Mystara

The End of Evil

Little did you know what you were getting yourself in for, the first time you laid eyes on that grinning, evil little skull.

You diligently worked your way through the Temple, faction-by-faction, minion-by-minion, node-by-node, until you secured each of the four power gems of elemental evil.

Securing the Temple, and defeating Zuggtmoy, was only part of the campaign that had to be waged.

Arnie found out soon enough, that by possessing the skull, its powers would become known, and available to wield death and destruction on your foes. The taste of power of that scale made him uneasy - the Orb of Golden Death seemed to talk to him in his mind, coaxing him into using it at every opportunity.

Not all of his companions seemed so distressed by the portent of doom that seemed to lay below the surface. Chris Bright, secure in his feelings of superiority - nay, omnipotence! - played games with Yellowskull. But will those games come back to haunt him?

Determined to put an end to this icon of Iuz's evil, Kazandra sent word through the Church of St Cuthbert of the orb's existence, and requested immediate attention from the church authorities. Word came back soon enough that her companions should transport Yellowskull towards Akorros with all haste, and a emissary of the church would take care of the thing once and for all.

Ending the Orb's foul existence was enough motivation for Kazandra to ride 5000 miles if needs be, so the weeks of travel to Akorros was a mere holiday. Were the trolls that were met on the way seeking out the Orb themselves? Was it calling to them through a plane of evil that none in the party could have transposed?

Riding but a few days more, a man was met on the outskirts of Akorros. Canon Marcus led the Orb-bearer to an altar that had been specially prepared for this ritual. Those that were touched by the evil of the orb were given the opportunity to turn away now, knowing that the Orb may seek them out, or seek to control them, should they pose a threat to its existence.

Elemental destruction was the heart of the ritual of the mysterious Brother Jerome of the Sanctified Mind. With fog, and fire, and wind, on the consecrated ground, he was able to reduce the Orb of Golden Death to a ruined lump.

Very few would have been able to achieve the destruction of the orb, with all gems inset. This rare team of adventurers had set out merely to explore the ruins of a temple that most had forgotten.

Iuz, and Zuggtmoy, however, were still very much at work, and the battle plans had already been drawn for what would be a catastrophic return of evil to the lands.

Little did they realise that a brave band of adventurers would soon be putting their evil plans to the sword once and for all. Now with the destruction of the orb, the good folk of Hommlet, and the western countries of Mystara, can rest easy once more.

