallied to destroy the creature but was left shaken by its malevolent power. On the final watch, Irving spotted a rock reptile scaling the tower’s exterior. He fired a shot, sending the creature fleeing into the darkness.
With dawn breaking, the group readied themselves for the dangers that awaited within the temple.
Treasure:
The iron chest is trapped with poison needles, Inside are:
Large pouch with a leather strap for shoulder slinging, containing 50 tiny pearls (base 10 gp each)
Short bow +1 and quiver with nine arrows + 1
Locked bronze coffer containing three potions: speed, extra healing, and water breathing)
Locked iron box, containing 800 gp
A horse is a horse of course unless it is the famous Mr. Ed. RIP Paladin's Horse.
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