"We’d better search this complex," suggested Firiona. "It may not be cleared yet. Who knows what else is lurking in some room or other?" The rest of the party agreed, and the search began.
Corpses of cultists, and others, including Amalla’s, lay strewn about the shrine, laden with booty. The adventurers looted twenty-nine of them, including the two priests of Orcus and Soiartze–who proved to be a particularly beautiful succubus. "I thought as much," mused Edward. "She must have been draining me while she had me chained up." Miae sniggered. "Oh sure, big boy. There’s no way you would have kissed that horrible girl voluntarily!" Edward shrugged, then went to join Firiona, who was inspecting the evil altar. They carefully placed Amalla’s body in the portable hole.
The elven eyes of Firiona spotted a secret door behind the altar in the southeast of the rear wall. Further searching of the altar revealed a switch. An evil stone knife lay on the altar. "Destroy that thing, Firiona!" cried Edward. "I will," she answered. "But let’s finish the inspection first."
Agreeing, Edward pressed the switch on the altar. The secret door slid open, revealing a passageway leading to the southeast into darkness. "Save it for later," advised Firiona.
Meanwhile, Green Arrow headed west out of the shrine and into the entrance corridor. Firiona followed him as he returned to the darkened room that contained the bloody skull altar. The children were still hiding at the far west end of the room, as far from the altar as possible.
"I’ll destroy this abomination!" Firiona exclaimed. Without waiting for anyone to reply, she pointed her hand at the vile structure. It disintegrated instantly. "And not a minute too soon!" she cried.
Meanwhile, Miae went to comfort the children. "You two keep exploring. I’m going to stay with them, the poor lambs. They’ve been through hell." "OK, take care of them," agreed Firiona. She and Green Arrow left and returned to the entrance corridor. Back down the corridor to their left, at the bend, they opened a door that led to eight small, rude chambers. "Looks like cultists used these when they were visiting," observed Green Arrow. Nothing of value remained, only worn, rickety, uncomfortable furniture and creaky chests for storing clothing.
They went back to the main corridor, turned right heading back to the shrine, and entered the door they had spotted on their left, just across from the hall leading to the skull altar. It opened into a well-furnished, two-room suite. There was large bed with ornately, and evilly, carved posts and headboard, together with table, chairs, desk, and a substantial collection of books. A door in the north wall led into a large vestry. "Hmmm, must have been one of the priest’s quarters. I’d guess it was Oconee," Green Arrow opined. "Why him?" asked Firiona. "Look at the clothing. It’s all sized for fat men," the elven archer replied. "These books are all about religion, especially Orcus cults. Also necromancy," said Firiona as she browsed among the volumes. The two adventurers selected several volumes that appeared to include useful information, and proceeded to ransack the suite of magical items.
Back in the shrine, the party assembled at the evil altar and proceeded into the passageway leading north, from which the celebrants had emerged on previous nights. Shortly it entered a long east-west room about forty feet long. Eight biers stood in rows of four on either side of the room. On six of them were corpses, some fresh, others not. Firiona detected magic: an anti-life shell! "I know what this is!" exclaimed Firiona. "It’s a chamber of the unliving! It’s used to animate corpses." She inspected the bier at the far north end, in the northeast corner. "This bier is no ordinary bier," she told the others. "This is a bier of inquisition. Used for extracting information from the recently dead!"
But there was still more magic. At the north end of the room, Firiona spotted a secret door. She opened it, and found a long corridor extending off into darkness. She went in, followed by Green Arrow and Edward. After about one hundred feet, the corridor ended in a small room with a shimmering wall. "There’s a gate here," said Firiona. A thorough inspection, combined with her knowledge of such matters, revealed that the gate led to the first layer of the Abyss! "Better come back for this," said Green Arrow. "Or have the Enterprise send someone, to deactivate it," replied Edward. They headed back out into the shrine.
"Wonder where this other corridor leads?" said Firiona. "Maybe it’s to another gate or something," said Green Arrow. "Only one way to find out," he continued, and headed for the entrance. "Wish we had Lou around about now," he added. "Wish we had Lou in a useful form," corrected Edward.
The passage extended about one hundred twenty feet, and like the other one, ended in a small chamber. This one, however, had a clearly marked circle of teleportation on the floor. Unlike the gate, Firiona wasn’t able to determine where the circle led. "Another item for later action, I’d say," urged Green Arrow. The others agreed. "There’s still the layer below us," said Edward. "I don’t know about you, but personally I want to know exactly what’s down there and what was used on me."
"Let’s go, then," said Firiona.
Once back in the dungeon, the party took samples of luhix and other materials from the torture chamber. Edward wasn’t interested in analysis. He proceeded to destroy the implements of torture that were in the room. The piercing needles that had tormented him. The pain extractor, a sinister device of unknown construction. The rack. The iron maiden. Everything else he could reach.
