MAIN PAGE     FULL STORY (Word Doc)

Meeting     Into the Crypt     Umber Hulks    Stone Heart    Vampire    Beryn     Keep     Sand Giant
City-Between-Places     Beryn's Farm     Bog Serpent     Stronghold     2 Parties     Dog & Horn     The Cells
Escape!     Calrhuvianne     Souls     Hawker Bag     Kin's Tale     Mayor & Shopping     Dhunok Grael
Karubiat Elesis     Underground Sun     Lizardmen     The Boat     Akkenophon     Shurudien!     Ghurzak!
To Karnak     Dice     Oracle     Mogradjinn     Battle     The Hilt     Exit     Strange Allies     Ghorak Lan
Farigon     Calrhuvianne2     Wraithking     Columns     Last Column     Galent     Zeres-kai     Eyrie
Elementals!     Golem

Morin silently responds by moving forward carefully, checking the way to the door for traps; it turns out to have been a good idea!

Part way along the corridor is a pit in the floor, dropping 40 feet onto iron spikes but not especially well concealed. Fortunately, Morin takes nothing at face value and continues to check. It seems that the pit, dangerous as it is, is perhaps a diversion, as there is a pressure pad to the right of it, above which is a very well concealed spike, recessed into the roof.

The way to the left is the only safe route and easily navigated once the pit and trap have been discovered.

The rest of the corridor is clear and the door, checked and found to be clean and unlocked is soon opened to reveal an enormous triangular room with three doors and odd shapes painted on the floor, familiar after a moment to recall as the alchemical symbols for earth, fire and air.

Although there is no obvious water symbol, Darius soon realises that thie room itself is in the shape of that symbol.

Discussion eventually reveals the plan: open all three doors at once.

“I’ll vote for three at once, but there’s a little worry in the back of my head that says 3 times the trouble all at once”, Darius says prophetically with a grin..

The dim blue light of the magical torches is just enough to allow the party to co-ordinate their actions. With Jiriki and Balin champing at the bit for action, weapons are drawn and the three doors are simultaneously flung open.

The view through each is very similar: water seems to surround the room, flowing quickly anticlockwise, through a great cavern. Approximately 50ft across the moat and 15feet higher up than the doorway is a recess in the stone wall opposite; a corridor, it would seem, three in total. The water clearly has occupants - razorfish, at least but other, larger shapes flit and lurk here and there.

However, as the party quickly assess the new addition to their surroundings, they are aware of another problem and Darius' recent words suddenly take on profound significance. In the centre of the large room, the floor undulates, fluidly but with barely a sound. The air shimmers and crackles with fire and lightning - the party flinch slightly as the entire room seems to instantly drop into negative and then snap back again.

But when normal vision is restored, there are creatures at the centre of the room, elemental beings, summoned in a moment.

2 fire elementals move north towards Suva and Balin, bright blue eyes sparkling in the red flame body, two earth elementals rumble towards Kin, Morin and Jiriki and two air elementals, almost invisible, speed at Dalrylshana, Darius and Jarek.

The air elementals are almost upon Darius and Jarek, who has managed to get himself between them and Dalrylshana, dropping back to use her magics. Suva has already called upon St Cuthbert once, and prepares to do so again as Balin heads unphased at the advancing fire elementals.

The slowest adversaries, the earth elementals, are engulfed in flame as Kin's magic detonates with a boom about them; but still they keep coming, as Jiriki and Morin advance to meet them.

Suddenly the air is filled with a piercing screech - Jarek has pulled the Summoner's Whistle he found in the Black Gardens of Karubiat Elesis from his pocket and blown hard on it. The shrill note fades as, 40 feet from Jarek, 5 hell hounds pop into existence with a burst of flame and stench of brimstone. Their maws slaver as they advance towards their Summoner, their intent clearly not good!

The whistle drops from Jarek’s lips and he can be seen to mouth a ingle word: “bugger”.

With an unconvincing manner, he points at the air elementals whilst looking at the hounds and shouts “Attack the air elemental!”. The beasts waver not one inch from their course.

