The Temple of Madathak – The Dungeon: Part Seven

One hex = six miles

The campaign so far

Here is the latest session of my solo Exemplars & Eidolons campaign. In the previous adventure the warrior Freblun continued to explore the underground Temple of Madathak in search of the cultist Kulsev, who holds the keys to the chains binding the four captive youths from the hamlet of Drothorn who have been imprisoned in the dungeon. Kulsev intends to sacrifice one of the youths to the evil deity Madathak when Urkothan, the moon, is full again.

Freblun encountered Naestra, the gorgon who escaped when Freblun fought and killed her two sisters Chidis and Cholaldia. He killed Naestra and destroyed the five rupture skeletons accompanying her. He acquired most of the gorgons’ treasure which Naestra was carrying in a Bag of Holding. In another chamber he acquired a magical +3 sword.

In a storeroom Freblun encountered Drold, the man who served as the headman of the hamlet of Drun when Kulsev, the real ruler of the hamlet, was not present. Drold fled from Drun after Freblun killed nine men and boys of the hamlet who had been ordered to attack him by Kulsev. In the storeroom, Freblun saw that Drold’s skin had started to turn grey which identified him as a true follower of Madathak.

Drold informed Freblun that Drun had been destroyed by hill giants, and that he had been making a poison which he intends to put in Kulsev’s wine, as he hates Kulsev. Freblun suggested that they make an alliance against their common enemy, and that Drold should offer Kulsev the Robe of Binding that Freblun found in the Strange Caves so that he can be bound and interrogated. Drold reluctantly agreed to this proposal.

Freblun is a sixth level warrior with eight Facts and six Gifts.

Solo gaming tools

I used Schweig’s Themed Dungeon Generator to randomly generate the Temple of Madathak during play. I also used the following tools:

• The 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide (for dressing for two empty chambers of the dungeon).
• The random letters table from Fernewelt, a set of rules for story gaming (for dressing for other empty chambers of the dungeon).
• Sophia Brandt’s Miso game, a minimalist solo roleplaying game available for free on her blog.

33: Storeroom

Drold stands by the table in the southeast corner of the chamber, absorbed in making his poison. He uses his mortar and pestle to grind the dried leaves into a powder, which he carefully pours into the glass vial containing the green liquid. Using a spatula he stirs the mixture thoroughly, and then pours it into the other vial containing the white liquid. He stirs this mixture until the liquid is pale green, and then puts a stopper into the vial. He tells Freblun that his poison is ready to be put into Kulsev’s wine should the need arise. He puts the vial into his belt pouch and takes a torch down from the wall just in case he is separated from Freblun and the light provided by King Othtar’s Shield. Drold wears no armour, only an ordinary tunic and trousers, but he does carry a sword.

Drold has Soldier statistics (from the Exemplars & Eidolons rulebook) and the ability to Cause Light Wounds granted to him by Madathak.

Freblun and Drold leave the chamber by the door in the southwest corner.

34: Empty chamber

They enter a large chamber which is empty except for a few leaves and twigs scattered on the floor near the door to the storeroom. Drold explains that these are remnants of his experiments with various plants from the woods outside the Temple of Madathak. There are doors in the west and south walls. Drold indicates that they should go through the door in the south wall.

First turn elapsed.

35: Steps leading down

The door leads to a short landing before a flight of stone steps descending into darkness. Drold tells Freblun that the steps lead down to the lowest level of the Temple of Madathak, which was built over the caves of the vast underworld where the vilest monsters lurk. Freblun replies that he has recently acquired a magical sword and is well prepared to meet any foe in combat. They descend the steps with Drold going before Freblun.

Second turn elapsed.

For the location beyond the steps Schweig’s Themed Dungeon Generator gives me the result of an empty chamber with a trap and a secret door. I roll on the random letters table of Fernewelt and get the result of UIU, which I interpret as meaning unhappy in the underworld. I decide that the walls of the chamber are covered with frescoes depicting slaves from Urkothan, the moon.

