| DM | The gates open when you
push on them. The hinges have been well oiled so they do not creak. There is
no evidence of a locking system.
Inside is a large courtyard. It is roughly 80 by 80 feet and contains several
small buildings. There are four small sheds on each of the east and west
sides. There are also two buildings in the SE and SW corners. These are topped
with the domes which you could see from outside. At the north end, a set of
steps rises to a large wooden door which allows entry into the hillside. The
bulk of the courtyard is taken up with a large pool of extremely murky water.
There is no sign of anyone. |
| Dreylin | [Whispers] Gosh it's quiet around here, I wonder where
everyone is. |
| Berillia | [Turns
round and quietly closes the doors behind the party, so as to not give any
indication that we're here] |
| Narond | If there is
anyone here I would guess them to be through the main door into the hillside.
Let's check out these sheds to see what they are. [Takes another look
around the courtyard] |
| DM | The sheds are just under
10 feet wide and are a similar height. There are no windows that you can see,
only one small door into each shed. They are made of wood and look as if they
are not very old. The gap between each shed is too small to get down. There
are 8 sheds in total, four on each side. |
| Dreylin | [Wanders
across the courtyard to have a look at the pool] |
| DM | The pool has a raised
edge, about 8 inches high. It is carved, much like the rest of the stonework.
The water looks putrid and is almost glossy black in colour. |
| Dreylin | [Dips the end
of his club into the 'water', gives it a bit of a stir, and then removes it to
get a closer look...] |
| DM | As the ripples from your
club die, the surface of the pool shimmers. It begins to bulge in the center,
stretching into a thin tentacle of water, nearly 10 feet high. The features of
a snake begin to form on the tentacle. |
| Dreylin | [Slowly backs
away from the edge of the pool] Um, guys, this thing looks nasty...
[Drops his club, and readies his axe] |
| Shianara | [Quickly
readies an arrow and moves into an appropriate corner the furthest distance
from the pool]
Anyone have a good idea of what that is? Some water spirit? |
| DM | None of you have seen
anything like it before. |
| Narond | [Roots around
in his pack for an oil flask, remembering that oil always made interesting
slicks when poured into water, ready to throw it into the pool (in the hope
that whatever the water creature is...it won't like the oil)] |
| DM | The tentacle of water is
now an almost perfect carving of a very big snake. Even the rippling scales
look convincing. After a moment, it turns its head and gazes down at Dreylin.
|
| Dreylin | Eeep! |
| Narond | Nasty...
|
| DM | Suddenly, with the speed
of a snake, it lunges for him. The fangs close just about where his shoulder
would have been had he not jumped out of the way with surprising dexterity.
Shianara, who already had an arrow nocked and ready, looses the shaft. It
flies true, passes straight through the snake's body, and buries itself in a
shed door. The snake doesn't appear to notice! |
| Dreylin | [Continues to
back away slowly] Obviously sharp things will have little effect on this
beastie's body, but maybe the head is different... I hope! Otherwise, I
suggest we try to splash the water as much as possible - try to disperse its
body somehow. |
| Narond | We would probably
have to splash a large amount of the pool's stagnant water about to get enough
of an effect I would imagine. I was kind of hoping the creature would not like
the oil if it was thrown into the water. |
| Shianara | Just out of
interest, that arrow was not magical; I guess people are using magical weapons
if they have them, but let's at least try with one first. No-one has any
enchanted arrows?
[Considers trying to lassoo the creature with some of his
rope] |
| Narond | Hey Dreylin, you
are rather nimble and that... do you fancy trying out my idea? I can try and
attract its attention. |
| Dreylin | Well since I
already have its attention, why don't I continue to 'distract' it while
someone else tries your plan...
[Stops backing away from the pool] |
| Narond | Fair enough, you
keep distracting it, while I throw.
[Attempts to throw a flask of oil into the pool, making sure it will break
open on arrival] |
| DM | As the water snake rears
up from striking at Dreylin it notices Narond approaching. Swinging its body
round it stares down at him. Dreylin takes this opportunity to swing his axe
with all his might. The axe strikes (as planned) side on, causing a huge
splash of black water, most of which lands on Dreylin.
