9th Day of Goodmonth, CY 592
We returned from our long stay in Chendl with a clear sense of purpose and renewed vigor. It was now time to start down that final leg of our quest that has taken up much of the last year. All but two of the Doomdreamers mentioned in Susain’s journal have been killed. We took out the new Third and the very old Second. Still before us are the former High Priestess of Fire, Tessimon, the Champion Lareth, the Doomdreamer Maliskra and the Prince of Fire, Imix.
Tessimon already fell to us once. She was thought to be a possible champion until she failed the test given by Hedrack and Varachan. Lareth has proved himself a formidable challenge, when he nearly killed our group in Nulb. All of us, especially Victor, are looking forward to setting that score right. Maliskra had been selected out of all the Doomdreamers to enter the Fire Node, though at this point we do not know why. Imix is the ancient Elemental Warmaster, who fought in the wars that preceded mankind. We also learned that he has a dedicated cult on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and they are opposed by the Efreet Lords of the City of Brass. Fistan Nolro provided some measure of help in his studies of the Fire Prince. We have passed all the obstacles leading up to this point, and now we will find out if the cult’s destructive goals can finally be stopped.
At the Gate
We teleported back into the greater temple room, and we began making preparations for taking on the guardians of the Fire Node’s gate. We expected Tessimon to employ her skills with fire, so we used several energy wards. Vannay used his clairvoyance wand to scout out their positions, and he summoned an earth elemental to fight alongside us. We found out later that the succubus, who watched us enter the recovered temple, was watching us prepare and let Tessimon and her salamander guards know what we were up to.
We used dimension door to get right in the middle of the enemy, but they had readied actions in preparation. Tessimon let loose a powerful fire storm laced with necromantic energies, and the salamanders targeted Creden and Uthgar with dispelling magic. It was a powerful first assault, but we responded in kind. Uthgar split the head of the nearest salamander wide open. Delvanos riddled Tessimon with five quick arrows, and Victor followed up the volley by snapping her neck. Her lifeless body fell to the floor. Vannay and Safadin used cold magic to severely damage the salamanders. The succubus stepped onto the large red diamond dominating the chamber and plane shifted into the Fire Node.
Once Tessimon dropped, Vannay could see the conjuration aura on the fire diamond losing its power. We finished off the salamanders and their summoned fire elementals in the next two rounds, and then we were faced with a decision. The gate to the Fire Node was clearly about to close. We did not know if we would be able to reopen it once that happened. At the same time, we had taken some damage in the attack, and a few of us were without fire protection. We decided that the risk of what lay beyond was worth taking. We stepped on to the fire diamond.
The process of plane shifting took a bit longer than expected. We could see a large chamber blinking into existence on the other side, and a huge red dragon was making a sweeping turn around the room. The furnace-like heat from the other side would quickly drain our strength if we did not have protection. When we finally arrived in the Fire Node, the dragon did not seem overtly hostile.
And then a voice like living flame spoke.
Imix Speaks
“You have entered my realm unbidden. But it is pleasing to me that you wish to give battle. Nothing you do can stop what is coming, but that does not mean you should not learn of true power before The Unmaking. The swath of destruction you have made has earned you entrance into my home. Now I will find out if you are worthy of entering into my presence.
If you wish to have an audience with me, you will have to prove your mettle and mind. As you can see the powerful wyrm, Ixenkurik, is your first challenge. He has somewhat of a grudge against you, since you slew his daughter Chymon. The remaining three challenges are behind the doors in front of you. Take them in any order you wish for I am not particular.
Once you have proved yourselves able, step in the circle and come to me. The devout followers of the Dark Lord, Lareth and Maliskra, have pressed me to complete the ritual. They believe that it is a mistake to wait for you to come. But are they of the royal bloodline? Are they of the Hidden King? Were they there at the beginning, when we smote the world in its infancy? The new order will be born in the destruction of the old. And He will know that it is I who freed him. I was called. I answered. I alone will sunder the walls of his prison.
You have two days until the world ends.”
Vannay’s Timely Refuge
The voice had barely finished speaking, when the dragon, Ixenkurik, swooped down upon us. He let loose with a cone of fire that did not quickly abate. The battle looked too dangerous in our current state, so Vannay conjured a magnificent mansion to shelter us. We spent the next ten hours resting and making preparations for the dangerous trials ahead.