Recap - Hommlet to Nulb

The pleasant and seemingly peaceful village of Hommlet turned out to be filled with intrigue, with agents of Chaotic Evil hiding within the hamlet. The supposedly deserted and ruined moathouse nearby held a new champion of the nearby Temple of Elemental Evil. All of this brought danger and difficulty to the members of your group, but it also offered adventure, experience, and wealth.
You have either slain or driven off the evil men and creatures, and the able guardians of Hommlet— Jaroo, Terjon, Elmo, and the rest of the sturdy militiamen — can surely see to it that their area remains clean of the taint of Evil hereafter. Having accomplished most of your goals, you must now look elsewhere for yet greater challenges (and commensurate rewards). If agents of the Temple were still active in Hommlet, then there must certainly be work for you at that fountainhead of wickedness.
Just a half-day's journey afoot (only about two hours' ride), east along the High Road, lies the disreputable community of Nulb, and the Temple hidden in the hills nearby. This vile place spawned much suffering, ruin and death before the hosts of Good brought it low and bound its power. It is evident that the place was wounded but not slain, for dark things crept into Hommlet under direction of someone or some thing still lurking in the shunned edifice of Evil.
The upper works of the Temple were thrown down and destroyed in the final siege of the war against its hordes. Because of its great power and evil, however, the conquerors did not actually raze the Temple proper, instead sealing its great doors and placing mighty wards of all sorts upon the place and the black labyrinth beneath. Even as great a force as overthrew the Temple could not cleanly deal with what lurked below.
Since that great battle, the Temple area has been shunned, its ruins deserted. The nearby village of Nulb has returned to a semblance of normal activity — questionable at best, for the place has always been rumored to house thieves, brigands, smugglers and pirates. But as Nulb stinks of garbage and filth, the Temple area reeks of the foul corruption and pervading Evil from whence it was spawned. No wonder that both places have again been left to their own devices.
When the Temple of Elemental Evil flourished, earthquakes, storms of all sorts, great fires, and flash floods struck areas nearby with seeming capriciousness. All that ceased when the Temple was assaulted and sealed. You have been advised of all this, and urged to go elsewhere to seek your fame and fortunes. The unease which prevails upon those merely passing near the ruins shows that some wickedness still haunts the place. There are many bad folk in Nulb, and still greater perils amidst the fallen Temple.
Yet the lure of such adventure beckons to you, drawing your party as surely as a lodestone draws iron. Warnings against loss of life — or even worse fates — cannot counter the irresistable pull of treasures secreted deep underground, of monsters still unbeaten, of mysteries to be unraveled. There are whispers of occult places beneath the interdicted Temple, where mighty Evil is yet wrought and noble folk are imprisoned. With care and cunning, luck and great deeds, caution mixed with boldness and daring, you and your associates can win through to achieve exploits of the stuff of legend! The journey of a hundred leagues begins with the first pace, and the time for your sojourn has come.
How you and your fellow adventurers plan to overcome the perils of the Temple is a matter that you must decide for yourselves. Is it best to reconnoiter from Hommlet? Base your activities from the village of Nulb? Try to make a secure wilderness camp somewhere near the ruin? Or perhaps lodge somewhere within the foreboding Temple itself? The decision is now. It is certain that both vast treasure and horrible death await, so you must gain the one while cheating the other. Fortune and the gods must smile upon such an undertaking.

The Great Loot Divvy

(from the email thread)

To aid another, and give +2 to their roll, all you need to do is make a normal dc 10 check, using whatever skills you like.

So in this case, Chris Bright tries to help by applying his gem cutting knowledge.

Pan will also chime in with his appraisal skills, again looking to make a simple dc 10 check to grant a,+2 to the main guy doing the skill challenge.

So, DM doing the rolls to move things along:

CB rolls a 4, so no +2;

Pan rolls a 6, so unless he somehow has a +4 to appraisal, no +2 for Lysanders next roll.

Lysanders skill challenge roll, this will be the tenth roll in his series.

He's the main guy, so he's taking +2 for half his level,

+0 because his ability score for appraise isn't high enough to give a bonus,

I'm also giving +4 as a "discretionary" DM bonus, for good roleplaying the scene, and for using mirrors (that was my clue from the ninth roll attempt).

Lysander gets +6 to his roll all up, and rolls a 6, total 12.

Does 12 make the required DC? Yes it does! The dc required was 8.

So it plays out like this:

"Guys..." Lysander looks over incredulously, "that's the pile I've ALREADY appraised!"

After busily arranging his new workspace to maximize the lighting, Lysander inspects the items again.

"Those ten rings are good, but that set of gems I've just put together are all pretty low value."

"Now if you two would kindly come and help with THIS pile, we might actually be able to get this job finished!"

11th roll for Lysander coming up, but does he get help?

CB roll 9, dc 10, "Bah, I thought I could help with jewelled bracelet, but it's got me beat..."

Pan roll 11, dc 10, "A few of those gem types look familiar, I can help with that..."

Lysander rolls 15, +2 for lvls, +0 for ability score, +3 from the DM, and +2 for Pan's aid, total 22.

Target dc 16, so another success!

"So the capes and the alcohol is standard stuff, unless you particularly like brandy, or grinning horned skulls, and that group of 17 gems are all low value...but there's still more, so let's keep going. Chris, why don't you focus on the remaining gems, Pan, see what you know about that jewelled
bracelet..."

12th roll for Lysander coming up:

CB roll 12, "I can confirm the cut quality of all those."