The snake rears up again and swings back towards Dreylin. You notice that the
area which was hit is having trouble re-coagulating.
Taking the opportunity, Shianara throws his makeshift lassoo. Sadly it's a
little too makeshift and dissolves in flight into... well... a piece of rope.
It lands with a wet splash somewhere near the snake.
Fixing the unfortunate Hin with a baleful stare the snake lashes down towards
him. Dreylin's not fast enough this time and is grabbed in the teeth of the
snake. It lifts him clear from the ground and begins to sink into the water.
Dreylin, with great presence of mind, fights himself free and falls back to
the paving stones.
Finally Narond, having recovered from the snake taking an interest in him,
throws his bottle of oil. It arcs high in the air, spraying oil and lands in
the water where thick liquid spreads over the pool's surface. The snake takes
no notice. |
| Berillia | Magical
weapons, or blunt weapons? Either way... [Lifts her hammer] |
| Shianara | Dreylin: your
axe is magical? |
| Dreylin | Nope, well not
as far as I know! I just thought that the way to damage this thing would be to
splash as much water out of it as possible, so I hit it with the side of my
axe, and not the edge - maximum surface area to displace as much water as
possible!
Light the oil, we may be able to boil away some of the water! |
| Shianara | That, or else
we'll have a flaming snake trying to grab us...
[Prepares to lassoo the snake once more] |
| Narond | Oh what the hell,
if it has no effect then we wait till the oil has completely burnt.
[Attempts to get the oil alight] |
| Shianara | Well if
you're definitely going to light it, then I won't try and lassoo it!
[Readies his sword] |
| DM | Shianara, abandoning his
lassoo, runs towards the snake, swinging his sword wildly. Incredibly he hits
the lower part of its neck, but the sword slices through without leaving any
mark. The snake continues its persecution of the hapless Dreylin.
Running to join her friends, Leanna attacks the snake from Dreylin's far
side. Swinging her makeshift club, she splashes herself, Dreylin and Shianara
with oily black water. Again the snake seems to have trouble repairing the
damage.
Berillia now brings her hammer to bear on the writhing neck of the creature.
Sadly, it slips out of the way before she can hit it.
Dreylin picks himself up off the floor and readies his axe for the next pass
of the snake.
Habib, now joining the fray, swings his club upwards over the heads of the
rest of the party. With a loud splash, the club gouges out a portion of the
creature. It backs away as if hurt.
Finally managing to get his tinderbox working under such conditions, Narond
throws a burning taper into the oily water. There is a loud woosh as the
entire pond is set alight, including the snake. It seems totally oblivious of
the fact.
Recovering from Habib's frenzied attack, the snake launches itself once more
towards Dreylin. The giant teeth close on the shoulder of Dreylin's cloak and
the burning snake heaves him up into the air. At this point the oily water
which covers the Hin catches alight. Before he can be seriously hurt by the
flames, he is dropped into the black water where he dissappears under its dark
surface. |
| Shianara | Right, what
now? Anybody got a long staff we could put in the water to see how deep it is?
That and find out where Dreylin is. Ideally not Narond's one, since we don't
know what that `water` really is - or what else is in it! |
| Dreylin | Glub! |
| Shianara | [Runs over
to Narond] |
| Narond | [Runs to the
pool] Cover me guys.
[Attempts to poke around in the water for Dreylin, all the while ready to
fend off an attack from the snake thing]
Dreylin... Dreylin, grab onto the staff. |
| DM | Berillia, deciding that
the greatest danger is the snake, continues her attack. She clips the snake
with the corner of her hammer, causing a small splash to erupt. Fortunately
she does not make contact with the flames.
As she doesn this, Shianara rushes over to Narond to help him with his staff.
Habib, having made such a devastating attack previously, continues. Once
again, he strikes hard, creating an enormous plume of flaming water with his
(slightly singed) club.
In response, the snake makes a dive for Habib. It grabs him by the upper body
and drops him into the dark water. He does not surface.
Stunned by what has just happened, Leanna totally misses the snake as it
turns towards its next victim.
