The elven adventurers Aegis (a magic-user with some skill at arms) and Vhondrel (a cleric devoted to the savage elf god) had spent about a month in Tripoli, spending their new-found wealth, assimilating the lessons of their prior adventure, and considering fresh expeditions. (1)
One day an old woman from the desert accosted Vhondrel in the street, throwing sand on the elf-maid and chanting some sort of folk-magic rhyme to "bind" her to a pact. Despite the strangeness of the encounter, the cleric decided to see what the nomad wanted. Vhondrel was happy enough to use her healing touch to restore an infant to good health and even happier that the nomads offered to lead her to a ruin in the sands, possibly the site of ancient treasures.
She agreed with Aegis that the two of them would split up initially, with Aegis leading a few bravos out to the ruin to see if it was worth a larger expedition while Vhondrel continued recruiting (2). The bravos in question were a half-ogre warrior nicknamed "Hulk" (3), a half-elf of dubious character named Kweeth, and three dwarven mercenaries (4). Hulk and Kweeth signed on under "probationary status", only awarded half-shares until they had proven themselves (5), while the dwarves weighed their mistrust of elves against their love of gold and accepted 4gp a day for their services. This band set out to the ruins with a mule and a nomad guide. They were able to take an easy way out, stopping at a caravanserai after their first day's travel (where Vhondrel would remain, seeking to pick up men at arms discharged after the most dangerous part of their journey) before striking out into the desert on the second morning.
Aegis' band arrived at the ruins late in the day and decided to take advantage of their infravision to begin exploring immediately. They found a low dome with a flattened east side (a "D" shaped building) and a few pillars to the west. Kweeth refused to be sent alone to "scout ahead", so the party moved in together. The building had a few fist-sized holes regularly spaced around it, which were used to peer inside. As the group surmised, they had found a temple of sorts, with a raised platform and altar at the eastern end. Stairs led down from the platform into the worshipper's area, though the pews and the entry area were mostly buried by sand. Behind the altar was an empty window, eventually used to obtain entrance (6).
Once inside, Kweeth and the dwarves stood watch at the window while Hulk and Aegis started investigating the altar. Five horrible scorpions interrupted the party, scuttling up the stairs in search of fresh meat. Aegis threw his hirelings into the battle, Hulk laid about him with his sword, and Kweeth slunk in to try taking one of the monsters unaware. After two of the dwarves were slain (4) and Hulk had similarly reduced the scorpions, Aegis cast a sleep spell to end the skirmish. The last of the hirelings declared that he'd be guarding the camp for the rest of the expedition.
The party then resumed its investigation of the altar. They found it was solid stone and well-anchored to the floor. A relief on the front and wrapping around to the sides depicted the great arc of a charioteer's journey through the skies. Below, squat humanoids (dwarves or gnomes) looked up in awe. The charioteer, already midway through his ride, was of an unfamiliar species of humanoid, tall and powerfully built but with strange blank eyes and exotic dress. Aegis and Kweeth spent a lot of time fooling around with the relief in the hopes of triggering some hidden mechanism (7). The party did manage to discover that there were secret doors either side of the altar, but couldn't discern their method of release.
After Hulk tried (and failed) to simply force the secret doors open, the party began looking around the rest of the temple. I can't quite recall the exact order in which they did these things, but they had a look at the buried pews, investigated the temple's entryway, and found a way further into the complex. The pews were not very interesting. The entryway housed twelve pillars, grouped into trios with slightly different hues of stone, and four statues of beings like the charioteer. Around the rim of the dome, above the pews, there was a walkway running into walls at the eastern end (these extended north and south from the platform, partitioning off areas that the party had attempted to access by the other secret doors). Reliefs on the walls depicted two more of the charioteer's people, bearing halberds and looking in towards the altar. Another round of poking and prodding (7) finally produced success! Secret doors from the walkway were triggered by pressing the belt pouch on the corresponding relief.
The party then went to look for belt pouches to push on the altar.
Although they spent quite a lot of time mucking around and were increasingly impressed by the craftsmanship, their efforts were in vain. I believe that at this point the group decided to return to the caravanserai to link up with Vhondrel and implore her for the blessings of her hungry god, figuring that without hireling blood to spill they could do with some help. They also determined to buy a hammer and shovel in order to solve the secret door problem (8). The trek back and forward was uneventful.
The same can't be said for their investigation of the secret chambers. They were barren, but each held a staircase leading further down. On the first landing, the party found what seemed to be a long-abandoned dressing room, with cloth fallen to powder clumped in little alcoves along one wall. They also managed to arouse the ire of a band of skeletons boiling up from the next level down, beneath the earth. Hulk's great size and strength held a door against the monsters while the party spiked it and tried going down the other stairway, only to find that themselves in a large room from which the skeletons had come - and some of their ilk remained!