Monday, August 28, 2006
The Council of the Free Peoples
18th Day of Wealsun, CY 592
A council was convened to discuss the progress of our group’s progress in the fight to destroy the cultists of Tharizdun. It was attended by many of the same people who attended the Hommlet council during Patchwall of last year. That council convened to put a plan together to retrieve the Air Binder from the Sea of Dust. Two of the people involved in that quest joined the main group shortly after they retrieved the binder. A second gathering, the Binder Council, met two months ago, where it was decided to give the Earth and Air Binders to the Circle of Eight until such time as we are able to pursue their final destruction.
Meeting Roster
Canon Gareth Heldenster, Prelate of Heironeous, Furyondy
Canon Cassius Varpan, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Veluna
Canon Clarence Herzog, Temple of Pelor, Verbobonc
Canoness Y’dey, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Hommlet
Archmage Fistan Nolro, Circle of Eight
Thurl Ranevalac, Arch-Heirophant of Obad Hai
Creden Vigorian, Justiciar of the Billets, Order of the Cudgel, Veluna
Delvanos Caelith, Riverwalk Society, Verbobonc
Safadin Gammel, Professor of the Wheel, Grey College, Greyhawk
Uthgar Khannenhelm, Khannenhelm Clan, Lortmil Mountains
Victor Nikeas, Sacred Fist of Kord, Verbobonc
Archmage Steven Vannay IV, House of Vannay, Veluna
The first issue that came up was the lack of support from the dwarves in the war effort. Uthgar explained that his people were currently involved in a war against the frost giants and their dragon master. Canon Heldenster veered the discussion away from this, because the purpose of the meeting was not the war.
Heldenster went on to say that the war was mostly in a holding pattern as neither side could gain the advantage. Crockport seems to be serving as the main focus of both sides, as it has been under siege all summer. Lord Noct is marshalling the forces of Iuz from there, but the location of Iuz is not known.
Y’dey explained that she felt that her presence in Hommlet, and the cultists’ knowledge of who retrieved the binder placed her town at risk. She had been in hiding for some time, but now she felt it prudent to attend this meeting and resume her position in Hommlet. Delvanos informed her of the status of the scout, Kainell D’Fehund, she dispatched to the temple site several months previous.
The main topic of the council was the disposition of the binders. It became apparent that Heldenster had told Varpan about the decision to give the binders to the Circle of Eight. This did not sit well with anyone in the group for a number of reasons. At the Binder Council two months previous, it was agreed that no one else would know. Since the Hommlet Council was compromised, it seemed foolish to assume that other meetings would be safe from agents of Iuz or cultists of Tharizdun. Though the cult does seem to be in disarray after much of the leadership and two thirds of the triad have been destroyed. Iuz clearly has designs on the binders based on the word of the wizard Lord Falrinth, and Iuz certainly has agents in Chendl.
Varpan stated in his typically caustic fashion that he had learned of the meeting about the binders, and he refused to be left out of the discussion. He had been at the Hommlet Council, and he had supplied the leader of the group currently assaulting the temple site. Creden pointed out that he is not the leader of the group, and the decision to limit the knowledge of the binder’s whereabouts was merited. Varpan was undeterred. He went on to rail against the turning over of the binders to people whose “motives were suspect”. He did not mention the Circle of Eight by name, but he was clearly referencing their representative, Fistan Nolro. Varpan brought up the old rivalry in Veluna between the church, the nobles and the wizards under Bigby of Mitrik. Varpan also pointed out that the spy at the first meeting was from the Grey College, and they still had a representative here. Safadin took exception to this, since one of his colleagues was killed because of the deception of Myrliket, the doppelganger.
We took Heldenster to task for his decision to inform people outside the first Chendl council about what happened. Heldenster defended his decision by saying there were other considerations. A coalition of several countries was needed to prosecute the war against Iuz. There is a careful balance that must be preserved in order to keep all the member nations in agreement. The other nations sometimes feel that Furyondy pushes the others around with their power, and so concessions must be made. It is a difficult balance, and Heldenster must strive to maintain it. Our group seemed to be of one mind about this. Political considerations fall a distant second to the purpose of our quest.
Victor spoke up at this point. He pointed out that no other Kordites were at this meeting even though they are aiding in the war effort, and they were critical in the evacuation of Crockport. Victor said this was not surprising, but it shows the prejudices of others. He went on to say that in this critical juncture of the war, political and theological differences were not the main issue. The careless words of Varpan and the decision of Heldenster put people’s lives at risk. Varpan did not seem to find the words to answer him.
