Characters:
- Kaelan (Artificer)
- Fae’ael (Ranger)
- Prism (Talent)
- Tristan (Rogue)
The adventure starts before the temple itself, on the road that led to it. Fae’ael alerts us to the danger before we can be ambushed by an enormous winged creature hiding in the trees – a Skoga. Prism catches it in a force choke while the rest of us are sent running in fear. Slowly we chip away at it, though it takes monumental effort. Prism and Fae’ael take the brunt of the damage, but also do much of the work in taking down our enemy. Kaelan and I are relatively unscathed. (The trick to self-preservation, reader, is to be of such little consequence to one’s foes that they do not even think to target you).
Fae’ael notes that the creature’s lair might be nearby and it may be worth investigating, but we do not pursue the detour. We decide to pause only briefly to tend to our (their) wounds and then continue on.
We arrive at the temple early in the afternoon. Fae’ael details what the previous party found in the upper level and warns about possible ghosts and wild beasts, but is particularly wary of traps. The way to the lower levels opens with a rush of air, a slight change in pressure, and a flash of magical lights that illuminate the foyer at the bottom of the stone staircase. There are two doors, to the north and the west, and curtains hanging from an archway in the east. Kaelan remarks on the masonry of the lovely cobblestone floor.
Beyond a curtain is a dimly lit room. Water trickles from stone fountains built on either side of the room, and on the wall opposite to the entrance is a large statue that overlooks an adorned casket. Kaelan kneels in respect as he enters and feels the rug warm beneath him. Fae’ael, a follower of “Lady Luck”, explains to the nothing around her that we mean no disrespect in our exploration, much to Prism’s confusion. Prism has no religion, and is unsure she even has ancestors like the ones Kaelan looks to for guidance.
Getting no replies from deities, ancestors, or miscellaneous supernatural forces, we inspect the statue and the casket. An inscription at the foot of the statue matches the ones on the top level, and reference Mahora. The townsfolk have spoken of Mahora as the one who discovered the magically-infused water in this place. The casket is adorned but has no inscriptions. It is tightly sealed and doesn’t seem to have been disturbed.
Returning to the foyer, we try the door to the west next, which leads to a library. It is lined with bookshelves and writing desks, many of them housing books detailing arcane and alchemical research. Curiously, we find stacks of journals that look well-worn but are entirely blank. The books, I notice, have a similar but subtler quality: every so often there is a line of text that has been magically erased, or a page that has been wiped clean. Someone has gone through some effort to hide… something. I take one of the blank journals and Kaelan shoves as many alchemy books as he can into his bag of holding. To the side, a crude map sits on one of the writing desks, unfinished. It illustrates a mountain range and landmarks around it named Dawnfield, Dymnas Forest, and Salt Tower. A fourth name, to the southwest, is smudged. We cannot decipher what it might have been.
A door here leads to a laboratory, which connects back to the foyer to the south. Prism checks the adjoining storage room and finds a suit of armour, too bulky for her frame but perfect for Kaelan, and the two decide to swap outfits. Fae’ael and I meanwhile go to inspect a very ornate door, this one lined with a sheet of metal. It seems to me that the metal was used to seal and reinforce any gaps present in the wood.
Prism tires of our hum and haw around opening the door and tries to forcefully blast it open. Once it is destroyed we see a cavern on the other side. Fae’ael takes a curious first step inside and is assaulted by the noxious odour of what she claims to be a very toxic gas. Kaelan remarks on the research logs and the laboratory equipment, many of which seem to do with distilling gases and the manipulation of the elements.
Our best guess is that this might be some sort of poison elemental that none of us can see – that is, at least, until we set it ablaze at Prism’s suggestion. Dealing with the amorphous creature proves to be a challenge to our group, who rely very keenly on their sight. Fae’ael eventually uses one of the magic scrolls we found to summon an elemental of her own, this one made of fire. Even with its help, it is no small effort to take down the threat, but it is done eventually.
The cavern offers little else of interest besides the monster, and now not even that.
Kaelan takes as much as he can from the temple and Fae’ael declares it safe before we all journey back to Sophia’s Rest.
