| DM | It is a large room
roughly thirty feet north-south and twenty feet east-west with an alcove in
the middle of the east wall.
It is richly decorated with beautiful carpets and rugs. Several very
expensive tapestries hang from the walls but the lighting is not sufficient to
make out all the detail.
The room is lit by some candles which stand on various tables and dressers.
In the alcove you can make out the shape of a large four poster bed. Two dark
shapes are moving on its surface. As you reach the centre of the room they fly
towards you and resolve themselves into two very large black cats. |
| Leanna | [Swipes at the
nearest cat with her sword] |
| Berillia | [Narrows
eyes at the sight of cats, and swipes at one] |
| DM | As the first cat leaps
for Narond, he takes a swipe at it but misses. He ducks the oncoming feline
and spins round as it lands behind him.
The second cat lands next to Berillia who swings towards it. The cat, howver,
has other ideas and claws a nasty gouge in her leg. Berillia falls back in
pain.
In response, Leanna fetches the cat a nasty blow accross the haunch.
|
| Dreylin | [Tries to hit
the nearest cat with his axe] |
| DM | As the wounded cat leaps
toward Leanna she spins and fetches it a sharp blow accross the back. It falls
in a heap and is it hit in the temple by a stone from Berillia's sling. It
collapses.
The second cat rushes toward Narond but he strikes it hard with his staff and
it backs away, growling.
Nobody else manages to do anything. Then, swinging a sword, merrily, Leanna
dispaches the remaining cat. |
| Narond | [Looks round
the room] |
| DM | The room is a nicely
decorated bedroom, lit with candles. It is thirty feet north-south and twenty
feet east-west. On the east wall is an alcove about ten feet square. It is
entirely filled by a beautiful and slightly rumpled four-post bed.
On the floor are the corpses of two large black cats.
In the middle of the west wall is a set of double doors. |
| Leanna | [Looks around
and underneath the bed] |
| DM | There's nothing under
the bed.
There are a few clothes lying around. Also a jug of water and a chamberpot.
Basically, it's a nice bedroom. |
| Leanna | Guess we might as
well dive on through those doors then... |
| DM | You find yourself back
in the hall. It is 10 feet north-south by 20 feet east-west. Double doors
stand at the east end (the bedroom) and west end (the room you first got to on
this level of the temple).
Single doors stand in the north wall (the library) and south wall. |
| Leanna | South then?
|
| DM | You head through the
south door.
You are in a room which is 20 feet square. There is a 10 foot square alcove
in the south half of the east wall. The room is nicely carpeted with pictures
on some of the walls.
In the centre of the room is a desk and chair. The desk is covered in papers
and drawings. There are pictures of Rahasia and another girl. There are also
drawings of Merisa and the surrounding regions. Areas of good cover and routes
to the stream have been marked out.
There are also some papers on the history of the temple of the Siswa. Most
mention Elyas but there is not much new information. |
| Leanna | Let's take one of
the maps of the immediate surrounds with us in case we need to think about or
prove Catherine O' Damus's plans later... [Does so] |
| Narond | [Has a look at
the maps and the details of the temple] |
| DM | There's nothing greatly
helpful. There's a map of the outside of the temple, but you already know what
that looks like. Mostly, it's pictures of the surroundings. |
| Narond | [Wanders over
to have a look in the alcove] |
| DM | There's a bookcase on
the north wall. It's not really very full. There's a couple of scrolls and
some papers, but none of them are very interesting (Tax returns for the
temple, that sort of thing). |
| Leanna | Fascinating...
|
| DM | There are also a couple
of torches in holders, providing light. |
| Narond | Well, there is
not that much here in this room. Shall we go back to the octagonal room and
take the south door in there? |
| Shianara | [Has a
search of the room] |
| DM | Shianara fiddles with
one of the torch brackets in the alcove and the bookcase swings away, opening
into the bedroom again.
Finding nothing new, you move back though the hall to the large octagonal
room you entered first on this level. You open the double doors to the south
and step through.
Inside is a room 10 feet north-south by 30 east-west. There is a second set
of double doors in the south wall.
Four rough looking men are lounging around the room. They are in armour and
carry weapons.
One of them looks up at you. |
| Man | What are you doing
here? Siswa aren't allowed on this level. You know that. Get out, now.
|
| Dreylin | [Grins]
Of course we know that you fool, Rahib's just finished briefing us on the
whole setup here. We've been employed as added protection for the temple. In
case you didn't hear, some band of wandering fools broke in not long ago so
Rahib's beefing up security... and we're the beef. |
| Man | [Looks at the
party for a couple of seconds]
Bollocks you are. [Draws his sword] |
| DM | The other three follow
suit. |
| Leanna | [Also follows
suit (...which is a shame as she'd been wanting to trump it. If only he'd
played a club.)] |
| DM | Seizing the initiative,
Berillia runs towards one of the mercenaries, swinging her hammer wildly. The
mercenary attempts to duck but makes a total hash of the move. The hammer
connects sharply with his neck and he flies into the wall. Judging from the
position he falls into, he won't be getting up.
