(June 22, 2003) Chronicler: Isaku
Month 11, Day 20, Year 1561 --
This time, Mulan stayed behind to oversee the base camp, while the rest of the party set off for another foray to Ming Yo Temple. I decided to leave Raji behind for his own safety.
The information from the Abbess and Noku's Locate Object spells indicated that the Bell of Mediation is in or near the Hall of Void, and the Incense of Meditation is in the central temple.
We made camp for the evening. About an hour after dusk, Hatori decided to scry on the samurai we met previously, Rokuri Buko. She was quietly meditating alone by the campfire, but was soon joined by a vanara (monkey humanoid), who appeared to be her master. He seemed old, learned and worthy of respect.
The vanara apparently realized that they were being observed. He looked around and politely addressed the direction Hatori was watching from saying, "I am Shandu, Elder of Khosa Gathering, Speaker to Spirits, Master of the High Mountains. Rokuri Buko is in my service and under my protection." He went on to say that he was an old man and had some things he wished to discuss with Rokuri Buko in private. Hatori decided to respect his wishes, and ended the scrying session.
11/21/1561 -
We rose bright and early and approached the temple ruins. Hatori, Ashi and Noku cast Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace and Endurance on various party members. Noku then cast Endure Fire on us all, to help protect us from his Fireball spell.
We headed towards the Shrine of Four Elements, moving past old dormitories that were overgrown with heavy brush and thorn bushes. Til'k and Gorvak scouted ahead, but soon Gorvak veered off to the side. Hatori followed, saying there was something interesting the dorm he was pointing to.
Noku went ahead to see how Til'k was doing, and Zenako followed Hatori and Gorvak. Soon after, Hatori shouted that he was bitten by a snake. I followed Noku, and saw a huge snake up ahead. I cast Protection from Evil on myself, and yelled a warning to Ashi, to which she replied, "Too late!".
We wound up doing battle with two giant snakes, a Hannya (serpent-lady, about 4th level shaman) who controlled the snakes, and nine Jiki-Niku-Gaki.
Til'k killed one snake, and Ashi and Hatori killed the other snake frying and freezing it (Burning Hands and Ice Blast). A combination of Magic Missiles from Noku, Burning Hands from Ashi, a fireball from Gorvak's necklace, and mighty whacks from Zenako killed the Hannya. Three Jiki-Niku-Gaki were defeated by a Fireball by Noku centered around himself (which he survived), and the rest were finished off by the rest of the party.
Hatori and Ashi both drank anti-toxin since they had been bitten by the snakes. Noku also cast Resistance on Hatori, and wrapped his Cloak of Resistance around Ashi. Both survived the effects of the venom, but felt a bit weaker than usual (temporary CON loss). Ashi and I then patched up the wounded with some Cure Light Wounds spells.
Til'k burrowed into one of the dorms and found a box containing some coins and magic items, which Hatori was able to identify:
1560 ancient gold coins
1 potion of Cure Light Wounds
1 potion of Fiery Eyes
1 wands of Daylight (20 charges)
1 wands of Magic Missile, 2 die (13 charges)
1 tessen with a pattern of violets, later determined to be +1
Gorvak scouted around and found Gaki tracks and snake trails, most likely from those we had just fought. We continued past the dorms, and soon approached a stream.
Til'k noticed and odd figure approaching across the stream. It looked like half a man (split down the middle vertically), and it was carrying a glowing axe in its visible hand. I was the only one able to see the figure's ethereal half. He turned out to be a Doc cu'o'c, a spirit who protects an area of land. He said he was the guardians of the gardens, and asked who we were. Til'k gave our names and said that we wished to pass through the gardens peacefully. The spirit allowed us in, and we crossed over the stream with our weapons down.
We felt the tranquility of the gardens as soon as we entered, and Hatori suggested that we take some time to rest and enjoy the gardens. Noku offered some herbs to the Doc cu'o'c, who accepted them and parted the clouds to let the sun shine through a bit to warm us up.
After an hour of quiet meditation, we felt much rested. We thanked the spirit guardian, and asked if there was any service we could perform in return for his hospitality. He thanked us, and asked if we might find some new flowers and shrubs to add to the garden. He also asked that we respect his nephews, who might also appreciate a visit. One nephew guards the orchard, and the other guards the (now unused) cold storage caverns. We agreed, and said we may be able to find some suitable plants from Waterstone Temple. Gorvak then took note of what was already in the garden.
We moved on to the Asako Dojo, with Til'k and Gorvak scouting ahead, as usual. Inside the building were signs describing the virtues of Void, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Ashi looked at them, and said the Asako Dojo was about collecting lore which seemed to relate elements to martial arts.
Hatori cast Detect Magic and detected something behind the wall with the door. Til'k checked the door and found it unlocked. It led into a 10x15 ft. room. It may have been an office once, but it apparently had been ransacked. Noku cast Light through the first doorway, and saw another door. Til'k checked the second door and found it stuck, but Gorvak pushed it open. It led to a room that appeared to be private quarters, also ransacked a while ago.
