Rhianne had told Kuhl of the beauty of the place. The crystal garden refracted the bright light from the tall, tube shaped mushrooms in a prismatic scatter of colors that danced over the walls and ceilings of the cavern. A wonder of nature, as fine as anything he'd seen above or below ground. But it was hard to appreciate it knowing his friend had been petrified into a statue here. The headless corpse of the medusa and the spray pattern of blood she'd left behind also tended to draw the eye as well.
The gnome priest Gurnik, however, seemed to be able to look past the corpse and even the pending threat of an invasion by the Pudding King. He stared around in wonder, reverently approaching crystal clusters to examine them more closely.
"This chamber is not promised to the wererats? the gnome asked.
As Rhianne suggested they had invited the gnome priest to come with them to try and cleanse the temple of the Steadfast Stone. With the medusa dead, Gurnik accepted.
"Only the residential cavern we passed with the waterfall and the pool cavern to the south is promised," Kuhl said.
Gurnik nodded, gray skin creasing with wrinkles as he smiled. "Good. This is not a place we can give up. Even the stories passed to us did not properly describe it. This is svirfneblin heritage."
"It's Goldwhisker clan heritage too," the half-elf said. "They are also svirfneblin."
"Yes, of course," the gnome priest said, but he sighed as he did so.
Sentiments like this had held back negotiations between the Gold Whisker Clan and the settlers. Despite the desperate need for a treaty and hours of negotiation, nothing had been signed. But they were close.
The progress had been painful to watch. It seemed whenever Kuhl's group saw the Diggermattocks they brought dire news. First the report of demon lords in the Underdark and then the presence of the Pudding King. Thankfully the gnome chiefs did not, as the old saying went, 'slay the messenger'. If anything, they accepted their circumstances faster than most and the half-elf and his companions had been sent to fetch Chipgrin to negotiate a treaty.
Kuhl looked around the cavern again. This time focused on potential threats. He ignored the crystals, the colors, and even the corpse on the ground. His eyes fell to the bits of broken statuary strewn about the cavern floor in front of the cave entrance to the south. These would belong to the drow statues the others fought. According to Rhianne plenty of stone drow remained in the cavern beyond.
The darkling bard noticed his gaze.
"They only attacked us when we walked into their chamber," she said. "We had a very noisy battle with the medusa and no more, other than the six who animated and followed us, emerged. If we don't go in there, they shouldn't bother us. And after the temple is cleansed and Ogremoch's Bane banished they'll hopefully be no more than statues again."
Kuhl nodded, hoping she was right.
Gurnik seemed to notice the corpse for the first time.
"It was the combination of the medusa and the Bane that was so dangerous," the gnome priest said. "Our elementals would have been immune to her gaze, but the Bane took control of any we brought and turned them against us."
"Not to be morbid," Fargas said, motioning to the corpse. "But did anyone search her body?"
"You stand in one of the wonders of the Underdark," Rhianne said. "And your first thought is to loot a body?"
The halfling shrugged. "It wasn't my first thought. I did notice the colorful lights. I did notice they were quite fetching. Then I thought of looting the body."
"I searched her," Ront said. "Nothing."
"How about her living space?" Fargas asked.
"She came from that entrance there," Rhianne said. "But we didn't go in there. We focused on getting Jhelnae out before Ogrémoch Bane took control."
Fargas nodded. "It's just I wondered if she might have some sort of potion or elixir to reverse her petrifications."
The darkling bard stared at the halfling from the depths of her cowl.
"I did not think of that," she said. "It is possible. Which means…"
Rhianne trailed off.
"Which means Aleina and the others might be searching for components we don't need," Kuhl finished.
It was both a hopeful and unsettling thought.
"Summer Queen's curse," the darkling said. "Why did you not mention this before?"
"Hey," Fargas said. "I just thought of it. And none of you thought of it either."
"True enough," Rhianne sighed.
"Well," Kuhl said. "We might as well find out now."
