Our band continues to be...
Kalik, halfling initiate of Avoreen;
Vesper, (NPC) human fighter, henchman of Kalik;
Milik, halfling sorcerer;
Kendradell, female half-elf bard & initiate
of Lydia;
Marcus, half-elf acolyte of Hieroneous;
Tarqualan, high elf mystic;
Piotr, suloise human mercenary;
and finally;
Talon, dwur initiate of Clangeddin.
[3rd of Wealsun, 579]
After resting and healing in Limni's Delve, the party set forth once more for Hommlet, though it was a sad parting, as Nubo had found true love with a young noniz lass he'd met there, and elected to remain behind. Late that afternoon they arrived, and were somewhat amazed to see what a bustling little community Hommlet was; not the sleepy little hamlet they'd been led to expect.
Gated arches guarded each of the roads into town, which fostered not only a busy inn and trading post, but a small theater, garrison, and of course the hilltop keep of Burne & Rufus. After checking in with the town's priest of St. Cuthbert and spending an uneventful night at the Wench, they set out bright and early that next morning for Nulb, and then the temple itself.
Freshly rebuilt and whitewashed walls greeted them as they rode over the last hill on the road to the temple, past tradesmen and pilgrims traveling both ways. Inside, carefully manicured groves of trees decorated the equally well cared for lawns, though the northern wall of the temple was being rebuilt to offer a shrine to St. Carmichael (or so they would learn, later). The guards at the west gate allowed them passage, and a trio of Words took over care of their mounts when they arrived at the grand entrance to the temple. Inside, after explaining the cause of their visit, they were taken directly to Neidan, Rao's Impassioned and High Priest of the new temple.
After presenting their varied letters of introduction
and sharing their fears of what might still lie beneath the temple, they
were eventually given permission to explore the lower basements, though
the rumors they'd heard that the second basement level had been flooded
proved to be true. Neidan could not be certain of the cause of the flood,
stating that many of the workers who had been down in the area where the
Water temple had resided were never recovered; perhaps they had touched
something better left alone. Caught up in the reconstruction of the upper
works, Neidan had little time for the party, assigning them the
services of Mauri, a young Word who knew the
layout below as well as any.
Before venturing down, however, Milik noticed
that one of the cherubic figures decorating the ceiling of the place glowed
to his magical sight, and a more focused investigation gave the impression
that it was watching the party intently. Unable to reach it directly, however,
it was ignored for the moment. After passing through the maze of corridors,
some refurbished, but most not, the party eventually reached a wide ramp
that vanished quickly into the darkness below. Mauri joked that sometimes
workmen reported seeing fish or other creatures swimming in the depths
below, but that nobody had ever caught anything or shown
proof that anything lived there.
After some debate, Milik, Kalik, and Tarqualan were chosen to scout the lay of the water filled passages below, using Milik's spells to enable them to breathe and speak underwater. Leaving most of their gear behind, and carrying a magical light, they descended into the depths and soon vanished from sight...
As the trio made their way through the twisting corridors of stone, Milik chanced to spot a finned ogre fleeing ahead of the group at one point, and soon they came to a room that contained two of the creatures. The closest rushed Kalik and drove his spear nearly through the halfling's chest, sending billows of red into the water. The second was ensnared by one of Tarqualan's spells, and commanded to attack it's comrade; but before it could bring down it's companion (who did not bleed from any of the minor wounds the trio managed to inflict) the first ogre closed with Milik and drove it's spear deep into his groin.
When at last the dominated merrow had slain it's companion, a tenuous thread of black oil could be seen exiting it's body, retreating from the chamber. After healing themselves, questioning the ensorcled merrow revealed that the other had been it's "boss", who was one of the "chosen ones" of "the Master". Further questioning revealed that the level beneath the second was not flooded, but that the way to it was guarded by many of his clan, all in service to the master. When no further useful information could be had, they cut it's throat and retreated back into the air.
Meanwhile, at the top of the ramp, Piotr's eye caught a flash of movement in the water at one point, but it was too brief and the water to dark for the others to see. When the light from their scouts dimly illuminated the halls below (from the opposite side they had gone) everyone could easily see the thin black line that retreated north through the water, followed shortly by their fellows in the company of an ogre. When their scouts returned, Mauri was only to anxious to back up their story of encounters with life in the floodwaters, but to their dismay High Priest Neidan seemed strangely incapable of retaining the words that they spoke, almost as if he were under some compulsion not to hear such things...
At the party's suggestion, Mauri took them to
see Vorlayn, another Voice who was second in authority to Neidan. Upon
hearing both their tale of the fight and of Neidan's strange behavior,
he vowed to send word to their mutual superiors in Verbobonc, and to aid
the party further in their explorations. Further discourse revealed that
the strange dragonnes that had attacked the party several days past were
likely the missing mounts of the Peacekeepers assigned to the temple, that
had gone
missing weeks past. This, too, would go into
his report. He then offered the party sanctuary within the temple, and
bade them all goodnight.
Kalik quickly meditated over his sword, and was rewarded by several quick insights and visions; in one, the chessplayer he had seen so often could be heard calling endgame on his opponent, while a dripping ogre strangled Kendradell in her sleep. Another vision showed him a battle with merrow in the corridors below, where a single counterspell destroyed their means of breath, leaving them all to drown. Kalik quickly rushed to kendradell's side after this, warning her of the danger.
Thus warned, the party doubled their guard against treachery, but it struck from within - under the compulsion of an unseen spellcaster, Talon crept into Kendradell's cell and attempted to strangle her in her sleep, oblivious to Kalik at her bedside standing guard. At Kendradell's first scream, the rest of the group sprang to her aid, eventually dispelling the spell that forced Talon to act against them. As the group reconsidered once more what Kalik had seen in his visions, the hours of the night crept by slowly, at best...
[5th of Wealsun, 579]