Adventure 13: The Cult of Elemental Evil
According to rumour, so the senior priests of Danethrae told, there was a small settlement of people in the hills to the northwest of Cellam. Here the people living in the commune were resurrecting the worship of ancient elemental gods. Normally, this would be of little interest to this party of adventurers, but these had already told the church of their interest in Charles Derren, and how he had once been an influential in the worship of such gods before the disaster. Also a secret wizard sect called the Valtannarin Ennethdor, who had been seeking (and, indeed, had found) the tomb and the slumbering body of Derren the vampire for their own evil purposes, had begun worshipping these gods, and the party had been seeking those for some time. The party had also witnessed old elemental temples among pre-disaster ruins far beneath the Kathron delve. This gives the party a professional interest in the goings on at the settlement.
As the chase for stolen Wish Magic books reached something of an impasse, the party decided to take a break from that chase, and investigate the commune. The settlement, they were told, was located on the north of the river, among the hills, and should be quite easy to find. The hills are extensive, but it is said the end of the estuary and the sea can be viewed in the distance from the camp. With some last minute shopping for supplies carried out, the party left Cellam for the mountains in the late summer morning of 30th Semot.
The journey to the hills took maybe a day and a half, and the party were troubled by wolves only once as they rested for the intervening evening. In the late afternoon of the second day the party spent some time searching the area for the camp. As evening drew on, rising smoke gave the location away. The party moved close and picketed their horses well out of sight in some light woodland. At the edge of this wood they could take a good look at what is going on without being seen.
The lay out of the camp was around a cave entrance in the cliff face which was to the south of the settlement, and across the flat stretch of land running along the cliff. To the north, the ground fell away into a valley gently; there the uneven ground was unsuitable for living on, but presented little danger. Outside the camp to the east and west was some low patchy woodland. The party hid and observed the comings and goings in the camp in the eastern woods. Much of the evening activities were mundane, the people seemed to be going about their ordinary lives in an ordinary way. Unexpectedly, the cave was used by the whole community for half an hour in the evening; they all went inside together after eating a communal meal. The party watched the camp settle down for the night; the found it overwhelmingly dull.
While resting as much as they could, the party kept a light watch on the goings on. When they were satisfied that everyone has retired for the evening, Jim and Fax took the opportunity to sneak over to the camp and have a closer look at the goings on. The cave was, of course, their centre of their attention. In here the cave was clad in old-looking wood panels and planking, and the room was arranged as a worship area, with simple benches and simple wooden altar. Fax was quick to point out that behind the cladding at the back of the altar there appeared to be a secret entrance - something that the people of the community did not seem to have noticed. Whatever was behind that door may not have been touched for some time.
As they moved out of the cave, they took a look around some other areas of the camp. The communal huts and tents seemed to be on the eastern side of the camp, closer to where the party were hiding, while the living buildings were on the far side, on the west. Jim and Fax then returned to the camp to report what they had found. The party decided to get some rest here and continue watching the camp the next morning.
The following morning the party took it in shifts to watch the camp. Again, the activity was quite mundane; several of the men headed out into the light woodlands to the west hunting, they returned much later with a wild boar, which was then roasted for their evening meal. Others collected wood and tidied the encampment. While the hunters were gone, the religious leader spent time educating the few children, while others carried out other tasks - maintaining the buildings, making clothes, etc. The only activity that raised any eyebrows in the party came in the evening when the whole gathering once again went into the cave for a religious meeting.
The party continued to wait. They devised a plan to get themselves behind the secret door without attracting any attention from the camp; they intended to carry it out during the night, so they rested as much as possible while maintaining their watch on the camp. They lead the horses away from the camp area, and hid them in the undergrowth, leaving them plenty of food and water. They were as far out of sight as Jim could make them. Night eventually fell, and the camp fell quiet and dark.
After midnight, by the light of the moon, the party carefully and quietly sneaked out of their hiding place and crept over to the camp. They slipped into the open cave, and enter the worship area. Under lamplight, Formil carefully prized the cladding from the wall; he needed to replace this soon, and he did not want to wake any of the communes inhabitants; so he took extreme care. Behind the wood, the door could now clearly be seen. It was carved with runic letters, and beneath that, in the common tongue it read:
- THE ELEMENTAL TEMPLE
The door's opening mechanism was easy to find and use, although stiff to operate as this door had not been used for a long time. Behind the door, into the darkness, the corridor ran smooth and level onwards to the south. Jim, Insorce and Fax headed inside, while Formil and Randy remained outside - this was part of their plan. The door was closed once again, and carefully Formil returned the cladding to the wall as well as he could; he wanted to leave it looking identical to when they arrived. This took a little while - but eventually he was satisfied with the job. As soon as the cladding was up, Randy used his Dimension Door spell to take Formil through the solid doorway and into the corridor to meet up with the others.