36: Chamber of frescoes

The steps lead down to a door which gives entry to a chamber. The square chamber is empty and appears to have no exit other than the door that they came through. But the walls are painted with frescoes depicting warped and grey-skinned cultists of Madathak with slaves from Urkothan. The men of Urkothan have black hair and grey skin, but a paler grey than that of the cultists of Madathak, and they wear black loin cloths. They are depicted being whipped by the cultists and being forced to construct the dungeon of the Temple of Madathak.

The women of Urkothan are shown with long black hair and white skin with a tinge of violet. They wear black bikinis, or are topless or naked, and are shown as objects of pleasure for the cultists. One woman is depicted being sacrificed to Madathak in the altar hall which Freblun discovered previously. He remembers Dabentha and the other two women of the Droithara tribe of Urkothan, whom he rescued from the cultists’ banqueting hall and returned to Urkothan using King Othtar’s Shield.

Drold says that he knows that there is a secret door in this chamber, and that it can be opened by pressing on a certain image somewhere within the frescoes. He suggests that they examine the frescoes separately, beginning on either side of the door that they just came through. Freblun agrees.

Third turn elapsed.

Two images must be pressed; one deactivates the trap of five poison darts with which the secret door is armed, and the other opens the door. Freblun must make two Wisdom checks to locate the images and he can use his Fact of being experienced in dungeon exploration to temporarily raise his Wisdom to 14. He succeeds on both checks.

In the south wall Freblun finds two images of women from Urkothan. Both are depicted with bare breasts, and both have one nipple that is slightly sunken. It seems that these are the images that are to be pressed and that it is a dirty joke on the part of the cultists. He calls Drold over. Freblun presses one of the nipples and hears a “click” sound, but nothing happens. Then he presses the other nipple, and the secret door opens nearby. Beyond the secret door there is only darkness and silence. Drold suggests that pressing the first nipple deactivated a trap with which the secret door was armed, and he thanks Freblun for his perceptiveness. He says that he knows nothing about the chambers beyond the door, only that Kulsev’s chamber is somewhere beyond it. They go through the secret door, with Freblun in the lead this time.

Fourth turn elapsed.

37: Empty chamber

They enter a rectangular chamber with doors in the west, east, and south walls. There is nothing in the chamber except for a broken wooden pole and a rusted iron spike.

Fifth turn elapsed.

They rest in the chamber for a while. Drold’s torch has now burnt out and he leaves the stub in the chamber before they leave by the door in the south wall.

Sixth turn elapsed.

The location beyond is a “special” location within the dungeon.

38: Bridge over chasm

They enter a corridor 30 feet long. The corridor leads to a stone bridge over a chasm, a great fissure in the earth that extends beyond the light of King Othtar’s Shield to the left and right. The chasm is about 40 feet wide, and so deep that the Shield cannot illuminate the bottom. The bridge is a solid stone slab and appears to have been created by magic. It is as wide as the corridor but has no guardrails.

First turn elapsed.

Like a torch, King Othtar’s Shield sheds light in a 30-foot radius.

Drold recoils from the chasm in fear and tells Freblun that he has heard stories from other cultists of the terrible monsters that sometimes come up out its depths. Freblun tells Drold to remain where he is while he investigates the chasm. With his magical sword drawn, he sets off over the bridge.

When he is halfway across the bridge, he sees that it leads to another corridor on the other side of the chasm, a corridor of masonry construction. He stops as he can see a large sphere with a dull red glow rising rapidly from the subterranean depths. Something is crawling up the opposite wall of the chasm towards the bridge. The sphere is larger than a man’s head, and Freblun soon sees that it is part of a terrible monster.

Second turn elapsed.

A zurtorb

A zurtorb emerges from the chasm and crawls up onto the bridge. This wandering horror of the underworld has eight huge, spidery legs which support a pale green, spherical body. Between each pair of legs is a mouth with two extendable tentacles on either side. A long, thick tentacle grows from the top of the body and supports the glowing red sphere that is the monster’s eye. A zurtorb can move with ease in any direction and will eat almost anything.