Dalryshana weaves magic into the air; the swift air elementals pause for a moment, however, reacting to a voice carried in the air near them. The cloudy shapes, hang still for a moment, dark swirls where eyes might live giving an impression of confusion. It is all that Darius needs to take advantage of and he strikes quickly, his keen sword tearing through an elemental form and filling the air with a screech like howling wind as it repelled under the onslaught. The second elemental comes out of its delirium and moves at Darius with astonishing speed, striking once and simultaneously leaving the way clear for the pack of Hell Hounds to almost surround Jarek.

He is ready for them though, the delay of the air elementals having bought enough seconds to ready himself for the new opponent and he dodges one cone of fire, and strikes hard at two of the beasts as their slavering teeth tear at him.

Meanwhile, Suva catches up to Balin and touches his back as he blesses him in the name of St Cuthbert whilst the dwarf reaches out with his vastly oversized gauntlets to grapple with a fire elemental! Astonishingly, the elemental is held and Balin begins to turn it and force it back towards the door and beckoning water. With his back exposed, though, the other elemental attacks with crackling ferocity, striking at the oblivious dwarf with animate flames.

At the third corner of the room, the earth elementals have lumbered forward through Kin's flames to be met by Morin, dodging swiftly and leaping onto one of the elementals backs, clinging to it like a crazed mountaineer with one hand and striking at it with a dagger in the other. The elemental reacts slowly but having a foe on its back does not restrict it quite as much as it might a humanoid and stone arms thrash powerful at the irritant rogue.

Jiriki's attack is more standard but effective as his greatsword rings out, clashing against stony hide. The rocky foe hammers at the barbarian even more effectively, shrugging off a bolt of magical energy that strikes it courtesy of Kin, two more bolts harming Morin's foe.

Darius continues his attack against both elementals, vaguely aware of his canine companion keeping well out of the way. His sword is like quicksilver in his hands and the first elemental is dissipated by a merciless strike. He follows through fluidly to the second elemental, slicing at cloud with the same success* but is smashed hard himself this time.

Dalryshana calls magical armour into the air, draws her sword and advances on a Hell Hound that has broken away from the crowded melee about Jarek, avoiding both its bite and worst affects of its breath.

Meanwhile, Jarek himself evens the odds a little, slaying one of the hounds and avoiding three wild bites and, more spectacularly, avoiding the direct strike of three blasts of fiery breath.

At the north door, Balin advances further, pushing the fire elemental ahead of him as it struggles to break free from the massive gauntlets, striking at the dwarf with flaming arms that reform outside of the incredible grip. All the while, a second elemental strikes at him. Suva watches, mildly amazed, but preparing his own attack: from nowhere, 16 gallons of water appear above the combat. Both elementals hiss and writhe - then Balin, drenched, takes one further step as the held fire elemental is forced past the boundary of the door, and it simply vanishes.

Unfortunately, this has the effect of causing Balin to fall head first into the water beyond the room and the area begins to foam with movement of razorfish....

In the battle against stone, Morin is struggling to make an impact on his foe, aided as he is by Kin's missiles, unerringly striking it, and is finally thrown from it by a fierce impact. Jiriki is having greater success, slicing boulders from the earth elemental but his defence is not good enough and the power of the creature almost overwhelms him.

The last remaining air elemental is beginning to spin into a dizzying whilrwind but Darius is unperturbed and his terrific attack continues, slashing at it twice and dissipating the coming tornado on the second strike, before it can achieve full motion. Unfinished, he takes one step north and slashes at a Hell Hound about to jump at Jarek. The flaming beast is felled in one strike.

Another of the hounds abruptly finds itself at half of its original size thanks to Dalrylshana and it fails to harm her as she begins to run past it towards the north door. Jarek strikes at one of his remaining foes, slicing its side lightly but also avoiding and damge from the snapping jaws, the frenetic stamp of his swiftly adjusting feet echoing about him.