The final portion of the council was concerning the last stage of the quest. An inquiry was made about the status of the Water Binder, but it seemed unlikely that the cultists have recovered it. Fistan Nolro said that the party would be going into the Fire Node, which in many places is referenced as a “moon”. The node would be similar to conditions on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Imix would likely have powers similar to a deity on his home plane. The extent of these powers is not known, but Imix would likely be aware of our presence immediately upon entering the node. The champion or as the prophecy states, “one of marked worth”, would be critical to the cultist’s plans. He would be protected as such. The details of the attempt to free Tharizdun are also not known, but it probably requires the presence of the champion.
Overall, the meeting was a bit heated and lacked the unifying spirit we would need in order to succeed in the two fold task of stopping the cultists and defeat Iuz. Some important information was gained regarding the nature of the Fire Node, but the spreading of information about the binders did not bode well. We spoke briefly with Ranevalac about Erwin Muir, our fallen druid. He was pleased to learn of Erwin’s contributions to the party, and he said that if we needed help in the future the people of the Old Faith would stand ready. We stayed in Chendl for the next eight weeks making our final preparations for entering the Fire Node.
A council was convened to discuss the progress of our group’s progress in the fight to destroy the cultists of Tharizdun. It was attended by many of the same people who attended the Hommlet council during Patchwall of last year. That council convened to put a plan together to retrieve the Air Binder from the Sea of Dust. Two of the people involved in that quest joined the main group shortly after they retrieved the binder. A second gathering, the Binder Council, met two months ago, where it was decided to give the Earth and Air Binders to the Circle of Eight until such time as we are able to pursue their final destruction.
Meeting Roster
Canon Gareth Heldenster, Prelate of Heironeous, Furyondy
Canon Cassius Varpan, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Veluna
Canon Clarence Herzog, Temple of Pelor, Verbobonc
Canoness Y’dey, Order of Saint Cuthbert, Hommlet
Archmage Fistan Nolro, Circle of Eight
Thurl Ranevalac, Arch-Heirophant of Obad Hai
Creden Vigorian, Justiciar of the Billets, Order of the Cudgel, Veluna
Delvanos Caelith, Riverwalk Society, Verbobonc
Safadin Gammel, Professor of the Wheel, Grey College, Greyhawk
Uthgar Khannenhelm, Khannenhelm Clan, Lortmil Mountains
Victor Nikeas, Sacred Fist of Kord, Verbobonc
Archmage Steven Vannay IV, House of Vannay, Veluna
The first issue that came up was the lack of support from the dwarves in the war effort. Uthgar explained that his people were currently involved in a war against the frost giants and their dragon master. Canon Heldenster veered the discussion away from this, because the purpose of the meeting was not the war.
Heldenster went on to say that the war was mostly in a holding pattern as neither side could gain the advantage. Crockport seems to be serving as the main focus of both sides, as it has been under siege all summer. Lord Noct is marshalling the forces of Iuz from there, but the location of Iuz is not known.
Y’dey explained that she felt that her presence in Hommlet, and the cultists’ knowledge of who retrieved the binder placed her town at risk. She had been in hiding for some time, but now she felt it prudent to attend this meeting and resume her position in Hommlet. Delvanos informed her of the status of the scout, Kainell D’Fehund, she dispatched to the temple site several months previous.
The main topic of the council was the disposition of the binders. It became apparent that Heldenster had told Varpan about the decision to give the binders to the Circle of Eight. This did not sit well with anyone in the group for a number of reasons. At the Binder Council two months previous, it was agreed that no one else would know. Since the Hommlet Council was compromised, it seemed foolish to assume that other meetings would be safe from agents of Iuz or cultists of Tharizdun. Though the cult does seem to be in disarray after much of the leadership and two thirds of the triad have been destroyed. Iuz clearly has designs on the binders based on the word of the wizard Lord Falrinth, and Iuz certainly has agents in Chendl.
Varpan stated in his typically caustic fashion that he had learned of the meeting about the binders, and he refused to be left out of the discussion. He had been at the Hommlet Council, and he had supplied the leader of the group currently assaulting the temple site. Creden pointed out that he is not the leader of the group, and the decision to limit the knowledge of the binder’s whereabouts was merited. Varpan was undeterred. He went on to rail against the turning over of the binders to people whose “motives were suspect”. He did not mention the Circle of Eight by name, but he was clearly referencing their representative, Fistan Nolro. Varpan brought up the old rivalry in Veluna between the church, the nobles and the wizards under Bigby of Mitrik. Varpan also pointed out that the spy at the first meeting was from the Grey College, and they still had a representative here. Safadin took exception to this, since one of his colleagues was killed because of the deception of Myrliket, the doppelganger.