Habib rushes into combat with another of the men. The sound of scraping metal
follows as they parry each other's blows. Neither man notices when Narond's
dagger goes sailing over their heads.
Leanna is rushed by one of the mercenaries but he mis-times his parry and
runs straight onto her sword, neatly skewering himself.
The man who spoke makes a desperate run and tries to stab Leanna in the side.
However, he is tripped up by Dreylin's axe coming the other way. With a
sickening sound he collapses in a whimpering heap.
The mercenary fighting Habib drops his weapon. |
| Mercenary | I give in. Can
I aid my comrade? |
| Narond | Fine by me,
provided he gives up his weapons and promises to leave immediately. |
| Mercenary | Thank you.
|
| DM | He rushes over to his
friend and pulls a small vial from a pocket. The fallen mercenary takes a long
draught, emptying the vial. In the course of a few moments, his leg looks
better and he drags himself to his feet.
He limps towards the door, followed by his friend who stops and turns.
Fishing in a pocket he pulls out a key and throws it to Narond. |
| Mercenary | The prisoners
are through there. [Points at the double doors in the south
wall] |
| DM | The two leave. |
| Leanna | Great, thanks -
don't suppose you've got any more of those vials have you? |
| DM | They're already gone.
|
| Dreylin | Why are we
letting them leave? [Puzzled] |
| Narond | [Catches the
key] Because they are paid help... not necessarily our enemies once they
realise things are bad for them. |
| Berillia | [Muses
whether word will get around that we're nice to people who surrender to us,
thus encouraging them to do so] |
| Narond | We should go see
and free the prisoners. [Heads south] |
| Berillia | [Follows
Narond cautiously] |
| DM | You find yourself in a
long east-west corridor. At both ends and all along the north wall are doors
with small windows in the front. |
| Narond | [Goes and has a
peer through the windows] |
| Dreylin | [Doesn't, on
the grounds of being too short, and goes back to loot the bodies
instead] |
| DM | Dreylin returns as
Narond peers through the windows of the cells. Using the keys he unlocks three
of them.
Three men exit from the cells. You don't recognise two of them but the other
is Marton, the man who you first met at the village. |
| Marton | You found us! I
was beginning to think you'd been killed.
[Points to the other two men] |
| DM | One is a young man not
yet twenty, the other a man in his middle years. |
| Marton | These are Hassen
and Gerard. Rahasia's brother and father. They disappeared a few days ago
after the Siswa tried to take Rahasia. Have you found her? We were returning
from showing you the way in when a group of men attacked us at the shrine by
the road. I was knocked out and woke up here. I don't know if Rahasia escaped.
|
| Narond | No, we have not
yet found Rahasia as yet. Were you attacked by the Siswa? And did you meet the
man in charge around here? |
| Marton | Not just Siswa,
there were men in armour too. I only woke up a little while ago and haven't
seen anybody. |
| DM | The older man steps
forward. |
| Gerard | There was a man
in dark robes who was there when we were captured but we haven't seen him
since. |
| Leanna | Sounds like
Rahib/Catharandamus.
Well, what do you want to do now? We can tell you the way out if you like, or
alternatively, you could join up with us and help find Rahasia... we
conveniently have 3 spare swords in the room next door... [Smiles
sweetly] |
| Gerard | [Speaking for
all of them] We're with you. |
| DM | You head north and pick
up some swords. |
| Leanna | Excellent, the
more the merrier. I think there's only one direction we haven't tried yet?
West from the octagonal room? |
| Narond | Yes, the more of
us that there are, the less likely anyone will try anything on. Let's go to
where we haven't been yet then. |
| Shianara | I imagine
that getting these guys in Siswa robes wouldn't be a bad idea though. But
other than that, let us follow Leanna. |
| Leanna | I think that now
we're out of Siswa-controlled areas the robes aren't much of a disguise
anyway. Force of numbers will be more of an advantage now. |
| DM | You head north into the
octagonal room and then west through the double doors.
The doors open onto a corridor about 20 feet long. There are doors on both
the north and south walls. Following the corridor you find that it opens out
onto another octagonal room at its far end. The room is sparsely decorated.
There are alcoves in the north and south walls of the room. A large gong hangs
on the western wall. |
| Dreylin | ...Can't...
resist... must... hit... gong...
[Wanders across the room to see if there's something to hit the gong
with] |
| DM | There isn't. The gong is
beaterless. |
| Dreylin | [Uses the
time-honoured technique and "tings" it with a finger] |
| DM | 'Ting'. |
| Berillia | Aha! It's a
Ting gong! |
| Leanna | [Has a look in
the alcoves (north then south)] |
| DM | The north alcove is
empty.
