It has
been two weeks since the encounter with the undead at the manor. In that time
much has happened.
Tyrrian
has fallen ill with a strange malady. The nuns fear evil humors have settled in
his lungs. He is young and strong and all believe his recovery will be quick.
Alex asks
Bulls Zi to train the monkey “jack” in some thief skills.
Sally has
begun to sway some twenty odd villagers to follow Mesha as their primary deity.
Alexander
has cast some magic that has a mercurial effect of growing wheat. This has
helped the farmers get back crop lost to the cultists. He is also coming to
grips with his newly bonded patronage to Sezrekan.
Farhoud has become a trusted member of the group and joined the Warrior class.
Brother
Beavis has begun brewing an ale at the White Horse, called Losborsts Hearty
Pale.
The
reformation of a new town militia under Mordacity has helped repair the overall
village morale.
The attack by the handful of faceless ones as
they escaped the undead has been causing Lars to wonder if the Cult of
Palimdybis has been truly destroyed. He sends Garrotte and Calis to scout out
the old ruin along the coast that sits between the Manor and the Tegel
Lighthouse.
The two
report that it appears to be nothing more than a very ancient ruin. Weed choked
and unlikey to be more than a den for rodents. The party decides they should
still form a team to go there and make sure the place poses no threat in any
way.
The
following morning Bulls Zi, Alex, Sven, Sally, Lars, Alexander Ballistic,
Garrotte, Calis, and Faroud set out in the wagon to the ruins. At the last
moment Lars thinks it would be best to take the “Magic Boat” from the fishing
village and approach the ruins from the beach as there is no direct land route
to get there except crossing unknown terrain.
A couple of hours later the party climbs up from the small beach and nears the ruins. When they get within
thirty feet the ruins waver and disappear! “A massive illusion!” exclaims
Alexander, “The power needed for such a thing is intense!”
They stand before a squat cyclopean structure
some sixty feet in height. It is topped by a temple-like second story. Directly
ahead is a large silvery door of unknown metal, the only apparent entrance, flanked by two
man-sized statues seemingly carved from green crystal. The group approaches with
Alexander in the lead.
“The
green hand!, I forgot about that one we found in the manor.” He mutters to
Lars.
“Well, it’s
still in that chest. I think.” Replies Lars scratching his chin.
Bulls Zi
steps away from the group and walks along the base of the structures east side
looking for any windows or balconies.
Meanwhile,
Alexander decides to get a closer look at the metal door. Sven follows him as
they slowly move closer to the doorway. Suddenly the two statues move,
brandishing weapons and block the door. Alexander moves back wary of setting
off any other magical defenses. He cries out some “command” words and phrases
in a few different languages to no avail. Finally Alexander steps forward palms
up and says “May we enter here?”
In
response the green warriors swing weapons at him and barely miss! Instantly
Sven is lost to the battle lust of the Chaos Axe and charges the foes!
Bulls Zi
has decided that he can easily scale the sixty feet to see what may be on the
roof. At this point he some 30 feet up the side when he loses his grip! A last
ditch effort to save himself fails and he falls impaling himself on his very
own javelin he stuck in the ground when he began his ascent. As his vision goes
dark he hears the faint sounds of battle from the front of the structure.
One of
the green warrior statues is very rough and poorly sculpted, as if it were an
early work by the artisan, the second is of exquisite detail and could even be
said to almost be truly alive! As Sven takes the brunt of the attack upon
himself the rest of the party attempt as best they can to aid him while being
wary of his berserk state. A few minutes of battle sees the rough warrior fall
and shatter as 6 large emeralds fall from its chest cavity and scatter upon the
ground. The concentrated efforts of the group fell the second green warrior who
surprisingly turns back into a mortally wounded man! As he expires he gasps “Thesdipedes
knows the word….”
As the
group ponders the significance of this, Alex the cleric wonders where Bulls Zi
has gotten off to and goes looking for him. Sven is healed by Sally as the
battle with the guardians was very taxing for him.
Upon
discovering the impaled body of their companion Alex calls out and the group
move his body to the wagon. Going back to the Silvery door and discovering it
has a large keyhole some attempts to pick it are made. First up is “Jack” the
monkey who was being trained by Bulls Zi. After a few minutes Lars tires of
waiting for the monkey and waves him off so a real thief can try.
The door is opened and a twenty foot wide
hall is revealed. It is about fifty feet in length and the walls are adorned
with bizarre mosaics portraying a green wizard fighting demons, casting spells,
and various other deeds. Once again with Alexander and Sven in the lead the
group enters the strange edifice. A weird clattering noise and a cool breeze
swirl about the group. Tiles fly off the wall and form into a large golem that
now blocks the party’s progress. A couple of attempts at communication come to
nothing, so Sven steps up and offers his hand in a gesture of friendship. He
gets a golem slap to the face for his trouble!
The party
expends a great amount of effort in battling the mosaic tile golem, Alexander
casts an awesome display of Alexander’s Arcing Axes (magic missile) to great
effect! A second and even third mosaic creature battle with the group, before they
realize the trick of destroying the tiles so they cannot add to the mass of an
existing golem. Sorely tired and with a few lost spells amongst the Wizard and
Clerics, they party discovers a doorway that had been hidden behind the tiles.
to be continued.....