Til'k caught the smell of a Gaki, and heard a growl. Noku stepped up to the doorway and cast a Fireball, which catches Gorvak and Ashi as well. Ashi went unconscious, but the Gaki and Gorvak survived. The Gaki suddenly appeared in front of Gorvak, but missed him. Gorvak went into a barbarian rage and hit the Gaki. Zenako tumbled through to hit it, and Hatori finished it off with a Magic Missile.
Saru fed a Cure Light Wounds potion to Ashi, and I cast Cure Moderate Wounds on her to bring her around. Noku was very apologetic, and decided that Fireball in close quarters may not be such a great idea.
Til'k poked around and pulled up a loose floorboard to find a box of gems (15 small, 3 large). Til'k also gathered up all the element scrolls from the dojo for study at Waterstone Temple.
We went to the Hall of Void next. We found no special tracks, and the building looked intact. Ashi sensed 5 sources of flame, in each of the four corners and the middle of the room. She also detected one source of water somewhere near the middle of the room, probably a Gaki near where we expected the bell to be.
We decided to head back to base camp, and made it there without incident. We rested there for three days, during which time, Ashi, Gorvak and I practiced some newly gained skills and magic (gained one level). I was then able to cast Lesser Restoration on Ashi and Hatori to counteract the effects of the snake poison. I also cast Weapon Bless on various weapons to fight the Gaki in the Hall of Void.
11/24/1561 --
After resting at base camp for three days, we were ready to head back to the Hall of Void to try to capture the enchanted bell, which produces an anti-magic aura, suppressing all magic effects and supernatural abilities.
We reached the door of the Hall of Void without incident. Til'k checked the door and thought it was trapped, but wasn't sure how to disarm it. The door has buttons representing each element and the void. Hatori cast Divination to get the clue "Press elements true, then elements false, then enter the void." Til'k pressed all four elements together then pressed the void, and the door opened.
Ashi cast Fly on herself and flew into the room. She could see the bell, and cast Silence around it. Zenako entered next on foot, and found the trap that obviously had not been disabled. She stepped on a trap door, which opened to a 50 ft. pit beneath her, turned off the lights in the main room, and slammed the entry door shut. Zenako survived the fall, landing none too softly on a pile of bones in a dark room.
Noku opened the door again, and the lights went back on. Hatori, Gorvak and Til'k each jumped over the trap door into the room. I attempted to open the trap door while holding the entry door open, in order to check on Zenako. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed and ended up joining Zenako down the pit. I was able to slow my fall a bit (20 ft.), but neither of us was in great shape. I cast a couple of Cure Moderate Wounds spells on myself, and gave Zenako my pitons so she could start carving out some handholds to climb up.
Back in the main room, the others heard the bell ring (in spite of Ashi's Silence spell), and the Gaki appeared. Ashi's Fly and Silence spells were suppressed, and all other magic boosts were suppressed. Ashi fell to the floor, but wasn't badly hurt. Til'k, Gorvak and Hatori defeated the Gaki, but not before the Gaki was able to latch on to Til'k.
Ashi and Noku went to the trapdoor, outside of the anti-magic aura, and shouted down to see if Zenako and I were OK. We shouted back that we were both alive and able to move around. Ashi cast Dancing Lights down the pit, so we could look around. We found some treasure:
1 battle axe, +2 frost weapon (activated by the word "cold")
several gems
310 gold coins
430 silver coins
various junk armor and weapons
Ashi flew down and cast Cure Light Wounds on Zenako, and Noku hooked a rope at the top of the pit, but it wasn't long enough to reach the bottom. Ashi was able to fly me to the top of the pit, and I added my rope to Noku's so Zenako could climb out. Ashi flew back down to gather up the loot.
Til'k gathered up all the papers and scrolls he could find in the Hall of Void, and we waited for 2 hours for the bell to finally stop ringing. We were then able to remove the bell from the building, and brought it back to base camp.
11/27/1561 --
We made it back to Waterstone Temple without incident. We presented the Bell of Meditation to the abbess, and reported on all that we observed of Rokuri Buko and the vanara. The abbess was very pleased with the bell, which repays Noku's karmic debt, and expresses an interest in the incense and any more scrolls we might be able to find (plus we would like the chance to search for the Jade Yari).
We plan to return to Ming Yo Temple in about a week. During that time, Mulan, Gorvak and I plan to stay in Waterstone Temple, while Zenako and the others return to Marike to pick up their armor orders from the ogre smith. Zenako also intends to perform the rituals required to awaken her katana (which will clear away all the weapons she's been storing at her great aunt's house).
I also hope to find a higher level shaman who will assist me in performing the rituals to "improve" Raji (increase his strength and size), so he'll be a better match for the more challenging foes that we've been running into in Ming Yo Temple.