We took Heldenster to task for his decision to inform people outside the first Chendl council about what happened. Heldenster defended his decision by saying there were other considerations. A coalition of several countries was needed to prosecute the war against Iuz. There is a careful balance that must be preserved in order to keep all the member nations in agreement. The other nations sometimes feel that Furyondy pushes the others around with their power, and so concessions must be made. It is a difficult balance, and Heldenster must strive to maintain it. Our group seemed to be of one mind about this. Political considerations fall a distant second to the purpose of our quest.
Victor spoke up at this point. He pointed out that no other Kordites were at this meeting even though they are aiding in the war effort, and they were critical in the evacuation of Crockport. Victor said this was not surprising, but it shows the prejudices of others. He went on to say that in this critical juncture of the war, political and theological differences were not the main issue. The careless words of Varpan and the decision of Heldenster put people’s lives at risk. Varpan did not seem to find the words to answer him.
The final portion of the council was concerning the last stage of the quest. An inquiry was made about the status of the Water Binder, but it seemed unlikely that the cultists have recovered it. Fistan Nolro said that the party would be going into the Fire Node, which in many places is referenced as a “moon”. The node would be similar to conditions on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Imix would likely have powers similar to a deity on his home plane. The extent of these powers is not known, but Imix would likely be aware of our presence immediately upon entering the node. The champion or as the prophecy states, “one of marked worth”, would be critical to the cultist’s plans. He would be protected as such. The details of the attempt to free Tharizdun are also not known, but it probably requires the presence of the champion.
Overall, the meeting was a bit heated and lacked the unifying spirit we would need in order to succeed in the two fold task of stopping the cultists and defeat Iuz. Some important information was gained regarding the nature of the Fire Node, but the spreading of information about the binders did not bode well. We spoke briefly with Ranevalac about Erwin Muir, our fallen druid. He was pleased to learn of Erwin’s contributions to the party, and he said that if we needed help in the future the people of the Old Faith would stand ready. We stayed in Chendl for the next eight weeks making our final preparations for entering the Fire Node.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Long Hot Summer
Summer of Common Year 592
The Second Level
We were quite happy to have finished clearing out the first level of the recovered temple. Having Falrinth behind us was a big turning point in the quest to stop the cultists and their lunatic plans. Of course it was much too early to be celebrating, when the main force of Doomdreamers were still to come.
The cultists placed two sets of very capable guards in the first section of the lower level. The first group were ropers, who had illithidae brains planted in them. We could not help but think that the mind flayer Satau, Oracle of the Outer Fane, was involved in this twisted process. The second set of guardians were stone golems with the Tharizdun obex chiseled into their bodies. The battle was challenging, because we had a golem on each side of us and a group of archers firing arrow volleys at our front. Victor once again showed his wrestling prowess by pinning one of the golems. Uthgar also was able to stand toe to toe with the other one.
We proceeded down a corridor marked “danger” and found out it was an apt warning. Of course signs like that draw adventurers like moths to a flame. A huge mass or writhing tentacles swallowed Vannay, and we beat a hasty retreat.
The Ghost and the Worm
We returned the next day to do battle with the tentacle creature, which turned out to be a purple worm from the Far Realms. It turned out that there was a sorcerer ghost accompanying him. Our level of spell preparation made short work of the worm, and the ghost was quickly dealt with.
We then found a raging insane dog tied to a chamber wall. We debated about whether or not to kill it, when Safadin determined that it was not actually a canine. We removed a few curses from it, and we discovered that it was an archon hound. It became apparent that this was the scout sent by Canoness Y’dey. Kainell D’fehund was his name, and he agreed to help us in our exploration of the temple. He told us that there were powerful glyphs placed around the temple site, so his ability to disable them would prove useful.
Where Dreamers Sleep
The next morning we made our way over to the other side of the main corridor. We found some goblin excavators with their ogre master working on the clearing process. Delvanos shot the ogre dead, and we freed the goblins.