An initially desperate fight ensued, with poor Kweeth bravely dowsing the stairs in oil then trying to scramble behind his better-armoured comrades. One skeleton almost cut Kweeth open before the half-elf escaped! Confident in his extremely expensive armour, Aegis called a partial retreat to the top of the stairs where he would use a pike to attack the ascending skeletons. Hulk was expected to bar the way (5). Although the half-ogre was able to smash individual skeletons without much trouble, his comrades were of limited help and the sheer mass of the undead horde started to take a toll. In a rare moment of courage, Aegis stepped forward to hold them off. The remainder of the melee saw the elf troubled by little more than dents to his armour and the party victorious (9).
The spoils of war proved elusive. In the skeleton's lair were two more statues of the charioteer's people, of one piece with plinths attached to the floor. Searching for secret doors turned up a portal between the statues, though no amount of messing around with the statues themselves opened it. A frustrated party brought out the hammer and broke their way through, only to find that the tunnel beyond had collapsed and filled with sand. More promisingly, the party discovered that the wall opposite the secret door was not solid rock - there was a space behind it. Though no secret door existed on this level (verified by magic), a quick glance at the party map suggested that the space lay beneath the pew area above and the party reasoned that they might get down that way - after moving a bit of sand.
With both Kweeth and Hulk at the limit of their endurance (10), the party decided to return to the caravanserai to link up with Vhondrel and whatever new recruits she'd scared up. Aegis grudgingly accepted that the new recruits had proven themselves full members of the party and declared that he wanted to spend a few days using magic to repair his armour. Hulk and Kweeth quietly hoped that Vhondrel was the real party leader. (11)
Notes:
1. Both of the elves had reached second level.
2. Vhondrel's player being absent.
3. I allowed the version from the "Best of Dragon, Vol 4" without requiring any special pleading. Interestingly, it's quite difficult to roll a character with abilities high enough to qualify for any class using those rules - Hulk's player needed six tries before getting his man.
4. Knowing the way that Aegis' player uses hirelings, I felt that names would be an extravagance.
5. I was a bit surprised that the new players decided to put up with this!
6. The party were very cautious initially.
7. Mostly this was "brute force" searching, saying that they were looking for loose or moveable parts of the relief.
8. Even bruter force!
9. Thanks to the wonders of Unearthed Arcana's "Full Plate", the skeletons, fourteen in all, needed "20" to hit Aegis. I managed to roll two before the party dispatched the monsters.
10. Both reduced to 1 hit point. I didn't fudge the dice.
11. The players, it must be said, were not so quiet in expressing these hopes.
One day an old woman from the desert accosted Vhondrel in the street, throwing sand on the elf-maid and chanting some sort of folk-magic rhyme to "bind" her to a pact. Despite the strangeness of the encounter, the cleric decided to see what the nomad wanted. Vhondrel was happy enough to use her healing touch to restore an infant to good health and even happier that the nomads offered to lead her to a ruin in the sands, possibly the site of ancient treasures.
She agreed with Aegis that the two of them would split up initially, with Aegis leading a few bravos out to the ruin to see if it was worth a larger expedition while Vhondrel continued recruiting (2). The bravos in question were a half-ogre warrior nicknamed "Hulk" (3), a half-elf of dubious character named Kweeth, and three dwarven mercenaries (4). Hulk and Kweeth signed on under "probationary status", only awarded half-shares until they had proven themselves (5), while the dwarves weighed their mistrust of elves against their love of gold and accepted 4gp a day for their services. This band set out to the ruins with a mule and a nomad guide. They were able to take an easy way out, stopping at a caravanserai after their first day's travel (where Vhondrel would remain, seeking to pick up men at arms discharged after the most dangerous part of their journey) before striking out into the desert on the second morning.
Aegis' band arrived at the ruins late in the day and decided to take advantage of their infravision to begin exploring immediately. They found a low dome with a flattened east side (a "D" shaped building) and a few pillars to the west. Kweeth refused to be sent alone to "scout ahead", so the party moved in together. The building had a few fist-sized holes regularly spaced around it, which were used to peer inside. As the group surmised, they had found a temple of sorts, with a raised platform and altar at the eastern end. Stairs led down from the platform into the worshipper's area, though the pews and the entry area were mostly buried by sand. Behind the altar was an empty window, eventually used to obtain entrance (6).
Once inside, Kweeth and the dwarves stood watch at the window while Hulk and Aegis started investigating the altar. Five horrible scorpions interrupted the party, scuttling up the stairs in search of fresh meat. Aegis threw his hirelings into the battle, Hulk laid about him with his sword, and Kweeth slunk in to try taking one of the monsters unaware. After two of the dwarves were slain (4) and Hulk had similarly reduced the scorpions, Aegis cast a sleep spell to end the skirmish. The last of the hirelings declared that he'd be guarding the camp for the rest of the expedition.