Zurtorb

Alignment: Neutral

No. Enc. 1

Movement: 60′ (20′)

Armour Class: 3

Hit Dice: 15

Attacks: 2 tentacles +15, 1 corrosive spray +15

Damage: 1d10/1d10/1d12

Skill Bonus: +2

Morale: 10

Hoard Class: Nil

Freblun remains where he is, ready to fight. The zurtorb scuttles towards him and extends two of its corrosive tentacles. It bends its spherical eye down towards Freblun. The warrior thrusts his sword at the monster.

Freblun wounds the zurtorb and uses his Titanic Blow Gift to double the damage, reducing it to 7 HD.

He thrusts his sword deep into the vile green sphere that forms the bulk of the zurtorb’s body. The monster’s many mouths hiss with fury. It grasps Freblun with its two extended tentacles which exude an acidic substance and ejects a red corrosive spray from its eye which drenches the hero.

Hit points: 19

Freblun breaks away from the tentacles and desperately wipes the sprayed substance away from his eyes. He thrusts his sword at the monster again but only strikes the stone of the bridge. The monster grasps him with one tentacle but the other tentacle flails uselessly against King Othtar’s Shield. The spray hits Freblun again, but this time most of it only hits the Shield (which cannot be damaged by it).

Hit points: 16

Does Drold come to Freblun’s aid. I use Miso. D6: he does. D12:: he doesn’t. He doesn’t come to Freblun’s aid.

Drold remains cowering in corridor. Freblun thrusts his sword at the zurtorb again.

Once again Freblun uses his Titanic Blow Gift and this time he kills the zurtorb.

Freblun plunges his sword deep into the zurtorb and its many mouths hiss horribly as it dies. He heaves the giant twitching corpse into the chasm. He crosses the bridge and slumps to the floor of the corridor on the other side. He uses a salve from his healer’s bag to treat his burns. Fortunately, most of the damage from the zurtorb’s spray was done to his face; his eyes sting terribly but both of them still function.

Hit points: 20

Third turn elapsed.

He hears footsteps approaching and looks up to see Drold staring down at him with awe in his eyes. He rests for a while in the corridor, waiting for his eyes to stop stinging, and has some rations and wine which he shares with Drold.

Fourth and fifth turns elapsed.

Rations: 8

There is a door at the end of the corridor. Freblun tells Drold that his eyes still hurt, and that he has been wandering through the Temple of Madathak and fighting monsters for so long. In any case, it must be night now in the world above. Perhaps they will find a place where they can sleep beyond the door. Drold agrees and they go down the corridor and through the door.

Sixth turn elapsed.

The chamber beyond is empty. Rather than use the 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide (as I usually do) to give it more colour, I decide to use the random letters table from Fernewelt instead. MRI means that Madathak’s rule is infinite.

39: Frescoes of Urkothan

The rectangular chamber beyond is empty with one door in the opposite wall. The walls are decorated with frescoes in the same style as those of the previous chamber where Freblun found the secret door. The frescoes show Madathak’s horde slaughtering the warriors of the Tarlthus tribe at the Battle of Arzek’s Rock and enslaving the remnants of the tribe. Madathak’s terrible citadel of Ivurk Yath is shown atop a rocky hill which looms over a desolate plain where the giant fungi of Urkothan do not grow.

Madathak is depicted seated on his throne, wearing his hooded robe, his three red eyes glaring, his left arm ending in three tentacles with great hooks at their ends. His cultists are bringing him human slaves and casting them down before him. In another fresco Madathak is in a laboratory and appears to be creating narguloths, his giant bipedal toad-like servitors who have tentacles for arms, in great vats. Beneath the frescoes are written various phrases such as “Madathak’s rule is infinite” and “Madathak will rule all Keorden in time.” Keorden is the name of the planet in which the Drenroth Wilds are situated.

Drold goes to the fresco which depicts Madathak on his throne and bows his head, quietly murmuring an unholy prayer to his deity. Freblun frowns; he had almost forgotten that this man was a cultist of Madathak. Drold has the grey skin of a novice cultist, but his skin has not yet become leathery, and his eyes have not yet turned a solid red without pupils or irises. Such are the distinguishing features of a cultist who has worshipped Madathak for years. He wonders why Drold became a cultist. Was it the fear that came from living in the small and vulnerable hamlet of Drun?

