Clearing the barricade from the Hobgoblin lair allows the party access to the temple beyond. They are almost immediately assaulted by ghouls, which tear through Sextinus’s summoned warriors with little effort. They are dispatched but it is a rough fight. The party almost decides to retreat, but valor (or the promise of the treasures within the temple) spurs them onward.
More undead are encountered – a mixture of ancient skeletons of those entombed with the temple and the zombified remains of creatures from the surrounding caves. Jarol attempts to repel the horrors with the power of his faith, but at every turn (ha!) his faith falters. He is roundly mocked and resolves to do better in the future.
Finally the end of the temple is discovered and it is dominated by two large stone sarcophagi, the burial locations of the king and queen of this ancient land. Also there is a large pile of bones that begins to assemble itself at the party’s approach. To their relief the bones do not form one massive creature, but another set of skeletons – over a score in number. Jarol’s appeals to the gods are finally heard and a number of them are forced into retreat. As the rest are being dealt with, the lord and lady of the temple awake.
Brennan who moved away from the rest of the group to investigate an interesting set of roots growing from the ceiling draws the attention of the king. At it’s touch, he feels part of his life force being drained away. Werm intercedes and forced the wight away from his master.
The Queen is surrounded by more warriors summoned by Sextinus and is kept occupied while the King is dispatched. The Queen is brought down shortly after under a hail of holy water flasks. Much treasure is recovered, including a sword that quickly identifies itself as Oathkeeper, Render of Fate. He has extensive knowledge about the culture and nations of the surrounding area…as it stood thousands of years ago. So really, he has a lot of questions about current events. He also has the ability to grant wishes to his wielder, but he refuses to do so.
A set of stairs are found that lead up to a portion of the temple exposed to the sky, but concealed from the valley below. After a brief fight with stirges, a group of Harpies are encountered. Several members of the party succumb to their songs, but those remaining are able to clear the nest. The temple and all of it’s treasure belongs to the group!
Comments
I’d like to keep two of the amethyst statuettes that were in the sarcophagi (I think there were two that were carved to resemble the old king and queen). Those two statuettes will be given a place of honor in our rooms, once we’ve been able to establish a domicile in the outpost.
I don’t want them to be totally forgotten, now so many centuries after their realm flourished…and faded. The last memories of them shouldn’t be the ignominious decay to which their remains were twisted, but for the glory of what was once their shining lives. The statuettes and the frescoes, as well as the temple, should help to keep their memories alive.
(They will also be a continuing reminder of why we don’t break ranks and attack level-draining undead when we are wearing leather armor!)