At the north door, as Dalrylshana heads to it, Balin is clambering out of the water, his huge gloves awkwardness being balanced by the enhanced strength they give him. Suva faces the remaining fire elemental as it attacks him, abandoning Balin to the water, but the cleric is ready and creates a downpour of water over the flaming spirit again. Suva seems immune to the effects of the fire but still the impact makes him reel.

Meanwhile, Morin, realising his direct attack is innefectual, dodges and ducks around the two earth elementals, attempting to draw their attacks from Jiriki whilst defending himself as best he can. Kin focuses his full attention on Jiriki's opponent and three magic missiles strike it; the elemental shudders, crumbles and the rock melts away into the floor. Jiriki, wounded and clearly about to step back is suddenly inspired by the decrease in opponents and surges forwards again, hammering at the remaining earth elemental and shattering it into debris with two stunning strikes, lava from his greatsword lighting up the areas of impact. Grinning with delight but still calm, the barbarian calls upon Kord to heal him as Kin draws his sword and heads towards the fire elemental.

In a flurry of motion, the battle is abruptly over: Dalrylshana arrives at speed, helping Balin out of the water with a levitation spell that gives him just enough extra strength against whatever was holding him back. The dwarf, legs covered in cuts is nevertheless keen to get back to the battle but his aid is unnecessary. Suva, calling upon St Cuthbert as he hurls his mace into action, is more than enough for the fire elemental and it is dissipated before the dwarf is back on his feet.

To the west of the room, the conclusion of melee comes just as quickly as the fearful hell hounds assume no greater threat than mangy dogs and are sliced down in seconds by a whirling Darius and Jarek.

As healing is administered, it comes to light that Kin’s initial ball of fire seemed to produce no heat. Morin recalls a passage from the journal of Grae Calliope and the party realise that Kin’s ring, Dalrylshana’s wand and the Summoner’s whistle (obvioulsy!) are probably all cursed. Remembering a previous failure of Kin’s magic and his inability to remove the ring back this up and Suva’s aid is needed to enable him to take it off. None of the items are discarded, however, in case their very cursed nature could become useful in future.

Choosing the middle, northern door, lumps of the hellhounds' carcasses are gathered up and the grim bait is hurled into the moat as Suva prepares a waterwalking spell; the bait seems to have effect as the water foams lightly where the meat sinks.

Moments later, the benificence of St Cuthbert is called upon and Morin, slightly tentative at first until feels himself safely on to the water, but then quickly afterwards is dashing across the moat, feet safely staying above water thanks to Suva's spell. More hellhound is used as a diversion as others in the party watch Morin's progress carefully - the water stirs about his feet and something, a watery tendril, slaps at his toes. But he is too nimble and evades it with ease.

Whether it is a water elemental of some kind seems fairly likely – whether it can't or won't move out of the water is less sure. For now at least, it does not and Morin is safely across the moat and clambering up the short, sharp incline to the safety of the opening opposite.

He catches his breath, has a quick check about for any obvious surprises and then gathers up his rope and waves Jarek across.

Jarek takes a breath and sets off on his way, too: his experience is similar to Morin's although he is almost caught, the watery creature flailing twice at his feet but he is nimble enough to avoid it and scurries up the slight slope, speed aided by the offered rope.

Whatever the beast in the water is, it is growing either more daring or more desperate in its attempts to catch water walkers!

Still, plenty of time remains of Suva's spell .But meanwhile, Morin, grinning at Jarek in an odd way, as Jarek steadies his posture and glances all about for enemies, is indicating something else of interest.

“That was close," he says to Jarek, then shouts across to the party, “Might be safer if the rest of you take the bridge!”

Knocking his hand on an invisible ledge near him, face all innocence, he adds, “I reckon it starts just to the side of the door near you, there.”

Jiriki gathers dust form the earth elementals to scatter on the bridge and allow it to be seen more easily; it is only six inches across and at a slight incline but with combination of the water walking spell and bridge, the party manage to cross without too much mishap.