Finally getting themselves in order, Narond and Shianara swing their staff
into the burning water and swirl it around. It makes contact with something
but it doesn't grab on. |
| Berillia | [Looks a
little pissed off with the snake, and tries once again to wallop it
one] |
| Shianara | Er
suggestions?! |
| Narond | You keep hitting
it, I'll keep trying to get the others out.
[Attempts to heave whatever is pulling on his staff, and hopes he has the
strength for it...] |
| Shianara | [Leaves the
staff to Narond, thinking that there'll be no-one left to pull people out if
it's not dispatched quickly enough, and attempts to twat the snake with the
side of his sword from the other side of the pool] |
| DM | Berillia rushes the
snake with her hammer but fails in any way to hit it. Narond, ducking
Berillia's wild flailings, pulls as hard as he can on the staff. Fortunately
for him, it's Dreylin on the other end. Thus, with some straining he lifts him
from the water's grasp.
Dreylin (in an amazing feat of dexterity) manages to leap clear of the pool
before he gets burned by the oil. He lands on his feet, axe at the ready.
Shianara now rushes the snake which is snapping at Berillia. Sadly, he rushes
into the poolside and collapses in a heap of armour.
Finally, Leanna, noticing that the snake seems to be having a lot of trouble
holding itself together, stands on the edge of the pool waving her hands. The
snake dives for her and, at the last moment, she leaps aside, cracking its
head with her club.
The head dissolves into a torrent of flaming oil and water, and the body soon
follows. The entire snake shape collapses completely in a matter of seconds.
|
| Dreylin | Wow, thanks
guys! I thought I was a goner there! |
| Narond | [Puffs and
pants] Anyone want to give pulling Habib out a go, I ain't strong and
Habib is bigger than Dreylin, so...
[Gets ready to give his staff to a willing volunteer] |
| Berillia | [Willingly
volunteers, and begins to poke around in the water] |
| Dreylin | [Dashes to
Narond and hugs him] |
| Narond | [Disentangles
himself from Dreylin's embrace, blushing] |
| Dreylin | Thank you for
pulling me out of there, but now we need to do the same for Habib. I know
roughly where he is, if a couple of us work together with a club and your
staff, we should be able to get him out OK. Berillia, if you help me with
Narond's staff, and Shianara and Leanna use something else together.
[Walks over to Berillia and directs her as to approximately where to
poke] |
| Narond | [Sits down to
catch his breath] I should really get a bit fitter... |
| DM | You poke around with the
staff. No luck I'm afraid. |
| Shianara | Carry on...
|
| DM | You poke around with the
staff in the pool. Something catches hold. |
| Dreylin | Got something,
now let's all pull together! |
| DM | Habib is pulled free of
the pool and (with a little help) clears the flames without being too badly
singed. |
| Habib | [Lies by the pool
and coughs] |
| DM | As the last of the oil
is burned the flames die away.
You can now see that the pool is gradually fading from its deep black colour.
Over the next couple of minutes it returns to the colour of (fairly) clean
water. You can see the bottom now (about 15 feet down). It is sand and mud.
There are no entrances visible. You can just make out a small chest lying in
the sand. |
| Berillia | [Examines
various people's injuries] |
| DM | The burns are
superficial and only require a bit of cream and a bandage. You do your best on
the bites. |
| Shianara | So, do we
take a look at the chest now, or come back for it later? Anyone fancy a quick
dive?!
Those sheds look interesting too. |
| Dreylin | Well I could do
with a wash, I'll have a look. |
| DM | Dreylin removes his
armour and swims to the bottom of the pool. He emerges 30 seconds later
clutching a small wooden chest with rusting straps.
As he puts his armour back on, Shianara opens the chest. Inside is 80 GP (in
a variety of coins). |
| Dreylin | [Shakes
himself dry and puts his clothes back on]
Thank you, Berillia, what with your ministrations and a fine swim, I'm
feeling better than ever. [Retrieves his club] So, where to next?
|
| Shianara | Unlocked
sheds? |
| Narond | Sounds like a
plan... Let's go. |
| Dreylin | They're not
very big these sheds, are they?. I suggest we split into two groups to speed
up the search. How about the same groups as at the shrine? Myself, Habib and
Shianara will take the west, and that leaves you, Narond, Leanna and Berillia
the east. How does that sound? |
| Narond | [Walks to the
east side and lets Leanna open the first shed door] |
| DM | You open the first
eastern shed. It's a small room, 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. The wooden
floorboards are mainly bare, although there are some sacks marked 'grain'
piled in one corner. |
| Narond | [Starts looking
around the shed] |
| DM | The sacks contain some
rather old looking grain. You move on, waving at Dreylin moving to the next
shed on the other side.