Freblun takes a hammer and iron spikes from his Backpack of Holding. He has 12 iron spikes, and he uses them to wedge both doors shut. The oldest of the four captive youths from Drothorn, a girl of about 13 years of age, told him this morning that Kulsev recently came to their cell to provide them with water and mouldy bread, but it seems that Kulsev only does this occasionally. If Kulsev tries to break into this chamber, then he can kill him and take his key to free the youths.

In fact, Kulsev is almost constantly drunk and spends most of his time in his chamber.

Then he lays out his bedroll in the centre of the chamber, as far as possible from the frescoes. He was planning to sleep on the floor, in comfort in his chain mail hauberk of Ease, and to let Drold use his bedroll. But after seeing Drold bow before an image of Madathak he has changed his mind. Drold takes his vial of poison out his belt pouch and then, after sarcastically telling Freblun that he has no need for comfort, he lies down to sleep on the floor beneath the image of Madathak.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself but, since Freblun is sleeping, I want to know what is beyond the door of this chamber. I roll on the tables of Schweig’s Themed Dungeon Generator and get the result of a Chamber and an Encounter, but not Kulsev. Good.

In the morning

The next morning Freblun wakes to find that the pain in his eyes has gone. He has fully recovered from his combat with the zurtorb, but examining his face in the small steel mirror that he carries he finds that it still bears a few scars from the burns.

I decide that the burn scars don’t affect Freblun’s Charisma checks. After all, he is already battle-scarred.

Hit points: 40

Freblun has 7 Effort points again. Having slept he has recovered the Effort point that was committed when he used his Force of Destiny Gift to resist the effect of the Crystal Hypnosis Ball that was being used by the demon lord Vorbithu (as detailed in The Temple of Madathak – The Dungeon: Part Five).

There are now six days left until Urkothan, the moon, is full again. Then, Kulsev intends to sacrifice one of the four captive youths from Drothorn to Madathak.

Drold is already awake. He is sitting in the corner beneath the fresco of the enthroned Madathak and staring at Freblun with an inscrutable expression. Freblun scowls at him and has some rations washed down with wine. Reluctantly, he gives a few hardtack biscuits to Drold and lets him drink from his wineskin.

Freblun removes the iron spikes from both doors, and they leave the chamber.

First turn elapsed.

Again, I use Fernewelt to determine the appearance of the next chamber. OAD means old and decayed. This description, along with randomly determined dimensions of the chamber, give me an idea of its appearance and purpose; it is an old altar hall of Madathak.

40: Old altar hall of Madathak

They enter a large chamber where the high and vaulted ceiling is supported by two rows of stone columns. The chamber is dark except for the light cast by King Othtar’s Shield. The columns are carved with various grim images; bound slaves, skeletons, narguloths, and demons. The walls are hung with huge tapestries which are now too decayed for the images to be easily discerned, but vague images of Madathak and narguloths can be seen here and there. At the far end of the chamber a stone idol of Madathak ten feet tall stands behind an altar. This altar hall is less than half the size of the altar hall that Freblun explored on the level above, and Freblun thinks that it is probably only used by Kulsev at the present time. There are doors to the left and right, and at the far end of the altar hall beyond the idol of Madathak.

Second turn elapsed.

The door on the right opens, and Freblun glimpses a chamber beyond with a table and chair and another door, as a young woman in scale mail armour enters the hall. She has bright red eyes without pupils or irises, and the grey skin of a cultist of Madathak, but her skin is smooth, and her face is still beautiful. She has lustrous auburn hair, and suddenly Freblun realises who she is; she is Brenara, the cultist who masqueraded as a cleric of Dronlan and who betrayed him to the cultists of Madathak.

The last time he saw this woman was nearly a month ago, when he was a prisoner within the shrine of Madathak in Bruld. Then she was a charmed concubine of Gomord, the leader of the cultists of Bruld, and she wore the black bikini of a woman of Urkothan. Now she wears the same hauberk of scale mail that she wore when Freblun first met her in the temple of Dronlan, and she bears a sword. In her free hand she carries a lantern.