Randy, Insorce, and Fax together took on responsibility for keeping a light going; they had Jim's lantern for use in emergencies too, but the three worked out that they can provide illumination for many hours using their cantrips and 0th level clerical spells. They passed down the dark, dry, stuffy corridor and down a broad flight of even steps. At the bottom of this, the corridor carried on and they entered the first level of the temple complex. There are many rooms to this level, but the only inhabitants now were undead monsters. At times these caused problems for the party; there was a mix of strength-sapping shadows and constitution sapping wraiths. None were particularly dangerous for the party, but they wore them down. Insorce used his undead turning ability frequently to keep the monsters at bay.
The whole of this upper level had been stood for a very long time; the party believed it to be pre-disaster, and while the wooden fittings and furniture here were mostly still standing, they were dry, brittle, and of no use (or value) whatsoever. This whole first level appeared to have been a community living area for the previous temple inhabitants, there were living quarters and cooking areas, and communal meeting places. As they press deeper, the party picked up just a few meagre items of value, until they entered the private quarters of the previous inhabitants where they made an unusual discovery; they found a tattered book in amongst the private belongings in one of the more richly decorated quarters. The book was written using the same runic letters that the party had seen on the entrance door. Inside, many of the pages had deteriorated, the outer ones were falling to pieces, and many of the inner ones too blurred or too damaged to read. In the middle a few pages could still be made out. At the very centre of the book the pages were yellowed and worn, but the hand-written text was very readable. During an overnight rest, Insorce sat and deciphered the writing. It read as follows:
The title on the cover reads:
The Book of Sumtoth
... over many nations. The peoples of the world have a choice. They can follow the four and repair the world or it will become too late. The patience of the gods grows ever short in these evil days. Even the druids mock the mighty four and they abandon their cause to aid nature even as the four promised to help them heal it. Such fake promises as those the druids make cannot be endured and they have angered the four with lies. There is still time though. They and the others still have a chance to make peace. The people of the world must take note of the anger among the gods and settle on a path of prayer and meditation. They must call upon the gods to bring peace for their deliverance from those that would do evil. Much rests on this. There is already too much bitterness between the people and this is spilling over to the realms of the gods. New gods come and challenge the might of the four. They will never be overthrown they are too strong but such a lack of faith in the four weakens them and makes them less able and less willing to aid their people. We cannot suffer this either as our world and our faith rests upon the power might and majesty of the four.
What do the gods have planned for this failing world? We have sought answers to this question long through prayer and fasting to purify ourselves in the sight of the four. We have toiled hard to earn their favour and held high their splendour. We have proclaimed their majesty to the world and brought new people into the fellowship of the faithful. Yet the four do not favour us as they used to. They now talk in roundabout ways, and leave doubts in our minds for their plans for their world and their people. We question daily and the answers are often the same. We look for new insights and receive little new knowledge.
As Sumtoth is my master I ask most of him but he is too quiet in these days. The four are planning their revenge upon the spiteful people of the world. They need to purify this land and restore our former glories. The hatred and envy between the nations is becoming distasteful to them yet they are distracted. There are mortals that think their power is enough to allow them to defy even our powerful gods. They take every chance they can to challenge the might of the four and to mock them as only mortals can. The prophecies provided by our gods are unpleasant to us. These writings make us fearful for our futures and for our lives. We are scared by what we are given, yet we pray for forgiveness for the world. We continually implore our gods to preserve that which is good and wholesome. Our faith is strong and our love for the four unquenchable yet they cannot provide succour for our souls if these hateful times continue. The world is balanced on the edge, yet through our faith and continued efforts we hope we can unite the people once more in love and peace. The alternative appears to be a dreadful end.
The words that the four have spoken to us about those times seem clear enough. If we fail in our task then the four will bring an end to this world. We can see the signs if we read them and we will know when the time is coming.
The world will darken and the time of the magician will come forth. There will be a great battling and magic will fly around the lands. Destruction wrought by mortals will ensue and many will die. This is the first sign that the end has started. After the darkness begins and the people suffer rain will come. Aquannath will wield her mighty power upon the lands, and floods and tidal waves will sweep us over. The magicians will be blamed once more but this will be the mighty water goddess warning the world of their folly. This is the second sign of the approaching doom. But even this will not be the end. There would still be time if any would listen to our appeals for peace. A great catastrophe could still be averted if the people put aside their anger and hatred and turn to peace. If the magic users can be convinced that their power is but a folly and only serves to weaken us in the eyes of our gods then we can be forgiven and restored in their love. Yet the time we have to do this will not be for long. If the world still does not turn from anger and hatred then the end will begin.