No matter what they learned it was too late to stop their companions' hunt for a basilisk. Much time had passed between reporting to the Diggermattocks, fetching Chipgrin, and sitting in on the negotiations. When they finally reached the Foaming Mug again, before their foray into the Rockblight, their companions had long since departed. No note left with Tappy or slipped under the door to the room he shared with Fargas. They were just gone.
"No note?" Dawnbringer in his hand mindspoke. "Why would they leave a note? You knew they were leaving and what they intended?"
"No reason," Kuhl sent back mentally. "You're right. There was no reason they would have."
In truth he didn't know where the thought had come from himself. For whatever reason he'd asked Tappy if a note had been left and looked in his room for one as well. He pushed these thoughts aside as he approached the arched exit the medusa had come from.
But Dawnbringer wasn't satisfied. He felt a buzzing tingle as she delved past his surface thoughts.
"Interesting," The sword thought. "It was a note from Aleina you anticipated. That, I believe, stems from a fear of female abandonment. It makes sense really. You've had one romantic experience. This wood elf Mialee. She left you. This coupled by your mother leaving at a young age has mentally scarred you."
"I am not mentally scarred," Kuhl thought back. "And that doesn't even make sense. Why would I have a fear of female abandonment? My aunt raised me."
"Her influence on you was great," the sword mentally sent. "Obviously since you became a paladin of her goddess. This shows a great desire for female approval as well. Fear of female abandonment coupled by need for approval."
The half-elf felt his face go flush. "You're talking nonsense."
"It all fits," Dawnbringer insisted.
Kuhl sighed, then gave a private smile. "And now I have a sword who speaks with a woman's voice. One more potential source of disapproval and abandonment."
"As a bearer, you are doing fine so far," the sword said.
"Thank you," Kuhl thought, then another thought came, one which never occurred to him before. "Were you once a woman? Before..."
The answer didn't come immediately. Kuhl had crossed the cavern and reached the entrance to the medusa's cave before it came.
"I do not think so. I do not remember anything before my forging. But another's personality may have been imprinted on me and used as a template for my own."
Interesting, but not something that should be explored as they entered a medusa's lair. Kuhl focused on the task at hand and felt Dawnbringer do the same. Any element of surprise was long lost due to their voices and the sword's light. The half-elf motioned the others to stay back and stood to one side. He peered inside; blazing sword held protectively in front of him.
"See anything?" He mentally asked.
"A tragic mess. Dreams unrealized."
The sword spoke the truth. The adornments of the chamber would fit well into the private chambers of a drow matron mother, or so Kuhl imagined. Spider-themed tapestries, fine zurkhwood furniture, and racks of expensive clothing filled it. But all of it was old and rotted. Dominating the center of the space was a zurkhwood throne. Moments passed while Kuhl watched and waited. But nothing stirred.
"I don't think anyone is here," he said to the others.
He missed Sky keenly at that moment. She would be able to discern if the medusa had left traps. With dread anticipation he crossed the threshold with a step. Then took another. Light from Dawnbringer now hit every corner of the chamber. Still nothing moved. A few more steps, more waiting and he was sure.
"I think it is safe."
When he turned to tell the others, he found Rhianne and Fargas already in the room and Ront and Gurnik at the entrance.
"Search any chests and dresser drawers first," the darkling bard said. "If she has vials of potions to turn stone back to flesh, that is where she would keep them."
They spread out to look. Kuhl was rummaging through a drawer and had just found a bound journal when Rhianne called him over.
"Did you find a potion?" Kuhl asked.
The darkling bard shook her cowled head as she stood in front of a rack of silk dresses.
"Feel how fine these are," she said. "Drow silk woven with spells. Imagine how they would feel against the skin."
"They look a little small for me," Kuhl said, fingering the silk.
He had to admit it was smooth, like he held liquid instead of fabric.
Rhianne laughed. "Too small for you. And as amusing as it would be to see you try and squeeze into one, I'd hate to see one stretched and ruined. But Aleina, Jhelnae and I are around the same size as the medusa. They probably should not be exposed to sunlight once you reach the surface. But most of these can be worn under travel clothes."
The woman's words brought the headless corpse of the previous owner of these dresses to mind. Kuhl found himself suddenly less inclined to admire their craftsmanship.