We then discovered two prisoners kept in cages. They appeared to be Spugnoir and Zerosh of Hommlet, but Kainell informed us that they registered as evil beings. The imposters realized that the ruse was up, and they began attacking us with spells. It was a quick battle, and when they were slain they reverted to their rakshasa form. This led us to believe that the cultists had infiltrated Hommlet again after Dunrat’s group had been killed. It also reminded us that Canoness Y’dey had not been in touch with us for some time.
We pressed on and found the bed chamber of the Doomdreamers. A journal of their activities and another book called The Tome of the Black Eye were discovered. The journal was written by Susain Carun, who had taken over the duties of The Third. It mentioned a number of other cultists as well. They were Thucos, Estalion, Maliskra and our old nemesis Tessimon. Maliskra’s entry stated that she was already in the Fire Node with the Champion. The journal said that this was the job she had been training for her entire career in the cult. It also said that Tessimon was not overly popular, and that she was given the duty of guarding the Fire Node entrance. The Tome of the Black Eye was a religious text detailing the control of their altars. It said that an altar was in the old moat house, and that one was in the Fire Temple in the Crater Ridge Mines. Vannay and Victor remembered the one under the moat house, and we destroyed the one in the Fire Temple. The third altar was placed in the Greater Temple, which by the description indicated that it was nearby.
We also found glyphs in all three hallways exiting the Doomdreamer’s room. Vannay recalled that the aboleths are one of the most powerful glyph makers, so we decided that these were probably the work of The Second. We found the aboleth’s chamber near the other cultist’s room. It had a large tank with two skum in it. They did not put up much of a fight.
The Greater Temple
The next day saw one of the most deadly battles of our quest thus far. We made our way down the main center hallway, and we were assaulted by the remaining archers and an arrow demon. As we pushed forward, we found Susain in the midst of a ritual in front of the third altar. It was already in its heliotrope state, and there was an ogre with his eyes gouged out beating on a drum nearby. There was also a person bound on the altar, who appeared to be the sacrificial member of the ceremony. Delvanos acted quickly and destroyed the candelabrum with a well placed volley of adamantine tipped arrows. The other creature visible in the Greater Temple was a cornugon from Baator.
The battle was joined with a flurry of spells and arrows being traded back and forth. We wisely kept casting buff spells, since this looked to be a long and deadly battle. All but one of the archers were dropped, and he began to flee the battle. We let him flee, but the arrow demon dropped him when he tried to pass. The archon hound was banished, when Susain used Word of Chaos on us. Safadin managed to get off a successful greater dispel magic on Susain, but she retaliated by destroying him completely. We began moving into the room and engaging the spiked chain wielding devil, and we found another Doomdreamer, Thucos waiting on us. Uthgar nearly dropped him in one round of attacks, but it was not quite enough. Thucos buried his pick in Uthgar’s head dropping him to the floor.
The battle raged on, and through the combined efforts of our group we slew the cornugon and Thucos. Susain was nearly finished, when a huge water elemental appeared. It was too little too late for the newest member of the Triad. Another few attacks and she lay dead at our feet.
We discovered that it was Delvanos’ brother Lucas on the altar. He had also had his eyes gouged out, and he had severe scarring visible on all his exposed skin. He told us that he had been kept in a prison and tortured relentlessly by a creature named Yrthruk. The main question he was asked during the torture was the location of the binder. Even in the midst of the wracking pain, he lied about who had it. After he was blinded he was taken to the temple site by a creature, who we knew to be Infinitus. We promised him that the horror was over, and we would see to it that his sight was restored. We took Safadin’s gear and Uthgar’s body and teleported to Chendl. The next day, we met with Canon Heldenster, and he agreed to perform the True Resurrection on Safadin. Several of us pitched in on a donation to the Church of Heironeous to pay for the spell. We also raised Uthgar from the dead. Lucas was restored to full health, and he said he would be staying in Chendl for the time being.
Beyond the Veil
We returned to the Greater Temple the following day. The purple curtain beyond the altar, which we destroyed, had tentacles that attempted to attack us. Victor managed to avoid them and pull back the curtain. On the other side of it, we saw three altars in a triangle pattern and a strange creature on the other side of that. The feminine creature had pseudopods on her lower half and a human upper torso. Vannay and Safadin recognized her as the demoness Zuggtmoy, who had been instrumental in the construction of the original temple. It was our good fortune that she was just an illusion. After she was dispelled, an aboleth encased in a water cocoon entered the room. It was also an illusion of The Second, but it could be used as the source of the aboleth’s spells.