Brenara now has Elite Veteran statistics (from the Exemplars & Eidolons rulebook). In addition to her original clerical spell “Command” she has powers granted to her by Madathak; above average attributes (all of them), the ability to alter the colour of her skin and eyes to appear as a normal woman, and the spell-like ability of Teleport (identical to the magic-user spell and allowing her teleport another being into a cell adjacent to her chamber).

I roll a reaction for Brenara. If Freblun had an average Charisma score he would have a -3 bonus to his reaction roll, as Brenara knows that he killed Gomord, the cultist who charmed her and made her his concubine. However, because Freblun has a Charisma of 8 (below average), he only has a -2 bonus. I roll a “5” and decide that although Brenara appears to grateful towards Freblun, she is secretly indifferent to him and will turn against him if it suits her.

Brenara

Brenara also recognises Freblun. She stares at Freblun for a short while, and he cannot read the thoughts behind those solid red eyes. Then she asks Freblun to send Drold back to the antechamber, as she would like to speak to him in private.

After Drold has left Brenara becomes friendlier. She says that she is grateful that Freblun slew Gomord; that foul man forced her to submit to his lust after he charmed her with a spell. When Madathak abandoned his shrine in Bruld the god took her with him to his citadel of Ivurk Yath on Urkothan. There he bestowed great powers upon her. Madathak has permitted her to retain her beauty as he sees great promise in her. She now lives in the Temple of Madathak, and from Kulsev she has learned that Freblun intends to free the captive youths from Drothorn.

What does Brenara think of Kulsev? I consult the Oracular Adjectives and Motivations table from the Scarlet Heroes rulebook and get the result of “perversion.”

She says that she loathes Kulsev, as he has tried to force himself upon her. She will gladly aid Freblun in killing him. She does not care if the four youths are set free, as she can acquire sacrificial victims herself using her own methods. But she tells Freblun that after he has freed the youths, he should flee from the Temple of Madathak, and leave the Drenroth Wilds.

Does Brenara tell Freblun about Dratharg, the high priest of the Temple of Madathak? I use Miso. D10: she does.  D12: she doesn’t. She does tell him about Dratharg.

Kulsev, she says, is not the most powerful priest of the Temple. Dratharg is the high priest, and he is far more powerful. Freblun cannot hope to defeat him.

Dratharg? The name is eerily familiar to Freblun. Then he remembers the dream he had when he was sleeping in his instant fortress, on the bank of the Quelom River near Bluestone Tower. In his dream he had seen an elderly woman emerge from Bluestone Tower. Madathak had appeared in the night sky within Urkothan, telling the woman that Dratharg his high priest desired his daughter, and that if she gave her to him then she would be left alone. Freblun wonders if the daughter is being held as a prisoner by Dratharg.

But Freblun does not tell Brenara about his dream. He agrees to an alliance with her and tells her of his plan to render Kulsev helpless, by having him put on the Robe of Binding at Drold’s suggestion. She tells him to summon Drold. They will go together to Kulsev’s chamber.

Drold returns to the altar hall and seems suspicious of Brenara and Freblun, but he agrees to follow Brenara to find Kulsev. Brenara locks the door to her chamber and then leads the two men to the door on the left.

41: Tripwire

They enter a corridor which goes on for twenty feet before ending at a door. Brenara is in the lead, and she indicates a near-invisible tripwire stretching across the floor in the middle of the corridor. They step over the tripwire, which Brenara says would trigger an arrow trap if it was disturbed.

Third turn elapsed.

For the location beyond the door an empty chamber is rolled. Again, I use Fernewelt. NVA means naked victims assaulted.

Brenara says that the chamber beyond the door is usually empty, and the door should be unlocked. She listens at the door, and tells the others that she can hear nothing. She opens the door cautiously.