"I found a journal, but no potions."
He held the book up. Rhianne plucked it from his hand and opened it. She skimmed a few pages at the beginning.
"I think her name was Neheedra," the darkling bard said. "Perhaps she will inspire a song or story."
She pocketed the journal in her cloak, then set to folding the dresses and placing them in her pack.
The half-elf looked to the others. "Anything?"
Ront shook his head.
"No potions and nothing of value," Fargas said.
"It was a good thought," Kuhl said.
"Nothing of value that can easily be carried away," Gurnik said. "Some of this can be salvaged and mended."
"If you are into spider designs," the halfling said.
"And refashioned," the gnome amended.
Kuhl took a final look around. The place depressed him. What had led the medusa, a former drow priestess, to this place? Had the company over the long years of only the statues of her former soldiers and a malignant elemental spirit drove her to madness?
"You feel sorry for her," Dawnbringer mindspoke. "And that is admirable. But her fate was one of her own choosing and nothing can be done for her now. The svirfneblin on the other hand face a current threat."
The half elf nodded, then noticed the others watching him, probably wondering why he did so.
"The temple?" Rhianne asked.
"The temple," Kuhl said.
They crossed the crystal cavern and headed up one of the northern staircases. Their footsteps echoed up the winding passage. This and Dawnbringer's radiance would warn anyone at the top of their coming.
But when Kuhl reached the top he found only an empty cavern with a floor worn smooth, but the walls rough. A great menhir carved from a stalagmite stood in the center of the chamber, pockmarked with dozens of empty sockets that might once have held gems. As the light played over the walls Kuhl lifted his sword in readiness. For a moment he thought figures stood there, but it was only the trick of the light against roughhewn stone. He stepped from the stair onto the smooth floor. Nothing happened.
"Is this the temple?" he asked, walking further inside to make way for the others.
"Yes," Gurnik said, voice reverent. "The Streadfast Stone. Temple to Calldurn Smoothhands."
He spun in a slow circle, taking in the room, then focused on the menhir at the center.
"Lady Rhianne," the priest said. "You still have the ruby spell gem I gave you?"
In response the darkling bard pulled a red glowing gem from a pocket in her cloak.
"When you place the gem in a socket the hallow spell will begin to cleanse the temple of Ogremoch's Bane."
Rhianne moved forward to place the gem, but an upraised hand from the gnome priest stopped her.
"Remember what I told you before," Gurnik said. "Once the gem is placed, Ogremoch's Bane will send servants to stop us."
"What type of servants?" Fargas asked.
"Earth Elementals most likely," the gnome priest said.
"That is what I was afraid you'd say," the halfling said.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Ront said.
The gnome priest, busy in prayer, didn't reply. A warpick of pure light appeared, floating in the air.
"Everyone, get ready," Kuhl said.
He pulled out the holy symbol from around his neck and said a prayer of his own to Sehanine. The protective magic gathered. The half-elf hesitated. Where to focus it? Rhianne, Fargas, Ront?
"You will be in the thick of it," Dawnbringer said in his mind.
She was right. He allowed the power to settle within him, felt it fortify and shield him.
"Try to stay behind me," the paladin called out.
Rhianne was singing. Kuhl didn't understand the words, but there was a martial cadence to it. He felt bolstered, loose, and light on his feet.
"Is everyone ready?" Rhianne asked.
Kuhl reflected he never did replace his shield. Stupid oversight. Too late for that now. He nodded.
Another nod from Gurnik and a grunt from Ront.
"Ready to face earth elementals who can crush me with one blow?" Fargas said. "Of course not. But place the gem anyway."
The darkling bard moved to the menhir and placed the ruby in a socket. At first nothing happened. Rhianne turned her cowled head in question to Gurnik. Then the ruby glowed brighter red against the menhir and the walls rumbled.
Kuhl turned in time to see part of one wall shift and detach. It was one of the figures he had thought he saw before. It towered over him and was only vaguely man shaped. More like a boulder, shaped like an upside-down rough-hewn triangle with arms and legs. But there was no mistaking the hostile intent in the deep furrows of its eyes. It plodded toward them, the grinding of stone on stone with every step. The half-elf, intent on keeping it away from the others, jogged forward to meet it.