Once again we put up our buffs and protective wards as the battle go underway. Victor’s true seeing revealed the presence of Estalion in addition to The Second. The battle was quite dangerous, and the aboleth was nearly impossible to hit. We fired off a number of dispel magics on it, and that allowed us to actually hit the creature. Creden took the worst of The Second’s melee attacks, but he was able to heal himself before falling. Victor used silence and was able to completely neutralize Estalion. She fell quickly after being grappled by him. We managed to finally overcome the number two member of the Triad after several rounds.
Beyond the second temple area was a large chamber with a fungus covered silver throne. The ceiling and walls of the room were painted with scenes of slaughter by the original denizens of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Uthgar sat on the throne, and he heard a voice promising him three wishes if he would destroy the grand altar in the Tabernacle of Utter Darkness. The voice said that she would be free if he managed that task. After informing the rest of the party about the communication, all the party scholars decided that it was Zuggtmoy speaking to him. Perhaps the stories of her return to the abyss after the fall of the temple were not as accurate as we thought. We decided that thrones that channeled demon princes were not that safe. Victor, Creden and Uthgar smashed it into pieces. After gathering up all the cultist’s gear, we returned to Chendl for a well-deserved break.
The Second Level
We were quite happy to have finished clearing out the first level of the recovered temple. Having Falrinth behind us was a big turning point in the quest to stop the cultists and their lunatic plans. Of course it was much too early to be celebrating, when the main force of Doomdreamers were still to come.
The cultists placed two sets of very capable guards in the first section of the lower level. The first group were ropers, who had illithidae brains planted in them. We could not help but think that the mind flayer Satau, Oracle of the Outer Fane, was involved in this twisted process. The second set of guardians were stone golems with the Tharizdun obex chiseled into their bodies. The battle was challenging, because we had a golem on each side of us and a group of archers firing arrow volleys at our front. Victor once again showed his wrestling prowess by pinning one of the golems. Uthgar also was able to stand toe to toe with the other one.
We proceeded down a corridor marked “danger” and found out it was an apt warning. Of course signs like that draw adventurers like moths to a flame. A huge mass or writhing tentacles swallowed Vannay, and we beat a hasty retreat.
The Ghost and the Worm
We returned the next day to do battle with the tentacle creature, which turned out to be a purple worm from the Far Realms. It turned out that there was a sorcerer ghost accompanying him. Our level of spell preparation made short work of the worm, and the ghost was quickly dealt with.
We then found a raging insane dog tied to a chamber wall. We debated about whether or not to kill it, when Safadin determined that it was not actually a canine. We removed a few curses from it, and we discovered that it was an archon hound. It became apparent that this was the scout sent by Canoness Y’dey. Kainell D’fehund was his name, and he agreed to help us in our exploration of the temple. He told us that there were powerful glyphs placed around the temple site, so his ability to disable them would prove useful.
Where Dreamers Sleep
The next morning we made our way over to the other side of the main corridor. We found some goblin excavators with their ogre master working on the clearing process. Delvanos shot the ogre dead, and we freed the goblins.
We then discovered two prisoners kept in cages. They appeared to be Spugnoir and Zerosh of Hommlet, but Kainell informed us that they registered as evil beings. The imposters realized that the ruse was up, and they began attacking us with spells. It was a quick battle, and when they were slain they reverted to their rakshasa form. This led us to believe that the cultists had infiltrated Hommlet again after Dunrat’s group had been killed. It also reminded us that Canoness Y’dey had not been in touch with us for some time.
We pressed on and found the bed chamber of the Doomdreamers. A journal of their activities and another book called The Tome of the Black Eye were discovered. The journal was written by Susain Carun, who had taken over the duties of The Third. It mentioned a number of other cultists as well. They were Thucos, Estalion, Maliskra and our old nemesis Tessimon. Maliskra’s entry stated that she was already in the Fire Node with the Champion. The journal said that this was the job she had been training for her entire career in the cult. It also said that Tessimon was not overly popular, and that she was given the duty of guarding the Fire Node entrance. The Tome of the Black Eye was a religious text detailing the control of their altars. It said that an altar was in the old moat house, and that one was in the Fire Temple in the Crater Ridge Mines. Vannay and Victor remembered the one under the moat house, and we destroyed the one in the Fire Temple. The third altar was placed in the Greater Temple, which by the description indicated that it was nearby.