In the second shed is a small flour mill. It consists of two stones, the
upper of which is turned by a large handle. Aside from that, it is empty.
|
| Narond | [Fails to
resist the temptation to turn the flour mill...]
Well there ain't much here either. Next... |
| DM | Once again you see the
other party as you file towards the third shed.
The wooden building is empty, although the walls are lined with shelves. On
the floor near the door two large brown snakes are wrapped around one another.
As you enter, one of them raises its head. It spits at Leanna's face but
misses as she turns aside. Its mate raises itself to strike. |
| Narond | [Attempts to
beat one of the snakes around the head with his quarterstaff] |
| Berillia | [Goes for
the other one] |
| DM | As Berillia swings for
the second snake it darts for her arm. It sinks its teeth into her flesh but
she shakes it off before it could inject any poison. The snake's attack puts
her off balance so she does not manage to hit it.
Leanna, on the other hand, reacts well to the first snake's failed attack and
smashes it with her club. Its skull is crushed instantly.
Narond, now having no snake to attack turns his attention to the other one,
but does not have time to hit it. |
| Berillia | [Attempts
to righteously twat the remaining snake] |
| DM | Narond swings with his
quarterstaff but, in his haste, misses the serpent's body. However, in
avoiding the wooden weapon, it strays into the path of Berillia's hammer,
making rather a mess of the lovely wooden floor.
With the snakes dead, the place calms down a bit. You can hear the others
searching the shed next to you. |
| Berillia | Well, shall
we have a look round? [Has a look round] |
| Narond | [Joins Berillia
in the looking around of the shed] |
| DM | Basically speaking, the
place is empty of interest.
You all leave your respective sheds, meeting in the northwestern corner of
the courtyard. |
| Dreylin | So, anything
interesting in your sheds, 'cos there weren't much in ours. |
| Narond | A couple of
snakes which now look very flat on account of Berillia and Leanna hitting
them. Other than that, nothing. Shall we look in the two buildings in the
southwest corners?
[Looks in the direction of said buildings in an attempt to work out what
they might be] |
| Berillia | [Bandages
her wounds] |
| DM | You don't have much clue
really. They're fairly squat with domes on the top. Maybe ceremonial?
|
| Narond | Let's go for the
nearest one. |
| DM | You open the door and
enter the room in the south-east corner.
It is an octagonal room, 30 feet in diameter. The floor is stone, although it
is fairly dirty. Towards the south-east edge of the room is a pedestal with a
statue on it. It is an old man with a strong expression and a long beard. The
room appears empty. |
| Shianara | I don't
suppose this looks like the statue you saw in the shrine? |
| Dreylin | [Wanders over
to have a closer look at the pedestal and statue] |
| Narond | [Joins Dreylin
next to the statue] |
| Leanna | [Wanders in the
direction of the statue in a not-particularly-interested way] |
| DM | The statue's big. It's
about 15 feet high and 10 feet across the bottom. It is indeed the same statue
as before, just bigger. |
| Dreylin | [Wanders once
aound the statue] Handsome chap, isn't he. Shall we leave him and see
what's on the other side? |
| Shianara | Sounds good.
It's not as if we've found anyone yet. |
| Narond | True, true, and
it ain't as if we haven't seen this statue before either. Let's move.
|
| Leanna | [Considers
tweaking its nose briefly, but then decides she doesn't want a weird chappie
sharing her existence for another adventure and makes a move towards the door
too] |
| DM | You cross the courtyard
to the other domed building.
Opening the door you find that it is basically identical to the first one,
with just one small exception.
This one has five people in. They are dressed in robes of a red-brown so deep
as to be almost purple. Each of them carries a medium sized sword. They look
very slightly confused and move in an odd way. You can't really put your
finger on what they're doing wrong. It just adds up that way. |
| Leanna | [Muses]
They look like they're under the influence of whatever it is...