Pan roll 19, "And I have a pretty good idea of the values, your thoughts Lysander?"

Lysander rolls 17, heaps of plus's from all the help, and his own skills, is a clear success against a dc 10 for this attempt.

"Ok so we all agree...those topaz are probably worth 500 a piece, and we have heaps of them. There's a few good ones...but we still don't know about that bracelet. Everyone focus, let's get this figured out."

13th roll for Lysander:

CB roll 14, "Ok, I do know that style..."

Pan roll 3, "That's me done...wouldn't have a clue about that last piece..."

With a bit of help from Chris, can Lysander do it?

DC is 15,

Rolls a 9,

+2 for levels makes 11,

+3 from DM discretion, as usual, makes 14,

+2 for the aid, is 16! Make, by 1!

"Based on what we know I reckon that item alone is worth 14000. Ladies and gentlemen, according to my reckoning, this whole assortment is worth around 330,000 gold pieces."

"So what do you reckon, time to hit the town and celebrate, or is there more we can plunder from somewhere down here? Did we miss anything?"

The Temple in review

The Village of Hommlett - although comprised initially of just a few farms - has grown with the increase in trade along its road to include a thriving inn, a wheel and wainwright, and a number of merchant houses. With an increase in commerce, unfortunately, came an increase in bandits and raiders.

A nearby collection of hovels and their slovenly inhabitants formed the nucleus for the troubles that were to increase. A wicked cleric established a small chapel, which the folk of Hommlett tended to ignore. Nulb, only 6 miles from Hommlett, was conveniently located on the river and shielded from prying eyes by the surrounding thickets and marshes.

The chapel grew into a stone temple, and attracted all sorts of evil men and monsters that would bring thier tithes - the proceeds of crime against the good folk of Hommlett.

In only three years, a grim and foreboding fortress surrounded the evil place, and swarms of creatures worshipped, and worked their wickedness, therein. The servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil made Hommlett and the lands for leagues around a mockery of freedom and beauty. Commerce ceased, crops withered - pestilence was abroad.

The Temple leaders, full of hubris, then sought to overthrow the good realms to the north. Both sides mustered, and a great battle was fought. When the good people of Hommlett saw streams of ochre-robed men fleeing south and west, they rejoiced. So complete was the victory of good that the walled fortress fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon. The place was sealed against a further return of such an abomination by powerful blessings and magic.

Life in Hommlett quickly returned to its former self. For five years, the village and surrounding countryside grew, and became richer and more prosperous than before. Adventurers came, and whenever a lair of bandits, or perhaps a troll, was rumoured, they would seek it out and often return the ill-gotten spoils of the evil deeds to their rightful owners.

Soon after, when the rumours dried up, the adventurers stopped coming. Hommlett returned to the quiet life for another four years. Only a year ago, however, the bandits started to return - not frequently, but to some effect. The good folk of Hommlett sent word to the nearby Viscount that wicked forces might still be lurking. The news again attracted outsiders, but of a different kind. Although the claimed to be bent on slaying monsters and bringing peace, there was suspicion among the locals that all was not as it seemed.

Beef and mushrooms

"We must be getting close. Look - the traditional hallway of armour suits that will animate and attack us as soon as we step through the door!" Arnie concludes, having seen this sort of thing all too often.

"That old trick? Nah...these guys are way too clever in their dungeon design...surely?" Lotto asks, not quite wanting to believe it could be true.

Vandross leads the charge, "Only one way to find out!"

The guardians do indeed come to life, but a well disciplined team quickly turns them to scrap metal. 16 topaz, and the gold inlay from the armour is your loot.

But this is just the warm up round...

Power gems secured!

Dragon battles - they USED to be scary.

Three whites in a friendly environment - the Air Node - but a full strength party can take them.

Wind Wall is a must in these situations. The perfect barrier to the blast of a dragon's breath. Fireball, against the cold creatures, also an excellent move. Call Lightning however, in an atmosphere buzzing with static electricity, is the frosting on the cake.