We also found glyphs in all three hallways exiting the Doomdreamer’s room. Vannay recalled that the aboleths are one of the most powerful glyph makers, so we decided that these were probably the work of The Second. We found the aboleth’s chamber near the other cultist’s room. It had a large tank with two skum in it. They did not put up much of a fight.
The Greater Temple
The next day saw one of the most deadly battles of our quest thus far. We made our way down the main center hallway, and we were assaulted by the remaining archers and an arrow demon. As we pushed forward, we found Susain in the midst of a ritual in front of the third altar. It was already in its heliotrope state, and there was an ogre with his eyes gouged out beating on a drum nearby. There was also a person bound on the altar, who appeared to be the sacrificial member of the ceremony. Delvanos acted quickly and destroyed the candelabrum with a well placed volley of adamantine tipped arrows. The other creature visible in the Greater Temple was a cornugon from Baator.
The battle was joined with a flurry of spells and arrows being traded back and forth. We wisely kept casting buff spells, since this looked to be a long and deadly battle. All but one of the archers were dropped, and he began to flee the battle. We let him flee, but the arrow demon dropped him when he tried to pass. The archon hound was banished, when Susain used Word of Chaos on us. Safadin managed to get off a successful greater dispel magic on Susain, but she retaliated by destroying him completely. We began moving into the room and engaging the spiked chain wielding devil, and we found another Doomdreamer, Thucos waiting on us. Uthgar nearly dropped him in one round of attacks, but it was not quite enough. Thucos buried his pick in Uthgar’s head dropping him to the floor.
The battle raged on, and through the combined efforts of our group we slew the cornugon and Thucos. Susain was nearly finished, when a huge water elemental appeared. It was too little too late for the newest member of the Triad. Another few attacks and she lay dead at our feet.
We discovered that it was Delvanos’ brother Lucas on the altar. He had also had his eyes gouged out, and he had severe scarring visible on all his exposed skin. He told us that he had been kept in a prison and tortured relentlessly by a creature named Yrthruk. The main question he was asked during the torture was the location of the binder. Even in the midst of the wracking pain, he lied about who had it. After he was blinded he was taken to the temple site by a creature, who we knew to be Infinitus. We promised him that the horror was over, and we would see to it that his sight was restored. We took Safadin’s gear and Uthgar’s body and teleported to Chendl. The next day, we met with Canon Heldenster, and he agreed to perform the True Resurrection on Safadin. Several of us pitched in on a donation to the Church of Heironeous to pay for the spell. We also raised Uthgar from the dead. Lucas was restored to full health, and he said he would be staying in Chendl for the time being.
Beyond the Veil
We returned to the Greater Temple the following day. The purple curtain beyond the altar, which we destroyed, had tentacles that attempted to attack us. Victor managed to avoid them and pull back the curtain. On the other side of it, we saw three altars in a triangle pattern and a strange creature on the other side of that. The feminine creature had pseudopods on her lower half and a human upper torso. Vannay and Safadin recognized her as the demoness Zuggtmoy, who had been instrumental in the construction of the original temple. It was our good fortune that she was just an illusion. After she was dispelled, an aboleth encased in a water cocoon entered the room. It was also an illusion of The Second, but it could be used as the source of the aboleth’s spells.
Once again we put up our buffs and protective wards as the battle go underway. Victor’s true seeing revealed the presence of Estalion in addition to The Second. The battle was quite dangerous, and the aboleth was nearly impossible to hit. We fired off a number of dispel magics on it, and that allowed us to actually hit the creature. Creden took the worst of The Second’s melee attacks, but he was able to heal himself before falling. Victor used silence and was able to completely neutralize Estalion. She fell quickly after being grappled by him. We managed to finally overcome the number two member of the Triad after several rounds.
Beyond the second temple area was a large chamber with a fungus covered silver throne. The ceiling and walls of the room were painted with scenes of slaughter by the original denizens of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Uthgar sat on the throne, and he heard a voice promising him three wishes if he would destroy the grand altar in the Tabernacle of Utter Darkness. The voice said that she would be free if he managed that task. After informing the rest of the party about the communication, all the party scholars decided that it was Zuggtmoy speaking to him. Perhaps the stories of her return to the abyss after the fall of the temple were not as accurate as we thought. We decided that thrones that channeled demon princes were not that safe. Victor, Creden and Uthgar smashed it into pieces. After gathering up all the cultist’s gear, we returned to Chendl for a well-deserved break.
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