Mexico Band Competition 2005 Opener
The Temple of Fire Mountain, or IxenVercicha in Draconic, is located within Ragoth-Rhyx Island to the northwest of mainland Dracosia. Ragoth-Rhyx Island is actually an active volcano that has been dormant for about three hundred and ten years. There are no signs of activity except for migrating seagulls.
Stories originated by tavern bards in Kera`Kyddor and Moradim mention treasure at high risk to anyone crazy enough to enter the old temple, which hasn’t been explored in generations. The stories range from evil cultists to a red dragon family to a portal to the Nine Hells of Baator. Whichever one you may choose to believe, your party happens to be the group of perverted and half-insane volunteers willing to risk death for “phat lewts” better known to those who speak proper Common Tongue as “very good possessions that many people would like to acquire but have neither the time nor energy nor experience nor mental problems enough.”
As you arrive on the beach of the looming mountain, it looks almost like a postcard. Except you are all dressed in metal or leather armor instead of bikinis and Speedos and after the winter months, everybody looks pasty from lack of exposure to sunlight. The sand is particularly shiny and conceals a mollusk every few yards. Some washed-up twigs, kelp and seashells litter the shore around your small boat. The sail flicks in the breeze and the sides give a small creak. A starfish can be seen crawling into the receding tide nearby. The other inhabitants of the island are also harmless—only creatures such as crabs and seagulls live on the shores and in the jungle growth on the mountainside. Palm leaves move with each slight breeze and a coconut falls from a tree one-fourth the way up the mountain with a loud crash at the bottom scaring some gulls out of the trees.
The day around you is bright and sunny. A few wispy clouds at the horizon are the only ones in the sky. The moon is out in the third quarter. To the far south you can see the Ivory Mountains of Dracosia, hundreds of miles away. Except for the mainland and the island, everything else is ocean for uncharted possible thousands of miles. Looking straight ahead, a shaded clearing in the flora leads to the base of the mountain’s mysterious steps. A steep unnatural stairway leads to a dark and foreboding entrance. They are part of the mountain itself, and are made of rock not very typical of volcanoes. It looks like a rough mix of slate, limestone and marble. Even the least qualified appraiser could tell that this stone was worthless.
At the top of the steps before entering you see runes around the gaping entrance. They do not appear to be of any specific language any of you are versed in and do not seem to hold any arcane secrets, but possibly decoration or a long-extinct dialect of something ancient and surprisingly complex. A gust of sea air beckons you further into the passage.
Are you ready to enter IxenVercicha, the Temple of Fire Mountain?
As soon as you enter the dark passage, the light from the outside immediately diminishes. Your eyes grow accustomed to the absence of sunlight and you begin to recognize the scent of sulfur and stale air. The only thing you hear is the breathing and footsteps of yourself and your party. Running your hands along the walls, your fingers start feeling the jagged pores of pumice. The ground is solid and just gritty enough to run on without slipping. There is a slight downward slope to the path, so running would not be a very good idea at this time.
You momentarily glance behind and look over your allies’ shoulders. A faint ray of light is all that remains of the opening. Looking forward again, you are all halted by a sudden squeak. Then another. A flapping sound. A swarm of bats is headed your way! The chirping of bats gets nearer and your party drops to the ground. The swarm passes overhead and out into the daylight. Night must be approaching.
When you all rise from the ground again, you take turns brushing the dirt off of each other and grunt at the specks of bat guano that unfortunately landed on some of your gear. You continue walking and the pungent aroma of sulfur grows stronger. Finally, the narrow passage ends. The bats and the light are gone in the rear and the ground is level. The steps on the outside seem redundant to you now; you must already be far underneath the ocean’s level. Looking around this foyer, you spot a sign in Old Draconic runes. It is lit by torches inset into the rock walls behind you and reads:
Bas nisj dar vercicha, dorvu ixen nisj iejir vur musvar tani a-unsinti. Sjek wux tuor ekess loreat, gethrisj ghoros dar irlym`i teschamun.
In Common Tongue, it reads:
This is the mountain, where fire is blood and traps are all around. If you wish to die, go before the enemies here.
The message has a deathly tone at first but as you ponder the meaning it starts to sound like nonsense. Is this really a warning, or just the work of something trying to scare away threats to its home? You would like to discuss this but a rumble from above scatters you away from the opening. A shaking, a loud roar, and many large boulders block the entry, conceal the sign, and split the group up. You can faintly hear each others’ cries across the mass of rock and understand that everyone is alive and well. Everyone starts at once to dig away at the rock but it is of no use. The dust in the air chokes you when you try to scoop it up and the pumice flakes feel as sharp as glass. Your hands are covered in small cuts and are starting to sting a little. Some salve from your backpack quells it and you stand up to create a solution.
The sorcerer announces that he has tried to open an exit portal out of the volcano, but a strong mana field blocks it. He can still use his other utility spells, though. The cleric suggests that the two groups split up and try to meet each other later, stating that the passages on either side might connect. However, the ranger still believes that the new wall can be destroyed. He starts to rig up an explosive when the sorcerer stops him. An explosion could crush them all, he says, and the ranger puts his items back into his bag with a sigh of defeat. The party then agrees to split up and rejoin later.
The sorcerer, ranger and cleric are all on one side. The warrior, the druid and the paladin are on the other side of the temple. They draw extra light sources from Everburning Torches and move onward into the bowels of the volcano. The memory of the draconic message on the wall burns brightly in their minds as they step into unknown territory. The sounds of the separated friends fade into nothingness as the six heroes part.