[Hefts a club-style thang] |
| DM | They look at you in
surprise for a moment and then run at you, swinging their swords. |
| Dreylin | [Readies his
club and steps forward]
Let's beat some sense into them... in the nicest possible way, of course.
[Grins] |
| Shianara | Can you try
and close the door instead? Might be easier, at least for a while. |
| Dreylin | They may be
being controlled, but I think they'll probably still be able to open a door...
|
| Leanna | And, being clever
adventurers, we'll have filed into the room before thinking about what's in
there... |
| Shianara | We don't want
to bash them, no? So is it possible to shut/lock/jam the door? |
| Leanna | If it is, I
agree, however, we did bring the clubs and the rope for a reason, O Elf.
|
| Narond | Spellcasting...
S... L... E... E... P... |
| DM | As you gently barge
through the door, Narond whispers to you all to close your eyes NOW.
Fortunately you all comply. Through your eyelids you are aware of a flash of
light which leaves little squiggley patterns on your retina. Opening them
again, you find that the five people are now piled around the room having
quite blatantly lost consciousness. |
| Dreylin | Gosh, that
worked well, congratulations there, Narond. Time to tie them all up and search
them, methinks. |
| DM | You do so.
The robes have no pockets.
Aside from what they are wearing and their weapons, the Siswa are empty
handed. |
| Narond | Well, now that we
have them here and tied up, shall we attempt to wake one of them and see if we
can get any info from them, and if they are still under the spell or not.
[Looks rather pleased with himself] |
| Dreylin | [Selects a
smallish Siswa and shakes him] |
| Siswa | [Wakes up,
struggles briefly, then looks at Dreylin]
Defilers! You shall not sully the temple grounds. |
| Dreylin | [Looks
affronted]
What are you talking about? We haven't defiled anything. We were just
defending ourselves. |
| Leanna | [Smirks
unobtrusively at the Siswa] |
| Narond | [Turns his
attention to the Siswa] So whose temple do you claim we have violated?
|
| Siswa | This one. The
temple of Elyas and the Siswa. Rahib said that none should enter and that any
who do are defilers and... and... should be destroyed.
[Looks decidedly uncomfortable with that last statement] |
| Dreylin | So this Rahib,
he's your leader? |
| Siswa | Yes, that's right.
At least, he is now. He is the one true leader of our order. I remember that.
[Nods confidently] |
| Dreylin | So he's only
taken over recently then? |
| Siswa | Erm... I don't
know. I think so, or maybe he's always been the true leader. I... can't
remember. |
| Narond | How long has your
memory not been its usual self? |
| Siswa | Is it not?
[Looks confused] |
| Leanna | You do seem a
little hazy about a few things... are you feeling quite alright? Here, have a
little water...
[Proffers her canteen, feels his brow and looks at his eyes]
And Rahib is saying that you should destroy any defilers... I guess he's
getting that from Elyas' scriptures, is he? |
| Siswa | He must be. He
reads a lot of them in his personal chambers. |
| Narond | Haven't you read
Elyas' scriptures? You should have... |
| Siswa | Not all of them.
The library is huge. And besides, it's not really scriptures, more a
collection of writings about life, the world, magic and so on.
[Seems clearer on this] |
| Leanna | Yeah, they're
very enlightening, so I've heard... does Rahib read anything else in his
personal chambers, do you know? Any light relief, novellas about kidnapping
young women or anything like that? |
| Siswa | We are not allowed
in Rahib's personal chambers. Not since he deposed the previous abbot.
|
| Leanna | And what
do you guys get up to all day? Is it typical to lie in wait for gentle
travellers like ourselves and wave swords? Or do you mostly read and meditate?
Can you remember who any of the leaders have been before Rahib? I
assume there's a proud history of Siswa going back for generations, and Rahib
can't be that old... |
| Dreylin | [Puts a hand
on Leanna's arm] You do appear to be rather pestering the poor chap,
there's very little point reeling off a string of questions if you never give
him a chance to answer any of them! It's unlikely to help his confusion
either! |
| Leanna | [Smiles
wanly] Yes, yes, I'm sorry, you know me, just chattering away... I'm sure
I wasn't trying to make him any more confused.