Dawnbringer cut deep, once, then again, and Kuhl let the divine power of Sehanine flow into the strikes as well. But still the creature came on, a rumbling cry issuing from the gorge of its mouth. The paladin gave way and dodged a massive swinging fist. The heavy blow carved a divot into the floor where he had just stood. He wasn't prepared for the tremor the slamming attack caused and stumbled, off balanced as the second fist descended. He wasn't going to be able to dodge a second time.
The priest's glowing war pick struck just before he was flattened, and the creature was unbalanced in turn. Even so, the now glancing blow knocked Kuhl sprawling. When he picked himself up he heard Rhianne scream, her concussive cry emanating just behind the elemental to reverberate and echo around the chamber rather than from where she stood by the menhir. The creature rocked forward, the cracks from the half-elf's previous blows widening. But not enough.
The elemental straightened and moved forward again towards the menhir, intent on the glowing ruby. Kuhl, finding himself more or less intact, stepped forward into its path. It felt like he was about to try and catch a boulder rolling downhill.
"You tried to carve right through it last time," Dawnbringer said in his mind. "All strength. More finesse. Be ready for the counterattack."
"I can't let it reach that gem," Kuhl thought back.
"Let the others help," the sword sent. "Work with them."
The half-elf saw Fargas and Ront flanking the creature on either side. They exchanged nods.
Gurnik struck first, the floating war pick burying its tip into the head of the creature. Kuhl used the distraction to dive forward and punch the point of his own blade deep into the area already fissured with cracks and again channeled divine energy. Shaking off the draining lethargy accompanying it, he danced back, keeping himself at a distance to dodge the swinging fists more easily. He lunged forward after they whistled past and thrust again, scoring another hit. Steel rang in stone as Ront and Fargas attacked in turn against the monstrosity's flanks.
It was hurt. But still it moved forward. Each step now a stumble, cracks widened as it moved.
"Back off," Rhianne called out. "All of you."
Kuhl hesitated, but a slashing motion of the bard's hand told him to do as she ordered. They all moved away, all but the glowing war pick, which continued to harry and strike at the creature.
"More!" the darkling yelled.
Again Kuhl stepped away, but now even more concerned. Within a few paces the creature would be able to strike at Gurnik and Rhianne, its last obstacle to the menhir.
The bard glanced at them, seemed to judge the distance right, and screamed. As before the magnified, ear splitting sound did not come from her cowl, but seemed to boom from inside the elemental itself. Cracks widened and the creature started to crumble into a mini avalanche that spilled forward. A spray of fine stone dusted the hem of Rhianne's long cloak.
For a moment they stared at the pile of rubble, then Kuhl felt a wave of relief wash through him. It was short lived. The ground shook as another monstrosity of stone broke through the smooth floor. This one was smaller, around the height of Kuhl, and rounder, more boulder in shape. As Kuhl raised Dawnbringer, however, Gurnik waved him off.
"This is a Galeb Duhl, a guardian of the temple. It will not harm us."
With a grinding of stone joints and booming steps the stone creature moved to the menhir, then pivoted outward in a guarding position and settled down to squat.
"Well, that was…" Fargas began.
But more rumbling from the wall cut him off as the now all too familiar form of an elemental broke free.
"Ogremoch's Bane has more servants to bring to bear," the gnome priest said.
His glowing war pick glided forward to meet the new threat. Thinking the battle was over, Kuhl had already started to feel the ache in his shoulder from the blow landed by the previous creature. He took a breath, shook it off, and advanced.
"Can you get that Galeb thing to help!" Fargas yelled, circling to flank.
Rather than react to the elemental the stone guardian sat as still as a statue.
Gurnik shook his head. "The temple is not yet cleansed."