Asdreth tells us that he shall bring fire and destruction first and when this happens the end is nigh. We will no longer be able to turn back the tide of the end and this is the final sign. Sumtoth our master who is the mightiest of the four will bend the surface of the world and all nations shall be remade. All that we know will be lost and we shall suffer their vengeance and their wrath. A great purge will come to the peoples of the world and much that has been harmed by those of evil standing will be made clean. This is a time of destruction, a time of death and a time of suffering. Sumtoth tells us that this is needed as the world must be remade. All things will have turned to hatred and there shall be no peace among the people of the world. Even those of pure hearts and a longing to serve the four will suffer. They too will have turned to the evil of the world and will be held accountable with all the others. The four are already tired of this despite their servants begs for peace. Even among the leaders of our order will there be anger and hatred and resentment and this will be punished.
The world will be unmade and then remade. Our people will not be wiped out but suffering will be wide. It is a just punishment for a fallen people. As the world cools from its torment so will the suffering continue. Aquannath and Ensayeth will combine to bring snows and deep frosts across the world. This punishment is just and fair and is fully earned by the folly of the people. The hardship will endure for many long years until the four awaken again and reunite the world. In that time many false gods will gather and form their own groups. They will form allegiances that will challenge the right of the four to protect and shelter the people but they will be weak. Together they will conquer the new world but not for long.
As the snows melt and the lands awaken so shall the four. They will come anew to the fresh clean kingdoms. Their majesty and might will be clear to all and they will assume their rightful place among the powerful of the gods. So their creation will be cleansed and so their power will be restored. All will come to the feet of the four and beg for forgiveness for the past sins of the world. Those who dabble in the black arts and the corrupt magics will suffer the most. All that they had before will be taken away, and their unholy arts will be bent to a new cause. They will no longer be channels for the primary energies of the outer spheres where the power of the gods will reign. All peoples will be free from the corruption that magic brings.
Slowly the four will restore the lands to fruitfulness and the long years of hardship and suffering will come to an end. Crops of food will be abundant and none shall be without the wholesome nourishment that the clean new lands can provide. At this time the four shall present themselves in their glory to the world. They shall cast down the false religions of the minor gods and the weak and will grow in stature to aid and nurture the people who will then be free to achieve their ultimate destiny and ultimate power.
Despite the horror that may come in the times ahead Sumtoth tells us that after this period there will be rejoicing and joy. The people will be free of their wars and their hatreds and will be free of their slavery to false religions. This new era will...
After pondering the contents of this book, the party pressed on downwards. There were two ways down to the next level, the first the party took lead them to a storage area. Most of the equipment here had fallen to pieces, some of it could be recognised, but none was usable. At the back of this area, they discovered another secret door, concealing what looked like a treasury of some kind. The gold and silver coins here were of unusual pattern, but appeared to be the right size and weight for them to spend openly back the the city. The took the gold and resolved to return for the silver on their way out, if they survived.
The other exit downwards from the first level seemed to be the entrance to the main temple. The small complex of rooms here had only elemental guardians. The second was a huge earth elemental, and this nearly cost the party dearly. They charged in to assault it, expecting to brush it aside, but it hit Formil hard, and left him dying. A hasty retreat to the level above was made, grabbing Formils body and using Randy's Web spell to slow the elemental down while they made it away. Randy's spell was so good that he was able to use other magic to destroy the creature as it fought its way across the room. The party now had to rest - there was no way they could continue with Formil so badly hurt.
Moving on down to the next level the party immediately sensed that the atmosphere is less stale, as though this place had been sealed away from the levels above. The construction was better in here too, both the dwarves are impressed. The broad corridor that met the bottom of the stairs here ran away into the darkness both left and right. The corridor was guarded in both directions by elementals, but both looped round to meet up with the central temple complex.
Although this was a large temple, the layout followed the pattern that the party have become familiar with, the fire temple to the north, the earth temple to the south, the water temple to the west and the air elemental temple to the east. Each was guarded by formidable elemental monsters which were bigger than those found elsewhere in the complex; these also proved a much more resolute opponent that had been encountered so far. The temple level also had storage areas, an office, and vestries for the use of the priests. There were some magical equipment - a spear and a sling - in one of the vestries, and the party turned up a charred book in the fire god temple. The book was written in the same handwritten runes as the previous book. During the next break for rest, Insorce sat and translated the parts of the book that had not been burned too much to read; this one read as follows:
The title on the cover reads
Beyond the Rebuilding
The Teachings of Asdreth
Inside the book is badly damaged, the surviving pages are hard and brittle.