What about the Hieracosphinx as a viable opponent?

Well, I'm afraid they didn't fare much better. The first set of four were on the receiving end of some more lightning, as well as the lightning fast blows of Taran and Arnie. The second set of four fared no better.

By this stage, you had successfully managed to employ one of your magic items (the "Censer") to effect control over an Air Elemental foe. Once again inside the Temple, you have managed to convert your enemy into your ally.

The Guru, invisible, and now riding one of these creatures, manages to avoid the attention of a group of Cloud Giants, fly into an adjoining cave, and scoop up a few gems that were ripe for the picking.

And what do you know? Another "zoink" courtesy of The Guru confirms that one of these was indeed the power gem that lands him neatly in the Water Node.

The party re-assembles at the Hut, and Arnie sets about figuring the operation of the power gems, and the evil-looking skull.

You find your way out of the Nodes, and into a new part of the dungeon. Indeed, quite possibly, the final part of the dungeon.

But if so, what is to be found? What is it that lurks here? The biggest baddie yet? Will Iuz make a personal reappearance?

It may be time for the party to just simply escape. This has been an epic journey. You have learned to adapt to the environment, and spend long hours in cold dungeons, always wary of what might be around the corner.

It all started with few bandits in the remnants of a tower on a defensive wall. A secret passage was uncovered, leading you to a deeper part of the dungeon below.

Pan uncovered a set of maps early, which greatly helped your exploration. With a number of sorties, you were able to uncover the factional infighting, and turn it to your advantage. Building your own faction of the disgruntled and put-out, which helped you to ultimately defeat the main Temple forces.

What were they protecting? The Temple remained a source of creatures summoned from elemental planes, which would ultimately do evil on the prime. Bravely (although very nearly stupidly!) you pushed on into the eye of the elemental storm - the Nodes.

Within the Nodes, you have successfully managed to locate what have become known as the Power Gems - individually they can transport people between nodes, and possibly other places, and when combined with the grinning skull orb, seem to have some extraordinary powers.

But what is left to do? Destroy the orb? Perhaps keep it and harness its powers for some other purpose? Find the end of level baddie and stick it up 'em? Perhaps the baddie is the Temple itself, and warrants destruction. Or is the Temple just a "renovators delight", looking to be converted into a magnificent party HQ?

We may just find some answers to these questions over the weekend of 26/27 May 2012. Yet to confirm exact times and location, but I'll be gauging interest and availability over the next couple of weeks.

Got any blacker?

Lysander returns some basic intel, and the party retreats to the "Hut" for battle preparations.

Two adult black's, two eggs to protect, and a mountain of treasure. That's around 40 feet of body, and 40 feet of tail, times two. The lair is just big enough for them to get airborne, but not big enough for them to comfortably attack from the air, whilst still defending the eggs.

With intel, and prep time, this battle looks winnable...

They've gone to Water...

"So what are we going to do about the Guru?" Kazandra asks, belying her respect for the Dwarven preacher.

"We forge on," commands Taran, "and hope we find him in one piece."

"Do you mean find the Guru in one piece, or we find him whilst WE'RE still in one piece?" Lotto quips.

"Both." Taran hefts his axe, and leads on into the scorching environment of the Fire Node.

Although protected by Sahrim's ability to modify the temperature in the immediate area, you can see a heat haze by your light. Wisps of smoke and ash contribute to the searing that you can feel in your stomach, if not on your skin.

Your next encounter is with six Fire Giants. Not your first time against this type of enemy, but this is the best home advantage they are likely to get.

Chris Bright manages to confuse two of them with a dweomer of his; Pan targets a couple of lightning bolts well; and soon you have your victory. An oil, a philter, and a Scroll of Protection vs Cold are found.

Lysander suggests, "I think we've got what we came for, and I'd feel a lot more comfortable heading back to what we thought was the Water Node entry point. I'm like a fish out of water. Literally."

Now, switching to water environment protection, a recon team is formed.