Just take your time now, my dear fellow, I'm sure there's a logical
explanation for everything.
[Wanders around the room to see if there's anything else of interest even
though she knows there isn't, muttering very quietly to herself about mind
control and cults] |
| Siswa | We are a peaceful
order, dedicated to knowledge and withdrawing ourselves from the world. Rahib
says that those who invade our privacy want to force us to abandon our ways
and should be punished. |
| Dreylin | [Frowns]
So to stop others forcing you to abandon your peaceful ways, you abandon your
peaceful ways and attack them...? |
| Narond | My... Logic of
the highest order there. Works for me... honest. |
| Siswa | [Frowns then
smiles faintly] What an interesting question. Perhaps it is a zen issue,
as the orders from Sind claim. I would have to ask Rahib.
The old abbot was a good man. But now he's gone. He left because Rahib was
the one true leader. [Frowns again] |
| Narond | How did you know
Rahib was the one true leader? And do you happen to know where the old Abbot
went to. Sounds like we would like a chat with him. |
| Siswa | [Looks at you as
if you're mad]
He said so. Rahib is our friend and leader. The old abbot didn't believe, so
he went somewhere. [Frowns again]
I remeber Rahib arriving surrounded by blue light during one of our
ceremonies. [Smiles] |
| Narond | A blue light...
and this signified something did it. |
| Siswa | Not really, we
just rather liked it. |
| Narond | Speaking of
which, how did you find my purple flash of light? |
| Leanna | Do you mean to
suggest the blue light wasn't confirmation enough, Narond? Surely everyone
knows about that... |
| Siswa | During the
ceremony of passing, 12 days ago. [His eyes become vague again] Or was
that something else? |
| Narond | So what is this
ceremony of passing then? |
| Siswa | It is a ceremony
to celebrate the passing of the year. It is year end soon you know. |
| Dreylin | [Sighs and
turns an exasperated look on Narond]
My, you prattle even more than Leanna, it's a wonder you two can ever hold a
conversation! This poor chap is confused enough as it is, and doesn't need you
firing off questions at him, Oh and while we're on the subject; Yes, it was a
very spectacular and useful spell - does your ego need any more massaging?
|
| Narond | [Whispers
something to Dreylin] |
| Dreylin | [Whispers
back to Narond]
Well, I think we've learnt just about all we can from this bloke - unless he
fancies pointing us in the direction of this Rahib chappy? It's pretty clear
that they've all been enchanted into trusting Rahib, and that only the Abbot
resisted, and was disposed of - hopefully, just locked up somewhere. I also
wonder whether the timing is just coincidence, or whether there's a time
schedule we don't know about... |
| Leanna | Should we nick
their cloaks and wander about as if we're under the influence of something? If
they fit, of course. |
| DM | There are only five of
them. They will fit all except for Dreylin. |
| Leanna | So what do people
think then? We could all dress up except for Dreylin... |
| Narond | You like dressing
up my dear? [Smiles mischievously at Leanna]
Sounds like a good idea to me. |
| Leanna | [Bounces up and
down in Manga fashion] Can we dress up now? |
| Dreylin | [Sighs] |
| DM | You gag the man and take
his clothes. |
| Habib | [Starts to look
stony-faced and irritated] |
| Narond | [Looks at
Leanna's enthusiasm, raises an eyebrow, then attempts to get the clothes of a
blokey and put them on] |
| DM | OK, you're now all
wearing robes except for Dreylin. They fit pretty well, although they're a bit
bulky on the armoured people.
You leave 5 naked Siswa behind, only one conscious. |
| Dreylin | So shall I hide
in the midst of the rest of you, lurk at the back, or just sneak away on my
own - I can be quite unobtrusive when I want to be... |
| Narond | To start with I
would say lurk in the midst of us. We can then use you as our secret weapon...
[Grins] but being ready to do any of the others when the situation
warrants it.
Let's check out the room in the other corner. |
| DM | Hmmm, don't know how to
tell you this but you've already been there. It had a big statue in and was
empty. Then you went to the other one and found the 5 Siswa, all come flooding
back? |
| Narond | [Remembers]
Right then, into the temple we go. |
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