Leanna steps into the southern alcove and vanishes in a flash of light.
|
| Leanna | I love it when a
plan comes together. |
| DM | There is a flash of
light. When your sight clears you see that Leanna is standing in the north
alcove, sword drawn. |
| Leanna | Shazam! |
| DM | 'BOOOOONNNNGGGGGG'.
The gong has rung.
Very loudly. |
| Dreylin | [Covers his
ears] Ow. |
| Narond | Errrr, what
happened just there, and why did you make the bell gong? |
| Leanna | I've been to the
shrine that we saw outside the temple and back courtesy of this handy
teleportation device.
You rang, sir? [Grins madly] |
| Dreylin | [Shakes his
head to dislodge the ringing in his ears]
Shall we go through the north door then?" [Heads towards it] |
| DM | Dreylin opens the north
door.
It opens outwards, and behind it you find a barrier, glowing a translucent
blue. You can make out some details in the room beyond. It seems square with a
table and some objects near the far end. The shape of a person is also
visible, standing behind the table holding what may be a crossbow.
An old man's voice comes from beyond the barrier. |
| Man | Rahib, is that you?
Get away. You can't get in. |
| Dreylin | [Grins] I
hate to be obvious, but unless the Rahib you're referring to is a lot shorter
than the Rahib we've just met, I think it may be clear even through this,
[Gingerly pokes the barrier] that I'm not him.
Dreylin Willowbark at your service. [Bows] Would you happen to be the
Abbot? |
| Abbot | Ah! Yes! You are a
bit shorter aren't you? |
| DM | He shuffles towards the
door. You can make out more of his features now. He is an old man with barely
any hair left.
He still sounds suspicious. |
| Abbot | I am the abbot,
yes. And, apart from being Dreylat Swallowbin, who are you? |
| Dreylin | [Slowly]
Dreylin Willowbark.
We were asked by these gentlemen, [Indicates Marton and the other two]
to investigate the disappearance of a girl from a nearby village. The evidence
pointed towards your temple, so here we are... Rahib's run off by the way,
took a dislike to us last time we met, I think.
[Looks thoughtful] Can't think why... oh yes, we foiled his Evil
Scheme[tm] didn't we? [Looks to the others for confirmation] |
| Narond | We certainly did
there. So what are you doing here behind this barrier? |
| Abbot | Hmm. |
| DM | The shape beyond the
door shuffles over to what might be a table and touches something. Gradually
the blue barrier fades away.
The room is revealed to be a sparsely decorated store-room. There is a rig on
the floor which has clearly been used to sleep in and a door in the far
corner.
The abbot has now turned to point his crossbow at you again. At this point he
spots the three men from the village. |
| Abbot | Gentlemen. I take
it they tell the truth? |
| Gerard | [Nods in
agreement] |
| Abbot | [Slowly lowers
the crossbow] Come in. |
| DM | Inside the room, the
abbot sits on a box while the rest of you stand. |
| Abbot | My name is Radulf,
abbot of this order. Or at least I was until some days ago. I'm not sure how
long. We were in the middle of a service of meditation when this Rahib
character turned up, claiming he was the one our order had been waiting for.
Daft really, the order hasn't been waiting for anybody. We're dedicated to
knowledge not religion.
Anyway, he must have already put some sort of spell on some of the brothers
as they proclaimed him instantly. I fear that he quickly subdued the rest. As
for myself, I used the trapdoor by the altar to escape down here. The statue
on the table provides an impenetrable barrier round this room. I've been stuck
here since then, slowly running out of food. |
| DM | He gestures to the table
where a small statue of a man with a long beard stands. |
| Abbot | Girls have been
kidnapped you say? Who and when? |
| Narond | [Turns to
Gerard] This man's daughter, by the name of Rahasia, another girl named
Sylvia and a previous companion of ours called Rhea. We did find pictures of
another girl in a room that Rahib looked to use as a study, but we did not
recognise her. |
| Abbot | [Looks very
serious for a moment]
Three girls? Well that could be very bad, very bad indeed. Have you captured
Rahib or is he still free? And can those girls wield magic? |
| Leanna | I know that Rhea
could.
We haven't captured Rahib as yet. You seem to have a suspicion as to what he
may be up to? |
| Abbot | I'll need to
explain about the Siswa first, and Elyas. A very long time ago, shortly after
the founding of Thyatis I believe, this area was the abode of a wizard named
Elyas. He was very powerful and very secretive but was not, unlike some
wizards from a country north of here, a bad man. He worked on finding
knowledge but of an abstract sort... self knowledge you could say.