42: Another chamber of frescoes

Beyond is another chamber where the walls are covered with frescoes; these show cultists gleefully forcing themselves on slave women from Urkothan. Freblun sees a look of disgust pass over Brenara’s face. She appears to loathe the cruelty of the cultists, or at least their cruelty towards women. He wonders what sort of people she intends to acquire for her sacrifices to Madathak, and if there is anyone currently imprisoned within her chamber.

Brenara studies the frescoes and appears to be searching for a secret door, as the chamber has no exit other than the door they just came through.

I use Miso. D12: Brenara knows the location of the secret door. D8: she doesn’t know or has forgotten. She does know where the secret door is.

Brenara goes to the southeast corner of the chamber and presses on the image of a jewel set into the pommel of a cultist’s sword. A secret door opens nearby. A corridor extends into the darkness beyond the light of Brenara’s lantern.

Fourth turn elapsed.

They quickly assemble a marching order to go down the corridor. Brenara goes first, followed by Drold, and Freblun is at the rear as he doesn’t trust Drold.

The corridor is armed with a trap of six poison darts, triggered by a tripwire. I use Miso. D6: Brenara knows about the tripwire. D12: she doesn’t know or has forgotten. She does know about it.

43: Another tripwire

Halfway down the corridor Brenara stops and indicates another tripwire that they must step over. After stepping over it they go a short way down the corridor and then stop to rest for a while. The corridor is about 60 feet long and they can now see a door at the end of it.

Fifth and sixth turns elapsed.

Then they continue down the corridor, and Brenara opens the door.

First turn elapsed.

The chamber beyond is empty. I use Fernewelt: XEL means xill emerging underground. The xill are monsters from the 1st Edition Fiend Folio, who live in the ethereal plane. They come to the prime material plane in search of human or near-human victims, which they take back to the ethereal plane with the purpose of laying eggs inside their stomachs.

44: Chamber of martial frescoes

The door opens into a large square chamber. The ceiling is supported by plain stone columns. The walls are painted with frescoes that show the cultists of Madathak triumphing over their enemies, such as the tribes of Urkothan. A particularly masterful fresco depicts two xill, humanoid flame-red monsters with four arms, within the old altar hall of Madathak where Freblun and Drold met Brenara. The xill are surrounded by cultists who slay them with swords and spears.

Brenara moves about the room, studying the frescoes and the three exit doors as if trying to remember a past route taken. Freblun and Drold follow her.

Second, third, and fourth turns elapsed.

After a while she stops at the door in the west wall. She opens it to reveal a short corridor which leads to a T-junction. Brenara leads them down the corridor on the right.

Fifth turn elapsed.

They stop and rest for a while in the corridor.

Sixth turn elapsed.

They continue down the corridor, which leads to a door which gives entry to the old altar hall of Madathak. Brenara apologies to the others for having lost her way.

First turn elapsed.

They retrace their steps and take the other corridor at the T-junction, which goes on for only ten feet before ending at a door. Brenara opens the door, and they enter the chamber beyond.

45: Enveloper

This is one of my favourite monsters from the 1st Edition Fiend Folio. Although I wrote on the template of Schweig’s Themed Dungeon Generator that it was an old enveloper with 13 HD, I’ve decided to make it a 17 HD enveloper because I thought that Freblun got through the combat with the zurtorb too easily and because he now has two companions.

They enter a rectangular chamber with doors in the west and south walls. Standing by the south wall is a bizarre creature, a cylindrical mass of flesh eight feet tall and three feet wide. It is still and silent. On the floor next to the monster are weapons and items of clothing and armour, including two pairs of trousers, leather armour, a chain hauberk, and a robe, coloured shades of grey. But there are no corpses or bones.

Brenara stares at the monster with her solid red eyes. To Freblun she whispers, “Oh no! It is the enveloper. I have heard the others tell of this monster. It can use the voices and spells of those it has slain. That robe belonged to a wizard who was a worshipper of Madathak. Now the enveloper can cast his spells!”

The bottom half of the enveloper splits to form two legs, and it reforms its upper half to form a crude torso, two arms, and a head with dark holes for the eyes and mouth. It speaks with the voice of the dead wizard and says, “Vile lump! My Magic Missile will slay you!” The enveloper would be comical if it wasn’t so dangerous.