Lysander, Arnie, Pan, Sahrim (as a dolphin), Lotto, and Chris Bright start a patrol.

Water Elementals have a distinct advantage when completely immersed in water. A haste spell, getting to nearby land, and a few whacks with a Staff of Striking, are exactly what you need to set a level playing field. And then kill them.

Sahrim (now the crocodile), soon after the foam settles, manages to sniff out a submerged entrance to a shelf sitting about 10' above the water line. Here you find another gate, in the shape of a triangle.

A brief conflict with a clan of sea ogres ensues, with Chris Bright taking 4 out with a Color Spray, and Arnie taking care of the bulk of what's left the old fashioned way. A little bit of the ol' "smasho's".

Now here's some interesting finds: a silver plated sea shell serving plate; a metal sea chest; a bronze ocean fisherman sculpture; a bronze nude nymph sculpture; a set of brass ocean shells drawer pulls; and a pair of brass sail boat book ends.

"Are you guys going to be able to keep this pace up?" Lysander asks.

Although he could easily survive this environment, he sensibly reminds his companies of their relative frailties.

"Not a problem," Chris Bright replies confidently.

"You have a plan then?" Arnie asks, recovering quickly from his earlier ogre work.

"Well, Leomunds Tiny Hut is the answer. A couple of them actually."

Chris smirks his satisfaction as the master of the utility spell.

The recon team heads back to the group. "So...Chris...make with the Hut's already," Pan demands impatiently.

"Oh I don't have any memorised."

Silence.

"Well what the hell good is that? We're gonna have to survive 8 hours while you have a nap!" Taran snaps impatiently.

"2 hours. I don't need much sleep. Anyway...goodnight all!" Chris settles into a comfortable position and shades his eyes.

11 hours later, and everyone is back on deck, recharged, Stoneskinned, and Strength'd, as available.

Taran leads on into another hidden grotto, and after dealing with some of the stranger elemental inhabitants, recovers a carnelian gem, believed to be of some importance to the mission at hand.

Ten water-gargoyles are despatched soon after, with the help of Pan's Web. A pendant, a potion, and a halberd are recovered.

Fourteen marine ghouls are also short work, with a devasting Turn by Lotto, and the follow-up hand-to-hand pummelling. The yield: 2384sp, Scroll - Protection vs Cold, Scroll - Protection vs Undead, Scroll of Priest Spells: Illusory Artillery; Solipsism; Prot v Evil; Continual Darkness.

And finally in this chapter, 2 saltwater versions of the Umber Hulk.

Pan's opening Wall of Ice turned out to be twice as effective as expected, having something to do with the environment you are in. Taran, both Enlarged, and Hasted, soon cuts the mighty beasts down. The treasure: 7061pp; black ceramic day of the dead skull; bird and mushroom porcelain figurine; mushroom cap sterling silver pepperettes; brass elf on mushroom doorknocker; violet aranaceous teapot; white ochre wash death mask figure.

What next?

Explore the node further? Head for the exit? Cash in your chips?

Saturday 18 June 2011, we shall find out.

From flying Pan, into the Fire (node)

With a deep breath, an assortment of buffs, and a party huddle, you enter the Node of Fire.

Zoink!

The rooms and corridors of these dreaded pits are humid and hot - so hot that, had it not been for Sahrim's superior control over the local weather, you would be sure to suffer damage after even a relatively short amount of exposure. The lighting varies from dim embers to great pits of leaping flame.

The eight doors from the room that you find yourself in initially are large stone constructions with brass fittings. The rooms and corridors appear to be hewn from the surrounding rock, and as your dwarven companions tell you, are very well made, perhaps with elemental or magical assistance.

Your first encounter is with 3 Dun Puddings. They were easily baked, with a the help of a couple of magic missiles and some well placed blows. A potion was found.

You quickly moved through the node, knowing that your protection from the environment could end at any moment. The Fire Snakes you found next were dispatched quickly, but not before biting Lysander, causing him to become paralysed.