The party then resumed its investigation of the altar. They found it was solid stone and well-anchored to the floor. A relief on the front and wrapping around to the sides depicted the great arc of a charioteer's journey through the skies. Below, squat humanoids (dwarves or gnomes) looked up in awe. The charioteer, already midway through his ride, was of an unfamiliar species of humanoid, tall and powerfully built but with strange blank eyes and exotic dress. Aegis and Kweeth spent a lot of time fooling around with the relief in the hopes of triggering some hidden mechanism (7). The party did manage to discover that there were secret doors either side of the altar, but couldn't discern their method of release.
After Hulk tried (and failed) to simply force the secret doors open, the party began looking around the rest of the temple. I can't quite recall the exact order in which they did these things, but they had a look at the buried pews, investigated the temple's entryway, and found a way further into the complex. The pews were not very interesting. The entryway housed twelve pillars, grouped into trios with slightly different hues of stone, and four statues of beings like the charioteer. Around the rim of the dome, above the pews, there was a walkway running into walls at the eastern end (these extended north and south from the platform, partitioning off areas that the party had attempted to access by the other secret doors). Reliefs on the walls depicted two more of the charioteer's people, bearing halberds and looking in towards the altar. Another round of poking and prodding (7) finally produced success! Secret doors from the walkway were triggered by pressing the belt pouch on the corresponding relief.
The party then went to look for belt pouches to push on the altar.
Although they spent quite a lot of time mucking around and were increasingly impressed by the craftsmanship, their efforts were in vain. I believe that at this point the group decided to return to the caravanserai to link up with Vhondrel and implore her for the blessings of her hungry god, figuring that without hireling blood to spill they could do with some help. They also determined to buy a hammer and shovel in order to solve the secret door problem (8). The trek back and forward was uneventful.
The same can't be said for their investigation of the secret chambers. They were barren, but each held a staircase leading further down. On the first landing, the party found what seemed to be a long-abandoned dressing room, with cloth fallen to powder clumped in little alcoves along one wall. They also managed to arouse the ire of a band of skeletons boiling up from the next level down, beneath the earth. Hulk's great size and strength held a door against the monsters while the party spiked it and tried going down the other stairway, only to find that themselves in a large room from which the skeletons had come - and some of their ilk remained!
An initially desperate fight ensued, with poor Kweeth bravely dowsing the stairs in oil then trying to scramble behind his better-armoured comrades. One skeleton almost cut Kweeth open before the half-elf escaped! Confident in his extremely expensive armour, Aegis called a partial retreat to the top of the stairs where he would use a pike to attack the ascending skeletons. Hulk was expected to bar the way (5). Although the half-ogre was able to smash individual skeletons without much trouble, his comrades were of limited help and the sheer mass of the undead horde started to take a toll. In a rare moment of courage, Aegis stepped forward to hold them off. The remainder of the melee saw the elf troubled by little more than dents to his armour and the party victorious (9).
The spoils of war proved elusive. In the skeleton's lair were two more statues of the charioteer's people, of one piece with plinths attached to the floor. Searching for secret doors turned up a portal between the statues, though no amount of messing around with the statues themselves opened it. A frustrated party brought out the hammer and broke their way through, only to find that the tunnel beyond had collapsed and filled with sand. More promisingly, the party discovered that the wall opposite the secret door was not solid rock - there was a space behind it. Though no secret door existed on this level (verified by magic), a quick glance at the party map suggested that the space lay beneath the pew area above and the party reasoned that they might get down that way - after moving a bit of sand.
With both Kweeth and Hulk at the limit of their endurance (10), the party decided to return to the caravanserai to link up with Vhondrel and whatever new recruits she'd scared up. Aegis grudgingly accepted that the new recruits had proven themselves full members of the party and declared that he wanted to spend a few days using magic to repair his armour. Hulk and Kweeth quietly hoped that Vhondrel was the real party leader. (11)
Notes:
1. Both of the elves had reached second level.
2. Vhondrel's player being absent.
3. I allowed the version from the "Best of Dragon, Vol 4" without requiring any special pleading. Interestingly, it's quite difficult to roll a character with abilities high enough to qualify for any class using those rules - Hulk's player needed six tries before getting his man.
4. Knowing the way that Aegis' player uses hirelings, I felt that names would be an extravagance.
5. I was a bit surprised that the new players decided to put up with this!
6. The party were very cautious initially.
7. Mostly this was "brute force" searching, saying that they were looking for loose or moveable parts of the relief.
8. Even bruter force!
9. Thanks to the wonders of Unearthed Arcana's "Full Plate", the skeletons, fourteen in all, needed "20" to hit Aegis. I managed to roll two before the party dispatched the monsters.
10. Both reduced to 1 hit point. I didn't fudge the dice.
11. The players, it must be said, were not so quiet in expressing these hopes.
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