The enveloper can cast the spells of the dead wizard as they were memorised by him from his spell book. Even though it has killed clerics of Madathak it cannot case their unholy spells as they were given to them by Madathak.

The wizard was a fourth level magic-user, and the enveloper can cast the following spells:

Level 1:

• Jarring Hand
• Magic Missile.

Level 2:

• Mirror Image
• Ray of Enfeeblement.

While the enveloper is speaking Freblun sprints across the chamber and thrusts his sword at it. Brenara and Drold draw their swords and follow him.

Freblun wounds the enveloper and uses his Titanic Blow Gift to double the damage, reducing it to 13 HD.

Freblun wounds the enveloper, but it raises one of its half-formed hands and a Magic Missile slams into his chest, making him stagger backwards.

Hit points: 39

Brenara fails to wound the enveloper, but Drold does.

Drold reduces the enveloper to 12 HD.

The enveloper casts Mirror Image and two envelopers appear, one of which is an illusion. Disoriented after being wounded by the Magic Missile, Freblun strikes the illusion which disappears. Brenara thrusts her sword at the real enveloper, but again she fails to wound it. Drold wounds it again.

Drold reduces the enveloper to 11 HD.

The enveloper ignores Drold and Brenara. It pummels Freblun with its fists.

Hit points: 36

Freblun fails to wound the enveloper, as does Brenara and Drold. The enveloper shoots a Ray of Enfeeblement at Freblun.

Freblun can use his Fact of being resistant to magic to temporarily raise his Intelligence, and therefore his Mystic save, to 22, but the enveloper is a 17 HD monster, and it imposes a penalty equal to that number on the saving throw. Freblun must roll a “5” or less on a 1d20 to succeed on the saving throw. He fails the saving throw and must use his Force of Destiny Gift to resist the effect of the Ray of Enfeeblement., committing one Effort point until he can sleep again.

The Ray of Enfeeblement has no effect on Freblun. He succeeds in wounding the enveloper.

Again Freblun uses Titanic Blow to double the damage, reducing the enveloper to 3 HD.

Brenara then wounds the enveloper, as does Drold.

The enveloper is now 1 HD.

The enveloper then wounds Freblun with its fists.

Hit points: 33

Freblun then thrusts his sword deep into the enveloper’s chest, killing the monster. He tends his wounds.

Hit points: 37

Second turn elapsed.

The treasure

They search the belongings of the enveloper’s victims. Two large sacks each contain hundreds of silver pieces, which the slain cultists no doubt took from victims of their own. Freblun says that Brenara and Drold can each take a sack, as they helped him to kill the enveloper. In a pocket of the wizard’s robe Freblun finds a beautiful jacinth gemstone, coloured a fiery orange, which he keeps.

Each sack contains 500 sp.

The jacinth is worth 5,000 gp.

Third turn elapsed.

Brenara suggests that they return to the old altar hall of Madathak, so that the two sacks of silver pieces can be stored in her chamber, before they continue their search for Kulsev. Freblun and Drold agree. They all go back up the corridor to the old altar hall of Madathak. Brenara unlocks the door to her chamber and tells Freblun and Drold that they will not enter. Drold hands over his sack of silver pieces, glaring suspiciously at Brenara. He and Freblun wait while Brenara hides the two sacks somewhere in her chamber.

After a while Brenara returns to the altar hall, and they return to the enveloper’s lair. Here they rest while Brenara tries to remember the way to Kulsev’s chamber. Freblun has some rations and gives generous helpings to Brenara and Drold. Brenara accepts Freblun’s wine but pours it into a silver goblet that she brought from her chamber. Freblun tells her that his wine will soon run out, but she replies that she has more in the backpack that she now carries.

Fourth to sixth turns elapsed.

Rations: 7

Eventually they get to their feet and Brenara goes to the door in the west wall. Freblun hopes that she has remembered the way to Kulsev’s chamber…

That’s enough for this session. Freblun doesn’t gain any experience points at this point in the adventure. He’ll be awarded experience points once he’s conquered the entire Temple of Madathak.