Shortly after this however, you stumbled upon a room with large circle enscription on the floor, and a familiar simple, perfect square symbol on the walls. You also found a simlar circle in another room after this, which had a smaller cirlce inside it. Almost the same, but slightly different.

Arnie and Taran made short work of the Salamanders that were next to get in the way. Two serious looking Fire Elementals also managed to get themselves extinguished by the deadly frontline duo.

Still feeling strong, and with a serious amount of momentum, a young Red Dragon was found and reduced to smoked meat before it could pose any threat to the party. The NEXT Red however, managed to get off a breath weapon, and luckily the fire buffs offered extensive damage reduction for those that got in the way. Taran racked himself up 2 dragon kills this time out.

The spoils along the way included a protection ring, which the Guru took, swapping another one with Lysander (not that he could argue about it in his state). A magic dagger and another potion was also uncovered.

You also managed to run into a somewhat out-of-place denizen of the nodes, a weaver by the name of Jaer. He joined a group of bandits, and regretted his choice of friends almost immediately. After the bandits had turned out to be recruiters for the Temple, he tried to quit, and was thrown into the nodes for his betrayal.

He stood with you, and took some blows, when eight "pillars of flame" turned nasty, taking on a vaguely humanoid form, and lashing out with fiery arms.

The spoils of your victory was a smoky quartz gem. The Guru, experimenting with its use, found that when he touched it he was sent immediately to...well that's what you'll have to find out for yourselves somehow!

The Temple...is yours!

"Well we're ALL going to have to be invisible. That's a given. You guys work out the rest." Chris Bright, it's fair to say, tends to stick to his specialities and not venture too far outside his designated role. It's all about demarcation.

With Sahrim and Lotto as the buff-meisters, the party huddles and moves forward on the curtain, under the cover of Invisibility 10' radius.

The tension rises, as the carefully assembled group inches closer to the curtain, not knowing what to expect. Pan, designated recon specialist, pins the TZGY scarab to his breast, and gently hovers forward. He reaches for the curtain, his breath caught for a moment as his hand is about to make contact with the unnaturally perfect drape.

As if in slow motion, but in lighting quick succession, the curtain forms a small section of itself into fist, and extends a skinny arm in a punching motion. It's reach falls just short of Pan's face. But then another. Pan dodges easily. And another two; Pan jinks sideways to dodge. And two more! The last one making contact with a limb overextended from the previous evasive manouvre.

No damage. That's a worry. Pan grabs for the scarab and boldly presents it to the curtain. The sock-fists quiet. But as he holds it out, he feels his off arm weakening rapidly. In a minute, he has lost all strength in that arm, and it hangs uselessly from his side.

A flurry of notes and shoulder taps later, and Sahrim heals the rot that has set into Pan's arm. Although still invisible, the cover is blown, and another Ice Storm hammers the altar room. Sahrim's Control Temperature protects the party completely, this time.

Now, to press the assault! Arnie leads the way, looking for his next victim. Pan, now back to full strength quickly positions himself at the best possible tactical advantage against the half-elf Deggum, leader of the the Temple Guards, who is taken by surprise and slain by an perfectly positioned dagger thrust. Barkinar, Temple Troop Leader, holds his own against a focussed attack, using sleet to cover his escape. But the parties resources are strong and plentiful, even at range. Magic Missile's spell the end of the last of the Temple hierarchy!

But is this the end? No doubt, you have control of the Temple. The secret entrance could be guarded, and the dweomers on the main doors would surely hold another thousand years hence. However, you know that Iuz could reappear at any time. Although his forces on this plane have been decimated, what of the elemental forces? And what is to prevent him from developing another malevolent army of evil to retake the Temple from you?

The Elemental Planar Portals

You have found the rooms on dungeon level four that appear to correspond with the four elements. They are paired, such that there is an identical room on the east and west sides of the altar room (419). You also believe that standing in the magic circle in each of these rooms will transport you to the corresponding elemental plane. It is hoped that one of the paired circles will transport you not to the plane proper, but something that is known as a "node". The node, in theory, is link between the prime and the particular elemental plane, and is not only thought to be far more survivable, but also may hide something important that is essential to the final destruction of the elemental evil of the Temple.

