- When a wise companion says it would be best to leave a mysterious artifact alone, I might want to leave my instinctive hunger for power and knowledge at the door and listen to her.
- It is better to immolate than to be immolated.
- You can get into painful trouble by over-thinking clues.
I was initially skeptical about the plan to storm the main door of the monastery, but with Clairvoyance to scout, and Fireballs to soften up the opposition, it went amazingly well. It's truly spooky how well Borrow takes to Invisibility, though I'm most glad that he was willing to step up and engage in the battle today. With Son-of-Clouds, Ili, and Malakar all in full fighting form, the mercenaries had a bad day of it. The Nothrogs were a bit tougher, especially the one who enlarged himself with some kind of transmuting ring, but Borrow's deft opportunistic attacks brought even that brute down. I noticed, too, that Malakar has quite a knack for fortifying our abilities before the fight.
The Monastery itself was an intriguing place. With the great dome lit by eldritch fire, and varied grotesque statues supporting the roof, Kavara's iconography gets top marks for drama. You certainly wouldn't need a degree in Comparative Religion to guess at her Attributes.
The darkest and most occult symbolism, though, was provided by our objective: the evil Nothrog Shaman named Garcar, as he tortured a hapless dwarf named Barron. When we came upon them, Garcar escaped through a locked side door by taking some kind of gaseous form. Fortunately, his hired mercenary captain Borka quickly surrendered to us (although not before she took a vindictive smack from the flat of Son-of-Clouds blade).
As an aside, I've never heard so much bickering about rope and knots. Either I need to research a long-term disabling and binding spell, or we need to pick up some manacles first chance we get.
Borka and Barron (once revived) explained the situation briefly: Garcar was interrogating Barron to find out the location of an artifact associated with Soehngaard, King of Elementals, and Kavara. The artifact was hidden somewhere in the monastery, behind a secret door in the room we'd just been through. Barron told us that it was guarded by Gargoyles, but the appropriate passphrase in Dwarven would allow passage (I've got to learn Dwarven sometime soon, it seems like it'll be important language in these strange times!). A brief search of the room through which Garcar escaped revealed a prayerbook of Kavara, with the phrase "Kavara fears not the Flames" emphasized on the first page -- a clue, perhaps?
We headed back out to the large brazier-lit room to search for an entrance. It seemed obvious to us that the clue let to the huge magical fire in the center of the room -- perhaps the fire was the gateway and we merely needed to demonstrate our courage by entering it? Ili volunteered to walk through the flames, and received nothing but 3rd-degree burns for her efforts. Oops! In hindsight, the Evocation effect of the flames was unlikely to conceal a door.
We had slightly better luck with the illusion-melded faces lining the walls. Borrow located a hidden opening big enough to a human hand. Son-of-Clouds, eager as ever, put his hand inside, and triggered a painful trap. He couldn't get his hand out, and the room was filled with a high keening which left several people shaken (fortunately, my training has desensitized me to such distractions). Borrow struggled for almost two minutes to disable the trap, and eventually he released Son-of-Clouds arm enough that he could pull a hidden lever and get his hand out. The high-pitched noise continued, though, even as a secret staircase revealed itself nearby.
True to Barron's story, statues which must have been Gargoyles flanked the staircase. Borrow said something I didn't quite catch, and they remained statues (which seemed more impressive at the time than it does in hindsight).
Rushing tjrough the narrow hallway, we spotted Garcar standing by a rude altar in a small room. As we approached, he gestured with his staff and thorny plants covered the floor and entangled our feet. This minor inconvenience didn't dissuade my martial companions from charging forward to attack, but there wasn't a lot I could do in the confined space once I'd exhausted my meager supply of Magic Missiles, so I hung back and waited for a clear shot. Garcar was a pretty fierce fellow, hitting hard with his spiked staff. The worst surprise was the way that metal weapons dissolved when they struck him; Son-of-Clouds got so angry at the loss of his prized greatsword that he tackled Garcar bodily and wrestled him to a standstill. Borrow knocked the crystal artifact from his grasp, and just as Garcar pulled himself free, Ili centerpunched out his heart with a mighty yell.
With Garcar definitely dead, attention turned to the artifact. Though I couldn't begin to guess at its purpose, it's overwhelming aura clearly broadcast its power. After bad experiences with expensive metal objects turning to goo, it was agreed that I could telekinetically lift the artifact into a sack by itself. I admit to some base motivation in wanting to carry the artifact -- after coming so close to such power, and working so hard to get here and foil the Nothrog, I didn't want to leave it there for an associate of Garcar to pick up while we loitered elsewhere.
But when we returned to the large fire chamber, things got a little hairy. As soon as I stepped into the room, a tremendous Fire Elemental emerged from the brazier and charged at us. Malakar said to run, but I took momentary leave of my senses and prepared to wield the artifact. Ili's chastisement reminded me that it was unlikely I could figure out the artifact in time to use it, and no guarantee that it would help anything. So after a moments hesitation, I grabbed my gear and ran for the exit. I was just a little too slow, and I remember a huge limb of fire smashing into me with improbable force, then heat, and pain, and nothing. I reawoke a moment later in the strange and terrifying state of burning alive while competing healing magic tried to repair me; I owe gratitude to Borrow for leaping over to smother the flames and save my life. Apparently the Fire Elemental returned to its post when I dropped the crystal, and Barron pointed out the now-obvious use of the passphrase "Kavara fears not the flames" to deactivate the trap and dismiss the elemental.
Today we played with fire two too many times, and Ili and I were duly burned. In both cases, it's because we (I?) didn't know what would happen ahead of time. I'll try to rectify that situation for next time... although I don't know what form next time might take, if any. By all appearances, we're close to completing this mission. The trail ends here, Garcar is dead, and Borka remains to be interrogated. We're out in the middle of nowhere in a building full of dead mercenaries, and an artifact of mysterious purpose. I hope Barron can shed some light on the situation, and that those we report to are satisfied with our efforts.
Although I don't know where we'll be sent next, I hope we can spend a day or two in a decent town soon. My back aches from sleeping on the ground, and I'd like to top up on some spell components.
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