They continued reconnoitering. The corridor leading to the northwest from the main guard post led to a room apparently used by another torturer as his quarters. "Shopak, I’d guess," said Edward. The few items of value remaining in the room went into the portable hole with the rest of the booty. Back to the guard post and continuing counter-clockwise around the room, the party entered another corridor. This one led to five cells for prisoners, one of which still held a middle-aged man, crazed with fear and babbling hysterically. Edward laid hands on the man, healing him to full strength. The healing didn’t help the poor man’s mind, unfortunately. "We’ll take him with us," the paladin told the others. "He needs more healing than I can provide. It’s amazing he’s managed to survive this place."
Another corridor extending southeast from the guard room led to seven more cells, mercifully free from prisoners. Having thus determined that no more prisoners remained to be liberated, the adventurers sought a room suitable for rest and treasure identification. They found one: Soiartze’s quarters.
The party now had to decide what to do with Khadija, their prisoner. Firiona advocated casting flesh to stone on her, to keep her from working any further evil. Miae, on the other hand, proposed using the dimensional shackles used to bind Edward on her. That way, she wouldn’t be able to teleport, dimension door, plane shift or otherwise escape. Edward wanted to interrogate her, but, exercising the forbearance of a true paladin, intended that no harm befall her. Green Arrow just followed Edward’s lead on the issue.
So Edward shackled and questioned Khadija, using a zone of truth spell, a far gentler method than she had had used on him. "Is there any way for your allies to track you?" he asked. "No, although I wish there were!" answered Khadija, convincingly.
"Are you going to try to escape?"
"How do you think I’m going to do that?!"
"Yes or no?" Edward pressed.
"No," she lied, undetected.
The party were satisfied with Khadija’s answers, but gagged her anyway and continued their exploration of the complex. The immediate destination: Khadija’s secret escape route behind the altar. Miae would remain with the children until the others returned to report. Khadija would be guarded, and if she tried anything funny, Miae would take any measures necessary to deal with her, up to and including taking her out.
Edward, Green Arrow and Firiona headed down the long tunnel beyond the secret door, until they reached the chamber with the circle of teleportation inscribed on the floor. Edward tossed a coin into the circle, intending to examine its function. The coin disappeared. Green Arrow took up position at the chamber entrance, guarding the room, while Firiona again searched the room. She found nothing but the circle.
On Firiona’s suggestion, the party returned back to the shrine and retrieved Miae, together with the children and the bound and gagged Khadija, then went back to the chamber. Edward recast zone of truth and questioned Khadija about the circle. "What’s on the other end of this?" he asked. Khadija replied, "My escape route."
"Are there any enemies on the other side?"
"No."
"Can you escape from these shackles?" asked Edward.
Khadija sneered. "If I could, I would have done it by now."
So, the party decided to use the teleportation circle. Green Arrow was to go first, with Firiona in planetar form and carrying Green Arrow. The others would follow.
Into the circle they went, and immediately arrived . . .
In the lava chamber of a live volcano!
By whatever foresight was on Firiona, the form she was in was able to fly. Fortunately so. Up she flew, carrying Green Arrow, through the vent of the volcano, several thousand feet upward. Eventually the two emerged through the opening and flew through it, into the dark pre-dawn above an unknown mountain range. She then greater teleported them both back to the chamber.
Edward asked what had happened. When Firiona and Green Arrow told him, Miae exclaimed, "I was right! Edward, you need to start listening to me!" Then, calming down, she added, "We came in one way, why not go back the same way? And there’s still Khadija’s library to loot!" Khadija shot her a dirty look but, being gagged, couldn’t manage anything else.
So, the party returned the way they entered. Back on Khadija’s level, the party perused her library, seized a few choice volumes, and then left through the formerly-haunted crypt, bound for Darksea. On the way out of the crypt, they assured Toivo Irk that Khadija’s evil power was broken. The party then began to restore some of the broken tombstones to their upright position, and promised to have workers from Hochoch complete the restoration.
Once home, the party reported their activities to the local Enterprise liaison, and consigned Khadija to the Enterprise for further interrogation. Enterprise agents would be dispatched to the shrine complex, to retrieve any remaining items of interest, and then destroy the shrine itself and dispel its evil. Well-earned rest and relaxation ensued, especially for Edward. Paladin he may have been, but the experience with the cult of Orcus had been enough to tax the noblest champion of Hieroneous.
Lou, unfortunately, did not survive the encounter. Firiona arranged for Lou’s burial at the Darksea graveyard. Some of his effects were sent to the Darksea Magic Academy. Others Firiona gave to her sister Lina, who moved into Lou’s old house. Firiona herself made arrangements for the Magic Academy to begin manufacturing various magic items. Edward and Green Arrow augmented their various stores of magic and other useful items, Edward traveling as far as Greyhawk in order to obtain a helm of brilliance.
Arnold was more fortunate, as Miae undertook to cast true resurrection; he was simply too valuable to be allowed to remain dead! Of course, Miae billed the Enterprise for the expenses involved. She also true resurrected Amalla, at her own expense. No doubt Amalla would remember that she was now deep in Miae’s debt! Amalla thanked Miae, then left again for parts unknown.
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