Twice more a desperate fight against an earth monstrosity played out in the temple. By the end of it Rhianne's voice was hoarse, and she could call forth no more shattering screams. Ront's shield was dented and Kuhl was forced to use his off hand, his good arm broken when he'd failed to dodge a swinging stone appendage as he slipped on the gravel of a fallen elemental. In the frenzy of battle, there had been no time to heal it. He did so now as yet a third Galeb Duhl crawled forth and settled into position. But what good were they if they didn't join in the fight to protect the menhir? Kuhl stifled a cry as he used the hand of his broken arm to grasp at the holy symbol around his neck. Healing magic flowed as he prayed, taking pain with it. He transferred Dawnbringer back to his right hand but could not muster the energy to raise it to guard. The air he gasped in was full of dust and the footing of the floor had gone from smooth to treacherous, full of stone debris. He did not think they would be able to stop a fourth elemental from reaching the menhir.
He waited with dread anticipation, but no more rumblings came from the wall. Instead, the dust began to stir, coalescing into a cloud of swirling particles.
"Ogremoch's Bane," Gurnik called out. "Stand fast, it cannot hurt you. It vents its frustration it has no more elementals nearby."
But it could make things uncomfortable. Kuhl squinted to protect his eyes as windborne stone grit peppered his face. He raised Dawnbringer, but the blazing sword seemed to have no effect. A malevolent presence assaulted his senses, but it was merely vexing, like the debris it whipped about. The Bane seemed to have no real power over them without its elementals.
Something else was happening. Past squinted eyes and swirling dust Kuhl saw the menhir glow white, first dimly then with growing intensity until it shone white hot. The gnome priest held his holy symbol high and called out in Gnomish words the half-elf did not understand. A prayer he guessed. In response the assault of dust and grit receded as the cloud of Ogremoch's Bane shrank back, growing smaller and smaller, until it was a dense little vortex directly in front of the chanting priest. Then, it was gone.
"Did you destroy it?" Fargas asked, face hopeful.
"Banished it," Gurnik said, shoulders slumping as he lowered his arms. "Back to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Only with the temple cleansed was I able to do so."
Before anyone could say more the three Galeb Duhl animated. Kuhl watched warily as they seemed to give the group a nod, then settled and curled to resemble boulders encircling the menhir. The glow from the center stone dimmed, but did not entirely fade, basking the chamber in a gentle white light.
"The temple is restored, and the guardians have been activated," the gnome priest said.
"And just in time to guard against nothing," Fargas said with a shake of his head.
Ront snorted. "The little halfling has a point."
Kuhl suspected if they had fully animated sooner, they would have fallen prey to the control of Ogremoch's Bane. But the gnome priest didn't seem to have the strength to argue or explain. Instead, he moved to one of the guardian boulders and leaned on it for support as he recovered his strength. After a moment's consideration, Kuhl decided to join him. He was barely standing himself.
Note sure how satisfied I am with this one. Does the transition work okay? Is it okay that I didn't describe the three separate fights against three separate earth elementals? The campaign has the same event repeat three times. You beat one, another one comes, you beat the second one, a third one comes, you beat it and 'yay done'. While this might be fun in play it seemed really repetitive to write about. I sort of cheated here. The priest does not have banishment as a spell, but with the restoration of the temple he can give a blessing of protection to the party. That is a +1 permanent bonus on AC and saving throws. If he can do that with the temple's power you have to figure he can cast banishment.
I've been reading up on Spell Jammer, the Manual of the Planes (4e), and Avernus. Like an idiot I've been doing an outline of a story following Out of the Abyss with the working title of The Resurrection of Qilue. It involves plane hopping and Spell Jamming to gather portions of the deceased Chosen of Mystra/Eilistraee soul when it was scattered with her death (when the Goddess Eilistraee was slain as well as she was inhabiting Qilue at the time). I know what you are thinking. "Writing one fic no one asked for or wants to read is not enough? You want to extend it to a whole other thing? Are you an idiot?"
I suppose the answer is 'yes'. ;)
BUT while reading the Manual of the Planes I learned about the Mistress of the Moon. I can work her in as the Fey being in Kuhl's backstory. This will move it a little more into canon territory. Which is pretty stupid since none of this is canon. Certainly the resurrection of a dead Seven Sister will never be canon. But part of the fun is trying to make the puzzle pieces fit for my own amusement... :)
