The Temple of the Three Faces Part II

SESSION 5 PART II

PCs

Talos Redwand, 4th level Conjurer
Kieren, 4th level Druid
Shaw Ashcroft, 3rd level Ranger (Justifier)
Eswin, 4th level Elven Thief

NPCS

Knobby Greenburrow, Halfling Cartographer

FROM THE JOURNAL OF KNOBBY GREENBURROW, CARTOGRAPHER EXTRAORDINARE

Tenthmonth 24th, 606AT

Well, all thoughts of caution seem to have been thrown to the wind. Most folks tell me that I'm a bit too wreckless, but these adventurers I'm travelling with take Grandma's proverbial Apple Bundt Cake. We set off this morning back to the monastery. Thankfully, there were no interruptions along the way and we were ambushed by any of the foul creatures roaming the dense woods on the hill. When we re-entered the monastery grounds, we made our way directly into the monastery itself. After a bit of searching, we found ourselves in what looked to be an old dining hall. The tables and chairs were covered in thick webbing and a giant spider sat perched on this webbing at the far end of the hall, watching us with its beady eyes.

Eswin and Shaw began shooting at it with their bows; it all seemed a bit too easy. Suddenly, another spider dropped from above the doorway we have entered, and landed right on top of Wheezy. It's fangs easily found their way into the soft flesh on the wizard's shoulder, but thankfully our conjurer is a little more hardy than I first believed. The dreaded beast's poison did not find its way into his system and he yet lives. Wheezy and myself made quick work of this "ambusher". Yet another spider crawled up from underneath one of the tables and attacked us from the side, but being wise to their tricks, we made quick work of it as well. After scrounging around and finding a few gems of value, we made our way north, where we found a stairway leading down into the darkness below the monastery.

These under-chambers were less well worked than those above. The walls were rough stone, barely more than tunnels leading into the darkness. I had to bear the torch for the group, as our previous torch-bearer, Thurin (at least that's what I think his name was), met an untimely end earlier in our travels. Mother preserve me, I hope I don't share the same fate as that sad soul.

Making our way west first, we came across a prison chamber that held a lone human by the name of Cullen DeFinch. He agreed to act as our new torch-bearer; we gave him a shortsword to protect himself and we were on our way again. Next we came across a steam-filled room that housed a particularly nasty lizard whose insides were as hot as molten lava. Since the steam in the room was preventing us from firing our bows at the beast, Eswin and Shaw waded and met the brute in hand-to-claw combat. The lizard was terribly tough, but our brave heroes managed to fell it after a couple of minutes. Shaw found out the hard way how hot the beasts innards were, as when he struck the fatal blow, his shortsword melted in his hands.

We decided to head south next, and came across a few chambers depicting the mythology of the Three Sisters. In one vast chamber with painted walls and columns we met a curious little gray creature who called himself Puddle. He claimed to be from beyond the Veil, and said that he had come to Inolba to see what mischief he could get himself in. He claimed to know the layout of the under-chambers and warned us of the hairy devils living in the southeast. He also told us that somewhere in the complex there was a room that could show us the future, and then agreed to show us to another room that held magical equipment.

He first led us to the chamber of magical equipment, for we thought it prudent to load up on this sort of help before moving towards the devil-men who know doubt guard the scrolls of prophecy we are looking for. Most of the magic within the chamber had been looted, but four items remained behind. We should have know better than to greedily grab at the stuff; for any magic left behind by looters was no doubt left behind for a reason. Among the remaining items were a shiny jewel, a small bag, a short sword and deck of cards. Stabby grabbed the shortsword, for he had recently lost his to the lizard. Wheezy grabbed the bag and the jewel.

The Magic Deck

Eswin thought the deck of cards could be beneficial if we each drew from it - I guess we haven't learned from our drinking of the fountain yesterday. It was decided that Batty would draw first, then Stabby, then Sneaky the elf, and finally Wheezy. I decided that I would not draw from the deck. Each member decided that they would draw but twice from the ensorcelled deck. Batty drew first; immediately after drawing his first card, Cullen our newest ally, stabbed him in the back and fled down the hall into the darkness. Bleeding from his wound, Batty drew again. This time he was gifted with a magical scimitar and a treasure map.

Stabby drew next. After pulling his first card, all of his magical gear simply vanished. Undeterred, he drew again. This time he felt the knowledge of his forefathers pulsing through him and felt as though his abilities had increased. He was also granted a magic weapon.

Sneaky drew third. His first draw seemed to result in nothing. But he claimed that a voice in his head informed him that he would be bestowed the aid of warrior to protect him. Upon his second drawing, a billowy cloud of greyish smoke swirled about him and in deep voice pronounced that he would be able to avoid any situation he chose...once.

Finally Wheezy drew. Greedier than the others, he decided to draw thrice. His first draw bestowed upon him a magical staff and a treasure map. His second draw resulted in the same billowy grey smoke forming and the same voice proclaiming that he could avoid and situation he chose once. On his final draw nothing seemed to happen. But Wheezy claimed that he was beginning to forget things that he knew and that his intellect felt less sharp. Covetous of his keen sense of intellect, Wheezy immediately chose to avoid the situation and his second gift was used up - though his intelligence seemed to return to him.

After these tense moments of drawing from the magical deck and tempting our fate, we were exhausted, so we barred the door to rest. Batty is busy healing his bloody back, while I sit here scribbling in this journal. Once again, I find myself hoping that fate sees me through the rest of this ordeal.