...sounds over time. But at that time the evil will arise again. This time its search for the fire god will be successful. Bane of both mankind and the beasts of the field and the air it takes shape as though a bat or a cloud. It seeks blood. This thing is a powerful servant casting the shadow of its evil as though wings over all in its domain. It reigns supreme. It fears no mortal yet mortal sits in its wake. Beware the one they call Yanng who is in its pay. Even this mortal desires power for his own sake as the butterfly seeks the sunlight. Take heed of this warning this mortal is like poison in the food he will enter the body and tear it down from within. Aside from this keep...
This is followed by a small gap; possibly two paragraphs are missing where the words are blackened.
...inside with this vampire. The two will rise as a power too great for mortals. Only by the power of the fire god will he be defeated even though he worships the god who will become his destruction. The need for blood and the need for power drive their ambition. The vampire will be awakened and will arise by the hand of his mortal friend while he is harboured and sought by the hands of foolish mortals who can little comprehend the work that they do. This vampire is greater than any of them and greater than all of them. They do not know the path of death that they tread. Yet it is soon too late as the evil chases them. Many enemies they form even to the point of igniting our worship and spreading the word of the fire god and my glorious brethren - be it unwittingly or freely.
The chase for the vampire is a fruitless one at first. The power of undeath is great but not enough for this mighty lord of men. He seeks out power for its own sake. What takes place inside the mind of the undead is a mystery to all yet he understands the minds of mortals utterly. With magic beside him and magic around him he walks into the halls of the mighty and owns their souls. He sees through their transparent mortal hearts and knows the depth of their desires. They trust him completely and are easily taken in by his magic and his disguise. Yet he feeds on their bodies and he feeds on their minds though they know it not. He controls all these mortals with an ungodly power that none can withstand and this causes kingdoms to rock and people to flee. Outside of this...
Next is more blackened scorching and several paragraphs are unreadable.
...in the house of his enemies. The foolish ones keep searching though he is always ahead of them. He sees their hearts long before they find his body even if they be elf or dwarf or mankind. If they are to find him they must seek in the highest circles where few survive and only the greatest of lords can comprehend. And even here the vampire is at home. He seeks this power and this authority. By the structures of mankind he sets up his domain and seeks ever more power. He controls them yet they do not understand. He is inside their hearts and inside their souls.
And through all this his mortal servant is always present. Such a man may become a prince or a lord or even a king. But even then there is still the power of the vampire behind all this control. Ever the vampire survives and ever he owns the hearts of men. Only by the fire god can he be brought down. Yet I care not. For my realm this powerful vampire is a useful servant and he will worship me for ever. If he is removed from the unholy power that he wields then my followers are free and my brethren and I will become the most powerful of gods of mortal realms as our destiny has foretold. Our future is sealed only the mighty creator who dabbles not in this mortal realm can change this fate. And our pact with him will see us endure until the end of all time.
The vampire seeks more than just mortal hearts. He seeks Lordship and power the like of which has never before been achieved. Even before we tore down the world to rebuild it none had the power that this undead controls. Many sought it yet none reached this height. The vampire is not mortal and he endures until his end is brought to him by his enemies if any can prove themselves worthy. His survival through the break up of the world displays the mighty power he wields and his mortal companion displays it too. They are not undefeatable but such a defeat would cost the victors dearly. I will not involve myself with such squabbles either. My fate is sealed and my brethren and I shall have dominion over the world for ever. My followers will be subject to us whether this vampire lives or not.
These words have been long in preparation but as the vampires time draws near he will read them. His own lust for both power and glory will fuel an anger towards me as he runs out of realms to control and people to dominate. He will seek more and will be unfulfilled. He will not stop until he achieves...
The rest of this document is unreadable.
The party returned to the treasury to rest and plan their exit from this complex. While they were in there, they were surprised to hear human voices and footsteps moving through the complex. Insorce woke his friends from their sleep, and went to talk to the people who were here. These folk were from the surface - they tell the party that they'd been in the temple praying, when one of their friends noticed the loose cladding behind the altar. They investigated, they found a door behind the wood. They opened the door and came inside, they wanted to know what this place was. The party told them of the temple downstairs, but they said that the place was empty, that it would probably need re-equipping if it were to be used. The people told Insorce the way out, it was strange that they did not ask how the party got into here.
After a couple of hours more rest, the party made their way out of the temple complex, taking all the valuables they could carry. They marched boldly out through the cave and towards where they left their horses - while being watched by some of those that live in the commune.
They were four days underground, and the horses had been suffering for the last day or two. Their food supply was nearly gone, but they had no water. The party decided to water the horses, then walk as far as they could. The journey back took them two overnight stops as a result, but the return to the Hotel Metropolis was very welcome.