[Back to me, my family and friends, having a lovely time on Yacg'harr Island. Myself and Dak are currently hunting down the pirate ship known as 'The Reaper']
DAY 547 (2nd Eleint) (September) cont ...
I spent the rest of the day getting ready for our trip to Starmantle the next day. I'll be glad when this keep we are having built is done. Sleeping in one of the 'druid houses' is fine, when you are in a Magic Bedroll, but there isn't much room to stretch out, especially when you are sharing the space with a pregnant wife.
Lavinia seems to be having the time of her life though. She loves setting up a colony.
I'd better blow out the candle now anyway and get some rest.
DAY 548 (3rd Eleint) (September)
Using my boots, I teleported myself. Harriet the dire lion and Dak to Starmantle, by way of Riatavin.
We had some time to get the lay of the land. The Reaper was not due for eight days or so.
We teleported in to the official teleport area just outside of the city and walked in. I was dressed as a sailor, Dak was dressed as he always was, a hulking barbarian.
Still, we made it through the gates, even with Harriet following me, my massive dire lion animal companion. She's very gentle normally though, so the guards were won over.
We went back to Lanta's Hearth, where I had once stayed while hunting the Annubus pirate ship and arranged rooms and food. Lanta was the innkeeper, a halfling lady.
Once that was done we went down to the docks to take a look. We ended up at the Port Authority and talked to a clerk. In the end he wanted a bribe for information so we arranged to meet him in a nearby tavern for lunch.
He was not delighted when he entered quietly, trying not to be noticed and Dak very loudly called him over.
He still met with us though. His name was Greeves and for 200 gold he told us about the Reaper and that it was indeed due soon. Dak had ordered a 'Seafood Platter' but had no idea how to eat it.
'Do I eat the shell?' he asked Greeves.
Yes, the man nodded, with a wink in my direction.
The barbarian then began to eat a large crab like an apple.
He must have strong teeth, is all I can say. I did my best to stay our of the blast radius.
Anyway, the Reaper was due in 3 days, weather dependant. We also learned it was a Xebec, just like the Annubus had been. It had a reputation for swiftness that made it sound like it was magical in the same way as the Annubus too.
So, with a few days to kill I decided to ask around for any jobs that might need doing by adventurous types.
When I asked Lanta about it, she said,
'Funnily enough, I just bought this map off a drunk old adventurer. He said there is an old temple hidden in the forest about half a days walk from town. It's well concealed, but the map - apparently - will lead you there.'
She'd paid 20 gold and a bottle of spirits for it, she said, so we bought it off her for 30.
We decided to set off in the morning, as we had already had a big dinner and did not much feel like a long walk through the night.
DAY 549 (4th Eleint) (September)
Myself, Dak and Harriet the Dire Lion set out on the warm Eleint morning on foot. The temple was not hard to find with the use of the map, although it was well hidden in a deep gully of the forest. It cannot be seen from the road or from the air and even a druid would have a hard time discovering the place without knowing exactly where to look.
Anyway, the last couple of hours of walk through the deep forest lead us to the temple entrance which consisted of a large stone snake head carved into the cliff, a waterfall and a large pool of water. There was also a narrow ledge that lead around the pool to behind the waterfall.
Dak went first, and fell into the pool. Other than getting soaked to the skin though he was unharmed. Behind the waterfall was a tunnel that lead into a small chamber that contained a stone altar. Skulls of humanoids sat atop it. In the centre of the room was a large grate. Upon it, lay a skeletal corpse. To the right was a large heavy wooden door.
Beyond the door we were attacked by two big snakes. They were easily killed though. Another corridor, and another door led us to a canal with running water.
There was a door on the other side of the canal so I tried to jump it, but fell in and received my own soaking. We made it across and entered the next room. In here was another altar room, where strange figures shuffled around in the dark.
They were animated statues, presumably roused into motion by our proximity. They made lunges at us, but Dak quickly smashed them to pieces with his falchion and Harriet tossed them about like toys.
On the altar was a chest that contained a magical dagger. Later we found out it let you cast Animal Friendship (snakes only!) at will, so Dak snaffled it.
There seemed nowhere else to go except follow the canal, so we left the lion and continued through the water.
Next we open a door to a massive chamber, where out eyes are immediately drawn to a giant snake statue against the far wall. Between us, there was a deep channel of water that expanded to cover the entire far wall.
The statue came to life and attacked us, while a female sorceress, who looked to be a yaun-ti appeared and joined the fight.
They were ferocious, but we were stronger. Dak rushed forward and chopped down the sorceress while I used Sudden Stalagmite, then Hypothermia to deal with the snake.
Beyond this room we came to another, smaller chamber where we were attacked by four of the animated statues. They were easily dealt with. There was a chest here, that contained gold and a bunch of keys.
They next room contained a flooding trap. Four large stone snake heads with open mouths poured water into the room, but I simply Stone Shaped the door opposite the one we had come through and we were able to push it aside and move on.
The next room we came to was the largest yet and the first to present a real challenge. We entered a chamber longer than anything we'd seen so far in the temple. The channel of water here was twenty feet wide. It was flanked on either side by stone walkways. Looking down, I could see a chamber beneath, through big holes in the stone floor. There was a large ornate wooden door at the other end of the room.
A huge snake, the biggest yet, erupted out one of the holes in the floor, splashing water everywhere and flooding the walkways. It lashed about as Dak tried to hit it. The half-orc fell into the water, leaving me to face it alone for a short while.
I dodged and cast spells until Dak pulled himself back out of the water. As he distracted it I summoned five fiendish apes. But then its coils found me and I was grappled and crushed by its colossal strength. At that point I would have been dead if I had not been a druid as I was able to turn into an owl and flap out of the deadly embrace.
Dak was being pounded by the thing. I don't think it was a real snake, but rather a summoned entity, much like the apes I had just brought forth. Still, between them, Dak and the apes, they managed to fight it back until it fled down through the hole in the canal bottom.
As the apes disappeared, Dak climbed back out of the water to get healed up.
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