(The following is a dramatisation of actual events.)

"Let's get ourselves into a node, start picking up the gems we need to plug into Yellowskull there, and wrap this mission up. I don't want to spend another night in this hell-hole if I don't have to." Arnie declares, not wanting to falsely celebrate a battle, when the war isn't won.

"I'm with you, but which one?" Pan, ever-eager at the prospect of taking stuff, is also motivated by the base elven need for fresh air and the smell of flora.

"My intel tells me the west is the destination for elementals summoned from the altar room. So they come up from the east, and get stored in the west, is my best guess."

"Done. But which elemental node are we going for?" Pan quickly responds.

Sahrim chimes in, "We tend to be pretty well protected from fire if we want to try that one."

"Yeah sure let's do it." Chris Bright, distracted as ever, but fully supportive nonetheless.

Pan rallies the party, "Everyone - huddle - lets go! West fire gate, ahoy! Now we all jump in together at exactly the same time and that should make sure we all get through in one go in case there's anything bad on the flip side. Ready? One...TWO...TH..."

The final equipment checks are done as Pan starts the countdown. The party, still pumped from the recent emphatic victory, is ready to take on anything. Throw them into a firestorm and they'll have that thing reduced to a wispy smolder before you can say, "Simmer me tinders!"

But Pan's count catches in his throat, "...ahem...A-HEM...oh sorry guys don't know what happened there...ok ONE..."

"Just a sec," Chris quickly pulls a tome from under his arm and flips quickly to a page. His lips purse and push to one side of his face in consternation. "Hmmmm..." he ponders, "listen...uh...where are we going again? Sorry just checking something."

"The fire node. It's fine. It's only a bit of fire. Let's roll like a pig spit," Arnie says impatiently.

"Yeah the other one's the elemental plane of fire so that's why we're doing this one. Chris...get in." Lotto hurries Chris along with her hand as she rejoins the formation.

"The plane of fire would be bad. I'm glad we're going in the node, that's for sure," Vandross agrees.

"One...T-two..." Pan's stammers slightly, and it sends a chill down every spine.

"Hold the countdown Pan," Chris reluctantly interrupts, "I think we all know we're going to have to re-assess this. Ok...so how is it that we know this is the node - location of the secrets of the Temple, and no doubt great riches - and NOT a direct link to the deepest part of the elemental plane of fire - a realm of pure fire from which we are unlikely to ever escape, even in the unlikely event that we should survive more than an instant?"

"Oh...uh...well I...uh...talked Kelno into telling me," Arnie, with a mix of sheepishness and pride, proclaims, "...and before you say anything, NO I did NOT rough him up in ANY way. Hehe...didn't need to! That little weed knew what was coming if he crossed me...hehe...yeah..."

Lotto winces. The Guru says smacks his forehead and says quiet prayer. Pan bites a finger nail. Chris' eyebrows raise up high. Sahrim ponders whether he could successfully protect himself and the party from raw elemental fire, and for how long. Vandross is just relieved that he has a moment scratch an itch that had formed down the front of his pants when they first got together, but he was too polite to ask everyone to wait whilst he sorted himself out.

"So, what? You don't like my interrogation technique?"

The Quandary

Though ready, willing, and able to push on, there remains some doubt as to which magic circle is going to get you to to where you want to go.

Firstly, Kelno's intelligence may be right, but is it right for Fire? Or just Air? Are all node entrances on the one side?

Also, Kelno may have just been wrong. Was he being offhanded and just giving any answer, not really knowing?

For that matter, does he really know?

And if he DOES know, would he tell you? Would he deliberately mislead you? And how could you know for sure whether what he is saying is the truth, and if not, is he mistaken, or lying, or both, and why?

Lotto has divined some further information, but it is up to you to now determine what information you feel is reliable enough, and what other information might be required.