Anyway, his teachings are what the Siswa follow. We offer a place for young
men to remove themselves from the world and achieve self knowledge. There's no
true magic practiced here anymore.
Part of what the higher brothers and myself do is research Elyas's writings
in the library. This whole building you are in was the entrance to his tower.
It still contains many of his artifacts.
[Gestures to the statue on the table] This was one of his. One of the
records states than a spell went awry and produced 657 statues of Elyas all of
a different size. I imagine you've seens a good percentage of them around the
temple.
Anyway, I'm waffling. The point is, that Elyas drew the attention of three
equally powerful wizards. Although perhaps I should say witches as they
practiced quite a raw form of magic. Elyas notes the running battles that he
had with them. Eventually, he formed a plan to trap their souls. I'm afraid I
don't know the details of the plan but I know that it half worked. They were
trapped but not destroyed and as Elyas struck, so did they, pulling the local
hills onto the tower. It was destroyed and Elyas was killed. All that was left
was this building, which we eventually took as our own.
There are many rumours about what exists in the tower. It is believed to
still be intact, under the rocks north of here. One of these rumours states
that the souls of the three witches can be returned, provided bodies can be
found for them.
Ah, I think you see where I am leading. As far as I knew the only entrance to
the tower is through the door here. [Points at the north wall]
But I fear Rahib has found another. |
| Leanna | So, we should
probably go through that door and try to find him before he restores the
witches' souls into Rahasia, Sylvia and Rhea's bodies?
Can you offer us any further advice on how to proceed? Or information about
Rahib (who we know as Catharandamus if that is of any interest to you?)
And, regardless of all that, would you like some food? [Proffers
hers] |
| Abbot | Thank you, I'm
starving. [Munches for a while]
I believe that the men from the village and myself can break the spell on the
Siswa given time. Yes, I think that going through to the tower would be best
for all of us. I warn you though, it has not been inhabited for many years.
Almost anything could be in there.
As for advice on how to proceed. Hmmm. The records say that Elyas planned to
use a black opal as the lock on the prison he was building. From what I can
make out, and it is not at all clear, the jewel needed to be primed before it
could be used. Whether he managed this before the disaster struck I don't
know.
Rahib it seems is more of a mystery to me than to you. Who is this
Catharandamus?' |
| Dreylin | Well, it all
started a couple of weeks ago when we saw this flier asking for adventuring
types...
[Continues for some time] |
| Abbot | I see. Well then.
There's not much more I can tell you then. These three gentlemen and myself
will try to free the brothers if you'll go on the tower. I see some of you are
injured, I can offer some help if that would be acceptable. |
| Leanna | That would be
much appreciated, thank you. |
| Dreylin | We would be
most grateful. |
| DM | He goes to one of the
boxes and takes out a small bottle. Unstoppering it, he gives each of you a
small spoonful. It tastes like sheepdip but you all feel noticeably better.
|
| Narond | [Shudders]
Nice stuff... |
| Dreylin | Oh, Rahib
dropped a wand when he fled. It appears to be the way he charmed your Siswa
into doing his bidding. You may find it useful in undoing his spell, otherwise
we found that a swift blow to the head often worked... I hope none of your
brethren whom we met on the way in have taken permanent injury. |
| Abbot | That wand would be
very helpful yes. [Looks expectant] |
| Narond | Was it your wand
originally? [Looks slightly reluctant to give over the wand but eventually
decides to]
Here is the wand, I might be back to collect it after we have investigated
the tower. |
| Abbot | No. Not mine.
[Peers at the wand for a while] This could be very useful. |
| Dreylin | Are we going to
go now or rest first? I think we should go now. |
| Narond | I'd prefer to
wait so I can cast spells. |
| Leanna | I'm happy to go
now but will wait if you want to. |
| Dreylin | I'd rather take
on Catharandamus without magic than him plus three witches with our rather
puny spells.
Somehow I think a few spells will not be enough to swing the battle if he
manages to release these witches... after all, if they can pull local hills to
crush a tower, they'll squash us like bugs! |
| Shianara | [Nods in
agreement] |
| Habib | If we are to get on
with it let's. |
| Abbot | [Pulls out an
ornate key from inside his robe]
This has been passed down from abbot to abbot for generations. I've never had
the courage to use it before. |
| DM | He walks over to the
door in the corner of the room and looks at the lock. It is old and slightly
rusted. After a moment the abbot opens a jar near the door. He dips the key
inside and it comes out, dripping. The oily substance smells like old fish.
|
| Abbot | Haddock liver oil.
Good lubricant. |
| DM | Inserting the key in the
lock he turns it gingerly. There is a smooth click and the door swings inwards
slightly. |
| Abbot | [Mutters]
Should have known Elyas's locks wouldn't rust.
[Opens the door and turns back to you]
Good luck. |
| DM | You go through the door.
|
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